Previous | Next

The Prophet Mohammad and the First Muslim State Mohammad Mahmoud Ghali (View All Articles by: Mohammad Mahmoud Ghali)

---

CopyRight Violation? - Print - Recommend - Rate - Monitor - Report Error - - Contact Owner - Bookmark It - Review - Visit

---

Contents

• Foreword
• Introduction

Part I: That Memorable Decade

• Chapter 1: The first Muslim State
• Chapter 2: War and Peace
• Chapter 3: Defeat and Triumph
• Chapter 4: The City in Peril
• Chapter 5: Peace with Makkah
• Chapter 6: The Glorious Conquest
• Chapter 7: Revelation and Empire
• Chapter 8: The Farewell Pilgrimage

Part II: The Meaning of  Revelation

• Chapter 9: Revelations
• Chapter 10: The Victorious Orphan

• Glossaries
• Reference

---

Foreword

 

To approach the stories of kings and potentates, as well as the movements and vicissitudes of tribes, nations and masses from a proper historical perspective seems to be an unattainable objective. Something is needed more than human intelligence, the empirical method, and rigid scientific criteria; and the only possible source for undefiled knowledge is through religious revelation.

As Muslims, we believe that the most historical figure in the histories of Divine Revelation is the person of Muhammad, Prayer and Peace be upon him. To arrive to that belief is easy for anyone who reads the Qur'an with an open-minded, and unbiased effort at understanding its glorious message.

The history of Muhammad and `Al-Qur'an are one and inseparable; and nothing can bear witness more convincingly to Muhammad's truthfulness than `Al Qur'an; and that explains why quotations from `Al-Qur'an abound in the following pages. The original Arabic verses are presented, because translations can never be a substitute for a Divine revelation; and the evidence from translations of other Scriptures is not enough encouragement for those who want to publish `Al-Quran in other languages without the Arabic original.

The importance of the message of `Al-Qur'an to the modern world is of most relevance, since the political and social aspects of Islam in the First State in `Al-Madinah have been overshadowed by the interest in the usual chronological presentation of Mohammad's life from birth to death. This explains the logic behind the unconventional order of the chapters of this presentation. What the world now needs probably more than anything else, is the conception and establishment of a state that is religious, non-secular, non-imperialistic and non-totalitarian, that can face man's modern problems in the light of the One Creator and his Divine law of justice, consultation, integrity, mercy and love.

It is in the realization of the significance of the first Muslim State that lies the future hope for Muslims and the world. Failure to establish a Muslim State today will carry with it incalculable potentialities for universal tragedy.

---

Introduction

 

1. Revelation:

It was Ramadan.

It was one night at the end of Ramadan.

The Prophet was alone in the cave ¹  in Mount Hira'.

In that solitude, ²  now so dear to him, he heard a voice, an angelic ³   voice.

It was the voice of Jibril.

The Angel said, "Recite ⁴ !" and the Prophet's answer was, "I am not a reciter." ⁵

Thus the Prophet later on told his wife and Companions: "Then the Angel took me and held me tightly in his embrace ⁶  until he had reached the limits of my endurance ⁷ . Then he released me and said: "(Recite!) I said, (I am not a reciter), and again he embraced me until he had reached the limits of my endurance."

The Angel held the Prophet tightly the third time, then released him, and said: 

 

"Recite; and your Lord is the Most Bountiful. He has created man from a clot  ⁸ of blood. He Who has taught by the pen. Taught man what he knew not."

The Prophet recited these words after the Angel, and he said later on, "It was as if the words were written on my heart".

Revelation is the Divine source of our knowledge. It is really the source of know1edge for all creatures, because the word revelation in Arabic means what we call innate ⁹knowledge to "animate" ¹⁰  beings, like ants and bees, even to "inanimate"¹¹ `objects like clouds and seas, and the earth and the heavens.

One form of revelation to mankind is granted to the faithful among men and women alike: Zakaria and Maryam. A higher form was granted Musa, when Allah spoke to him "from behind a veil ¹² and a third form is when an angel is sent as a messenger to the human messenger. This is how the final form of revelation took place to the final Prophet and Messenger, the Prayers of Allah and His Peace be upon him.

Innate knowledge in mankind is always true, but is most of the time clouded and obstructed ¹³  by instinctive inclinations for worldly enjoyment. Knowledge from nature around us is incomplete so long as our senses cannot perceive the whole truth even in things nearest to us. That is why Divine revelation is the surest source of true knowledge.

The heavenly Messenger, Jibril, saw the Prophet quite often, and the last time he saw him for a long time was in the last Ramadan before the Prophet's death, when the Prophet recited the whole Qur'an in the presence of Jibril. That was the last angelic visit, and the last recitation of the complete Qur'an by the Prophet.

 

2. Al-Qur'an:

Al-Qur'an is not the first revelation from Allah, but it is the last. Like the other Books before it, Al-Qur'an is a Book of guidance, not only to Muslims, but to humanity as a whole. Al-Qur'an does not refute ¹⁴  all of the Books before it, because two of the Books before them, the To-rah and the Gospel have guidance and light. But Al-Qur'an replaces these two Books and all Books before them, because much of the light and guidance in these two Books has been obscured by human heresie's ¹⁵ and the darkness of historical dissension  ¹⁶ and interpolation' ¹⁷

The way the Prophet explained and applied the teachings of Al-Qur'an is called the "Sunnah" and Al-Qur'an and Sunnah are the laws that guide Muslims in all spheres of life: personal and social, in all the affairs of the individual and the state, in war and peace. Thus Al-Qur'an and Sunnah summarize the whole life of the Prophet from birth to death.

 

3-The Eternal Message:

At the age of forty, Muhammad was entrusted with a message to the worlds: 

"And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds". (Al-Anbiya" 107).

These worlds include mankind, and other creatures as invisible as the jinn and as barely understood by mankind as those creatures that swarm ¹⁸  the whole universe around us. Before he was forty, he had been known as an honest man, who could be entrusted with the honor of settling the dispute between the various tribes of Makkah about placing the "Black Stone" when they decided to rebuild Al-Ka'bah in the Sanctified Mosque. He was also known for his aversion ¹⁹  for the idols ²⁰  that were hanging in Al-Ka'bah. He never prayed to any of them. These idols  went on hanging there until Makkah opened its gates to him in the 8th year of the establishment of the first Muslim State in Al-Madinah. That was the time when he destroyed these idols, saying: 

"And say: Truth has come and untruth has vanished; surely untruth has ever been bound to vanish". (Al-Isra'-81).

Thus the first thing he came to teach the world is monotheism: the Oneness of Allah. This monotheism was not the choice of one of the idols that were hanging in Al-Ka'bah, and exalting him above all the others and preaching his worship, as some orientalists ²¹ claim. Nor is it the unity of God, which may be interpreted in various ways as some like to interpret it as a trinitarian  ²² creed ²³  contrary to the very concept of Oneness. In Al-Qur'an, Allah (Exalted be His name) is both One and Absolute: One since He cannot be two or three or more; and He is also Absolute since He cannot be conceived to be part of anything else or to beget or be begotten. This is the idea behind one of the shortest Suras of Al-Qur'an. 

"Say: He is Allah, the One Allah, the Eternally Absolute. He did not beget and He was not begotten .And no one has ever been His compeer."

The immense significance of this surah cannot be over-emphasized; it is the corner-stone of the whole edifice  ²⁴ of Islam in its laws for the individual and the state in that Memorable Decade. That Memorable Decade was a vindication ²⁵ of Revelation, a trail blazer  ²⁶ for the noblest in man, establishing the Imperial City under the inimitable leadership of the Prophet, manifesting the peak ²⁷ of human achievement under the Divine Eye, setting the Moral Code for all ages to come, and holding illimitable dominion over ²⁸ human destiny.  

---

The First Muslim State

 

"The individual for the state; the state for the individual, and all for Allah".

For 13 years the Prophet went on teaching the Oneness of Allah. His few followers in Makkah were persecuted, ¹ and they suffered all kinds of oppression ² at the hands of their people, who saw in the new religion a menace ³ to their way of life, and an end to their idol worship.

 Finally the Prophet was given permission by Allah to migrate to Al-Madinah, where he established the First Muslim State of our times.

 

I. The Two Mosques

1. Quba' Mosque:

When the Prophet was about to enter Al-Madinah, "The City", he asked the guide to lead him and his Companion, Abu Bakr, straight to Quba'. When they reached Quba', the Prophet lodged ⁴ with Kulthum, who had previously welcomed both Hamzah and Zayd in his house when they first arrived from Makkah.

The Prophet reached Quba' on Monday 12th of Rabi `Awwal (27 September 622 A.C.). He stayed there for three days, during which he laid the foundation of the first mosque built in this new Muslim State.

Up till now so many visitors to Al-Madinah make it a point to visit the First Mosque, where they pray once at least during their stay in "The City".

2. The Prophet's Mosque:

On the third day, the Prophet left Quba' for Al-Madinah. At noon on Friday, the Prophet and his Companions stopped to perform a congregational ⁵ prayer. It was the first Friday congregational prayer in Islam.

