By TALIP ALPThis wonderful article was written by our brother Talip Alp and was initially published...

By

TALIP ALP

TEHRAN -IRAN

Presented by www.ziaraat.com

First edition 1969Third revised edition 1976

Sixth edition 2000

© All rights reserved

E-mail: [email protected] mhttp: //www.wofis.com/

Translated and published byWorld Organization for Islamic Services,

P. 0. Box 11365-1545,Tehran - 15837,

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.


mailto:[email protected]



http://www.wofis.com/

http://www.wofis.com/

In the Name of Allah,the Most Compassionate, the Merciful

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all beings;the Most Compassionate, the Merciful;the Master of the Day of Judgement;

Thee only we serve, and to Thee alone we prayfor succour;

Guide us in the straight path;the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,

who are immune from Thy wrathand have never gone astray.

0' Allah send your blessings to the head ofyour messengers and the last of

your prophets, Muhammadand his pure and cleansed progeny.Also send your blessings to all your

prophets and envoys.


Dear Reader,

The book you now have in hand is oneof the many Islamic publications distributedby this Organization throughout the world indifferent languages with the aim of conveyingthe message of Islam to the people of theworld.

You may read this book carefully andshould you be interested to have furtherstudy on such publications you can contact usthrough a letter. Naturally, if we find you tobe a keen and energetic reader we shall giveyou a deserving response in sending you someother publications of this Organization.


You may express your views on thispublication and the subject matter discussedin it, and how far you have benefited from itor which part of the subject matter has proveduseful to you and your environment. You willbe able, in this manner, to introduce yourselfas one of our good and active reader.

Meanwhile, you can keep our addressat the disposal of your friends and thoseindividuals interested in Islamic Studies.

Publication Secretary

World Organization for Islamic Services


CONTENTS

Foreword ....................................

Introduction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Age of Disenlightenment ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Messenger ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Messenger in Medina ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Battle of Badr ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Battle of Uhud ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The Jews ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

3

5

12

17

30

31

38

46


FOREWORD

We are proud to present in this booklet atopic that is so dear in every Muslim's heart.It is the life of our Prophet Muhammad (peacebe upon him and his progeny). It is needless toemphasise the importance of learning this sub-lime example and practical expression of theIslamic message. The Tradition of the Prophetis regarded as the model for all Muslims anddefines the general features of a Muslim's life.The Prophet's attributes and qualities are su-preme and an understanding of his personalityrequires very careful study of his contempo-rary conditions. However, we hope that thisbooklet will be stimulating for further readingsof a more extensive nature.


This wonderful article was written by ourbrother Talip Alp and was initially publishedby the Muslim Youth Association in theUnited Kingdom.

Since our first publication of 5,000 copiescreated such a great demand for the book-let, we have decided to reprint this bookletregularly.

We pray to the Almighty Allah for guid-ance and success in our work.

World Organization for Islamic Services( WOFIS)

(Board of Writing, Translation and Publication)

Ist May 1976Tehran - IRAN


In the name of Allah the Beneficent,the Merciful

INTRODUCTION

"Ours is an age of scientific progress,an era of technological advancement, a cen-tury of ceaseless inventions. In this time ofphenomenal material development man hasattained a high standard of knowledge ofnatural sciences compared with what he knewabout a century or so ago. Consequently theknowledge and experience he has gained overthe last few decades have given him courageand confidance to the extent that madehim undertake highly perilous and adven-turous projects. He has successfully reachedthe bottom of oceans and climbed to the

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heights of the sky. Now-a-days he is wildlyengaged in a keen competition to land on otherplanets. Having witnessed all these achieve-ments one might tend to think that manought to be congratulated on his multiplicityof contributions to the world of civilisation inthe field of science and technology. Unfortu-nately facts exist that prevent us from feelingvery proud of belonging to the human race.The bitter experience acquired from the lasttwo World Wars has led to disappointmentand resentment. The initial optimism inducedin the people's mind by the victories of man'sintellect over the forces of nature abandonedits place, after the two catastrophes, to feel-ings of indignation and utter disgust. Thecrystal-clear evidence points to the fact thatthe monopoliser of knowledge turned out tobe devoid of such human qualities as mag-nanimity, sense of justice and equity, carefor humanity, in short all values that serveto distinguish men from beasts. Mistakes of

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the past filled people's minds with distrust andadded to their disunity and enmity. Underthe prevailing circumstances the prospect ofworld peace, to be realistic, is not at hand,nor have we any reason to believe that thoseresponsible for the present chaos and miseryare in quest of world peace and happiness.On the contrary, all that the big powers ofthe world hanker after is supremacy over therest of the world. Modern society is sickand bewildered. It should be noted that thisis not the first time that man has stumbledinto the same pitfall created by the absence oftrue guidance; one that takes into full con-sideration man's weaknesses as well as hisvirtues. No one in his right senses can supposehuman intellect to be capable of formulatinga way of life which, if followed strictly, wouldsave him from falling into error.

