One night as the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) lay sleeping in the same spot where
'Abd al-Muttalib used to sleep, next to the ka'bah; he was woken by
the Archangel Gabriel. Later the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) described what happened:
"I sat up and he took hold of my arm. I stood beside him and he brought
me to the door of the mosque where there was a white animal for me to
ride.'
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) told of how he mounted the animal and, with
the Archangel Gabriel at his side, was transported from Mecca to
the mosque called al-Aqsa, in far away Jerusalem. There the
Prophet found Abraham, Moses, and Jesus among a group of prophets.
The prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) acted as their leader, or imam, in prayer.
Then he was brought two jugs, one containing wine and the other
milk. He chose the milk and refused the wine. At this, the
Archangel Gabriel said, 'You have been rightly guided to the
fitrah, the true nature of man, and so will your people be,
Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). Wine is forbidden to you.'
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) also related
how they passed through Heaven's gates and saw countless angels.
Among them was Malik, the Keeper of Hell, who never smiles. Malik
stepped forward and showed the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) a view of Hell and the
terrible plight of those who suffer in that place.
Then the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was taken up by the angels, through the seven Heavens, one
by one. Along the way he again saw Jesus, Moses, and Abraham, and
the Prophet said that he had never seen a man more like himself
than Abraham. He also saw John, called Yahya in Arabic, Joseph or
Yusuf, Enoch, that is Idris, and Aaron, or Harun.
At last he reached the Lote Tree of the Uttermost, the sidrat
al-muntaha, where no Prophet had been before. Here the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) received a Revelation of what Muslims believe.
In the Name of
Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
The Messenger believeth in that
which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) the
believers. Each one believes in Allah and His Angels and His Books
and His Messengers-We make no distinction between any of His
messengers-and they say: We hear, and we obey. Grant us Thy
forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the homecoming.
(Quran ii.285)
Then he was taken into the Light of the Divine Presence of Allah,
and was instructed that Muslims should pray fifty times a day. The
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) recalled:
On my way back I passed by Moses and what a
good friend to you he was! He asked me how many prayers had I been
ordained to perform. When I told him fifty, he said, 'Prayer is a
serious matter and your people are weak, so go back to your Lord
and ask Him to reduce the number for you and your community.' I
did so and He took away ten. Again I passed by Moses and he said
the same again; and so it went on until only five prayers for the
whole day and night were left. Moses again gave me the same
advice. I replied that I had been back to my Lord and asked him to
reduce the number until I was ashamed, and I would not do it
again. He of you who performs the five prayers faithfully, will
have the reward of fifty prayers.
On the morning following these
events and the Prophet's return to Mecca, he told Quraysh what had
happened. Most of them said, 'By God! This is ridiculous! A
caravan takes a month to go to Syria and a month to return! Can
you do that long journey in a single night?
Even many Muslims
were amazed by this and wanted the Prophet to explain. Some ran
with the news to Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) who said, 'By Allah, if Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) himself
has said so, then it is true. Remember that the Prophet tells us
that the word of Allah comes to him directly from heaven to earth
at any hour of the day or night, and we believe him. Isn't that a
greater miracle than what you are now doubting?'
Than Abu Bakr
went to the mosque and listened to the Prophet's detailed
description of Jerusalem. He commented, 'You tell the truth, O
Prophet of Allah!' From then on, Abu Bakr was honoured with the
title 'al-Siddiq', which means 'he who gives his word to support
the truth'.
Others also began to believe the Prophet's story
when he described about the two caravans he had seen on his way
back to Mecca. He told the doubters where he had seen the
caravans, what they were carrying and when they would arrive in
Mecca. All that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had said was borne out when the
caravans arrived at the time he said they would, carrying all that
he had described.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the
Merciful
Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night
from the
Holy Mosque to the Far distant place of worship,
the Neighbourhood
which We have blessed,
That We might show him some of Our signs,
He,
only He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
By the Star when it
setteth,
Your comrade is not astray, neither deceived,
Nor does he
speak of his (own) desire.
This is naught but a revelation
revealed,
Taught him by one mighty in power, very strong;
He stood
poised,
being on the uppermost horizon,
Then drew near and came
down,
two bows'-length away, or nearer,
Then revealed to His servant
that which He revealed.
His heart lies not of what he saw;
What,
will you then dispute with him what he sees?
Indeed, he saw him yet
another time
By the Lote-Tree of the utmost Boundary
Near which is
the Garden of Abode
When there covered the Lote-Tree that which
covered;
his eye turned not aside, nor yet was overbold.
Verily, he
saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord.
(Quran liii:I-I8)
<< Chapter 13 <<
>> Chapter 15 >>
Chapter 15
The Treaty of 'Aqabah
In Yathrib there were two main tribes, the
Aws and the Khazraj, who were very powerful, always at war with
each another, and they worshipped idols. Also in Yathrib were many
Jews who, unlike the Arabs of that time, knew that there was only
One God, and worshipped Him. They had told the Arabs many times
that a Prophet would be coming to them.
The time came for the
pilgrimage to the Ka'bah, and several people from Yathrib were
going, among them six men from the tribe of Khazarj. They had
heard about the Prophet, the Jews had told them about. So they
decided to go and speak to him during their stay in Mecca.
