First Prize Winner Book
 THE SEAEED NECTAB 
the Noble Prophets 
This Book was awarded First Prize by the Muslim World
League at worldwide competition on the biography of the
Prophet i held at Makkah Al Mukarramah in 1399 H 1979
Safi ur Rahman al Mubarakpuri
Islamic University Al Madina Al Munawwara
Maktaba Dar us Salam
Publishers and Distributors
Saudi Arabia UK USA Pakistan
 Dar us SalamPublications 1996 a 1416
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying and
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without
written permission of the publisher 
First Edition ji X i h B
ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID
Dar us Salam Publications j tU jb
P O Box22743 Riyadh 11416 mu YYVtr u 
Tel 4033962Fax 4021659 l YTUY
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 5 _jj 4 S ujjJ X 
Branches in other Countries 
Dar us Salam Publications
P O Box 737651 Corona
Tel 718 699 5366
Dar us Salam Publications
50 Lower Mall Road
Near M A O College
Tel Fax 042 7354072
Dar us Salam Publications
10107 Westview 308
Houston Tx 77043 USA
Tel 713 935 9206
Fax 713 722 0431
Dar us Salam Publications
Ghazni Street Urdu Bazar
Tel 042 7120054
PUBLISHER S NOTE
Heart of every Muslim is filled with the love of the last Prophet Muhammad
 jji jju and this love of the Messenger of Allah is an asset for him Love and
respect of a person depends on the benefits we get from him As the Prophet is the
greatest benefactor of humanity every Muslim has deepest love for him Every
deed of his life is to be followed by every individual of Muslim Ummah Highest
love for the Prophet di jl is made a test of our faith Allah All Mighty has
described and explained the status of Muhammad j in Qur an 
 Say O Muhammad to mankind If you really love Allah
then follow me i e accept Islamic Monotheism follow the Qur an and the
Sunna Allah will love you 3 31 
Love of Allah s Messenger is a part of our faith There is a Hadith
 tradition of Prophet fJUj ui he said 
jj tV 4H 
 None of you has faith unless I am dearer to him than his father and his son
and all mankind 
In the early period of Islam many books were written on the life of the Prophet
 jl j ii j In the Qur an itself good example of the life of Muhammad a u ui
 J i j has also been mentioned Qur an says 
 And verily you O Muhammad jui are on an exalted standard of
character 68 4 
Someone asked Aishah ui about the noble character and manners of the
Prophet pi j ou ut She answered Have you not read the Qur an His character
is a complete explanation of Qur an 
It means that whatever is commanded and prohibited in the Qur an its practical
example is present in the manners of Muhammad 4 u ui jl In other words the
ideal and perfect example of good manners and character which Qur an demands
from mankind was present in the person of Muhammad ui in its highest
Scholars of Hadith traditions and writers of the biography of Muhammad the
Messenger of Allah 4 ui jl has explored his life from every angle and aspect
from birth to death Every event every incident of his life has been described and
narrated but none has claimed that he has given its full rights Hundreds of books
have been written on the life of Muhammad juj ui and this routine will
continue till the Day of Resurrection 
No doubt r iiai Ar Rahiq Al Makhtoom The Sealed Nectar is a book of
great value and praiseworthy work on the life of Muhammad j This book
has been written by the Eminent Sheikh Safi ur Rahman Mubarakpuri of Jamiah
Salafiyah Banaras India The first Islamic Conference on Seerah biography of
the Prophet jjL j ih ju was held in 1976 at Pakistan through the Muslim World
League The League announced a world contest for writing a book on the life of the
Prophet pL j jji One hundred fifty thousand Saudi Riyals SR 150 000 
 Forty thousand U S Dollars was declared prize money for the best five books 
One hundred and seventy one manuscripts were received from all over the
world Out of these eighty four were in Arabic language sixty four in Urdu
language twenty one were in English language and one each in French and Hausa 
A board of highly qualified scholars judged the manuscripts and announced the
results The manuscript of Sheikh Safi ur Rahman Mubarakpuri Jamiah Salafiyah
Banaras India author of the book in hand Ar Rahiq Al Makhtoom received first
prize of SR 50 000 Fifty thousand Saudi Riyals for its authentic and sound
collections of the narrations Dr Majid Ali Khan New Delhi India received
second prize Third prize went to Dr Naseer Ahmed Islamic University Pakistan 
Fourth prize was awarded to Mr Hamid Mahmud of Egypt and the last fifth prize
was given to Abdussalam Hashim of Madina Munawarah A dignified prize
distribution ceremony was held at Makkah Mukarammah on 12 Rabi ul Awwal
1399 A H Afterwards the book was published by the Muslim World League and
then many other organizations gained the honour of publishing this book Maktaba
Dar us Salam also published this book in Arabic language I wished to publish this
book in English language fcr the wider benefit of humanity Sheikh
Safi ur Rahman willingly agreed to the idea and consented to publish the English
translation The stage of translation was traversed with the help of brother Mahir
Abu Dhahab owner and General Manager of Markaz Noor ush Sham in Damascus Syria 
Erudite staff members of Maktaba Dar us Salam Hafiz Muhammad Tahir 
Mr Saeeduddin Mr Shakeel Ahmed worked day and night and accomplished die
project Original text was compared with the translation necessary alterations were
made and other needful technical tasks were completed Hafiz Abdul Mateen
numbered Quranic verses and traditions and added vowel points to them After a
coherent toil of months the book is published a ji All praise is for Allah I am
thankful to all the staff members of Maktaba Dar us Salam and Brother Mahir Abu
Dhahab deserves my special thanks for the help and cooperation The publisher
will appreciate views and opinions of the readers about this book 
Yours brother in Islam
Abdul Malik Mujahid
23rd Ramadan ul Mubarak 1415 A H 
All praise is due to Allah the Rubb of all mankind Jinn and all that
exists May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon our Prophet the Chief
of all Messengers Muhammad his family companions and all those who
follow him till the Day of Judgement 
It is about two decade before when I presented brief outlines on my life
to the Muslim World League while compilation and publishing of this book 
Since after many changes have taken place therefore I preferred to update
Name and lineage 
Name Safiur Rahman
Kunniyatf 1 Abu Hisham 
Lineage Safiur Rahman bin Abdullah bin Muhammad Akbar bin
M uhammad Ali bin Abdul Mumin bin Faqirullah
Date and place of birth 
I was bom in the middl e of year 1942 in Husainabad a village one mile far in
the north side of Mubakirpur District Azamgarh a town famous for home industy
in the northern province of India 
I started my studies at home reading the Qur an from my gandfather and uncle 
Then I was admitted in Madrasa Arabia Darut Taleem Mubarakpur and started
basic Islamic education in Arabic and persian languages 
In Shawwal 1373 H June 1954 I got admission in Madarsa Ehyaul Uloom 
Mubarakpur for further education in Islamic studies and Arabic literature Two
years later in Shawwal 1375 H May 1956 I joined Madarsa Faid Aam Maunath
Bhanjan District Azamgarh for higher education 
On completion of my seven years study in Islamic courses I received Fadilat
Degree from the same Institute in Shaban 1380 H I also received the Certificates
of Maulvi in 1959 and m in 1960 from Government Education Board on passing
their examinations with high grade After changes in the system of Arabic Schools 
I participated in Fadil Degree examination under the Government Education
Board consequently passed double Fadil examinations in 1976 and 1978 with high
Author s Note 
Location and nature of Arab Tribes 15
Location of the Arabs 15
Arab Tribes 16
Rulership and Princeship among the Arabs 23
Rulership in Yemen 23
Rulership in Heerah 25
Rulership in Geographical Syria 27
 Rulership in Hijaz 27
 The Reasons of this war have been illustrated in three versions 29
Rulership in Pan Arabia 32
yThe political situation 33
Religions of the Arabs 34
The Religious situation 42
Aspects of Pre Islamic Arabian Society 43
JSocial life of the Arabs r 43
 Jhe Economic Situation 46
y Ethics 46
The Lineage and Family of Muhammad ui y 49
The prophetic Family 50
Muhammad s Birth and Forty years prior Prophethood 56
His Birth 56
Back to his passionate Mother 59
To His compassionate Grandfather 59
Bahira the Monk 60
The Sacrilegious wars 61
ALFudoul confederacy 61
Muhammad s Early Job 62
His Marriage to Khadijah 62
Rebuilding Al Ka bah and the Arbitration Issue 63
A Rapid Review of Muhammad s Biography before commissioning of the
In the Shade of the Message and Prophethood 67
In the Cave of Hira 67
Gabriel brings down the Revelation 67
Interruption of Revelation 70
Once more Gabriel brings Allah s Revelation 71
Some details pertinent to the successive stages of Revelation 
Proclaiming Allah the All High and the Immediate Constituents 
Phases and stages of the call 
The First Stage
Strife in the Way of the Call 
Three years of Secret Call 
The Early Copverts 
As Salat the Prayer 
The Quraishites learn about the Call 
The Second Phase
First Revelation regarding the Pr eaching 
Calling the Closest Kinspeople 
On Mount As Safa 
 Shouting the Truth and the Polytheists Reaction 
An Advisory Council to debar Pilgrims from M uhammad s Call_
Attempts made to check the Onward March of Islam 
The House of Al Arqum 
The First Migration to Abyssinia Ethiopia 
Quraish s Machination against the Emigrants 
Once more Quraish approaches Abu Talib 
The Tyrants Decision to kill the Prophet w 
The Conversion of Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib 
The Conversion of Umar bin Al Khattab 
Quraish s Representative negotiates with the Messenger of Allah j 
Abu Talib assmbles Bani Hashim and Bani Al Muttalib 
General Social Boycott 
A Pact of Injustice and Aggression 
The Final Phase of the Diplomacy of Negotiation 
The Year of Grief 
Abu Talib s Death 
Khadijah passes away to the Mercy of Allah 
His Marriage to Sawdah in Shawwal the tenth year of Prophethood 
Factors inspiring patience and perserverance 
The Third Phase
Calling unto Islam beyond Makkah 136
Islam being introduced to Arabian Tribes and Individuals_141
Hope inspiring Breezes from the Madinese_145
Marriage of the Prophet m ju to Aisha 146
AMsra and Al Mii raj 147
The First Aqabah Pledge 154
The Muslim Envoy in Madinah 154
The Second Aqabah Pledge 157
The Vanguard of Migration in the Cause of Allah 163
In An Nadwata Council House The Parliament of Quraish 166
Migration of the Prophet 168
Life In Madinah 178
The First Phase
The Statns Quo in Madinah at the Time of Emigration 181
A New Society being built 187
A Charter of Islamic Alliance 189
A Cooperation and Non Aggression Pact with the Jews 197
The Prophet on the Battlefield 199
Pre Badr Missions and Invasions 202
The Battle of Badr 210
The First Decisive Battle in the History of Islam 210
Reason of the Battle 210
Some Significant Instances of Devotion 224
Reaction in Makkah 227
Madinah receives the News of Victory 228
y The Battle of Badr in its Qur anic Context 232
The Military Activities between Badr and Uhud 234
Al Kudr Invasion 235
An Attempt on the Life of the Prophet 1 m ju 235
Invasion of Bani Qainuqa 236
The Qainuqa Jews breach the Covenant 238
As Sawiq Invasion 240
Dhi Amr Invasion 240
Ka b bin Al Ashrafi killed 241
The Invasion of Buhran 243
Zaid bin Harithah leads a Compaign on the Trade Routes of Quraish 243
The Battle of Uhud 245
A Consultation Assembly for a Defence Plan 247
Dividing the Islamic Army into phalanxes and Departure to the Battlefield 248
Parading the Army 249
Passing the Night between Uhud and Madinah 250
The Rebellion of Abdullah bin Ubai and his Followers 250
The Remainder of the Islamic Army are on the Move to Uhud 252
The Defence Plan 252
The Messenger of Allah fa implants the Spirit of Bravery among his
Armed Forces 254
Recruitment of the Makkan Army 255
Political Manoeuvres of Quraish 256
The effort of Quraishite women at waging the Zeal of Men 257
The Combat 257
Assassination of Asadullah the Lion of Allah Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib 261
Bringing the Situation under Control 261
From his wife s lap to Sword fights and Sorrows 262
The Contribution of the Archers squad to the Battle 262
The Archers s Fatal Mistake 263
The Most Awkward Hour in the Messenger s Life 267
Multilation of the Martyrs 279
Burial of the Martyrs 284
Hamra Al Asad Invasion 288
The Observations of the Noble Qur an on the Battle of Uhud 293
Lessons and Moralities 294
Military Platoons and Missions between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle
of the Confederates 296
 Abi Salamah Mission 296
An Errand led by Abdullah bin Unais 297
The Event of Ar Raji 297
The Tragedy of Ma una Well 299
Bani An Nadeer Invasion 301
The Invasion of Najd 305
The Invasion of Badr the Second 306
The Invasion of Doumat Al Jandal 307
Al Ahzab the Confederates Invasion 311
Invading Banu Quraiza 321
Military Activities continued 325
Bani Lihyan Invasion 327
Expeditions and Delegations continued 327
Bani Al Mustaliq Muraisi Ghazwah Sha ban 6 Hijri 330
The treacherous Role of the Hypocrites Prior to the Bani Al Mustaliq Ghazwah 330
The wicked Role they played in the Course of the Ghazwah of Bani Al Mustaliq 333
The Slander Affair 334
Delegations and Expeditions following Al MuraisP Ghazwah 337
Al Hudaibiyah Treaty Dhul Qu dah 6 A H 339
Al Hudaibiya Treaty Socio Political Impact 346
The Second Stage
A New Phase of Islamic Action 349
The Prophet s Plans to spread the Message of Islam to beyond Arabia 350
A Deputation to Abyssinia Ethiopia 350
Letter to the Vicegerent of Egypt called Muqawqas 353
A Letter to chosroes Emperor of Persia 354
The Envoy to Caesar King of Rome 355
A Letter to Mundhir bin Sawa Governor of Bahrain 358
A Letter to Haudha bin Ali Governor of Yamama 359
A Letter to Harith bin Abi Shamir Al Ghassani King of Damascus 360
A Letter to the King of Oman Jaifer and his Bother Abd Al Jalandi 360
Post Hudaibiyah Hostilities
Dhu Qarad Invasion 364
The Conquest of Khaibar in Moharram 7 A H 366
The Actual operation begins 370
The Second Part of Khaibar Conquered 371
Distribution of Spoils 372
Sporadic Invasions 376
The Expedition called Dhat ur Riqa in the year 7 A H 376
The Compensatory Umrah Lesser Pilgrimage 380
The Battle of Mu tah 383
Dhat As Salasil Compaign 386
Khadrah Campaign 387
The Conquest of Makkah 388
Pre conquest Events 388
Preparations for the Attach on Makkah and the Prophet s Attempt at imposing
a News Black out 389
The Third Stage 402
Hunain Ghazwah 403
The Enemy s march and their Encampment at Awtas 403
The war experienced Man wongs the Leader s Judgement 403
Reconnoitering the Weapons of the Messenger of Allah 404
Reconnoitering the Enemy s Weapons 404
The Messenger of Allah ui jl leaves Makkah for Hunain 404
The Islamic Army stunned the Archers and the Attackers 405
Muslims return to the Battlefield and the fierceness of the Fight 406
Reverse of Fortunes and the Enemy s utter Defeat 407
Hot pursuit of the Enemy 408
Ta if Compaign 409
The Distribution of the Booty at al Ji ranah 411
The Helpers Al Ansar are furious at the Messenger of Allah 412
Arrival of the Hawazin Delegation 414
Lesser Pilgrimage Al Umrah to Makkah and leaving for Madinah 416
Missions and Platoons Alter the Conquest 417
The Platoons 418
The Invasion of Tabnk In Rajah in the year 9 A H 422
The underlying Reasons 422
General News about die Byzantines and Ghassanide Preparations for War 423
Particular News about die Byzantine and Ghassanide preparations for War 424
The Muslim Army is leaving for Tabuk 427
The Army of Islam at Tabuk 429
Returning to Madinah 430
The People Who lagged Behind 431
The Invasion of Tabuk and its Far Reaching Ramifications 433
The Qur Snic Verses Relating to this Invasion 434
Some Important Events that featured that Year 435
Abu Bakr performs the Pilgrimage 436
A Meditation on the Ghazawat 437
People embrace the Religion of Allah in Large Crowds 441
The Delegations 443
The Success and Impact of the Call 458
The Farewell Pilgrimage 461
The Last Expeditions 470
The Journey to Allah the Sublime 471
Symptoms of Farewell 471
The Start of the Disease 472
The Last Week 472
Five days before death 472
Four days before his death 475
A Day or Two prior to Death 476
A Day before his Death 477
The Last day Alive 477
The Prophet j breathes his Last 478
The companions concern over the Prophet s Death 479
Umar s Attitude 480
Abu Bakr s Attitude 480
Burial and Farewell Preparations to his Honourable Body 481
The Prophet Household 483
The Prophet Attributes and Manners 492
Beauty of creation 492
The perfection of Soul and Nobility 496
Location and Nature of Arab Tribes
Beyond a shadow of doubt the biography of Prophet Muhammad
manifestedly represents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine
Message that he communicated in order to deliver the human race from the
swamp of darkness and polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism 
An image authentic as well as comprehensive of this Message is therefore
only attainable through careful study and profound analysis of both
backgrounds and issues of such a biography In view of this a whole
chapter is here introduced about the nature and development of Arab tribes
prior to Islam as well as the circumstantial environment that enwrapped the
Prophet s mission 
Location of the Arabs 
Linguistically the word Arab means deserts and waste barren land
well nigh waterless and treeless Ever since the dawn of history the Arabian
Peninsula and its people have been called as such 
The Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the Red Sea and Sinai 
in the east by the Arabian Gulf in the south by the Arabian Sea which is an
extension of the Indian Ocean and in the north by old Syria and part of Iraq 
The area is estimated between a million and a million and a quarter square
Thanks to its geographical position the peninsula has always maintained
great importance Considering its internal setting it is mostly deserts and
sandy places which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders 
and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages 
despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires 
Its external setting on the other hand caused it to be the centre of the old
world and provided it with sea and land links with most nations at the time 
Thanks to this strategic position the Arabian Peninsula had become the
centre for trade culture religion and art 
Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups 
1 Perishing Arabs The ancient Arabs of whose history little is known 
and of whom were Ad Tharndd Tasam Jadis Emlaq and others 
2 Pure Arabs Who originated from the progeny of Ya rub bin Yashjub
bin Qahtan They were also called Qahtanian Arabs 
3 Arabized Arabs Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael They
were also called Adnanian Arabs 
The pure Arabs the people of Qahtan originally lived in Yemen and
comprised many tribes two of which were very famous 
a Himyar The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al Jamhur 
Quda a and Sakasic 
b K ah lan The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan Anmar Tai 
Mudhhij Kinda Lakhm Judham Azd Aws Khazraj and the
descendants of Jafna the kings of old Syria 
Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the
Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood Sail Al Arim of Ma rib Dam 
due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea
and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria 
Naturally enough the competition between Kahlan and Himyar led to the
evacuation of the first and the settlement of the second in Yemen 
The emigrating septs of Kahlan can be divided into four groups 
l Azd Who under the leadership of Imran bin Amr Muzaiqba 
wandered in Yemen sent pioneers and finally headed northwards 
Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows 
Tha labah bin Amr left his tribe Al Azd for Hijaz and dwelt
between Tha labiyah and Dhi Qar When he gained strength he
headed for Madinah where he stayed Of his seed are Aws and
Khazraj sons of Haritha bin Thaiabah 
Haritha bin Amr known as Khuza a wandered with his folks in
Hijaz until they came to Mar Az Zahran Later they conquered the
Haram and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people the
tribe of Jurhum 
 Imran bin Amr and his folks went to Oman where they
established the tribe of Azd whose children inhabited Tihamaand
were known as Azd of Shanu a 
J affaa bin Amr and his family headed for Syria where he settled
and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring
of water in Hijaz where they stopped on their way to Syria 
2 Lakhm and Judham Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi a father of
Manadhira Kings of Heerah 
3 Banu Tai Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so called
Aja and Salma Mountains which were consequently named as Tai 
4 Kinda Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and
Najd where they instituted a powerful government but not for long 
for the whole tribe soon faded away 
Another tribe of Himyar known as Quda a also left Yemen and
dwelt in Samawa semi desert on the borders of Iraq 
The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather
Abraham from a town called Ar near Kufa on the west bank of the
Euphrates in Iraq Excavations brought to light great details of the town 
Abraham s family and the prevalent religions and social circumstances 
It is known that Abraham f ii i left Ar for Harran and then for Palestine 
which he made headquarters for his Message He wandered all over the
area When he went to Egypt the Pharaoh tried to do evil to his wife Sarah 
but Allah saved her and the Pharaoh s wicked scheme recoiled on him He
thus came to realize her strong attachment to Allah and in acknowledgment
of her grace the Pharaoh rendered his daughter Hagar at Sarah s service 
but Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife Pl
 Tafheem ul Qur an 1 553 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 474 
Abraham returned to Palestine where Hagar gave birth to Ishmael Sarah
became so jealous of Hagar that she forced Abraham to send Hagar and her
baby away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz by the Sacred
House exposed to the wearing of floods coming right and left He chose for
them a place under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the
Mosque in Makkah where neither people nor water was available and went
back to Palestine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with some
dates and a pot of water Not before long they ran out of both food and
water but thanks to Allah s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for
sometime The whole story of Zamzam spring is already known to
Another Yemeni tribe Jurhum the Second came and lived in Makkah
upon Hagar s permission after being said to have lived in the valleys
around Makkah It is mentioned in the Sahih Al Bukhari that this tribe came
to Makkah before Ishmael was a young man while they had passed through
that valley long before this event 
Abraham used to go to Makkah every now and then to see his wife and
son The number of these journeys is still unknown but authentic historical
resources spoke of four ones 
Allah the Sublime stated in the Noble Qur an that He had Abraham see 
in his dream that he slaughtered his son Ishmael and therefore Abraham
stood up to fulfill His Order 
IS LVJ I dx Xj O cJ ii Xy O o5 J l ii1 llli 
ocelli jyfcjf ji
 Then when they had both submitted themselves to the Will of
Allah and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead or on the
side of his forehead for slaughtering and We called out to him 
 O Abraham You have fulfilled the dream vision Verily 
Thus do we reward the Muhsinun good doers who perform
good deeds totally for Allah s sake only without any show off
or to gain praise or fame etc and do them in accordance to
Allah s Orders Verily that indeed was a manifest trial and
1 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 475 
We ransomed him with a great sacrifice i e a ram 
 37 103 107 
It is mentioned in the Genesis that Ishmael was thirteen years older than
his brother Ishaq The sequence of the story of the sacrifice of Ishmael
shows that it really happened before Ishaq s birth and that Allah s Promise
to give Abraham another son Ishaq came after narration of the whole story 
This story spoke of one journey at least before Ishmael became a
young man Al Bukhari on the authority oflbn Abbas reported the other
three journeys a summary of which goes as follows 
When Ishmael became a young man he learned Arabic at the hand of the
tribe of Jurhum who loved him with great admiration and gave him one of
their women as a wife soon after his mother died Having wanted to see his
wife and son again Abraham came to Makkah after Ishmael s marriage 
but he didn t find him at home He asked Ishmael s wife about her husband
and how they were doing She complained of poverty so he asked her to tell
Ishmael to change his doorstep Ishmael understood the message divorced
his wife and got married to the daughter of Mudad bin Amr chief of the
tribe of Jurhum 
Once more Abraham came to see his son but again didn t find him at
home He asked his new wife the same previous question to which she
thanked AMh Abraham asked her to tell Ishmael to keep his doorstep i e 
to keep her as wife and went back to Palestine 
A third time Abraham came to Makkah to find Ishmael sharpening an
arrow under a lofty tree near Zamzam The meeting after a very long
journey of separation was very touching for a father so affectionate and a so
dutiful and righteous son This time father and son built Al Ka bah and
raised its pillars and Abraham in compliance with Allah s Commandment 
called unto people to make pilgrimage to it 
By the grace of AllSh Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of
Mudad whose names were Nabet Qidar Edbael Mebsham Mishma 
Duma Micha Hudud Yetma Yetour Nafis and Qidman and who
ultimately formed twelve tribes inhabiting Makkah and trading between
PI Qalb Jazeerat Al Arab p 230 
Yemen geographical Syria and Egypt Later on these tribes spread all over 
and even outside the peninsula All their tidings went into oblivion except
for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar 
The Nabeteans sons of Nabet established a flourishing civilization in
the north ofHijaz they instituted a powerful government which spread out
its domain over all neighbouring tribes and made Petra their capital 
Nobody dared challenge their authority until the Romans came and
managed to eliminate their kingdom After extensive research and
painstaking investigation Mr Sulaiman An Nadwi came to the conclusion
that the Ghassanide kings along with the Aws and Khazraj were not likely
to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans l l
Descendants of Qidar the son of Ishmael lived long in Makkah
increasing in number of them issued Adnan and son Ma ad to whom
 Adnanian Arabs traced back their ancestry Adnan is the twenty first
grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry It was said that whenever
Prophet Muhammad j i spoke of his ancestry he would stop at
 Adnan and say Genealogists tell lies and did not go farther than him A
group of scholars however favoured the probability of going beyond
 Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith 
They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between Adnan
and Abraham f jui u Pl
Nizar Ma ad s only son had four sons who branched out into four great
tribes Eyad Anmar Rabi a and Mudar These last two sub branched into
several septs Rabi a fathered Asad Anazah Abdul Qais and Wa il s two
sons Bakr and Taghlib Hanifa and many others 
Mudar tribes branched out into two great divisions Qais Ailan bin
Mudar and septs of Elias bin Mudar Of Qais Ailan were the Banu Saleem 
Banu Hawazin and Banu Ghatafan of whom descended Abs Zubyan 
Ashja and Ghani bin A sur Of Elias bin Mudar were Tamim bin Murra 
Hudhail bin Mudrika Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah and septs of Kinana bin
Khuzaimah of whom came Quraish the descendants of Fahr bin Malik bin
An Nadr bin Kinana 
 1 Tareekh Ard Al Qur an 2 78 86 
PI Rahmat ul liralameen 2 7 17 
Quraish branched out into various tribes the most famous of whom were
Jumah Sahm Adi Makhzum Tayim Zahra and the three septs of Qusai
bin Kilab Abd Ad Darbin Qusai Asad bin Abdul Uzza bin Qusai and
 Abd Manaf bin Qusai 
 Abd Manaf branched out into four tribes Abd Shams Nawfal Muttalib
and Hashim It is however from the family of Hashim that Allah selected
Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim fu u j 
Prophet Muhammad in said 
Sij j 4 uq b h 
o t o 4 lily
 Allah selected Ishmael from the sons of Abraham Kinana from
the sons of Ishmael Quraish from the sons of Kinana Hashim
from the sons of Quraish and He selected me from the sons of
Al Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib quoted the Messenger of Allah
J j Cr o 3 l 9
ojipl 4 aJ C J L I Jst 
 Allah created mankind and chose me from the best whereof He
chose the tribes and selected me from the best whereof and He
chose families and selected me from the best whereof I am the
very best in person and family 2 
Having increased in number children of Adnan in pursuit of pastures
and water spread out over various parts of Arabia 
 Sahih Muslim 2 245 Tinnidhi 2 201 
P Tinnidhi 2 201 
The tribe of Abdul Qais together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa il and
Tamim emigrated to Bahrain where they dwelt 
Banu Hanifa bin Sa b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr the capital
of Yamama All die tribes of Bakr bin Wa il lived in an area of land which
included Yamama Bahrain Saif Kazima die sea shore the outer borders of
Iraq Ablah and Hait 
Most of the tribe of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of
them lived with Bakr 
Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi desert 
Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from
Wadi Al Qura to Khaibar onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah 
Thaqif dwelt in Ta if and Hawazin east ofMakkahnear Autas on the
road from Makkah to Basra 
Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taima and west of Kufa while
family of Tai lived between Banu Asad and Taima They were five day 
walk far from Kufa 
Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taima and Hawran 
Some septs of Kinana lived in Tihama while septs of Quraish dwelt in
Makkah and its suburbs Quraish remained completely disunited until Qusai
bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major
prominence to their status and importance 
 Muhadrat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 15 16 
Rulership and Princeship
among the Arabs
When talking about the Arabs before Islam we deem it necessary to draw
a mini picture of the history of rulership princeship sectarianism and the
religious dominations of the Arabs so as to facilitate the understanding of
emergent circ umstanc es when Islam appeared 
When the sun of Islam rose rulers of Arabia were of two kinds crowned
king s who were in fact not independent and heads of tribes and clans who
enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and
were mostly independent though some of whom could have shown some
kin d of submission to a crowned king The crowned kings were only those
of Yemen Heerah and Ghassan All other rulers of Arabia were non 
Rulership in Yemen 
The folks of Sheba were one of the oldest nations of the pure Arabs who
lived in Yemen Excavations at Or brought to light their existence twenty
five centuries B C Their civilization flourished and their domain spread
eleven centuries B C 
It is possible to divide their ages according to the following estimation 
1 The centuries before 650 B C during which their kings were called
 Makrib Sheba Their capital was Sarwah also known as
 Khriba whose ruins lie in a spot a day s walk from the western side
of Ma rib During this period they started building the Dam of
Ma rib which had great importance in the history of Yemen Sheba
was also said to have had so great a domain that they had colonies
inside and outside Arabia 
2 From 650 B C until 115 B C During this era they gave up the name
 Makrib and assumed the designation of Kings of Sheba They
also made Ma rib their capital instead of Sarwah The ruins of Ma rib
lie at a distance of sixty miles east of San a 
3 From 115 B C until 300 A D During this period the tribe of Himyar
Ma rib Later on Redan was called Zifar Its ruins still lie on
Mudawwar Mountain near the town of Yarim During this period 
they began to decline and fall Their trade failed to a very great extent 
firstly because of the Nabetean domain over the north of Hijaz 
secondly because of the Roman superiority over the naval trade
routes after the Roman conquest of Egypt Syria and the north of
Hijaz and thirdly because of the inter tribal warfare Thanks to the
three above mentioned factors families of Qahtan were disunited and
4 From 300 A D until Islam dawned on Yemen This period witnessed
a lot of disorder and turmoil The great many and civil wars rendered
the people of Yemen liable to foreign subjection and hence loss of
independence During this era the Romans conquered Adn and even
helped the Abyssinians Ethiopians to occupy Yemen for the first
time in 340 A D making use of the constant intra tribal conflict of
Hamdan and Himyar The Abyssinian Ethiopian occupation of
Yemen lasted until 378 A D whereafter Yemen regained its
independence Later on cracks began to show in Ma rib Dam which
led to the Great Flood 450 or 451 A D mentioned in the Noble
Qur an This was a great event which caused the fall of the entire
Yemeni civilization and the dispersal of the nations living therein 
In 523 Dhu Nawas a Jew despatched a great campaign against the
Christians of Najran in order to force them to convert into Judaism Having
refused to do so they were thrown alive into a big ditch where a great fire
had been set The Qur n referred to this event 
 Cursed were the people of the ditch 85 4 
This aroused great wrath among the Christians and especially the Roman
emperors who not only instigated the Abyssinians Ethiopians against
Arabs but also assembled a large fleet which helped the Abyssinian
 Ethiopian army of seventy thousand warriors to effect a second conquest
of Yemen in 525 A D under the leadership of Eriat who was granted
rulership over Yemen a position he held until he was assassinated by one of
his army leaders Abraha who after reconciliation with the king of
Abyssinia took rulership over Yemen and later on deployed his soldiers to
demolish Al Ka bah and hence he and his soldiers came to be known as
the Men of the Elephant 
After the Elephant incident the people of Yemen under the leadership
of Ma dikarib bin Saif Dhu Yazin Al Himyari and through Persian
assistance revolted against the Abyssinian Ethiopian invaders restored
independence and appointed Ma dikarib as their king However Ma dikarib
was assassinated by an Abyssinian Ethiopian he used to have him around
for service and protection The family of Dhu Yazin was thus deprived of
royalty forever Kisra the Persian king appointed a Persian ruler over San a
and thus made Yemen a Persian colony Persian rulers maintained rulership
of Yemen until Badhan the last of them embraced Islam in 638 A D thus
terminating the Persian domain over Yemen 
Rulership in Heerah 
Ever since Korosh the Great 557 529 B C united the Persians they
ruled Iraq and its neighbourhood Nobody could shake off their authority
until Alexander the Great vanquished their king Dara I and thus subdued the
Persians in 326 B C Persian lands were thenceforth divided and ruled by
kings known as the Kings of Sects an era which lasted until 230 A D 
Meanwhile the Qahtanians occupied some Iraqi territories and were later
followed by some Adnanians who managed to share some parts of
Mesopotamia with them 
The Persians under the leadership of Ardashir who had established the
Sasanian state in 226 A D regained enough unity and power to subdue the
Arabs living in the vicinity of their kingdom and force Quda a to leave for
Syria leaving die people of Heerah and Anbar under the Persian domain 
During the time of Ardashir Juzaima Alwaddah exercised rulership over
Heerah Rabi a and Mudar and Mesopotamia Ardashir had reckoned that it
was impossible for him to rule the Arabs directly and prevent them from
attacking his borders unless he appointed as king one of them who enjoyed
support and power of his tribe He had also seen that he could make use of
them against the Byzantine kings who always used to harass him At the
same time the Arabs of Iraq could face the Arabs of Syria who were in the
hold of Byzantine kings However he deemed it fit to keep a Persian
battalion under command of the king of Heerah to be used against those
Arabs who might rebel against him 
After the death of Juzaima around 268 A D Amr bin Adi bin Nasr
Al Lakhmi was appointed as king by the Persian King Sabour bin Ardashir 
 Amr was the first of the Lakhmi kings who ruled Heerah until the Persians
appointed Qabaz bin Fairuz in whose reign appeared someone called
Mazdak who called for dissoluteness in social life Qabaz and many of his
subjects embraced Mazdak s religion and even called upon die king of
Heerah Al Munzir bin Ma As Sama to follow after When the latter 
because of his pride and self respect rejected their orders Qabaz discharged
him and nominated Harith bin Amr bin Hajar Al Kindi who had accepted
the Mazdaki doctrine 
No sooner did Kisra Anu Shairwan succeed Qabaz than he due to hatred
of Mazdak s philosophy killed Mazdak and many of his followers restored
Munzir to the throne of Heerah and gave orders to summon under arrest
Harith who sought refuge with Al Kalb tribe where he spent the rest of his
Sons of Al Munzir bin Ma As Sama maintained kingship a long time
until An Nu man bin Al Munzir took over Because of a calumny borne by
Zaid bin Adi Al Abbadi the Persian king got angry with An Nu man and
summoned him to his palace An Nu man went secretly to Hani bin Mas ud 
chief of Shaiban tribe and left his wealth and family under the latter s
protection and then presented himself before the Persian king who
immediately threw him into prison where he perished Kisra then 
appointed Eyas bin Qubaisa At Ta i as king of Heerah Eyas was ordered to
tell Hani bin Mas ud to deliver An Nu man s charge up to Kisra No sooner
than had the Persian king received the fanatically motivated rejection on the
part of the Arab chief he declared war against the tribe of Shaiban and
mobilized his troops and warriors under the leadership of King Eyas to a
place called Dhee Qar which witnessed a most furious battle wherein the
Persians were severely routed by the Arabs for the first time in history That
was very soon after the birth of Prophet Muhammad eight
months after Eyas bin Qubaisah s rise to power over Heerah 
After Eyas a Persian ruler was appointed over Heerah but in 632 A D 
the authority there returned to the family of Lukhm when Al Munzir
Al Ma rur took over Hardly had die latter s reign lasted for eight months
when Khalid bin Al Waleed fell upon him with Muslim soldiers 
Rulership in Geographical Syria 
In the process of the tribal emigrations some septs of Quda a reached the
borders of Syria where they settled down They belonged to the family of
Sulaih bin Halwan of whose offspring were the sons of Duj am bin Sulaih
known as Ad Duja ima Such septs of Quda a were used by the Byzantines
in the defence of die Byzantine borders against both Arab Bedouin raiders
and the Persians and enjoyed autonomy for a considerable phase of time
which is said to have lasted for the whole second century A D One of their
most famous kings was Zyiad bin Al Habula Their authority however came
to an end upon defeat by the Ghassanides who were consequently granted
the proxy rulership over the Arabs of Syria and had Dumat Al Jandal as
their headquarters which lasted until the battle of Yarmuk in the year 13
A H Their last king Jabala bin Al Aihum embraced Islam during the reign
of the Chief of Believers Umar bin Al Khattab i uii Pl
Rulership in Hijaz 
Ishmael administered authority over Makkah as well as
custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary throughout his lifetime Upon his
death at the age of 137 two of his sons Nabet and Qidar succeeded him 
Later on their maternal grandfather Mudad bin Amr Al Jurhumi took
over thus transferring rulership over Makkah to the tribe of Jurhum 
preserving a venerable position though very little authority for Ishmael s
sons due to their father s exploits in building the Holy Sanctuary a position
they held until the decline of the tribe of Jurhum shortly before the rise of
Bnlrh tanas sar PI
The political role of the Adnanides had begun to gain firmer grounds in
Makkah which could be clearly attested by the fact that upon
 Muhadrat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 29 32 
PI Muhadrat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 34 Tareekh Ard Al Qur an 2 80 82 
PllbnHisham 1 111 
Bukhtanassar s first invasion of the Arabs in Dhati Irq the leader of the
Arabs was not from Jurhum Pl
Upon Bukhtanassar s second invasion in 587 B C however the
 Adnanides were frightened out to Yemen while Burmia An Nabi fled to
Syria with Ma ad but when Bukhtanassar s pressure lessened Ma ad
returned to Makkah to find none of the tribe of Jurhum except Jursham bin
Jalhamah whose daughter Mu ana was given to Ma ad as wife who later 
had a son by him named Nizar P 
On account of difficult living conditions and destitution prevalent in
Makkah the tribe of Jurhum began to ill treat visitors of the Holy Sanctuary
and extort its funds which aroused resentment and hatred of the Adnanides
 sons of Bakr bin Abd Munaf bin Kinana who with the help of the tribe of
Khuza a that had come to settle in a neighbouring area called Marr
Az Zahran invaded Jurhum and frightened them out of Makkah leaving
rulership to Quda a in the middle of the second century A D 
Upon leaving Makkah Jurhum filled up the well of Zamzam levelled its
place and buried a great many things in it Amr bin Al Harith bin Mudad
Al Jurhumi was reported by Ibn Ishaq the well known historian to have
buried the two gold deer together with the Black Stone as well as a lot of
jewelry and swords in Zamzam prior to their sorrowful escape to Yemen Pl
Ishmael s epoch is estimated to have lasted for twenty centuries B C 
which means that Jurhum stayed in Makkah for twenty one centuries and
held rulership there for about twenty centuries 
Upon defeat of Jurhum the tribe of Khuza a monopolized rulership over
Makkah Mudar tribes however enjoyed three privileges 
The First Leading pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah and then from
Mina to the Aqabah Stoning Pillar This was the authority of the family
of Al Ghawth bin Murra one of the septs of Elias bin Mudar who were
called Sofa This privilege meant that the pilgrims were not allowed to
throw stones at Al Aqabah until one of the Sofa men did that When
PI Qalb Jazeerat Al Arab p 230 
PI Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 48 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 114 115 
they had finished stoning and wanted to leave the valley of Mina Sofa 
men stood on the two sides of Al Aqabah and nobody would pass that
position until the men of Sofa passed and cleared the way for the
pilgrims When Sofa perished the family ofSa d bin Zaid Manat from
Tamim tribe took over 
The Second Al Ifadah leaving for Mina after Muzdalifah on sacrifice
morning and this was the responsibility of the family of Adwan 
The Third Deferment of the sacred months and this was the
responsibility of the family of Tamim bin Adi from Bani Kinana 
Khuza a s reign in Makkah lasted for three hundred years during which 
the Adnanides spread all over Najd and the sides of Bahrain and Iraq while
small septs of Quraish remained on the sides of Makkah they were Haloul 
Harum and some families of Kinana They enjoyed no privileges in Makkah
or in the Sacred House until the appearance of Qusai bin Kilab whose
father is said to have died when he was still a baby and whose mother was
subsequently married to Rabi a bin Haram from the tribe of Bani Udhra 
Rabi a took his wife and her baby to his homeland on the borders of Syria 
When Qusai became a young man he returned to Makkah which was ruled
by Halil bin Habsha from Khuza a who gave Qusai his daughter Hobba as
wife After Halil s death a war between Khuza a and Quraish broke out and
resulted in Qusai s taking hold of Makkah and the Sacred House 1 
The Reasons of this War have been illustrated in Three Versions 
The First Having noticed the spread of his offspring increase of his
property and exalt of his honour after Halil s death Qusai found himself
more entitled to shoulder responsibility of rulership over Makkah and
custodianship of the Sacred House than the tribes ofKhuza a and Bani
Bakr He also advocated that Quraish were the chiefs of Ishmael s
descendants Therefore he consulted some men from Quraish and Kinana
concerning his desire to evacuate Khuza a and Bani Bakr from Makkah 
They took a liking to his opinion and supported him 2 
WlbnHisham 1 117 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 117 
The Second Khuza a claimed that Halil requested Qusai to hold
custodianship of Al Ka bah and rulership over Maldcah after his death 
The Third Halil gave the right of Al Ka bah service to his daughter
Hobba and appointed Abu Ghabshan Al Khuza i to ftmction as her agent
whereof Upon Halil s death Qusai bought this right for a leather bag of
wine which aroused dissatisfaction among the men of Khuza a and they
tried to keep the custodianship of the Sacred House away from Qusai 
The latter however with the help of Quraish and Kinana managed to
take over and even to expel Khuza a completely from Makkah H 
Whatever the truth might have been the whole affair resulted in the
deprivation of Sofa of their privileges previously mentioned evacuation
of Khuza a and Bakr from Makkah and transfer of rulership over
Makkah and custodianship of the Holy Sanctuary to Qusai after fierce
wars between Qusai and Khuza a inflicting heavy casualties on both
sides reconciliation and then arbitration of Ya mur bin Awf from the
tribe of Bakr whose judgement entailed eligibility of Qusai s rulership
over Makkah and custodianship of the Sacred House Qusai s
irresponsibility for Khuza a s blood shed and imposition of blood money
on Khuza a Qusai s reign over Makkah and the Sacred House began in
440 A D and allowed him and Quraish afterwards absolute rulership
over Makkah and undisputed custodianship of the Sacred House to which
Arabs from all over Arabia came to pay homage 
Qusai brought his kinspeople to Makkah and allocated it to them 
allowing Quraish some dwellings there An Nus a die families of Safwan 
Adwan Murra bin Awf preserved the same rights they used to enjoy before
his arrival 2 
A significant achievement credited to Qusai was the establishment of
An Nadwa House an assembly house on the northern side of Al Ka bah
Mosque to serve as a meeting place for Quraish This very house had
benefited Quraish a lot because it secured unity of opinions amongst them
 Rahmat ul liralameen 2 55 
P Ibn Hisham 1 124 
and cordial solution to their problem 
Qusai however enjoyed the following privileges of leadership and
1 Presiding over An Nadwa House meetings where consultations
relating to serious issues were conducted and marriage contracts were
2 The Standard He monopolized in his hand issues relevant to war
3 Doorkeeping of Al Ka bah He was the only one eligible to open its
gate and was responsible for its service and protection 
4 Providing water for the Pilgrims This means that he used to fill basins
sweetened by dates and raisins for the pilgrims to drink 
5 Feeding Pilgrims This means making food for pilgrims who could not
afford it Qusai even imposed on Quraish annual land tax paid at the
season of pilgrimage for food Pl
It is noteworthy however that Qusai singled out Abd Manaf a son of
his for honour and prestige though he was not his elder son Abd Ad Dar
was and entrusted him with such responsibilities as chairing of An Nadwa
House the standard the doorkeeping of Al Ka bah providing water and
food for pilgrims Due to the fact that Qusai s deeds were regarded as
unquestionable and his orders inviolable his death gave no rise to conflicts
among his sons but it later did among his grand children for no sooner than
 Abd Munaf had died his sons began to have rows with their cousins 
sons of Abd Ad Dar which would have given rise to dissension and
fighting among the whole tribe of Quraish had it not been for a peace treaty
whereby posts were reallocated so as to preserve feeding and providing
water for pilgrims for the sons of Abd Munaf while An Nadwa House the
flag and the doorkeeping of AI Ka bah were maintained for the sons of
 Abd Ad Dar The sons of Abd Munaf however cast the lot for their
charge and consequently left the charge of food and water giving to Hashim
bin Abd Munaf upon whose death the charge was taken over by a brother
of his called Al Muttalib bin Abd Manaf and afterwards by Abd
t l Ibn Hisham 1 125 Akhbar Al Kiram p 152 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 130 
Al Muttalib bin Hashim the Prophet s grandfather whose sons assumed
this position until the rise of Islam during which Abbas bin Abdul 
Muttalib was in charge 1 
Many other posts were distributed among people of Quraish for
establishing the pillars of a new democratic petite state with government
offices and councils similar to those of today Enlisted as follows are some
of these posts 
1 Casting the lots for the idols was allocated to Bani Jumah 
2 Noting of offers and sacrifices settlement of disputes and relevant
issues were to lie in the hands of Bani Sahm 
3 Consultation was to go to Bani Asad 
4 Organization of blood money and fines was with Bani Tayim 
5 Bearing the national banner was with Bani Omaiyah 
6 The military institute footmen and cavalry would be Bani Makhzum s
7 Bani Adi would function as foreign mediators 2 
Rulership in Pan Arabia 
We have previously mentioned the Qahtanide and Adnanide
emigrations and division of Arabia between these two tribes Those tribes
dwelling near Heerah were subordinate to the Arabian king of Heerah while
those dwelling in the Syrian semi desert were under domain of the Arabian
Ghassanide king a sort of dependency that was in reality formal rather than
actual However those living in the hinder deserts enjoyed full autonomy 
These tribes in fact had heads chosen by the whole tribe which was a
demi govemment based on tribal solidarity and collective interests in
defence of land and property 
Heads of tribes enjoyed dictatorial privileges similar to those of kings 
and were rendered full obedience and subordination in both war and peace 
Rivalry among cousins for rulership however often drove them to outdo
f l Ibn Hisham 1 129 179 
PI Tareekh Ard Al Qur an 2 104 106 
one another in entertaining guests affecting generosity wisdom and
chivalry for the sole purpose of outranking their rivals and gaining fame
among people especially poets who were the official spokesmen at the time 
Heads of tribes and masters had special claims to spoils of war such as
the quarter of the spoils whatever he chose for himself or found on his way
back or even the remaining indivisible spoils 
The Political Situation 
The three Arab regions adjacent to foreigners suffered great weakness
and inferiority The people there were either masters or slaves rulers or
subordinates Masters especially the foreigners had claim to every
advantage slaves had nothing but responsibilities to shoulder In other
words arbitrary autocratic rulership brought about encroachment on the
rights of subordinates ignorance oppression iniquity injustice and
hardship and turning them into people groping in darkness and ignorance 
viz fertile land which rendered its fruits to the rulers and men of power to
extravagantly dissipate on their pleasures and enjoyments whims and
desires tyranny and aggression The tribes living near these regions were
fluctuating between Syria and Iraq whereas those living inside Arabia were
disunited and governed by tribal conflicts and racial and religious disputes 
They had neither a king to sustain their independence nor a supporter to