Many present-day ideologies claim to havethe goodwill and qualities that will lead man


to prosperity and happiness. However, in prac-tice they have been seen to be insincere aswell as incompetent to provide man with whatthey have promised him - rather than solvingour problems they have added to them bycreating a world torn by dissensions andsocial ailments." In our opinion the world isin desperate need of Islam - the religion ofpeace and submission to the Creator of theuniverse - the religion of Abraham, Moses,Jesus and Muhammad, upon all of whom bepeace. Having witnessed the bankruptcy of alltoo many "isms" once again we feel the-urgeto refer to the Last Prophet of Islam as thelast hope for the salvation of us all.

In reply to a request of an old studentseeking his advice al-Ghazali wrote: "My dearand beloved son, may Allah number youamong His obedient servants and lead youalong the path of His friends. Know that thesource of the best of advices is the Messenger-

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ship of the Prophet upon whom be the peaceand blessings of Allah. If by now you haveacquired some enlightenment out of this sourcewhat would you need my advice for? Butif still you have not derived beneficial lessonsfrom it then what did you earn and learnduring all these years?" (1).

Al-Ghazali remarks on another occasion"If one considers the sayings of the Messengerof God (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) and what is related inthe Tradition about his concern for showing topeople the true way and his graciousness inleading men by various acts of sympathy andkindness to improve their character and con-duct and to better their mutual relations - lead-ing them, in fine, to what is the indispensablebasis of all betterment, religious and secularalike - if one considers this, one comes to thenecessary knowledge that his good will to-wards his people is greater than that of afather towards his child." (2)

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1 0

The study of the life of the Prophet cannever be overemphasized for only by a carefulexamination of his personality throughout alife-long struggle can one understand the spiritof the Divine Message with which he wasentrusted. Says the Qur'an:

"Verily in the Messenger of Allah youhave an excellent example for him who hopesin Allah and the latter day and remembersAllah much". (Quran, 33:21)

It also states:


"...... And whatsoever the Messengergives you, take (accept) it, and whatsoever heforbids you, give it up". (Qur'an, 59:7)

Clearly, these two Quranic verses aresufficient to urge a Muslim to undertake aserious study of the Prophetic Traditions andbehave accordingly.

Fortunately the way of life of God'sMessenger, private and public, has been record-ed in considerable detail. His followers wentso far as to count the number of grey hairs inhis beard and even write detailed descriptionsof his shoes. The first written work (siyar)relating to the life of the Prophet is ascribedto `Urwah, who is said to have met some ofthe companions of the Prophet, and his stu-dent az-Zuhri. Some have ascribed the firstwritten work to Ibn Is'haq who passed away

1 1


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in Baghdad in the year 150 A.H. The oldestand most reliable of such books that havecome down to us are those written by al-Waqidi (d.207 A.H.), Ibn Hisham (d.313 A.H.)and at-Tabari (d.315 A.H.) (3). A great dealof the sayings of the Prophet, however, startedto be written during his lifetime (4) and werecompiled after his passing away. It need hardlybe stated that the "science of Tradition" ishighly developed and the method of authenti-cation is very impressive.

AGE OF DISENLIGHTENMENT

The meaning and importance of theProphet's message can best be comprehendedagainst the background of pre-Islamic Arabia.Historians refer to this period as the "era ofignorance" (Jahiliyah). Before the inceptionof Islam the Arabian peninsula was a scene ofsocial disorder. Depending on their localities


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its inhabitants had adopted various beliefssuch as Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianismetc. Idol-worshippers, however, constituted themajority. It is reckoned that twenty centuriesbefore the advent of Islam, Prophet Ismael wassent to guide the tribes of Hijaz, Yemen and`Amaligah. During this long span of time, how-ever, most of his teachings were obliterated.

Only the concept of Oneness of God hadlived for a considerable time - six or sevencenturies before the beginning of the MuslimEra, Hijrah. `Amr ibn Luwayy, the then Mec-can chief brought an idol from Balga where hehad been for medical treatment. Later on,some three hundred and sixty idols were madeand erected in and around the Ka'bah. As timewent by even idol-worshipping deterioratedto the extent that an idolator would eat hisidol made of dates when he felt hungry anduse the stones to clean himself in toilet.(5) This should serve as an unforgettable lesson


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to the present generation and those to come

as to how negligence and the absence of remem-brance of God, and the authority emanatingfrom His message led an otherwise capablenation to the depth of darkness.