They met the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) at a spot known as 'Aqabah, near Mecca,
and he invited them to sit with him. He explained to them about
Islam and recited to them from the Koran. When they heard the
Koran, it touched their hearts so deeply that they became Muslims
and on leaving Mecca they promised to return the following year.
When they reached Yathrib carrying Islam in their hearts, they
told their relatives and friends what they had heard from the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and many more people became Muslims.
A year passed and
the pilgrimage season came around again. Twelve important men from
Yathrib went to Mecca to meet the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and promised faithfully
to serve him and Islam. In return, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) sent one of his
friends, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr (radiAllahu anhu), with them to teach the Koran and
instruct them in their new religion.
Another year passed and
still more Muslims came from Yathrib to Mecca for the Pilgrimage,
On this occasion a secret meeting with the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was arranged at
night. Seventy-three men and one woman from Yathrib came, and the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) arrived with his uncle, al-'Abbas. During this meeting the
men from Yathrib offered to protect and defend the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his
followers if they would come to live in Yathrib. This promise of
protection, known as the Treaty of 'Aqabah.
The treaty was most
fortunate for even though Islam was growing in Yathrib; the
Muslims in Mecca were still suffering. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) therefore told
his friends and followers to go to Yathrib where they would be
safe, and most of them took this opportunity to leave.
Despite
all this suffering the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was not allowed to fight his
enemies, for Allah had told him to forgive those who insulted him
or would not listen to his message. But the Quraysh had closed
their minds so utterly to the word of Allah, and grew so
hard-hearted towards the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his followers, that Allah
gave permission to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) to fight those who tried to harm
him or his companions.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the
Merciful
Permission is given unto those who
fight because they have
been wronged;
And Allah is surely able to give
them victory;
Those
who have been driven from
their homes unjustly only because
they
said: Our Lord is Allah.
(Quran xxii. 39-40)
Quraysh began
to fear the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) for they realised that he was now strong
enough to fight them and had been given permission to do so by
Allah. They also knew that he now had the people of Yathrib to
help and protect him. Seeing that the Muslims were leaving the
city, they decided to kill the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), before he, too, left Mecca
to join his followers in Yathrib. In this way they hoped to put an
end to Islam once and for all.
<< Chapter 14 <<
>> Chapter 16 >>
Chapter 16
Al-Hijrah
The Breaking of All Connections with One's Home,
for the Sake of Allah Alone.
After his companions had left for Yathrib, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) stayed
in Mecca, waiting for permission from Allah to leave the city. Abu
Bakr and Ali stayed with him. There were also some Muslims whom
Quraysh had not allowed to leave. Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) kept asking the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) to allow him to go to Yathrib, but the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) kept
saying, 'Do not be in a hurry; it might be that Allah will give
you a travelling companion.'
The leaders of Quraysh assembled in the house of their
ancestor, Qusayy, as was customary when they had an important
decision to make. They had to find a way of getting rid of the
Prophet Muahmmad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) , before he was able to join his friends in
Yathrib.
As they were busy arguing, the Devil appeared at the door in
the form of a noble and handsome old man. When they saw this
elderly gentlemen standing there, they asked him who he was. He
said he was a sheikh from the mountains who had heard what they
meant to do and thought he might be able to help or advise them.
They thought he looked like a wise man, so they invited him in.
Each leader then started to put forward ideas about what
should be done, but none of them could agree about which was best,
until Abu Jahl told them his plan. This was that each clan should
provide a strong, young warrior, each of whom would be given a
sword. All the young warriors would then wait outside the
Prophet's house and together attack him as he came out. In this
way they would be rid of him but as the blame for killing him
would fall on all the clans, the Prophet's family would not be
able to seek revenge.
When he heard this, the Devil in the disguise of the old man,
said, 'That man is right; in my opinion it is the only thing to
do!' The leaders of Quraysh then left to carry out their plan to
murder the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
And when the unbelievers plot
Against thee, to confine thee, or kill thee,
Or to drive thee out, they were plotting,
But Allah was (also) plotting; and Allah is
The best of plotters.
(Quran viii.30)
Before the night fell, on which Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was to be killed, the
Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, 'Do not sleep tonight in
your own bed.' The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) understood what was going to happen, so
he told 'Ali to lie in his bed and wrap himself in the Blanket
that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) normally used, promising that no harm would
befall him.
With the coming of darkness the young men of Quraysh had
gathered outside the Prophet's house, waiting for him to come out.
After he had made sure that 'Ali was safe, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) left the
house. At that very moment, Allah took away the sight of the
warriors so that they could not see the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), who took a
handful of dust, sprinkled it on their heads and recited these
verses:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
Ya Sin
By the Wise Koran,
Thou art truly among those sent
On the straight path;
A Revelation of the All-mighty, the All-wise,
That Thou may warn a people whose fathers were
Never warned, so they are heedless.
The Word has already proved true of most of them,
Yet they do not believe.
Lo! We have put on their necks collars of iron
Up to the chin, so that they are made stiff-necked.
And We have put before them a barrier; and We have
Covered them so they do not see.