seek advice from or depend upon in hardships 
The rulers of Hijaz however were greatly esteemed and respected by the
Arabs and were considered as rulers and servants of the religious centre 
Rulership of Hijaz was in fact a mixture of secular and official precedence
as well as religious leadership They ruled among the Arabs in the name of
religious leadership and always monopolized the custodianship of the Holy
Sanctuary and its neighbourhood They looked after the interests of
Al Ka bah visitors and were in charge of putting Abraham s code into
effect They even had such offices and departments like those of the
parliaments of today However they were too weak to carry the heavy
burden as this evidently came to light during the Abyssinian Ethiopian 
Religions of the Arabs
Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael f ji and
professed the religion of his father Abraham f n i They had worshipped
Allah professed His Oneness and followed His religion a long time until
they forgot part of what they had been reminded of However they still
maintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various
other aspects of Abraham s religion until the time when a chief of Khuza a 
namely Amr bin Luhai who was renowned for righteousness charity 
reverence and care for religion and was granted unreserved love and
obedience by his tribesmen came back from a trip to Syria where he saw
people worship idols a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be
righteous since Syria was the locus of Messengers and Scriptures he
brought with him an idol Hubal which he placed in the middle of
Al Ka bah and summoned people to worship it Readily enough paganism
spread all over Makkah and thence to Hijaz people of Makkah being
custodians of not only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well A
great many idols bearing different names were introduced into the area 1 
An idol called Manat for instance was worshipped in a place known as
Al Mushallal near Qadid on the Red Sea Another Al Lat in Ta if a third 
 Al Uzza in the valley of Nakhlah and so on and so forth Polytheism
prevailed and the number of idols increased everywhere in Hijaz It was
even mentioned that Amr bin Luhai with the help of a jinn companion who
told him that the idols of Noah s folk Wadd Suwa Yaguth Ya uk and
Nasr were buried in Jeddah dug them out and took them to Tihama Upon
pilgrimage time the idols were distributed among the tribes to take back
home PI Every tribe and house had their own idols and the Sacred House
was also overcrowded with them On the Prophet s conquest of Makkah 
360 idols were found around Al Ka bah He broke them down and had them
removed and burned up PI
01 Mukhtasar Seerat ar Rasool p 12 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 222 
PI Mukhtasar Seerat ar Rasool pp 13 54 
Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of
the religion of pre Islam Arabs despite alleged profession of Abraham s
Traditions and ceremonies of the worship of their idols had been mostly
created by Amr bin Luhai and were deemed as good innovations rather
than deviations from Abraham s religion Some features of their worship of
1 Self devotion to the idols seeking refuge with them acclamation of their
names calling for their help in hardship and supplication to them for
fulfillment of wishes hopefully that the idols i e heathen gods would
mediate with Allah for the fulfillment of people s wishes 
2 Performing pilgrimage to the idols circumrotation round them self 
abasement and even prostrating themselves before them 
3 Seeking favour of idols through various kinds of sacrifices and
immolations which is mentioned in the Qur anic verses 
 And that which is sacrificed slaughtered on An Nusub stone 
altars 5 3 
Allah also says 
 Eat not O believers of that meat on which Allah s Name has
not been pronounced at the time of the slaughtering of the
animal 6 121 
4 Consecration of certain portions of food drink cattle and crops to idols 
Surprisingly enough portions were also consecrated to Allah Himself r 
but people often found reasons to transfer parts of Allah s portion tcr 
idols but never did the opposite To this effect the Qur anic verses go 
 And they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which
He has created and they say This is for Allah according to
their pretending and this is for our AllSh s so called partners 
But the share of their Allah s so called partners reaches not
Allah while the share of Allah reaches their Allah s so called 
 partners Evil is the way they judge 6 136 
5 Currying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops and
cattle to which effect the Qur an goes 
XZ HF 23 
 And according to their pretending they say that such and such
cattle and crops are forbidden and none should eat of them
except those whom we allow And they say there are cattle
forbidden to be used for burden or any other work and cattle on
which at slaughtering the Name of Allah is not pronounced 
lying against Him Allah 6 138 
6 Dedication of certain animals such as Bahira Sa iba Wasila and Hami 
to idols which meant sparing such animals from useful work for the sake
of these heathen gods Bahira as reported by the well known historian 
Ibn Ishaq was daughter of Sa iba which was a female camel that gave
birth to ten successive female animals but no male ones was set free and
forbidden to yoke burden or being sheared off its wool or milked but
for guests to drink from and so was done to all her female offspring
which were given the name Bahira after having their ears slit The
Wasila was a female sheep which had ten successive female daughters in
five pregnancies Any new births from this Wasila were assigned only for
male people The Hami was a male camel which produced ten
progressive females and was thus similarly forbidden In mention of this 
the Qur anic verses go 
 Allah has not instituted things like Bahira a she camel whose
milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk
it or a Sa iba a she camel let loose for free pasture for their
false gods e g idols etc and nothing was allowed to be carried
on it or a Wasila a she camel set free for idols because it has
given birth to a she camel at its first delivery and then again
gives birth to a she camel at its second delivery or a Ham a
stallion camel freed from work for their idols after it had
finished a number of copulations assigned for it all these
animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan
Arabs in the pre Islamic period But those who disbelieve 
invent lies against Allah and most of them have no
understanding 5 103 
Allah also says 
 And they say What is in the bellies of such and such cattle
 milk or foetus is for our males alone and forbidden to our
females girls and women but if it is bom dead then all have
shares therein 6 139 
It has been authentically reported that such superstitions were first
invented by Amr bin Luhai bl
The Arabs believed that such idols or heathen gods would bring them
nearer to Allah lead them to Him and mediate with Him for their sake to
which effect the Qur an goes 
 We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah 
M Sahih Al Bukhari 1 499 
 And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not nor
profit them and they say These are our intercessors with
Allah 10 18 
Another divinatoiy tradition among the Arabs was casting of Azlam i e 
featherless arrows which were of three kinds one showing yes another
 no and a third was blank which they used to do in case of serious matters
like travel marriage and the like If the lot showed yes they would do if
 no they would delay for the next year Other kinds of Azlam were cast for
water blood money or showed from you not from you or Mulsaq 
 consociated In cases of doubt in filiation they would resort to the idol of
Hubal with a hundred camel gift for the arrow caster Only the arrows
would then decide the sort of relationship If the arrow showed from you 
then it was decided that the child belonged to the tribe if it showed from
others he would then be regarded as an ally but if consociated appeared 
the person would retain his position but with no lineage or alliance
This was very much like gambling and arrow s hafting whereby they used
to divide the meat of the camels they slaughtered according to this tradition 
Moreover they used to have a deep conviction in the tidin gs of
soothsayers diviners and astrologers A soothsayer used to traffic in the
business of foretelling future events and claim knowledge of private secrets
and having jinn subordinates who would co mmuni cate the news to him
Some soothsayers claimed that they could uncover the unknown by means
of a granted power while other diviners boasted they could divulge the
secrets through a cause and effect inductive process that would lead to
detecting a stolen commodity location of a theft a stray animal and the
like The astrologer belonged to a third category who used to observe the
stars and calculate their movements and orbits whereby he would foretell
the future 2 Lending credence to this news constituted a clue to their
conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particular
stars with regard to rainfall 3 
 Muhadrat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 56 Ibn Hishain 1 152 153 
P Mirqat Al Mafeteeh 2 2 3 
P Sahih Muslim with An Nawawi 1 59 
The belief in signs as betokening future events was of course common
among the Arabians Some days and months and particular animals were
regarded as ominous They also believed that the soul of a murdered person
would fly in the wilderness and would never rest at rest until revenge was
taken Superstition was rampant Should a deer or bird when released turn
right then what they embarked on would be regarded auspicious otherwise
they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it t 1
People of pre Islamic period whilst believing in superstition they still
retained some of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the Holy
Sanctuary circumambulation observance of pilgrimage the vigil on
 Arafah and offering sacrifices all of these were observed fully despite
some innovations that adulterated these holy rituals Quraish for example 
out of arrogance feeling of superiority to other tribes and pride in their
custodianship of the Sacred House would refrain from going to Arafah
with the crowd instead they would stop short at Muzdalifah The Noble
Qur an rebuked and told them 
 Then depart from the place whence all the people depart 
 2 199 P1
Another heresy deeply established in their social tradition dictated that
they would not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat nor would they enter a tent
made of camel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks so long
as they were committed to the intention of pilgrimage They also out of a
deeply rooted misconception denied pilgrims other than Makkans access
to the food they had brought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser
They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate
Al Ka bah in Quraish uniform clothes but if they could not afford them 
men were to do so in a state of nudity and women with only some piece of
cloth to hide their groins Allah says in this concern 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari with footnotes of Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri 2 351 837
PI Ibn Hisham 1 199 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 226 
 O Children of Adam Take your adornment by wearing your
clean clothes while praying and going round the Tawaf of 
the Ka bah 7 31 
If men or women were generous enough to go round Al Ka bah in their
clothes they had to discard them after circumambulation for goodJfr
When the Makkans were in a pilgrimage consecration state they would
not enter their houses through the doors but through holes they used to dig
in the back walls They used to regard such behaviour as deeds of piety and
god fearing This practice was prohibited by the Qur an 
 It is not Al Birr piety righteousness etc that you enter the
houses from the back but Al Birr is the quality of the one who
fears Allah So enter houses throu gh their proper doors and fear
Allah that you may be successful 2 189 
Such was the religious life in Arabia polytheism idolatry and
Judaism Christianity Magianism and Sabianism however could find
their ways easily into Arabia 
The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed thro ugh two
phases first as a result of the pressure to which they were exposed the
destruction of the their temple and taking most of them as captives to
Babylon at the hand of the King Bukhtanassar In the year B C 587 some
Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in the northern areas whereof The
second phase started with the Roman occupation of Palestine under the
leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A D This resulted in a tidal wave of Jewish
migration into Hijaz and Yathrib Khaibar and Taima in particular Here 
they made proselytes of several tribes built forts and castles and lived in
villages Judaism managed to play an important role in the pre Islam
political life When Islam dawned on that land there had already been
several famous Jewish tribes Khabeer Al Mustaliq An Nadeer 
Quraizah and Qainuqa In some versions the Jewish tribes counted as
HI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 226 Ibn Hisham 1 202 
many as twenty 1 
Judaism was introduced into Yemen by someone called As ad Abi Karb 
He had gone to fight in Yathrib and there he embraced Judaism and then
went back taking with him two rabbis from Bani Quraizah to instruct the
people of Yemen in this new religion Judaism found a fertile soil there to
propagate and gain adherents After his death his son Yusuf Dhu Nawas
rose to power attacked the Christian community in Najran and ordered
them to embrace Judaism When they refused he ordered that a pit of fire be
dug and all die Christians indiscriminately be dropped to burn therein 
Estimates say that between 20 40 thousand Christians were killed in that
human massacre The Qur an related part of that story in Al Buruj zodiacal
signs Chapter 2 
Christianity had first made its appearance in Arabia following the entry
of the Abyssinian Ethiopian and Roman colonists into that country The
Abyssinian Ethiopian colonization forces in league with Christian
missions entered Yemen as a retaliatory reaction for the iniquities of Dhu
Nawas and started vehemently to propagate their faith ardently They even
built a church and called it Yemeni Al Ka bah with the aim of directing the
Arab pilgrimage caravans towards Yemen and then made an attempt to
demolish the Sacred House in Makkah Allah the Almighty however did
punish them and made an example of them here and hereafter 3 
A Christian missionary called Fimion and known for his ascetic
behaviour and working miracles had likewise infiltrated into Najran There
he called people to Christianity and by virtue of his honesty and truthful
devotion he managed to persuade diem to respond positively to his
invitation and embrace Christianity 
The principal tribes that embraced Christianity were Ghassan Taghlib 
Tai and some Himyarite kings as well as other tribes living on the borders
of the Roman Empire 
Magianism was also popular among the Arabs living in the
neighbourhood of Persia Iraq Bahrain Al Ahsa and some areas on the
I 1 Qalb Jazeerat Al Aiab p 151 
P Tafheem ul Qur Sn 6 297 Ibn Hisham 1 20 36 
PI Taflieem ul Qur n 6 297 Ibn Hisham 1 20 36 
Arabian Gulf coast Some Yemenis are also reported to have professed
Magiamsm during the Persian occupation 
As for Sabianism excavations in Iraq revealed that it had been popular
amongst Kaldanian folks the Syrians and Yemenis With the advent of
Judaism and Christianity however Sabianism began to give way to the new
religions although it retained some followers mixed or adjacent to the
Magians in Iraq and the Arabian GuIf W
The Religious Situation 
Such was the religious life of the Arabians before the advent of Islam 
The role that the religions prevalent played was so marginal in fact it was
next to nothing The polytheists who faked Abrahamism were so far
detached from its precepts and totally oblivious of its immanent good
manners They plunged into disobedience and ungodliness and developed
certain peculiar religious superstitions that managed to leave a serious
impact on the religious and socio political life in the whole of Arabia 
Judaism turned into abominable hypocrisy in league with hegemony 
Rabbis turned into lords to the exclusion of the Lord They got involved in
the practice of dictatorial subjection of people and calling their subordinates
to account for the least word or idea Their sole target turned into
acquisition of wealth and power even if it were at the risk of losing their
religion or the emergence of atheism and disbelief 
Christianity likewise opened its doors wide to polytheism and got too
difficult to comprehend as a heavenly religion As a religious practice it
developed a sort of peculiar medley of man and God It exercised no bearing
whatsoever on the souls of the Arabs who professed it simply because it was
alien to their style of life and did not have the least relationship with their
People of other religions were similar to the polytheists with respect to
their inclinations dogmas customs and traditions 
l Tareekh Ard Al Qur in 2 193 208 
Aspects of Pre Islamic
After the research we have made into the religious and political life of
Arabia it is appropriate to speak briefly about the social economic and
ethical conditions prevalent therein 
Social Life of the Arabs 
The Arabian Society presented a social medley with different and
heterogeneous social strata The status of the woman among the nobility
recorded an advanced degree of esteem The woman enjoyed a considerable
portion of free will and her decision would most often be enforced She was
so highly cherished that blood would be easily shed in defence of her
honour In feet she was the most decisive key to bloody fight or friendly
peace These privileges notwithstanding the family system in Arabia was
wholly patriarchal The marriage contract rested completely in the hands of
the woman s legal guardian whose words with regard to her marital status
could never be questioned 
On die other hand there were other social strata where prostitution and
indecency were ram pant and in full operation Abu Da ud on the authority
 of Aishah w uji reported four kinds of marriage in pre Islamic Arabia 
 The first was similar to present day marriage procedures in which case a
man gives his daughter in marriage to another man after a dowry has been
agreed on In the second the husband would send his wife after the
menstruation period to cohabit with another man in order to conceive 
After conception her husband would if he desired have a sexual intercourse
wife her A third kind was that a group of less than ten men would have
sexual intercourse with a woman If she conceived and gave birth to a child 
she would send for these men and nobody could abstain They would come
together to her house She would say You know what you have done I
have given birth to a child and it is your child pointing to one of them 
The man meant would have to accept The fourth kind was that a lot of men
would have sexual intercourse with a certain woman a whore She would
not prevent anybody Such women used to put a certain flag at their gates to
invite in anyone who liked If this whore got pregnant and gave birth to a
child she would collect those men ami a seeress would tell whose child it
was The appointed father would take the child and declare him her his own 
When Prophet Muhammad declared Islam in Arabia he
cancelled all these forms of sexual contacts except that of present Islamic
Women always accompanied men in their wars The winners would
freely have sexual intercourse with such women but disgrace would follow
the children conceived in this way all their lives 
Pre Islam Arabs had no limited number of wives They could marry two
sisters at the same time or even the wives of their fathers if divorced or
widowed Divorce was to a very great extent in the power of the husband 2 
The obscenity of adultery prevailed almost among all social classes
except few men and women whose self dignity prevented them from
committing such an act Free women were in much better conditions than
the female slaves who constituted the greatest calamity It seemed that the
greatest majority of pre Islam Arabs did not feel ashamed of committing
this obscenity Abu Da ud reported A man stood up in front of Prophet
Muhammad and said O Prophet of Allah that boy is my son I
had sexual intercourse with his mother in the pre Islamic period The
 SlaLhJl Cjo N 
 No claim in Islam for pre Islamic affairs The child is to be
attributed to the one on whose bed it was bom and stoning is
the lot of a fornicator 3 
With respect to the pre Islam Arab s relation with his offsprin g we see
that life in Arabia was paradoxical and presented a gloomy picture of
contrasts Whilst some Arabs held children dear to their hearts and
cherished them greatly others buried their female children alive because an
 Abu Da Od The book of marriage 
t 2 Abu Da Od The bode of marriage 
 3 Abu Da ttd Chapter The child is to the one on whose bed it was bom 
illusory fear of poverty and shame weighed heavily on them The practice of
infanticide cannot however be seen as irrevocably rampant because of their
dire need for male children to guard themselves against their enemies 
Another aspect of the Arabs life which deserves mention is the
bedouin s deep seated emotional attachment to his clan Family or perhaps
tribal pride was one of the strongest passions with him The doctrine of
unity of blood as the principle that bound the Arabs into a social unity was
formed and supported by tribal pride Their undisputed motto was iiul
Ujit j uu Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed 
in its literal meaning they disregarded the Islamic amendment which states
that supporting an oppressor brother implies deterring him from
Avarice for leadership and keen sense of emulation often resulted in
bitter tribal warfare despite descendency from one common ancestor In this
regard the continued bloody conflicts of Aws and Khazraj Abs and
Dhubyan Bakr and Taghlib etc are striking examples 
Inter tribal relationships were fragile and weak due to continual inter 
tribal wars of attrition Deep devotion to religious superstitions and some
customs held in veneration however used to curb their impetuous tendency
to quench their thirst for blood In other cases there were the motives of 
and respect for alliance loyalty and dependency which could successfully
bring about a spirit of rapport and abort groundless bases of dispute A
time honoured custom of suspending hostilities during the prohibited
months Muharram Rajab Dhul Qa dah and Dhul Hijjah functioned
favourably and provided an opportunity for them to earn their living and
coexist in peace 
We may sum up the social situation in Arabia by saying that the Arabs of
the pre Islamic period were groping about in the dark and ignorance 
entangled in a mesh of superstitions paralyzing their mind and driving them
to lead an animal like life The woman was a marketable commodity and
regarded as a piece of inanimate property Inter tribal relationships were
fragile Avarice for wealth and involvement in futile wars were the main
objectives that governed their chiefs self centred policies 
The economic situation ran in line with the social atmosphere The
Arabian ways of living would illustrate this phenomenon quite clearly 
Trade was the most common means of providing their needs of life The
trade journeys could not be fulfilled unless security of caravan routes and
inter tribal peaceful co existence were provided two imperative exigencies
unfortunately lacking in Arabia except during the prohibited months within
which the Arabs held their assemblies of Ukaz Dhil Majaz Mijannah and
Industry was alien to the Arabian psychology Most of available
industries of knitting and tannage in Arabia were done by people coming
from Yemen Heerah and the borders of Syria Inside Arabia there was some
sort of farming and stock breeding Almost all the Arabian women worked
in yam spinning but even this practice was continually threatened by wars 
On the whole poverty hunger and insufficient clothing were the prevailing
features in Arabia economically 
We cannot deny that the pre Islam Arabs had such a large bulk of evils 
Admittedly vices and evils utterly rejected by reason were rampant
amongst the pre Islam Arabs but this could never screen off the surprise 
provoking existence of highly praiseworthy virtues of which we could
adduce the following 
1 Hospitality They used to emulate one another at hospitality and take
utmost pride in it Almost half of their poetry heritage was dedicated to
the merits and nobility attached to entertaining one s guest They were
generous and hospitable on the point of fault They would sacrifice their
private sustenance to a cold or hungry guest They would not hesitate to
incur heavy blood money and relevant burdens just to stop blood shed 
and consequently merit praise and eulogy 
In the context of hospitality there springs up their common habits of
drinking wine which was regarded as a channel branching out of
generosity and showing hospitality Wine drinking was a genuine source
of pride for the Arabs of the pre Islamic period The great poets of tha t
era never forgot to include their suspending odes the most ornate lines
pregnant with boasting and praise of drinking orgies Even the word
 grapes in Arabic is identical to generosity in both pronunciation and
spelling Gambling was also another practice of theirs closely associated
with generosity since the proceeds would always go to charity Even the
Noble Qur an does not play down the benefits that derive from wine
drinking and gambling but also says 
 And the sin of them is greater than their benefit 2 219 
2 Keeping a covenant For the Arab to make a promise was to run into
debt He would never grudge the death of his children or destruction of
his household just to uphold the deep rooted tradition of covenant 
keeping The literature of that period is rich in stories highlighting this
3 Sense of honour and repudiation of injustice This attribute stemmed
mainly from excess courage keen sense of self esteem and impetuosity 
The Arab was always in revolt against the least allusion to humiliation or
slackness He would never hesitate to sacrifice himself to maintain his
ever alert sense of self respect 
4 Firm will and determination An Arab would never desist an avenue
conducive to an object of pride or a standing of honour even if it were at
the expense of his life 
5 Forbearance perseverance and mildness The Arab regarded these
traits with great admiration no wonder his impetuosity and courage 
based life was sadly wanting in them 
6 Pure and simple bedouin life still untarnished with accessories of
deceptive urban appearances was a driving reason to his nature of
truthfulness and honesty and detachment from intrigue and treachery 
Such priceless ethics coupled with a favourable geographical position of
Arabia were in fact the factors that lay behind selecting the Arabs to
undertake the burden of communicating the Message of Islam and leading
mankind down a new course of life 
In this regard these ethics per se though detrimental in some areas and
in need of rectification in certain aspects were greatly invaluable to the
ultimate welfare of the human community and Islam has did it completely 
The most priceless ethics next to covenant keeping were no doubt their
sense of self esteem and strong determination two human traits
indispensable in combatting evil and eliminating moral corruption on the
one hand and establishing a good and justice orientated society on the
Actually the life of the Arabs in the pre Islamic period was rich in other
countless virtues we do not need to enumerate for the time being 
The Lineage and Family of Muhammad
With respect to the lineage of Prophet Muhammad there are
three versions The first was authenticated by biographers and genealogists
and states that Muhammad s genealogy has been traced to Adnan The
second is subject to controversies and doubt and traces his lineage beyond
 Adnan back to Abraham The third version with some parts definitely
incorrect traces his lineage beyond Abraham back to Adam r ji l i 
After this rapid review now ample details are believed to be necessary 
The first part M uhamma d bin Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib who was
called Shaiba bin Hashim named Amr bin Abd Munaf called
Al Mugheera bin Qusai also called Zaid bin Kilab bin Murra bin Ka b bin
Lo i bin Ghalib bin Fahr who was called Quraish and whose tribe was
called after him bin Malik bin An Nadr so called Qais bin Kinana bin
Khuzaiman bin Mudrikah who was called Amir bin Elias bin Mudar bin
Nizar bin Ma ad bin Adnan 1 1
The second part Adnan bin Add bin Humaisi bin Salaman bin Aws bin
Buz bin Qamwal bin Obai bin Awwam bin Nashid bin Haza bin Bildas bin
Yadlaf bin Tabikh bin Jahim bin Nahish bin Makhi bin Aid bin Abqar bin
 Ubaid bin Ad Da a bin Hamdan bin Sanbirbin Yathrabi bin Yahzinbin
Yalhan bin Ar awi bin Aid bin Deshan bin Aisar bin Afnad bin Aiham bin
Muksar bin Nahith bin Zarih bin Sami bin Mazzi bin Awda bin Aram bin
Qaidar bin Ishmael son of Abraham f ji u i Pl
The third part beyond Abraham f ji i _Ibn Tarih Azar bin Nahur bin
Saru bin Ra u bin Falikh bin Abir bin Shalikh bin Arfakhshad bin Sam bin
Noah f v n bin Lamik bin Mutwashlack bin Akhnukh who was said to be
Prophet Idris Enoch f sui u bin Yarid bin Mahla il bin Qainan bin Anusha
bin Shith bin Adam r ui l j P1
PI Ibn Hisham 1 1A Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl Al Athar pp 5 6 
Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 11 14 52 
PI Rahmat ul lil alarneen 2 14 17 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 2 4 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 18 Khulasat As Siyar p 6 
The Prophetic Family 
The family of Prophet Muhammad _ an is called the Hashimite
family after his grandfather Hashim bin Abd Munaf Let us now speak a
little about Hashim and his descendants 
1 Hashim As we have previously mentioned he was the one responsible
for giving food and water to the pilgrims This had been his charge when
the sons of Abd Munaf and those of Abd Ad Dar compromised on
dividing the charges between them Hashim was wealthy and honest He
was the first to offer the pilgrims sopped bread in broth His first name
was Amr but he was called Hashim because he had been in the practice
of crumbling bread for the pilgrims He was also the first man who
started Quraish s two journeys of summer and winter It was reported
that he went to Syria as a merchant In Madinah he married Salma the
daughter of Amr from Bani Adi bin An Najjar He spent some time
with her in Madinah then he left for Syria again while she was pregnant 
He died in Ghazza in Palestine in 497 A D Later his wife gave birth to
 Abdul Muttalib and named him Shaiba for the white hair in his head 1 
and brought him up in her father s house in Madinah None of his family
in Makkah learned of his birth Hashim had four sons Asad Abu Saifi 
Nadia and Abdul Muttalib and five daughters Ash Shifa Khalida 
Da ifa Ruqyah and Jannah Pl
2 Abdul Muttalib We have already known that after the death of
Hashim the charge of pilgrims food and water went to his brother
Al Muttalib bin Abd Munaf who was honest generous and
trustworthy When Abdul Muttalib reached the age of boyhood his
uncle Al Muttalib heard of him and went to Madinah to fetch him When
he saw him tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks he embraced
him and took him on his camel The boy however abstained from going
with him to Makkah until he took his mother s consent Al Muttalib
asked her to send the boy with him to Makkah but she refused He
managed to convince her saying Your son is going to Makkah to
restore his father s authority and to live in the vicinity of the Sacred
PI Ibn His ham 1 137 Rahmat ul liTalameen 1 26 2 24 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 107 
House There in M akkah people wondered at seeing Abdul Muttalib 
and they considered him the slave of Muttalib Al Muttalib said He is
my nephew the son of my brother Hashim The boy was brought up in
Al Muttalib s house but later on Al Muttalib died in Bardman in Yemen
so Abdul Muttalib took over and managed to maintain his people s
prestige and outdo his grandfathers in his honourable behaviour which
gained him Makkah s deep love and high esteem 
When Al Muttalib died Nawfal usurped Abdul Muttalib of his
charges so the latter asked for help from Quraish but they abstained from
extending any sort of support to either of them Consequently he wrote
to his uncles of Bani An Najjar his mother s brothers to come to his
aid His uncle Abu Sa d bin Adi his mother s brother marched to
Makkah at the head of eighty horsemen and camped in Abtah in Makkah 
 Abdul Muttalib received the men and invited them to go to his house but
Abu Sa d said Not before I meet Nawfal He found Nawfal sitting
with some old men of Quraish in the shade of Al Ka bah Abu Sa d drew
his sword and said I swear by Allah that if you don t restore to my
nephew what you have taken I will kill you with this sword Nawfal
was thus forced to give up what he had usurped and the notables of
Quraish were made to witness to his words Abu Sa d then went to
 Abdul Muttalib s house where he stayed for three nights made Umra
and left back for Madinah Later on Nawfal entered into alliance with
Bani Abd Shams bin Abd Munaf against Bani Hashim When Khuza a 
a tribe saw Bani An Najjar s support to Abdul Muttalib they said He
is our son as he is yours We have more reasons to support him than
you Abd Munaf s mother was one of them They went into An Nadwa
House and entered into alliance with Bani Hashim against Bani Abd
Shams and Nawfal It was an alliance that was later to constitute the main
reason for the conquest of Makkah Abdul Muttalib witnessed two
important events in his lifetime namely digging Zamzam well and the
Elephant raid 2 
In brief Abdul Muttalib received an order in his dream to dig
Zamzam well in a particular place He did that and found the things that
t llbnHisham 1 137 138 
PI Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool pp 41 42 Ibn Hisham 1 142 147 
Jurhum men had buried therein when they were forced to evacuate
Makkah He found the swords armours and the two deer of gold The
gate of Al Ka bah was stamped from the gold swords and the two deer
and then the tradition of providing Zamzam water to pilgrims was
When the well of Zamzam gushed water forth Quraish made a claim
to partnership in the enterprise but Abdul Muttalib refused their
demands on grounds that Allah had singled only him out for this
honourable job To settle the dispute they agreed to consult Bani Sa d s
diviner On their way Allah showed them His Signs that confirmed
 Abdul Muttalib s prerogative as regards the sacred spring Only then did
 Abdul Muttalib make a solemn vow to sacrifice one of his adult children
to Al Ka bah if he had ten 
The second event was that of Abraha As Sabah Al Habashi the
Abyssinian Ethiopian viceroy in Yemen He had seen that the Arabs
made their pilgrimage to Al Ka bah so he built a large church in San a in
order to attract the Arab pilgrims to it to the exclusion of Makkah A man
from Kinana tribe understood this move therefore he entered the church
stealthily at night and besmeared its front wall with excrement When
Abraha knew of that he got very angry and led a great army of sixty
thousand warriors to demolish Al Ka bah He chose the biggest
elephant for himself His army included nine or thirteen elephants He
continued marching until he reached a place called Al Magmas There 
he mobilized his army prepared his elephants and got ready to enter
Makkah When he reached Muhassar Valley between Muzdalifah and
Mina the elephant knelt down and refused to go forward Whenever they
directed it northwards southwards or eastwards the elephant moved
quickly but when directed westwards towards Al Ka bah it knelt down 
Meanwhile Allah loosed upon them birds in flights hurling against them
stones of baked clay and made them like green blades devoured These
birds were very much like swallows and sparrows each carrying three
stones one in its peak and two in its claws The stones hit Abraha s men
and cut their limbs and killed them A large number of Abraha s soldiers
were killed in this way and die others fled at random and died
everywhere Abraha himself had an infection that had his fingertips
amputated When he reached San a he was in a miserable state and died
The Quraishites on their part had fled for their lives to the hillocks and
mountain tops When the enemy had been thus routed they returned
The Event of the Elephant took place in the month of Al Muharram 
fifty or fifty five days before the birth of Prophet Muhammad
which corresponded to late February or early March 571 A D It was a
gift from Allah to His Prophet and his family It could actually be
regarded as a Divine auspicious precursor of the light to come and
accompany the advent of the Prophet and his family By contrast 
Jerusalem had suffered under the yoke of the atrocities of Allah s
enemies Here we can recall Bukhtanassar in B C 587 and the Romans in
70 A D Al Ka bah by Divine Grace never came under the hold of the
Christians the Muslims of that time although Makkah was populated
News of the Elephant Event reached the most distant comers of the
then civilized world Abyssinia Ethiopia maintained strong ties with the
Romans while the Persians on the other hand were on the vigil with
respect to any strategic changes that were looming on the socio political
horizon and soon came to occupy Yemen Incidentally the Roman and
Persian Empires stood for the powerful civilized world at that time The
Elephant Raid Event riveted file world s attention to the sacredness of
AllSh s House and showed that this House had been chosen by Allah for
its holiness It followed then if any of its people claimed Prophethood it
would be congruous with the outcome of the Elephant Event and would
provide a justifiable explanation for the ulterior Divine Wisdom that lay
behind backing polytheists against Christians in a manner that
transcended the cause and effect formula 
 Abdul Muttalib had ten sons Al Harith Az Zubair Abu Talib 
 Abdullah Hamzah Abu Lahab Ghidaq Maqwam Safar and
Al Abbas He also had six daughters who were Umm Al Hakim the
PI Dm Hisham 1 43 56 Tafheemul Qur fin 6 462 469 
only white one Barrah Atikah Safiya Aiwa and O maima i 
3 Abdullah The father of Prophet Muhammad an His mother
was Fatimah daughter of Amr bin A idh bin Imran bin Makhzum bin
Yaqdha bin Murra Abdullah was the smartest of Abdul Muttalib s
sons the chastest and the most loved He was also the son whom the
divination arrows pointed at to bd slaughtered as a sacrifice to
Al Ka bah When Abdul Muttalib had ten sons and they reached
maturity he divulged to them his secret vow in which they silently and
obediently acquiesced Their names were written on divination arrows
and given to the guardian of their most beloved goddess Hubal The
arrows were shuffled and drawn An arrow showed that it was Abdullah
to be sacrificed Abdul Muttalib then took the boy to Al Ka bah with a
razor to slaughter the boy Quraish his uncles from Makhzum tribe and
his brother Abu Talib however tried to dissuade him from
consummating his purpose He then sought their advice as regards his
vow They suggested that he summon a she diviner to judge whereabout 
She ordered that the divination arrows should be drawn with respect to
 Abdullah as well as ten camels She added that drawing the lots should
be repeated with ten more camels every time the arrow showed
 Abdullah The operation was thus repeated until the number of the
camels amounted to one hundred At this point the arrow showed the
camels consequently they were all slaughtered to the satisfaction of
Hubal instead of his son The slaughtered camels were left for anyone to
eat from human or animal
This incident produced a change in the amount of blood money
usually accepted in Arabia It had been ten camels but after this event it
was increased to a hundred Islam later on approved of this Another
thing closely relevant to the above issue goes to the effect that the
Prophet m once said 
 I am the offspring of the two slaughtered me aning Ishmael
and Abdullah FI
HI Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 56 66 Talqeeh Fuhoom AM Al Athar pp 8 9 
FI Ibn Hishatn 1 151 155 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 89 90 
 Abdul Muttalib chose Amina daughter of Wahab bin Abd Munaf bin
Zahra bin Kiiab as a wife for his son Abdullah She thus in the light of
this ancestral lineage stood eminent in respect of nobility of position and
descent Her father was the chief of Bani Zahra to whom great honour was
attributed They were married in Makkah and soon after Abdullah was sent
by his father to buy dates in Madinah where he died In another version 
 Abdullah went to Syria on a trade journey and died in Madinah on his way
back He was buried in the house of An Nabigha Al Ju di He was twenty 
five years old when he died Most historians state that his death was two
months before the birth of Muhammad Some others said that
his death was two months after the Prophet s birth When Amina was
informed of her husband s death she celebrated his memory in a most heart 
 Abdullah left very little wealth five camels a small number of goats 
a she servant called Barakah Umm Aiman who would later serve as the
Prophet s nursemaid 2 
t l Ibn Hisham 1 156 158 Fiqh As Seerah p 45 
l 2 l Sahih Muslim 2 96 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl Al Athar p 4 
Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 12 
Muhammad s Birth and Forty Years prior to Prophethood
Muhammad _ui the Master of Prophets was bom in Bani
Hashim lane in Makkah on Monday morning the ninth of Rabi Al Awwal 
the same year of the Elephant Event and forty years of the reign of Kisra
 Khosru Nushirwan i e the twentieth or twenty second of April 571 A D 
according to the scholar Muhammad Sulaiman Al Mansourpuri and the
astrologer Mahmud Pasha 1 
Ibn Sa d reported that Muhammad s mother said When he was bom 
there was a light that issued out of my pudendum and lit the palaces of
Syria Ahmad reported on the authority of Arbadh bin Sariya something
similar to this 2 
It was but controversially reported that significant precursors
accompanied his birth fourteen galleries of Kisra s palace cracked and
rolled down the Magians sacred fire died down and some churches on
Lake Sawa sank down and collapsed 3 
His mother immediately sent someone to inform his grandfather Abdul 
Muttalib of the happy event Happily he came to her carried him to
Al Ka bah prayed to Allah and thanked Him Abdul Muttalib called the
baby Muhammad a name not then common among the Arabs He
circumcised him on his seventh day as was the custom of the Arabs 4 
The first woman who suckled him after his mother was Thuyebah the
concubine of Abu Lahab with her son Masrouh She had suckled Hamzah
bin Abdul Muttalib before and later Abu Salamah bin Abd Al Asad
Al Makhzumi f 5 
f lMuhadarat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 62 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 38 39 
 2 Mukhtasar Seerat ur Rasool p 12 Tabaqat Ibn Sa d 1 63 
 3 lReported by Al Baihaqi but Al Ghazali didn t approve it see Fiqh us Seerah p 46 
 4 llbn Hisham 1 159 160 Z8dAl Ma ad l 18 
Muhadarat Tareekh Al Umam AI Islamiya l 62 
f 5 iTalqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 4 Mukhtasar Seerat ur Rasool P 13 
It was the general custom of the Arabs living in towns to send their
children away to bedouin wet nurses so that they might grow up in the free
and healthy surro unding s of the desert whereby they would develop a robust
frame and acquire the pure speech and manners of the bedouins who were
noted both for chastity of their language and for being free from those vices
which usually develop in sedentary societies 
The Prophet s was later entrusted to Haleemah bint Abi Dhuaib
from Bani Sa d bin Bakr Her husband was Al Harith bin Abdul Uzza
called Abi Kabshah from the same tribe 
M uhamma d ui had several foster brothers and sisters Abdullah
bin Al Harith Aneesah bint Al Harith Hudhafah or Judhamah bint
Al Harith known as Ash Shayma and she used to nurse die Prophet 4 111
and Abu Sufyan bin Al Harith bin Abdul Muttalib the Prophet s cousin 
Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib the Prophet s uncle was suckled by the same
two wet nurses Thuyeba and Haleemah As Sa diyah who suckled the
Prophet fa 4 i 4iii 1
Traditions delightfully relate how Haleemah and the whole of her
household were favoured by successive strokes of good fortune while the
baby Muha mm ad _ i _w lived under her care Ibn Ishaq states that
Haleemah narrated that she along with her husband and a suckling babe set
out from her village in the company of some women of her clan in quest of
children to suckle She said 
It was a year of drought and famine and we had nothing to eat I rode on
a brown she ass We also had with us an old she camel By Allah we could
not get even a drop of milk We could not have a wink of sleep during the
night for the child kept crying on account of hunger There was not enough
milk in my breast and even the she camel had nothing to feed him We used
to constantly pray for rain and immediate relief At length we reached
Makkah looking for children to suckle Not even a single woman amongst
us accepted the Messenger of Allah 4 u jji jl offered to her As soon as
they were told that he was an orphan they refused him We had fixed our
eyes on the reward that we would get from the child s father An orphan 
I lzad Al Ma ad 1 19 
What are his grandfather and mother likely to do So we spumed him
because of that Every woman who came with me got a suckling and when
we were about to depart I said to my husband By Allah I do not like to
go back along with die other women without any baby I should go to that
orphan and I must take him He said There is no harm in doing so and
perhaps Allah might bless us through him So I went and took him because
there was simply no other alternative left for me but to take him When I
lifted him in my arms and returned to my place I put him on my breast and
to my great surprise I found enough milk in it He drank to his heart s
content and so did his foster brother and then both of them went to sleep
although my baby had not been able to sleep the previous night My
husband then went to the she camel to milk it and to his astonishment he
found plenty of milk in it He milked it and we drank to our fill and enjoyed
a sound sleep during the night The next morning my husband said By
AllSh Haleemah you must understand that you have been able to get a
blessed child And I replied By the grace of Allah I hope so 
The tradition is explicit on the point that Haleemah s return journey and
her subsequent life as long as the Prophet im stayed with her was
encircled with a halo of good fortune The donkey that she rode when she
came to Makkah was lean and almost foundered it recovered speed much to
the amazement of Haleemah s fellow travellers By the time they reached
the encampments in the country of the clan of Sa d they found the scales of
fortune turned in their favour The barren land sprouted forth luxuriant grass
and beasts came back to them satisfied and full of milk Muhammad n
stayed with Haleemah for two years until he was weaned as Haleemah said 
We then took him back to his mother requesting her earnestly to have
him stay with us and benefit by the good fortune and blessings he had
brought us We persisted in our request which we substantiated by our
anxiety over the child catching a certain infection peculiar to Makkah 1 1 At
last we were granted our wish and the Prophet L ui stayed with us
until he was four or five years of age 
When as related by Anas in Sahih Muslim Gabriel came down and
ripped his chest open and took out the heart He then extracted a blood clot
out of it and said That was the part of Satan in thee And then he washed
bllbn Hisham 1 162 164 
it with the water of Zamzam in a gold basin After that the heart was joined
together and restored to its place The boys and playmates came running to
his mother i e his nurse and said Verily Muhammad an has been
murdered They all rushed towards him and found him all right only his
face was white 
Back to His Passionate Mother 
After this event Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him
to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six 2 
In respect of the memory of her late husband Amina decided to visit his
grave in Yathrib Madinah She set out to cover a journey of 500
kilometers with her orphan boy woman servant Umm Ayman and her
father in law Abdul Muttalib She spent a month there and then took her
way back to Makkah On the way she had a severe illness and died in Abwa
on the road between Makkah and Madinah 3 
To His Compassionate Grandfather 
 Abdul Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah He had warm passions
towards the boy his orphan grandson whose recent disaster his mother s
death added more to the pains of the past Abdul Muttalib was more
passionate with his grandson than with his own children He never left the
boy a prey to loneliness but always preferred him to his own kids Ibn
Hisham reported A mattress was put in the shade of Al Ka bah for Abdul 
Muttalib His children used to sit around that mattress in honour to their
father but M uhammad jii used to sit on it His uncles would take
him back but if Abdul Muttalib was present he would say Leave my
grandson I swear by Allah that this boy will hold a significant position He
used to seat the boy on his mattress pat his back and was always pleased
with what the boy did 4 
t JSahih Muslim 1 92 
 2 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 7 Ibn Hisham 1 168 
 3 lbn Hisham 1 168 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 7 
 4 llbn Hisham 1 168 
When Muhammad j j jji was eight years two months and ten days
old his grandfather Abdul Muttalib passed away in Makkah The charge of
the Prophet was now passed on to his uncle Abu Talib who was
the brother of the Prophet s father 
Abu Talib took the charge of his nephew in the best way He put him
with his children and preferred him to them He singled the boy out with
great respect and high esteem Abu Talib remained for forty years
cherishing his nephew and extending all possible protection and support to
him His relations with the others were determined in the light of the
treatment they showed to the Prophet vi j 
Ibn Asakir reported on the authority of Jalhamah bin Arfuta who said 
 I came to Makkah when it was a rainless year so Quraish said O Abu
Talib the valley has become leafless and the children hungry let us go and
pray for rain fall Abu Talib went to Al Ka bah with a young boy who was
as beautiful as the sun and a black cloud was over his head Abu Talib and
the boy stood by the wall of Al Ka bah and prayed for rain Immediately
clouds from all directions gathered and rain fell heavily and caused the flow
of springs and growth of plants in the town and the country 
Bahira the Monk 
When the Messenger of Allah 401 ju was twelve years old he went
with his uncle Abu Talib on a business journey to Syria When they reached
Busra which was a part of Syria in the vicinity of Howran under the
Roman domain they met a monk called Bahira his real nams was
Georges who showed great kindness and entertained them lavishly He
had never been in the habit of receiving or entertaining them before He
readily enough recognized the Prophet j ui j and said while taking his
hand This is the master of all humans Allah will send him with a Message
which will be a mercy to all beings Abu Talib asked How do you know
that He replied When you appeared from the direction of Aqabah all
stones and trees prostrated themselves which they never do except for a
Prophet I can recognize him also by the seal of Prophethood which is below
his shoulder like an apple We have got to learn this from our books He
also asked Abu Talib to send the boy back to Makkah and not to take him to
 iMukhtasar Seerat ur Rasool pp 15 16 
Syria for fear of the Jews Abu Talib obeyed and sent him back to Makkah
with some of his men servants 
The Sacrilegious Wars 
M uhamma d _ui was hardly fifteen when the sacrilegious wars