Some of the Arab tribes regarded daugh-ters as a nuisance and when they attainedthe age of five or six they would be buriedalive. Some killed their children for fear ofpoverty.

In that lawless society morals had becomevery loose indeed. When a man died, his wifeor wives were inherited by the nearest malerelation. In this way one could take his stepmother as his wife. There was no law pertain-ing to marriage or divorce. Hence a man couldacquire as many wives as he wished and di-vorce them when he pleased. To divorce hiswife it was sufficient for a man to say to her"you are to me as the back of my mother;"


1 5

but she would not be permitted to marryanother man. Thus women used to be treatedlike articles of trade to be bought, sold orbartered away.

Slaves, female and male alike, were thevictims of that cruel society which held un-limited power over their life and death.

Gambling, drunkenness and fornication,cruelty and plunder were objects of pride forthe Arabs. Such was their daily life.

The pre-Islamic Arabs led a tribal life.The concept of nationhood or government wasforeign to them. Inter-tribal relations wereworse than could be imagined. In the fiftyyears before Islam one hundred and thirtytwo battles took place between the tribes.This warlike character of the Arabs is reflectedin their ancient poetry. One Arab poet wrote:


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"If an enemy tribe we do not find,We go to war with a related or friend tribe,And our war-lust is thus quenched." (6)

Arabs were not people of letters. "Evenin a large town like Mecca, where commerceflourished and traders required to consign towriting a memorandum of their transactionson credit, there were no more than fifteen ortwenty persons who knew to read and write...al-Baladhuri even names these seventeen in-dividuals". (7)

Despite all that has been said so far andthe scores of other shortcomings which thepre-Islamic Arabs had, they also possessed certain admirable qualities. They were outspoken,hospitable, generous, brave, and never yieldingto their enemies. However in the absence ofsound instructions even the best of qualitiesare bound to be misused.


1 7

But was this social decadance peculiarto the Arabs alone? Certainly not. Their con-temporaries might have led a more luxuriousand civilised life but were in, more or less,the same state otherwise. Thus ignorance hadbrought mankind to the brink of destructionfrom which only something miraculous couldsave them.

THE MESSENGER

When mankind was so deeply engrossedin futile and harmful practices, Allah most highout of His endless mercy raised a Prophetfrom among them to purify them and restoretheir lost dignity. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.),the posthumous son of Àbdullah, the youngestson of Àbd al-Muttalib, a most importantleader of Mecca, and Aminah, daughter ofWahab, son of Àbd Manaf, son of Zuhrah,the chief of Banu Zuhrah, was born, according


1 8

to the majority, on 12th Rabi` al-Awwal,(probably 22nd April) 571 A.D.* The name"Muhammad" (meaning "The praised one")was given to him by his grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib. When questioned about his choiceof this uncommon name the latter replied."I desire that he may be praised in the heav-ens for the sake of God and in the earthfor the sake of His creatures." A week or twoafter his birth, Muhammad (p.bx.h.a.h.p.) wasgiven in charge of a wet-nurse called Halimah,from Banu Sa'd, as this was the custom ofthe nobility of Mecca. Halimah nursed Muham-mad (p.bx.h.a.h.p.) for five years, who inreturn honoured and showed deep affectiontowards her and her family, throughout hislife. It is related that once there was a year offamine and Halimah paid a visit to him. Hegave her a camel burdened with goods and

*According to the majority of Shi'ah historians, the Prophet's birthday was on 17th Rabi` al-Awwal.


nayeb

forty sheep.

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Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was about sixyears old when his mother died. From thenonward he was brought up by his grandfatherÀbd al-Muttalib, an affectionate old man.And upon the death of Àbd al-Muttalib twoyears later the guardianship of Muhammad(p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) passed to Abu T~lib a kindand generous uncle.

Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was liked andrespected by all since his youth for his noblecharacter, charming manners and exceptionalqualities; and his relations with the peopleearned him the appellations "al-Amin " and"as-sadiq " meaning the "trustworthy" and the"truthful" respectively. Àbdullah ibn Abi al-Hamsa° reports that long before Muhammadproclaimed his mission he had some transactionwith him. The transaction was not completedwhen the former left Muhammad, promising


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to be back. `Abdullah forgot about the affaircompletely. "Three days later," says `Abdullah"when I was walking past the place I foundhim still waiting for me. He was not annoyedwith me at all for my carelessness. All thathe said was: `you put me to the trouble ofwaiting here for three days'."

Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was abouttwenty-three years old when the four leadingfamilies of the Quraysh undertook the reconstruction of the Ka'bah, the sacred House ofGod, after its walls were damaged by flood.All went well until the stage was reached whenthe sacred black stone had to be installed inits proper place. The four, unable to sharethe honour of placing the stone, were soon ateach other's throats. The argument had goneso far that Mecca seemed to be at the brinkof a civil war. Observing the serious situationAN Umayyah ibn al-Mughirah al-Makhzumsuggested that the first person entering

Bab as-


2 1

Safa be made arbitrator. And when theysaw Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) entering therewas a unanimous agreement to abide by thejudgment of the "Trustworthy". Muhammad(p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) ended the quarrel quite simply:He placed the Black Stone in the centre ofa piece of cloth spread out and let the chief ofeach tribe hold one corner of this cloth. OnMuhammad's (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) order the chiefsraised the cloth up to the required height; hethen fixed the stone in the appropriate position.He thus prevented what seemed to be an in-evitable war. But some forty more years had toelapse before he made the Arabs bury thehatchet which they so often used to chop eachother's head.

At the age of twenty-five he marriedKhadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn`Abd al-`Uzza ibn Qusayy. She was forty thenand had been married twice before. Khadijahranked high among the women of Quraysh. Shewas kindhearted, elegant, noble and attractive.


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And having inherited considerable property _from her second husband, she was wealthy. Butabove all she was renowned as "at-Tahirah"(meaning "the pure"). Although a number ofcelebrities from the Quraysh had expressed thedesire to marry her, they all met with refusal.Therefore Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) mar-riage with Khadijah was to be regarded asanother feather in his cap. Khadijah neverceased to be an ideal wife till she breathed herlast. And Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) alwaysremembered her after her passing away withsorrow and deep affection.

At the age of forty he began to receivethe Divine Revelation. Muhammad (p.b.uh.-a.h.p.) who, was thus assigned to convey God'sMessage to people began to preach the "newfaith" quietly and patiently to whoever wouldbe likely to accept. In the first three yearsforty people embraced Islam. When the Mess-age was proclaimed publicly it met with


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fierce opposition. The Meccans did not fail todiscern the fact that the new religion aimedat a complete reformation of the society, towhich they would not subscribe. Disbelieversbegan to think of ways and means to renderthe call to Islam ineffective. They fast triedto bribe the Prophet by offering him wealthand leadership; they were refused. They threat-ened and attempted to kill him, yet they didnot succeed. They called him a madman. Butin the very depth of their hearts they admiredhim and admitted the fact that they were un-fair to him.. So when Caesar, the Roman em-peror questioned the Meccan chief Abu Sufyan,who at the time was a deadly opponent of theProphet, regarding Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.)the former replied: "Muhammad, the son of` Abdullah, is nobly born. His followers are onthe increase. He is honest and truthful, hasnever told a falsehood, nor ever broken apledge. He enjoins the people to worship oneGod and pray to no other deity. He preaches


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kindness, piety and tolerance towards all." (8)

"Why then" one might ask "did the Mec-cans not follow the Prophet but instead foughthim?" The answer to this is quite evident. TheMessage of Islam was aiming at changing thecourse of their lives, transforming their person-alities, remoulding their manners and behav-iour. Above all the new faith demanded thatthey should abandon their idols, which theyheld to be sacred. Besides, the boastful Arabs,who regarded the rest of mankind as " `ajam",inferior to them, could not simply swallow theconcepts of "equality of men", "social justice","human rights" etc. while Islam preachedthat man's superiority was not to be judgedby race, rank, ancestry or the number ofcamels and slaves one possessed. Righteousnessalone was to count.

As Islam continued to spread, the angerand anxiety of the Meccans grew too. They


25

threatened the Prophet with dire consequencesif he did not put an end to his preaching.This did not carry any weight with the Proph-et. But the cruelty of the disbelievers tothe Muslims was now beyond endurance. Itwas then that Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) ad-vised some of his companions to migrate toAbyssinia. The lesson to be derived from thisdeparture of the Muslims from their mother-land to a totally foreign country is important.This incident indicates the degree of their faithin Islam and the extent to which they wouldgo in their sacrifice for their religion. Life inMecca was miserable, hard and cruel to Mus-li ms. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas relates that on anoccasion out of acute hunger he was forced towash and eat a piece of dry camel skin whichhe discovered while passing water.

Believers were molested, tortured, killed;some fled abroad but the struggle continued.No one gave in.