The worshippers on that day were not more than a hundred. After the prayer, the Prophet mounted ⁶ his she-camel Al-Qaswa, which proceeded slowly into Al-Madinah. On the way, many of the inhabitants invited the Prophet and his Companions to stop the Qaswa' and become their guests; but the Prophet told them, "Let her (Al-Qaswa') go her away, for she is under the Command of Allah". Finally the she-camel knelt at the entrance of an enclosure belonging to two orphans. The Prophet asked them if they would sell the enclosure. The two orphans offered to give it as a gift; but the Prophet gave them the price that was fixed by the guardian ⁷ of the two orphans. Then the Prophet gave orders that the enclosure be made a mosque.

Most of the building was made of bricks; the trunks of the palm-trees, recently felled, ⁸ served as pillars ⁹ to support the roof, which was framed of their branches and thatched ¹⁰ with their leaves. It had three doors: one to the south, where the Qiblah was afterwards established, another called the Door of Jibril, and the third the Gate of Mercy. A great part of the enclosure was left without a roof. All the Muslims took part in the construction, including the Prophet himself, and as they worked they chanted: "No life there is but the good life hereafter. Mercy, O Allah, on Emigrants and Helpers (to Victory).

3. The Call for Prayers: 

Some of the Companions suggested that the call for prayers could be with the sounds of bugles, ¹¹ as among the Jews, or by lighting fire on high places, or by the striking of trumpets. While they were uncertain which of these means would be appropriate,¹² Abdullah, son of Zayd, came to declare that he had seen in his sleep the vision of a man with a bell. "Would you sell me that bell?" asked Abdullah. The man answered, "What would you do with it?" Abdullah then answered, "We'll use it to call for prayers". "Could I suggest something better?" The man said. "What is it?" was Abdullah's eager reply. Then the man said: "You should say:

Allah is Greater: Allah is Greater,
I testify that there is no god but Allah:
I testify that there is no god but Allah:
I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,
I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,
Come to prayers! Come to prayers'
Come to success! Come to success!
Allah is Greater! Allah is Greater.
There is no god but Allah.

Abdullah went to the Prophet and told him about his vision. To him the Prophet replied, "It is a true vision, so Allah wishes. Go with Bilal, tell him about it and let him say it in calling for prayers. Bilal's voice is more fit for the call."

`Umar, son of Khattab, was in his house when he heard Bilal's call for prayers; so he instantly went to the Prophet in the mosque and told him, "Oh! Prophet of Allah, By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I have seen the same vision . Then the Prophet said, "Praise be to Allah".

4. A Simple Mosque:

Everything in the Prophet's mosque was simple. At night it was lighted up by wood from the palm-tree. The Prophet stood on the ground and preached ¹³ leaning with his back against the trunk of one of the palters, which served as pillars. Later on, he had a pulpit ¹⁴ erected ¹⁵ to which he ascended ¹⁶ by three steps, so as to be elevated above the congregation.

The Prophet preached sometimes sitting, sometimes standing and leaning on a staff. His precepts ¹⁷ were all peaceful and benignant,¹⁸ inculcating ¹⁹ devotion to Allah, and humanity to man.

The first sermon delivered by the Prophet was an exhortation ²⁰ to be devoted to Allah by putting forward righteous deeds, for death comes of a sudden, even upon a shepherd who would leave his folk shepherdless. Then when he faces His Creator on the Day of Judgment, he will be asked, "Haven't I sent My messenger who delivered My message to you? Haven't I given you money and property, then what good deeds have you put forward for this Day?" Then he will look right and left, and will see nothing but Hell; so guard yourselves against this Fire, even with a portion of a date (fruit). If he cannot find that, a good word would do, for the reward of a good word or deed is ten times to seven hundred times its equal.

 

II. Believers and Disbelievers

1. The First Treaty: ²¹

On the Prophet's arrival at `Al-Madinah, some of the Christians of the city embraced Islam; they became convinced that there was nothing in Islam against their belief in Christ as a Messenger and Prophet, and they realized that Islam venerated ²² Christ as one of the greatest prophets. Other Christians showed a favorable disposition towards Islam, considering it far better than the old idolatry. ²³

The Jews of whom there were rich and powerful families in Al-Madinah and its neighborhood, were on the whole apprehensive ²⁴ of the new religion. That is why the Prophet made a treaty with the Jews of Al-Madinah. It was a covenant ²⁵ of mutual ²⁶  obligation, in which the Jews were given equal status with Muslims. In times of peace, both Muslim and Jew were to redress ²⁷ the wrong incurred ²⁸ on Jew or Muslim. In case of war against the disbelievers, neither Jews nor Muslims should make a separate treaty with disbelievers. For peace is indivisible. "Peace to believers is one." All differences of opinion were to be referred to Allah and His Prophet.

The parties to this treaty were two: the Prophet and all Muslims; the other party was the Jews adherents ²⁹ of the tribes ³⁰ of Bani `Awf, Bani an-Najjar, Banil-Harith, Bani Sa'idah, Bani Jusham, Banil-Aws, and Bani Tha'labah.

"If Quraysh were to attack Al-Madinah, Jews and Muslims have to defend the city. Anybody must be accorded ³¹ safe exit and safe abode ³² in Al-Madinah, unless he has committed wrong".

2. Muslims and Jews:

The Treaty with the Jews was intended to bring peace to a city which had for long been torn by civil war between Aws and Khazraj. These Muslims had now concluded a covenant with the Jews to face the disbelievers in Makkah as one united front. But, inspite of the treaty, the Jews were not happy with the growing power of the Prophet and his followers. It was about this time that the longest surah of Al-Qur'an was revealed. It is the surah entitled "The Cow" = Al-Baqarah =( ÇáÈÞÑÉ) The first 20 verses (ayat) give a revealing description of the trichotomy ³³ that existed in the 2 major cities of Arabia at that time, the number of ayat devoted³⁴ to each group being highly indicative ³⁵ of the dangers involved if the Muslims are not prepared to face emergencies of conspiracy ³⁶ and betrayal. The first 5 verses describe the attitude of the believers; the following 2 verses briefly refer to the disbelievers, while the remaining 13 verses offer a vivid delineation ³⁷ of hypocrisy and ³⁸ the hypocrites. ³⁹ The believers are addressed in the following verses:  

"Alif-Lam-Mim. This, above any suspicion ⁴⁰ is the Book, a guidance to the pious, ⁴¹ who believe in the Unseen and keep up prayers and spend of what We have provided for them, and who believe in what has been sent to you and in what had been sent before you, and who are certain of the Hereafter. These are they who follow guidance from their Lord and these are they who are successful."

The disbelievers are depicted ⁴² as stubbornly hostile. ⁴³ On their hearts is the seal of disbelief and a veil of ignorance ⁴⁴ covers their sight and hearing. In the Here after they will suffer severe ⁴⁵ torment. ⁴⁶
 

3. The Hypocrites:

Most of the hypocrites were Jews. Of these the same surah devotes 13 ayat to describe them. They claim that they are believers, while in reality they are not. They try to deceive Allah and His Messenger, but they unwittingly ⁴⁷ deceive themselves. They are sick of heart, and Allah has increased that sickness, and they shall suffer severe torment since they are liars. If they are told not to spread corruption ⁴⁸ in the land, they answer that they are sincere reformers. ⁴⁹ In fact they are the source of corruption but they do not feel it. If they are told to believe as the believers have done, their answer is "Shall we believe as these fools have done?" In fact, it is they who are the real fools without knowing it. If they meet the believers, they say "We are also believers", and when they are alone with their Satans, they say, "We are one with you. We are only mocking ⁵⁰ the believers.". Allah mocks them and prolongs ⁵¹ their tyrannous ⁵² folly. ⁵³ Those have bought error for guidance; so their bargain ⁵⁴ is sure loss, and they cannot be rightly guided.
4. Muhammad and Ibrahim

(a) Ibrahim is the ancestor ⁵⁵ of Muhammad, and Muhammad was an answer to Ibrahim's supplication ⁵⁶ of old:

"Our Lord! And raise up in their midst a messenger from among them who will recite to them Your verses (revelations), and will teach them the Book and wisdom and cleanse them. Surely You are The Mighty, The Wise". (Al-Baqarah, 129).

This supplication was granted Ibrahim centuries later when Muhammad was born to proclaim to the pagan ⁵⁷ Arabs and the whole world the message of Islam.

(b) Another supplication of Ibrahim was also granted, and the answer was again centuries later. The timing of the grants from Allah is not a matter of human reckoning, ⁵⁸ for a day with Allah may equal a thousand years in our reckoning; it may sometimes mean more than 50 thousand years. This second supplication of Ibrahim was to infuse ⁵⁹in mens' hearts the earnest desire to perform the pilgrimage to His Inviolable House.

"Surely I have settled a line of my offspring in an uncultivable valley near Your Inviolable House, Our Lord! that they may keep up prayers; so incline some hearts of men that they yearn toward them, and provide them with fruits that they may be thankful." (Ibrahim: 37).

