There is an instance that on one night during the childhood of Muḥammadsa, he requested his companion, who was also a partner in grazing goats saying, “Tend to my flock so that I may go to the city in order to view the nightly gathering of the people”. In those days, it was a custom of the Arabs to gather at a single location whereafter they would relate stories and share various forms of poetry. On various occasions, the whole night would be devoured by these gatherings. In his childhood curiosity, Muḥammadsa also ventured out to observe one of these spectacles. However, God the Almighty disliked the idea that His Khātamun-Nabiyyīn,1 partake of such nonsense. Therefore, on one occasion, Muḥammadsa departed for such a gathering but fell asleep en-route and remained in a state of sleep until dawn. The young Muḥammadsa intended to witness a similar gathering a second time; however, the unseen hand prohibited him this time also. During the time of his prophethood, the Holy Prophetsa said, “I intended only twice, in the entirety of my life, to observe such a gathering, but I was restrained both times.”2
1 Seal of the Prophets (Publishers)
2 Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, p. 207, Bābu Dhikri Rasūlillāhisa wa Asbābihī, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, (2002)