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When all methods failed the eminentpersonalities of Quraysh gathered together inthe hope that they would convince Muhammad(p.b.h.a.h.p.). Their spokesman `Utbah spoketo him in the Ka'bah ".......... If you havecreated this upheaval because you want wealthand riches, say so, and we shall make you therichest man in the land. If you want powerand authority tell us and we shall make youour ruler .........." Muhammad (p.b.h.a.h.p.)replied "I want no wealth nor riches. I haveno desire to be crowned a king ........ I am ahumble -servant of God. He has sent me toyou as His Apostle. He has revealed to meHis Book and He has commanded that I warnyou against His wrath if you reject Him, andto bring you a promise of His blessings, if youbelieve. So I have given you His Message andno power on earth will stop me from propa-gating it.........." These words uttered by theProphet in a way forecast the future success ofIslam in the definite statement "........and no


2 7

power on earth will stop me from propagatingit........" The remarkable thing is the fact thatwhen these words were uttered the whole Mus-lim population was negligible in comparisonwith that of disbelievers. The Prophet's wordsmuch angered Quraysh who decided to boy-cott the Muslims. Accordingly no one inMecca would be allowed to do business withthe Prophet, his family or his :followers, sellfood to them, pay a visit or even. talk to them.Thus the Messenger and his followers werecompelled to abandon Mecca and settle in anearby valley. Nevertheless the Prophet con-tinued to go to the Ka'bah and to pray pub-licly. And whenever he had the opportunityhe preached to strangers visiting Mecca forbusiness or pilgrimage. Muslims lived in miseryand utter discomfort for more than two longyears feeding practically on grass for scarcityof food until some relenting Meccans liftedthe ban. Shortly after this the Prophet losthis wife and his uncle Abu Talib who had


2 8

been of great help to him. The Prophet wenton striving hard for the dissemination of theMessage. One day, accompanied by Zayd, hewalked up the rugged mountains to the cityof Td'if, some fifty miles away from Mecca.Overcome by fanaticism and ignorance thepeople of this town brutally attacked andstoned the Prophet who had come to deliverthem from darkness to light. As GhulamSarwar puts it: "If there was any just occa-sion for any man to curse his enemies, it wasnow for Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) to do sowith regard to the people of Ta'if. He wasbleeding, and his heart was almost broken atthe cruel treatment he has so unjustly received.He might have said, `O God! destroy thesepeople who are so wicked and not one of themhas any sense of fairness.' He did nothing of thekind." (9) Instead of condemning and com-plaining about his enemies he sought refuge inGod in humility of heart and utmost sincerity.


In the eleventh year of Prophethood ahappy incident took place. Six pilgrims fromthe city of Yathrib, later named Madinat anNabi, became Muslims and swore allegienceto Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.). These new con-verts spread Islam in Medina in quite fast sothat in the following year a group of 72Yathribite Muslims presented themselves tothe Prophet and secretly pledged themselvesand their people "to stand by him as theywould stand by their own children."

Intensified persecution of the Muslimsby Quraysh made it impossible for the formerto dwell in Mecca any longer. In this difficultperiod the Prophet was divinely ordained toleave Mecca. He left for Medina shortly beforethe Quraysh broke into his house intendingto kill him.

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THE MESSENGER IN MEDINA

The migratory journey of the Prophet toMedina in the year 622 A.D. marks the begin-ning of a new era. "Hijrah" as this migrationis referred to is regarded as a turning point inthe Muslim history.

After the warm welcome accorded to himby the people of Medina the Prophet set towork to establish a city state in Medina. Hecalled for consultation all the inhabitants ofthe place, Meccan immigrants, Medinite con-

30


3 1

verts, Jews and the Arabs who had not yetembraced Islam and promulgated a state con-stitution. This is the first written constitutionof any state in the history of the world. Itcontains details of the rights and duties ofboth the ruler and the ruled ........... (10)

"In the second year of Hijrah the Prophetinitiated mobile defense." (11) As it can beseen from these two examples "organising thecommunity" was one of the first activities ofthe Prophet in Medina. Muslims thus began tolive a disciplined life and were kept on thealert.

THE BATTLE OF BADR

It must be borned in mind that the migra-tion of Muslims to Medina was a forced flight,hence a state of belligerency existed fromthe very outset between the Muslims and


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the Meccan disbelievers. That the two com-munities had to clash sooner or later wasanybody's guess - But when? A very richMeccan caravan carrying goods worth 50,000dinars - under Abu Sufyan was on its wayfrom Syria and heading towards Mecca. Andonce they strengthened their economic situ-ation Quraysh were most likely to launch amassive attack on Medina, where, with thehelp of jews rebelling against the Prophetthey could exterminate the Muslims totally.There had already been a number of incidentsthat had added to the ever-existing tension.Under the circumstances the condition of theMuslims was rather precarious. Noticing theseriousness of the situation the Prophet sentout Talhah ibn `Ubaydallah and Said ibn Zaydto al-Hawra' for reconnaissance. The two em-issaries hurried to Medina when Abu Sufyan'scaravan drew near. Abu Sufyan a cunning manleaving the caravan behind went to Badr inperson where he soon found out that the place


33

had been visited by men from Medina and wasquick at dispatching a man to Mecca for help.It must have seemed natural and easy for theMuslims to intercept the caravan in question,which if allowed to reach its destination,would strengthen the armed forces of Qurayshconsiderably. Further, an attempt to seize thecaravan would force Quraysh to fight anuntimely war.