(c) With the coming of the Prophet to Yathrib (the pre-Islamic name of Al-Madinah), most of the Jews began to be cautious, ⁶⁰ and even hostile to the new Prophet and the new religion. Some of the Jewish chiefs used to tell the pagan Arabs in Yathrib that a Prophet was about to come, and had told them that with the coming of the new Prophet, the Jews would fight the Arabs and destroy them. The Jews had described the coming Prophet so clearly that the pilgrims ⁶¹ from Yathrib recognized him, when they saw him in Makkah. But the Jews had hoped that the Prophet would give them power and dominion as the "Chosen People". A story related by Saffiyyah, the daughter of Huyyay Ibn Akhtab - who later became a wife of the Prophet - tells clearly the enmity ⁶² of some of the Jewish chiefs towards the Prophet. "I was the favorite child of my father and uncle Abu Yasir," says Saffiyyah. "When I was present they took no notice of their other children. When the Prophet was staying at Quba', the two went to see him before daybreak and did not return until after night fall, weary, ⁶³ worn out, ⁶⁴ drooping ⁶⁵ and feeble. ⁶⁶ I went up to them in childish pleasure as I always did, and they were so sunk in gloom ⁶⁷ that they took no notice of me. I heard my uncle say to my father, `Is he he? Do you recognize him, and can you be sure?' `Yes!' `And what do you feel about him?' By Allah I shall be his enemy as long as I live.'" [ The Life of Muhammad, trans. by A. Guillaume. O.U.P. 1968, p.241.]

But Islam came with the fundamental ⁶⁸ principle of the Oneness of Allah, the Creator; a principle from which spring all the other concepts of the oneness of humanity, the importance of right conduct for the individual, and of justice and consultation for the state. So the Prophet as a descendant ⁶⁹ of Ibrahim turned his face in prayer towards Jerusalem. He had also hoped that the Jews, likewise the children of Ibrahim, would accept him as the new Prophet. This went on for about 16 months. Then came the order to change Al-Qiblah from Jerusalem to Al-Ka'abah which was built by Ibrahim in Makkah. The Divine order for the change of Qiblah came in the month of Sha'ban (the 8th month of the lunar year).

"We see you turning off your face into the sky; and now We do indeed turn you to a qiblah that will please you. So turn your face towards the Inviolable Mosque; and wheresoever you (all) may be, turn your faces towards it". (Al-Baqarah "Cow"- 144).

So a niche ⁷⁰ or mihrab was made in the south wall of the Madinah mosque. The mihrab has been facing towards Makkah ever since. Muslims have been turning their faces in prayer towards Makkah for nearly fifteen centuries. The same verse (Al-Baqarah - 144) speaks of the People of the Book (Christians and Jews), revealing that they know that Al-Qur'an is the Truth from their Lord. It was the Jews who were mainly addressed by these words, because the Christians were not an influential ⁷¹ community in Al-Madinah. The Jews were more formidable, ⁷² and before the change of Qiblah they had thought that they could win the Prophet over to their religion. So to them came the answer that the Qur'an has the Truth that they have distorted ⁷³  sometimes and concealed ⁷⁴ at others in their long history of disobedience and rebellion. ⁷⁵

---

War and Peace

 

Jihad

I. What is Jihad?

With the first revelation, came a short period of distress in the  Prophet's life. Although he was comforted ¹ by his wife Khadijah, and by her cousin Waraqa Ibn Nowfal, he barely realized at the time the huge responsibility he had been entrusted ² with. For a humble orphan to guide the whole world, this seemed unthinkable at first. So "the very thought of being chosen out of all mankind, alone, with such a message, ³ appalled him at first. Recognition of the Divine nature of the Call he had received involved a change in his whole mental outlook sufficiently disturbing to a sensitive and honest mind, and also the forsaking of his quiet, honoured way of life" [ M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an, Mentor, p. xi.]

The change was not merely mental; it was also physical; for without that physical change, he would not stand the weight of Revelation upon him to the extent that perspiration ⁴ often dropped from his face even on the coldest of winter nights after the Angel had left him. Without that physical change, the ascent to Heaven would have been impossible.

It took thirteen years for this state of mind to change the humble orphan to the divinely ⁵ inspired ⁶ leader of the world. The peaceful call for Allah had to defend itself, after the establishment of the state in Al-Madinah.

In one of the late Madinah suras, the permission to defend the state was given:

 
"Those who have been fought are permitted (to fight), and Allah has determined to give them victory. Those who have been unjustly driven from their homes, only because they said: Our Lord is Allah For had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others, monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is often mentioned, would indeed have been pulled down. Indeed Allah does give victory to those who seek victory for Him. Surely Allah is indeed Strong and Mighty". (Pilgrimage - 39-40).

Herein are given the rules for self-defence, which is legitimate ⁷ only for fighting against injustice and corruption. The Muslims had been gravely wronged in Makkah. They had been persecuted and forced out of their homes by the corrupt pagans. They left their homes for Al-Madinah; and here their old enemy was coming from Makkah to fight them. The Muslims then are promised victory since they have adopted Islam and have submitted to the fact that their Lord is Allah. They also want victory in the name of Allah. Verse 41 that follows sets the conditions for the justification of that victory: "putting up prayers, giving the zakat, and enjoining the moral and forbidding the immoral". Without this right for self-defence, the whole history of humanity would have changed. Monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques would have been destroyed, and corruption would have held dominion over all. The three revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam would have disappeared from the surface of the earth.

This is the meaning and significance ⁸ of Jihad in Islam. From its basic meaning denoting a Muslim's duty to purify his own individual intentions and acts, the word "Jihad" should include, according to precepts set down here, defence against corruption and injustice anywhere on earth. It involves the preservation of the right of freedom of worship for all believers of revealed religions, tolerance ⁹ for Christians and Jews, and the inalienable ¹⁰  right of religious co-existence. It also portrays ¹¹ so vividly the nature of war in the state of human existence on this earth. This repelling of one people by another is so striking a phenomenon of human history that global ¹²  peace ¹³ does not constitute a significant portion of the structure of the universal order for man.

 

II. Badr (The Glorious Victory)

1. The Few Muslims:

This was the first encounter between the Prophet and Qur'aysh. The Muslims were only three hundred and five men, including one who was so young that the Prophet told him to go home. But the young boy whose name was `Umayr wept, and the Prophet allowed him to stay and take part in the battle. That was one of the Prophet's cousins. His elder brother said later on that he had to fasten the straps <sup>14</sup>  for `Umayr's sword belt, because `Umayr was too young to fasten them himself.

This small number of believers had only seventy camels which they rode by turns, three or four men to one camel, and three horses only.

2. Consultation: ¹⁵

1 -When news came that Quraysh had set out to fight and protect their caravan, the Prophet told the people of this, and asked their advice. Abu Bakr, and `Umar stood and spoke for the Emigrants ¹⁶ in favor of advancing to meet Quraysh and fight them.

Then Al Miqdad spoke also in favor of battle, "O, Messenger of Allah go wherever Allah tells you for we are with you. We will not say as the children of Isra'il said to Musa, You and your Lord go and fight and we will stay at home'; but you and your Lord go and fight and we will fight with you, on the right and on the left, before you and behind you".

Then Sa'd Ibn Mu'ath spoke for the Ansar, "O, Messenger of Allah! We have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you decide, we are with you; by Allah, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged ¹⁷ into it, we would plunge into it with you too; not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy ¹⁸  in combat ¹⁹  It may be that Allah will let us show you something which will bring you joy, so take us along with Allah's blessing".

The Prophet was pleased with these words, and said, "Onward, for Allah has promised me one of the two parties (the caravan or victory), and by Allah, it is as though I now see the enemy's perdition" ²⁰

2 - The Prophet and his Companions marched on until they reached the water of Badr where they halted. ²¹ But Hubab Ibn Al-Munthir said to the Prophet: "Is this a place which Allah has commanded you to occupy, so that we can neither advance nor withdraw from it, or is it a matter of opinion and military tactics ²²?" When the Prophet said that it was a matter of opinion and tactics, Hubab said that they should go on to the water nearest to the enemy, and halt there, stop up the wells beyond it, and construct a cistern  ²³ so that they would have plenty of water; then they could fight their enemy who would have nothing to drink. The Prophet agreed that this was an excellent plan and it was immediately carried out.

3. And That was Ramadan:

It was Friday, Ramadan 17, in the second year of Hijrah (17 March 623), and the battle of Badr began when one of Quraysh vowed ²⁴ that he would drink of the cistern now in the hands of the Muslims. As he approached the water, he was attacked and killed by one of the Companions.

Then `Utbah asked for single combat with three of the Muslim army. With `Utbah were his brother and his son. The Prophet called on Ubaydah, Hamzah, and `Ali to fight the three disbelievers. No sooner had the combat started than the three disbelievers were killed.

The battle raged ²⁵ fiercely after that, and all the time the Prophet was praying to Allah for victory. Among his prayers was that earnest invocation for victory."O, Allah, if this band perish  ²⁶ today, you will be worshipped no more." When Abu Bakr heard this invocation, he said, "O, Prophet of Allah, be of comfort, for Allah will surely fulfil His promise to you." After a while the Prophet had a light sleep, then he awoke and said, "Be of good cheer Abu Bark. Victory from Allah is come to you. Here is Jibril holding the rein of a horse and leading it, and he is armed for war.

The command of the Prophet to his Companions was "Shuddu (Press them hard)", and the answer on their part was: "Ahadun? ahad (Allah is One! Allah is One)." On the side of the believers there were also the angels strengthening their hearts and making firm their feet. The angels had received the Divine message before: 

"When your Lord revealed to the angels: Surely I am with you, so make firm the believers. I shall cast terror into the hearts of the disbelievers; so strike their heads (above the necks), and strike their every finger (the tips of every finger)." (Al Anfal): 12).