( Koran xxxvi. 1-9)
The young men waited the whole night and were furious when, in
the morning, they saw 'Ali instead of the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) coming out of
the house. They realised that their plan had failed completely.
In the meantime, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) went to Abu Bakr's house and told
him, 'Allah has told me that now is the time for us to leave
Mecca.'
'Together?' asked Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu).
'Together', the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) replied.
Abu Bakr wept for joy, because now he knew that the travelling
companion he had been promised was the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) himself. Then he
said, 'O Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), these are the two camels which I have
kept ready for this.' And so, the two of them left to hide in a
cave in Thawr, a mountain to the south of Mecca.
When they were out of the city the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) looked back and
said, 'Of all Allah's earth, you are the dearest place to Allah
and to me and if my people had not driven me out I would never
have left you.'
When Quraysh found out that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his companion had
gone, they set out after them, searching in every direction. Three
days later they finally reached the cave where the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and Abu
Bakr were hiding, but a strange and wonderful thing had happened.
A spider had woven its web right across the entrance to the cave
and a dove was nesting with her mate nearby. As the Meccans stood
in front of the cave, with only the spider's web separating them
from the fugitives, Abu Bakr began to fear for their safety. He
whispered to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), 'They are very close. If one of them
turns we will be seen.'
But he was comforted by the Prophet's reply: 'what do you
think of two people, who have with them Allah as their third?
Grieve not, for verily Allah is with us.
(Quran ix.40)
After a few moments the search party decided that no one could
have entered the cave recently, or the spider's web would not have
been complete and the dove would not have nested there, and so
they left without searching inside.
Three days later the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and Abu Bakr thought it safe to
leave the cave. Abu Bakr's son, 'Amir, had arranged for three
camels and a guide to help them continue their journey to Yathrib.
'Amir would ride behind his father.
The leaders of Quraysh, meanwhile, returned to Mecca and
offered a reward of one hundred camels to whoever captured the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). Among those who went in search of him was a famous
warrior. He was, in fact, the only one to catch up with him, but
whenever he came close, his horse would suddenly sink up to its
knees in the sand. When this had happened three times, he
understood that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was protected by a power stronger than
anything he had known, and so he went back to Mecca. On arriving
there he warned everyone against continuing the search, relating
what had happened to him.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
If you do not help him, still Allah has helped him already,
When the unbelievers drove him forth, the second of two,
When the two were in the Cave.
When he said to his companion, "Grieve not; surely Allah is with
us."
Then Allah caused His peace and Reassurance to descend upon him,
And helped him with hosts you cannot see,
And He made the word of the unbelivers the lowest;
While Allah's word is the uppermost;
Allah is All-mighty, All-wise.
(Quran ix.40)
The Prophet's journey from Mecca is called the hijrah, or
migration. It was really the first step towards the spread of
Islam throughout the entire world, and Muslims begin their
calendar from the year of the hijrah.
<< Chapter 15 <<
>> Chapter 17 >>
Chapter 17
Arrival in Yathrib
When the people of Yathrib heard that the prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had left
Mecca and was on his way to their city, they anxiously awaited his
arrival. Each morning they would go to the edge of the city to see
if he were coming.
Finally, on Monday, September 27, in the year
622 AD, someone saw him in the distance and shouted to everyone,
'Here is Muhammad! (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) The Messenger of Allah has arrived!' All the
Muslims went out to greet him, shouting, 'Allahu Akbar! Allah is
Great! Muhammad the Messenger of Allah has arrived!' The women and
children sang songs to show how glad they were to see him.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) entered the city with his friend Abu Bakr. Most of
the people there had not seen him before and as they gathered
around they did not know which of the two was the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), until
Abu Bakr got up to shield him with his cloak from the burning sun.
Yathrib would now be called al-Madinah, which means, The City.
The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) stayed in Quba, a place at the entrance
of Madinah, for three days. On the first Friday after his arrival
the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) led the congregation in prayer.
After this many
wealthy men invited him to come and live with them and share their
riches. But he refused and, pointing to his she-camel, Qaswa',
said, 'Let her go her way', because he knew that his camel was
under Allah's command and would guide him to the spot where he
should stay. They let the camel go until she finally knelt down
beside a house belonging to the Bani an-Najjar, the tribe to whom
the Prophet's mother was related. This house was used as a
drying-place for dates and owned by two young orphan boys named
Sahl and Suhay1. They offered to give it to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) but he
insisted on paying them for it, and so their guardian, As'ad the
son of Zurarah, who was present, made the necessary
arrangements.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) gave order to build a mosque and a place for him
to live on the site. All the Muslims worked together to finish it
quickly- even the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) joined in. It was here that the Muslims
would pray and meet to make important decisions and plans. The
building was quite plain and simple. The floor was beaten earth
and tree trunks held up the roof of palm leaves. Two stones marked
the direction of prayer. At first worshippers faced Jerusalem, but
later the direction of prayer was changed towards the Ka'bah in
Mecca.
After the building of the mosque, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) wanted to
strengthen the relationship between the people called the
Muhajirah or Emigrants, who had left Mecca with him, and the
people of Medina, who were known as the Ansar, or Helpers. Each
man from Madina took as his brother a man from Mecca, sharing
everything with him and treating him as a member of his family.