 which continued with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human
life for a number of years broke out between Quraish and Banu Kinana
on the one side and Qais Ailan tribe on the other It was thus called because
the inviolables were made violable the prohibited months being included 
Harb bin Omaiyah on account of his outstanding position and honourable
descent used to be the leader of Quraish and their allies In one of those
battles the Prophet an ju attended on his uncles but did not raise arms
against their opponents His efforts were confined to picking up the arrows
of the enemy as they fell and handing them over to his uncles 2 
Al Fudoul Confederacy 
At the conclusion of these wars when peace was restored people felt the
need for forming confederacy at Makkah for suppressing violence and
injustice and vindicating the rights of the weak and the destitute 
Representatives of Banu Hashim Banu Al Muttalib Asad bin Abd
Al Uzza Zahrah bin Kilab and Taim bin Murra were called to meet in the
habitation of an honourable elderly man called Abdullah bin Jada an
At Taimy to enter into a confederacy that would provide for the above 
mentioned items The Messenger of Allah an j shortly after he had
been honoured with the ministry ofProphethood witnessed this league and
commented on it with very positive words I witnessed a confederacy in
the house of Abdullah bin Jada an It was more appealing to me than herds
of cattle Even now in the period of Islam I would respond positively to
attending such a meeting if I were invited 3 
In fact the spirit of this confederacy and the course of deliberations
therein marked a complete departure from the pre Islamic tribal pride The
story that led to its convention says that a man from Zubaid clan came as a
 lbn Hisham 1 180 183 Z d Al Ma ad 1 17 
 2 lbn Hisham 1 184 187 Qalb Jazeerat Al Arab p 260 
Pllbn Hisham 1 113 135 
merchant to Makkah where he sold some commodities to Al As binWa il
As Sahmy The latter by hook or by crook tried to evade paying for the
goods The salesman sought help from the different clans in Quraish but
they paid no heed to his earnest pleas He then resorted to a mountain top
and began at the top of his voice to recite verses of complaint giving
account of the injustices he sustained Az Zubair bin Abdul Muttalib heard
of him and made inquiries into die matter Consequently the parties to the
aforesaid confederacy convened their meeting and managed to force
Az Zubaidy s money out of Al As bin Wa il t 
Muhammad s Early Job 
Muhammad fL uii ju had no particular job at his early youth but it
was reported that he worked as a shepherd for Bani Sa d and in Makkah At
the age of 25 he went to Syria as a merchant for Khadijah i ui Ibn
Ishaq reported that Khadijah daughter ofKhwailid was a business woman
of great honour and fortune She used to employ men to do her business for
a certain percentage of the profits Quraish people were mostly
tradespeople so when Khadijah was informed of M uhamma d pL j j1c 411
his truthful words great honesty and kind manners she sent for him She
offered him money to go to Syria and do her business and she would give
him a higher rate than the others She would also send her hireling 
Maisarah with him He agreed and went with her servant to Syria for trade PI
His Marriage to Khadijah 
When he returned to Makkah Khadijah noticed in her money more
profits and blessings than she used to Her hireling also told her of
Muhammad s good manners honesty deep thought sincerity and faith She
realized that she homed at her target Many prominent men had asked for
her hand in marriage but she always spumed their advances She disclosed
her wish to her friend Nafisa daughter of Maniya who immediately went to
Muhammad and broke the good news to him He agreed and
requested his uncles to go to Khadijah s uncle and talk on this issue 
Subsequently they were married The marriage contract was witnessed by
PiMukhtasar Seerat ur Rasool pp 30 31 
PllbnHisham 1 187 188
Bani Hashim and the heads ofMudar This took place after the Prophet s
return from Syria He gave her twenty camels as dowry She was then forty
years old and was considered as the best woman of her folk in lineage 
fortune and wisdom She was the first woman whom the Messenger of Allah
j ji in j married He did not get married to any other until she had died 1 1 1
Khadijah bore all his children except Ibrahim Al Qasim Zainab 
Ruqaiyah Umm Kulthum Fatimah and Abdullah who was called Taiyib
and Tahir All his sons died in their childhood and all the daughters except
Fatimah died during his lifetime Fatimah died six months after his death 
All his daughters witnessed Islam embraced it and emigrated to
Rebuilding Al Ka bah and the Arbitration Issue 
When the Messenger of Allah was thirty five Quraish started
rebuilding Al Ka bah That was because it was a low building of white
stones no more than 6 30 metres high from the days of Ishmael It was also
roofless and that gave the thieves easy access to its treasures inside It was
also exposed to the wearing factors of nature because it was built a long
time ago that weakened and cracked its walls Five years before
Prophethood there was a great flood in Makkah that swept towards
Al Ka bah and almost demolished it Quraish was obliged to rebuild it to
safeguard its holiness and position The chiefs of Quraish decided to use
only licit money in rebuilding Al Ka bah so all money that derived from
harlotry usury or unjust practices was excluded They were at first too
awed to knock down the wall but Al Waleed bin Al Mugheerah
Al M ukhzumi started the work Seeing that no harm had happened to him 
the others participated in demolishing the walls until they reached the basis
laid by Abraham When they started rebuilding its walls they divided the
work among the tribes Each tribe was responsible for rebuilding a part of it 
The tribes collected stones and started work The man who laid the stones
was a Roman mason called Baqum The work went on in harmony till the
time came to put the sacred Black Stone in its proper place Then strife
broke out among the chiefs and lasted for four or five days each contesting
 illbn Hisham 1 189 Fiqh As Seerah p 59 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 7 
Pllbn Hisham 1 190 191 Fath Al Bari 7 507 
for the honour of placing the stone in its position Daggers were on the point
of being drawn and great bloodshed seemed imminent Luckily the oldest
among the chiefs Abu Omaiyah bin Mugheerah Al Makhzumi made a
proposal which was accepted by all He said Let him who enters the
Sanctuary first of all decide on the point It was then Allfih s Will that the
Messenger of Allah u ui should be the first to enter the Mosque On
seeing him all the people on the scene cried with one voice Al Ameen
 the trustworthy has come We are content to abide by his decision Calm
and self possessed Muhammad an received the commission and at
once resolved upon an expedient which was to conciliate them all He asked
for a mantle which he spread on the ground and placed the stone in its
centre He then asked the representatives of the different clans among them 
to lift the stone all together When it had reached the proper place Muhammad
laid it in the proper position with his own hands This is how a
very tense situation was eased and a grave danger averted by the wisdom of
the Prophet 1 an
Quraish ran short of the licit money they collected so they eliminated
six yards area on the northern side of Al Ka bah which is called Al Hijr or
Al Hateem They raised its door two metres from the level ground to let in
only the people whom they desired When the structure was fifteen yards
high they erected the roof which rested on six columns 
When the building ofAl Ka bah had finished it assumed a square form
fifteen metres high The side with the Black Stone and the one opposite
were ten metres long each The Black Stone was 1 50 metre from the
circumambulation level ground The two other sides were twelve metres
long each The door was two metres high from the level ground A buil ding
structure of 0 25 metre high and 0 30 metre wide on the average surrounded
Al Ka bah It was called Ash Shadherwan originally an integral part of the
Sacred Sanctuary but Quraish left it out Pl
A Rapid Review of Muhammad s Biography before Commissioning of
Prophet Muhammad L jui was in his youth a combination of the
best social attributes He was an exemplary man of weighty mind and
PlSahih Al Bukhari 1 215 Fiqh As Seerah pp 62 63 Ibn Hisham 2 192 197 
faultless insight He was favoured with intelligence origiftality of thought
and accurate choice of the means leading to accurate goals His long silence
helped favourably in his habit of meditation and deep investigation into the
truth His vivid mind and pure nature were helpfully instrumental in
assimilating and comprehending ways of life and people individual and
community wise He shunned superstitious practices but took an active part
in constructive and useful dealings otherwise he would have recourse to
his self consecrated solitude He kept himself aloof from drinking wine 
eating meat slaughtered on stone altars or attending idolatrous festivals He
held the idols in extreme aversion and most abhorrence He could never
tolerate someone swearing by Al Lat and Al Uzza Allah s providence no
doubts detached him from all abominable or evil practices Even when he
tried to obey his instinct to enjoy some life pleasures or follow some
irrespectable traditions Allah s providence intervened to curb any lapse in
this course Ibn Al Atheer reported Muhammad as saying I
have never tried to do what my people do except for two times Every time
Allah intervened and checked me from doing so and I never did that again 
Once I told my fellow shepherd to take care of my sheep when we were in
the upper part of Makkah I wanted to go down to Makkah and entertain
myself as the young men did I went down to the first house of Makkah
where I heard music I entered and asked What is this Someone
answered It is a wedding party I sat down and listened but soon went into
deep sleep I was awakened by the heat of the sun I went back to my
fellow shepherd and told him of what had happened to me I have never
tried it again 
Al Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah that he said 
 While the people were rebuilding Al Ka bah the Prophet Muhammad
 JL 4 u uii went with Abbas to carry some stones Abbas said Put your
loincloth round your neck to protect you from the stones As he did
that the Prophet fell to the ground and his eyes turned skyward 
Later on he woke up and shouted My loincloth my loincloth He
wrapped himself in his loincloth In another report His loins were never
seen afterwards 1
t lSahih Al Bukhari Chapter The building of Al Ka bah 1 540 
The authorities agree in ascribing to the youth of Muhammad ui
modesty of deportment virtuous behaviour and graceful manners He
proved himself to be the ideal of manhood and to possess a spotless
character He was the most obliging to his compatriots the most honest in
his talk and the mildest in temper He was the most gentle hearted chaste 
hospitable and always impressed people by his piety inspiring countenance 
He was the most truthful and the best to keep covenant His fellow citizens 
by common consent gave him the title of A l Ameen trustworthy The
Mother of believers Khadijah once said He unites uterine
relations he helps the poor and the needy he entertains the guests and
endures hardships in the path of truthfulness 1 
WSahih Al Bukhari 1 3 
In the Shade of
the Message and Prophethood
In the Cave of Hira 
When Prophet Muhammad jji was nearly forty he had been
wont to pass long hours in retirement meditating and speculating over all
aspects of creation around him This meditative temperament helped to
widen the mental gap between him and his compatriots He used to provide
himself with Sawiq barley porridge and water and then directly head for
the hills and ravines in the neighbourhood of Makkah One of these in
particular was his favourite resort a cave named Hira in the Mount
An Nour It was only two miles from Makkah a small cave 4 yards long
and 1 75 yard wide He would always go there and invite wayfarers to share
him his modest provision He used to devote most of his time and Ramadan
in particular to worship and meditation on the universe around him His
heart was restless about the moral evils and idolatry that were rampant
among his people he was as yet helpless because no definite course or
specific approach had been available for him to follow and rectify the ill
practices around him This solitude attended with this sort of contemplative
approach must be understood in its Divine perspective It was a preliminary
stage to the period of grave responsibilities that he was to shoulder very soon 1 1
Privacy and detachment from the impurities of life were two
indispensable prerequisites for the Prophet s soul to come into close
communion with the Unseen Power that lies behind all aspects of existence
in this infinite universe It was a rich period of privacy which lasted for
three years and ushered in a new era of indissoluble contact with that Power I 2 1
Gabriel brings down the Revelation 
When he was forty the age of complete perfection at which Prophets
were always ordered to disclose their Message signs of his Prophethood
started to appear and twinkle on the horizons of life they were the true
visions he used to experience for six months The period of Prophethood
t lRahmat Al liPalameen 1 47 Ibn Hisham 1 235 236 Fi Zilal Al Qur an 29 166 
 2 lFi Zilal Al Qur an 29 166 167 
was 23 years so the period of these six months of true visions constituted an
integral part of the forty six parts of Prophethood In Ramadan in his third
year of solitude in the cave of Hira Allah s Will desired His mercy to flow
on earth and Muhammad in was honoured with Prophethood and the
light of Revelation burst upon him with some verses of the Noble Qur an 1 
As for the exact date careful investigation into circumstantial evidence
and relevant clues point directly to Monday 21st Ramadan at night i e 
August 10 610 A D with Prophet Muhammad ui jl exactly 40 years 
6 months and 12 days of age i e 39 Gregorian years 3 months and 22 days 2 
 Aishah the veracious gave the following narration of that most
significant event that brought the Divine light which would dispel the darkness
of disbelief and ignorance It led life down a new course and brought about the
most serious amendment to the line of the history of mankind 
Forerunners of the Revelation assumed the form of true visions that
would strikingly come true all the time After that solitude became dear to
him and he would go to the cave Hira to engage in Tahannuth devotion 
there for a certain number of nights before returning to his family and then
he would return for provisions for a similar stay At length unexpectedly 
the Truth the angel came to him and said Recite I cannot recite he
 Muhammad i j said The Prophet w jl described Then he
took me and squeezed me vehemently and then let me go and repeated the
order Recite I cannot recite said I and once again he squeezed me and
let me till I was exhausted Then he said Recite I said I cannot recite 
He squeezed me for a third time and then let me go and said 
 Read In the Name of your Lord Who has created all that
exists has created man from a clot a piece of thick coagulated
blood Read and your Lord is the Most Generous 96 1 3 
The Prophet fi j uii repeated these verses He was trembling with
fear At this stage he came back to his wife Khadijah and said Cover
 iFath Al Bari 1 27 
 2 lThere is some contrast between scholars about the fixed day on which the Revelation
started but I have written here what seems to be the correct one For detail please see
Sahih Muslim Musnad Ahmad Rahmat Al lil alameen Al HaUm and Al Baihaqi etc 
me cover me They covered him until he restored security He apprised
Khadijah of the incident of the cave and added that he was horrified His
wife tried to soothe him and reassured him saying Allah will never
disgrace you You unite uterine relations you bear the burden of the weak 
you help the poor and the needy you entertain the guests and endure
hardships in the path of truthfulness 
She set out with the Prophet v an to her cousin Waraqa bin Nawfal
bin Asad bin Abd Al Uzza who had embraced Christianity in the pre 
Islamic period and used to write the Bible in Hebrew He was a blind old
man Khadijah said My cousin Listen to your nephew Waraqa said O
my nephew What did you see The Messenger of Allah ui told
him what had happened to him Waraqa replied This is Namus i e the
angel who is entrusted with Divine Secrets that Allah sent to Moses I wish
I were younger I wish I could live up to the time when your people would
turn you out Muhammad jii asked Will they drive me out 
Waraqa answered in the affirmative and said Anyone who came with
something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility and
if I should be alive till that day then I would support you strongly A few
days later Waraqa died and the revelation also subsided 1 
At Tabari and Ibn Hisham reported that the Messenger of Allah an 
left the cave of Hira after being surprised by the Revelation but later on 
returned to the cave and continued his solitude Afterwards he came back to
Makkah At Tabari reported on this incident saying 
After mentioning the coming of the Revelation the Messenger of Allah
fi j jii jju said I have never abhorred anyone more than a poet or a mad
man I can not stand looking at either of diem I will never tell anyone of
Quraish of my Revelation I will climb a mountain and throw myself down
and die That will relieve me I went to do that but halfway up the mountain 
I heard a voice from the sky saying O Muhammad You are the Messenger
of Allah ui jLo and I am Gabriel I looked upwards and saw Gabriel in
the form of a man putting his legs on the horizon He said O Muhammad
You are the Messenger of Allah fU i an and I am Gabriel I stopped and
looked at him His sight distracted my attention from what I had intended to
do I stood in my place transfixed I tried to shift my eyes away from him 
IfiSahih Al Bukhari 1 2 3 
He was in every direction I looked at I stopped in my place without any
movement until Khadijah sent someone to look for me He went down to
Makkah and came back while I was standing in the same place Gabriel then
left and I went back home I found Khadijah at home so I sat very close to
her She asked Father of Al Qasim Where have you been I sent someone
to look for you He went to Makkah and returned to me I told her of what I
had seen She replied It is a propitious sign O my husband Pull yourself
together I swear by Allah that you are a Messenger for this nation Then
she stood up and went to Waraqa and informed him Waraqa said I swear
by Allah that he has received the same Namus i e angel that was sent to
Moses He is the Prophet of this nation Tell him to be patient She came
back to him and told him of Waraqa s words When the Messenger of Allah
ft j i jj finished his solitary stay and went down to Makkah he went to
Waraqa who told him You are the Prophet of this nation I swear by Allah
that you have received the same angel that was sent to Moses 1 
Interruption of Revelation 
Ibn Sa d reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Revelation
paused for a few days 2 After careful study this seems to be the most
possible To say that it lasted for three and a half years as some scholars
allege is not correct but here there is no room to go into more details 
Meanwhile the Prophet jui was caught in a sort of depression
coupled with astonishment and perplexity Al Bukhari reported 
The Divine inspiration paused for a while and the Prophet u ui
became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw
himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top
of a mountain in order to throw himself down Gabriel would appear before
him and say O Muhammad You are indeed AllSh s Messenger in truth 
whereupon his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and
return home Whenever the period of the coming of the Revelation used to
become long he would do as before but Gabriel would appear again before
him and say to him what he had said before 3 
 lAt Tabari 2 207 Ibn Hisham 1 237 238 
PlFath Al Bari 1 27 12 360 
PlSahih Al Bukhari 2 340 
Once more Gabriel brings Allah s Revelation 
Ibn Hajar said That the pause of Allah s revelation for a few days was
to relieve the Messenger of Allah of the fear he experienced and
to make him long for the Revelation When the shades of puzzle receded 
the flags of truth were raised the Messenger of Allah 0 ju knew for
sure that he had become the Messenger of the Great Lord He was also
certain that what had come to him was no more than the ambassador of
inspiration His waiting and longing for the coming of the revelation
constituted a good reason for his steadfastness and self possession on the
arrival of Allah s inspiration Al Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir
bin Abdullah that he had heard the Messenger of Allah fU ui speak
about the period of pause as follows 
 While I was walking I heard a voice from the sky I looked up and
surely enough it was the same angel who had visited me in the cave of
Hira He was sitting on a chair between the earth and the sky I was very
afraid of him and knelt on the ground I went home saying Cover me 
Cover me Allah revealed to me the verses 
 O you Muhammad fU on jJ enveloped in garments Arise
and warn And your Lord Allah magnify And your garments
purify And keep away from Ar Rujz the idols 74 1 5 
After that the revelation started coming strongly frequently and
Some details pertinent to the successive stages of Revelation 
Before we go into the details of the period of communicating the
Message and Prophethood we would like to get acquainted with the stages
of the Revelation which constituted the main source of the Message and the
subject matter of the Call Ibn Al Qayyim mentioning the stages of the
The First The period of true vision It was the starting point of the
Revelation to the Messenger of Allah fU uii
t lSahih Al Bukhari The book of Tafeeer 2 733 
The Second What the angel invisibly cast in the Prophet s mind and
heart The Messenger of AllSh uii said The Noble Spirit
revealed to me No soul will perish until it exhausts its due course so
fear Allah and gently request Him Never get so impatient to the verge
of disobedience of Alldh What Allah has can never be acquired but
through obedience to Him 
The Third The angel used to visit the Messenger of Allah 111 
in the form of a human being and would speak to him directly This
would enable him to fully understand what the angel said The angel
was sometimes seen in this form by the Prophet s Companions 
The Fourth The angel came to him like the toll of a bell and this was
the most difficult form because the angel used to seize him tightly and
sweat would stream from his forehead even on the coldest day If the
Prophet fL j _ut was on his camel the camel would not withstand
the weight so it would immediately kneel down on the ground Once
the Messenger of Allah 411 had such a revelation when he was
sitting and his thigh was on Zaid s Zaid felt the pressure had almost
injured his thigh 
The Fifth The Prophet an saw the angel in his actual form 
The angel would reveal to him what Allah had ordered him to reveal 
This as mentioned in Qur an in Surah An Najm Chapter 53 The
Star happened twice 
The Sixth What Allah Himself revealed to him in heaven i e when
he ascended to heaven and received Allah s behest of Salat prayer 
The Seventh Allah s Words to His Messenger fL 411 at first
hand without the mediation of an angel It was a privilege granted to
Moses r x_ji u and clearly attested in the Qur an as it is attested to
our Prophet jl in the Surah Al Isrd Chapter 17 The
Journey by Night of the Noble Qur an 
Some religious scholars added a controversial eighth stage in which they
state that Allah spoke to the Prophet 4 an directly without a curtain in
between This issue re mains however unconfirmed 1 
PlZad Al Ma ad 1 18
Proclaiming Allah the All High 
and the Immediate Constituents
The first Revelation sent to the Prophet L jji implied several
injunctions simple in form but highly effective and of serious far reaching
ramifications The angel communicated to him a manifest Message saying 
 O you Muhammad j an jJ enveloped in garments Arise
and warn And your Lord Allah magnify And your garments
purify And keep away from Ar Rujz the idols And give not a
thing in order to have more or consider not your deeds of
Allah s obedience as a favour to Allah And be patient for the
sake of your Lord i e perform your duty to Allah 74 1 7 
For convenience and ease of understanding we are going to segment the
Message into its immediate constituents 
l The ultimate objective of warning is to make sure that no one
breaching the pleasures of Allah in the whole universe is ignorant
of the serious consequences that his behaviour entails and to create
a sort of unprecedented shock within his mind and heart 
2 Magnifying the Lord dictates explicitly that the only pride
allowed to nourish on the earth is exclusively Allah s to the
exclusion of all the others 
3 Cleansing the garments and shunning all aspects of abomination 
point directly to the indispensable need to render both the exterior
and interior exceptionally chaste and pure in addition to the
prerequisite of sanctifying the soul and establishing it highly
immune against the different sorts of impurities and the various
kinds of pollutants Only through this avenue can the soul of the
Prophet r L 0 v u jii r u reach an ideal status and become eligible to
enjoy the shady mercy of Allah and His protection security 
guidance and ever shining light and will consequently set the
highest example to the human community attract the sound hearts
and inspire awe and reverence in the stray ones in such a manner
that all the world in agreement or disagreement will head for it
and take it as the rock bed in all facets of their welfare 
4 The Prophet jii jl must not regard his strife in the way of
Allah as a deed of grace that entitles him to a great reward On the
contrary he has to exert himself to the utmost dedicate his whole
efforts and be ready to offer all sacrifices in a spirit of self 
forgetfulness enveloped by an ever present awareness of Allah 
without the least sense of pride in his deeds or sacrifices 
5 The last verse of the Qur an revealed to the Prophet
alludes to the hostile attitude of the obdurate disbelievers who will
jeer at him and his followers They are expected to disparage him
and step up their malice to the point of scheming against his life
and lives of all the believers around him In this case he has got to
be patient and is supposed to persevere and display the highest
degree of stamina for the sole purpose of attaining the pleasure of
These were the basic preliminaries that the Prophet had to
observe very simple injunctions in appearance greatly fascinating in their
calm rhythm but highly effective in practice They constituted the trigger
that aroused a far ranging tempest in all the comers of the world 
The verses comprise the constituents of the new call and propagation of
the new faith A warning logically implies that there are malpractices with
painful consequences to be sustained by the perpetrators and since the
present life is not necessarily the only room to bring people to account for
their misdeeds or some of them then the warning would necessarily imply
calling people to account on another day i e die Day of Resurrection and
this per se suggests the existence of a life other than this one we are living 
All die verses of the Noble Qur an call people to testify explicitly to the
Oneness of Allah to delegate all their affairs to AllSh the All High and to
subordinate the desires of the self and the desires of Allah s servants to the
attainment of His Pleasures 
The constituents of the call to Islam could briefly speaking go as
A Testimony to the Oneness of All h 
B Belief in the Hereafter 
C Sanctifying one s soul and elevating it high above evils and
abominations that conduce to terrible consequences besides this 
there is the dire need for virtues and perfect manners coupled with
habituating oneself to righteous deeds 
D Committing one s all affairs to Allah the All High 
E All the foregoing should run as a natural corollary to unwavering
belief in M uhammad s Message and abidance by his noble
leadership and righteous guidance 
The verses have been prefaced in the voice of the Most High by a
heavenly call mandating the Prophet to undertake this daunting
responsibility calling people unto Allah The verses meant to extract him
forcibly out of his sleep divest him of his mantle and detach him from the
warmth and quiet of life and then drive him down a new course attended
with countless hardships and requiring a great deal of strife in the way of
 O you Muhammad mi j enveloped in garments Arise
and warn 74 1 2 
Suggesting that to live to oneself is quite easy but it has been decided
that you have to shoulder this heavy burden consequently sleep comfort or
warm bed are items decreed to be alien in your lexicon of life O
Muhammad arise quickly for die strife and toil awaiting you no time is
there for sleep and such amenities grave responsibilities have been Divinely
determined to fall to your lot and drive you into the turmoil of life to
develop a new sort of precarious affinity with the conscience of people and
the reality of life 
The Prophet managed quite successfully to rise to his feet and
measure up to the new task he went ahead in a spirit of complete
selflessness relentlessly striving and never abating in carrying the burden of
the great Trust the burden of enlightening mankind and die heavy weight
of the new faith and strife for over twenty years nothing distracting his
attention from the awesome commission May Allah reward him for us and
all h umani ty the best ending The following research at hand gives an
account in miniatur e of his long strive and uninterrupted struggle he made
after receiving the ministry of Messengership fi
PlFi Zilal Al Qur in 29 168 171 182 
Phases and Stages of the Call
The Muhammadan Call could be divided into two phases distinctively
1 The Makkan phase nearly thirteen years 
2 The Madinese phase fully ten years 
Each of the two phases included distinctive features easily discernible
through accurate scrutiny into the circumstances that characterized each of
The Makkan phase can be divided into three stages 
1 The stage of the secret Call three years 
2 The stage of the proclamation of the Call in Makkah from the
beginning of the fourth year of Prophethood to almost the end of the
3 The stage of the call to Islam and propagating it beyond Makkah it
lasted from the end of tenth year of the Prophethood until
Muhammad s emigration to Madinah 
The Madinese phase will be considered later in its due course 
The First Stage
Strife in the Way of the Call
Three Years of Secret Call 
It is well known that Makkah was the centre for the Arabs and housed
the custodians of Al Ka bah Protection and guardianship of the idols and
stone graven images that received veneration on the part of all the Arabs lay
in the hands of the Makkans Hence the difficulty of hitting the target of
reform and rectitude in a place considered the den of idolatry Working in
such an atmosphere no doubt requires unshakable will and determination 
that is why the call unto Islam assumed a clandestine form so that the
Makkans should not be enraged by the unexpected surprise 
The Early Converts 
The Prophet fi i w naturally initiated his sacred mission right from
home and then moved to the people closely associated with him He called
unto Islam whomsoever he thought would attest the truth which had come
from his Lord In fact a host of people who nursed not the least seed of
doubt as regards the Prophet piu u immediately responded and quite
readily embraced the true faith They are known in the Islamic literature as
the early converts 
Khadijah the Prophet s spouse the mother of believers was the first to
enter the fold of Islam followed by his freed slave Zaid bin Harithah his
cousin Ali bin Abi Talib who had been living with him since his early
childhood and next came his intimate friend Abu Bakr As Siddiq Abu
Bakr the truth verifier All of those professed Islam on the very first day of
the call t l Abu Bakr and from the first day he embraced Islam proved to be
an energetic and most zealous activist He was wealthy obliging mild and
upright People used to frequent his house and draw nigh to him for his
knowledge amity pleasant company and business He invited whomever he
had confidence in to Islam and through his personal efforts a good number
of people converted to Islam such as Uthman bin Affan Al Umawi 
Az Zubair bin Awwam Al Asadi Abdur Rahman bin Awf Sa d bin Abi
Waqqas Az Zuhri and Talhah bin Ubaidullah At Tamimy Those eight
IriRahmat ul liPalameen 1 SO 
men constituted the forerunners and more specifically the vanguard of the
new faith in Arabia Among the early Muslim were Bilal bin Rabah the
Abyssinian Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah from Bani Harith bin Fahr the
most trustworthy of the Muslim Nation Abu Salamah bin Abd Al Asad 
Al Arqam bin Abi Al Arqam from the tribe of Makhzum Uthman bin
Maz oun and his two brothers Qudama and Abdullah Ubaidah bin
Al Harith bin Al Muttalib bin Abd Munaf Sa id bin Zaid Al Adawi and
his wife Fatimah daughter of Al Khattab the sister of Umar bin
Al Khattab Khabbab bin Al Aratt Abdullah bin Mas ud Al Hadhali and
many others These were the Muslim predecessors They belonged to
various septs of Quraish Ibn Hisham a biographer counted them to be
more than forty 
Ibn Ishaq said Then people entered the fold of Islam in hosts men or
women and the new faith could no longer be kept secret 2 
The Prophet jii used to meet and teach the new converts the
religion in privacy because the call to Islam was still running on an
individual and secret basis Revelation accelerated and continued after the
first verses of O you wrapped in garments The verses and pieces of
Surah chapters revealed at this time were short ones with wonderful strong
pauses and quite fascinating rhythms in full harmony with that delicate
whispering setting The central topic running through them focused on
sanctifying the soul and deterring the Muslims from falling prey to the
deceptive glamour of life The early verses used as well to give a highly
accurate account of the Hell and the Garden Paradise leading the believers
down a new course diametrically opposed to the ill practices rampant
amongst their compatriots 
As SalSt the Prayer 
Muqatil bin Sulaiman said Salat prayer was established as an
obligatory ritual at an early stage of the Islamic Call a two Rak ah unit of
prayer Salat in the morning and the same in the evening 
 llbn Hisham 1 245 262 
Pllbn Hisham 1 262 
 And glorify the praises of your Lord in the Ashi i e the time
period after the mid noon till sunset and in the Ibkar i e the
time period from early morning or sunrise till before mid 
noon 40 55 
Ibn Hijr said Definitely the Prophet used to pray before The
Night Journey but it still remains a matter of controversy whether or not the
prayer was established as an obligatory ritual before imposing the rules of
the usual five prayers a day It is related that obligatory prayer was
established twice a day in the morning before sunrise and after sunset It is
reported through a chain of narrators that when the Prophet i ui
received the first Revelation Gabriel the angel proceeded and taught him
how to observe Wudu ablution When the Prophet ui had finished 
he took a handful of water and sprinkled it on his loins 
Ibn Hisham reported that when it was time for prayers the Messenger of
Allah jJl j uii and his Companions went into a mountain valley to pray
secretly Abu Talib once saw the Messenger of Allah and Ali
praying he asked them what they were up to When he got to know that it
was obligatory prayer he told them to stay constant in their practice 2 
The Quraishites learn about the Call 
This stage of the Call even though conducted in a clandestine manner
and on an individual basis its news leaked out and assumed a public interest
all over Makkah In the beginning the Makkan leaders did not care much
about Muhammad fi j _ui uand took no heed of his teachings At first 
they thought that Muhammad pj was merely a religious
philosophist like Omaiyah bin Abi As Salt Quss bin Sa idah Amr bin
Nufail and their ilk who used to philosophize on godship and religious
obligations But this attitude of indifference soon changed into real
apprehension The polytheists of Quraish began to watch Muhammad s
movements closely and anxiously for fear of spreading his Call and
producing a change in the prevalent mentality 3 
I lMukhtasar Seerat ur Rasool p 88
Pllbn Hisham 1 247 
PlFiqh As Seerah p 76 
For three underground years of activism a group of believers emerged
stamped by a spirit of fraternity and cooperation with one definite objective
in their mind propagating and deeply establishing the call unto Islam For
full three years Muhammad had been content to teach within a
rather narrow circle The time had however come to preach the faith of the
Lord openly The angel Gabriel had brought him down a further Revelation
of Allah s Will to confront his people invalidate their falsehood and crush
down their idolatrous practices 
The Second Phase
First Revelation regarding the Preaching 
 And warn your tribe O Muhammad uii i of near
kindred 26 214 
This was the first verse to be revealed in this concern It is included in
Surah Ash Shu ara Chapter 26 The Poets which relates the story of
Moses r n_jt _ u from his early days of Prophethood going through his
migration with the Children of Israel their escape from the Pharaoh and his
folk and the drowning Pharaoh and his hosts This Chapter in fact narrates
the different stages that Moses r ii passed through in his struggle with
Pharaoh and the mission of calling his people unto AMh Moreover it
includes stories that speak about the terrible end in store for those who
belied the Messengers such as the people of Noah Ad Thamud Abraham 
Lout and Ahlul Aikah Companions of the Wood A group of people who
used to worship a tree called Aikah 
Chronologically this Chapter belongs to the middle Makkan period 
when the contact of the light of Prophecy with the cultural milieu of pagan
Makkah was testing the Makkans in their most arrogant mood The Message
that this Chapter communicates is in brief The Truth is insurmountable 
When the spirit of Prophecy came to Makkah it was resisted by the votaries
of evil but Truth unlike falsehood is bound to stay whereas falsehood is
Calling the Closest Kinspeople 
In obedience to AllSh s Commands Muhammad u uirallied his
kinsmen of Bani Hashim with a group of Bani Al Muttalib bin Abd Munaf 
The audience counted forty five men 
Abu Lahab immediately took the initiative and addressed the Prophet
uii These are your uncles and cousins speak on to the point but
first of all you have got to know that your kinspeople are not in a position to
withstand all the Arabs Another point you have got to bear in mind is that
your relatives are sufficient unto you If you follow their tradition it will be
easier for them than to face the other clans of Quraish supported by the
other Arabs Verily I have never heard of anyone who has incurred more
harm on his kinspeople than you The Messenger of Allah ui kept
silent and said nothing in that meeting 
He invited them to another meeting and managed to secure audience He
then stood up and delivered a short speech explaining quite cogently what
was at stake He said I celebrate Allah s praise I seek His help I believe
in Him I put my trust in Him I bear witness that there is no god to be
worshipped but Allah with no associate A guide can never lie to his people 
I swear by Allah there is no god but He that I have been sent as a
Messenger to you in particular and to all the people in general I swear by
Allah you will die just as you sleep you will be resurrected just as you wake
up You will be called to account for your deeds It is then either Hell
forever or the Garden Paradise forever 
Abu Talib replied We love to help you accept your advice and Relieve
in your words These are your kinspeople whom you have collected and I
am one of them but I am the fastest to do what you like Do what you have
been ordered I shall protect and defend you but I can t quit the religion of
Abu Lahab then said to Abu Talib I swear by Allah that this is a bad
thing You must stop him before the others do Abu Talib however 
answered I swear by Allah to protect him as long as I am alive 1 
On Mount As Safa 
After the Messenger of Allah uh became sure of Abu Talib s
commitment to his protection while he called the people unto Allah he
stood up on Mount As Safa one day and called out loudly O Sabahah 
Septs of Quraish came to him He called them to testify to the Oneness of
Allah and believe in his Messengership and the Day of Resurrection 
Al Bukhari reported part of this story on the authority of Ibn Abbas w
He said When the following verses were revealed 
WFiqh As Seerah pp 77 78 
 This is an Arabic expression used when one appeals for help or draws die attention of
others to some dangers 
 And warn your tribe O Muhammad jh j of near
kindred 26 214 
The Messenger of Allah ui ascended Mount As Safa and started
to call O Bani Fahr O Bani Adi two septs of Quraish Many people
gathered and those who couldn t sent somebody to report to them Abu
Lahab was also present The Prophet an said You see if I were to
tell you that there were some horsemen in die valley planning to raid you 
will you believe me They said Yes we have never experienced any lie
from you He said I am a wamer to you before a severe torment Abu
Lahab promptly replied Perish you all the day Have you summoned us
for such a thing The verses were immediately revealed on that occasion 
 Perish the two hands of Abi Lahab 111 1 
Muslim reported another part of this story on the authority of Abu
Hurairah He said When the following verses were revealed 
 Arid warn your tribe O Muhammad of near
kindred 26 214 
The Messenger of Allah an called all the people of Quraish so
they gathered and he gave them a general warning Then he made a
particular reference to certain tribes and said O Quraish rescue
yourselves from the Fire O people of Bani Ka b rescue yourselves from
Fire O F atimah daughter of Muhammad ft w rescue yourself from
the Fire for I have no power to protect you from Allah in anything except
that I would sustain relationship with you Pl
It was verily a loud su gge stive Call stating unequivocally to the closest
people that belief in his Message constituted the corner stone of any future
ClSahih Al Bukhari 2 702 Sahib Muslim 1 114 
 riSahih M uslim 1 114 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 385 2 702 
relation between him and them and that the blood relation on which the
whole Arabian life was based had ceased to exist in the light of that Divine
Shouting the Truth and the Polytheists Reaction 
The Prophet s voice kept reverberating in Makkah until the following
verse was revealed 
 Therefore proclaim openly Allah s Message Islamic
Monotheism that which you are commanded and turn away
from Al Mushrikurt polytheists 15 94 
He then commenced discrediting the superstitious practices of idolatry 
revealing its worthless reality and utter impotence and giving concrete
proofs that idolatry per se or taking it as the media through which an
idolater could come in contact with Allah is manifest falsehood 
The Makkans on their part burst into outrage and disapproval 
Muhammad s fi a_ui cr x words created a thunderbolt that turned the
Makkan time honoured ideological life upside down They could ill afford
to hear someone attaching to polytheists and idolaters the description of
straying people They started to rally their resources to settle down the
affair quell the onward marching revolution and deal a pre emptive strike to
its votaries before it devours and crushes down their consecrated traditions
and long standing heritage The Makkans had the deep conviction that
denying godship to anyone save Allah and that belief in the Divine Message
and the Hereafter are interpreted in terms of complete compliance and
absolute commitment and this in turn leaves no area at all for them to claim
authority over themselves and over their wealth let alone their subordinates 
In short their arrogated religiously based supremacy and highhandedness
would no longer be in effect their pleasures would be subordinated to the
pleasures of Allah and His Messenger and lastly they would have to abstain
from incurring injustices on those whom they falsely deemed to be weak 
and perpetrating dreadful sins in their everyday life They had already been
fully aware of these meanings that is why their souls would not condescend
to accept this disgraceful position not out of motives based on dignity and
honour but rather because 
 Nay Man denies Resurrection and Reckoning So he desires
to continue committing sins 75 5 
They had been aware of all these consequences but they could afford to
do nothing before an honest truthful man who was the highest example of
good manners and human values They had never known such an example
in the history of their folks or grandfathers What would they do They were
baffled and they had the right to be so 
Following careful deliberations they hit upon the only target available 
i e to contact the Messenger s uncle Abu Talib and request him to
intervene and advise his nephew to stop his activities In order to attach a
serious and earnest stamp to their demand they chose to touch the most
sensitive area in Arabian life viz ancestral pride They addressed Abu
Talib in the following manner O Abu Talib Your nephew curses our
gods finds faults with our way of life mocks at our religion and degrades
our forefathers either you must stop him or you must let us get at him For
you are in the same opposition as we are in opposition to him and we will
rid you of him Abu Talib tried to appease their wrath by giving them a
polite reply The Prophet however continued on his way
preaching Allah s religion and calling men hitherto heedless of all their
desperate attempts and malicious intentions 1 
An Advisory Council to debar Pilgrims from Muhammad s Call 
During those days Quraish had another serious concern the
proclamation of the Call had only been a few months old when the season of
pilgrimage was soon to come Quraish knew that the Arab delegates were
coming wi thin a short time They agreed that it was necessary to
contemplate a device that was bound to alienate the Arab pilgrims from the
new faith preached by Muhammad 111 They went to see Al Waleed
bin Al Mugheerah to deliberate on this issue Al Waleed invited them to
 Jlbn Hisham 1 265 
agree on a unanimous resolution that could enjoy the approbation of them
all However they were at variance Some suggested that they describe him
as Kahin i e soothsayer but this suggestion was turned down on grounds
that his words were not so rhymed Others proposed Majnun i e possessed
by jinn this was also rejected because no insinuations peculiar to that state
of mind were detected they claimed Why not say he is a poet Some
said Here again they could not reach a common consent alleging that his
words were totally outside the lexicon of poetry OK then let us accuse
him of practising witchcraft was a fourth suggestion Here also Al Waleed
showed some reluctance saying that the Prophet L an was known to
have never involved himself in the practice of blowing on the knots and
admitted that his speech was sweet tasting root and branch He however 
found that the most plausible charge to be levelled against Muhammad
ft jji was witchcraft The ungodly company adopted this opinion and
agreed to propagate one uniform formula to the effect that he was a
magician so powerful and commanding in his art that he would successfully
alienate son from father man from his brother wife from her husband and
man from his clan 
It is noteworthy in this regard to say that Allah revealed sixteen verses as
regards Al Waleed and the cunning method he contemplated to manipulate
the people expected to arrive in Makkah for pilgrimage Allah says 
y o Oj f o Ji y Oj o M 7 
 Verily he thought and plotted so let him be cursed How he
plotted And once more let him be cursed how he plotted Then
he thought then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered
way then he turned back and was proud then he said This is
nothing but magic from that of old this is nothing but the word
of a human being 74 18 25 
The most wicked of them was the sworn enemy of Islam and M uhammad
fi _di Abu Lahab who would shadow the Prophet s steps crying
aloud O men do not listen to him for he is a liar he is an apostate 
t llbn Hisham 1 271 Fi Zilal Al Qur an 29 188 
Nevertheless Muhammad w managed to create a stir in the whole
area and even to convince a few people to accept his Call t l
Attempts made to check the Onward March of Islam 
Having fully perceived that Muhammad ih could never be
desisted from his Call Quraish in a desperate attempt to quell the tidal
wave of the Call resorted to other cheap means acting from base motives 
1 Scoffing degrading ridiculing belying and laughter instigating cheap
manners all of which levelled at the new converts in general and the
person of Muhammad im in particular with the aim of dragging
the spirit of despair into their morale and slackening their ardent
zealotry They used to denounce the Prophet j_ uji as a man
possessed by a jinn or an insane person 
 And they say O you Muhammad fj_ j j to whom the
Dhikr the Qur an has been sent down Verily you are a mad
man 15 6 
or a liar practising witchcraft 
 And they Arab pagans wonder that a wamer Prophet
Muhammad jJl j w _ui has come to them from among
themselves And the disbelievers say This Prophet
Muhammad ui jJ is a sorcerer a liar 38 4 
Theij eyes would also look at the good man as if they would eat him
up or trip him up or disturb him from the position of stability or
firmness They used all sorts of terms of abuse madman or one
possessed by an evil spirit and so on 
WAt Tinmdhi Musnad Ahmad 3 492 4 341 
 And verily those who disbelieve would almost make you slip
with their eyes through hatred when they hear the Reminder
 the Qur an and they say Verily he Muhammad ui u 
is a madman 68 51 
Amongst the early converts there was a group who had unfortunately
no strong clan at their back to support them These innocent souls were
ridiculed and jeered in season and out of season Referring to such
people the highbrow Quraish aristocrats used repeatedly to ask the
Prophet ft mi an j with jest and scorn 
 Allah has favoured from amongst us 6 53 
And Allah said 
 Does not Allah know best those who are grateful 6 53 
The wicked used to laugh at the righteous in many ways 
a They would inwardly laugh at their Faith because they felt themselves so
b In public places when the righteous passed they used to insult and wink
c In their own houses they would run them down 
d Whenever and wherever they saw them they reproached and called them
fools who had lost their way In the Hereafter all these tricks and
falsehoods will be shown for what they are and the tables will be
reversed All h had said 
 Verily During the worldly life those who committed crimes
used to laugh at those who believed and whenever they passed
by them used to wink one to another in mockery and when
they returned to their own people they would return jesting and
when they saw them they said Verily These have indeed gone
astry But they disbelievers sinners had not been sent as
watchers over them the believers 83 29 33 
2 Distorting Muha mm ad s teachings evoking ambiguities circulating false
propaganda forging groundless allegations concerning his doctrines 
person and character and going to excess in such a manner in order to
screen off any scope of sound contemplation from the public With
respect to the Qur Sn they used to allege that it was 
 Tales of the ancients which he Muhammad di jJ has
written down and they are dictated to him morning and
afternoon 25 5 
The iniquitous went on ceaselessly inculcating in people s ears that
the Qur n was not a true Revelation 
 This the Qur n is nothing but a lie that he Muhammad
 j J has invented and others have helped him at it 
The wicked would also attribute to men of Allah just such motives and
springs of action as they themselves would be guilty of in such
circumstances The pagans and those who were hostile to the Revelation