Then, came also the Revelation: 

"So you did not kill them, but Allah killed them; and you did not throw, but Allah did throw." (Al Anfal: 17).

Many of the believers did actually see the angels taking part in the battle. One of them reported that as he was pursuing ²⁷ one of the disbelievers, the disbeliever's head flew from his body, before the believer could reach him. Other believers saw angels riding horses whose hooves ²⁸  never touched the ground. The leader of the angels was Jibril who wore a yellow turban, while the other angels wore white ones.

So the angels had the Divine Command to take part in the battle, for it was Ramadan, and it was the first victory for Islam in modern times.

When the battle ended, 50 of Quraysh were killed, and 50 others were taken captives.  ²⁹ Only 14 Muslims were killed that day.

Can the Dead Hear?

The bodies of the leaders of Quraysh who were killed in battle were put in a common grave ³⁰ . As they were thrown in the grave , the Prophet stood and said, "O people of the grave! Have you found that what Allah promised you is true. For I have found that what my Lord promised me is true." His Companions asked, "Are you speaking to dead people?" The Prophet replied, "You are not more capable of hearing me than they; but they cannot answer me."

 

The Prophet and his Family

1. The Story of a Captive:

Among the captives at Badr was Al `Abbas, the Prophet's uncle. He was brought to Al-Madinah with other captives, who were made to ransom <sup>31</sup>  themselves. `Abbas was brought before the Prophet, who ordered him to ransom himself and his two nephews, for he was a rich man. Al `Abbas replied "I was a Muslim but the people compelled me (to fight)." The Prophet's answer was, "Allah knows best about your Islam. If what you say is true, Allah will reward you for it. But to all outward appearance you have been against us, so pay us your ransom." Now the Prophet had taken twenty okes <sup>32</sup> of gold from him and he said, Messenger of Allah." So Al `Abbas agreed to pay his own ransom, the ransom of his two nephews, as well the ransom of one of his allies. But the Prophet's answer was, "That has nothing to do with your ransom. Allah took that from you and gave it to us." `Abbas said, "I have no money." "Then where is the money which you left with' Ummul-Fadl, daughter of Al-Harith when you left Makkah? You two were alone when you said to her, If I am killed so much is for Al-Fadl, `Abdullah and Qutham and`Ubaydullah." "By him who sent you with the truth", exclaimed Al `Abbas, "None but she and I knew of this. Now I know that you are the Messenger of Allah." So Al `Abbas agreed to pay his own ransom, the ransom of his two nephews, as well the ransom of one of his allies.

2. The Prophet and his Daughter:

Fatimah was the youngest of the Prophet's daughters. When she was about 20, both `Abu Bakr and `Umar showed a readiness ³³ to marry her, but the Prophet pointed out that he was in no hurry for her marriage, and he preferred that she should marry his cousin, `Ali. When she married `Ali, she did not find in the new house the many hands that were ready to help her when she was in her father's house. So she complained one day to her husband, "I have ground (corn) until my hands are blistered. ³⁴" Ali answered , "I have drawn water (for money) until I have pains in my chest. Allah has given your father some captives, so go and ask him to give us a servant." After some hesitation, she went to her father, who asked her why she had come. "I have come to give you greetings of peace", she answered, too shy to speak to him of her business. She went back to her husband, who asked her, "What did you do?", and her answer was, "I was too shy to ask him." So both husband and wife decided to go to her father, but the Prophet gently but decidedly did not give them the needed servant. "I will not give you", the Prophet said, "and let the people of the Bench (poor Muslims who lived nearest to the Prophet's house) be tormented with ³⁵  hunger. I have not enough for their need; but I will spend on them what may come from the ransom of the captives."

3. The Chapter on The Spoils (Surat Al'Anfal):

This chapter was revealed after the Battle of Badr, when there was disagreement among some of the Companions about the spoils of war. The Divine Command about the distribution of the spoils was given to the Prophet, who distributed them equally among the Companions. But the chapter defines clearly some of the objectives and policies of war in Islam.

The chapter begins by stating that the spoils of war belong originally to Allah and His Messenger. Then there is mention of the fact that some of the believers were unwilling to meet the army of Quraysh, and wanted only to get some of the merchandise in Abu Sufyan's caravan. But the Will of Allah was effected to bring destruction upon the disbelievers. When the Prophet asked Allah for victory over the leaders of Quraysh, he was reinforced  ³⁶ by the angels, and the Muslims were assured material and moral support. Then the law of no flight from battle (1) is revealed. 

 
"O you who have believed! When you meet those who disbelieve on the march, do not turn your backs. He who turns his back except in ma noeuvring or intending to join another section, incurs the anger of Allah, and his abode is Hell, a miserable destiny." (15 and 16).

The believers are also instructed how to conduct war.

"O you who have believed, when you meet an (enemy) army, stand firm (2), and remember Allah (3) often, that you may succeed".

Then there is a reminder to the believers of the favor of Allah upon them when they were few and weak, and afraid that the enemy would snatch ³⁷ them away, and He gave them refuge ³⁸  in Al-Madinah, nourished ³⁹ them with good things, and gave them a decisive victory over Quraysh.

The address to the disbelievers comes quite justly, 

 
"Say to those who disbelieve, if they cease (fighting Muslims), they will be pardoned for what is passed". But if they insist, fighting is obligatory. 

"Fight them so that there is no more persecution; And religion, all of it, is to Allah". (39) The end is the establishment of pure monotheism, with no partners or associates to Allah.

Then Muslims are taught how to divide the spoils of war. A fifth of the spoils ⁴⁰  goes to Allah and His Messenger, to the next of kin and orphans and the poor and wayfarer; and the rest is for the fighters in the cause of Allah.

---

Defeat and Final Triumph

 

I. The Jewish Tribes

Three Jewish tribes lived near Al-Madinah: Banu Qaynuqa', Banu Nadir, and Banu Qur'aythah. The nearest of these three tribes to Al-Madinah was the tribe of Qaynuqa', who lived in their fortresses ¹ to the south of Al-Madinah. Each of these three tribes were forced to exile ² from the vicinity ³ of Al-Madinah through their wilful ⁴ treachery ⁵ Qaynuqa' after the Battle of Badr, Nadir after the Battle of Uhud, and Qur'aythah during the Battle of the Trench.

1. Banu Qaynuqa:

When news of the victory of Badr came to Al-Madinah, even before the Prophet's return from Badr, the Jews showed their hatred and disappointment. One of their leaders said when he was told of the victory, "If Muhammad has killed these men (the chiefs of Quraysh), then is the inside of the earth better than its outside." This was a clear indication of the hostile attitude of the Jews as a whole.

But Banu Qaynuqa', who were the nearest Jewish tribe to Al-Madinah, were more openly hostile. When the Prophet went to them in their market-place, he had hopes that their hearts would soften to Islam, and would embrace it, as they knew from their Scriptures ⁶ that he was the Messenger of Allah. He also warned them of the fate of the chiefs of Quraysh, and advised them not to incur the anger of Allah by rejecting ⁷ his Prophethood. But their answer was manifestly ⁸ hostile.

"O Muhammad, you seem to think that we are your people. Do not deceive yourself because you encountered a people with no knowledge of war and got the better of them; for by Allah if we make war with you, you shall find that we are the men to be feared".

This Jewish tribe began to provoke ⁹ Muslim residents in their eighborhood, and actually prepared for battle, depending on the help of the hypocrites in Al Madinah. But the Prophet was quick to forestall their attack, and the Prophet and the Muslim army
encircled their fortresses on all sides, and the Muslims demanded the tribe's unconditional surrender. ¹⁰ finally, after the insolent ¹¹`pleading <sup>12</sup> of Ibn `Ubayy, a leading hypocrite, the Prophet agreed to allow them to leave the city unharmed, but to surrender all their property.

 

II.The Battle of Uhud

The battle of Uhud represents to a Muslim the incessant ¹³ need for an impeachable ¹⁴ transcendence ¹⁵ above worldly gains; it also serves as a perennial ¹⁶  warning of the dangerous consequences of disobedience, in the absence of which there is inevitable defeat.

1. Al 'Abbas's letter:

A year after the anniversary of Badr, a letter came to the Prophet in Al-Madinah from his uncle Al `Abbas in Makkah, telling the Prophet that Quraysh was preparing for an attack on Al-Madinah with an army of three thousand. At the head of the army was Abu Sufyan, who took with him his wife Hind. Wahshiyy, a slave of one of the chiefs of Makkah was in the army of Quraysh, because he was promised by his master to be a free man, if he killed Hamzah, the Prophet's uncle. Hind also wanted Wahshiyy to kill Hamzah, who had killed her father, and whenever she saw Wahshiyy in the army on the way to Al Madinah, she used to say, "Come on, your father of blackness, satisfy your vengeance and ¹⁷ ours.'

Before going to meet the enemy, the Prophet had seen in a dream that he was wearing a strong coat of ¹⁸ mail. His sword was in his hand and he noticed a dent ¹⁹ in it; and he saw some cows of his, and they were sacrificed before his own eyes. The Prophet interpreted this dream to his Companions, saying, "The dent in my sword is a blow that will be struck against myself, and the sacrificed cows are some of my Companions who will be killed, and the strong coat of mail is Al -Madinah. If you think it well it would be better to stay in Al-Madinah and leave them where they have encamped; ²⁰ for if they halt they will have halted in a bad position and if they try to enter the city, we can fight them therein.