When the news reached Mecca Abu Jahl,an influential leader, summoned the peopleto the Ka'bah and instructed them to getready for the march. When the Quraysh armyleft Mecca it consisted of about 1000 soldiers,700 of whom rode camels and the rest wereon horse back. They were fully armed with allthe fashionable weapons of the time. Mean-while Abu Sufyan managed to change his routeand thus escape from the Muslims. The crisisshould have ended when this new developmentwas conveyed to Abu Jahl, who refused to


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retreat. Instead, he insisted on making a dis-play of strength to demoralize the Muslims. Hemarched on until finally he encamped hisforces on one side of the valley of Badr, sixmarches from Medina.

Muslims, under the command of the Proph-et, however, formed quite a contrast whencompared to their enemies. To start with theywere not more than about 300 men poorlyclad and ill equipped. Only a few had armourand the rest just a sword. They possessed twohorses and seventy camels each of which hadto carry three men. But most serious of all,they were outnumbered by three to one.Evidently this small band of Muslims wasneither prepared nor had the intention tofight an army like that of the Quraysh at thatstage; everyone had Abu Sufyan's caravan inmind, and excepting the Prophet, none hadtaken into consideration the possibility offacing the whole population of armed Quraysh


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in the battlefield so unexpectedly. It was a bigsurprise, therefore, for the Muslims, to hear ofAbu Jahl's army on their arrival in the valleyof Dhahran. To deal with this new situation,the Prophet returned to his starting point,nearby Medina, where he could consult hiscompanions. A section of the companionsstated that they were with him for fighting.After some moments of silence and hesitation,however, there was a unanimous agreementto fight. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) ordered:"March on and be glad that God has promisedme one of two parties". (that is either AbuSufyan's caravan or victory over Abu Jahl'sarmy). A day later, however, the Muslimsdiscovered that the caravan was out of reach.

The two armies clashed on Friday, 17thRamadan in the second year of Hijrah. (prob-ably 14th January 624 A.D.) After arrangingthe Muslims in battle lines the Prophet turnedtowards the Ka'bah in supplication. He ended


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his prayers in the following words:

"O God! these Quraysh have come withtheir friends to belie thy messenger. O'God! we need thy help which thou hastpromised. O God! should this small bandof ours perish, there would be none leftto worship thee." (12)

Quraysh started the fight when Shaybahand Ùtbah sons of Rabi ah, and Walid, Ùt-bah's son, advanced to challenge the Muslimsto single combat. On the Prophet's orderHamzah, the Prophet's uncle, Ùbaydah son ofHarith and Àli son of Abu Talib met the threemen respectively. Hamzah and Àli soon killedtheir opponents, while Ùbaydah was woundedby Ùtbah who met his end soon with 'Ali'ssword. After this victory of the Muslim com-batants a raging battle ensued. The Muslimsfought with unprecendented spirit and valour.In the end the infidels were utterly routed


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leaving behind seventy dead and seventy pris-oners. Among those slain were eleven of thefourteen Meccans chieftains who had con-spired to kill the Prophet shortly before heleft Mecca. Their death dealt a severe blow tothe Quraysh leadership. As to the Muslims;their losses were fourteen dead in all. But theyhad been instrumental in winning the mostimportant victory in their history. This wasa divine victory as God said in the Qur'an:

"You (Muslims) slew them not, but Allahslew them". (Qur an, 8:17)

The Prophet was merciful and com-passionate not only to Muslims but also to hisenemies. The treatment accorded to the prisoners of Badr amply confirms this fact. The


38

prisoners were fed while some of the Muslimsremained hungry, "an act of benevolancewhich hardly finds any parallel in the historyof mankind." The ransom fixed for the pris-oners was that those who knew to read andwrite should each teach ten Muslim boys theart. (13)

THE BATTLE OF UHUD

Although the battle of Badr had resultedin a victory for the Muslims no peace or atreaty of any kind was concluded betweenthe Meccans and the Muslims. Not only thestate of belligerency between the two com-munities continued to prevail, but also prepara-tions by Quraysh for a war of greater dimen-sions were to commence soon. `Ikrimah theson of Abu Jahl, who was killed in the battleof Badr, and many other chiefs of the Qurayshpaid a visit to Abu Sufyan and proposed to