of AllSh and Islam could not understand how such wonderful verses
could flow from the tongue of the Prophet w without having
someone to teach and claimed 
 It is only a human being who teaches him 16 103 
They also raised another baseless and superficial objection 
 Why does this Messenger Muhammad ft jji u eat food
and walk about in the markets like ourselves 25 7 
They were sadly ignorant and painfully at fault for they could not
perceive that a teacher for mankind is one who shares their nature 
mingles in their life is acquainted with their doings and sympathises
with their joys and sorrows 
The Noble Qur an has vehemently refuted their charges and
allegations and has explained that the utterances of the Prophet
are the Revelations of the Lord and their nature and contents provide a
bold challenge to those who attribute his Prophetic expressions to some
base origin at times to the mental throes of a dreaming reformer at
others to the effusion of a frenzied poet or the incoherent drivelling of an
3 Contrasting the Qur an with the mythology of the ancients in order to
distract people s interests from Allah s Words Once An Nadr bin Harith
addressed the Quraishites in the following manner O Quraish You
have experienced an unprecedented phenomenon before which you have
so far been desperately helpless Muhammad 4iii grew up here
among you and always proved to be highly obliging the most truthful
and trustworthy young man However later on when he reached
manhood he began to preach a new faith alien to your society and
opposed to your liking so you began to denounce him at a time as a
sorcerer at another as a soothsayer a poet or even an insane man I
swear by Allah he is not anyone of those He is not interested in blowing
on knots as magicians are nor do his words belong to the world of
soothsaying he is not a poet either for his mentality is not that of a
rambler nor is he insane because he has never been witnessed to develop
any sort of hallucinations or insinuations peculiar to madmen O people
of Quraish it is really a serious issue and I recommend that you
reconsider your attitude 
It is narrated that An Nadr at a later stage headed for Heerah where
he got conversant with the traditions of the kings of Persia and the
accounts of people like Rustum and Asphandiar and then returned to
Makkah Here he would always shadow the Messenger s steps in
whatever audiences the later held to preach the new faith and to caution
people against Allah s wrath An Nadr would directly follow the Prophet
 jLj uu ail jU and narrate to the same audience long tales about those people
of Persia He would then always append his talk with a question
cunningly inquiring if he did not outdo Muhammad fU Ibn
 Abbas an related that An Nadr used to purchase songstresses who
would through their bodily charms and songs entice away from Islam
anyone developing the least attachment to the Prophet an in this
regard Allah says 
 And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks i e music 
singing etc to mislead men from the path of Allah 31 6 1 2 
4 In a fresh attempt to dissuade Muhammad u an from his principled
stand Quraish invited him to compromise on his teachings and come to
terms with their pre Islamic practices in such a way that he quits some of
his religion and the polytheists do the same Allah the All High says 
 They wish that you should compromise in religion out of
courtesy with them so they too would compromise with you 
On the authority of Ibn Jareer and At Tabarani the idolaters offered
that Muhammad fj _ui worship their gods for a year and they
worship his Lord for a year In another version they said If you accept
our gods we would worship yours Ibn Ishaq related that Al Aswad bin
Al Muttalib Al Waleed bin Al Mugheerah Omaiyah bin Khalaf and
Al As bin Wa il As Sahmy a constellation of influential polytheists 
intercepted the Prophet while he was circumambulating in the
Holy Sanctuary and offered him to worship that they worshipped and
they worship that he worshipped so that according to them both parties
would reach a common denominator They added Should the Lord you
worship prove to be better than ours then it will be so much better for us 
Cllbn Hisham 1 299 300 358 Tafheem ul Qur an 4 8 9 
PlTafheem ul Qur an 4 9 
but if our gods proved to be better than yours then you would have
benefit from it Allah die Exalted was decisive on the spot and
revealed the following Chapter 
 Say O Al Kafirun disbelievers in Allah in His Oneness in
His Angels in His Books in His Messengers in the Day of
Resurrection in Al Qadar etc I worship not that which you
worship nor will you worship that which I worship And I shall
not worship that which you are worshipping nor will you
worship that which I worship To you be your religion and to
me my religion Islamic Monotheism 109 t l
At the beginning of the fourth year of the Call and for a period of some
months the polytheists confined their harassment tactics to the above 
mentioned ones But on realizing the futility of these procedures they
decided to organize a full scale opposition campaign They called fora
general meeting and elected a committee of twenty five men of Quraish
notables with Abu Lahab the Prophet s uncle as a chairman Following
some lengthy deliberations they reached a decisive decision to take
measures deemed to stop the tidal wave of Islam through different channels 
They were determined to spare no effort in combatting the new faith They
decided to malign the Messenger of Allah jji and put the new
converts to different sorts of torture using all available resources It was
easy to put the resolutions relating to the new converts who were deemed
weak into effect As for the Prophet fi 3 di it was not easy to malign
him because he had such gravity magnanimity and matchless perfection of
character that deterred even his enemies from committing any act of folly
against him He had as well Abu Talib his uncle who came from a noble
descent and had an awe inspiring clan to support him This situation was a
t llbn Hisham 1 362
source of great worry to the infidels but they felt that they could no longer
exercise patience or show any tolerance before a formidable power
marching steadily to annul their religious office and temporal authority 
Abu Lahab himself took the initiative in the new series of persecutions 
and started to mete out countless aspects of harmful deeds hatred and spite
against Muhammad jj j 1 an Starting with flinging stones at him forcing
his two sons to divorce their wives Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum the
Prophet s daughters 1 gloating over him on his second son s death calling
him the man cut off with offspring and then shadowing his step during the
pilgrimage and forums seasons to belie him and entice the bedouins against
him and his Call 2 His wife Umm Jameel bint Harb the sister of Abu
Sufyan had also her share in this ruthless campaign She proved that she was
not less than her husband in the enmity and hatred she harboured for the
Prophet fL 4 u an She used to tie bundles of thorns with ropes of twisted
palm leaf fibre and strew them about in the paths which the Prophet 0 di
was expected to take in order to cause him bodily injury She was a real
shrew bad tempered with abusive language highly skilled in the art of
hatching intrigues and enkindling the fire of discord and sedition She was
deservedly stained as the carrier of firewood in the Noble Qur an On
receiving this news she directly proceeded to the Mosque with a handful of
pebbles to hurl at the Prophet ui Allah the Great took away her
sight and she saw only Abu Bakr who was sitting immediately next to the
Prophet She then addressed Abu Bakr most audaciously
threatening to break his Companion s mouth with her handful of pebbles 
and recited a line of verse pregnant with impudent defiance We have
disobeyed the dispraised one rejected his Call and alienated ourselves from
his religion When she had left Abu Bakr turned to the Prophet t di
and inquired about the matter The Prophet assured him that she
did not see him because Allah had taken away her sight 3 
Abu Lahab and his household used to inflict those shameful examples of
torture and harassment in spite of the blood relation that tied them for he
was the Prophet s uncle and both lived in two contiguous houses Actually 
UlFi Zilal Al Qur an 30 282 Talbeem ul Qur an 6 522 
Pllbn Hisham 1 335 
few of the Prophet s neighbours abstained from maligning him They even
threw the entrails of a goat on his back while he was performing his prayers 
He always used to complain about that unbecoming neighbourliness but to
no avail for they were deeply indulged in error 
Al Bukhari on the authority of Ibn Mas ud narrated that once when the
Prophet j j nu uii was prostrating himself while praying in Al Ka bah 
Abu Jahl asked his companions to bring the dirty foetus of a she camel and
place it on his back Uqbah bin Abi Mu ait was the unfortunate man who
hastened to do this ignoble act A peal of laughter rose amongst the infidels 
In the meanwhile Fatimah the daughter of the Prophet 
happened to pass that way She removed the filth from her father s back 
The Prophet uii invoked the wrath of Allah upon them especially
upon Abu Jahl Utbah bin Rabi a Shaibah bin Rabi a Al Waleed bin
 Utbah Omaiyah bin Khalaf and Uqbah bin Mu ait It is recorded that all
of them were killed in the battle of Badr tn
Scandal mongering and backbiting were also amongst the means of
oppression that the chiefs of Makkah in general and Omaiyah bin Khalaf 
in particular resorted to in their overall process of evil doing In this regard 
 Woe to every slanderer and backbiter 104 1 
 Uqbah bin Al Mu ait once attended an audience of the Prophet 111
and listened to him preaching Islam A close friend of his Ubai bin Khalaf 
heard of this He could not tolerate any act of this sort so he reproached
 Uqbah and ordered him to spit in the Prophet s holy face and he
shamelessly did it Ubai did not spare any thinkable way to malign the
Prophet fL uii he even ground old decomposed bones and blew the
powder on him Al Akhnas bin Shuraique Ath Thaqafi used to detract from
the character of the Prophet in season and out of season The
Noble Qur an in direct reference to this man s ignominious deeds attached
to him nine abominable traits 
t lSahih Al Bukhari 1 37 
 And obey not everyone who swears much and is considered
worthless a slanderer going about with calumnies hinderer of
the good transgressor sinful cruel after all that base bom
 of illegitimate birth 68 10 13 l
Abu Jahl s arrogance and haughtiness blocked all avenues that could
produce the least light of belief in his heart 
 So he the disbeliever neither believed in this Qur an in the
Message of Muhammad w nor prayed 75 31 
He moreover wanted to debar the Prophet from the Noble
Sanctuary It happened once that the Prophet w j was praying within
the precinct of the Sacred House when Abu Jahl proceeded threateningly
and uttering abusive language The Prophet chided him severely
to which Abu Jahl answered back defiantly claiming that he was the
mightiest in Makkah Allah then revealed 
 Then let him call upon his council of helpers 96 17 
In another version of the same incident the Prophet took Abu
Jahl by his neck rocked him severely saying 
40 Y o0 4
 Woe to you O man disbeliever And then again woe to
you Again woe to you O man disbeliever And then again 
woe to you 75 34 35 
Notwithstanding this reproach Abu Jahl would never wake up to himself
nor did he realize his foolish practices On die contrary he was determined
to go to extremes and swore he would dust the Messenger s face and tread
I llbn Hisham 1 356 
on his neck No sooner had he proceeded to fulfill his wicked intention than
he was seen turning back shielding himself with his hands as if something
horrible in his pursuit His companions asked him what the matter was He
said I perceived a ditch of burning fire and some wings flying Later on 
the Messenger commented saying If he had proceeded further the angels
would have plucked off his limbs one after another Pl
Such was the disgraceful treatment meted out to the Prophet ju 
the great man respected as he was by his compatriots with an influential
man his uncle Abu Talib at his back to support him If the matters were so
with the Prophet what about those people deemed weak with no
clan to support them Let us consider their situation in some detail 
Whenever Abu Jahl heard of the conversion of a man of high birth with
powerful friends he would degrade his prudence and intellect undermine
his judgement and threaten him with dire consequences if he was a
merchant If the new convert was socially weak he would beat him
ruthlessly and put him to unspeakable tortures Pl
The uncle of Uthman bin Affan used to wrap Uthman in a mat of palm
leaves and set fire under him When Umm Mus ab bin Umair heard of her
son s conversion she put him to starvation and then expelled him from her
house He used to enjoy full luxurious easy life but in the aftermath of the
tortures he sustained his skin got wizened and he assumed a horrible
physical appearance Pl
Bilal the slave of Omaiyah bin Khalaf was severely beaten by his
master when the latter came to know of his conversion to Islam Sometimes
a rope was put around his neck and street boys were made to drag him
through the streets and even across the hillocks of Makkah At times he was
subjected to prolonged deprivation of food and drink at others he was
bound up made to lie down on the burning sand and under the crushing
burden of heavy stones Similar other measures were resorted to in order to
force him to recant All this proved in vain He persisted in his belief in the
PlFi Zilal Al Qur an 29 312 Sahih Muslim 
PlRahmat ul lil alameen 1 57 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 60 
Oneness of Allah On one such occasion Abu Bakr was passing by moved
by pity he purchased and emancipated him from slavery l l
Another victim of the highhandedness of Quraish was Ammar bin
Yasir a freed slave of Bani Makhzoum He along with his mother and
father embraced Islam in its early phase They were repeatedly made to lie
on the burning sand and were beaten severely Ammar was at times tossed
up on embers The Prophet w was greatly moved by the atrocities
which were being perpetrated upon Ammar and his family He always
comforted them and raised his hand in prayer and said Be patient you will
verily find your abode in the Paradise Yasir the father died because of
repeated tortures Sumaiyah Ammar s mother was bayoneted to death by
Abu Jahl himself and thus merited the title of the first woman martyr in
Islam Ammar himself was subjected to various modes of torture and was
always threatened to sustain severe suffering unless he abused Muhammad
 it jji and recanted to Al Lat and Uzza In a weak moment he uttered
a word construed as recantation though his heart never wavered and he
came back once to the Prophet fi ui who consoled him for his pain
and confirmed his faith Immediately afterwards the following verse was
 Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief except him who
is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith 
Abu Fakeeh Aflah a freed slave of Bani AbdAd Dar was the third of
those helpless victims The oppressors used to fasten his feet with a rope
and drag him in the streets of Makkah P 
Khabbab bin Al Aratt was also an easy victim to similar outrages on
every possible occasion He experienced exemplary torture and
maltreatment The Makkan polytheists used to pull his hair and twist his
neck and made him lie on burning coal with a big rock on his chest to
prevent him from escaping Some Muslims of rank and position were
Pllbn Hisham 1 317 318 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 57 
PlEijaz At Tanzil p 53 
wrapped in the raw skins of camels and thrown away and others were put in
armours and cast on burning sand in the scorching sun of Arabia 1 
Even the women converts were not spared and the list is too long to
include all of them Zanirah An Nahdiyah and her daughter Umm Ubais
and many others had their full share of persecution at the hand of the
oppressors Umar bin Al Khattab included of course before his
conversion to Islam 2 
Abu Bakr a wealthy believer purchased and freed some of those she 
slaves just as he did with regard to Bilal and Amir bin Fuheirah 
The House of Al Arqam 
In the light of these inhuman persecutions the Prophet
deemed it wise to advise his followers to conceal their conversion in both
word and deed He took the decision to meet them secretly lest Quraish
should get to know of his designs and so take measures that might foil his
goals He also had in mind to avoid any sort of open confrontation with the
polytheists because such a thing at this early stage would not be in the
interest of the newly born Call still vulnerable and not fully fledged Once 
in the fourth year of Prophethood the Muslims were on their way to the
hillocks of Makkah to hold a clandestine meeting with the Prophet ui
when a group of polytheists did observe their suspicious movement and
began to abuse and fight them Sa d bin Abi Waqqas beat a polytheist and
shed his blood and thus recorded the first instance of bloodshed in the
history of Islam PI
The Prophet 111 u on the other hand used to proclaim the Islamic
Faith and preach it openly with deep devotion and studious pursuit but for
the general welfare of the new converts and in consideration of the strategic
interest of Islam he took Dar Al Arqam in As Safa mountain in the fifth
year of his mission as a temporary centre o meet his followers secretly and
instruct them in the Qur an and in the Islamic wisdom 
t lTalqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 0 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 57 
 2 lbn Hisham 1 319 
P lbn Hisham 1 263 
The First Migration to Abyssinia Ethiopia 
The series of persecutions started late in the fourth year of Prophethood 
slowly at first but steadily accelerated and worsened day by day and month
by month until the situation got so extremely grave and no longer tolerable
in the middle of the fifth year that the Muslims began to seriously think of
feasible ways liable to avert the painful tortures meted out to them It was at
that gloomy and desperate time that Surah Al Kahf Chapter 18 The
Cave was revealed comprising definite answers to the questions with which
the polytheists of Makkah constantly pestered the Prophet i ui It
comprises three stories that include highly suggestive parables for the true
believers to assimilate The story of the Companions of the Cave implies
implicit guidance for the believers to evacuate the hot spots of disbelief and
aggression pregnant with the peril of enticement away from the true
 The young men said to one another And when you
withdraw from them and that which they worship except Allah 
then seek refuge in the Cave your Lord will open a way for you
from His Mercy and will make easy for you your affair i e will
give you what you will need of provision dwelling etc 
Next there is the story of Al Khidr The Teacher of Arabia and Moses
in a clear and delicate reference to the vicissitudes of life Future
circumstances of life are not necessarily the products of the prevalent
conditions they might be categorically the opposite In other words the war
waged against the Muslims would in the future assume a different turn and
the tyrannous oppressors would one day come to suffer and be subjected to
the same tortures to which the Muslims were then put Furthermore there is
the story of Dhul Qamain The Two Homed One the powerful ruler of
west and east This story says explicitly that AMh takes His righteous
servants to inherit the earth and whatever in it It also speaks that Allah
raises a righteous man every now and then to protect the weak against the
Surah Az Zumar Chapter 39 The Crowds was then revealed pointing
directly to migration and stating that the earth is spacious enough and the
believers must not consider themselves constrained by the forces of tyr ann y
 Good is the reward for those who do good in this world and
Alllh s earth is spacious so if you cannot worship Allah at a
place then go to another Only those who are patient shall
receive their rewjards in full without reckoning 39 10 
The Prophet l ui had already known that Ashamah Negus king of
Abyssinia Ethiopia was a fair ruler who would not wrong any of his
subordinates so he permitted some of his followers to seek asylum there in
In Rajab of the fifth year of Prophethood a group of twelve men and four
women left for Abyssinia Ethiopia Among the emigrants were Uthman
bin AfFan and his wife Ruqaiyah the daughter of the Prophet jui
With respect to these two emigrants the Prophet u m said 
 They are the first people to migrate in the cause of Allah after
Abraham and Lot f ji l u 
They sneaked out of Makkah under the heavy curtain of a dark night and
headed for the sea where two boats happened to be sailing for Abyssinia
 Ethiopia their destination News of their intended departure reached the
ears of Quraish so some men were despatched in their pursuit but the
believers had already left Shuaibah Port towards their secure haven where
they were received warmly and accorded due hospitality 
In Ramadan of the same year the Prophet j i an went into the Holy
Sanctuary where there was a large host of Quraish polytheists including
some notables and celebrities Suddenly he began reciting Surah An Najm
 Chapter 41 The Star The awe inspiring Words of Allah descended
unawares upon them and they immediately got stunned by them It was the
first time for them to be shocked by the truthful Revelation It had formerly
been the favourite trick of those people who wished to dishonour
Revelation not only not to listen to it themselves but also to talk loudly and
insolently when it was being read so that even the true listeners may not be
able to hear They used to think that they were drowning the Voice of Allah 
in fact they were piling up misery for themselves for Allah s Voice can
never be silenced And those who disbelieve say 
Listen not to this Qur an and make noise in the midst of its
 recitation that you may overcome 41 26 
When the unspeakably fascinating Words of Allah came into direct
contact with their hearts they were entranced and got oblivious of the
materialistic world around them and were caught in a state of full
attentiveness to the Divine Words to such an extent that when the Prophet
fL ui reached the stormy heart beating ending 
 So fall you down in prostration to Allah and worship Him
 Alone 53 62 
The idolaters unconsciously and with full compliance prostrated
themselves in absolute god fearing and stainless devotion It was in fact the
wonderful moment of the Truth that cleaved through the obdurate souls of
the haughty and the attitude of the scoffers They stood aghast when they
perceived that Allah s Words had conquered their hearts and done the same
thing that they had been trying hard to annihilate and exterminate Their co 
polytheists who had not been present on the scene reproached and blamed
them severely consequently they began to fabricate lies and calumniate the
Prophet j tjii alleging that he had attached to their idols great
veneration and ascribed to them the power of desirable intercession All of
these were desperate attempts made to establish an excusable justification
for their prostrating themselves with the Prophet ui on that day Of
course this foolish and iniquitous slanderous behaviour was in line with
their life consecrated practice of telling lies and plot hatching 
News of this incident was misreported to the Muslim emigrants in
Abyssinia Ethiopia They were informed that the whole of Quraish had
embraced Islam so they made their way back home They arrived in Makkah
in Shawwal of the same year When they were only an hour s travel from
Makkah the reality of the situation was discovered Some of them returned
to Abyssinia Ethiopia others sneaked secretly into the city or went in
publicly but under the tutelage of a local notable However due to the news
that transpired to the Makkans about the good hospitality and warm
welcome that the Muslims were accorded in Abyssinia Ethiopia the
polytheists got terribly indignant and started to mete out severer and more
horrible maltreatment and tortures to the Muslims Thereupon the
Messenger of Allih deemed it imperative to permit the helpless
creatures to seek asylum in Abyssinia Ethiopia for the second time 
Migration this time was not as easy as it was the previous time for Quraish
was on the alert to the least suspicious moves of the Muslims In due course 
however the Muslims managed their affairs too fast for the Quraishites to
thwart their attempt of escape The group of emigrants this time comprised
eighty three men and nineteen or in some versions eighteen women 
Whether or not Ammar was included is still a matter of doubt t l
Quraish s Machination against the Emigrants 
Quraish could not tolerate the prospect of a secure haven available for
the Muslims in Abyssinia Ethiopia so they despatched two staunch
envoys to demand their extradition They were Amr bin Al As and
 Abdullah bin Abi Rabi a before embracing Islam They had taken with
them valuable gifts to the king and his clergy and had been able to win
some of the courtiers over to their side The pagan envoys claimed that the
Muslim refugees should be expelled from Abyssinia Ethiopia and made
over to them on the ground that they had abandoned the religion of their
forefathers and their leader was preaching a religion different from theirs
and from that of the king 
The king summoned the Muslims to the court and asked them to explain
the teachings of their religion The Muslim emigrants had decided to tell the
niTa eem ul Qur fin 5 188 Zad Al Ma ad 1 24 Ibn Hisham 1 364 
Rahmat ul liralameen 1 61
whole truth whatever the consequences were Ja far bin Abi Talib stood up
and addressed the king in the following words O king we were plunged in
the depth of ignorance and barbarism we adored idols we lived in
unchastity we ate the dead bodies and we spoke abominations we
disregarded every feeling of humanity and the duties of hospitality and
neighbourhood were neglected we knew no law but that of the strong when
Allah raised among us a man of whose birth truthfulness honesty and
purity we were aware and he called to the Oneness of Allah and taught us
not to associate any thin g with Him He forbade us the worship of idols and
he enjoined us to speak the truth to be faithful to our trusts to be merciful
and to regard the rights of the neighbours and kith and kin he forbade us to
speak evil of women or to eat the substance of orphans he ordered us to fly
from the vices and to abstain from evil to offer prayers to render alms and
to observe fast We have believed in him we have accepted his teachings
and his injunctions to worship Allah and not to associate anything with
Him and we have allowed what He has allowed and prohibited what He
has prohibited For this reason our people have risen against us have
persecuted us in order to make us forsake the worship of Allah and return to
the worship of idols and other abominations They have tortured and injured
us until finding no safety among them we have come to your country and
hope you will protect us from oppression 
The kin g was very much impressed by these words and asked the
Muslims to recite some of Allah s Revelation Ja far recited the opening
verses of Surah Maryam Chapter 19 Mary wherein is told the story of
the birth of both John and Jesus Christ down to the account of Mary having
been fed with the food miraculously Thereupon the king along with the
bishops of his realm was moved to tears that tolled down his cheeks and
even wet his beard Here the Negus exclaimed It seems as if these words
and those which were revealed to Jesus are the rays of the light which have
radiated from the same source Turning to the crest fallen envoys of
Quraish he said I am afraid I cannot give you back these refugees They
are free to live and worship in my realm as they please 
On the morrow the two envoys again went to the king and said that
Muhammad and his followers blasphemed Jesus Christ Again
the M uslims were summoned and asked what they thought of Jesus Ja far
again stood up and replied We speak about Jesus as we have been taught
by our Prophet that is he is the servant of Allah IBs
Messenger His spirit and His Word breathed into Virgin Mary The king at
once remarked Even so do we believe Blessed be you and blessed be
your master Then turning to the Gowning envoys and to his bishops who
got angry he said You may fret and fume as you like but Jesus is nothing
more than what Ja far has said about him He then assured the Muslims of
full protection He returned to the envoys of Quraish the gifts they had
brought with them and sent them away The Muslims lived in Aby ssinia
 Ethiopia unmolested for a number of years till they returned to MadinahJ 1 
In this way Quraish s malicious intentions recoiled on them and their
machination met with utter failure They came to fully realize that the
grudge they nursed against he Muslims would not operate but within their
realm of Makkah They consequently began to entertain a horrible idea of
silencing the advocate of the new Call once and for all through various
channels of brutality or else killing him An obstinate difficulty however 
used to curtail any move in this direction embodied by the Prophet s uncle
Abu Talib and the powerful social standing he used to enjoy as well as the
full protection and support he used to lend to his nephew The pa gans of
Makkah therefore decided to approach Abu Talib for the second time and
insisted that he put a stop to his nephew s activities which if allowed
unchecked they said would involve him into severe hostility Abu Talib
was deeply distressed at this open threat and the breach with his people and
their enmity but he could not afford to desert the Messenger too He sent
for his nephew and told him what the people had said Spare me and
yourself and put not burden on me that I can t bear Upon this the Prophet
 L uii j_Li thought that his uncle would let him down and would no longer
support him so he replied 
y p i j u iuil i il iiyt
j yc 4 iii 5 j Oii jit iiSu Jj ife ijzj
t 4 5 Jp iiiLfo u ft
t llbn Hisham 1 334 338 
 O my uncle by Allah if they put the sun in my right hand and
the moon in my left on condition that I abandon this course 
until Allah has made me victorious or I perish therein I would
not abandon it The Prophet i an got up and as he turned
away his uncle called him and said Come back my nephew 
and when he came back he said Go and preach what you
please for by Allah I will never forsake you 
He then recited two lines of verse pregnant with meanings of full support
to the Prophet u and absolute gratification by the course that his
nephew had chalked out in Arabia 
Once more Quraish approaches Abu Talib 
Quraish seeing that the Messenger of Allah di was still intent on
his Call realized that Abu Talib would never forsake his nephew even if
this incurred their enmity Some of them then went to see him once more
taking with them a youth called Amarah bin Al Waleed bin Al Mugheerah 
and said O Abu Talib we have brought you a smart boy still in the bloom
of his youth to make use of his mind and strength and take him as your son
in exchange for your nephew who has run counter to your religion brought
about social discord found fault with your way of life so that we kill him
and rid you of his endless troubles just man for man Abu Talib s reply
was It is really an unfair bargain You give me your son to bring him up
and I give you my son to kill him By Allah it is something incredible 
Al Mut im bin Adi a member of the delegation interrupted saying that
Quraish had been fair in that bargain because they meant only to rid you of
that source of hateful trouble but as I see you are determined to refuse their
favours Abu Talib of course turned down all their offers and challenged
them to do whatever they pleased 2 Historical resources do not give the
exact date of these two meetings with Abu Talib They however seem
more likely to have taken place in the sixth year of Prophethood with a brief
lapse of time in between 
The Tyrants Decision to kill the Prophet
Now that all the schemes and conspiracies of Quraish had failed they
resorted to their old practices of persecution and inflicting tortures on the
 llbn Hisham 1 265 
Pllbn Hisham 1 266 
Muslims in a more serious and brutal manner than ever before They also
began to nurse the idea of killing the Prophet In fact contrary to
their expectations this new method and this very idea served indirectly to
consolidate the Call to Islam and support it with the conversion of two
staunch and mighty heroes of Makkah i e Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib and
 Umar bin Al Khattab ui
 Utaibah bin Abi Lahab once approached the Prophet iii and
most defiantly and brazenly shouted at him I disbelieve in By the star
when it goes down 53 1 and in Then he Gabriel approached and came
closer 53 8 In other words I do not believe in any of the Qur an He
then started to deal highhandedly with Muhammad w jji and laid
violent hand on him tore his shirt and spat into his face but his saliva
missed the Holy face of the Prophet fL u Thereupon the Prophet
 ui jL invoked Allah s wrath on Utaibah and supplicated 
tduW Ija 6s 4 fjbi 
 O Allah Set one of Your dogs on him 
Allah responded positively to Muhammad s supplication and it
happened in the following manner Once Utaibah with some of his
compatriots from Quraish set out for Syria and took accommodation in
Az Zarqa There a lion approached the group to the great fear of Utbah 
who at once recalled Muhammad s words in supplication and said Woe to
my brother This lion will surely devour me just as Muhammad
supplicated He has really killed me in Syria while he is in Makkah The
lion did really rush like lightning snatched Utbah from amongst his people
and crushed his head 
It is also reported that a wretched idolater from Quraish named Uqbah
bin Abi Mu ait once trod on the Prophet s neck while he was prostrating
himself in prayer until his eyes protruded PI
More details reported by Ibn Ishaq testify to the tyrants deeply 
established intentions of killing the Prophet j_ un Abu Jahl the
I lTafheem ul Qur an 6 522 
Quoted from Al Isti ab Al Isaba Dala il An Nubuwwah etc 
PlMukhtasar Seerat Ar RasooL p l 13 
archenemy of Islam once addressed some of his accomplices O people of
Quraish It seems that Muhammad u 4 is determined to go on finding
fault with our religion degrading our forefathers discrediting our way of
life and abusing our gods I bear witness to our god that I will carry a too
heavy rock and drop it on Muhammad s head while he is in prostration to
rid you of him once and for all I am not afraid of whatever his sept Banu
 Abd Munaf might do The terrible unfortunate audience endorsed his plan
and encouraged him to translate it into a decisive deed 
In the morning of the following day Abu Jahl lay waiting for the arrival
of the Messenger of Allah ui to offer prayer The people of Quraish
were in their assembly rooms waiting for news When the Prophet
prostrated himself Abu Jahl proceeded carrying the big rock to fulfill his
wicked intention No sooner had he approached closer to the Prophet
fiwj an than he withdraw pale faced shuddering with his hands strained
the rock falling off Thereupon the people watching hurried forward asking
him what the matter was He replied When I approached a male camel
unusual in figure with fearful canines intercepted and almost devoured me 
Ibn Ishaq reported that the Prophet jl jii in the context of his
comment on the incident said It was Gabriel f _ji vj if Abu Jahl had
approached closer he would have killed him 1 1 Even so the tyrants of
Quraish would not be admonished contrariwise the idea of killing the
Prophet fi j 4 u jm was still being nourished in their iniquitous hearts On
the authority of Abdullah bin Amr bin Al As some people of Quraish
were in a place called Al Hijr complaining that they had been too patient
with the Prophet 4 who suddenly appeared and began his usual
circumambulation They started to wink at him and utter sarcastic remarks
but he remained silent for two times then on the third he stopped and
addressed the infidels saying 
Jjd toJkl j j _ jJl_j lit 1
J j fa t Sk
Ij o j fiu 4 Jl o O U3
 a f A s a tf Vf f j 
 JjAjj 4 JL o U ojjJjJ 4 3 jl 31 j
 O people of Quraish Hearken I swear by Allah in Whose
Hand is my soul that you will one day be slaughtered to
I llbn Hisham 1 298 
pieces As soon as the Prophet 4 u in jl uttered his word of
slaughter they all stood aghast and switched off to a new style
of language smacking of fear and even horror trying to soothe
his anger and comfort him saying You can leave Abul Qasim 
for you have never been foolish 1 
 Urwa bin Az Zubair narrated I asked Abdullah bin Amr bin Al As to
tell me of the worst thing that the pagans did to the Prophet ui He
said While the Prophet j 4 uj was praying in Al Hijr of Al Ka bah 
 Uqbah bin Al Mu ait came and put his garment around the Prophet s neck
and throttled him violently Abu Bakr came and caught him by his shoulder
and pushed him away from the Prophet an and said Do you want
to kill a man just because he says My Lord is A113h Pl
The Conversion of Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib 
In a gloomy atmosphere infested with dark clouds of iniquity and
tyranny there shone on the horizon a promising light for the oppressed i e 
the conversion of Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib in Dhul Hijjah the sixth
year of Prophethood It is recorded that the Prophet v an jl was one day
seated on the hillock of Safa when Abu Jahl happened to pass by and
accused the religion preached by him M uhammad an jl however 
kept silent and did not utter a single word Abu Jahl went on unchecked 
took a stone and cracked the Prophet s head which began to bleed The
aggressor then went to join the Quraishites in their assembly place It so
happened that shortly after that Hamzah while returning from a hunting
expedition passed by the same way his bow han g in g by his shoulder A
slave girl belonging to Abdullah bin Jada an who had noted the
impertinence of Abu Jahl told him the whole story of the attack on the
Prophet On hearing that Hamzah was deeply offended and
hurried to Al Ka bah and there in the courtyard of die Holy Sanctuary 
found Abu Jahl sitting with a company of Quraishites Hamzah rushed upon
him and struck his bow upon his head violently and said Ah You have
been abusing Muhammad v an I too follow his religion and profess
what he preaches The men of Bani Makhzum came to his help and men of
Bani Hashim wanted to render help but Abu Jahl sent diem away saying 
 Ibn Hisham 1 289 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 544 
 Let Abu Ummarah alone by Allah I did revile his nephew shamelessly 
In fact Hamzah s conversion derived initially from the pride of a man who
would not accept the notion of others humiliating his relative Later on 
however Allah purified his nature and he managed to grasp the most
trustworthy hand hold Faith in Allah He proved to be a source of great
strength to the Islamic Faith and its followers 2 
The Conversion of Umar bin Al Khattab 
Another significant addition to the strength of Islam was the conversion
of Umar bin Al Khattab in Dhul Hijjah the sixth year ofProphethood 
three days following the conversion of Hamzah 3 He was a man of
dauntless courage and resolution feared and respected in Makkah and
hitherto a bitter opponent of the new religion The traditional account
reveals that the Prophet ui once raised his hands in prayer and said 
1 jt v uLUi dJ i f yi 
 O Allah Give strength to Islam especially through either of
two men you love more Umar bin Al Khattab or Abu Jahl bin
 Umar obviously was the one who merited that privilege 4 
When we scrutinize the several versions that speak of Umar s
conversion we can safely conclude that various contradictory emotions
used to conflict with one another within his soul On the one hand he used
to highly regard the traditions of his people and was habituated to the
practice of indulgence in wine orgies on the other hand he greatly admired
the stamina of the Muslims and their relentless dedication to their faith 
These two extreme views created a sort of skepticism in his mind and made
him at times tend to believe that the doctrines of Islam could bear better and
more sacred seeds of life that is why he would always experience fits of
 Ibn Hisham 1 291 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 68 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 66 
PlMukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 101 
PlTareekh Umar bin Al Khattab p l 1 
WAt Tirmidhi 2 209
outrage directly followed by unexpected enervationl l On the whole the
account of his conversion is very interesting and requires us to go into some
One day Umar bin Al Khattab set out from his house and headed for
the Holy Sanctuary where he saw the Prophet ui j offering prayer and
overheard him reciting the Surah Al Haqqah Chapter 69 The Reality of
the Noble Qur an The Words of Allah appealed to him and touched the
innermost cells of his heart He felt that they derived from unusual
composition and he began to question his people s allegations as regards
the man composed poetry or words of a soothsayer that they used to attach
to the Noble Qur an The Prophet 111 went on to recite 
4 1 J J o
 That this is verily the word of an honoured Messenger i e 
Gabriel or Muhammad i ji j which he has brought from
Allah It is not the word of a poet little is that you believe Nor
is it the word of a soothsayer or a foreteller little is that you
remember This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of
the Alamin mankind jinns and all that exists 69 40 43 
At that very moment Islam permeated his heart PI However the dark
layer of pre Islamic tendencies the deep seated traditional bigotry as well
as the blind pride in his forefathers overshadowed the essence of the great
Truth that began to feel its way reluctantly into his heart He therefore 
persisted in his atrocities against Islam and its adherents unmindful of the
pure and true to man s nature feeling that lay behind that fragile cover of
pre Islamic ignorance and mentality His sharp temper and excessive enmity
towards the Prophet ui led him one day to leave his house sword in
hand with the intention of killing the Prophet 111 j He was in a fit of
anger and was fretting and fuming Nu aim bin Abdullah a friend of
 Umar s met him accidentally half way What had caused so much
excitement in him and on whom was the fury to burst he inquired casually 
 Umar said furiously To destroy the man Muhammad ui this
UlFiqh As Seerah pp 92 93 
PlTareekh Umar bin Al Khattab p 6 
apostate who has shattered the unity of Quraish picked holes in their
religion found folly with their wise men and blasphemed their gods 
 Umar I am sure your soul has deceived you do you think that Banu Abd
Munaf would let you walk on earth if you slain Muhammad _ i jJl
Why don t you take care of your own family first and set them right 
 Which of the folk of my house asked Umar angrily Your brother 
in law and your sister have apostatized meaning to say They have become
followers of Muhammad u jJ and abandoned your religion 
 Umar directed his footsteps to his sister s house As he drew near he
heard the voice of Khabbab bin Aratt who was reading the Qur anic
Chapter Td Hd mystic letters T H to both of them Khabbab perceiving
the noise of his footsteps retired to a closet Fatimah Umar s sister took
hold of the leaf and hid it But Umar had already heard the voice What
sound was that I have heard just now shouted the son of Khattab entering
angrily Both his sister and her husband replied You heard nothing 
 Nay said he swearing fiercely I have heard that you have apostatized 
He plunged forward towards his brother in law and beat him severely but
Fatimah rushed to the rescue of her husband Thereupon Umar fell upon
his sister and struck upon her head The husband and wife could not contain
themselves and cried aloud Yes we are Muslims we believe in Allah and
His Messenger Muhammad ui so do what you will When Umar
saw the face of his dear sister besmeared with blood he was softened and
said Let me see what you were reading so that I may see what
Muhammad fi _ u jii has brought Fatimah was satisfied with the
assurance but said O brother you are unclean on account of your idolatry 
none but the pure may touch it So go and wash first He did so and took
the page and read the opening verses of the Chapter Td Hd until he reached 
 Verily I am Allah La ildha ilia Ana none has the right to be
worshipped but I so worship Me and offer prayers perfectly
 Iqdmat as Saldt for My Remembrance 20 14 
 Umar read the verses with great interest and was much entranced with
them How excellent it is and how graceful Please guide me to
M uham mad _di said he And when he heard that Khabbab came
out of concealment and said O Umar I hope that Alltih has answered the
prayer of the Prophet fU ui for I heard him say O Allah Strengthen
Islam through either Umar bin Al Khattab or Abu Jahl bin Hisham 
 Umar then left for a house in Safa where M uhammad an had been
holding secret meetings along with his Companions Umar reached that
place with the sword swinging by his arm He knocked at the door The
Companions of the Prophet fU an turned to see who the intruder was 
One of them peeped through a chink in the door and reeled back exclaiming 
 It is Umar with his sword Hamzah dispelling the fears of his friends 
said Let him in As a friend he is welcome As a foe he will have his head
cut off with his own sword The Prophet ut asked his Companions
to open the door In came the son of Khattab The Prophet an j 
advanced to receive the dreadful visitor caught him by his garment and
scabbard and asked him the reason of his visit At that Umar replied O
Messenger of Allah an I come to you in order to believe in Allah
and his Messenger and that which he has brought from his Lord Filled
with delight Muhammad jn together with his Companibns cried
aloud Allahu Akbar Allah is Great 
The conversion of Umar was areal triumph for the cause of Islam So
great and instant was the effect of his conversion on the situation that the
believers who had hitherto worshipped Allah within their four walls in
secret now assembled and performed their rites of worship openly in the
Holy Sanctuary itself This raised their spirits and dread and uneasiness
began to seize Quraish 
Ibn Ishaq narrated on the authority of Umar a an When I embraced
Islam I remembered the archenemy of Muhammad an i e Abu
Jahl I set out and knocked at his door When he came out to see me I told
him directly that I had embraced Islam He immediately slammed the door
repulsively denouncing my move as infamous and my face as ugly In fact 
 Umar s conversion created a great deal of stir in Makkah that some people
denounced him as an apostate yet he would never waver in Faith on the
contrary he persisted in his stance even at the peril of his life The
polytheists of Quraish marched towards his house with the intention of
killing him Abdullah bin Umar an narrated While Umar was at
I lTareekh Umar bin Al Khattab pp 7 11 Ibn Hisham 1 343 
home in a state of fear there came Al As bin Wa il As Sahmy Abu Amr 
wearing an embroidered cloak and a shirt having silk hems He was from
the tribe of Bani Sahm who were our allies during the pre Islamic period of
ignorance Al As said to Umar What s wrong with you He said Your
people claim that they will kill me if I become a Muslim Al As said 
Nobody will harm you after I have given protection to you So Al As went
out and met the people streaming in the whole valley He said Where are
you going They replied We want son of Al Khattab who has embraced
Islam Al As said There is no way for anybody to touch him So the people
With respect to the Muslims in Makkah Umar s conversion had a
different tremendous impact Mujahid on the authority of IbnAl Abbas
i uii related that he had asked Umar bin Al Khattab why he had been
given the epithet of Al Farouque he who distinguishes truth from
falsehood he replied After I had embraced Islam I asked the Prophet
 on Aren t we on the right path here and Hereafter The Prophet
 i j j ih i answered Of course you are I swear by Allah in Whose Hand
my soul is that you are right in this world and in the hereafter I therefore 
asked the Prophet on Why we then had to conduct clandestine
activism I swear by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth that we will
leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly We then
went out in two groups Hamzah leading one and I the other We headed for
the Mosque in broad daylight when the polytheists of Quraish saw us their
faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful On that very
occasion the Prophet uii attached to me the epithet of Al Farouque 
Ibn Mas ud o related that they the Muslims had never been able to
observe their religious rites inside the Holy Sanctuary except when Umar
embraced Islam PI
S uhaib bin Sinan ui j in the same context said that it was only after
 Umar s conversion that we started to proclaim our Call assemble around
and circ umamb ulate the Sacred House freely We even dared retaliate
against some of the injustices done to harm us In the same context Ibn
11 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 545 Ibn Hisham 1 349 
P Ibn Hisham Tareekh Umar bin Al Khattab p 13 Mukhtasar As Seerah p 103 
Mas ud said We have been strengthened a lot since Umar embraced
Quraish s Representative negotiates with the Messenger of Allah
Shortly after the conversion of these two powerful heroes Hamzah bin
 Abdul Muttalib and Umar bin Al Khattab u e jji the clouds of tyranny
and oppression started to clear away and the polytheists realized that it was
no use meting out torture to the Muslims They consequently began to direct
their campaign to a different course The authentic records of the biography
of the Prophet ui show that it had occurred to the Makkan leaders to
credit Muhammad uji with ambition They therefore time and
again plied him with temptation One day some of the important men of
Makkah gathered in the enclosure of Al Ka bah and Utbah bin Rabi a a
chief among them offered to approach the Prophet ui and contract
a bargain with him whereby they give him whatever worldly wealth he asks
for on condition that he keep silent and no longer proclaim his new faith 
The people of Quraish endorsed his proposal and requested him to
undertake that task Utbah came closer to Muhammad Jl j _ui and
addressed him in the following words 
We have seen no other man of Arabia who has brought so great a
calamity to a nation as you have done You have outraged our gods and
religion and taxed our forefathers and wise men with impiety and error and
created strife amongst us You have left no stone unturned to estrange the
relations with us If you are doing all this with a view to getting wealth we
will join together to give you greater riches than any Quraishite has
possessed If ambition moves you we will make you our chief If you desire
kingship we will readily offer you that If you are under the power of an evil
spirit which seems to haunt and dominate you so that you cannot shake off
its yoke then we shall call in skilful physicians to cure you 
 Have you said all asked Muhammad ui and then hearing that
all had been said he spoke forth and said 
 In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
Ha Mim These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur an 
and none but Allah Alone knows their meanings A revelation
from Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful A Book
whereof the verses are explained in detail a Qur an in Arabic
for people who know Giving glad tidings of Paradise to the
one who believes in the Oneness of Allah i e Islamic
Monotheism and fears Allah much abstains from all kinds of
sins and evil deeds and loves Allah much performing all kinds
of good deeds which He has ordained and warning of
punishment in the Hell fire to the one who disbelieves in the
Oneness of Allah but most of them turn away so they listen
not And they say Our hearts are under coverings screened 
from that to which you invite us 41 1 5 
The Messenger of Allah went on reciting the Chapter while
 Utbah sitting and listening attentively with his hand behind his back to
support him When the Messenger reached the verse that required
prostration he immediately prostrated himself After that he turned to