 

2. Consultation:

(Abdullah Ibn Ubayy was the first to speak) Ibn Ubayy: "O Messenger of Allah, this is the right opinion."

Some younger Companions: "O Messenger of Allah, it would be better for us to go out of the city, and fight the enemy. Let them not think that we fear them or that we are too weak for them."

Ibn Ubayy: "O Messenger of Allah, stay in Al-Madinah, do not go out to them. We have never gone out to fight an enemy but we have met disaster, ²¹ and none has come in against us without being defeated, so leave them where they are. If they stay, they stay in evil predicament, and if they come in, the men will fight them and the women and children will throw stones on them from the wall, and if they retreat they will retreat dejected ²² and frustrated ²³ in purpose."

The Prophet: (to the Companions): "Stay in Al-Madinah, and let the women and offspring stay in the fortresses".

One of the younger Companions: "O Messenger of Allah, at Badr you had only three hundred men, and Allah gave us the day. And now we are many and have been hoping for this occasion and praying Allah for it, and He has sent it to our very door."

Ibn Ubbay: "Those young boys were not at Badr. They want to do as the others have done."

Another younger Companion: Allah gave His messenger victory at Badr, and if He will, He will grant him victory today. Let us go out with you, O, Messenger of Allah, as you did go out with the Companions for Badr. Let us go out to meet our enemy." The Prophet: "Then prepare yourselves to go out to meet your enemy."

The younger Companions: Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater, Allah is Greater)."

Ibn Ubayy: He (The Prophet) has disobeyed me, and obeyed the young ones.

Sa'd Ibn Mu'ath: You spoke too much to the Prophet about going out; and the Command usually comes down to him from Heaven. [The Prophet goes into his house]. Usayd Ibn Hudayr: Leave the matter to the Prophet.

The younger Companions: (feeling repentant). That's true. We did speak too much of going out. We should not have done that.

Sa'd: (to Usayd) Line up the men for the Prophet when he comes out. (Usayd asks the men to line up).

[The Prophet now comes out of his house, dressed for battle].

Sa'd: (to the Prophet). "We have spoken too much to you about going out
Al-Madinah; but now we feel sorry for that. The decision is now back to you.

The Prophet: "It is not for a Prophet, when he has put on his armor, to take if off until Allah has judged between him and his enemy. So look to what I commanded you, and do it, and go forward in the name of Allah. The victory is yours if you are steadfast." ²⁴ (Half way between Al-Madinah and the mountain of Uhud. Ibn Ubbay had secretly conferred with his 300 followers about their withdrawing from the battle).

Ibn Ubayy: (to his followers) "He (the Prophet) has obeyed them and disobeyed me. We do not know why we should lose our lives here. O, men, let us return to Al-Madinah."

(They begin to withdraw).

`Abdullah `Ibn Haram: (calling at them). "I adjure ²⁵ you by Allah not to abandon ²⁶ your people and your Prophet when the enemy is at hand."Some of the hypocrites: "If we knew that you would fight, we would not abandon you; but we do not think that there will be a battle.

Ibn Haram: "Enemies of Allah! Allah will avail His Prophet beyond any need of you".

(The Prophet and the Muslim army pass by a battalion ²⁷ several hundred in number).

The Prophet: (to his Companions). "Who are those?" A Companion: "They are Jews, allies of Ibn Ubayy, the hypocrite.

The Prophet: "Have they embraced Islam?"

The Companion: "No, they have not.

The Prophet: "We are not in need of them."

 

3. The Battle Rages:

The instructions of the Prophet before the battle began were very clear. To the army of 700 he said:"Let none of you fight until we give the word."

To the 50 archers, ²⁸ this was his order: "Keep the (enemy) cavarly ²⁹ away from us with your arrows and let them not come on us from the rear whether the battle goes on in our favor or against us, and keep your place so that we cannot be got at from your direction."

The battle went on with the Muslims having their weapons as bows, arrows and swords, and their battle cry "amit! amit!" - "Slay! Slay!"

The Prophet's sword was given to Abu Dujanah, who fought fiercely ³⁰ with it.

Two other brave fighters were Hamzah, the Prophet's uncle, and Ali, his cousin.

Wahshi was a slave who had been promised by his master to be set free, if he killed Hamzah. So Wahshi waited for the right moment, at which he launched ³¹ a' javelin ³² at Hamzah, who soon collapsed and fell. When Hamzah was dead Wahshi came and recovered his javelin. Then he went off to camp, for he had no business with anyone but him.

In spite of Hamzah's death, the Muslims went on attacking the disbelievers, until Quraysh began to run away defeated, after its standard bearer ³³ was killed.

Now the Muslim archers saw the enemy being defeated, and forty of the archers ran in the direction of the enemy camp for the spoils. Khalid at the head of the enemy cavalry found out that the rear of the Muslim army was open and began a counter-attack. The remaining ten archers who obeyed the order of the Prophet were all killed; and the enemy got so near the Prophet that more than five of the Companions around him were killed while defending him. Then a sharp stone from the enemy struck him in the mouth, gashing ³⁴ his lower lip and breaking one of his teeth. Later on, an enemy horseman came at the Prophet and struck at him with the sword. The blade of the sword narrowly missed the crown of the Prophet's helmet, but it drove two of the helmet rings into his cheek, and the Prophet fell to the ground.

Then a voice was heard - probably that of the enemy horseman - that the Prophet was slain. When the word spread about the death of the Prophet, many Muslims lost heart, although some went on fighting. One of those valiant ³⁵ fighters was killed, but when they came to look for his body, they found it with more than eighty wounds, and it was so disfigured that his sister recognized him by his fingers.

The Prophet was hurt, but soon he got up and led the Companions around him to a more defensible place to watch over the movement of the enemy. The wounds of the Prophet were still bleeding, as well as those of his close Companions, including Abu `Ubaydah, who had pulled out two of his own teeth when he drew out the two rings of the Prophet's helmet from his cheek.

The enemy had found that they had taken their revenge ³⁶ for those killed at Badr, and believed that the Prophet was killed. So they began to withdraw; ³⁷ and would soon be on their way back to Makkah.

The Companions had come to know that the Prophet was safe, and they went back and assembled ³⁸ around him. Then came the time for noon prayer, and the Prophet led the prayer seated throughout, and everyone followed his example. Then they lay down to rest, and many of them slept.    

"Then He sent down upon you after anguish secure slumber enveloping a group from among you". (Al-'Imran- 154).

4. The Martyrs:

Among the seventy-two martyrs of Uhud was Hamzah, the Prophet's uncle. He had been slain ³⁹ by Wahshi, the Abyssinian. By killing him he gained his freedom from his Makkan master, as well as all the spoils that Hind got after the battle. She even gave him her necklaces, pendants and anklets; and in her thirst for revenge she had mutilated  ⁴⁰ Hamza's body, and even chewed a piece of his liver.

When the Prophet saw the mutilated body of Hamzah, he felt grieved ⁴¹ and angry at the outraging sight, and said, `When next Allah grant me victory over Quraysh, I will mutilate seventy of their dead."

The Companions were also furious, ⁴² and some of them said, "By Allah, if Allah grants us victory over them in the future we will mutilate them as no `Arab has ever mutilated anyone. But soon after this, Allah sent down His revelation; 

'And if you punish, then punish as you have been punished; but if you endure patiently that is better for the patient. Endure you pantiently, and your endurance is only from Allah; and grieve not for them, and be not straitened at what they plot. Surely Allah is with those who are pious and those who do fair deeds. (An- Nahl; 126-128)

Of course the Prophet did not fulfil his threat but he expressly forbade mutilation at every battle.

Among the women who came to see the martyrs were Safiyyah, Hamzah's sister, and her sister Umaymah, who lost her son. Their cousin Hamnah came to see her dead: her husband, her brother and her uncle. `A'ishah was also there, and Fatimah, the Prophet's daughter was present; and in their sadness, they all wept over their dead, and it was a relief to the Prophet to weep with them.

Among the martyrs was a Jewish rabbi. ⁴³ When the Prophet asked about how this rabbi came to battle, he was informed that he had joined the battle early to fight the idolaters, ⁴⁴  and asked his people that the Prophet should be the only heir to his property. Then he went to battle and was killed. Later on, it is reported that a large portion of the alms ⁴⁵ that were distributed in Al-Madinah came from the rich palm groves that the Prophet inherited from this Jewish martyr. The Prophet used to call this martyr "the best of the Jews".

The Prophet then ordered that all the dead be buried together, and he prayed the funeral ⁴⁶  prayer over each one of them, seventy-two prayers in all.

 

5. Quraysh Pursued:

The Prophet and the Companions reached Al-Madinah late afternoon; but early next morning the Prophet called on the army of believers to be ready for setting out in pursuit ⁴⁷ of Quraysh, who had not given up the idea of attacking Al-Madinah again. Although many Muslims were wounded, all of them answered the call of Bilal to go with the Prophet to Badr, to show the enemy that the battle of Uhud did not make the Muslims lose courage. The Muslim army spent a few days encamped not very far away from Al-Madinah, and then returned when they were sure that the Makkans had deserted any plan of coming back.