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take revenge from the Muslims if only he wereto meet the cost of the expedition. AbuSufyan agreed. Accordingly the entire profitsof Abu Sufyan's caravan were spent in prepa-ration for the coming war. The clans of Kina-nah and Tahamah also joined Quraysh againstMuhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.). At the same timemuch intrigue and sedition were being con-cocted with the Medinite Jews. The Prophet,however, was not oblivious of the circum-stances. He too, through covenants brought allthe coastal tribes of Arabia into alliance. Thissevered the easy access of the Quraysh toSyria and Medina, and forced them to opencommerce with `Iraq. In the meantime a richMeccan caravan on its way to `Iraq was inter-cepted by Zayd ibn Harith with one hundredriders from Medina and a big booty acquired.

By the month of Shawwal (January) inthe third year of Hijrah Quraysh had com-pleted their preparation for war. Their forces


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consisted of 3000 soldiers (700 of whom woremail armour) 3000 camels, 200 horses.

Shortly, before the Meccan Army setforth, `Abbas, the Prophet's uncle and his onlysympathiser among the Meccans sent him aletter with a man from the tribe of Ghifar toinform him about the Meccan's plan to invadeMedina. Upon this the Prophet warned thepeople to withdraw their animals 'from theoutskirts of Medina and dispatched, his ownmen to investigate the authenticity of thenews. Alarming as it was the news was con-firmed. The next thing to be heard was thatthe Meccan army reached Uhud; about threemiles northeast of Medina.

The question of "how to confront theenemy" was debated. The Prophet was of theopinion that if Medina be fortified and defended against Quraysh, it could prove easier torepel the enemy from there. Leaders of the


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Jews as well as Muhajirun (immigrants) and

Ansar (helpers)

were of the same opinion.But the rest who constituted the majority hada different opinion. These were mainly youngMuslims who wanted to fight the enemy in theopen. The Prophet agreed to the majority'sdecision.

After the Friday congregational prayers,Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) gave the glad newsof the victory to those who were perseveringand ordered the army to march.

But they were not far from Medina when`Abdullah ibn Ubayy and his 300 jewish com-rades betrayed the Muslims. Ibn Ubayy leftthe Muslims after making the flimsy excusethat the Prophet had not taken his advicebut was following "boys". Thus when theMuslims arrived at Uhud only 700 men wereleft with the Prophet. Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) positioned his troops at the foot


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of Mount Uhud so that the mountain remainedat their back. He lined up his forces in battlearray and posted `Abdullah ibn Jubayr withfifty archers to guard the rear of the Muslimarmy against a possible onslaught of the enemyfrom that direction. The Prophet sternly warn-ed the archers thus: "Guard our rear for wefear that they may attack us from that side,and remain in your positions and do notmove therefrom. Even if you see us defeatingthe enemy and entering his camp, do notdepart from your positions. And if you see usbeing killed do not come to our help to defendus. And it is for you to shoot their horses,for the horses cannot win against arrows." (14)

Quraysh were the first to start the fight.Following this Zubayr led an attack on theright wing of the Quraysh army and outmaneuvered them. Then Hamzah, `Ali and AbuDujanah with lightning speed made a shat-tering dash into the ranks of the enemy. Under


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the irresistable onslaught of the three, theenemy

became demoralised and began to bescattered in confusion.

The Muslims who atthe start gained the upper hand and controlledthe strategy of the battle overwhelmed theirfoes in all directions. To most Muslims thebattle seemed

to be over, the enemy wasretreating in disorder; Victory was theirs! Itwas at this crucial stage that the Muslimscommitted a most serious mistake; taking vic-tory for granted they fell upon the spoils.Most of the archers too, observing the scenefrom the mountain pass thought that the fightwas over and despite the Prophet's clear instruc-tions and stern warning not to abandon theirpositions at all costs and events went to joinin securing the booty. The Muslims paid forthis second mistake very dearly. A cavalrydivision of the enemy under- the commandof Khalid ibn Walid noticing the departure ofthe archers lost no time in launching an attackfrom the very position the archers were sup-


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posed to guard and inflicted heavy casualties onthe Muslims. What contributed most to thechaos among the Muslims however was perhapsthe false news that the Prophet had beenkilled. Shocked by this news some of theMuslims fled in panic. But the rest foughtwith unequalled courage and determination.Especially the bravery of the many martyrswho laid down their lives in defending theperson of the Prophet would move one totears and ecstasy. Whatever the mistakes andthe losses of the Muslims on the day of Uhudthese should not mask the fact that Muslimswho rallied round the Prophet fought theenemies with perseverance until the latterretired from the battle field.