 Utbah saying Well Abu Al Waleed You have heard my reply you are
now free to do whatever you please Utbah then retired to his company to
apprise them of the Prophet s attitude When his compatriots saw him they
swore that he had returned to them with a countenance unlike the one he had
before meeting the Prophet jji He immediately communicated to
them the details of the talk he gave and the reply he received and appended
saying I have never heard words similar to those ones he recited They
definitely relate neither to poetry nor to witchcraft nor do they derive from
soothsaying O people of Quraish I request you to heed my advice and
grant the man full freedom to pursue his goals in which case you could
safely detach yourselves from him I swear that his words bear a supreme
Message Should the other Arabs rid you of him they will then spare you
the trouble on the other hand if he accedes to power over the Arabs then
you will bask in his kingship and share him his might These words of
course fell on deaf ears and did not appeal to the infidels who jeered at
 Utbah and claimed that the Prophet jji had bewitched him l l
 1 Ibn Hisham 1 293 294 
In another version of the same event it is related that Utbah went on
attentively listening to the Prophet jui until the latter began to recite
Allah s Words 
 But if they turn away they say O Muhammad 1 w I
have warned you of a Sa iqa a destructive awfbl cry torment 
hit a thunder bolt like the Sa iqa which overtook Ad and
Thamud people 41 13 
Here Utbah stood up panicked and stunned putting his hand on the
Prophet s mouth beseeching him I beg you in the Name of Allah and
uterine ties to stop lest the calamity should befall the people of Quraish He
then hurriedly returned to his compatriots and informed them of what he had
Abu Talib assembles Bani Hashim and Bani Al Muttalib 
The new and welcome changes notwithstanding Abu Talib still had a
deep sensation of fear over his nephew He deliberated on the previous
series of incidents including the barter affair of Amarah bin Al Waleed 
Abu Jahl s rock Uqbah s attempt to choke the Prophet and
finally Umar s before conversion intention to kill M uhammad m j 
The wise man understood that all of these unequivocally smacked of a
serious plot being hatched to disregard his status as a custodian of the
Prophet fa ui and kill the latter publicly In the event of such a thing 
Abu Talib deeply believed neither Umar nor Hamzah would be of any
avail socially powerful though they were Pl
Abu Talib was right The polytheists had laid a carefully studied plan to
kill the Prophet uii and banded together to put their plan into
effect He therefore assembled his kinsfolk of Bani Hashim and Bani
Al Muttalib sons of Abd Munaf and exhorted them to immuniz e and
defend his nephew All of them whether believers or disbelievers 
responded positively except his brother Abu Lahab who sided with the
t l Tafseer Ibn Kathir 6 159 161 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 269 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar RasooL p 106 
General Social Boycott
Four events of special significance occurred within less than four weeks
 the conversion of Hamzah the conversion of Umar Muhammad s
 jji jX refusal to negotiate any sort of compromise and then the pact
drawn up between Banu Muttalib and Banu Hashim to immunize
Muhammad and shield him against any treacherous attempt to
kill him The polytheists were baffled and at a loss as to what course they
would follow to rid themselves of this obstinate and relentless obstacle that
had appeared to shatter to pieces their whole tradition of life They had
already been aware that if they killed Muhammad 1 ui their blood
would surely flow profusely in the valleys of Makkah and they would
certainly be exterminated Taking this dreadful prospect into consideration 
they grudgingly resorted to a different iniquitous course that would not
A Pact of Injustice and Aggression 
The pagans of Makkah held a meeting in a place called Wadi
Al Muhassab and formed a confederation hostile to both Bani Hashim and
Bani Al Muttalib They decided not to have any business dealings with
them nor any sort of inter marriage Social relations visits and even verbal
contacts with Muhammad ui and his supporters would discontinue
until the Prophet jji was given up to them to be killed The articles
of their proclamation which had provided for merciless measures against
Bani Hashim were committed to writing by an idolater Bagheed bin Amir
bin Hashim and then suspended in Al Ka bah The Prophet jji
invoked Allah s imprecations upon Bagheed whose hand was later
Abu Talib wisely and quietly took stock of the situation and decided to
withdraw to a valley on the eastern outskirts of Makkah Banu Hashim and
Banu Al Muttalib who followed suit were thus confined within a narrow
pass Shi b of Abu Talib from the beginning of Muharram the seventh
year of Muhammad s mission till the tenth year viz a period of three years 
It was a stifling siege The supply of food was almost stopped and the
 1 7M Al Ma ad 2 46 
people in confinement faced great hardships The idolaters used to buy
whatever food commodities entered Makkah lest they should leak to the
people in Ash Shi b who were so overstrained that they had to eat leaves of
trees and skins of animals Cries of little children suffering from hunger
used to be heard clearly Nothing to eat reached them except on few
occasions some meagre quantities of food were smuggled by some
compassionate Makkans During the prohibited months when hostilities
traditionally ceased they would leave their confinement and buy food
coming from outside Makkah Even then the food stuff was unjustly
overpriced so that their financial situation would fall short of finding access
Hakeem bin Hizam was once on his way to smuggle some wheat to his
aunt Khadijah i i ui when Abu Jahl intercepted and wanted to debar him 
Only when Al Bukhtari intervened did Hakeem manage to reach his
destination Abu Talib was so much concerned about the personal safety of
his nephew Whenever people retired to sleep he would ask the Prophet
fi j i to lie in his place but when all the others fell asleep he would
order him to change his place and take another all of which in an attempt to
trick a potential assassin 
Despite all odds Muhammad jui persisted in his line and his
determination and courage never weakened He continued to go to
Al Ka bah and to pray publicly He used every opportunity to preach to
outsiders who visited Makkah for business or on pilgrimage during the
sacred months and special seasons of assemblies 
This situation ultimately created dissension amongst the various Makkan
factions who were tied with the besieged people by blood relations After
three years of blockade and in Muharram the tenth year of Muhammad s
mission the pact was broken Hisham bin Amr who used to smuggle some
food to Bani Hashim secretly at night went to see Zuhair bin Abi Omaiyah
Al Makhzoumy and reproached him for resigning to that intolerable
treatment meted out to his uncles in exile The latter pleaded impotence but
agreed to work with Hisham and form a pressure group that would secure
the extrication of the exiles On the ground of motivation by uterine
relations there emerged a group of five people who set out to abrogate the
pact and declare all relevant clauses null and void They were Hisham bin
 Amr Zuhair bin Abi Omaiya Al Mut im bin Adi Abu Al Bukhtari and
Zam a bin Al Aswad They decided to meet in their assembly place and
start their self charged mission from the very precinct of the Sacred House 
Zuhair after circumambulating seven times along with his colleagues
approached the hosts of people there and rebuked them for indulging in the
amenities of life whereas their kith and kin of Bani Hashim were perishing
on account of starvation and economic boycott They swore they would
never relent until the parchment of boycott was tom to piece and the pact
broken at once Abu Jahl standing nearby retorted that it would never be
tom Zam a was infuriated and accused Abu Jahl of telling lies adding that
the pact was established and the parchment was written without seeking
their approval Al Bukhtari intervened and backed Zam a Al Mut im bin
 Adi and Hisham bin Amr attested to the truthfulness of their two
companions Abu Jahl with a cunning attempt to liquidate the hot argument
that was running counter to his malicious goals answered that the issue had
already been resolved sometime and somewhere before 
Abu Talib meanwhile was sitting in a comer of the Mosque He came to
communicate to them that a Revelation had been sent to his nephew the
Prophet fi _ui to the effect that ants had eaten away all their
proclamation that smacked of injustice and aggression except those parts
that bore the Name of Allah He contended that he would be ready to give
Muhammad jh up to them if his words proved undue otherwise 
they would have to recant and repeal their boycott The Makkans agreed to
the soundness of his proposition Al Mut im went to see the parchment and
there he did discover that it was eaten away by ants and nothing was left
save the part bearing in the Name of Allah 
The proclamation was thus abrogated and Muhammad an and
the other people were permitted to leave Ash Sh ib and return home In the
context of this trial to which the Muslims were subjected the polytheists
had a golden opportunity to experience a striking sign of Muhammad s
Prophethood the white ants eating away the parchment but to their
miserable lot they desisted and augmented in disbelief 
 But if they see a Sign they turn away and say This is
continuous magic 54 2 t l
PI Sahih Al Bukhari in several chapters Z d Al Ma ad 2 46 Ibn Hisham 1 350 
The Final Phase of the Diplomacy of Negotiation
The Messenger of Allah uii left his confinement and went on
preaching his Faith as usual Quraish likewise repealed the boycott but
went on in their atrocities and oppression on the Muslims Abu Talib the
octogenarian notable was still keen on shielding his nephew but by that
time and on account of the series of tremendous events and continual pains 
he began to develop certain fits of weakness No sooner had he emerged
victorious from the inhuman boycott than he was caught in a persistent
illness and physical enervation The polytheists of Makkah seeing this
serious situation and fearing that the stain of infamy that the other Arabs
could attribute to them in case they took any aggressive action against the
Prophet 1 uji after he had lost his main support Abu Talib took a
decision to negotiate with the Prophet fU ui once more and submit
some concessions withheld previously They then delegated some
representatives to see Abu Talib and discuss the issue with him Ibn Ishaq
and others related When a serious illness caught Abu Talib the people of
Quraish began to deliberate on the situation and reviewed the main features
that characterized that period and which included the conversion of Umar
and Hamzah to Islam coupled with the tremendous stir that Muhammad
 had created amongst all the tribes of Quraish They then deemed
it imperative to see Abu Talib befq he died to pressure his nephew to
negotiate a compromise on the various disputed points They were afraid
that the other Arabs might attribute to them the charge of opportunism 
The delegation of Quraish comprised 25 men including notables like
 Utbah bin Rabi a Shaibah bin Rabi a Abu Jahl bin Hisham Omaiyah bin
Khalaf Abu Sufyan bin Harb They first paid tribute to him and confirmed
their high esteem of his person and position among them They then shifted
to the new give and take policy that they claimed they wanted to follow To
substantiate their argument they alleged that they would refrain from
intervening in his religion if he did the same 
Abu Talib summoned his nephew and apprised him of die minutes of his
meeting with them and said Well my nephew here are the celebrities of
your people They have proposed this meeting to submit a policy of mutual
concessions and peaceful coexistence The Messenger of Allah 1 111 
turned to diem saying 
C jtaj 4 jl jUjjl 
 I will guide you to the means by which you will gain
sovereignty over both the Arabs and non Arabs 
In another version the Prophet l s addressed Abu Talib in the
following words O uncle Why don t you call them unto something
better Abu Talib asked him What is it that you invite them to The
Prophet fL jii jj replied I invite them to hold fast to a Message that is
bound to give them access to kingship over the Arabs and non Arabs 
According to Ibn Ishaq s version It is just one word that will give you
supremacy over the Arabs and non Arabs The Makkan deputies were
taken by incredible surprise and began to wonder what sort of word was that
which would benefit them to that extent Abu Jahl asked What is that
word I swear by your father that we will surely grant you your wish
followed by ten times as much He said I want you to testify that there is
no god worthy to be worshipped but Allah and then divest yourselves of
any sort of worship you harbour for any deities other than Allah They
immediately clapped their hands in ridicule and said How can you expect
us to combine all the deities in one God It is really something incredible 
On their way out leaving they said to one another By god this man
 Muhammad _ui will never relent nor will he offer any
concessions Let us hold fast to the religion of our forefathers and Allah
will in due course adjudicate and settle the dispute between us and him As
regards this incident Allah revealed the following verses 
 O S ojull 
 j j I jl Jlij O ijw Cj Jj
M o 3 k Ki W o
 Sad These letters Sad etc are one of the miracles of the
Qur an and none but Allah Alone knows their meanings By
the Qur an full of reminding Nay those who disbelieve are in
false pride and opposition How many a generation We have
destroyed before them and they cried out when there was no
longer time for escape And they Arab pagans wonder that a
wamer Prophet Muhammad ui jJ has come to them from
among themselves And the disbelievers say This Prophet
Muhammad is a sorcerer a liar Has he made the
gods all into One God Allah Verily this is a curious thing 
And the leaders among them went about saying Go on and
remain constant to your gods Verily this is a thing designed
 against you We have not heard the like of this among the
people of these later days This is nothing but an invention 
 38 1 7 J
t Ibn Hisham 1 417 419 Tafheem ul Qur Sn 4 316 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 91 
The Year of Grief
Abu Talib s Death 
In Rajabt the tenth year of the Prophethood Abu Talib fell ill and
passed away six months after leaving the confinement at Ash Sh ib In
another version Abu Talib breathed his last in Ramadan three days prior to
the death of Khadijah w u On the authority of Al Musaiyab when Abu
Talib was on the death bed the Prophet ft ui entered the room where
he saw Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Omaiyah He requested his uncle 
 4 i 4 it ii aij Si tjU ii 
 My uncle you just make a profession that there is no true god
but Allah and I will bear testimony before AMh of your being
Abu Jahl and Abdullah bin Abi Omaiyah addressing him said Abu
Talib would you abandon the religion of 4 Abdul Muttalib The Messenger
of Allah fL 1 1 constantly requested him to accept his offer and on
the other hand was repeated the same statement of Abu Jahl and Abdullah
bin Abi Omaiyah till Abu Talib gave his final decision and he stuck to
the religion of Abdul Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no true
god but Allah Upon this the Messenger of Allah di l remarked 
 By Allah I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am
forbidden to do so by Allah 
It was then that Allah the Magnificent and Glorious revealed this verse 
 It is not proper for the Prophet and those who believe to ask
Allah s forgiveness for the Mushrikun polytheists idolaters 
pagans disbelievers in the Oneness of Allih even though they
l l Tareekh Al Islam 1 120 
be of kin after it has become clear to them that they are the
dwellers of the Fire because they died in a state of disbelief 
And it was said to the Messenger of Allah 4111
 Verily You O Muhammad guide not whom you
like 28 56 H1
It goes without saying that Abu Talib was very much attached to
Muhammad jl j jji For forty years Abu Talib had been the faithful
friend the prop of his childhood the guardian of his youth and in later
life a very tower of defence The sacrifices to which Abu Talib exposed
himself and his family for the sake of his nephew while yet incredulous of
his mission stamp his character as singularly noble and unselfish The
Prophet 0 did his best to persuade his octogenarian uncle to make
profession of the true faith but he remained obdurate and stuck to the
paganism of his forefathers and thus could not achieve complete success 
APAbbas bin Abdul Muttalib narrated that he said to the Prophet 
 You have not been of any avail to your uncle Abu Talib though by
Allah he used to protect you and get angry on your behalf The Prophet
 JL jji said He is in a shallow fire and had it not been for me he
would have been at the bottom of the Hell Fire Pl
Abu Sa id Al Khudri narrated that he heard the Prophet ui say 
when the mention of his uncle was made I hope that my intercession may
avail him and he be placed in a shallow fire that rises up only to his
Khadijah passes away to the Mercy of Allih 
Only two months after the death of his uncle did the Messenger of Allah
 jii experience another great personal loss viz the Mother of
believers his wife Khadijah passed away in Ramadan of the tenth year of
t l Sahih Al Bukhari 1 548 
his Prophethood when she was sixty five years old and he was fiftyl 1 1 
Khadijah was in fact a blessing of Allah for the Prophet 1 ju She for
twenty five years shared with him the toils and trials of life especially in
the first ten years of his ministry of Prophethood He deeply mourned over
her death and once he replied in an honest burst of tender emotions 
tfj Jff C ty J 
 She believed in me when none else did She embraced Islam
when people disbelieved me And she helped and comforted me
in her person and wealth when there was none else to lend me a
helping hand I had children from her only 2 
Abu Hurairah reported that Gabriel came to Allah s Messenger ni
and said Allah s Messenger lo Khadijah is coming to you with a vessel
of seasoned food or drink When she comes to you offer her greetings from
her Lord and give her glad tidings of a palace of jewels in Paradise where
there is no noise and no toil 3 
These two painful events took place within a short lapse of time and
added a lot to his grief and suffering The Makkans now openly declared
their campaign of torture and oppression The Prophet jji lost all
hope of bringing them back to the right path so he set out for Al Ta if
seeking a supportive atmosphere But there too he was disappointed and he
sustained unbearable tortures and maltreatment that far outweighed his
miserable situation in his native town 
His Companions were on equal footing subjected to unspeakable torture
and unbearable oppression to such an extent that his closest friend Abu
Bakr to escape pressure fled out of Makkah and wanted to leave for
Abyssinia Ethiopia if it were not for Ibn Ad Daghanah who met him at
U1 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 7 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 164 
PI Musnad Imam Ahmad 6 118 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 539 
Bark Al Ghamad and managed to dissuade him from completing his journey
of escape and brought him back under his protection 
The death of Abu Talib rendered the Prophet L vulnerable and
the polytheists availed them of that opportunity to give free rein to their
hatred and highhandedness and to translate them in terms of oppression and
physical tortures Once an insolent Quraishite intercepted him and sprinkled
sand on his head When he arrived home a daughter of his washed the sand
away and wept Do not weep my daughter Allah will verily protect your
father The Prophet an saidPl 
Rapid succession of misfortunes led the Prophet ui to call that
period the year of grief and mourning Thenceforth that year bore that
His Marriage to Sawdah ui in ShawwaL the tenth year of Prophethood 
The death of Khadijah left the Prophet lonely The name of
Sawdah was suggested to him for marriage which he accepted This lady
had suffered many hardships for the sake of Islam She was an early convert
to the Islamic Faith and it was by her persuasion that her husband had
embraced Islam On the second emigration to Abyssinia Ethiopia Sawdah
had accompanied her husband As Sakran bin Amr He died on their way
back to Makkah leaving her in a terrible state of destitution She was the
first woman for the Prophet 111 to marry after the death of Khadijah 
Some years later she granted her turn with the Prophet L m to her
co wife Aishah P 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 552 Ibn Hisham 1 372 
I 2 Ibn Hisham 1 416 
PI Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al Athar p 10 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 165 
Factors inspiring Patience and Perseverance
It is natural for sensible and mild tempered people to meditate deeply on
the factors that inspired those early Muslims that miraculous constancy and
perseverance It is normal to wonder how those people managed to tolerate
unspeakable persecutions and stand fast in the face of tyrannical tortures 
With respect to these questions we deem it wise just to touch on those
1 Unshakable Belief in Alldh The first and foremost factor is no doubt 
unshakable Belief in Allah Alone coupled with a wonderful degree of
perception of His Attributes A man with this Belief deeply averred in his
heart will look at those foreseen difficulties as triflings and can under no
circumstance compare with the sweetness of Belief 
 Then as for the foam it passes away as scum upon the banks 
while that which is for the good of mankind remains in the
earth 13 17 
Other sub factors that branch out from that Belief and assist in
strengthening it and promoting long amity are 
2 Wholeheartedly loved leadership Muhammad uii the great
leader of the Muslim community and mankind at large was an
exemplary man in his perfect manners and noble attributes no one could
measure up to his endowments of nobility honesty trustworthiness and
abstinence unanimously and uncontestedly acknowledged even by his
enemies Abu Jahl himself the great enemy of Islam used repeatedly to
say O Muhammad j uii we are in no position to belie you we
rather disbelieve what you have brought us Islam It is narrated that
three people of Quraish each separately and secretly listened to some
verses of the Noble Qur an Later this secret was uncovered and one of
them asked Abu Jahl one of the three what he thought of what he heard
from Muhammad j_j uii He answered We contested the honour
of leadership and generosity with Banu Abd Munaf and shared equal
privileges competitively They then began to boast saying that a Prophet
rose among them whom Revelation came down upon from heavens I
swear we will never believe in him 1
So Allah said 
 It is not you that they deny but it is the Verses the Qur an 
of Allah that the Zalimun polytheists and wrong doers deny 
One day the disbelievers of Quraish leveled to him a cynical remark
three times He remained silent but for the third one he remarked O
Quraish Slaughter is in store for you They were taken aback and
ulterior fear filled their hearts to such an extent that the most hostile
among them began to make up for their insult by the best friendly terms
they could afford When they slung the entrails of a camel on him while
prostrating himself in prayer he invoked AllSh s wrath on them and they
immediately were caught in an inexpressible state of worry and were
almost convinced that they would be destroyed Ubai bin Khalaf used
always to threaten he would kill Muhammad 111 j One day the
Prophet fL j 4iii retorted that he would kill him by Allah s Will When
Ubai received a scratch in his neck on the day of Uhud he under the
sense of horror remembered the Prophet s words and remarked I am
convinced he would be able to kill me even if he spat on me 21 Sa d bin
Mu adh said to Omaiyah bin Khalaf in Makkah I heard the Messenger
of Allah j_ j di one day say that the Muslims would surely kill you 
Omaiyah was extremely panicked and swore he would never step out of
Makkah Even when Abu Jahl obliged him to march with them to fight
the Prophet jj j jji on the day of Badr he bought the best and
swift camels in Makkah in order that they hasten his escape Even his
wife warned him against going out reminding him of Sa d s words his
1 1 Ibn Hisham 1 316 
PI ibid 2 84 
reply was By Allah I have no intention of going out with Quraish I will
disengage from them after a short distance 
That was the clear sense of horror and terror haunting his enemies
wherever they were His friends and companions on the other hand held
him dearest to them and he occupied the innermost cells of their hearts 
They were always ready to defend him and secure his well being even at
the risk of their lives One day Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafa was severely
beaten by Utbah bin Rabi a a terrible polytheist His whole body was
almost bleeding and he was on the verge of death yet when his people
took him back home extremely indignant at his misfortune he swore he
would never eat or drink anything until they had told him about the well 
being of his noble Companion Muhammad 0 _ uii u That was the
spirit of selflessness and sacrifice that characterized the behaviour of
those early Companions 12 
3 The sense of responsibility The early Companions were fully aware of
the daunting responsibility they were expected to shoulder They were
also convinced that those charges were inescapable even though they
were being persecuted for fear of the far reaching ramifications and the
horrible impact that humanity would suffer in case they shirked their
4 Unwavering Belief in the truth of the Hereafter This was the corner 
stone that strengthened their sense of responsibility There was a deep
certainty established through the light of their religion that one day they
would have to rise on the Day of Resurrection and account for all
worldly deeds small or big They were sure that their future in the other
world would depend wholly on their acts in their provisional life on
earth either to everlasting Garden Paradise or perpetual chastisement in
Hell Their whole life was divided between hope for Allah s mercy and
fear of His punishment 
4 jity dl OjJ 4
fl Sahih Al Bukhari 2 563 
PI Al Bidayah wan Nihayah 3 30 
 who give that their charity which they give and also do
other good deeds with their hearts full of fear whether their
alms and charities etc have been accepted or not because
they are sure to return to their Lord 23 60 
They had already known that life with all its amenities and pains was
worthless when compared with the Hereafter Such deep convictions
brought about in them a sense of indifference to all troubles and
hardships that attended their life 
5 The Qur an The verses and chapters of the Noble Qur an were
attractively forcefully and successively revealed at that gloomy and
critical stage supporting and advancing arguments on the truth and
soundness of the principles of Islam round whose axis the whole Call of
Muhammad was revolving They constituted the immune
basis upon which the best and most wonderful Divinely decreed society
was to be established The Qur anic verses served also to excite the
feelings of the believers strengthen their selves on their course of
patience and endurance and introduce them to the most purposeful
examples and suggestive instructions 
v s ye i 5t 
 Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such trials 
as came to those who passed away before you They were
afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken
that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him
said When will come the Help of Allah Yes Certainly the
Help of Allah is near 2 214 
 Alif Lam Mim Do people think that they will be left alone
because they say We believe and will not be tested And We
indeed tested those who were before them And Allah will
certainly make it known the truth of those who are true and
will certainly make it known the falsehood of those who are
liars although Allah knows all that before putting them to
test 29 1 3 
Mere lip profession of Faith is not enough It must be tried and tested
in the real turmoil of life The test will be applied in all kinds of
circumstances in individual life and in relation to the environment
around us to see whether we can strive constantly and put the Lord above
self Much pain sorrow and self sacrifice may be necessary not because
they are good in themselves but because they will purify us like fire
applied to a goldsmith s crucible to bum out the dross 
These verses also constituted an irrefutable answer to the false
allegations of the disbelievers and a clear ultimatum that smacked of the
horrible consequences that would ensue in case they persisted in their
disbelief On the other hand the Noble Qur an was leading the Muslims
to a new world and enlightening them as to its features the beauty of
Lordship the perfection of Godship the impact of kindness and mercy
and the manifestations of the yearned for Allah s pleasure They
implicitly connoted meaningful messages carrying glad tidings of
definitely approaching Divine Mercy leading to eternal bliss in a blissful
Garden Paradise They at the same time envisaged the end of the
tyrants and disbelievers who would be brought to Divine Justice and then
dragged through the Fire where they would taste the touch of Hell 
6 Glad tidings of success Ever since the time they experienced the
adversities of life the Muslims had been certain that entrance into the
fold of Islam did not entail involvement into hardships or digging one s
own grave They had been aware that the Islamic Call had one goal viz
extermination of pre Islamic tradition and destroying its iniquitous
system to go on parallel lines with extending its influence allover the
earth and holding in firm control the political situation worldwide to lead
humanity along a course conducive to Allah s Pleasure and perfect
enough to rid people of worshipping Allah s servant to worshipping
Allah Himself Glad tidings of this sort were being revealed sometimes
explicitly and at other times implicitly in a manner relevant to the
situation When the Muslims were forced to undergo constraints or when
their life was kept under continual restraint there would be revealed
verses telling identical stories of past Prophets with their people and the
sufferings and pains they had experienced The verses would also include
suggestive clues to the final tragic end of the Makkan disbelievers
envisaging their final perdition yet and at the same time bearing glad
tidings to the believers and promising the true servants of vicegerency on
earth to go with absolute success and victory to attend the Islamic Call
and its proponents 
Here we could adduce some of the verses of this category pregnant
with glad tidings referring to the final victory that would crown the
perseverance and patience of the Muslims 
 a iJ fi fix o C J I ua 123 TJifj 
Jji lj O yj fit Syj O
 And verily Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves 
the Messengers that they verily would be made triumphant And
that Our hosts they verily would be the victors So turn away O
Muhammad mu ui j from them for a while and watch them
and they shall see the punishment Do they seek to hasten on
Our torment Then when it descends into their courtyard i e 
near to them evil will be the morning for those who had been
warned 37 171 177 
In the same context Allih told His Prophet w j 
 Their multitude will be put to flight and they will show their
backs 54 45 
He also said 
 They will be a defeated host like the confederates of the old
times 38 11 
The Muslims who migrated to Abyssinia Ethiopia had the following 
 And as for those who emigrated for the cause of Allah after
suffering oppression We will certainly give them goodly
residence in this world but indeed the reward of the Hereafter
will be greater if they but knew 16 41 
In the context of the story of Joseph there was 
 Verily in Joseph and his brethren there were Ayat proofs 
evidences verses lessons signs revelations etc for those who
ask 12 7 
i e the Makkans will receive the same fate that befell Joseph s
brothers viz failure and surrender In another instance Allah speaks
about the Messengers 
 And those who disbelieved said to their Messengers Surely 
we shall drive you out of our land or you shall return to our
religion So their Lord inspired diem Truly We shall destroy
the Zalimun polytheists disbelievers and wrong doers And
indeed We shall make you dwell in the land after them This is
for him who fears standing before Me on the Day of
Resurrection or fears My punishment and also fears My threat 
 14 13 14 
During the war between the Persians and the Romans the disbelievers
imH a sincere wish that victory be die former s lot because both parties
professed polytheism whereas the Muslims prayed for a Roman victory
because both groups believed in Allih His Messengers Books the
Revelation and the Hereafter 
The war resulted in die overthrow of Rome by Persia They were pro 
Persian as we have said and in their hearts they hoped that the nascent
movement of Islam which at that time was from a worldly point of
view very weak and helpless would collapse under their persecution 
But they misread the true signs of the times They were told that they
would soon be disillusioned in both their calculations and it actually so
happened when Heraclius carried his campaign into die heart of Persia
and the Makkan Quraish were beaten off at Badr 
 And on that Day the believers i e Muslims will rejoice at
the victory given by Allah to the Romans against the Persians 
with the help of AllSh 30 4 5 
During the season of Ukaz forum and other such occasions the
Messenger of AllSh L an himself would communicate not only glad
tidings pertinent to the Garden Paradise but also news of promising
prospects for the true believers in the Call of Islam He would openly tell
them that they would surely prosper rule the whole of Arabia and subdue
Persia if they professed the most serious pillar of Islam i e the Oneness
of Allah 11 1
Khabbab bin Al Aratt once urged the Messenger to call upon AllSh to
shield him against the adversities he was suffering at die hand of the
polytheists The Prophet s face reddened and he remarked hat die true
believer must not precipitate things it was incumbent upon a believer to
undergo all the odds of life as much as he could fearing nobody except
AllSh until the religion was established which would surely happen The
Prophet in this regard referred to the perseverance that the
Muslims had to show and the hardships they had to undergo in order to
establish the land of Islam where peace and security would prevail all
Glad tidings of better prospects for Islam and die Muslims were not
confined to Muhammad s followers in fact they woe being disclosed
time and again to both believers and disbelievers Whenever the two
parties met the latter would jeer at the former and mockingly say Here
are the sovereigns of earth who will defeat Chosroes and Caesar But
the believers in anticipation of that shining and Godly orientated future 
in At Tirmidhi 
would always persevere and tolerate all sorts of persecution and
humiliation regarding them as summer clouds that would soon clear
The Prophet un on his part would always maintain and
sustain his followers souls with the light of belief sanctify them through
inculcating the Qur anic wisdom in their hearts and cultivate their minds
deeply with the spirit of Islam that would elevate them to a state of noble
spirituality pure heartedness and an absolute degree of freedom from the
yoke of materialism a high morale powerful enough to resist worldly
lusts and consequently lead them from darkness to light He would
constantly teach them to be tolerant forgiving and overpowering over
their selves in order to get well established in their religion disdain lust 
and devote themselves to attaining the Pleasure of Allah yearning for the
Garden Paradise enthusiasm in sciences relating to their faith calling
themselves to account subordinating fleeing whims holding under firm
control all rage provoking incidents and finally observing sobriety 
patience and gravity 
111 Fiqh As Seerah p 84 
The Third Phase
Calling unto Islam beyond Makkah
In Shawwalt 1 in the last of May or in the beginning of June 619 A D 
ten years after receiving his mission from his Lord the Prophet ui 
set out towards At Ta if about 60 kilometres from Makkah in the company
of his freed slave Zaid bin Haritha inviting people to Islam But contrary to
his expectations the general atmosphere was terribly hostile He approached
the family of Umair who were reckoned amongst the nobility of the town 
But to his disappointment all of them turned deaf ear to his message and
used abusive language as regards the noble cause he had been striving for 
Three brothers from the chieftains of Thaqeef Abd Yaleel Mas ud and
Habeeb sons of Amr bin Umair Ath Thaqafy met the Prophet an ju 
who invited them to embrace Islam and worship Allah but they impudently
jeered at him and refused his invitation He is tearing die cloths of
Al Ka bah is it true that Allah has sent you as a Messenger said one of
them Has not Allah found someone else to entrust him with His
Message said the second I swear by Allah that I will never have any
contact with you If you are really the Messenger of Allah then you are too
serious to retort back and if you are belying Allah then I feel it is
imperative not to speak to said the third The Messenger of Allah m ju 
finding that they were hopeless cases stood up and left them saying 
 Should you indulge in these practices of yours never divulge them to me 
For ten days he stayed there delivering his message to several people 
one after another but all to no purpose Stirred up to hasten the departure of
the unwelcome visitor the people hooted him through the alley ways pelted
him with stones and obliged him to flee from the city pursued by a relentless
rabble Blood flowed down both his legs and Zaid endeavouring to shield
him was wounded in the head The mob did not desist until they had chased
him two or three miles across the sandy plains to the foot of the surrounding
hills There wearied and exhausted he took refuge in one of the numerous
orchards and rested against the wall of a vineyard At a time when the
whole world seemed to have turned against him Muhammad 
turned to his Lord and betook himself to prayer and the following touching
1 1 Tareekh e Islam 1 122 
words are still preserved as those through which his oppressed soul gave
vent to its distress He was weary and wounded but confident of the help of
 O Allah To You alone I make complaint of my
helplessness the paucity of my resources and my insignificance
before mankin d You are the most Merciful of the mercifuls 
You are the Lord of the helpless and the weak O Lord of mine 
Into whose hands would You abandon me into the hands of an
unsympathetic distant relative who would sullenly frown at me 
or to the enemy who has been given control over my affairs 
But if Your wrath does not fall on me there is nothing for me to
 I seek protection in the light of Your Countenance which
illuminates the heavens and dispels darkness and which
controls all affairs in this world as well as in the Hereafter May
it never be that I should incur Your wrath or that You should be
wrathful to me And there is no power nor resource but Yours
Seeing him in this helpless situation Rabi a s two sons wealthy
Makkans were moved on grounds of kinship and compassion and sent to
him one of their Christian servants with a tray of grapes The Prophet
f i j i 4 _m accepted the fruit with pious invocation In the Name of the
Allah The Christian servant Addas was greatly impressed by these words
and said These are words which people in this land do not generally use 
The Prophet inquired of him whence he came and what religion
he professed Addas replied I am a Christian by faith and come from
Nineveh The Prophet then said You belong to the city of the
righteous Jonah son of Matta Addas asked him anxiously if he knew
anything about Jonah The Prophet 1 significantly remarked He
is my brother He was a Prophet and so am I Thereupon Addas paid
homage to Muhammad uii and kissed his hands His masters
admonished him at this act but he replied None on the earth is better than
he is He has revealed to me a truth which only a Prophet can do They
again reprimanded him and said We forewarn you against the
consequences of abandoning the faith of your forefathers The religion
which you profess is far better than the one you feel inclined to 
Heart broken and depressed Muhammad pL j 4 1 di set out on the way
back to Makkah When he reached Qam Al Manazil Allah the Almi ghty
sent him Gabriel together with the angel of mountains The latter asked the
Prophet 4 U 1 for permission to bury Makkah between Al Akh habain
 Abu Qubais and Qu ayqa an mountains Full narration of this event was
given by Aishah l uji the Prophet s spouse She said I asked the
Prophet pL j if he had ever experienced a worse day than Uhud He
answered that he had suffered a lot from those people the idolaters but the
most painful was on the day of Aqabah I went seeking support from Ibn
 Abd Yalil bin Abd Kalal but he spumed me I set out wearied and grieved
heedless of anything around me until I suddenly realized I was in Qam
Ath Tha alib called Qam Al Manazil There I looked up and saw a cloud
casting its shade on me and Gabriel addressing me Allah has heard your
people s words and sent you the angel of mountains to your aid The latter
called and gave me his greetings and asked for my permission to bury
Makkah between Al Akhshabain the two moun tains flanking Makkah I
said in reply that I would rather have someone from their loins who will
worship Allah the All Mighty with no associate A concise meaningful
answer fully indicative of die Prophet s matchless character and the
fathomless magnanimous manners 
The Messenger of Allah jl j ui then came back to wakefulness and
his heart was set at rest in the light of that invisible Divinely provided aid 
He proceeded to Wadi Nakhlah where he stayed for a few days 
During his stay there Allah sent him a company of jinns who listened to
him reciting the Noble Qur an 
a SCjiK y 
 And remember when We sent towards you Muhammad
r j siu jii ju Nafran three to ten persons of the jinns quietly 
listening to the Qur an when they stood in die presence thereof
0 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 458 Sahih Muslim 2 109 
they said Listen in silence And when it was finished they
returned to their people as wamers They said O our people 
Verily We have heard a Book this Qur an sent down after
Moses confirming what came before it it guides to the Truth
and to a Straight Path i e Islam O our people Respond with
obedience to Allah s Caller i e Allah s Messenger
Muhammad ui jJ and believe in him i e believe in that
which Muhammad uh has brought from Allah and
follow him He Allah will forgive you of your sins and will
save you from a painful torment i e Hell fire 46 29 31 
The same incident is referred to in Surah Al Jinn 
2 X o Q 
a 3 I
 Say O Muhammad ui It has been revealed to me
that a group from three to ten in number of jinns listened to
this Qur an They said Verily We have heard a wonderful
Recital this Qur an It guides to the Right Path and we have
believed therein and we shall never join in worship anything
with our Lord Allah 72 1 2 Till the end of the 15th verse 
From the context of these verses and their relevant interpretation we can
safely establish it that the Prophet 4iii was not aware of the presence
of that group of jinns It was only when Allah revealed those verses that he
came to know of it The verses also confirm that it was the first time they
came However the context of the different versions suggests that the jinns
repeated their visits later on The presence of that company of jinns comes
in the context of the Divine support given to His Messenger and constitutes
a propitious sign of ultimate victory and success for the Call of Islam It
provides an unshakable proof that no power however mighty could alter
what is wrought by Allah 
 And whosoever does not respond to Allah s Caller he cannot
escape on earth and there will be no Auliya protectors from
him besides Allah from Allah s punishment Those are in
manifest error 46 32 
4 Sit S J 
 And we think that we cannot escape from the punishment of 
Allah in the earth nor can we escape from the punishment by
flight 72 12 
Given this support and auspicious start depression dismay and sadness
that used to beset him since he was driven out of At Ta if he turned his face
towards Makkah with fresh determination to resume his earlier plan to
expose people to Islam and communicate his Message in a great spirit of
zeal and matchless enthusiasm 
Zaid bin Harithah his companion addressing the Prophet ui
said How dare you step into Makkah after they Quraish have expatriated
you The Prophet answered Hearken Zaid Allah will surely
provide relief and He will verily support His religion and Prophet 
When he was a short distance from Makkah he retired to Hira Cave 
Whence he despatched a man from Khuza ah tribe to A Akhnas bin
Shuraiq seeking his protection The latter answered that he was Quraish s
ally and in no position to offer protection He despatched the messenger to
Suhail bin Amr but to no avail either Al Mut im bin Adi a notable in
Makkah however volunteered to respond to the Prophet s appeal for
shelter He asked his people to prepare themselves fully armed and then
asked Muhammad un to enter into the town and directly into the
Holy Sanctuary The Prophet di observed a two Rak a prayer and
left for his house guarded by the heavily armed vigilant Adi s 
It has been reported that later Abu Jahl the archenemy of Islam asked
Mut im if his behaviour suggested protection or conversion the latter
replied it was merely protection Abu Jahl was relieved and said that he
would give Muhammad protection for his sake 
The Messenger of Allah ft i never forgot Mut im s favour At the
conclusion of the battle of Badr he declared publicly that if Mut im had
been still alive and asked for the release of the Quraishite captives he would
not deny him his request 1 
f 1 Ibn Hisham 1 419 422 Z d Al Ma ad 2 46 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p l41 
Rahmat al lil alameen 1 71 74 Tareekh e Islam 1 123 
Islam being introduced to
Arabian Tribes and Individuals
In Dhul Qa dah the tenth year of Prophethood i e July 619 the
Prophet j j uii returned to Makkah to resume his activities The time
for pilgrimage to Makkah was approaching so he hastened to introduce
people both tribes and individuals to Islam and call upon them to embrace it 
just as it was his practice since the fourth year of his Prophethood 
On the authority of Az Zuhri of the tribes that Islam was introduced to 
we could speak of Banu Amir bin Sa sa ah Muharib bin Khasfa Fazarah 
Ghassan Murrah Haneefah Saleem Abs Banu Nasr Banu Al Buka 
Kindah Kalb Al Harith bin Ka b Udhrah and people of Hadrmout Islam
was not introduced to them in one single year but rather repeatedly from the
fourth year till the last pre migration season of pilgrimage They however 
remained obdurate and none of them responded positively 1 
The following is a resume of aspects relating to the Prophet s appeals as
regards the new faith he was preaching 
1 He visited a sept of Banu Kalb known as Banu Abdullah He called
them to Allah s Message and entreated them to accept it for the sake of
Allah Who had chosen a beautiful name for their father but without
2 He called on Bani Haneefah in their habitation but received very
3 He addressed Bani Amir bin Sa sa ah in their encampment calling them
to abandon idolatry and join him One of them called Buhairah bin Firras 
answered him back Should we give you allegiance and Allah give you
power over your opponents will you give us right to inheritance and
succeed you in power The Prophet replied The whole affair lies in
Allah s Hands He gives the power to whomever He desires The man
commented Do you expect us to incur the wrath and vengeance of the
Arabs without the least hope of leadership We can in fact readily
dispense with your offers 
I 1 At Tirmidhi Mukhtasar See rat Ar Rasool p 149 Tareekh e Islam 1 125 
When Banu Amir returned to their habitations they narrated the story to
an elderly man who had lingered behind because he was too old They told
him A young man of Quraish of Bani Abdul Muttalib claiming that he is
a Prophet contacted us asked for support and invited us to embrace his
religion The old sheikh was struck by the news and wondered if there was
no way of making amends for the loss of that opportunity and swore He is
really Ishmaelite he descends from Ishmael He is the Truth he is a real
Prophet How did it happen that you misjudged his words 
The Prophet jii jl was not dismayed at all He persisted in his
mission for the fulfillment of which he had been commissioned to strive
despite all odds He did not confine his efforts to the tribes but also
conducted contacts with individuals from some of whom he was able to
receive a favourable response Moreover later in the same season some of
them did believe in his Prophethood and entered the fold of Islam The
following list included some of those early converts 
l Swaid bin Samit He was an intelligent discreet poet from Yathrib
 Madinah During his stay in Makkah for pilgrimage or lesser
pilgrimage he encountered the Prophet fL u w who invited him to
embrace Islam At this invitation Swaid imparted to the Prophet some
sound words from Luqman s wisdom The Prophet approved of that
wisdom but told the man that he had something far better He recited
some verses from the Qur an the man listened meditatively and the
words appealed to his originally pine nature and accepted Islam as his
faith at once He was killed in the battle of Bu ath That was in the
eleventh year of the Prophethood J 1 
2 Eyas bin Mu adh He was still a youth from Aws tribe He came as a
member of delegation seeking alliance with Quraish against another rival
tribe dwelling in Madinah Al Khazraj The Prophet fa ju met them
and advised them to follow a better course than that they had in mind He
introduced himself and Islam to them apprised them of his mission and
narrated some verses from the Noble Qur an Eyas s heart immediately
absorbed the Divine Message and agreed with the Prophet fa ui
Abul Haisar Anas bin Rafi a member of the delegation disapproved of
I l Ibn His ham 1 42S Rahmat al li alameen 1 74 
the boy s behaviour and silenced him by hurling some dust into his face 
The people then left Madinah after having failed in establishing alliance
with Quraish Shortly after arrival in Madinah the boy breathed his last
acclaiming Allah s Name and celebrating His Glory 1 
3 Abu Dhar Al Ghifari He used to live in the suburbs of Yathrib News
of the Islamization of Swaid bin Samit and Eyas bin Mu adh reached him
and constituted a turning point in his life per se He sent his brother to
Makkah for more details about the Prophet s intentions The man came
back and reported to Abu Dhar that the said man enjoined good and
forbade evil Abu Dhar was not satisfied and decided that he himself
should go out and probe the real situation After some attempts to
identify the person of the Prophet ui ju he managed to meet him
though not without some difficulties due to the antagonistic atmosphere
within which the proponents of the new faith were trying to work their
way No sooner than Abu Dhar was exposed to the real nature of Islam 
he embraced it Despite the Prophet s earnest plea not to divulge his new
move Abu Dhar went directly to the Holy Sanctuary where he publicly
declared that he had testified to the Oneness of Allah and Prophethood of
Muhammad The heathens all around hurried and began beating him He
almost died when Al Abbas intervened warning against killing someone
whose tribe was in full command of the strategic commercial caravan
routes leading to Makkah The event recurred in the following morning
with the same man to come to the scene and rescue him 2 
4 Tufail bin Amr Ad Dausi He was an honest poet and chief of
Ad Daus tribe inhabiting an area close to Yemen in South Arabia He
arrived in Makkah in the eleventh year of Prophethood Great reception