Thus began the principle of Islamic brotherhood.
In the early days of Islam, the times for prayer were not announced and
so the Muslims would come to the mosque and wait for the prayer so
as to not miss it. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) wondered how to tell the people
that it was time for prayers. He discussed it with his friends,
and at first two ideas were put forward; that of blowing a horn as
the Jews did, and that of using a wooden clapper like the
Christians.
Then a man called 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd came to the
Prophet and told him that he had a dream in which he had seen a
man dressed all in green, holding a wooden clapper. He had said to
the man, 'Would you sell me your clapper in order to call the
people to prayer?' The man had replied, 'A better way to call the
people to prayer is to say:
"Allahu Akbar, Allah is Most Great!" four times, followed by
"I bear witness that there is no divinity but Allah,
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
Come to prayer, come to prayer.
Come to salvation, come to salvation.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
There is no divinity but Allah!"'
When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) heard this, he said it was a true vision from
Allah. He sent for Bilal, who had a beautiful, strong voice, and
ordered him to call the people to prayer in just this way. Bilal
did so and soon after 'Umar came out of his house and told the
Prophet that he had seen exactly the same vision himself. The
Prophet replied, 'Allah be praised for that.'
The adhan, or call to prayer, which came to 'Abd Allah ibn
Zayd in his dream and was performed by Bilal on the instruction of
the Prophet, is the one we still hear today being called from the
minarets of mosques all over the world.
<< Chapter 16 <<
>> Chapter 18 >>
Chapter 18
The Battle of Badr
The Muslims, who had gone to Madinah, had left
all their belongings behind in Mecca and these had been taken by
their enemies. Thus, when the Muslims heard that Abu Sufyan, one
of the leaders of Quraysh, was on his way back to Mecca from Syria
with a large caravan of goods, they decided that the time had come
for them to retrieve some of their losses. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) gave
Muslims the permission to attack and everyone began to get ready
for the raid, for it had been revealed:
In the Name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful
Permission to fight is given unto those
who fight because
they have been wronged; and Allah is surely
able
to give them victory;
(Quran xxii.39)
The Revelation had
mentioned that a thing most serious with Allah was
To turn (men)
from the way of Allah, and to
disbelive in Him and in the Holy
Mosque, and
to drive his people from there... for persecution
is
worse than killing.
(Quran xxii.39)
The retrieval of their goods, was not
the only reason to attack the caravan. The Muslims did not think
they should simply remain safely in Madinah; they wanted to spread
the message of Islam. They thus felt that if Quraysh wanted
freedom to trade safely, then the Muslims must also have freedom
to believe in Allah, to follow his Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), and to spread his
Word. It was, therefore, thought that the best, and only way to
get Quraysh to understand this was to attack and that too - a
caravan.
Abu Sufyan, in the meantime, heard about the Muslims' plan and
quickly sent a message to Quraysh in Mecca, telling them that the
caravan was in danger and asking for help. As a result nearly all
Quraysh came forward to help him, to defend the caravan. There
were a thousand men and two hundred horses. The women also went
along to cheer the men by singing.
Unaware of this, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) set out with his followers. It was the month of Ramadan and the
Muslims were fasting. There were only three hundred and five of
them, most of them Ansar, men from Medina. With them they had
three horses and seventy camels, on which they heard that Quraysh
had set out from Mecca with a strong army. The situation had
suddenly changed. They were no longer going to make a raid on a
caravan-they were going to have to fight Quraysh.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) gathered his men around him to find out what they wanted to do.
First Abu Bakr, and then 'Umar, spoke for the Muslims who had come
from Mecca. They said they would obey the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). But the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) wanted to hear the opinion of the Ansar, because he did
not want to force them into doing something they did not want to
do.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, one of the leaders of the Ansar, got up and
said, 'We believe in you and we swear before all men that what you
have brought is the truth. We have given you our word and
agreement to hear and obey. So go where you wish, we are with you
even if you should lead us into the sea!'
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) was
greatly encouraged by these words and so it was agreed to fight.
Abu Sufyan learned where the Muslims were camped. He changed the
course of the caravan and quickly took it out of their reach. He
then sent word to Quraysh telling them that the caravan was safe
and that they should return to Mecca. But the leaders of Quraysh
were proud and stubborn men. They refused to return as they had
made up their minds to show everyone how powerful they were by
destroying the Muslims.
Now there was a wadi, or valley, at
Badr, with wells on the side near Medina, and it was here that the
Muslims took up position facing the valley with the wells behind
them. Quarries meanwhile placed themselves on the other side of
the valley. The Muslims then dug a reservoir, filled it with water
from one of the wells, and made a barrier around it. Then they
stopped up the wells. In this way the Muslims had enough drinking
water while the Meccans would have to cross the valley and fight
the Muslims in order to get water.
The night before the battle,
while the Muslims slept peacefully, a heavy rain fell.
In the Name
of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
When He made the slumber
fall upon you as a
reassurance from Him and sent down water from
the
sky upon you, in order that He might purify you, and
remove from
you the fear of Satan, and strengthen
your hearts and make firm
(your) feet thereby.