The events of Uhud, however providedthe Muslims with a precious moral victory.Referring to what happened in Uhud says theQur'an:


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"And Muhammad is but a Messenger,surely (many) messengers have gone beforehim; if then he dies or is killed, will you turnupon your heels?". (Qur'an, 3:144)


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"And most certainly Allah made good Hispromise to you, when you blasted them by Hisleave, until when you flinched and disputedabout the command, and you disobeyed, afterHe had shown you what you had loved(victory); of you were some who desired thisworld (booty) and of you were some whodesired the next world; then He turned youaway from them, that He may try you; andHe pardoned you; and Allah is bounteous tothe believers". (Qur'an, 3:152)

THE JEWS

The Prophet had concluded peace withseveral Jewish tribes residing in Medina! Of


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these Banu Qaynuqa' violated their side of

the treaty by committing hostile acts againstthe Muslims openly. Not long after the battleof Badr an event took place which taxed thepatience of the Muslims. A Muslim womanwas insulted by some men of Banu Qaynuqa'.A Muslim man passing by the scene had tointerfere. In the fight that ensued he killedthe offender, the Muslim man too was killed.This worsened the relation between the Mus-li

ms and Banu Qaynuqa'. The Prophet request-ed Banu Qaynuqa' to respect the agreementand refrain from harming the Muslims. But theJews would not listen. They grew arrogantand said: "O, Muhammad! Let not the victoryover a people who did not know the scienceof war deceive you. By God, if you fight us,you shall know that we are men." Muhammad(p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) was left with no alternative;he laid siege to the quarters of Banu Qaynuqa'.After fifteen days the Jews surrendered. Withthe intercession of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy and


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few others the Prophet let the Jews emigrateleaving their arms behind. They left Medinafor Wadi-l-Qura, north Arabia, Syria, and otherplaces.

Banu an-Nadir was the other Jewish clanwhich lived in Medina. They too were bitterenemies of the Muslims. In the fourth year ofMuslim Era they plotted to kill the Prophet.Upon this treason they were asked to leave thecity. They refused to do so. They were how-ever defeated in a skirmish that took placeand promptly deported. While some repairedto Syria others established a state of their ownat Khaybar. After a while, the Jews of Khaybarestablished diplomatic ties with the Meccansagainst Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.). At thesame time they concluded agreement withall the tribes of Arabia against the Muslims.Thus in a few days they succeeded in rallyingsome 10,000 men under the banner of theQuraysh and leadership of Abu Sufyan to


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invade Medina. The Jewish intrigues continueduntil Khaybar was conquered by the Muslimsand the Jews routed completely in the seventhyear of the Hijrah. The siege of Medina lastedfor two weeks and ended in a complete fiasco.The enemy tried in vain to overcome thetrenches * and barricades surrounding the city- The trenches that were dug by the Muslimsconstituted a new technique not known tothe Arabs before. And the enemy was takenby surprise. Then a severe wind blew whichwas followed by a dust storm pulling downthe enemy's tents. This confused and demor-alised the tribes who began to argue amongthemselves and ultimately left Medina.

In the sixth year of Hijrah a ten-yeartruce was concluded with the Quraysh, atHudaybiyah. Then the Meccans violated the

* "On the advice of Salman al-Farsi, the Prophetordered trenches to be dug round Medina andfilled with fire".


nayeb

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treaty by attacking the Khuza'ah tribe whichwas an ally of the Muslims. The Prophetdecided to march on Mecca. In the eighth yearof Hijrah Mecca was conquered peacefully.The Prophet asked the Meccans: "What doyou think I will do to you?" They answered:"you are a generous brother and the son of agenerous brother': (12) Muhammad (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) pardoned his bitterest enemies, thosewho for years had tormented, tortured andkilled Muslims, finally turning them out

oftheir own hearth and homes, then rot allowingthem to rest even in Medina. Despite all thesehe granted them all, except a few hardenedcriminals, general amnesty. He was indeed inwords and deeds "a mercy to mankind".Old tribal and personal enmities were re-placed by an unprecedented peace, tranquility,feeling of unity and fraternity.

The old warring Arabs who knew nonationhood in all their history become united


for the first time by the bond of "Islamicbrotherhood".

This had not been easy to achieve. Ittook twenty-three years of ceaseless strivingand sacrifices to see the success of the Proph-et's mission (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.)

THE END

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By TALIP ALPThis wonderful article was written by our brother Talip Alp and was initially published...

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Transcript of By TALIP ALPThis wonderful article was written by our brother Talip Alp and was initially published...