ceremonies were accorded to him on his advent The Makkans soon
started to inculcate in his ears all sorts of antipathy against the Prophet
r i_ J jji They even alleged that he had caused the most horrible
societal schism dividing all sorts of social life even the family ties were
subject to his schemes and plans of dissension They even warned him
against speaking or even listening to him The man overpowered by these
pleas complied by Iheir requests He even stuffed his ears with a piece of
I l Ibn Hisham 1 424 Tareekh e Islam 1 126 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 449 544 
cotton in order not to hear any word of his However when this
tribesman entered the mosque he saw Muhammad observing
his prayer and out of curiosity he approached him for it was a Divine
Will to hear the Prophet s sound and appealing words The temptation to
hear more was irresistible so he followed the Prophet into his
house briefed him on his advent and all the story of the people of
Quraish The Messenger of Allah ui recited some verses of the
Noble Qur an and the man managed to taste something exceptionally
beautiful and discern the truth latent within He embraced Islam and
testified that there was no god but Allah and that Muhammad was His
Messenger He then said that he was an influential man among his people
and that he would call them to profess Islam yet he wanted the Prophet
fi j w to equip him with a supportive sign that would ease his future
task It was in fact a Divinely bestowed light in his whip He called his
father and wife to embrace Islam and they did respond His people
lagged a little but he exhorted them fervently and was fully successful 
He and seventy or eighty of his followers emigrated to Madinah after the
Trench Battle He was a perfect fighter in the cause of Allah and was
martyred in Al Yamama events 1 
5 Dhumad Al Azdi He came from Azd Shanu a in Yemen specialist in
incantation He arrived in Makkah to hear the fools there say that
Muhammad i j i was out of his mind He decided to practise his
craft on the Prophet i uii who on seeing him said Praise is to
Allah we entertain His praise and seek His help Whomsoever Allah
guides none will lead astray and whomsoever Allah leads astray none
will guide I testify there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger Dhumad heard the words and requested the
Prophet fL j jm to echo them again and he was granted his wish
thrice Here he said I have heard the soothsayers sorcerers and poets 
but never have I experienced the sweetness of your words He then gave
a pledge of a sincere convert 2 
 l Ibn Hisham 1 385 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 144 
PI Mishkat Al Masabech 2 525 
Hope inspiring Breezes from the Madinese 
It was during the pilgrimage season in the eleventh year of Prophethood 
that the I slami c Call found the righteous seeds through which it would grow
up to constitute tall trees whose leaves would foster the new faith and
shelter the new vulnerable converts from the blows of injustices and high 
handness of Quraish It was the Prophet s wise practice to meet the
delegates of the Arabian tribes by night so that the hostile Makkans would
not debar him from achieving his objectives 1 In the company of his two
truthful Companions Ali and Abu Bakr he had an interesting talk regarding
Islamization with Bani Dhuhal but the latter suspended their conversion 2 
In pursuit of the same objective the Prophet and his Companions passed by
 Aqabat Mina where they heard people talking They went at their heels
until they encountered six men from Yathrib all of whom from Khazraj
tribe As ad bin Zurarah Awf bin Harith Rafi bin Malik Qutbah bin
 Amir Uqbah bin Amir and Jabir bin Abdullah The last two being from
Aws and the former four from Khazraj 
The Madinese always heard the Jews say that a Prophet was about to
rise for the time for a new dispensation had arrived Him they would follow
and then smite their enemies as the children of Ad and Iram had been
 Of what tribe are you asked the Prophet Of the tribe of Khazraj 
they replied Are you the allies of the Jews The Prophet enquired They
said Yes Then why not sit down for a little and I will speak to you 
The offer was readily accepted for the fame of Muhammad jji had
spread to Madinah and the strangers were curious to see more of the man
who had created a stir in the whole area The Prophet presented
to them an expose of Islam explained its implications and the
responsibilities that fell upon the men who accepted it When the Prophet
uii concluded his talk they exchanged among themselves ideas to
the following effect Know surely this is the Prophet with whom the Jews
l 1 Tareekh e Islam p 129 
P Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p ISO 
PI Rahmat al liralameen 1 84 Ibn His ham 1 429 ZSd Al M a ad 2 SO 
are ever threatening us wherefore let us make haste and be the first to join
They therefore embraced Islam and said to the Prophet We have left
our community for no tribe is so divided by hatred and rancour as they are 
Allah may cement our ties through you So let us go and invite them to this
religion of yours and if Allah unites them in it no man will be dearer than
The handful of Madinese converts remained steady to the cause and they
preached the Islam with full zeal and devotion with the result that they
succeeded in winning adherents for Islam from amongst their fellow citizens
and hardly was there a house in Madinah not talking curiously and
enthusiastically about the Messenger of Allah u an
Marriage of the Prophet ft jm ju to Aishah i 
In Shawwal of the same year the Prophet un concluded a
marriage contract with Aishah an the truth verifier when she was
six of age and consummated his marriage with her in Shawwal the year 1
A H in Madinah when she was nine 2 
 Ibn Hisham 1 428 430 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 551 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl al A thar p 10 
Al Isra and Al Mi raj
 The Miraculous Night Journey from Makkah
to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem 
and the Ascent through the Spheres of Heavens 
The last days of the Makkan phase of the Prophet s life are noted for
alternate fortunes ranging between two extremes gradual success and
continual persecution However glimpses of propitious lights were looming
on the distant horizon to ultimately materialize in the event of the Prophet s
Night Journey to Jerusalem and then Ascension through the spheres of the
As for its exact date it is still controversial and no common consent has
been reached However the majority of jurists is in favour of a date between
16 12 months prior to migration to Madinah The following is a epitome of
the details of that miraculous event narrated on the authority of Ibn
Al Qayyim I 1 
The Messenger of Allah ui ju was carried in body from the Sacred
Mosque in Makkah to the Distant Mosque in Jerusalem on a horse called
Al Buraq in the company of Gabriel the archangel There he alighted 
tethered the horse to a ring in the gate of the Mosque and led the Prophets in
prayer After that Gabriel took him to the heavens on the same horse When
they reached the first heaven Gabriel asked the guardian angel to open the
door of heaven It was opened and he saw Adam the progenitor of mankind 
The Prophet uji saluted him and the other welcomed him and
expressed his faith in Muhammad s Prophethood He saw the souls of
martyrs on his right and those of the wretched on his left 
Gabfiel then ascended with the Prophet to the second heaven asked for
op ening the gate and there he saw and saluted John son ofZachariya
 Yahya bin Zakariya and Jesus son of Mary They returned the salutation 
welcomed him and expressed their faith in his Prophethood Then they
reached the third heaven where they saw Joseph Yusuf and saluted him 
The latter welcomed the Prophet and expressed fai h in his Prophethood 
The Prophet in the company of Gabriel then reached the fourth heaven
I l ZM Al M a ad 2 49 Tareekh e Islam 1 124 Rahmat al lil alameen 1 76 
where he met the Prophet Enoch Idris and saluted him Prophet Enoch
returned the salutation and expressed faith in his Prophethood Then he was
carried to the fifth heaven where he met the Prophet Aaron Harun and
saluted him The latter returned the salutation and expressed faith in hi 
Prophethood In the sixth heaven he met Moses Musa and saluted him 
The latter returned the salutation and expressed faith in his Prophethood 
Muhammad on leaving saw that Moses began to weep He asked
about the reason Moses answered that he was weeping because he
witnessed a man sent after him as a Messenger Muhammad who was able
to lead more of his people to the Paradise than he himself did Then Prophet
Muhammad 1 jii reached the seventh heaven and met Abraham
 Ibrahim f _ji and saluted him The latter returned the salutation and
expressed faith in his Prophethood Then he was carried to Sidrat al 
Muntaha the remotest lote tree and was shown Al Bait al Ma mur the
much frequented house which is like the Ka bah Sacred House 
encompassed daily by seventy thousand angels so that the angels who once
encompassed it would not have their turn again till the Resurrection He
was then presented to the Divine Presence and experienced the thrill of
witnessing the Divine Glory and Manifestation at the closest possible
propinquity There the Lord revealed unto His servant that which He
revealed and ordained fifty daily prayers for him On his return he spoke to
Moses that his followers had been enjoined to pray fifty times a day Moses
addressing the Prophet said Your followers cannot perform so
many prayers Go back to your Lord and ask for a remission in number 
The Prophet u jii turned to Gabriel as if holding counsel with him 
Gabriel nodded Yes if you desire and ascended with him to the Presence
of Allah The All Mighty Allah Glory is to Him made a reduction of ten
prayers He then descended and reported that to Moses who again urged
him to request for a further reduction Muhammad fu u jji ju once more
begged his Lord to reduce the number still further He went again and again
in the Presence of Allah at the suggestion of Moses for reduction in the
number of prayers till these were reduced to five only Moses again asked
him to implore for more reduction but he said I feel ashamed now of
repeatedly asking my Lord for reduction I accept and resign to His Will 
When Muhammad jii jl went farther a Caller was heard saying I
have imposed My Ordinance and alleviated the burden of My servants 
There is however some difference as regards the issue whether the
Prophet saw Allah with his physical eye or not Some interpreters say that
seeing Allah with his naked eyes was not confirmed Ibn Abbas on the
other hand says that the word Ru ya as used in the Noble Qur an signifies
the observation with the help of the eye 
In Surah An Najm Chapter The Star we read 
 Then he approached and came closer 53 8 
Here he refers to archangel Gabriel and this context is completely
different from that in the Prophetic tradition of Isra and Mi raj where the
approach relates to that of the Lord Glory is to Him 
Some significant suggestive incidents featured the Night Journey of the
Prophet of which we could mention 
1 The Prophet s breast was cleft by Gabriel his heart extracted and washed
with the water of Zamzam a sacred spring in Makkah 
2 In the same context there were brought to him two gold vessels There
was milk in one while the other was full of wine He was asked to
choose either of them so he selected the vessel containing milk and
drank it He the angel said You have been guided on Al Fitrah or you
have attained Al Fitrah Had you selected wine your nation would have
been misled It is a symbolic way of saying that good and evil in the
form of milk and wine were brought before the Prophet and he
instinctively made a choice for the good It is very difficult to render the
Arabic term Fitrah into English It denotes the original constitution or
disposition with which a child comes into this world as contrasted with
qualities or inclinations acquired during life besides it refers to the
spiritual inclination inherent in man in his unspoilt state 
3 The Prophet w told that he saw two manifest rivers the Nile
and the Euphrates and two hidden ones It appears that the two
mani fest rivers the Nile and the Euphrates symbolically describe the
area in whose fertile valleys Muhammad s Message will settle and the
people whereof will always remain the adherent bearers of Islam that will
be passed on from generation to another They can by no means suggest
that they well up from the Garden 
4 He had the opportunity to see Malik the guardian of Hell with a
cheerless frowning face Therein he saw the Hell dwellers of whom
were those who unjustly eat up the property of the orphans They have
flews similar to those of camels swallowing red hot stones and then
issuing out of their backs There were also the people who take usury
with bellies too big to be able to move around they are trodden by the
people of Pharaoh when these are admitted into Hell In the same abode 
he saw the adulterers offered tasty fatty meat and rotten smelly one but
they make option for the latter The licentious women were also there
hanging from their breasts 
5 The Night Journey raised a good deal of stir among the people and the
sceptical audience plied Muhammad with all sorts of questions He told
them that he saw the camels of Makkan merchants to and fro He also
guided them to some of their animals that went astray He informed them
that he had drunk some of their water while they were fast asleep and left
the container covered 
The disbelievers however found it a suitable opportunity to jeer at the
Muslims and their creed They pestered the Prophet with
questions as to the description of the Mosque at Jerusalem where he had
never gone before and to the astonishment of many the Prophet s replies
furnished the most accurate information about that city He supplied them
with all the news about their caravans and the routes of their camels 
However all this increased in them nothing but flight from the Truth and
they accepted nothing but disbelief 1 
For the true Muslims however there was nothing unusual about the
Night Journey The All Mighty Allah Who is Powerful enough to have
created the heavens and the earth by an act of His Will is surely Powerful
enough to take His Messenger beyond the heavens and show him those
signs of His at firsthand which are inaccessible to man otherwise The
disbelievers on their part went to see Abu Bakr on account of this event and
 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 684 Sahih Muslim 1 96 Ibn Hisham 1 402 
he readily said Yes I do verify it It was on this occasion that he earned
the title of As Siddiq the verifier of the truth 1 
The most eloquent and most concise justification of this Journey is
expressed in Allah s Words 
 in order that We might show him Muhammad of Our Ayat
 proofs evidences signs etc 17 1 
The Divine rules as regards the Prophets goes as follows 
 Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and
the earth that he be one of those who have Faith with certainty 
To Moses his Lord said 
 That We may show you some of Our Greater Signs 20 23 
In order that 
 He be of those who have Faith with certainty 
The Prophets after seeing Allah s Signs will establish their Faith on
solid certainty too immune to be parted with They are in fact eligible for
this Divine privilege because they are the ones who will bear burdens too
heavy for other ordinary people to carry and in the process of their mission 
they will regard all worldly ordeals and agonies too small to care about 
There are simple facts that emanate from this blessed Journey and flow
along into the flowery garden of the Prophetic biography peace and
blessings of Allah be upon its author Muhammad The story of the Night
Cl Ibn Hisham 1 399 
Journey as we see in the Noble Qur an is epitomised in the first verse of the
Surah Isra Chapter 17 The Journey by Night then there is a quick Shift
to uncover the shameful deeds and crimes of the Jews followed by an
admonition saying that the Qur an guides to that which is most just and
right This arrangement is not in fact a mere coincidence Jerusalem was the
first scene of the Night Journey and here lies the message directed to the
Jews and which explicitly suggested that they would be discharged of the
office of leadership of mankind due to the crimes they had perpetrated and
which no longer justified their occupation of that office The message
suggested explicitly that the office of leadership would be reinstituted by the
Messenger of Allah jl u to hold in his hand both headquarters of the
Abrahamic Faith the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah and the Farthest Mosque in
Jerusalem It was high time for the spiritual authority to be transferred from
a nation whose history got pregnant with treachery covenant breaching and
aggression to another nation blessed with piety and dutifulness to Allah 
with a Messenger who enjoys the privilege of the Qur anic Revelation 
which leads to that which is best and right 
There however remains a crucial question waiting to be answered How
could this foreseen transition of authority be effected while the champion
himself Muhammad was left deserted and forsaken stumbling in the
hillocks of Makkah This question per se uncovered the secrets of another
issue which referred to a phase of the Islamic Call and the appearance of
another role it was about to take up different in its course and noble in its
approaches The forerunners of that new task took the shape of Qur anic
verses smacking of direct and unequivocal warning accompanied by a
severe ultimatum directed to the polytheists and their agents 
 And when We decide to destroy a town population We first 
send a definite order to obey Allah and be righteous to those
among them or We first increase in number those of its
population who are given the good things of this life Then 
they transgress therein and thus the word of torment is
justified against it them Then We destroy it with complete
destruction And how many generations past nations have We
destroyed after Noah And Sufficient is your Lord as an All 
Knower and All Beholder of the sins of His slaves 17 16 17 
Together with these verses there were others revealed to show the
Muslims the rules and items of the civilization upon which they could erect
their Muslim community and foreshadowing their ownership of a piece of
land exercising full freedom over it and establishing a coherent society
around whose axis the whole humanity would rotate Those verses in reality
implied better prospects for the Prophet w comprising a secure
shelter to settle in and headquarters safe enough to empower and embolden
him to communicate his Message to all the world at large that was in fact
the inner secret of that blessed journey For this very wisdom and the like
we deem it appropriate to su gg est that the Night Journey took place either
before the First Pledge of Aqabah or between the two after all Allah
The First Aqabah Pledge
We have already spoken about six Madinese who embraced Islam in the
pilgrimage season in the eleventh year of Prophethood They promised to
communicate the Message of Islam to their townsfolk 
The following year on the occasion of the pilgrimage there came a
group of twelve disciples ready to acknowledge Muhammad as their
Prophet The group of men comprised five of the six who had met the
Prophet i 4 i the year before the sixth who stayed away was Jabir bin
 Abdullah bin Reyab the other seven were 
1 Mu adh bin Al Harith Ibn Afra from Khazraj 
2 Dhakwan bin Abd Al Qais from Khazraj 
3 Ubadah bin As Samit from Khazraj 
4 Yazeed bin Thaiabah from Khazraj 
5 Al Abbas bin Ubadah bin Nadalah from Khazraj 
6 Abul Haitham bin At Taihan from Aws 
7 Uwaim bin Sa idah from Aws 
They avowed their faith in Muhammad as a Prophet and
swore We will not worship any one but one Allah we will not steal 
neither will we commit adultery nor kill our children we will not utter
slander intentionally forging falsehood and we will not disobey you in any
just matter When they had taketime pledge Muhammad fj j said 
 He who carries it out Allih will reward him and who neglects anything
and is afflicted in this world it may prove redemption for him in the
Hereafter and if the sin remains hidden from the eyes of the men and no
grief comes to him then his affair is with Allih He may forgive him or He
may not 1 
The Muslim Envoy In Madinah 
After the Pledge in the form of an oath had been taken the Prophet
fL s jw sent to Yathrib Madinah Mus ab bin Umair Al Abdari o i 
the first Muslim ambassador to teach the people there the doctrines of
I Sahih Al Bukhari 1 550 2 727 2 1003 
Islam give them practical guidance and make attempts at propagating the
Islam among those who still professed polytheism As ad bin Zurarah
hosted him in Madinah So prepared was the ground and so zealous the
propagation that the Islam spread rapidly from house to house and from
tribe to tribe There were various cheerful and promising aspects of success
that characterized Mus ab s task One day Mus ab and As ad were on their
way to the habitations of Bani Abd Al Ashhal and Bani Zafar when they
went into the premises of the latter clan There they sat near a well
conversing with some new converts Sa d bin Mu adh and Usaid bin Hudair 
chiefs of the two clans heard of this meeting so Usaid approached the
Muslims armed with his lance while the other Sa d excused himself on
grounds that As ad was his maternal cousin Usaid came closer cursing and
swearing and accused the two men of befooling people weak of heart and
ordered that they stop it altogether Mus ab calmly invited him to sit saying 
 If you are pleased with our talk you can accept it should you hold it in
abhorrence you could freely immunize yourself against what you hate 
 That s fair said Usaid pierced his lance in the sand listened to Mus ab
and then heard some verses of the Noble Qur an His face bespoke
satisfaction and pleasure before uttering any words of approval He asked
the two men about the procedures pertinent to embracing Islam They asked
him to observe washing purge his garment bear witness to the Truth and
then perform two Rak a He responded and did exactly what he was asked
to do and then said there was a man Sa d bin Mu adh whose people would
never hang back if he followed the Islam He then left to see Sa d and his
people Sa d could immediately understand that Usaid had changed To a
question posed by Sa d Usaid said that two men were ready to comply with
whatever orders they received He then managed a certain situation that
provided the two men with a chance to talk with Sa d privately The
previous scene with Usaid recurred and Sa d embraced Islam and directly
turned to his people swearing that he would never talk with them until they
had believed in Allah and in His Messenger Hardly did the evening of that
day arrive when all the men and women of that sept of Arabians embraced
Islam with the exception of one Al Usairim who hung back until the Day
of Uhud On that day he embraced Islam and fought the polytheists but was
eventually killed before observing any prostration in the way of prayer The
Prophet ui commented saying He has done a little but his reward
Mus ab stayed in Madinah carrying out his mission diligently and
successfully until all the houses of Al Ansar the future Helpers had
Muslims elements men and women One family only stood obdurate to the
Islamic Da wah Call They were under the influence of the poet Qais bin
 1 Aslat who managed to hold them at bay and screen off the Call of Islam
rom their ears until the year 5 A H 
Shortly before the approach of the following pilgrimage season i e the
hirteenth year of Prophethood Mus ab bin Umair returned to Makkah
carrying to the Prophet j glad tidings about the new fertile soil of
slam in Madinah and its environment rich in the prospects of good and the
power and immunity that that city was bound to provide to the cause of
 Ibn Hisham 1 435 Z d Al Ma ad 2 51 
The Second Aqabah Pledge
The next year thirteenth of Prophethood June 622 A D during the
pilgrimage season over seventy converts from Madinah came in the trail of
their polytheist people to perform the rituals of pilgrimage in Makkah The
oft repeated question amongst them was Isn t it high time we protect
Muhammad instead of leaving him forsaken deserted and stumbling in the
hillocks of Makkah 
Shortly after arrival they conducted clandestine contacts with the
Prophet vu jL and agreed to meet him secretly at night in mid Tashreeq
Days the 11th 12th and 13th days of Dhul Hijja in a hillock at
Al Aqabah the last year s meeting place 
One of the leaders of the Ansar Helpers Ka b bin Malik Al Ansari
vi vui j ij gave an account of the historic meeting which changed the whole
course of the struggle between Islam and paganism he said 
We set out for pilgrimage and struck a rendezvous in mid Tashreeq Days 
We were accompanied by a celebrity and a notable of ours called Abdullah
bin Amr bin Haram who was still a polytheist We disclosed to him our
intention of meeting Muhammad and exhorted him to join our
ranks and give up polytheism lest he should serve as wood for Hell in the
Hereafter He promptly embraced Islam and witnessed the serious meeting
at Al Aqabah 
That very night we slept with our people in our camps After a third of
the night had elapsed we began to leave stealthily and met in a hillock
nearby We were seventy three men and two women Nusaibah bint Ka b
from the Najjars and Asma bint Amr from Bani Salamah We waited for
the Messenger of Allah fL j un until he came in the company of his
uncle Al Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib who though himself not a Muslim 
adjured us not to draw his nephew away from the protection of his own
kindred unless we were fully prepared to defend him even at the risk of our
lives He was the first to speak 
 O you people of the Khazraj the Arabs used to call the Ansar
 Helpers Khazraj whether from Khazraj or Aws you all know the
position that Muhammad holds among us We have protected him from our
people as much as we could He is honoured and respected among his
people He refuses to join any party except you So if you think you can
carry out what you promise while inviting him to your town and if you can
defend him against the enemies then assume the burden that you have
taken But if you are going to surrender him and betray him after having
taken him away with you you had better leave him now because he is
respected and well defended in his own place 
Ka b replied We have heard your words and now O Messenger of
Allah it is for you to speak and take from us any pledge that you want
regarding your Lord and yourself 
It was a definite stance showing full determination courage and deep
faith to shoulder the daunting responsibility and bear its serious
The Messenger of Allah then preached the Faith and the pledge was
taken Al Imam Ahmad on the authority of Jabir gave the following
The Ansar Helpers asked the Messenger of Allah about the principles
over which they would take a pledge The Prophet answered 
1 To listen and obey in all sets of circumstances 
2 To spend in plenty as well as in scarcity 
3 To enjoin good and forbid evil 
4 In Allah s service you will fear the censure of none 
5 To defend me in case I seek your help and debar me from anything
you debar yourself your spouses and children from And if you
observe those precepts Paradise is in store for you 2 
In another version narrated by Ka b he said 
The Prophet jii jl began to speak recited some Qur anic verses 
called people unto Allah exhorted them to enter the fold of Islam and
concluded saying I give you my pledge that you debar me from whatever
you debar your women and children from Here Al Bara bin Ma rur 
caught him by hand and said Oh yes we swear by Allah Who sent you as
t l Ibn Hisham 1 440 442 
PI Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 155 Ibn Hisham 1 454 
a Prophet in Truth that we will debar you from whatever we debar our
women from Have confidence in us O Messenger of Allah By Allah we
are genuine fighters and quite reliable in war it is a trait passed down to us
fro n our ancestors 
Then Abul Haitham At Taihan interrupted and said O Prophet of
Allah Between us and the Jews there are agreements which we would then
sever If Allah grants you power and victory should we expect that you
would not leave us and join the ranks of your people meaning Quraish 
The Prophet smiled and replied 
 j IjI t jJl jJI Jj 
 Nay it would never be your blood will be my blood In life
and death I will be with you and you with me I will fight whom
you fight and I will make peace with those with whom you
make peace 1 
After the negotiations concerning the conditions of allegiance had ended 
and all of the audience were unanimously agreed to ratify it two men of the
early generation of converts who had embraced Islam in the eleventh and
twelfth years rose to their feet to apprise the others of the serious step they
were about to take so that they could give their pledge fully aware of the
whole affair and consequently be ready for the sacrifice they were expected
to make A1 Abbas bin Ubada bin Nadlah in this context remarked O
you people of Khazraj Do you know the significance of the pact that you
are entering into with this man You are in fact avowing that you will fight
against all and sundry If you fear that your property will be at stake or the
lives of your nobles will be endangered then leave him now because if you
do this after the pledge it will be degrading for you both in this world and
the world to come But if you think that you can carry out what you are
called upon to do in spite of the loss of precious lives and property then
undertake this heavy responsibility and I swear by Allah that herein lies
the good of this world and that of the next 
They replied We have already considered the loss of property and the
murder of our notables yet we pay him allegiance But what is our reward if
 l lbn Hisham 1 442 
we observe all the items of this pact The Prophet replied Paradise is in
store for you Then they asked him to stretch out his hand and they all
stretched out their hands and took the pledge Only at that time did As ad
bin Zurarah come to realize the people s readiness for sacrifice in the cause
ofAliah I 1 
On the authority of Jabir who said When we started to pay allegiance
to the Prophet jji ju As ad bin Zurarah stood up and gave the
following short address Take it easy people of Yathrib We have not
covered that long distance except because we have had deep belief that he
 Muhammad _ui jl is the Messenger of Allah We are already
convinced that following him entails departure from the pagan Arabs even if
it were at the risk of our life Should you preserve in this course holdfast to
it and your great reward is placed in the Hand of Allah but if you are
caught in fear I admonish you to give it up just now and then you would be
more excusable by Allah 2 
With respect to the two women the pledge was taken orally for the
Prophet 0 w had never shaken hands with a strange lady 3 
The Prophet u then asked the group to appoint twelve deputies
to preach Islam to their people in Madinah to shoulder the responsibility of
implementing the articles of this pledge and to guide the respective men of
their own tribes in matters relating to the propagation of Islam The deputies
elected were nine from Al Khazraj As ad bin Zurarah bin Ads Sa d bin
Ar Rabi bin Amr Abdullah bin Rawahah bin Tha labah Rafi bin Malik
bin Al Ajlan Al Bara bin Ma rur bin Sakhr Abdullah bin Amr bin
Haram Ubadah bin As Samit bin Qais Sa d bin Ubadah bin Dulaim and
Al Mundhir bin Amr bin Khunais Three others were from Al Aws Usaid
bin Hudair bin Sammak Sa d bin Khaithamah bin Al Harith and Rifa a bin
 Abdul Mundhir bin Zubair Once again those twelve men were sworn to
act as surety over the affairs of their people just as the Christ s disciples did 
and the Prophet would act as surety over his people meaning all the
t llbnHisham 1 446 
 2 1 Musnad Ahmad 
PI Sahih Muslim 2 131 
Somehow or other the news of these secret desert meetings with the
Madinese leaked out The Prophet immediately knew that it was a certain
pudgy ugly devil inhabited in Al Aqabah who discovered their meeting 
and he threatened to settle his account with him as soon as possible 
On hearing this Al Abbas bin Nadlah said By Allah Who has sent you
in Truth we are powerful enough to put the people of Mina the
Quraishites to our swords tomorrow if you desire The Prophet 1 
said We have not been commanded to follow that course Now back to
your camps They went back to sleep till morning t l
No sooner did Quraish hear of this treaty than a kind of trouble 
provoking tumult began to mushroom in all directions They realized quite
fully that an allegiance of this sort is bound to produce far reaching
ramifications of direct impact on their lives and wealth The following day 
a large delegation comprising the leaders and arch criminals of Makkah set
out for the camp of the Madinese to protest severely against the treaty They
addressed the Madinese O people of Khazraj it transpired to us that you
have come here to conclude a treaty with this man Muhammad and
evacuate him out of Makkah By Allah we do really hold in abhorrence any
sort of fight between you and us t 2 l
The Madinese polytheists having known nothing about the secretly taken
pledge began to swear by Allah and answered in good faith that there was
no truth in the report Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul a Madinese polytheist 
refuted their allegations denouncing them as null and void claiming that his
people would never initiate anything unless he gave them clear orders 
The Madinese Muslims however remained silent neither negating nor
confirming The Quraishite leaders seemed to be almost convinced by the
arguments presented by the polytheists and went back home frustrated 
However they did not fully acquiesce in the words they heard They began
to scrutinize the smallest details and trace the minutest news till it was
established beyond a shadow of doubt that the pact did take place but that
was after the Madinese pilgrims had left Makkah In a fit of rage they
pursued the pilgrims but did not succeed in catching hold of anyone except
1 1 Ibn Hisham 1 448 
Sa d bin Ubadah They subjected him to unspeakable tortures but he was
later rescued by Al Mut im bin Adi and Harith bin Harb bin Omaiya with
whom he had trade relations 1 
That is the story of the Second Aqabah Pledge later known as the Great
 Aqabah Pledge effected in an atmosphere of love allegiance and mutual
support between Madinese believers and weak Makkan Muslims This new
spirit of affection rapport and cooperation could never be attributable to a
fleeing whim on the contrary it totally derived from an already deeply 
established approach viz Belief in Allah His Messenger and His Book It
was a Belief so rooted in the selves that it managed to stand immune to all
powers of injustice and aggression and could be translated into miracles in
the practical aspects of action and ideology pursuit That sort of Belief was
the real instrument for the Muslims to record in the annals of history
unprecedented breakthroughs We are also sure that the future will always
remain wanting as regards those great achievements carried out by those
 ZSd Al Ma ad 2 51 52 Itm Hisham 1 448 450 
The Vanguard of Migration
 in the Cause of AllSh 
After the endorsement of the Second Aqabah Pledge and the
establishment of a petite Muslim state in a vast desert surging with disbelief
and ignorance the most serious gain in terms of Islam the Prophet
 jUj uii jju gave his leave for the Muslims to migrate to Madinah the
nascent Muslim state 
Migration to Madinah in terms of personal interests was no more than
material waste and sacrifice of wealth all in return for personal safety only 
Even here the migrant could not expect full security he was liable to be
robbed or even killed either at the beginning or end of his departure The
future was foggy pregnant with various unpredictable sorts of sorrows and
Bearing all this in mind the Muslims began to migrate while the
polytheists spared no effort in hindering and debarring them knowing
beforehand that such a move implied unimaginable threats and unthinkable
destructive dangers to their whole society 
1 The first one to migrate was Abu Salamah a year before the Great
 Aqabah Pledge When he had made up his mind to leave Makkah his in 
laws in a desperate attempt to raise obstacles detained his wife and
snatched his son and dislocated his hand Umm Salamah after the
departure of her husband and the loss of her son spent a year by herself
weeping and lamenting A relative of hers eventually had pity on her and
exhorted the others to release her son and let her join her husband She
then set out on a journey of 500 kilometres with no help whatsoever At a
spot called At Tan im Uthman bin Talhah came across her and offered
to give her a ride to Madinah She along with her son joined Abu
Salamah in the village of Quba a suburb of Madinah 1 
2 Another instance of the atrocities of the polytheist Makkans as regards
migration is Suhaib This man expressed his wish to migrate and of
course this was a source of indignation to the disbelievers They began to
t l Ibn Hisham 1 468 
insult him claiming that he had come into Makkah as a worthless tr amp 
but their town was gracious enough and thanks to them he managed to
make a lot of money and become wealthy They gave orders that he
would not leave Seeing this he offered to give away all his wealth to
them They eventually agreed to release him on that condition The
Prophet heard this story and commented on it saying 
 Suhaib is the winner Suhaib is the winner after all 1 1
3 Then there was the story of Umar bin Al Khattab Ayyash bin Abi
Rabi a and Hisham bin Al Asi who agreed to meet at a certain place
one morning in order to leave for Madinah Umar and Ayyash came but
Hisham was detained by the Makkans 
Shortly afterwards Abu Jahl and his brother Al Harith came to Madinah
to see their third brother Ayyash They cunningly tried to touch the most
sensitive area in man i e his relation with his mother They addressed him
claiming that his mother had sworn she would never comb her hair nor
shade herself off the sun unless she had seen him Ayyash took pity on his
mother but Umar was intelligent enough to understand that they wanted to
entice Ayyash away from Islam so he cautioned him against their tricks 
and added your mother would comb her hair if lice pestered her and would
shade herself off if the sun of Makkah got too hot for her These words
notwithstanding Ayyash was determined to go and see his mother so
 Umar gave him his manageable docile camel advising him to stick to its
back because it would provide rescue for him if he perceived anything
suspicious on their part The party of three then set forth towards Makkah 
As soon as they covered part of the distance Abu Jahl complained about his
camel and requested Ayyash to allow him to ride behind him on his camel 
When they knelt down to the level of the ground the two polytheists fell
upon Ayyash and tied him They rode on into Makkah shouting at people to
follow their example with respect to fools 2 
I 1 Ibn Hisham 1 477 
PI Ibn Hisham 1 474 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 558 
These are just three self explanatory models of the Makkans reaction
towards anyone intending to migrate Nevertheless the believers still
managed to escape in successive groups and so rapidly that within two
months of the Second Aqabah Pledge entire quarters of Makkah were
deserted Almost all the followers of Muhammad had migrated to their new
abode except Abu Bakr Ali the Prophet ui himself and those
helpless noble souls who had been detained in confinement or were unable
to escape The Prophet _ui together with Abu Bakr and Ali had
made all the necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave
from his Lord l l
It is noteworthy that most of the Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia
 Ethiopia came back to Madinah to join the rest of the Muslims there 
The situation was no doubt critical in Makkah but Muhammad w 
was not at all perturbed Abu Bakr was however urging the Prophet to
depart from that town He was also eagerly waiting for an opportunity to
accompany Muhammad on this eventful journey But the Prophet
told him that the time had not yet come the Lord had not given him the
command to migrate In anticipation of the Command of Allah Abu Bakr
had made preparations for the journey He had purchased two swift camels
and had fed them properly for four months so that they could successively
stand the ordeals of die long desert journey 2 
t l Zad Al Ma ad 2 52 
PI Sahib Al Bukhari 1 553 
In An Nadwah Council House
The Parliament of Quraish
The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy
movement of Muhammad s followers towards their new abode in Madinah 
They were caught in unprecedented anxiety and got deeply worried over
their whole pagan and economic entity They already experienced
Muhammad jl uii as an influential leader and his followers as
determined decent and always ready to sacrifice all they had for the sake of
the Messenger of Allah fj j i uii jl Al Aws and Al Khazraj tribes the
would be hosts of the Makkan Muslims were also known in Arabia for
their might and power in war and judicious and sensible approach in peace 
They were also averse to rancour and prejudice for they themselves had had
bitter days of inter tribal warfare Madinah itself the prospective
headquarters of the ever growing Islamic Call enjoyed the most serious
strategic position It commanded the commercial routes leading to Makkah
whose people used to deal in about a quarter of a million gold dinar worth
commodities every year Security of the caravan routes was crucial for the
perpetuity of prosperous economic life All those factors borne in mind the
polytheists felt they were in the grip of a serious threat They therefore 
began to seek the most effective method that could avert this imminent
danger They convened a meeting on Thursday 26th Safar the year
fourteen of Prophethood 12th September 622 A D 1 i e two and a half
months after the Great Aqabah Pledge On that day the Parliament of
Makkah held the most serious meeting ever with one item on the agenda 
How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave 
Delegates representing all the Quraishite tribes attended the meeting the
most significant of whom were 
1 Abu Jahl bin Hisham from Bani Makhzum 
2 Jubair bin Mut im Tuaima bin Adi and Al Harith bin Amir
representing Bani Naufal bin Abd Munaf 
3 Rabi a s two sons Shaibah and Utbah besides Abu Sufyan bin Harb
from Bani Abd Shams bin Abd Munaf 
t lFor detail see Rahmat al lil alameen 1 95 102 
4 An Nadr bin Al Harith who had besmeared the Prophet ole UJt
with animal entrails to speak for Bani Abd Ad Dar 
5 Abul Bukhtary bin Hisham Zama a bin Al Aswad and Hakeem bin
Hizam to represent Bani Asad bin Abd Al Uzza 
6 Al Hajjaj s two sons Nabih and Munbih from Bani Sahm 
7 Omaiyah bin Khalaf from Bani Jumah 
On their way to An Nadwah House Iblis Satan in the guise of a
venerable elderly man standing at the door interrupted their talk and
introduced himself as a man from Najd curious enough to attend the
meeting listen to the debate and wish them success to reach a sound
opinion He was readily admitted in 
There was a lengthy debate and several proposals were put forward 
Expulsion from Makkah was proposed and debated in turn but finally turned
down on grounds that his sweet and heart touching words could entice the
other Arabs to attack them in their own city Imprisonment for life was also
debated but also refused for fear that his followers might increase in
number overpower them and release him by force At this point the arch 
criminal of Makkah Abu Jahl bin Hisham suggested that they assassinate
him But assassination by one man would have exposed him and his family
to the vengeance of blood The difficulty was at last solved by Abu Jahl
himself who suggested that a band of young men one from each tribe 
should strike Muhammad simultaneously with their swords so that the
blood money would be spread over them all and therefore could not be
exacted and his people would seek a mind based recourse for settlement 
The sinful proposal was unanimously accepted and the representatives
broke up the meeting and went back home with full determination for
fillbn Hisham 1 480 482 
Migration of the Prophet
When the iniquitous decision had been made Gabriel was sent down to
Muhammad jji to reveal to him Quraish s plot and give him his
Lord s Permission to leave Makkah He fixed to him the time of migration
and asked him not to sleep that night in his usual bed At noon the Prophet
H j went to see his Companion Abu Bakr and arranged with him
everything for the intended migration Abu Bakr was surprised to see the
Prophet 1 jji masked coming to visit him at that unusual time but he
soon learned that Allah s Command had arrived and he proposed that they
should migrate together to which the Prophet gave his consent 
To make the necessary preparations for the implementation of their
devilish plan the chiefs of Makkah had chosen eleven men Abu Jahl 
Hakam bin Abil Al As Uqbah bin Abi Mu ait An Nadr bin Harith 
Omaiyah bin Khalaf Zama a bin Al Aswad Tu aima bin Adi Abu Lahab 
Ubai bin Khalaf Nabih bin Al Hajjaj and his brother Munbih bin Al Hajjaj 
All were on the alert As night advanced they posted assassins around the
Prophet s house Thus they kept vigil all night long waiting to kill him the
moment he left his house early in die morning peeping now and then
through a hole in the door to make sure that he was still lying in his bed 
Abu Jahl the great enemy of Islam used to walk about haughtily and
arrogantly jeering at Muhammad s words saying to the people around him 
Muhammad claims that if you follow him he will appoint you rulers over
the Arabs and non Arabs and in the Hereafter your reward will be Gardens
similar to those in Jordan otherwise he will slaughter you and after death
you will be burnt in fire He was too confident of the success of his
devilish plan Allah the All Mighty however in Whose Hands lie the
sovereignty of the heavens and earth does what He desires He renders
succour and can never be overpowered He did exactly what He later said to
1 lSahih Ai Bukhari 1 553 
Pllbn Hisham 1 483 
 And remember when the disbelievers plotted against you O
Muhammad v i u to imprison you or to kill you or to get
you out from your home i e Makkah they were plotting and
Allah too was planning and Allah is the Best of the planners 
At that critical time the plans of Quraish utterly failed despite the tight
siege they laid to the Prophet s house the Prophet and Ali were
inside the house The Prophet w told Ali to sleep in his bed and
cover himself with his green mantle and assured him full security under
Allah s protection and told him that no harm would come to him The
Prophet fj j _ii jji then came out of the room and cast a handful of dust at
the assassins and managed to work his way through them reciting verses of
the Noble Qur an 
 And We have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind
them and We have covered them up so that they cannot see 
He proceeded direct to the house of Abu Bakr who immediately
accompanied him and both set out southwards clambered up the lofty peak
of Mountain Thawr and decided to take refuge in a cavePl
The assassins who laid siege to the house were waiting for the zero hour
when someone came and informed them that the Prophet an j had
already left They rushed in and to their utter surprise found that the person
lying in the Prophet s bed was Ali not Muhammad di This created
a stir in the whole town The Prophet had thus left his house on
Safar 27th the fourteenth year of Prophethood i e 12 13 September 622
Knowing already that Quraish would mobilize all its potentials to find
him he played a clever trick on them and instead of taking the road to
Ullbn Hisham 1 483 Zad Al Ma ad 2 52 
 2 JRahmat al liralameen 1 95 
Madinah in north side of Makkah as the polythiest would expect he walked
along a road least expected lying south of Makkah and leading to Yemen 
He walked for 5 miles until he reached a rough rocky mountain called
Thawr There his shoes were worn out some said he used to walk tiptoe in
order not to leave a trail behind him Abu Bakr 4 411 carried him up the
mountain to a cave called after the name of the mountain Cave Thawr Abu
Bakr first entered to explore the cave and be sure that it was safe closed all
holes with pieces tom off from his clothes cleaned it and then asked the
Prophet 1 jji to step in The Prophet jw went in and
immediately laid his head in Abu Bakr s lap and fell asleep Suddenly Abu
Bakr s foot was stung by a poisonous insect It hurt so much that his tears
fell on the Prophet s face The Prophet 411 j immediately applied his
saliva on Abu Bakr s foot and the pain went off on the spot They confined
themselves to this cave for three nights Friday Saturday and Sunday 
 Abdullah the son of Abu Bakr would go to see them after dusk stay the
night there apprise them of the latest situation in Makkah and then leave in
the early morning to mix with the Makkans as usual and not to draw the
least attention to his clandestine activities Amir bin Fuhairah while in the
company of other shepherds of Makkah tending his master Abu Bakr s
flock used to stole away unobserved every evening with a few goats to the
cave and furnished its inmates with a plentiful supply of milkt 1 
Quraish on the other hand were quite baffled and exasperated when the
news of the escape of the two companions was confirmed They brought
 Ali to Al Ka bah beat him brutally and confined him there for an hour
attempting desperately to make him divulge the secret of the disappearance
of the two fugitives but to no avail They then went to see Asma Abu
Bakr s daughter but here also their attempts went in vain While at her door
Abu Jahl slapped the girl so severely that her earring broke uppl
The notables of Makkah convened an emergency session to determine
the future course of action and explore all areas that could help arrest the
two men They decided to block all avenues leading out of Makkah and
imposed heavy armed surveillance over all potential exits A price of 100
t lSahih Al Bukhari 1 553 Ibn Hisham 1 486 
t 2 lRahmat al lil alameen 1 96 Ibn Hisham 1 487 
camels was set upon the head of each one 1 Horsemen infantry and tracers
of tracks scoured the country Once they even reached the mouth of the cave
where the Prophet jji and Abu Bakr were hiding When he saw the
enemy at a very close distance Abu Bakr whispered to the Prophet
fL y What if they were to look through the crevice and detect us The
Prophet jL j ui in his God inspired calm replied 
 u m oiiit ijz d c d O 
 Silence Abu Bakr What do you think of those two with whom
the Third is Allah PI
It was really a Divine miracle the chasers were only a few steps from the
For three days Muhammad fu and Abu Bakr lived in the cave
and Quraish continued their frantic efforts to get hold of them 
Someone called Abdullah bin Uraiquit who had as yet not embraced
Islam but was trusted by Abu Bakr and had been hired by him as a guide 
reached the cave after three nights according to a plan bringing with him
Abu Bakr s two camels His report satisfied the noble fugitives that the
search had slackened The opportunity to depart was come Here Abu Bakr
offered the Prophet the swift animal to ride on The latter agreed
provided that he would pay its price They took with them the food
provisions that Asma daughter of Abu Bakr brought and tied in a bundle
of her waistband after tearing it into two parts hence the appellation
attached to her Asma of the two waistbands The Prophet u ui
Abu Bakr and Amir bin Fuhairah departed and their guide Abdullah bin
Uraiquit led them on hardly ever trodden ways along the coastal route That
was in Rabi Al Awwal 1st year A H i e September 622 A D The little
caravan travelled through many villages on their way to Quba In this
context it is relevant to introduce some interesting incidents that featured
their wearying journey 
1 One day they could find no shelter from the scorching heat so Abu Bakr
 jjt cast a glance and found a little shade beside a rock He cleaned
I lSahih Al Bukhari 1 554 
PlS ahih Al Bukhari 1 516 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 168 
the ground spread his mantle for the Prophet vkdi to lie on and