(Quran viii.II)
On the morning of Friday,
the 17th of Ramadan, 2 A.H., (March 17th, 623 A. D.), the two
armies advanced and drew closer to one another. The rain had been
heavier on the side of Quraysh, making the ground soft and
movement difficult. On the side of the Muslims, however, the rain
had packed the sand down hard, making it easy for them to march.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) preferred the men to fight it ranks. As they prepared
to march he noticed that someone had stepped out in front of the
others. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) prodded him in the side with an arrow, saying,
'Stand in line!'
The man, Sawad, exclaimed, 'You have hurt me, O
Messenger of Allah! Allah has sent you to be just and good.'
The
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) lifted his shirt and said, 'Then do the same to me.'
The
man approached and kissed him on the spot instead, saying, 'O
Messenger of Allah, you see what is before us and I may not
survive the battle. If this is my last time with you, I want the
last thing I do in life to be this.'
Shortly after he went into
battle, Sawad died a martyr.
Having examined the ranks,
the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) then went to a shelter made of palm branches from
which he could command the battle. Abu Bakr stayed with him, while
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, with several of the Ansar, stood outside guarding
the hut. When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) saw the enormous Quraysh army descending
the hill into the valley, with all their banners and drums, he
began to pray for the help which Allah had promised him. These
were some of his words. 'O Allah, here come Quraysh full of vanity
and pride, who oppose Thee and call Thy Messenger a liar. O Allah,
if this little band (the Muslims) perishes today, there will be
none left in the land to worship Thee.'
In the Name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful
When ye sought help of your Lord and He
answered
you (saying): I will help you with a thousand of
the
angels, rank on rank.
Allah appointed it only as good tidings,
and that your
hearts might thereby be at ease. Victory cometh only
by
the help of Allah Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise
(Quran viii.9-I0)
At first the battle began in single combat when one of Quraysh
swore that he would drink from the Muslims' reservoir and then
destroy it, or die in the attempt. Hamzah, the Prophet's uncle,
came forward to face him and killed him. Three of the most
important men of Quraysh then stepped forward and gave out a
challenge for single combat. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) sent out 'Ali, Hamzah and
'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, to face them. It was not long before
Hamzah and 'Ali had killed their opponents. As for 'Ubaydah, he
had wounded his enemy but was wounded himself, and so his two
companions killed the wounded Meccan and carried 'Ubaydah back to
the safety of the Muslim ranks.
After this, the two armies
attacked each other and fighting broke out all around. The sky was
filled with arrows. The Muslim army held its ground against the
great army of Quraysh and even though the Muslims were much fewer
in number, they gained a great victory, destroying the Meccan army
and killing most of its leaders. Among the leading Meccans who
died were Abu Jahl and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who was killed by his
former slave, Bilal. Seeing that their leaders were nearly all
dead, the remainder of Quraysh retreated.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) sent word
to Medina to tell them of the victory. He then gathered up the
spoils of war and divided them equally among the Muslims. Some of
the Meccans had been taken as prisoners and the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) gave
orders that they should be treated well until their relatives from
among Quraysh came to fetch them.
In the Name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful
Ye (Muslims) did not slay them, but
Allah
slew them. And thou (Muhammad) threwest not
when thou didst
throw, but Allah threw, so that
He might test the believers by a
fair test
from Him.
Lo! Allah is All-hearing.All-knowing.
(Quran
viii.I7)
<< Chapter 17 <<
>> Chapter 19 >>
Chapter 19
Uhud - Defeat comes from Disobedience
When the survivors of the defeated Quraysh at Badr returned to
Mecca, they gathered to speak with Abu Safyan. They said,
'Muhammad has killed our best men, so help us to fight him so
that we may avenge those we have lost.' In order to do this it
was agreed that everyone who had a share in
the caravan should put his profits towards the cost of a new army,
which would be three times as big as the one at Badr.
Among
those who joined the new army was an Abyssinian slave called
Wahshi, who was known for his accuracy with the spear. His master,
Jubayr ibn al-Mut'im, said to him, 'go with the army and if you
kill Hamzah, the uncle of Muhammad, in revenge for my uncle's
death, I will set you free.' When Hind, Abu Sufyan's wife, heard
about this she sent a message to Wahshi to say that she would
clothe him in gold and silk if he would carry out his master's
wish, for she, too, wanted Hamzah dead because he had killed both
her father and brother.
While the Meccans made their plans, the
Prophet's uncle, 'Abbas, one of the few Muslims still living in
Mecca, sent a letter of warning to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) in Madinah. He told
him that Quraysh were setting out with a huge army for Uhud, a
place just outside Medina. On receiving this timely warning, the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) gathered his companions around him to discuss what they
should do. He thought it would be better to wait for the enemy
inside the city rather than go out to meet them, because it would
be easier to defend Medina from inside the city walls. But the
young Muslims were eager to go out and face Quraysh. They said, 'O
Prophet of Allah, lead us out against our enemies, or else they
will think we are too cowardly and too weak to fight them.'
One
of the rulers of Median, 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, however, agreed
with the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and advised him to remain in the city, saying,
'Whenever we have gone out to fight an enemy we have met with
disaster, but none has ever come in against us without being
defeated.'
