It’s true. You may not believe me, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Johnny Appleseed did in fact meet Prophet Muhammad. He even offered Muhammad some apple seeds if my recollection is correct.

Let us get to the story of Johnny Appleseed’s meeting the prophet of Islam.

It is true that Prophet Muhammad lived between 570 AD and June 8th, 632 AD. It is also true that Johnny was born on Sep. 26th, 1774 and died on Mar. 18th, 1845. Even though, both did meet in person. I was there to witness the meeting. When you see an event first hand, you can’t deny it even if the whole world says otherwise.

Let me tell you a bit about Johnny first. He was a simple man. A good man! He introduced apple trees to many parts of northeastern United States. A lot of people don’t know it, but Johnny was a Muslim at heart! In fact, one time he was asked why he lived his long life without getting married. Do you want to know what his answer was? He said that two female spirits would be his wives in the afterlife, if he stayed single on earth. You see... two wives, not just one. Johnny was a Muslim at heart.

That is good and well, but there is more evidence of Johnny’s face-to-face meeting with Prophet Muhammad. Let me tell you the story from the very beginning...

I enjoy reading. I had picked up about a month ago from the bookstore "The Life of Muhammad", which is the translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah". I had spent some evenings reading it. I work hard during the day. I work in construction, and you know how tiring this profession can be. When I go home every evening, I eat a quick dinner with the kids. The Mrs puts them to bed after I give them a hug and a kiss. To relax before going to bed, I like to read. True, most people like to watch the television, but not me. My late mother Najla Kammuna, may God bless her soul, instilled in me the love of books and reading. I still do that in my old age now. Well, enough about me. Let me go back to tell you about Johnny.

Two days ago, I stopped by the bookstore and saw a book about the life stories of Johnny Appleseed.

I could not help the temptation, and bought the book. I decided I would read mostly from the “Sirat”, and then squeeze in a couple of pages from Johnny’s book.

Two nights ago, I had a harder than usual day at work. The heat of the sun was brutal, and two of my co-workers called in sick. On top of that, we had a hard task to do. We were putting on shingles on a huge roof. We had to carry those heavy piles of shingles on our shoulders from the ground to the roof after taking out the old Shingles and replacing most of the old plywood on the roof.  I probably drank three large buckets of water that day, if not more. By the evening, I was exhausted, called it quits, and went home. My wife, Haleema Kammuna, cooked a wonderful meal. Dinner, good food and good family were the highlight of that day. I enjoyed every bit of food on my plate. The food was rice and raisins the way my Persian friend Vali cooked them, topped with meat and vegetables and sauce with a side of salad. I ate -- excuse my expression -- like a pig. I played with the kids afterwards, and gave them hugs and kisses. Then they went to bed with mama. I sat on the Sofa reading the "Sirat", and then I turned my attention to the Johnny book and started reading it. But somehow, the pages of the book got blurred and I started reading titles of Johnny’s book that seemed odd. Here are samples of the titles I saw in Johnny’s book:

  • Johnny’s first raid
  • Johnny’s friend raids the coast
  • The raid on the apple trees
  • The killing of date trees
  • The killing of Sallam
  • The burning of the Qurayza trees
  • The raid on Tabbed apple garden
  • The irrigation of the Hudaybia apple plantation
  • Distribution of the apple loots

Needless to say, I was very confused. Why would they put such titles in Johnny’s book? All he did is plant apples and give others apple seeds, so they can plant them. I could not make sense of what I was seeing on the pages of that book. Is that a book of lies about Johnny, I wondered. Then a knock on the door came. When I opened it, you will not believe who I saw coming to visit me. It was Prophet Muhammad. I was in a shock, but I welcomed him in the house. After we sat on the sofa, he said: "Ibn Kammuna, I know you are confused about what is taking place. But even though I am dead now, Allah granted me just one visit to one person. I chose to come to you to clarify things about Johnny Appleseed." I said, "Prophet, I am amazed. This is a real treat". All of a sudden I noticed the front door opening by itself. I must have forgotten to close it. But, then, Alas, Johnny Appleseed entered the house. I could not believe my eyes, but there he was in flesh and blood. He came in and gave me some apple seed that I thanked him for. Then he turned to the prophet and said, "Greetings prophet. Here are some apple seeds for you too". The prophet took them, and then he stood and withdrew his sword and swung it fast towards Johnny’s neck while saying "Allahu Akbar".

I was in a state of shock and very afraid, while jumping with a scream to try to protect Johnny from Prophet Muhammad. Then, all of a sudden I heard a soft voice saying, "Honey... Honey... wake up. It’s just a bad dream." I woke up with a frightened heart and a dry throat. It was my wife Halima, bringing me a cup of milk and softly guiding me to go and sleep in my bed.

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