Muhammad and his band would have descended the escarpment, entering a field of dunes, the shadows in their slack like hyena stripes. When Muhammad and his band made camp long after midnight, they would have squatted around a campfire, its amber flames crackling in the stillness, cooking some supper. The Qur’an (The Event 56:71–73) later reminded its hearers among the Meccan caravanners, “Have you seen the fire that you made? Did you create the firewood or did we? We rendered it a reminder and a means of provisioning those strong enough to traverse the desert.” They would have unpacked their beasts of burden and piled up their goods in a circle as protection from a raid and then slept with their swords close at hand. The snarling of jackals and wild saluki hounds around the camp might have startled Muhammad awake occasionally.