 

6. Revelations about Uhud:

About 60 verses were revealed to the Prophet concerning Uhud. The verses remind the believers of the causes of defeat, as the majority ⁴⁸ of the archers left their places to take the spoils of the enemy. They were also reminded that at the battle of Badr there was no such disobedience and they were given victory from Allah, although their army was much smaller than at Uhud. Again the idea that victory is from Allah is stressed.
  

"And victory is only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise" (Al-Imran 126).

Verses of relief and consolation follow, indicating to the believers that they should not feel grieved for their losses in Uhud, for similar losses had been inflicted on the disbelievers at Badr. Then follows the eternal law of victory and defeat.

"And these days (of victory) we alternate between mankind." (Al-'Imran-140).

Then the fighters for the cause of Islam are told that the price of Paradise is not a trifle:

 

"Or did you reckon that you would enter Paradise before Allah knows those of you who strive truly and before He knows those who endure patiently?" (Al-'Imran- 142).

Finally there is affirmation ⁴⁹ of the role of the Prophet and Messenger. The death or killing of a Prophet or Messenger does not mean the end of the Divine message or the cessation ⁵⁰ of jihad for Islam.
  

"And Muhammad is only a messenger, and messengers have already passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn upon your heels? Whoever turns upon his heels will thereby do no harm to Allah; and Allah will reward the thankful." (Al-'Imran-144).

 

7. Khubayb:

In the peaceful months after Uhud, the Prophet told six learned Muslims to go and teach some new converts, ⁵¹ in a tribe near Makkah. An enemy band of disbelievers attacked the six Muslims, killed four of them, and the remaining two were sold to Quraysh. When one of the two was about to die, he asked time to pray two rak'at "bowings". He was told by the enemy that his life could be spared if he reverted from Islam. The answer was, "I would not revert from Islam, if by so doing I could have all that is on earth." "Do you not wish that Muhammad were in your place", the disbelievers said, "and you were sitting in your home?" "I would not that Muhammad should be pricked ⁵² by a single thorn ⁵³ that I might thereby be sitting in my home", answered Khubayb.

The devotion of the man to Islam and the Prophet made his persecutor exclaim in amazement; "I have never seen anybody love anybody or anything as the Companions of Muhammad love Muhammad!"

---

The City in Peril

The Trench ¹

1. Banu n-Nadir:

One of the Prophet's Companions killed two men of an enemy tribe, after he had given them assurances of security. The Prophet told him that this was a sin to be expiated ² for in blood-money. This enemy tribe was in alliance ³ with Banu -n-Nadir.

Banu -n-Nadir were a rich Jewish tribe and the Prophet wanted their help in paying the blood-money for the two non-Muslims belonging to the tribe in alliance with Banu-n-Nadir. The Jews agreed to the Prophet's demand but they plotted to kill him. So they asked one of them to go to the top of the house and drop a rock on him, since the Prophet was sitting with Abu Bakr, `Umar and some other Companions by the wall of one of the Jews' houses.

Their secret plot was revealed to the Prophet, and he hastily ⁴ returned to Al-Madinah, where he was joined again by the Companions, to whom he told the story of the Jews' treachery. He soon sent a messenger to the Jews telling them of their hidden plot, and informing them that their pact ⁵ with the Muslims had thus been broken. "I give you ten days to depart from my country," was the demand given to this Jewish tribe by the Prophet's messenger. Most of the members of the tribe accepted the Prophet's demand, but some of their chiefs thought that Ibn Ubayy, the chief hypocrite as well as some of the neighbouring non- Muslim tribes would come to their help.

The Prophet did not lose time in calling Muslim fighters to attack Banu-n-Nadir, who were taken by surprise. After ten days of siege, ⁶ the Prophet gave orders to cut down some of the palm-trees to destroy their insistence ⁷ on resistance ⁸.  Finally, their leader Huyayy told the Prophet that they would leave the land; and the Prophet agreed to allow them to take with them all that their camels could carry except their arms and armour. The doors of their houses were loaded on to their camels, together with all their riches and jewels. Many of them went to settle in Khaybar, and others continued their journey to Syria. The Qur'an thus speaks about Banu-n-Nadir: 

"He (Allah) is the Who has turned out those who disbelieve of the people of the Scripture from their homes to the first exile." (Al-Hasr - 2).

The marvellous precision ⁹  of the verse here distinguishes ¹⁰ the people of the Scripture as a whole, and those among them who are disbelievers. Again it is manifestly clear that Allah turned them out, and no effort on the part of the Muslims would have availed ¹¹ them without His help.

Then the Commandment is given that the land of Banu-n-Nadir and all that they had left behind them was the possession of the Prophet to be given to the poor and needy. 

"What Allah has granted His Messenger from city dwellers is for Allah and for the Messenger, and for the kindred, the orphans, the digent, and the wayfarer, so that they (the spoils) should not be exchanged only by the rich among you". (Al-Hashr- 7).

Again, the spoils are stipulated ¹² here to be divided in a way that would make for more economic equality and levelling ¹³ down of capital hoarding ¹⁴ and class animosity. ¹⁵

 

2. Salman the Persian:

Again the Jews of An-Nadir wanted to take their revenge on the Prophet. Some of them settled north with the other Jewish tribe in Khaybar. So the leaders of the Jews of An-Nadir as well as of haybar went to Quraysh and urged them to attack Al-Madinah again to destroy the city and eradicate ¹⁶ Islam.

Quraysh was happy to have the Jews around Al- Madinah as allies, together with other non-Muslim tribes in Najd as part of their expedition against Al -Madinah, which took place in Shawwal in the fifth year of Hijrah.

The Prophet realized that Quraysh and the other Arab tribes were determined "to hurl at them with one bow". So he consulted with the Companions who kept silent for a while. Then finally Salman addressed the Prophet saying, "O, Messenger of Allah, in Persia when we feared the attack of cavalry, we would surround ourselves with a trench. So let us dig a trench about us now." The Prophet and the Companions agreed to the suggestion, and they started digging it around Al-Madinah.

The Prophet made each section of the community responsible for a part of the trench, and the Prophet himself worked with them. Girt ¹⁷ with a red cloak, ¹⁸  his breast sprinkled  ¹⁹ with dust and his long hair reaching his shoulders, he worked sometimes with the Emigrants, and sometimes with Ansar (Helpers), chanting with them the same words that were chanted during the building of the First Mosque.

"O Allah, no life there is but the good Hereafter. Forgive the Helpers and the Emigrants."

Salman was busy digging with the Helpers and Emigrants, who all admired him. Some of the Emigrants would say, "Salman is ours", because he was also an emigrant from his home country, Persia. Then the Helpers would respond saying "He is one of us, and we have more right to him." But the Prophet took Salman to himself, saying, "Salman is one of us, the people of the House."

On two occasions the Prophet was called upon by the Companions for help. A rock gave the diggers of the trench much trouble. So the Prophet dropped into the trench, took the pickaxe ²⁰ and gave the rock such a blow that lightning flashed back over the city. This happened a second and a third time. Then Salman asked the Prophet for an interpretation of the lightning. The Prophet answered, "Did you see them, Salman?" By the light of the first the Prophet saw the castles of the Yaman; by the light of the second he saw Syria and the West, and by the light of the third he saw the white palace of Kisra at Al-Mada'in.

 

3. Conduct of War:

a - Quraysh and Banu  Quraythah:

The Muslims were only three thousand, who encamped outside of the town, with the trench separating them from the enemy. Quraysh came with more than ten thousand, and they were joined by the Najdi tribe of Ghatafan. They all encircled the city from all directions, except from the south-east where the fortresses of Banu Quraythah blocked the way.

The leader of Quraysh was Abu Sufyan, with Khalid again on the cavalry; but there was no hope of crossing the trench. So they thought of seeking the help of Banu Quraythah, with whom the Prophet had concluded a treaty of mutual defence.

Then Huyayy Ibn Akhtab of Banu-n-Nadir went to Ka'b Ibn Asad, the chief of Banu Quraythah and urged him to renounce the agreement with the Prophet, and join forces with Abu Sufyan and his Confederates, ²¹  since all these enemy forces were determined on the total destruction of Al-Madinah. After some hesitation, Ka'b Ibn Asad agreed to renounce ²² his pact with the Prophet; and now there was real danger with all these forces completely surrounding Al-Madinah.

The Prophet sent two leaders of the Helpers to make sure whether Banu Quraythah had actually broken their pact with him. He told them that if the treachery is true, they would inform him in a subtle ²³  way; but if Banu Quraythah are still loyal to their agreement, they would speak out before the people. The instructions were clearly intended to preserve the  morale ²⁴  of the Muslim army, who began to show traces ²⁵  of the effect of the siege.

Then the Prophet thought of negotiating ²⁶  with Ghatafan,the Najdi tribe stationed with Quraysh round Al-Madinah. He intended to send to the leaders of Ghatafan offering them a third of the dates of Al- Madinah on condition that they would go back with their followers and leave Quraysh alone surrounding Al-Madinah.

 

b - Consultation:

Before the treaty with Ghatafan was written down, the Prophet sent to the two leaders of the Helpers and asked them their advice. They said, "Is it a thing you want us to do, or something Allah has ordered you to do which we must carry out? Or is it something you are doing for us?" The Prophet said, "It is something I am doing for your sake. By Allah I would not do it were it not that I have seen the Arabs have shot at you from one bow, and gathered against you from every side and I want to break their offensive  ²⁷against you." Sa'd lbn Mu'ath readily answered, "We and these people were polytheists ²⁸  and idolaters, not worshipping Allah nor knowing Him, and they never hoped to eat a single date (of ours) except as guests or by purchase. Now, after `Allah has honoured and guided us to Islam and made us mighty by you, are we to give them our property? We certainly will not. We will give them nothing but the sword until Allah decides between us." Then the Prophet said, "You shall have it so." So the Prophet agreed to Sa'd's opinion and no contacts with Ghatafan took place.