But when the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) saw that the majority were in
favor of going out to meet Quraysh, he decided to do so, and after
the Friday prayer he put on his armor. The Mulsims then set out
with one thousand men in the direction of Mount Uhud which
overlooks Madinah. The enemy was camped on the plain below the
mountain where they were laying waste the crops of the Muslims.
'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was angry that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had not followed
his advice and after going part of the way, turned back for
Medina, taking one third of the entire army with him. This left
the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) with only seven hundred men to meet the enormous
Meccan army of three thousand.
The remainder of the Muslims went
on until they reached the mountains of Uhud. There the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
ordered them to stand in ranks in front of the mountain, so that
they would be protected from behind. He then positioned fifty
archers on top of the mountain, giving them the following order:
"Keep the Meccan cavalry away from us with your arrows and don't
let them come against us from the rear, whether the battle goes in
our favour or against us. Whatever happens keep to your places so
that we cannot be attacked from your direction, even if you see us
being slain or booty being taken.'
When the Muslims were in
position, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) held up his sword and said, 'Who will use
this sword with its right?' This was a great honour and many men
rose to claim it, but the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) decided to give it to Abu
Dujanab, a fearless warrior. Then the battle commenced.
The
Muslims were well organized and had the advantage, because
although Quraysh had more than four times as many men, they were
tired from their journey and thus not ready to fight. As a result,
the Muslims were able to make a surprise attack, led by Abu
Dujanab, who was wearing a brilliant red turban.
As the fighting
increased the Quraysh women, led by Hind, began to beat their
drums to urge their men. They recited poems to encourage their men
to be brave.
'If you advance, we hug you,
spread soft rugs beneath
you;
If you retreat, we leave you.
Leave and no more love you.'
Abu Dujanah said: 'I saw someone urging the enemy on, shouting
wildly, and I made for him, but when I lifted my sword against him
he screamed and I saw that it was a woman; I respected the
Apostle's sword too much to use it on a woman.' That woman was
Hind.
As usual, Hamzah, the Prophet's uncle, fought with tremendous
courage, but while leading the Muslims in a fierce attack, which
nearly defeated the Meccans, he was suddenly and cruelly struck
down by the slave Wahshi. Later, Wahshi told how it happened: "I
was watching Hamzah while he was killing men with his sword. I ...
aimed my spear until I was sure it would hit the mark and hurled
it at him. He came on towards me but collapsed and fell. I left
him there until he died, then I came and took back my spear. Then
I went back to the camp because I did not want to kill anyone but
him. My only aim in killing him was to gain my freedom."
The
Quraysh warriors were soon scattered and forced to retreat. It
looked as though they had been defeated! Seeing this, forty of the
fifty Muslim archers ran from top of the mountain to down from
their position to collect booty, as the Quraysh army had left many
of their belongings behind. The archers rushed to take what they
could, forgetting the Prophet's orders.
Khalid ibn al-Walid,
Commander of the Quraysh cavalry, saw the happenings and quickly
turned his men around and ordered them to attack the Muslims from
behind. The Muslims were taken completely by surprise. The Quraysh
then began attacking from both sides at once. Many Muslims were
killed and they began to lose a winning battle.
To add to the
confusion, it was rumoured that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had been killed. When
the Muslims heard this they were at a loss to know what to do.
Then a man named Anas called out, 'Brothers! If Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) has been
killed what will your lives be worth without him? Don't think
about living or dying. Fight for Allah. Get up and die the way
Muhammad died!'. On hearing this the Muslims took courage.
There had been several cavalry attacks on the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his
companions and the Prophet's check had been badly gashed. As the
Meccans closed in again he called out, 'Who will sell his life for
us?' At this, five Ansar got up and fought until they were killed,
one by one. Their places were soon taken, however, by a number of
Muslims who drove off the attackers.
Amongst the defending Muslims
was Abu Dujanah who put his arms around and shielded the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).
Throughout the remainder of the battle he held on to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam),
but as the fighting drew to a close he suddenly let go. Abu
Dujanah was killed by many arrows that hit him from back, which
were aimed at the Prophet.
With the defeat of the Muslims,
Quraysh were at last avenged. As they left the battle field Abu
Sufyan called out to his men, 'You have done well; victory in war
goes by turns-today in exchange for Badr!'
When he heard this,
the Prophet told 'Umar to answer him, saying, Allah is Most High
and Most Glorious. We are not equal. Our dead are in Paradise and
your dead are in Hell!' The Muslim soldiers then followed the
departing Quraysh part of the way to make sure that they were not
going to attack Madinah.
After the enemy had left, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
made his way around the battle-field to see the extent of the
Muslim losses. Many of the most faithful Muslims had been killed.
Among the dead, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) found the body of his closest friend
and uncle, Hamzah, who had been killed by the slave, Wahshi. At
the sight of this, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said, 'There will never be a moment
as sad for me as this.' Hamzah's sister, Safiyya, came to pray and
ask forgiveness for her brother, saying 'We belong to Allah and to
Allah we are returning.'
After the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had prayed over the
many dead, he said, 'I tell you that no one has been wounded in
Allah's cause but Allah will remember him and on the Day of
Resurrection will raise him from the dead. Look for the one who
has learned most of the Koran and put him in front of his
companions in the grave,' They were buried where they had fallen
as martyrs. Of them Allah says:
In the Name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful
Do not Think that those, who were killed
for Allah's sake
are dead. Nay, they are alive.