himself went off in search of food He came across a shepherd a bedouin
boy who was also seeking a shelter Abu Bakr asked him for some milk
and took it to the Prophet v u uii ju cooled it with some water and
waited till the Prophet ui ju woke up and quenched his thirst 1 5
2 Whoever asked Abu Bakr _w about the identity of his honourable
companion he would reply that he was a man who guided him on his
way The questioner would think that M uhammad jji was a
guide in terms of roads whereas Abu Bakr used to mean guide to the
way of righteousness 25
3 Quraish as we have already mentioned had declared that whoever would
seize Muhammad an would receive a hundred camels as reward 
This had spurred many persons to try their luck Among those who were
on the lookout for the Prophet an jl and his companion in order to
win the reward was Suraqah the son of Malik He on receiving
information that a party of four had been spotted on a certain route 
decided to pursue it secretly so that he alone should be the winner of the
reward He mounted a swift horse and went in hot pursuit of them On
the way the horse stumbled and he fell on the ground On drawing a lot
so as to divine whether he should continue the chase or not as the Arabs
used to do in such circumstances he found the omens unpropitious But
the lust for material wealth blinded him altogether and he resumed the
chase Once more he met with the same fate but paid no heed to it Again
he jumped onto the saddle and galloped at a break neck speed till he
came quite close to the Prophet ui Abu Bakr s heart agitated and
he kept looking back while the Prophet 111 j remained steadfast
and continued reciting verses of the Qur an 
The repeated stumbling of Suraqah s horse and his falling off
awakened him to the situation and he realized that it was a constant
warning of Allah for his evil design which he contemplated against the
Prophet j j i uji jju He approached the travelling group with a penitent
heart and begged of the Prophet an forgiveness in all humility 
 5 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 510 
PlSahih Al Bukhari 1 556 
He addressed the Prophet u jji and his companion saying Your
people the Quraishites have promised a generous reward to anyone who
captures you He added that he offered them provision but they declined
his offer They only asked him to screen off their departure and blind the
polytheists to their hiding place Then the Prophet ui forgave him
and confirmed it with a token written by Amir bin Fuhairah on a piece
of parchment Suraqah hurried back to Makkah and tried to foil the
attempts of those who were in pursuit of Muhammad and his
noble companions The swom enemy was converted into an honest
In a version by Abu Bakr jji he said We emigrated while the
Makkans were in pursuit of us None caught up with us except Suraqah
bin Malik bin Ju sham on a horse I said O Messenger of Allah this one
has caught up with us The Prophet jn replied 
 Don t be cast down verily Allah is with us 
4 The party continued its journey until it reached to solitary tents belonging
to a woman called Umm Ma bad Al Khuza iyah She was a gracious
lady who sat at her tent door with a mat spread out for any chance
traveller that might pass by the way Fatigued and thirsty the Prophet 
fu i _ui and his companions wanted to refresh themselves with food and
some milk The lady told them that the flock was out in the pasture and
the goat standing nearby was almost dry It was a rainless year The
Prophet fi jji u with her permission touched its udders reciting over
them the Name of Allah and to their great joy there flowed plenty of
milk out of them The Prophet fU u ui first offered that to the lady of
the house and he shared what was left with the members of the party 
Before he left he milked the goat filled the container and gave it to
Umm Ma bad Later on her husband arrived with slender goats hardly
having any milk in their udders He was astonished to see milk in the
house His wife told him that a blessed man passed by the way and then
she gave details about his physical appearance and manner of talk Here
Abu Ma bad realized on the spot that the man was the one whom Quraish
t lSahih Al Bukhari 1 516 1 554 Zid Al Ma ad 2 53 
were searching for and asked her to give full description of him She
gave a wonderful account of his physique and manners to which we will
go in detail later in the process of talking about his attributes and merits 
Abu Ma bad after listening to his wife s account expressed a sincere
wish to accompany the Prophet w j whenever that was possible 
and reiterated his admiration in verses of poetry that echoed all over
Makkah to such an extent that the people therein thought it was a jinn
inculcating words in their ears Asma daughter of Abu Bakr on hearing
those lines got to know that the two companions were heading for
Madinah IJ The short poem opened with thanks giving to Allah having
given them the Ma bads the chance to host the Prophet fU ui 
for a while It then gave an account of the bliss that would settle in the
heart of the Prophet s companion whosoever he was it closed with an
invitation to all mankind to come and see by themselves Umm Ma bad 
her goat and the container of milk that would all testify to the
truthfulness of the Prophet m 
5 On his way to Madinah the Prophet met Abu Buraidah one
of those driven by their lust for the reward of Quraish No sooner did he
face the Prophet ui l and talk with him than he embraced Islam
along with seventy of his men He took off his turban tied it round his
lance and took it as a banner bearing witness that the angel of security
and peace had come to imbue the whole world with justice and fairness 21
6 The two Emigrants resumed their journey It was during this time that
they met Az Zubair at the head of a caravan returning from Syria There
was warm greeting and Az Zubair presented to them two white garments
which they thankfully accepted 31
On Monday 8th Rabi Al Awwal the fourteenth year of Prophethood 
i e September 23rd 622 the Messenger of Allah arrived at Quba J 41
WZad Al Ma ad 2 54 
PJRahmat al lil alameen 1 101 
l 31 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 554 
WRahmat al lil alameen 1 102 
As soon as the news of Muhammad s arrival began to spread crowds
came flocking out of Madinah They would come every morning and wait
eagerly for his appearance until forced by the unbearable heat of the midday
sun to return One day they had gone as usual and after a long wait and
watch they retired to the city when a Jew catching a glimpse of three
travellers clad in white winding their way to Madinah shouted from the top
of a hillock O you people of Arabia Your grandfather has come He 
whom you have been eagerly waiting for has come The Muslims
immediately rushed holding their weapons to defend him 11 1 The joyful
news soon spread through the city and people marched forward to greet
their noble guest 
Ibn Al Qayyim said The shouts of Allahu Akbar Allah is Great 
resounded in Banu Amr bin Auf Muhammad s elation
correspondingly increased but with rare sense of timing and propriety 
called a halt Serenity enveloped him and the evelation was sent down 21
 then verily Allah is his Maula Lord Master or Protector 
and Gabriel and the righteous among the believers and
furthermore the angels are his helpers 66 4j 31
 Urwah bin Az Zubair said They received the Messenger of Allah
fL 4ii and went with them to the right There Banu Amr bin Awf hosted
him That was on Monday Rabi Al Awwal He sat down silent and
Al Ansar the Helpers who had not had the opportunity to see him before 
came in to greet him It is said that the sun became too hot so Abu Bakr
stood up to shade him from the hot sun raysl t was really an unprecedented
day in Madinah The Jews could perceive concretely the veracity of their
Prophet Habquq who said God has come from At Taiman and the Qudus
one from Faran Mount 
ftlSahih Al Bukhari 1 555 
PlZftd Al Ma ad 2 54 
PlZftd Al Ma ad 2 54 Ibn Hisham 1 493 
MSahih Al Bukhari 1 555 
Muhammad _ui stayed in Quba with Kulthum bin Al Hadm a
hospitable chief of die tribe of Amr bin Awf Here he spent four days 
Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday It was during this period that
the foundation of Quba Mosque was laid on the basis of pure piety Ali
hung back in Makkah for three days to return the trusts on behalf of the
Prophet j_j i _ui to their respective owners After that he started his
emigration journey to catch up with him at Quba j 1 
On Friday morning the Prophet sent for Bani An Najjar his
maternal uncles to come and escort him and Abu Bakr to Madinah He
rode towards the new headquarters amidst the cordial greetings of his
Madinese followers who had lined his path He halted at a place in the vale
of Banu Salim and there he performed his Friday prayer with a hundred
others 12 1 Meanwhile the tribes and families of Madinah the new name for
Yathrib and a short form of The Messenger s Madinah City came
streaming forth and vied with one another in inviting the noble visitor to
their homes The girls of the Madinese used to chant beautiful verses of
welcome rich in all meanings of obedience and dutifulness to the new
Though not wealthy every Ansar Helper was wholeheartedly eager and
anxious to receive the Messenger in his house It was indeed a triumphal
procession Around the camel of Muhammad and his immediate
followers rode the chiefs of the city in their best raiment and in glittering
armour everyone saying Alight here O Messenger of Allah abide by us 
Muhammad fL ji used to answer everyone courteously and kindly 
 This camel is commanded by Allah wherever it stops that will be my
The camel moved onward with slackened rein reached the site of the
Prophetic Mosque and knelt down He did not dismount until it rose up
again went on forward turned back and then returned to kneel down in the
very former spot Here he alighted in a quarter inhabited by Banu Najjar a
tribe related to the Prophet jji from the maternal side In fact it was
his wish to honour his maternal uncles and live among them The fortunate
 feid Al Ma ad 2 54 Ibn Hisham 1 493 
P Sahih Al Bukhari 1 555 
host Abu Ayyub Al Ansari stepped forward with unbounded joy for the
Divine blessing appropriated to him welcomed the Noble Guest and
solicited him to enter his house 1 1
A few days later there arrived the Prophet s spouse Sawdah his two
daughters Fatimah and Umm Kulthum Usama bin Zaid Umm Aiman 
 Abdullah son of Abu Bakr with Abu Bakr s house hold including
 Aishah Zainab was not able to emigrate and stayed with her
husband Abi Al As till Badr Battle 21
 Aishah u ui said When the Messenger of Allah arrived
in Madinah both Abu Bakr and Bilal fell ill I used to attend to their needs 
When the fever took firm grip of Abu Bakr he used to recite verses of poetry
that smacked of near death Bilal when the fit of fever alleviated would
also recite verses of poetry that pointed to clear homesickness Aishah 
 I briefed the Prophet bi on their grave situation and he replied 
O Allah we entreat You to establish in our hearts a strong love for Madinah
equal to that we used to have for Makkah or even more O Allah bless and
increase the wealth of Madinah and we beseech You to transmute its rotten
mud into wholesome edible fat P 
MZSd Al Ma ad 2 55 
PlSahih Al Bukhari 1 556 
Plgahih Al Bukhari 1 588 
Life in Madinah
The Madinese era could be divided into three phases 
1 The first phase was characterized by too much trouble and discord and
too many obstacles from within coupled by a hostile wave from without
aiming at total extermination of the rising faith It ended with
Al Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty in Dhul Qa da 6 A H 
2 The second phase featured a truce with the pagan leadership and ended in
the conquest of Makkah in Ramadan 8 A H It also witnessed the Prophet
fi an yL inviting kings beyond Arabia to enter the fold of Islam 
3 In the third phase people came to embrace Islam in hosts Tribes and
other folks arrived in Madinah to pay homage to the Prophet an It
ended at the death of the Prophet in Rabi Al Awwal 11 A H 
Dwelling ofYathrib tribes
at the time of migration
of Banu Abd al Ash hal
 J y House of
I Banu Zaferp 
A t Tahan Mahzuz
 A H g 1 S
 L AWal 1
o h c 5 1
 Pa lea _ 2 
Houses of Bani an Nadir
W Castle of Ka b bin al Ashraf
The First Phase
The Status Quo in Madinah
at the Time of Emigration
Emigration to Madinah could never be attributable to attempts to escape
from jeers and oppression only but it also constituted a sort of cooperation
with the aim of erecting the pillars of a new society in a secure place Hence
it was incumbent upon every capable Muslim to contribute to building this
new homeland immunizing it and holding up its prop As a leader and
spiritual guide there was no doubt the Noble Messenger in
whose hands exclusively all affairs would be resolved 
In Madinah the Prophet had to deal with three distinctively
different categories of people with different respective problems 
1 His Companions the noble and Allah fearing elite 
2 Polytheists still detached from the Islam and were purely Madinese
3 The Jews 
1 As for his Companions the conditions of life in Madinah were totally
different from those they experienced in Makkah There in Makkah they
used to strive for one corporate target but physically they were
scattered overpowered and forsaken They were helpless in terms of
pursuing their new course of orientation Their means socially and
mate rially fell short of establishing a new Muslim community In
parallel lines the Makkan Chapters of the Noble Qur an were confined to
delineating the Islamic precepts enacting legislations pertaining to the
believers individually and enjoining good and piety and forbidding evils
In Madinah thing s were otherwise here all the affairs of their life
rested in their hands Now they were at ease and could quite confidently
handle the chal len ges of civilization construction means of living 
economics politics government administration war and peace 
codification of the questions of the allowed and prohibited worship 
ethics and all the relevant issues In a nutshell they were in Madinah at
full liberty to erect the pillars of a new Muslim community not only
utterly different from that pre Islamic code of life but also distinctive in
its features in the world at large It was a society that could stand for the
Islamic Call for whose sake the Muslims had been put to unspeakable
tortures for 10 years No doubt the construction of a society that runs in
line with this type of ethics cannot be accomplished overnight within a
month or a year It requires a long time to build during which legislation
and legalization will run gradually in a complementary process with
mind cultivation training and education Allah the All Knowing of
course undertook legislation and His Prophet Muhammad v 
implementation and orientation 
 He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger
 Muhammad uh from among themselves reciting to
them His Verses purifying them from the filth of disbelief and
polytheism and teaching them the Book this Qur an Islamic
laws and Islamic Jurisprudence and Al Hikmah As Sunna 
legal ways orders acts of worship etc of the Prophet
Muhammad u J 62 2 
The Prophet s Companions ii j rushed enthusiastically to
assimilate these Qur anic rules and fill their hearts joyfully with them 
 And when His Verses this Qur an are recited unto them they
 i e the Verses increase their Faith 8 2 
With respect to the Muslims this task constituted the greatest
challenge for the Messenger of Allah v u uii l In fact this very
purpose lay at the heart of the Islamic Call and the Muhammadan
mission it was never an incidental issue though there were the matters
that required urgent addressing 
The Muslims in Madinah consisted virtually of two parties The first
one already settled down in their abode land and wealth fully at ease 
but seeds of discord amongst them were deeply seated and chronic
enmity continually evoked they were Al Ansar the Helpers The
second party were Al Muhajirun the Emigrants homeless jobless and
penniless Their number was not small on the contrary it was increasing
day by day after the Prophet fU jji had given them the green light to
leave for Madinah whose economic structure originally not that
prosperous one began to show signs of imbalance aggravated by the
economic boycott that the anti Islamic groups imposed and consequently
imports diminished and living conditions worsened 
2 The purely Madinese polytheists constituted the second sector with
whom the Prophet ui had to deal Those people had no control at
all over the Muslim Some of them mused no grudge against the
Muslims but were rather skeptical of their ancestors religious practices 
and developed tentative inclination towards Islam and before long they
embraced the new faith and were truly devoted to Allah However some
others harboured evil intentions against the Prophet ui j and his
followers but were too cowardly to resist them publicly they were rather 
under those Islamically favourable conditions obliged to fake
amicability and friendliness Abdullah bin Ubai who had almost been
given presidency over Al Khazraj and Al Aws tribes in the wake of
Bu ath War between the two tribes came at the head of that group of
hypocrites The Prophet s advent and the vigorous rise of the new spirit
of Islam foiled that orientation and the idea soon went into oblivion He 
seeing another one Muhammad u ui coming to deprive him and
his agents of the prospective temporal privileges could not be pleased 
and for overriding reasons he showed pretension to Islam but with
horrible disbelief deeply rooted in his heart He also used to exploit some
events and weak hearted new converts in scheming malevolently against
the true believers 
3 The Jews the Hebrews who had migrated to Al Hijaz from Syria
following the Byzantine and Assyrian persecution campaigns were the
third category existent on the demographic scene in Madinah In their
new abode they assumed the Arabian stamp in dress language and
manner of life and there were instances of intermarriage with the local
Arabs however they retained their ethnic particularism and detached
themselves from amalgamation with the immediate environment They
even used to pride in their Jewish Israeli origin and spurn the Arabs
around designating them as illiterate meaning brutal naive and
backward They desired the wealth of their neighbours to be made lawful
to them and they could thus appropriate it the way they liked 
 because they say There is no blame on us to betray and
take the properties of the illiterates Arabs 3 75 
Religiously they showed no zeal their most obvious religious
commodity was fortunetelling witchcraft and the secret arts blowing on
knots for which they used to attach to themselves advantages of science
and spiritual precedence 
They excelled at the arts of earning money and trading They in fact
monopolized trading in cereals dates wine clothes export and import For
the services they offered to the Arabs the latter paid heavily Usury was a
common practice amongst them lending the Arab notables great sums to be
squandered on mercenary poets and in vanity avenues and in return seizing
their fertile land given as surety 
They were very good at corrupting and scheming They used to sow
seeds of discord between adjacent tribes and entice each one to hatch plots
against the other with the natural corollary of continual exhaustive bloody
fighting Whenever they felt that fire of hatred was about to subside they
would nourish it with new means of perpetuity so that they could always
have the upper hand and at the same time gain heavy interest rates on loans
spent on inter tribal warfare 
Three famous tribes of Jews constituted the demographic presence in
Yathnb now Madinah Banu Qainuqua allies of Al Khazraj tribe Banu
An Nadir and Banu Quraizah who allied Al Aws and inhabited the suburbs
Naturally they held the new changes with abhorrence and were terribly
hateful to them simply because the Messenger of AllSh was of a different
race and this point was in itself too repugnant for them to reconcile with 
Second Islam came to bring about a spirit of rapport to terminate the state
of enmity and hatred and to establish a social regime based on denunciation
of the prohibited and promotion of the allowed Adherence to these canons
of life implied paving the way for an Arab unity that could work to the
prejudice of the Jews and their interests at both die social and economic
levels the Arab tribes would then try to restore their wealth and land
misappropriated by the Jews thro ugh usurious practices 
The Jews of course deeply considered all these things ever since they had
known that the Islamic Call would try to settle in Yathrib and it was no
surprise to discover that they harboured the most enmity and hatred to Islam
and the Messenger in even though they did not have the courage to
uncover their feelings in the beginning 
The following incident could attest clearly to that abominable antipathy
that the Jews harboured towards the new political and religious changes that
came to stamp the life of Madinah Ibn Ishaq on the authority of the Mother
of believers Safiyah narrated Safiyah daughter ofHuyayibin
Akhtab said I was the closest child to my father and my uncle Abi Yasir s
heart Whenever they saw me with a child of theirs they should pamper me
so tenderly to the exclusion of anyone else However with the advent of the
Messenger of Allah jji and setting in Quba with Bani Amr bin
 Awf my father Huyayi bin Akhtab and my uncle Abu Yasir bin Akhtab
went to see him and did not return until sunset when they came back
walking lazily and fully dejected I as usually hurried to meet them
smiling but they would not turn to me for the grief that caught them I heard
my uncle Abu Yasir say to Ubai and Huyayi Is it really he i e 
M uhamma d jji The former said It is he I swear by Allah 
 Did you really recognize him they asked He answered Yes and my
heart is burning with enmity towards himV l 
An interesting story that took place on the first day the Prophet l 
f j j i stepped in Madinah could be quoted to illustrate the mental
disturbance and deep anxiety that beset the Jews Abdullah bin Salam the
most learned rabbi among the Jews came to see the Prophet ui 
when he arrived and asked him certain questions to ascertain his real
Prophethood No sooner did he hear the Prophet s answers than he
embraced Islam but added that if his people knew of his Islamization they
would advance false arguments against me The Prophet ui sent for
some Jews and asked them about Abdullah bin Salam they testified to his
scholarly aptitude and virtuous standing Here it was divulged to them that
he had embraced Islam and on the spot they imparted categorically opposite
testimonies and described him as the most evil of all evils In another
narration Abdullah bin Salam said O Jews Be Allah fearing By Allah 
the only One you know that he is the Messenger of Allah sent to people
WflmHisham 1 518 519 
with the Truth They replied You are lying That was the Prophet s
first experience with the JewsJ l
That was the demo political picture within Madinah Five hundred
kilometres away in Makkah there still lay another source of detrimental
threat the archenemy of Islam Quraish For ten years while at the mercy of
Quraish the Muslims were subjected to all sorts of terrorism boycott 
harassment and starvation coupled by a large scale painstaking
psychological war and aggressive organized propaganda When they had
emigrated to Madinah their land wealth and property were seized wives
detained and the socially humble in rank brutally tortured Quraish also
schemed and made attempts on the life of the first figure of the Call 
Muhammad Due to their acknowledged temporal leadership
and religious supremacy among the pagan Arabs given the custodianship of
the Sacred Sanctuary the Quraishites spared no effort in enticing the
Arabians against Madinah and boycotting the Madinese socially and
economically To quote Muhammad Al Ghazali A state of war virtually
existed between the Makkan tyrants and the Muslims in their abode It is
foolish to blame the Muslims for the horrible consequences that were bound
to ensue in the light of that long standing feud f 2 J
The Muslims in Madinah were completely eligible then to confiscate the
wealth of those tyrants mete out for them exemplary punishment and br ing
twofold retaliation on them in order to deter them from committing any
folly against the Muslims and their sanctities 
That was a resume of the major problems that the Prophet Mu hammad
 uii had to face and the complicated issues he was supposed to
In full acknowledgment we could safely say that he quite honestly
shouldered the responsibilities of Messengership and cleverly discharged
the liabilities of both temporal and religious leadership in Madinah He
accorded to everyone his due portion whether of mercy or p unishme nt with
the former usually seasoning the latter in the overall process of establishing
Islam on firm grounds among its faithful adherents 
 fiSahih Al Bukhari 1 459 
2 Fiqh As Seerah p 162 
A New Society being built
We have already mentioned that the Messenger of Allah j j di j 
arrived in Madinah on Friday 12th Rabi Al Awwal 1 A H i e September
27th 622 A D and took the downstairs of Abi Ayyub s house as a
The first task to which the Prophet i w attended on his arrival in
Madinah was the construction of a Mosque in the very site where his camel
knelt down The land which belonged to two orphans was purchased The
Prophet j j an himself contributed to building the Mosque by carrying
adobe bricks and stones while reciting verses 
 O Allah no bliss is there but that of the Hereafter I beseech
you to forgive the Emigrants and Helpers 
The ground was cleared of weeds and shrubs palm trees and rubbish 
the graves of the polytheists dug up and then levelled and the trees planted
around The Qiblah the direction in which the Muslims turn their faces in
prayer was constructed to face Jerusalem two beams were also erected to
hold the ceiling up It was square in form each side measuring
approximately 100 yards facing towards the north and having three gates on
each of the remaining sides Nearby rooms reserved for the Prophet s
household were built of stones and adobe bricks with ceilings of palm
leaves 1 To the north of the Mosque a place was reserved for the Muslims
who had neither family nor home The Adhan summoning the Muslims to
the Mosque by the Call for prayer was initiated at this early stage of post 
migration era The Mosque was not merely a locus to perform prayers but
rather an Islamic league where the Muslim s were instructed in Islam and its
doctrines It served as an assembly place where the conflicting pre Islamic
trends used to come to terms it was the headquarter wherein all the affairs
of the Muslims were administered and consultative and executive councils
 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 71 555 560 Zad Al Ma ad 2 56 
The Mosque being thus constructed the Prophet next turned
his attention to cementing the ties of mutual brotherhood amongst the
Muslims of Madinah Al Ansar the Helpers and Al Muhajirun the
Emigrants It was indeed unique in the history of the world A gathering of
90 men half of whom Emigrants and the others Helpers assembled in the
house of Anas bin Malik where the Prophet gave the spirit of
brotherhood his official blessing When either of the two persons who had
been paired as brothers passed away his property was inherited by his
brother in faith This practice continued till the following verse was
revealed at the time of the battle of Badr and the regular rule of inheritance
was allowed to take its usual course 
 But kindred by blood are nearer to one another regarding
inheritance 1 8 75 
 Brotherhood in faith to quote Muhammad Al Ghazali again was
holding subordinate every distinction of race and kindred and suppor ting the
Islamic precept none is superior to the other except on the basis of piety
and God fearin g PI 
The Prophet attached to that brotherhood a valid contract it
was not just meaningless words but rather a valid practice rela ting to blood
and wealth rather than a passing whim taking the form of accidental
The atmosphere of brotherhood and fellow feeling created a spirit of
selflessness infused deeply in the hearts of his followers and produced very
healthy results For example Sa d bin Ar Rabi a Helper said to his fellow
brother Abdur Rahman bin Awf I am the richest man among st the
Helpers I am glad to share my property half and half with you I have two
wives I am ready to divorce one and after the expiry of her Iddah the
prescribed period for a woman divorcee to stay wi thin her house unmarried 
you may marry her But Abdur Rahman bin Awf was not prepared to
 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 56 
I 2 Fiqh As Seerah P 140 141 
accept anything neither property nor home So he blessed his brother and
said Kindly direct me to the market so that I may make my fortune with
my own hands And he did prosper and got married very shortly by his
The Helpers were extremely generous to their brethren in faith Abu
Hurairah reported that they once approached the Prophet ui with the
request that their orchards of palm trees should be distributed equally
between the Muslims of Madinah and their brethren from Makkah But the
Prophet oji was reluctant to put this heavy burden upon them It
was however decided that the Emigrants would work in the orchards
alongwith the Helpers and the yield would be divided equally amongst
Such examples point directly to the spirit of sacrifice altruism and
cordiality on the part of the Helpers and also to the feeling of appreciation 
gratitude and self respect that the Emigrants held dear to their hearts They
took only what helped them eke a reasonable living In short this policy of
mutual brotherhood was so wise and timely that many obstinate problems
were resolved wonderfully and reasonably 
 A Charter of Islamic Alliance 
Just as the Prophet Jl _ui had established a code of brotherhood
amongst the believers so too he was keen on establishing friendly relations
between the Muslims and non Muslim tribes of Arabia He established a
sort of treaty aiming at ruling out all pre Islamic rancour and inter tribal
feuds He was so meticulous not to leave any area in the charter that would
allow pre Islamic traditions to sneak in or violate the new environment he
wanted to establish Herein we look over some of its provisions 
In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful This is
a document from Muhammad the Messenger of Allah concerning
Emigrants and Helpers and those who followed and strove with them 
1 They are one nation to the exclusion of other people 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 553 
I 2 ibid 1 312 
2 The Emigrants of Quraish unite together and shall pay blood money
among themselves and shall ransom honourably their prisoners 
Every tribe of the Helpers unite together as they were at first and
every section among them will pay a ransom for acquitting its
3 Believers shall not leave anyone destitute among them by not paying
his redemption money or blood money in kind 
4 Whoever is rebellious or whoever seeks to spread enmity and
sedition the hand of every God fearing Muslim shall be against him 
even if he be his son 
5 A believer shall not kill another believer nor shall support a
disbeliever against a believer 
6 The protection of Allah is one and is equally extended to the
humblest of the believers 
7 The believers are supported by each other 
8 Whosoever of the Jews follows us shall have aid and succour they
shall not be injured nor any enemy be aided against them 
9 The peace of the believers is indivisible No separate peace shall be
made when believers are fighting in the way of Allah Conditions
must be fair and equitable to all 
10 It shall not be lawful for a believer who holds by what is in this
document and believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement to help a
criminal nor give him refuge Those who give him refuge and render
him help shall have the curse and anger of Allah on the Day of
Resurrection Their indemnity is not accepted 
11 Whenever you differ about a matter it must be referred to Allah and
12 Killing a believer deliberately with no good reason entails killing the
killer unless the sponsor deems it otherwise 
I l Ibn Hisham 1 502 503 
It was solely by his wisdom and dexterity that the Prophet u 
erected the pillars of the new society This phenomenon no doubt left its
mark on the virtuous Muslims He used to bring them up in the light of the
Islamic education he sanctified their selves enjoined them to observe
righteousness and praiseworthy manners and was keen on infusing into
them the ethics of amity glory honour worship and first and foremost
obedience to Allah and His Messenger 
The following is a cluster of the virtues he used to inculcate in the minds
of his followers 
A man asked the Messenger of Allah 1 111 which of the merits is
superior in Islam He the Prophet an jj remarked 
tiljjc jj Ja Js yLJi yk 
 That you provide food and extend greetings to one
whom you know or do not know 
 Abdullah bin Salim said When the Prophet 1 ai arrived in
Madinah I went to see him and I immediately recognized through his
features that he would never be a liar The first things he the Prophet
ai jL said was 
ijLfj ifULl Il lit 0 C 
1 ifLj I jlUj
 Extend peace greetings amongst yourselves provide
food to the needy maintain uterine relations observe
prayer at night while people are asleep then you will
peacefully enter the Garden Paradise 2 
And he said 
ja Syoun jX y yLU ni
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 6 9 
I 2 Narrated by At Tiimidhi Mishkat Al Masabih 1 168 
 The Muslim is that one from whose tongue and hand the
Muslims are safe 
4 4 J 44 
 None amongst you believes truly till one likes for his
brother that which he loves for himself PJ 
J jl4 jk V J Jl
 He will not enter Paradise he whose neighbour is not
secure from his wrongful conduct 3 
34 j d s J j 44 Yj zik Si 41 1 1 4idi 
i 4 5 uj plL o jl 
 4 0 Lil 1 4ij o 1 L L m o 1 4 4 oLaJI oL S
 A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim he neither
oppresses him nor does he fail him Whosoever removes a
worldly grief from a believer Allah will remove from him
one of the griefs of the Day of Judgement Whosoever
shields a Muslim Allah will shield him on the Day of
M Sahih Al Bukhari 1 6 
P ibid 1 6
Narrated by Muslim Mishkat Al Masabih 2 422 
t 4 Mishkat Al Masabih 2 422 Sahih Al Bukhari Sahih Muslim 
 Abusing a Muslim is an outrage and fighting against him
is disbelief 1 
 To remove something harmful from the road is
 jllll iUJl aj L 5 tjUaijI 43JL aJl 
 Charity erases sins just as water extinguishes fire 3 
 UjU Jj JsU JJL jijl
 He is not a perfect believer who goes to bed full and
knows that his neighbour is hungry 4 
Ja p Xs J jil jl 
 Show mercy to people on earth so that Allah will have
mercy on you in heaven 5 
 liCLb uJiSvj J 1 3 0 jJj jlljl
 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 893
P Mishkat Al Masabih 1 12 
 3 ibid 1 14 
t 4 ibid 2 424 
t 5 Sunan Abu Da ud 2 235 
 Try to avert fire even by half a date in charity if not by
tendering a good word M 
 diJ C Uili ui U 
UjI j 4 Ai Jl jUi 4 i A Jda UJLlJo UjI j
 j dll LU ui UJLli _ y il JUi
 Clothing an under clad Muslim entitles you to a
garment from the Paradise feeding a hungry Muslim will
make you eligible by Allah s Will for the fruit of the
Paradise and if you provide water to a thirsty Muslim 
Allah will provide you with a drink from die Sealed
He used as well to exhort the believers to spend in charity reminding
them of relevant virtues for which the hearts yearn 
0 j a1 A P ScLil jl l
t Js 11 1 I 5
 The believers in their mutual love are like the human
body where when the eye is in agony the entire body
feels the pain when the head aches all the body will
 LaIm A 4 w oU JI 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 190 
PI Mishkat Al Masabih 1 169 
PI Narrated by Muslim 
 The bonds of brotherhood between two Muslims are like parts
of a house one part strengthens and holds the other t l 
Tj C y tiijl UjV 
i3 ols t J l i qj
 Do not have malice against a Muslim do not be envious of
other Muslims do not go against a Muslim and forsake him O
the slaves of Allah Be like brothers with each other It is not
violable for a Muslim to desert his brother for over three
The Prophet 1 411 used as well to promote that habit of abstention
from asking the others for help unless one is totally helpless He used to talk
to his companions a lot about the merits virtues and Divine reward implied
in observing the prescribed worships and rituals He would always bring
forth corroborated proofs in order to link them physically and spiritually to
the Revelation sent to him hence he would apprise them of their duties and
responsibilities in terms of the consequences of the Call of Islam and at the
same time emphasize the exigencies of comprehension and contemplation 
That was his practice of maximizing their morale and imbuing them with
the noble values and ideals so that they could become models of virtue to be
copied by subsequent generations 
 Abdullah bin Mas ud uh once said If you are willing to follow a
good example then you can have a recourse in the tradition of the deceased 
because the living are likely to fall an easy victim to oppression so they
might waver in faith Follow the steps of Muhammad s Companions They
were the best in this nation the most pious the most learned and the least
pretentious Allah chose them to accompany the Prophet ui and
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 890 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 896 
to his companions a lot about the merits virtues and Divine reward implied
in observing the prescribed worships and rituals He would always bring
forth corroborated proofs in order to link them physically and spiritually to
the Revelation sent to him hence he would apprise them of their duties and
responsibilities in terms of the consequences of the Call of Islam and at the
same time emphasize the exigencies of comprehension and contemplation 
That was his practice of maximizing their morale and imbuing them with
the noble values and ideals so that they could become models of virtue to be
copied by subsequent generations 
 Abdullah bin Mas ud uii once said If you are willing to follow a
good example then you can have a recourse in the tradition of the deceased 
because the living are likely to fall an easy victim to oppression so they
might waver in faith Follow the steps of Muhammad s Companions They
were the best in this nation the most pious the most learned and the least
pretentious Allah chose them to accompany the Prophet and
establish His religion Therefore it is imperative to get to know their grace 
follow their righteous way and adhere as much as you can to their manners
and assimilate their biography They were always on the orthodox path 
There is then the great Messenger of Allah ui whose moral visible
attributes aspects of perfection talents virtues noble manners and
praiseworthy deeds entitle him to occupy the innermost cells of our hearts 
and become the dearest target that the self yearns for Hardly did he utter a
word when his Companions would race to assimilate it and work in its
Those were the attributes and qualities on whose basis the Prophet
 1 4 i 4_ut wanted to build a new society the most wonderful and the most
honourable society ever known in history On these grounds he strove to
resolve the longstanding problems and later gave mankind the chance to
breathe a sigh of relief after a long wearying journey in dark and gloomy
avenues Such lofty morale lay at the very basis of creating a new society
with integrated components immune to all fluctuations of time and
powerful enough to change the whole course of humanity 
W Mishkat Al Masabih 1 32 
A Cooperation and Non Aggression Pact
with the Jews
Soon after emigrating to Madinah and making sure that the pillars of the
new Islamic community were well established on strong bases of
administrative political and ideological unity the Prophet
commenced to establish regular and clearly defined relations with non 
Muslims All of these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace security 
and prosperity to all mankind at large and to bring about a spirit of rapport
and harmony within his region in particular 
Geographically the closest people to Madinah were the Jews Whilst
harbouring evil intentions and nursing bitter grudge they showed not the
least resistance nor the slightest animosity The Prophet decided to ratify a
treaty with them with clauses that provided full freedom in faith and wealth 
He had no intention whatsoever of following severe policies involving
banishment seizure of wealth and land or hostility 
The treaty came within the context of another one of a larger framework
relating to inter Muslim relationships 
The most important provisions of the treaty are the following 
1 The Jews of Bani Awf are one community with the believers The
Jews will profess their religion and the Muslims theirs 
2 The Jews shall be responsible for their expenditure and the Muslims
3 If attacked by a third party each shall come to the assistance of the
4 Each party shall hold counsel with the other Mutual relation shall be
founded on righteousness sin is totally excluded 
5 Neither shall commit sins to the prejudice of the other 
6 The wronged party shall be aided 
7 The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are
fighting alongside the believers 
8 Madinah shall remain sacred and inviolable for all that join this
9 Should any disagreement arise between the signatories to this treaty 
then AllSh the All High and His Messenger shall settle the dispute 
10 The signatories to this treaty shall boycott Quraish commercially 
they shall also abstain from extending any support to them 
11 Each shall contribute to defending Madinah in case of a foreign
attack in its respective area 
12 This treaty shall not hinder either party from seeking lawful
Madinah and its suburbs after the ratification of this treaty turned into a
coalition state with Madinah proper as capital and Muhammad 
as president authorities lay mainly in the hand of the Muslims and
consequently it was a real capital of Islam To expand the zone of peace and
security the Prophet fj jji started to enter into similar treaties with
other tribes living around his state 
I l Ibn Hisham 1 503 504 
The Prophet on the Battlefield
The Quraishites mortified at the escape of the Prophet along
with his devoted companions and jealous of his growing power in Madinah 
kept a stringent watch over the Muslims left behind and persecuted them in
every possible way They also initiated clandestine contacts with Abdullah
bin Uabi bin Salul chief of Madinese polytheists and president designate of
the tribes Aws and Khazraj before the Prophet s emigration They sent him
a strongly worded ultimatum ordering him to fight or expel the Prophet 
otherwise they would launch a widespread military campaign that would
exterminate his people and proscribe his women 
His pride wounded and kingship no longer his Abdullah bin Uabi bin
Salul a priori responded positively to his Quraishite co polytheists He
mobilized his supporters to counteract the Muslims The Prophet ju jji
on hearing about this unholy alliance summoned Abdullah and
admonished him to be more sensible and thoughtful and cautioned his men
against being snared in malicious tricks 2 The men on grounds of
cowardice or reason gave up the idea Their chief however seemingly
complied but at heart he remained a wicked unpredictable accomplice with
Quraish and the envious Jews Skirmishes and provocations started to pave
the way for a major confrontation between the Muslims and polytheists 
Sa d bin Mu adh an outstanding Helper announced his intention to observe
 Umrah lesser pilgrimage and headed for Makkah There Omaiya bin
Khalaf provided tutelage for him to observe the ritual circumambulation 
Abu Jahl an archenemy of Islam saw him in the Sacred Sanctuary and
threatened he would have killed him if he had not been in the company of
Omaiya Sa d fearlessly and defiantly challenged him to committing any
folly at the risk of cutting their caravans off 3 
Provocative actions continued and Quraish sent the Muslims a note
threatening to put them to death in their own homeland Those were not
mere words for the Prophet n un j received information from reliable
l 1 Narrated by Abu Da fld 
P Sahib Al Bukhari 2 563 
sources attesting to real intrigues and plots being hatched by the enemies of
Islam Precautionary measures were taken and a state of alertness was called
for including the positioning of security guards around die house of the
Prophet pi 4 i l c 4JJI jJ and strategic junctures Aishah reported that
Allah s Messenger lay down on bed during one night on his
arrival in Madinah and said Were there a pious person from amongst my
Companions who should keep a watch for me during the night She
 Aishah jji said We were in this state when we heard the clanging
noise of arms He the Prophet 111 ju said Who is it He said This is
Sa d bin Abi Waqqas Allah s Messenger fi j said to him What
brings you here Thereupon he said I harboured fear lest any harm should
come to Allah s Messenger v ni so I came to save as your sentinel 
Allah s Messenger fi invoked blessings upon him and then he
This state of close vigilance continued ceaselessly until the Words of
Allah were revealed saying 
 Allah will protect you from mankind 5 67 
Here the Prophet ui peeped from the dome of his house asking
his people to go away and making it clear that Allah would take the charge
of protecting him PJ
The Prophet s life was not the only target of the wicked schemes but
rather the lives and the whole entity of the Muslims When the Madinese
provided the Prophet ui and his Companions with safe refuge the
desert bedouins began to look at them all in the same perspective and
outlawed all the Muslims 
At this precarious juncture with Quraish intent on pursuing their
aggressive and devilish plans Allah the All Higjh gave the Muslims the
permission to take arms against the disbelievers 
01 Sahih Muslim 2 280 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 404 
W At Tirmidhi 2 130 
 Permission to fight is given to those i e believers
against those disbelievers who are fighting them and 
because they believers have been wronged and surely
Allah is Able to give them believers victory 22 39 
This verse was revealed in a larger context of Divine instructions to
eradicate all aspects of falsehood and hold in honour the symbols and rites
IJCj i jiili 4 il 
 Those Muslim rulers who if We give them power in
the land they order for Iqamat as Salat i e to perform
Salat prayer the five compulsory congregational
prayers die males in Mosques to pay the Zakat
 obligatory charity and they enjoin Al Ma ruf i e 
Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do 
and forbid Al Munkar i e disbelief polytheism and all
that Islam has forbidden i e they make the Qur an as the
Law of their country in all the spheres of life 22 41 
Doubdessly the permission to fight was revealed in Madinah after
emigration not in Makkah still the exact date where of is in doubt 
The permission to fight was already there but in the light of the status
quo it was wise for the Muslims to bring the commercial routes leading to
Makkah under their control To realize this strategic objective the Prophet
fa an had to choose either of two options 
a Entering into non aggression pacts with the tribes inhabiting either the
areas adjacent to the routes or between these routes and Madinah 
With respect to this course of action the Prophet jl an had
already signed together with the Jews and other neighbouring tribes 
the aforementioned pact of cooperation and good neighbourliness 
b Despatching successive armed missions for harassment along the
strategic commercial routs 
Pre Badr Missions and Invasions 
With a view to implementing these plans the Muslims commenced real
military activities which at first took the form of reconnaissance patrols
delegated to explore the geopolitical features of the roads surrounding
Madinah and others leading to Makkah and building alliances with the
tribes nearby The Prophet wanted to impress upon the polytheists and Jews
of Madinah as well as the bedouins in its vicinity that the Muslims had
smashed their old fears and had been too strong to be attacked with
impunity He also wanted to display the power of his followers in order to
deter Quraish from committing any military folly against him which might
jeopardize their economic life and means of living and to stop them from
persecuting the helpless Muslims detained in Makkah consequently he
would avail himself of this opportunity and resume his job of propagating
the Divine Call freely 
The following is a resume of these missions and errands 
l Saif Al Bahr Platoon sent in Ramadan 1 A H i e 623 A D led by
Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib and comprising 30 Emigrants with a
definite task of intercepting a caravan belonging to Quraish It was a
caravan of 300 people including Abu Jahl bin Hisham The two parties
encountered each other and aligned in preparation for fighting Majdi bin
 Amr on good terms with both sides happened to be there and managed
to prevent an imminent clash 
On that occasion the Prophet ui accredited the first flag in the
history of Muslims It was white in colour and was entrusted to Kinaz bin
Husain Al Ghanawi to carry 
2 In Shawwal 1 A H i e April 623 A D The Messenger of Allah
 j j uji despatched Ubaidah bin Al Harith bin Al Muttalib at the head
of 60 horsemen of Emigrants to a spot called Batn Rabegh where they
encountered Abu Sufyan at the head of a caravan of200 men There was
arrow shooting but no actual fighting 
It is interesting to note that two Muslims Al Miqdad bin Amr
Al Bahrani and Utbah bin Ghazwan Al Mazini defected from the
caravan of Quraish and joined the ranks of Ubaidah The Mus lims had a
white flag carried by Mistah bin Athatha bin Al Muttalib bin Abd
3 In Dhul Qa dah 1 A H i e May 623 A D the Prophet ui jl 
despatched Sa d bin Abi Waqqas at the head of 20 horsemen and
instructed them not to go beyond Al Kharrar After a five day march they
reached the spot to discover that the camels of Quraish had left the day
before their flag as usual was white and carried by Al Miqdad bin
4 Ghazwa Al Abwa or Waddan It was in Safar 2 A H i e 623 A D The
Messenger of Allah uji set out himself at the head of 70 men 
mostly Emigrants to intercept a camel caravan belonging to Quraish 
leaving behind Sa d bin Ubadah to dispose the affairs in Madinah When
he reached Waddan a place between Makkah and Madinah he found
In the process of this campaign he contracted a non aggression pact with
 Amr bin Makhshi Ad Damari The provisions of the pact go as follows 
 This is a document from Muhammad the Messenger of Allah
concerning Bani Damrah in which he established them safe and
secure in their wealth and lives They can expect support from the
Muslims unless they oppose the religion of Allah They are also
expected to respond positively in case the Prophet sought their
help t l 
This was the first invasion under the leadership of the Messenger of
Allah It took fifteen days with a white flag carried byHamzahbin
5 Buwat Invasion It took place in Rabi Al Awwal 2 A H i e 623 A D 
The Prophet at the head of200 companions marched for
Buwat to intercept a caravan belonging to Quraish comprising 100
Quraishites Omaiya bin Khalaf among them and 2500 camels When he
reached Buwat the caravan had left Before leaving Madinah he
mandated Sa d bin Mu adh to dispose the affairs until his return 
01 Al Mawahib Al Ladunniyah 1 75
6 Safwan Invasion In Rabi Al Awwal 2 A H i e 623 A D Karz bin Jabir
at the head of a small group of polytheists raided the pastures ofMadinah
and looted some animals The Prophet 411 at the head of 70 men
left Madinah to fight the aggressors He went in their pursuit till he
reached a place called Safwan near Badr but could not catch up with
them This invasion came to be known as the preliminary Badr Invasion 
During his absence the Prophet entrustedZaidbinHarithah
with the disposition of the affairs in Madinah The standard was white in
colour and entrusted to Ali bin Abi Talib to cany 
7 Dhil Ushairah Invasion It was in Jumada al Ula and Jumada al Akhirah
the first or second 2 A H i e November December 623 A D The
Prophet L i uii at the head of 150 200 Muslim volunteers with 30
camels which they rode turn by turn set out to intercept a Quraishite