 

c - Days of Trial:

The days passed, and the Muslims were beginning to feel the results of the siege, with the enemy on all sides, and the enemy cavalry intent on crossing the trench at its narrowest point. Four horsemen did succeed in crossing that narrow part of the trench; among them was `Amr Ibn Wudd, who was a valiant warrior. Now `Amr challenged anyone  ²⁹ to fight him, and `Ali accepted the challenge <sup>30</sup>. The Prophet tried to stop `All from fighting `Amr, but `Ali was intent on fighting him.

The encounter between the two heroes has been reported to have gone on like this:

Bali: "Don't be in a hurry. No weakling has come to answer your challenge."

`Amr: "Who are you.

Bali: "I am 'Ail"

`Amr: "Let it be one of your uncles who is older than you, my nephew, for I don't want to shed ³¹ your blood."

Bali: "But I do want to shed your blood."

`Amr: (getting angry and drawing his sword. He was still mounted). Bali: "How can I fight you when you are on a horse? Dismount and be on a level with me." `Amr: (dismounts  ³² and advances towards Bali and aiming a blow into Bali's shield). Bali: (giving `Amr a blow on the vein at the base of the neck). `Amr: (falls to the ground, fatally ³³ wounded). Bali, and the Muslims who saw the fight cried: "Allah Akbar" Bali: (going back towards the Prophet smiling with joy, he was asked by `Umar). `Umar: "Didn't you strip him of his armor? It is among the best that could be found among the Arabs." Bali: "When I had struck him down, he turned his private parts towards me and I felt ashamed to despoil ³⁴ him. He had also said that he did not want to shed my blood because my father was a friend of his."

 

4 - Nu'aym:

The Prophet felt that the days were passing without much fighting. Among the Muslims only Sad Bin Mu'ath was fatally wounded. But the Muslims began to feel the weight of hunger and weariness ³⁵ in spite of their steadfast endurance. They also knew that the enemy was feeling also the shortage  ³⁶ of pasture ³⁷ and provisions. At that time came Nu'aym of the tribe of Ash'. He was not a confirmed polytheist and he began to have sympathy and admiration for the men of the new religion who have shown glorious ³⁸  resistance to an army more than three times their strength.

He had already inwardly ³⁹ become a Muslim, when he came to ask to see the Prophet after the proposed alliance with Ghatafan was abandoned.

When he was taken to the Prophet, the Prophet asked him why he had come. Nu'aym answered, "I have come to declare my belief in Allah and testify that you have brought us the truth. So bid me to do what you will, O, Messenger of Allah, for you have only to command me, and I will fulfil your orders. My people and others know nothing about my Islam".

"To the utmost ⁴⁰ of your power", said the Prophet, "Set them at odds with each other." Nu'aym asked permission to lie and the Prophet said, "Say what you wish to draw them off from us, for war is deception." So Nu'aym went off to Banu Quraythah with whom he had always been friendly, and said, "Quraysh and Ghatafan are not like you: the land is your land; your property, your wives and your children are in it; you cannot leave it and go somewhere else." He went on to remind them that if Quraysh failed to de story Al-Madinah, then Banu Quraythah would be left alone to face the Prophet. "So do not fight along with these people (Quraysh)", Nu'aym went on, "Until you take hostages ⁴¹ from their chiefs who will remain in your hands as security that they will fight Muhammad with you until you make an end of him." Banu raythah found that this was an excellent advice and promised not to tell u'aym's people or Quraysh that he had given them that advice Then Nu'aym went to Quraysh and told Abu Sufyan that the Jews had regretted their action in opposing the Prophet and had sent to tell him so, saying would you like us to get hold of some chiefs of the two tribes Quraysh and Ghatafan and hand them over to you so that you can cut their heads off? Then we can join you in exterminating ⁴² the rest of them." He also told them that the Prophet had sent word back to accept their offer; and Nu'aym concluded, "So if the Jews send to you to demand hostages, don't send them a single man."

Finally, Nu'aym went to his tribe Ghatafan and told them the same story that he had told Quraysh.

Then Quraysh began to be suspicious ⁴³ of Bani Quraythah. But Quraysh sent word to Bani Quraythah that it was time to make a final attack on Al-Madinah; and Banu Quraythah asked for hostages from Quraysh. That proved that Nu'aym's words were true, and that the Jews had betrayed them; and Quraysh refused to give some of their chiefs as hostages to Bani Quraythah.

 

5 - Divine help:

Nearly two weeks had passed and the armies of Quraysh and Chatafan were suffering from lack of provisions and the death of their horses and camels. For three days the Prophet used to offer this supplication, "O, Allah, Revealer of the Book, Swift Caller to account, turn the Confederates to flight and cause them to quake."

Then came the cold wind from the east with torrents ⁴⁴ of rain which forced every man to take shelter.⁴⁵ The forces of nature were all against the invading armies; and throughout their camps not one tent was left standing nor any fire left burning, and the men were shivering with cold. After nearly a month, the enemy army led by Abu Sufyan broke camp and moved off. But the Prophet and the Muslims waited until dawn. After dawn prayer, the light of the day revealed the total emptiness of the plain after the departure ⁴⁶ of the enemy. The Muslims were given permission by the Prophet to go back to their homes. The Prophet and the few Companions escorting  ⁴⁷ him were the last Muslims to leave the field of battle.

 

6 - Divine Revelation:

The thirty third Surah of Al-Qur'an (verses 9-25) describes the situation during the battle of the Trench. The strain on the believers is described in this way: 

"O you who have believed remember Allah's favour upon you when (enemy) hosts came upon you; so we sent upon them wind and (angel) hosts you did not see. And Allah was Discerner of what you did." (Al-Ahzab-9).

"When they came from above you and from under you, and when eyesight swerved, and when hearts rose up into larynxes, and you were thinking (strange) thoughts about Allah" (Al- Ahzab- 10).

"Then the believers were tried, and they were quaked a severe quaking". (Al-Ahzab-11).

Then the verses speak of those who wavered ⁴⁸ and wanted to withdraw from the battle on the pretext ⁴⁹ that their houses were exposed to enemy attack, while the Prophet is described as the ideal for every Muslim in times of war and peace. 

"There has been a fair example for you in the Messenger of Allah; for those who hope for (reward) from Allah, and on the Hereafter, and those who remember Allah much." (Al-Ahzab-21).

The steadfast among the believers were given a special mention in the following verse: 

"And when the believers saw the Confederates (parties) they said, `This is what Allah and His Messenger have promised us. And Allah and His Messenger have spoken (truth) faithfully. And it only increased them (the believers) in belief and submission". (Al-Ahzab-22).

The failure of the disbelievers' plan is further mentioned: 

"And Allah has sent back the disbelievers with their fury and they did not attain any good; and Allah was a sufficient (Protector) to the believers from fighting. And Allah has been Strong Mighty". (Al-Ahzab-25).

 

7 - Banu Quraythah:

When the Prophet went to Al-Madinah, he and his Companions performed the noon prayer, after which Jibril (Gabriel) was sent to him and asked him if he had abandoned fighting; and the Prophet answered, "Yes." Then Jibril said, Allah commands you to go to Bani Quraythah. I am about to go to shake their stronghold. ⁵⁰ The Prophet then ordered that none should perform the afternoon prayer until they had reached Bani Quraythah. The banner was given to Ali and the Prophet set out afterwards with the majority of his army until they reached a well on the way to Bani Qurauthah where they performed the afternoon prayer. They waited there until the remaining part of the army joined them. Some did not even arrive except after the last evening prayer, not having prayed the afternoon prayer because the Prophet had told them not to do so until he got to Bani Quraythah. They had been much occupied with warlike preparations and they refused to pray until they came to Bani Quraythah in accordance ⁵¹ with his instructions; and they prayed the afternoon prayer there after the last evening prayer. Allah did not blame ⁵² them for that in His Book, nor did the Prophet reproach ⁵³ them.

Banu Quraythah were besieged for twenty five days. Then they sent to the Prophet to ask him to let them consult ⁵⁴ Aba Lubabah, a Companion from the Muslim tribe of Aws. Aba Lubabah advised them to surrender, ⁵⁵  but, because he was softened  ⁵⁶ by the sight of their wailing  ⁵⁷ women and children, he indicated to them, by pointing at his throat, that surrender would mean death. Soon Aba Lubabah realized that he had betrayed his trust by pointing to his throat. "My two feet had not moved from where they were", he said, "Before I was aware that I had betrayed the Messenger of Allah". His face changed color and he recited the verse: 

"Surely we are for Allah, and surely to Him are we returning." (Al-Baqarah-156).