With their Lord they
have provision.
Jubilant (are they) because of that which Allah
hath
bestowed upon them of His bounty, rejoicing for
the sake of
those that have not yet joined them
because they have nothing to
fear or grieve over.
(Quran iii.I69-70)
It is said that the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) swore that no Muslim who had died for his beliefs would
want to come back to life for a single hour, even if he could own
the whole world, unless he could return and fight for Allah and be
killed a second time.
The Muslims felt that their defeat was due
to their disobedience to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). The Koran tells us that the
Muslims had been tested by Allah at Uhud and had failed but that
Allah forgave them their weakness.
In the Name of Allah, the
Beneficent, the Merciful
Some of you there are that desire this
world,
and some of you there are that desire the next world.
Then He
turned you from them, that He might try you;
and He has forgiven
you; and Allah is bounteous
to the believers.
(Quran iii.I45)
People living nowadays should learn from the lessons taken by the
early Muslims at Uhud. Disobedience to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and love for
the worldly things caused their defeat. The same can happen to us
as well. Even if we have no battle like Uhud to fight, we can
still die for Allah's sake by fighting what is bad in ourselves.
When the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) came back from a battle he said to his men, 'We have
returned from the lesser war to the greater war.' He meant by this
that the struggle that goes on within every human being to become
a better person is the more difficult battle.
<< Chapter 18 <<
>> Chapter 20 >>
Chapter 20
The Battle of the Trench
When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) first arrived in Madinah,
the Jews living there welcomed him. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had returned their
greetings, as he wished to be on good terms with them. An
agreement was also reached between the Muslims and the Jews,
enabling the Jews to practice their religion and also to set out
their rights and duties. Among these duties was that in the case
of war with Quraysh, the Jews would fight on the side of the
Muslims.
Despite this agreement, however, some of the Jewish
tribes, who resented the Prophet's presence in the medina, soon
began to cause trouble amongst the Muslims. They tried to set the
Muslim Emigrants from Mecca and the Ansar against each other. The
troublemakers were given many warnings but they continued to be a
nuisance. In the end, the Muslims had no choice but to drive them
out from Medina. A new agreement was offered to those Jews who
remained but the trouble did not end there. One of the Jewish
tribes, the Bani Nadir, tried to murder the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) but their plan
was discovered and they, too, were exiled from the city.
Realising that they
cannot defeat Muslims, some of the leaders of the exiled Jews
secretly went to Mecca to take the help of Quraysh. Knowing what
the Meccans would like to hear, they pretended to believe in the
same things. They said that they thought that the old Arab
tradition was better than the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
and that they believed that the Quraysh religion of worshipping
many idols was better than the Prophet's which has only one god.
Then the Jews told them that if all the Arab tribes attacked
Medina, the Jews inside the city would help to defeat the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
and Islam once and for all.
The leaders of Quraysh were pleased
to hear all this and seizing on this very good opportunity, agreed
to the plan and began to gather a formidable army. At the same
time in Madinah, one of the Jewish tribe, the Bani Qurayzah,
refused to betray the Muslims.
Eventually the Muslims learned of
the preparations being made for a war in Mecca and of the plotting
of the Jews within Medina itself. The betrayal of the Muslims by
the Jews did not surprise the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), who said of them: "The
hearts of the Jews have become closed to the truth. They have
forgotten what Moses taught them long ago - that there is only one
God."
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
The likeness of
those who are entrusted with the
Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is
as the likeness of
the ass carrying books. Evil is the likeness of
the
people who deny the revelations of Allah. And Allah
guideth not
wrongdoing folk.
(Quran Lxii.5)
The Muslims wondered how they
could defend Madinah. They heard that Abu Sufyan was coming to
attack them with an enormous army which included many other Arab
tribes, as well as Quraysh. What were they to do with only a
single week to prepare? The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his men knew that it would
be impossible for them to fight off all these tribes! The only
thing they could do was to stay inside the city and try to defend
it as best as they could.
Now among the people of Madinah was a
Persian named Salman al-Farsi (radiAllahu anhu), who had come to live in the city some time
before the Prophet's arrival there. As a convert to Christianity
he had travelled to Madinah after Christian sages had told him that
a Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) would be born in Arabia. On arriving in Madinah he was,
however, sold as a slave by the merchants with whom he had
travelled. Later he became a Muslim, gained his freedom and became
a member of the Prophet's household.
When the people gathered to
discuss the plan of action against the approaching enemy, Salman
was present and it was he who suggested that they should dig a
trench around the city. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) thought this as a good idea,
so the Muslims begin to work, although it was in the middle of
winter. They worked day and night, digging the trench as quickly
as possible. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) himself carried rocks and when the men
were tired he gave them the will to carry on. Someone later
recalled how beautiful he looked, dressed in a red cloak with dust
upon his breast and his dark hair nearly reaching his shoulders.
There was little food at this time and the men were often hungry
as they worked. On one occasion, however, a little girl gave some
dates to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), which he spread out on a cloth. The men were
then called to eat and the dates kept increasing in number until
everyone had been fed. Even after everyone had eaten their fill,
the dates continued to increase so that there were more than the
cloth could hold.