He went back to Al-Madinah, and into the Mosque, where he bound himself to one of the pillars, saying, "I will not stir from this place until Allah accept my repentance for what I did."   When the Prophet heard what had happened to Abu Lubabah, he said, "If he had come to me I would have prayed Allah to forgive him; but seeing that he had behaved as he did, it is not for me to free him until Allah shall accept his repentance": ⁵⁸

Abu Lubabah remained at the pillar for more than ten days, after which came forgiveness from Allah to him. He was so overjoyed ⁵⁹ that he insisted on being freed ⁶⁰  by the Prophet himself. When the Prophet passed by him as he was going out to prayer, he set him free.

At last Banu Quraythah opened the gates of their fortresses and submitted ⁶¹ to the Prophet's judgment. The men, seven hundred or so, were led out with their hands bound behind their backs, and the women and children were assembled, and the Prophet put them in the charge of Abdullah Ibn Salam, the former chief rabbi of the Bani Qaynuqa'. The arms and armour were also collected; and the jars of wine were opened and their contents poured away. The Muslim tribe of Aws asked the Prophet to show leniency  ⁶²  to Bani Quraythah who had been their former allies. The Prophet agreed to have Sa'd Ibn Mu' ath, the leader of the `Aws tribe to give judgment on the Jews.

But Sa'd was a man of justice; like `Umar he had been against sparing  ⁶³ the prisoners at Badr, and their opinion had been confirmed by the Revelation. Many men of Quraysh who had been ransomed at Badr had come out against the Muslims in Al-Madinah at Uhud and again at the Trench. So past experience was not an argument for leniency. It was Sa'd who had come to Bani Quraythah to remind them of their pact with the Prophet, but they insisted on breaking it when they saw that the defeat of the Muslims was certain.   So Sa'd, after he had got his acceptance from his tribe as well as from the Prophet, said, "Then I judge that the men shall be killed, the property divided, and the women and children made captive." The Prophet said to him, "You have judged with the judgement of Allah from above the seven heavens."

Al-Qur'an aptly mentions the fate  ⁶⁴ of Bani Quraythah in these words: The land which the Muslims had not trodden ⁶⁵ may be interpreted to mean all land gained by Muslims ever since.    

"And He (Allah) brought down those of the Scripture people who backed them from their stronghold, and he cast terror into their hearts; some you killed and some you captured." (Al-Ahzab-26).

"And He caused you to inherit their land and their dwellings, and their property, and a land you have not trodden (Khaybar), and Allah has determined all things". (Al-Ahzab-27).

The land which the Muslims had not trodden ⁶⁵ may be interpreted to mean all land gained by Muslims ever since.

 

8 - lbn Ubayy:

Ibn Ubayy was the head of his tribe, who together with the other residents of Al-Madinah welcomed the Prophet when he first came to the city. Out of courtesy  ⁶⁶ at first, Ibn Ubbay used to stand before the Prophet gave his Friday sermon and to urge ⁶⁷  the people of Al-Madinah to follow the Prophet, and fight his  enemies with him. But after the decisive ⁶⁸  battles of the Prophet, he began to show his disaffection ⁶⁹  and sedition; ⁷⁰  and for this he has been called the head of the hypocrites.

Six months after the surrender of Bani Quraythah, the Prophet led a small company of Muslims to punish Bani Lihyan for having killed Khubayb and his party and then another company to punish' `Uyaynah Ibn Hisn at a place called Thi Qarad. Uyaynah Ibn Hisn had raided the out-skirts of Al-Madinah and killed a Muslim and taken away his wife and camel.

A third company of Muslims were led by the Prophet to fight Banil-Mustaliq who were preparing to attack Al-Madinah. Many men of that tribe were killed and many others were taken captives. Among the women captives was Juwayriyah, daughter of their leader, Al-Harith. She later became a wife of the Prophet. After her marriage with the Prophet, a hundred families of her people were released from captivity.

While the army was camping, a quarrel took place between two men who wanted to draw water from one of the wells near the camp. One of them called on the Ansar (the Helpers) to save him, and the other called on the Emigrants. When more people were about to take part in the fight, the closer Companions intervened ⁷¹ on both sides and no blood was shed. When Ibn Ubayy heard of that incident, and learnt that an Emigrant was the one who dealt the first blow at the Helper (Ansari), he said, "Have they (the Emigrants) gone so far as this? They seek to take precedence ⁷² over us. They outnumber us in our own country, and nothing so fits us and these rags of Quraysh

(the Emigrants) but the ancient saying, `Feed fat your dog and it will feed on you? By Allah when we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will drive out the humbler." ⁷³

The Prophet was angry when he heard of this, and `Umar suggested that Ibn Ubayy should be killed, but the Prophet's answer was firm. "What if men should say, O`Umar, that Muhammad kills his companions?" When Ibn Ubayy was asked if he had really said what had been reported, he came straight to the Prophet and swore that he had said no such thing.

The Prophet dismissed the matter for the time being, and he gave orders for the army to move off shortly after midday. They kept on marching for the remaining part of the day, and the whole night. They slept until dawn, and then set out again, all the while stopping only to perform prayers. During the march Usayd Ibn Hudayr said to the Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah, you are travelling at a disagreeable time, a thing you have redone before." The Prophet said, "Have you not heard of what your friend said? He asserted ⁷⁴ that if he returns to Al-Madinah the mightier will drive out the humbler." Usayd answered, "But you will drive him out if you decide to; he is the humble and you are the mighty.' Then Usayd added, "O Messenger of Allah, treat him kindly, for Allah brought you to us when his people were stringing ⁷⁵ beads ⁷⁶ to make him a crown, and he thinks that you have deprived him of a Kingdom."

When `Abdullah Ibn Ubayy heard what his father had said, he came to the Prophet saying, "I have heard that you want to kill Ibn Ubayy for what you have heard about him. If you must do it, then order me to do it, and I will bring you his head. The Khazraj tribe know that they have no man more dutiful to his father than I, and I am afraid that if you order someone else to kill him, my honor will not permit me to see his killer walking among men and I shall kill him (the killer), thus killing a believer for a disbeliever, and so I should go to Hell. But the Prophet said, "Nay, but let us deal kindly with him and make much of his companionship while he is with us."

The camp was now not far from Al-Madinah and there was no water for ablution .⁷⁷ On this occasion, the verse permitting dry ablution was revealed. 

"So if you do not find water look for pure earth, wiping therewith your faces and your hands." (An Nisa'-43).

---

Peace with Makkah

Before the Conquest ¹ of Makkah

1. The Hudaybiyah:

The Prophet stayed in Al-Madinah for two months, and in the third month he asked his Companions to prepare for the Lesser Pilgrimage (`Umrah). The Prophet was bareheaded and put on the pilgrim's dress, made of two pieces of unstitched ² cloth, one wrapped round the waist covering the lower part of the body, and the other draped round the shoulders. Consecrating himself for the pilgrimage with two rak'ahs, he now uttered ³ the pilgrim's first invocation: ⁴ "Here I am at Your service, O, Allah." Then the Prophet and his Companions set out for Makkah driving seventy camels to be sacrificed in the sacred precinct, ⁵  where their meat would then be distributed among the poor of Makkah.

When Quraysh heard of the departure of the pilgrims from Al-Madinah, they decided that they should not allow them to enter Makkah; and they began to be ready for war. When the Prophet heard of their determination, he said, "Alas, Quraysh! War has devoured ⁶ them! What harm ⁷ would they have suffered if they had left me and the rest of the Arabs to go our own ways? If they should kill me that is what they desire, and if Allah should give me victory over them they would enter Islam in flocks. ⁸ If they do not do that (i.e. enter Islam) they will fight while they have the trength, so what are Quraysh thinking of? By Allah, I will not cease to fight for the mission ⁹ with which Allah has entrusted me until He makes it victorious ¹⁰ or I perish."

Then Quraysh sent an envoy ¹¹ to the Prophet to try to persuade ¹² him not to enter Makkah. He sat to the Prophet and tried to be too friendly with him, even at times taking him by the beard when he addressed him. This so much infuriated ¹³ one of the Emigrants that he threatened ¹⁴ to cut off his hand. The envoy's message was not successful; but he went back to Quraysh very much impressed by the love and reverence that Muslims had for the Prophet. So he said to Quraysh, "O people, I have been sent as envoy to kings - to Caesar and Chosroes and the Negus - and I have not seen a king whose men so honor him as the Companions of Muhammad honor Muhammad. If he commands anything, they almost out-strip ¹⁵  his word in fulfilling it; when he performs his ablution (wudu), they nearly fight for the water thereof; ¹⁶  when he speaks, their voices are hushed ¹⁷ in his presence; nor will they look him full in the face, but lower their eyes in reverence for him. He has offered you a reasonable concession; ¹⁸  therefore accept it from him."Finally the Prophet decided to send an envoy to Makkah. The Prophet at first wanted `Umar to be his envoy; but `Umar suggested `Uthman as a better envoy. The Prophet accepted `Umar's suggestion and `Uthman was sent to Quraysh. Having heard what `Uthman had to say, the leaders of Quraysh said, "If you want to go round the House, go round it." He said he could not do so until the Prophet did, and Quraysh kept him a prisoner with them. Then the Prophet and the Muslims were informed that `Uthman had been killed.

When the Prophet heard that `Uthman had been killed, he said that they would not return to Al-Madinah until they fought the enemy. Before they could fight, he called the Companions to give their pledge ¹⁹  (bay'ah). This pledge has been called the Pledge of Satisfaction (Bay'atar Ridwan); and all the believers offered their pledge of allegiance. ²⁰