Similarly, there is the story of the lamb,
that has come down to us from one who was there:
'We worked with
the Apostle at the trench. I had a half-grown lamb and I thought
it would be a good thing to cook if for Allah's Messenger. I told
my wife to grind barley and make some bread for us. I killed the
lamb and we roasted it for the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). When night fell and he was
about to leave the trench, I told him we had prepared bread and
meat and invited him to our home. I wanted him to come on his own,
but when I said this he sent someone to call all the men to come
along. Everyone arrived and the food was served. He blessed it and
invoked the Name of Allah over it. Then he ate and so did all the
others. As soon as one lot were satisfied, another group came
until all the diggers had eaten enough, but still there was food
to spare.'
On March 24, 627 AD; Abu Sufyan arrived with more than ten
thousand men. The Muslims numbered only three thousand. Quraysh
and their allies surrounded Madinah but between the two armies was
the long, wide trench. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and his men stayed behind this
trench for nearly a month defending the city against their more
powerful enemy. Many times enemies tried to cross the trench and
enter the city, but each time they were pushed back by the
Muslims. The Muslims were afraid that if any one did manage to
cross over, the Jews inside Madinah would join forces with them and
the Muslims would be beaten.
The Jewish tribe of Bani Qurayzah,
who had stood by the agreement with the Muslims, were pressed by a
Jewish emissary from the enemy, to break their promise. Eventually
they agreed to do so and when this news reached the Prophet and
his Companions they were greatly troubled. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, the
leader of the tribe of Aws, was sent by the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) with two other
men to find out if this were true. When they arrived in the part
of Madinah where the Jews lived, they found that things were even
worse than they had previously thought. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, whose
tribe was closely allied with the Bani Qurayzah, tried to persuade
their leader not to break the treaty with the Muslims, but he
refused to listen. This meant that the Muslims could not relax
their guard for one moment, for they were now threatened not only
by the enemy beyond the trench, but by the Bani Qurayzah, within
the walls of the city.
Things became more difficult for the
Muslims day by day. It was extremely cold and food began to run
out. To make matters worse, the Bani Qurayzah began openly and
actively to join forces with the other Jews and cut off all
supplies to the Muslims, including food. The enemies of Islam then
planned how to capture Madinah.
The situation looked desperate
and the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) prayed to Allah to help the Muslims defeat their
enemies. That very night a sandstorm blew up which buried the
tents of Quraysh. The storm continued for three days and three
nights making it impossible for the enemy to light a fire to cook
a meal or warm themselves by.
On one of these dark nights the
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) asked one of his men, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, to go on a
dangerous mission. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) told him to make his way across the
trench to the enemy camp where he should find out what they were
doing.
With much difficulty Hudhayfah crossed the trench and
made his way to a circle of Quraysh warriors talking in the
darkness. He sat near them, but as there was no fire, no one
noticed him. He then heard Abu Sufyan's voice: 'Let us go home!'
he said. 'We have had enough. The horses and camels are dying, the
tents keep blowing away, most of the equipment has been lost, and
we cannot cook our food. There is no reason to stay!'
Shortly
after hearing this Hudhayfah made his way quickly and quietly back
across the trench and the next morning the Muslims rejoiced to
find that what he had overheard had come true-Quraysh and their
allies had gone away! The siege of Madinah had ended in a great
victory for Islam.
But this was not to be the end of the
difficulties, for the Archangel Gabriel came to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) and
told him that he should punish the Bani Qurayzah for betraying him
and the Muslims. On hearing this, the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) ordered the Muslims
to march against the Bani Qurayzah as they hid in their fortress.
The Muslims besieged them for twenty-five days until they finally
gave in. On surrendering, they asked the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) to let someone
judge their case, and he agreed. He also allowed them to choose
who would give the ruling.
The man chosen to judge the Bani
Qurayzah was Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, leader of the Aws, a tribe which had
always protected the Qurayzah in the past. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, who
had himself been wounded in the battle, decided that the Jews
should be tried by their own Holy Law, according to which anyone
who broke a treaty would be put to death. As a result all the men
of the Bani Qurayzah were executed and the women and children made
captive.
If the Jews had succeeded in their pact, Islam would
have been destroyed. Instead, from that day on, Madinah became a
city where only Muslims lived.
Very soon after peace had been
restored to Madinah, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh died of his wounds. It was
said that the Archangel Gabriel came in the middle of that night
and said to the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 'O Muhammad, who is this dead man? When he
arrived, the doors of heaven opened and the Throne of Allah
shook.'
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) got up as soon as he heard this, but found
that Sa'd was already dead. Although he had been a heavy man, the
men who carried his body to the grave found it quite light. They
were told that the angels were helping them. When he was buried,
the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said three times, 'Subhan Allah!' (Glory be to Allah),
and 'Allahu Akbar!' (Allah is Most Great!) When asked why he did
this, he replied, 'The grave was tight for this good man, until
Allah eased it for him.' This is one of the rewards that Allah
gives to martyrs and good Muslims.
<< Chapter 19 <<
>> Chapter 21 >>