caravan He reached Dhil Ushairah but the camels had left some days
before These camels were the same that he went out to intercept on their
return from Syria and were the direct reason for the break out of the
battle of Badr In the process of this campaign the Prophet u 411
contracted a non aggression pact with Bani Madlij and their allies Bani
Dhumrah Abu Salama bin Abd Al Asad Al Makhzumi was mandated
to rule Madinah in his absence 
8 The Platoon of Nakhlah It took place in Rajab 2 A H i e January 624
A H The Messenger of Allah despatched Abdullah bin Jahsh
Asadi to Nakhlah at the head of 12 Emigrants with six camels Abdullah
was given a letter by the Prophet an but was instructed to read it
only after two days He followed the instructions and discovered that he
was asked to go on to a place called Nakhlah s tanding between Makkah
and At Ta if intercept a caravan for Quraish and collect news about their
intentions He disclosed the contents of the letters to his fellows who
blindly obeyed the orders At Nakhlah the caravan passed carrying loads
of raisins dried grapes food stuff and other commodities Notable
polytheists were also there such as Amr bin Al Hadrami Uthman and
Naufal sons of Abdullah bin Al Mugheerah and others The Muslims
held consultations among themselves with respect to fi ghting them taking
into account Rajab which was a sacred month during which along with
Dhul Hijjja Dhul Qa da and Muharram war activities were suspended as
was the custom in Arabia then At last they agreed to engage with them
in fighting Amr bin Al Hadrami was shot dead by an arrow Uthman
and Al Hakam were captured whereas Naufal escaped They came back
with the booty and the two prisoners They set aside one fifth of the
booty assigned to Allah and His Messenger and took the rest The
Messenger disapproved of that act and suspended any action as regards
the camels and the two captives on account of the prohibited months
already mentioned The polytheists on their part exploited this golden
opportunity to calumniate the Muslims and accuse them of violating what
is Divinely inviolable This idle talk brought about a painful headache to
Muhammad s Companions until at last they were relieved when the
Revelation came down giving a decisive answer and stating quite
explicitly that the behaviour of the polytheists in the whole process was
much more heinous and far more serious than the act of the Muslims 
 They ask you concerning fighting in the sacred months
 i e 1st 7th 11th and 12th months of the Islamic
calendar Say Fighting therein is a great transgression 
but a greater transgression with Allah is to prevent
mankind from following the way of Allah to disbelieve in
Him to prevent access to Al Masjid Al Haram at
Makkah and to drive out its inhabitants and Al Fitnah is
worse than killing 2 217 
The Words of Allah were quite clear and said that the tumult created by
the polytheists was groundless The sacred inviolable sanctities had been
repeatedly violated in the long process of fighting Islam and persecuting its
adherents The wealth of the Muslims as well as their homes had already
been violated and their Prophet mu im had been the target of repeated
attempts on his life In short that sort of propaganda could deservedly be
described as impudence and prostitution This has been a resume of pre 
Badr platoons and invasions None of them witnessed any sort of looting
property or killing people except when the polytheists had committed such
crimes under the leadership of Kaiz bin Jabir Al Fahri It was in fact the
polytheists who had initiated such acts No wonder for such ill behaviour is
immanent in their natural disposition 
Shortly afterwards the two captives were released and blood money was
given to the killed man s father 
After this event Quraish began to realize the real danger that Madinah
could present with They came to know that Madinah had always been on
the alert watching closely their commercial caravans It was then common
knowledge to them that the Muslims in their new abode could span and
extend their military activities over an area of300 miles and bring it under
full control However the new situation borne in mind the Makkans could
not be deterred and were too obstinate to come to terms with the new rising
power of Islam They were determined to bring their fall by their own hands
and with this recklessness they precipitated the great battle of Badr 
The Muslims on the other hand and at the behest of their Lord were
ordered to go to war in Sha ban 2 A H 
 And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but
transgress not the limits Truly Allah likes not the
transgressors And kill them wherever you find them and
turn them out from where they have turned you out And
Al Fitnah polytheism or calamity is worse than killing 
And fight not with them at Al Masjid Al Haram the
Sanctuary at Makkah unless they first fight you there 
But if they attack you then kill them Such is the
 For details see Zfid Al Ma ad 2 83 85 Ibn Hisham 1 605 
Rahmat ul liTalameen 1 115 2 468 
recompense of the disbelievers But if they cease then
Allah is Oft Forgiving Most Mercifixl And fight them
until there is no more Fitnah disbelief and worshipping
of others along with Allah and all and every kind of 
worship is for Allah Alone But if they cease let there
be no transgression except against Az Zalimun
 polytheists and wrong doers etc 2 190 193 
Before long Allah again sent the Muslims a different sort of verses
whereby teaching them ways of fighting urging them to go to war and
demonstrating relevant rules 
jfSut jQ J JAil 4 ds 
p 143 X o fate j 3 
d 4 4 o
 So when you meet in fight Jihad in Allah s cause 
those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you
have killed and wounded many of them then bind a bond
firmly on them i e take them as captives Thereafter is
the time either for generosity i e free them without
ransom or ransom according to what benefits Islam 
until the war lays down its burden Thus you are ordered
by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the
disbelievers till they embrace Islam i e are saved from
the punishment in the Hell fire or at least come under
your protection but if it had been Allah s Will He
Himself could certainly have punished them without
you But He lets you fight in order to test you some
with others But those who are killed in the way of Allah 
He will never let their deeds be lost He will guide them
and set right their state And admit them to Paradise
which He has made known to them i e they will know
their places in Paradise more than they used to know their
houses in the world O you who believe If you help in
the cause of Allah He will help you and make your
foothold firm 47 4 7 
Shortly afterwards Allah began to dispraise the hypocrites the weak at
heart and cowardly elements 
 But when a decisive Surah explaining and ordering
things is sent down and fighting Jihad the holy
fighting is mentioned i e ordained therein you will see
those in whose hearts is a disease of hypocrisy looking
at you with a look of one fainting to death 47 20 
The prevalent exigencies required as a top priority exhorting the Musl ims
to fight Any leader with a deep insight would order his soldiers to get ready
for any sort of emergency let alone the All Knowing Exalted Lord Who is
at all times omniscient of the minutest details of affairs The event of that
skirmish with the polytheists dealt a heavy blow to the pride of Quraish and
created a sort of horrible restlessness amongst them 
The aforementioned Qur anic verses enjoining the Muslims to strive in
the cause of Allah betrayed the proximity of blood clashes that would be
crowned by a decisive victory for the Muslims and final expulsion of
polytheists out of the Sacred City Makkah They referred to rules pertinent
to the treatment of captives and slaughtering the pagan soldiers till the war
ended and laid down its burdens All of these could act as clues to a final
triumph that would envelop the strife of the Muslims towards their noble
Another event of great significance featured the same month Sha ban
2 A H i e February 624 A D which was a Divine injunction ordering that
Al Qiblah be changed from Jerusalem to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah 
That was of a great advantage to the Muslims at two levels First it brought
about a kind of social sifting so to speak in terms of the hypocrites of the
Jews and others weak at heart and revealed their true nature and
1 1 Tafheem ul Qur an 5 11
inclinations the ranks of the Muslims were thereby purged from those
discord prone elements Second facing a new Qiblah the Sacred Mosque in
Makkah refers gently to a new role awaiting the Muslims to take up and
would start only after the repatriation of the Muslims to their Sacred City 
Makkah for it is not logical for the Muslims to leave their Qiblah at the
mercy of non Muslims 
The Muslims therefore at the behest of Allah and on account of those
Divine clues augmented their activities and their tendency towards striving
in the cause of Allah and encountering His enemies in a decisive battle were
The Battle of Badr
The First Decisive Battle in the History of Islam
Reason of the Battle 
We have already spoken about Al Ushairah Invasion when a caravan
belonging to Quraish had escaped an imminent military encounter with the
Prophet fj j 4ii and his men When their return from Syria approached 
the Prophet uji despatched Talhah bin Ubaidullah and Sa id bin
Zaid northward to scout around for any movements of this sort The two
scouts stayed at Al Hawra for some days until Abu Sufyan the leader of
the caravan passed by them The two men hurried back to Madinah and
reported to the Prophet u ui their findings Great wealth amounting to
50 thousand gold Dinars guarded by 40 men moving relatively close to
Madinah constituted a tempting target for the Muslim military and provided
a potentially heavy economic political and military strike that was bound to
shake the entire structure of the Makkan polytheists 
The Prophet uji immediately exhorted the Muslims to rush out
and waylay the caravan to make up for their property and wealth they were
forced to give up in Makkah He did not give orders binding to everyone 
but rather gave them full liberty to go out or stay back thinkin g that it
would be just an errand on a small scale 
The Muslim army was made up of 300 317 men 82 86 Emigrants 61
from Aws and 170 from Khazraj They were not well equipped nor
adequately prepared They had only two horses belonging to Az Zubair bin
Al Awwam and Al Miqdad bin Al Aswad Al Kindi 70 camels one for
two or three men to ride alternatively The Messenger of Allah ui
himself Ali and Murthid bin Abi Murthid Al Ghanawi had only one camel 
Disposition of the affairs of Madinah was entrusted to Ibn Umm Maktum
but later to Abu Lubabah bin Abdul Mundhir The general leadership was
given to Mus ab bin Umair Al Qurashi Al Abdari and their standard was
white in colour The little army was divided into two battalions the
Emigrants with a standard raised by Ali bin Abi Talib and the Helpers
whose standard was in the hand of Sa d bin Mu adh Az Zubair bin
Al Awwam was appointed to the leadership of the right flank Al Miqdad
bin Amr to lead the left flank and the rear of the army was at the command
of Qais bin Abi Sa sa ah The General Commander in Chief was the
Prophet jL j 4 i of course 
The Prophet _ui j at the head of his army marched out along the
main road leading to Makkah He then turned left towards Badr and when
he reached As Safra he despatched two men to scout about for the camels
Abu Sufyan on the other hand was on the utmost alert He had already
been aware that the route he was following was attended with dangers He
was also anxious to know about the movements of Muhammad on
His scouting men submitted to him reports to the effect that the Muslims
were lying in ambush for his caravan To be on the safe side he hired
Damdam bin Amr Al Ghifari to communicate a message asking for help
from the Quraishites The messenger rode fast and reached Makkah in
frenzy Felling himself from his camel he stood dramatically before
Al Ka bah cut off the nose and the ears of the camel turned its saddle
upside down tore off his own shirt from front and behind and cried O
Quraish Your merchandise It is with Abu Sufyan The caravan is being
intercepted by Muhammad fi j and his companions I cannot say
what would have happened to them Help Help 
The effect of this hue and cry was instantaneous and the news stunned
Quraish and they immediately remembered their pride that was wounded
when the Muslims had intercepted Al Hadrami caravan They therefore
swiftly mustered almost all of their forces and none stayed behind except
Abu Lahab who delegated someone who owed him some money They also
mobilized some Arab tribes to contribute to the war against the Prophet
fL j jji cf ju All the clans of Quraish gave their consent except Banu Adi 
Soon an excited throng of 1300 soldiers including 100 horsemen and 600
mailed soldiers with a large number of camels was clamouring to proceed
to fight the Muslims For food supplies they used to slaughter an alternate
number of camels of ten and nine every day They were however afraid that
Banu Bakr on account of old long deep seated animosity would attack
their rear At that critical moment Iblis Satan appeared to them in the
guise of Suraqa bin Malik bin Ju sham Al Mudlaji chief of Bani Kinana
 saying to them I guarantee that no harm will happen from behind 
They set out burning with indignation motivated by a horrible desire for
revenge and exterminating anyone that might jeopardize the routes of their
w boastfully and to be seen of men and hinder men from the
path of Allah 8 47 
Or as the Prophet ui said 
 O Allah these are the haughty and conceited they have come
defying Allah and defying His Messenger 
They moved swiftly northward to Badr On the way they received
another message from Abu Sufyan asking them to go back home because
the caravan had escaped the Muslims Incidentally Abu Sufyan on learning
the intention of the Muslims led his caravan off the main route and
inclined it towards the Red Sea By this manoeuvre he was able to slip past
the Madinese ambush and was out of their reach 
On receiving Abu Sufyan s message the Makkan army showed a desire
to return home The tyrant Abu Jahl however haughtily and arrogantly
insisted that they proceed to Badr stay three nights there for making
festivities Now they wanted to punish the Muslims and prevent them from
intercepting their caravans and impress on the Arabs that Quraish still had
the upper hand and enjoyed supremacy in that area 
Abu Jahl s threats and insistence notwithstanding Banu Zahrah acting
on the advice of Al Akhnas bin Shuraiq broke away and returned to
Makkah Thenceforth Al Akhnas remained the well rubbed palm tree for
Bam Zahrah and was blindly obeyed in all relevant matters 
Banu Hashim were also inclined to break away but Abu Jahl s threats
made them desist from that idea 
The rest of the army now 1000 soldiers approached Badr and encamped
themselves beyond a sand dune at Al lldwat Al Quswa 
 The intelligence corps of the Madinese army reported to the Prophet
 J y that a bloody encounter with die Makkans was inescapable and
that a daring step in this context had to be taken or else the forces of evil
would violate the inviolable and would consequently manage to undermine
the noble cause of the Islam and tread upon its faithful adherents The
Muslims were afraid that the pagan Makkans would march on and start the
war activities within the headquarters of Islam Madinah A move of such
nature would certainly damage and produce an infamous impact on the
dignity and stance of the Muslims 
On account of the new grave developments the Prophet ui held
an advisory military emergency meeting to review the ongoing situation and
exchange viewpoints with the army leaders Admittedly some Muslims
feared the horrible encounter and their courage began to waver in this
regard Allah says 
 Sv JS jpt
 As your Lord caused you O Muhammad u to go out
from your home with the Truth and verily a party among the
believers disliked it disputing with you concerning the Truth
after it was made manifest as if they were being driven to death
while they were looking at it 8 5 6 
The Prophet i jui apprised his men of the gravity of the situation
and asked for their advice Abu Bakr was the first who spoke on the
occasion and assured the Prophet u of the unreserved obedience to
his command Umar was the next to stand up and supported the views
expressed by his noble friend Then Al Miqdad bin Amr got up and said 
 O Messenger of Allah Proceed where Allah directs you to for we are with
you We will not say as the Children of Israel said to Moses f 5 ui
 ojJtpli LI Sujj OjI
 Go you and your Lord and fight and we will stay here 
Rather we shall say 
 OjJLLI LLii viljjj
 Go you and your Lord and fight and we will fight along with
By Allah If you were to take us to Baric Al Ghimad we will still fight
resolutely with you against its defenders until you gained it 
The Prophet an thanked him and blessed him 
The three leaders who spoke were from the Emigrants who only
constituted a minor section of the army The Prophet fL u ui wanted and
for the more reason to hear the Helpers view because they were the
majority of the soldiers and were expected to shoulder the brunt of the war
activities Moreover the clauses of Al Aqabah Pledge did not commit them
to fighting beyond their territories 
The Prophet fL w then said 
 J I i yjJ 
 Advise me my men 
by which he meant the Helpers in particular Upon this Sa d bin Mu adh
stood up and said By Allah I feel you want us the Helpers to speak 
The Prophet directly said Oh yes Sa d said O Prophet of
Allah We believe in you and we bear witness to what you have vouchsafed
to us and we declare in unequivocal terms that what you have brought is the
Truth We give you our firm pledge of obedience and sacrifice We will
obey you most willingly in whatever you command us and by AllSh Who
has sent you with the Truth if you were to ask us to plunge into the sea we
will do that most readily and not a man of us will stay behind We do not
grudge the idea of encounter with the enemy We are experienced in war
and we are trustworthy in combat We hope that Allah will show you
through our hands those deeds of valour which will please your eyes 
Kindly lead us to the battlefield in the Name of Allah 
The Prophet was impressed with the fidelity and the spirit of
sacrifice which his companions showed at this critical juncture Then he
said to them Forward and be of cheer for AllSh has promised me one of
the two the lucrative course through capturing the booty or strife in the
cause of AllSh against the polytheists and by AllSh it is as if I now saw the
enemy lying prostrate 
In the immediate vicinity of Badr the Prophet _ui and his
cavemate Abu Bakr conducted a scouting operation during which they
managed to locate the camp of Quraish They came across an old bedouin
nearby whom they manipulated and managed to extract from him the exact
location of the army of the polytheists In the evening of the same day he
despatched three Emigrant leaders Ali bin Abi Talib Az Zubair bin
Al Awwam and Sa d bin Abi Waqqas to scout about for news about the
enemy They saw two men drawing water for the Makkan army On
interrogation they admitted that they were water carriers working for
Quraish But that answer did not please some Muslims and they beat the two
boys severely in order to exact from them an answer even if it isn t true 
alluding to the caravan laden with wealth The two boys thus lied and so
they were released The Prophet m ju was angry with those men and
censured them saying On telling the truth you beat them and on telling a
lie you released them He then addressed the two boys and after a little
conversation with them he learned a lot about the enemy number of
soldiers their exact location and names of some of their notables 
He then turned to the Muslims and said Hearken Quraish has sent you
their most precious lives 
The same night it rained on both sides For the polytheists it obstructed
further progress whereas it was a blessing for the Muslims It cleaned them
and removed from them the stain of Satan Allah sent rain to strengthen
their hearts and to plant their feet firmly therewith They marched a little
forward and encamped at the farther bank of the valley Muhammad
 _ui J _i_ stopped at the nearest spring of Badr Al Hubab bin Mundhir
asked him Has Allah inspired you to choose this very spot or is it
stratagem of war and the product of consultation The Prophet ui
replied It is stratagem of war and consultation Al Hubab said This
place is no good let us go and encamp on the nearest water well and make a
basin or reservoir full of water then destroy all the other wells so that they
will be deprived of the water The Prophet 1 an approved of his plan
and agreed to carry it out which they actually did at midnight 
Sa d bin Mu adh suggested that a trellis be built for the Prophet 
to function as headquarters for the Muslim army and a place providing
reasonable protection for the leader Sa d began to justify his proposal and
said that if they had been victorious then everything would be satisfactory 
In case of defeat the Prophet would not be harmed and he could
go back to Madinah where there were more people who loved him and who
would have come for help if they had known that he was in that difficult
situation so that he would resume his job hold counsel with them and they
would strive in the cause of Allah with him again and again 
A squad of guards was also chosen from amongst the Helpers under the
leadership of the same man Sa d bin Mu adh in order to defend the Prophet
 jLy ui in his headquarters 
The Prophet uii spent the whole night preceding the day of the
battle in prayer and supplication The Muslim army wearied with their long
march enjoyed sound and refreshing sleep a mark of the Divine favour and
of the state of their undisturbed minds 
 Remember when He covered you with a slumber as a security
from Him and He caused rain to descend on you from the sky 
to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz
 whispering evil suggestions etc of Satan and to strengthen
your hearts and make your feet firm thereby 8 11 
That was Friday night Ramadan 17th the year 2 A H 
In the morning the Prophet 111 called his men to offer the prayers
and then urged them to fight in the way of Allah As the sun rose over the
desert the Prophet pi an l drew up his little army and pointing with an
arrow which he held in his hand arranged the ranks 
Quraish on the other hand positioned their forces in Al Udwat
Al Quswa opposite the Muslim lines A few of them approached in a
provocative deed to draw water from the wells of Badr but were all shot
dead except one Hakeem bin Hizam who later became a devoted Muslim 
 Umair bin Wahab Al Jumahi in an attempt to reconnoiter the power of the
Muslims made a scouting errand and submitted a report saying that the
Muslim army numbered as many as 300 men keen on fighting to the last
man On another reconnaissance mission he came to the conclusion that
neither reinforcements were coming nor ambushes laid He understood that
they were too brave to surrender and too intent on carrying out their military
duties to withdraw without slaying the largest number possible of the
polytheists This report as well as kindred relations binding the two
belligerent parties together slackened the desire to fight among some of the
Quraishites To counteract this reason based opposition advocated by a rival
of his Utbah bin Rabi a and others Abu Jahl started an anti campaign
seeking vengeance on Muhammad j _ui j_l s followers for the
Quraishites killed at Nakhlah In this way he managed to thwart the
opposite orientation and manipulated the people to see his evil views only 
When the two parties approached closer and were visible to each other 
the Prophet began supplicating Allah O Allah The conceited
and haughty Quraishites are already here defying You and belying Your
Messenger O Allah I am waiting for Your victory which You have
promised me I beseech You Allah to defeat them the enemies He also
gave strict orders that his men would not start fighting until he gave them
his final word He recommended that they use their arrows sparingly 1 and
never resort to sword unless the enemies came too close 2 
Abu Jahl also prayed for victory saying Our Lord whichever of the
two parties was less kind to his relatives and brought us what we do not
know then destroy him tomorrow They were confident that their superior
number equipment and experience would be decisive The Noble Qur an 
with a play on the word told them that the decision had come and the
victory but not in the sense they had hoped for 
 O disbelievers if you ask for a judgement now has the
judgement come unto you and if you cease to do wrong it will
be better for you and if you return to the attack so shall we
return and your forces will be of no avail to you however
numerous it be and verily Allah is with the believers 8 19 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 568 
P Abu Da ttd 2 13 
The first disbeliever to trigger the fire of the battle and be its first victim
was Al Aswad bin Abdul Asad Al Makhzumi a fierce bad tempered
idolater He stepped out swearing he would drink from the water basin of
the Muslims otherwise destroy it or die for it He engaged with Hamzah
bin Abdul Muttalib who struck his leg with his sword and dealt him
another blow that finished him off inside the basin 
The battle had actually started Protected by armour and shields Utbah
bin Rabi a stepped forth between his brother Shaibah and his son Al Waleed
bin Utbah from the lines of Quraish and hurled maledictions at the
Muslims Three young men of the Helpers came out against them Awf and
Mu wwadh the sons of Harith and Abdullah bin Rawaha But the
Makkans yelled that they had nothing to do with them They wanted the
heads of their cousins Upon this the Prophet u ui asked Ubaidah bin
Al Harith Hamzah his uncle and his cousin Ali to go forward
for the combat The three duels were rapid Hamzah killed Shaibah while
 Ali killed Al WaleedJ 1 Ubaidah was seriously wounded but before he
fell Hamzah fell upon Utbah and with a sweep of his sword cut off his
head Ali and Hamzah carried Ubaidah back with his leg cut off He died
four or five days later of a disease in the bile duct 
possessed of a deep conviction that Allah s Words were
 These two opponents believers and disbelievers dispute with
each other about their Lord 22 19 
These verses were revealed in connection with men of Faith who confess
their Lord and seek to carry out His Will i e Muhammad 
followers at Badr Battle and men who deny their Lord and defy Him the
people of Quraish 
The duel was followed by a tew more duels but the Makkans suffered
terrible defeats in all the combats and lost some of their most precious lives 
They were too much exasperated and enraged and fell upon the Muslims to
I l Mishkat 2 343 
exterminate them once and for all The Muslims however after suppli cating
their Lord calling upon Him for assistance were made to hold to their
position and conduct a defensive war plan that was successful enough to
inflict heavy losses on the attackers The Prophet i i used to pray to
his Lord ceaselessly persistently and day and night to come to their succour 
When the fierce engagement grew too hot he again began to supplicate his
ol 11 1 pjl aAmmJI Jut kiligj Ol JLlU
 O Allah Should this group of Muslims be defeated today 
You will no longer be worshipped 
He continued to call out to his Lord stretching forth his hands and facing
Al Qiblah until his cloak fell off his shoulders Then Abu Bakr came 
picked up the cloak and put it back on his shoulders and said O Prophet of
Allah you have cried out enough to your Lord He will surely fulfill what
He has promised you 
Immediate was the response from Allah Who sent down angels from the
heavens for the help and assistance of the Prophet and his
companions The Noble Qur an observes 
 Verily I am with you so keep firm those who have believed I
will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved 8 12 
Allah the All Mighty also inspired another message to His Messenger 
 I will help you with a thousand of the angels each behind the
other following one another in succession 8 9 
The Prophet w in his trellis dozed off a little and then raised his
head joyfully crying 
J ieijZj olljo Jl I Ula t4 l soj ilUl ijioUHj j Ll 
O Jl cljllj
 O Abu Bakr glad tidings are there for you Allah s victory has
approached by Allah I can see Gabriel on his mare in the thick
of a sandstorm 
He then jumped out crying 
4jjI Cijyj pS 
 Their multitude will be put to flight and they will show their
backs 54 45 
At the instance of Gabriel the Prophet took a handful of
gravel cast it at the enemy and said Confiision seize their faces As he
flung the dust a violent sandstorm blew like furnace blast into the eyes of
the enemies With respect to this Allah says 
 And you i e Muhammad jji l threw not when you did
throw but Allah threw 8 17 
Only then did he give clear orders to launch a counter attack He was
commanding the army inspiring confidence among his men and exhorting
them to fight manfully for the sake of their Lord reciting the Words of
 And be quick for forgiveness from your Lord and for Paradise
as wide as are the heavens and the earth 3 133 
The spirit he infused into his men was clearly witnessed by the valour of
 Umair a lad of sixteen who flung away some dates he was eating crying
out These the dates are holding me back from Paradise So saying he
plunged into the thick of the battle and died fighting bravely Unique deeds
of valour deep devotion and full obedience to the Prophet ui were
exhibited in the process of the battle The army of the faithfuls was borne
forward by the power of enthusiasm which the half hearted warriors of
Makkah miserably lacked A large number of the polytheists were killed and
the others began to waver No wonder The standard bearers of Truth were
given immediate help and supernatural agencies the angels were sent to
their assistance by their Lord to help them defeat the forces of evil 
The records of Hadith speak eloquently of the fact that the angels did
appear on that day and fought on the side of the Muslims Ibn Abbas said 
 While on that day a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever and he heard over
him the swashing of a whip and the voice of the rider saying Go ahead
Haizum He glanced at the polytheist who had now fallen down on his
back The Helper came to the Messenger of AllSh and related
that event to him The Prophet fU i ui replied You have told the truth 
This was the help from the third heaven 1 
One of the Helpers captured Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib who said O
Messenger of Allah by Allah this man did not capture me I was captured
by a man who was bald and had the most handsome face and who was
riding a piebald horse I cannot see him here among the people The Helper
interrupted I captured him O Messenger of Allah The Prophet 111 
vl jii vLO 
 Be quiet Allah the All Mighty strengthened you with the help
of a noble angel 
Iblis the archsatan in the guise of Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju sham
Al Mudlaji on seeing angels working in favour of the Muslims and
Quraish rapidly losing ground on the battlefield made a quick retreat
despite the polytheists pleas to stay on He ran off and plunged into the sea 
The ranks of Quraish began to give way and their numbers added nothing
but confusion The Muslims followed eagerly their retreating steps slaying
or taking captive all that fell within their reach Retreat soon turned into
ignominious rout and they flied in haste casting away their armour 
abandoned beasts of burden camp and equipage 
Cl Sahib Muslim 2 93 
The great tyrant Abu Jahl however on seeing the adverse course of the
battle tried to stop the tidal wave of the Islamic victory by nerving the
polytheists and encouraging them by all means available and adjuring them
by Al Lat and Uzza and all symbols of paganism to stand firm in place and
retaliate against the Muslims but to no avail Their morale had already been
drastically reduced to zero and their lines broken down He then began to
realize the reality of his arrogance and haughtiness None remained around
him except a gang of doomed polytheists whose resistance was also quelled
by an Islamic irresistible storm of true devotion based valour and Islam 
orientated pursuit of martyrdom Abu Jahl was deserted and left by himself
on his horse waiting for death at the hand of two courageous lads of the
 Abdur Rahman bin Awf related the following interesting story in this
regard I was in the thick of the battle when two youths still seemingly
inexperienced in the art of fighting one on the right and the second on the
left One of them spoke in a secret voice asking me to show him Abu Jahl I
asked about his intention to which he replied that he had a strong desire to
engage with him in a combat until either of them was killed It was
something incredible to me I turned left and the other said something to the
same effect and showed a similar desire I acceded to their earnest pleas and
pointed directly at their target They both rushed swiftly towards the spot 
and without a moment s hesitation struck him simultaneously with their
swords and finished him off They went back to the Messenger of Allah
 ui jL each claiming that he had killed Abu Jahl to the exclusion of the
other The Prophet uii ju asked if they had wiped the blood off their
swords and they answered that they had not He then examined both swords
and assured them that they both had killed him When the battle concluded 
Abu Jahl s spoils were given to Mu adh bin Amr bin Al Jumuh because
the other Mu awwadh bin Al Afra t l was later killed in the course of the
same battle At the termination of the battle the Prophet ui j wanted
to look for this archenemy of Islam Abu Jahl Abdullah bin Mas ud found
him on the verge of death breathing his last He stepped on his neck
addressing him Have you seen how Allah has disgraced you The enemy
of Islam still defiantly answered I am not disgraced I am no more than a
l l Sahib Al Bukhari 1 444 2 568 Mishkat 2 352 
man killed by his own people on die battlefield And then inquired Who
has won the battle Ibn Mas ud replied Allah and His Messenger Abu
Jahl then said with a heart full of grudge You have followed difficult ways 
you shepherd Ibn Mas ud used to be a shepherd working for the Makkan
Ibn Mas ud then cut off his head and took it to die Messenger of Allah
fi j m u 4 1 who on seeing it began to entertain Allah s praise 
8 J J
 Allah is Great praise is to Allah Who has fulfilled His
Promise assisted His servant and defeated die confederates
He then set out to have a look at the corpse There he said 
oJL Oj ji Ua 
 This is the Pharaoh of this nation 
Some Significant Instances of Devotion 
1 The Prophet u advised his companions to preserve the lives of
Banu Hashim who had gone out to Badr with the polytheists unwillingly
because they had feared the censure of their people Among them he
named Al Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib and Abu Bukhtari bin Hisham He
ordered the Muslims to capture but not to kill them Abu Hudhaifah bin
 Utbah showed great surprise and commented saying We kill our
fathers children brothers and members of our clan and then come to
spare Al Abbas By Allah If I see him I will surely strike him with my
sword On hearing these words the Messenger of Allah ui
addressing Umar bin Al Khattab said Is it fair that the face of the
Messenger s uncle be struck with sword Umar got indignant and
threatened to kill Abu Hudhaifah the latter later said that extreme fear
had taken firm grip of him and felt that nothing except martyrdom could
expiate for his mistake He was actually killed later on during
Al Yamamah events 
2 Abu Al Bukhtari bin Hisham had already done his best to restrain his
people the Makkans from committing any act of folly against the
Prophet Jl j uii while the latter was still in Makkah He also neither
hurt nor was reported to have uttered anything repugnant with regard to
the Prophet u ad as well been among the people who tried
to invalidate the b iance taken against Banu Hashim and Banu
Here however in the battle of Badr he insisted on fighting unless his
compatriot was spared Al Mujdhir bin Ziyad Al Balwi with whom he
was engaged in combat replied that the other was not included in the
Prophet 0 uii s recommendation The combat went on to end in
Al Bukhtari s death 
3 Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Omaiyah bin Khalaf had been close
friends during the pre Islamic era When the battle of Badr ended 
 Abdur Rahman saw Omaiyah and his son among the captives He threw
away the armour he had as spoils and walked with them both Bilal the
Prophet Jl uii s caller for prayer saw Omaiyah and soon all the
torture he had been put to at the hand of this man dawned upon him and
swore he would have revenge on Omaiyah Abdur Rahman tried to ease
the tension and address embarrassing situation amicably but with no
success The Muslims gathered around and struck Omaiyah s son with
swords At this point Abdur Rahman called upon his old friend to run
for his life but he was put to swords from different people and lay down
dead Abdur Rahman completely helpless and resigned said May Allah
have mercy on Bilal for he deprived me of the spoils and I have been
stricken by the death of my two captives 
4 On the moral level the battle of Badr was an inescapable conflict
between the forces of good and those of evil In this context Umar bin
Al Khattab did not spare the life of any polytheist even his uncle on the
maternal side Al As bin Hisham bin Al Mugheerah 
5 Abu Bakr shouted at his son Abdur Rahman still a polytheist and
fighting with them Where is my wealth you wicked boy The son
answered that it was gone with the wind 
6 When the battle ended the Muslims began to hold some polytheists in
captivity The Prophet uiijj looked into the face of Sa d bin
Mu adh the Head of the Prophet jl jji u s guards and understood
that he was hateful to taking the enemy elements as prisoners Sa d
agreed to what the Prophet ui jl said and added that it was the first
victory for the Muslims over the forces of polytheism and he had more
liking for slaying them than sparing their lives 
7 On the day of Badr the sword of Ukashah bin Mihsan Al Asdi broke
down so the Prophet gave him a log of wood which he shook
and it immediately turned into a long strong white sword Ukashah went
on using that same sword in most of the Islamic conquests until he died
in the process of the apostasy wars 
8 When the war activities had been concluded Mus ab bin Umair
Al Abdari saw his brother still a polytheist being handcuffed by a
Ansari Mus ab recommended that the Helper tighten the knot for the
prisoner s mother was wealthy enough to ransom her son Abu Aziz 
Mus ab s brother tried to appeal to his brother through the family ties 
but the latter firmly replied that the Helper was more eligible for
brotherhood than him 
9 When the Prophet ui jl ordered that the corpses of the polytheists
be dropped into an empty well Abu Hudhaifah bin Utbah looked sadly
at his dead father who fought on the side of the polytheists The Prophet
fL j ui noticed that and asked him about it Hudhaifah said that he
had never held the least doubt that his father met his fate deservedly but
added that he wished he had been guided to the path of Islam and that is
why he felt sad The Prophet uii whispered in his ears some
The outcome of the battle was as aforementioned an ignominious rout for
the polytheists and a manifest victory for the Muslims Fourteen Muslims
were killed of whom six were from the Emigrants and eight from the
Helpers The polytheists sustained heavy casualties seventy were killed and
a like number taken prisoners Many of the principal men of Makkah and
some of Muhammad w j s bitterest opponents were among the slain 
Chief of these was Abu Jahl 
On the third day the Messenger of Allah went out to look at
die slain polytheists and said 
What did the Prophet Muhammad says when slain polytheists 
Jj i j j 3 V JI Jij 
 J I c b J I
 What an evil tribe you were as regards your Prophet you
belied me but the others have believed you let me down while
the others have supported me you expelled me whereas the
others have sheltered me 
He stood over the bodies of twenty four leaders of Quraish who had been
thrown into one of the wells and started to call them by name and by the
names of their fathers saying Would it not have been much better for you
if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger Behold we have found that
our Lord s promise do come true did you also find that the promises of
your Lord came true Thereupon Umar bin Al Khattab said O
Messenger of Allah Why you speak to bodies that have no souls in them 
The Prophet u jii answered By Him in Whose hand is Muhammad
fLy jji l s soul You do not hear better what I am saying than they do 
Reaction in Makkah 
The polytheists having received a large dose of disciplining and heavy
defeat fled away in great disorder in the vales and hillocks heading for
Makkah panicked and too ashamed to see their people 
Ibn Ishaq related that the first herald of bad tidings was Al Haisaman bin
 Abdullah Al Khuza i He narrated to them how their notables were killed 
People there did not believe him at first and thought that he had gone mad 
but soon the news was confirmed and a state of incredible bewilderment
overwhelmed the whole Makkan scene Abu Sufyan bin Al Harith gave Abu
Lahab a full account of the massacre and the disgraceful rout they sustained 
with emphasis on the role that the angels played in bringing about their
tragic end Abu Lahab could not contain himself and gave vent to his
feelings of resentment in beating abusing and slapping Abu Rafi a
Muslim but reticent on his conversion for reiterating the role of the angels 
Umm Al Fadl another Muslim woman greatly exasperated by Abu Lahab s
thoughtless behaviour struck him with a log and cracked his head Seven
days later he died of an ominous ulcer and was left for three days unburied 
His sons however for fear of shameful rumours drove him to a pit and
keeping their distance hurled stones and dust at him 
The defeat was a matter of great shame and grief for the Makkans In
almost eveiy house there were silent tears for the dead and the captives 
They were burning with humiliation and were thirsting for revenge 
Wailing lamenting and crying however were decreed strictly forbidden lest
the Muslims should rejoice at their affliction 
Madinah receives die News of Victory 
Two heralds Abdullah bin Rawahah and Zaid bin Harithah were
despatched to Madinah to convey the glad tidings of victory to the Muslims
The multi ethnic and ideological structure of Madinah featured different
respective reactions Rumour mongers amongst the Jews and hypocrites
spread news to the effect that the Prophet jl u had been killed and
tried to impress their false assumption on the fact that Zaid bin Harithah was
riding Al Qaswi the Prophet ju s she camel Having reached the
two messengers imparted to the Muslims the happy news of victory and
furnished accurate information about the course of events in order to
establish the sense of reassurance deep in the hearts of the anxious but now 
joyous Muslims They immediately started acclaiming Allah s Name and
entertaining His praise at the top of their voices Their chiefs went out of the
city to wait and receive the Prophet an j on the road leading to Badr 
Usamah bin Zaid related that they received the news of the manifest
victory shortly after Ruqaiyah the Prophet j_ vi ju s daughter and the
wife of Uthman bin Affan had been committed to earth She had been
terminally ill and the Prophet fU u uii had asked Uthman to stay in
Madinah and look after her 
Before leaving the scene of the battle dispute concerning the spoils of
war arose among the Muslim warriors as the rule relating to their
distribution had not yet been legislated When the difference grew wider the
Messenger of Allah w suspended any solution whereof until the
Revelation was sent down 
 Ubadah bin As Samit said We went out with the Messenger of Allah
fUj 4_ui j and I witnessed Badr with him The battle started and Allah the
Exalted defeated the enemy Some of the Muslims sought and pursued the
enemy some were intent on collecting the spoils from the enemy camp and
others were guarding the Messenger of Allah w and were on the
alert for any emergency or surprise attack When night came and the
Muslims gathered together those who had collected the booty said We
collected it so no one else has any right to it Those who had pursued the
enemy said You do not have more right to it than we do we held the
enemy at bay and then defeated them As for the men who had been
guarding the Prophet ui j they also made similar claims to the spoils 
At that very time a Qur anic verse was revealed saying 
oli xL j ail iySlS ji JUiVl 
 They ask you O Muhammad about the spoils of
war Say The spoils are for Allah and the Messenger So fear
Allih and adjust all matters of difference among you and obey
Allah and His Messenger Muhammad ju if you are
believers 8 1 
On their way back to Madinah at a large sand hill the Prophet 
divided the spoils equally among the fighters after he had taken Al Khums
 one fifth When they reached As Safra he ordered that two of the
prisoners should be killed They were An Nadr bin Al Harith and Uqbah
bin Abi Muait because they had persecuted the Muslims in Makkah and
harboured deep hatred towards Allah and His Messenger di j In a
nutshell they were criminals of war in modem terminology and their
execution was an awesome lesson to oppressors Uqbah forgot his pride
and cried out Who will look after my children O Messenger of Allah 
The Prophet answered The fire of Hell 1 Did Uqbah not
remember the day whi n he had thrown the entrails of a sheep onto the head
of the Prophet j while he was prostrating himself in prayer and
Fatimah had come and washed it off him He had also strangled the Prophet
4 J 11 with his cloak if it had not been for Abu Bakr to intervene and
release the Prophet ui The heads of both criminals were struck off
by Ali bin Abi Talib 
I 1 Sunan Abu Da ud with Aun ul Ma bood 3 12 
At Ar Rawha a suburb of Madinah the Muslim army was received by
the joyous Madinese who had come to congratulate the Prophet an
on the manifest victory that Allah had granted him Usaid bin Hudair acting
as a mouthpiece of the other true believers after entertaining Allah s praise 
he excused himself for not having joined them on grounds that the Prophet
fL j an jjJs intention was presumably an errand aiming to intercept a
caravan of camels only he added that if it had occurred to him that it would
be real war he would have never tarried The Prophet i assured
Usaid that he had believed him 
The Prophet ui now entered Madinah as a man to be counted for
in a new dimension the military field In consequence a large number of
the people of Madinah embraced Islam which added a lot to the strength 
power and moral standing of the true religion 
The Prophet u jii exhorted the Muslims to treat the prisoners so
well to such an extent that the captors used to give the captives their bread
 the more valued part of the meal and keep the dates for themselves 
Prisoners of war constituted a problem awaiting resolution because it was
a new phenomenon in the history of Islam The Prophet u jh 
consulted Abu Bakr and Umar bin Al Khattab as to what he should do with
the prisoners Abu Bakr suggested that he should ransom them explaining
this by saying They are after all our relatives and this money would give
us strength against the disbelievers moreover Allah could guide them to
Islam Umar advised killing them saying They are the leaders of Kufr
 disbelief The Prophet u preferred Abu Bakr s suggestion to that
of Umar s The following day Umar called on the Prophet di j and
Abu Bakr to see them weeping He showed extreme astonishment and
inquired about the situation so that he might weep if it was worth weeping
for or else he would feign weeping 
The Prophet said that a Qur anic verse had been revealed
rebuking them for taking ransom from the captives rather than slaying them 
 It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war and
free them with ransom until he had made a great slaughter
 among his enemies in the land You desire the good of this
world i e the money of ransom for freeing the captives but
Allah desires for you the Hereafter And Allah is All Mighty 
All Wise Were it not a previous ordainment from Allah a
severe torment would have touched you for what you took 
 8 67 68 
The previous Divine ordainment went as follows 
 Thereafter is the time either for generosity i e free them
without ransom or ransom 47 4 
Which included an area providing permission to take ransom that is why
no penalty was imposed They were rebuked only for taking prisoners
before subduing all the land of disbelief Apart from this the polytheists
taken to Madinah were not only prisoners of war but rather archcriminals of
war whom modem war penal law brings to justice to receive their due
sentence of death or prison for life 
The ransom for the prisoners ranged between 4000 and 1000 Dirhams in
accordance with the captive s financial situation Another form of ransom
assumed an educational dimension most of the Makkans unlike the
Madinese were literate and so each prisoner who could not afford the
ransom was entrusted with ten children to teach them the art of writing and
reading Once the child had been proficient enough the instructor would be
set free Another clan f prisoners were released unransomed on grounds of
being hard up Zainab the daughter of the Prophet w paid the
ransom of her husband Abul As with a necklace The Muslims released her
prisoner and returned the necklace in deference to the Prophet ui
but on condition that Abul As allow Zainab to migrate to Madinah which
he actually did 
In captivity there was also an eloquent orator called Suhail bin Amr 
 Umar suggested that they pull out his front teeth to disable him from
speaking but the Prophet jji turned down his suggestion for fear
Quraish should retaliate in the same manner on one hand and on the other
for fear of Allah s wrath on the Day of Resurrection 
Sa d bin An Nu man a lesser pilgrim detained in Makkah was released
in return for setting Abu Sufyan s son a captive free 
The Battle of Badr in its Qur nic Context 
The Chapter of Al Anfal spoils of war was revealed on the occasion of
the battle of Badr Ramadan 17th 2 A H It constituted a unique Divine
commentary on this battle 
Allah the All High in the context of this Chapter draws on major issues
relating to the whole process of Islamization Allah here draws the attention
of the Muslims to the still lingering moral shortcomings in their character 
He wants them to build an integrated purified society He speaks about the
invisible assistance he sent down to His obedient servants to enable them to
accomplish their noble objectives He wants the Muslims to rid themselves
of any trait of haughtiness or arrogance that might sneak in He wants them
to turn to Him for help obey Him and His Messenger ui j 
After that He delineated the noble objectives for which the Messenger
LjU 4_Ul launched that bloody battle and directed them to the merits and
qualities that brought about the great victory 
The polytheists hypocrites the Jews and prisoners of war were also
mentioned being admonished to surrender to the Truth and adhere to it
The question of the spoils of war was resolved and the principles and
basics relevant to this issue were clearly defined 
The laws and rules pertinent to war and peace were legalized and
codified especially at this advanced stage of the Islamic action Allah
wanted the Muslims to follow war ethics dissimilar to those of pre Islamic
practices The Muslims are deemed to outdo the others in ethics values and
fine ideals He wants to impress on the world that Islam is not merely a
theoretical code of life it is rather mind cultivation orientated practical
principles In this context He established inter and intra state relations 
The fast of Ramadan was established as an obligatory observance in the
year 2 A H appended by the duty imposed upon Muslims of paying Zakat
 alma tax poor due in order to alleviate the burden of the needy Emigrants 
A wonderful and striking coincidence was the establishment of Shawwal
 Eid the Festival of the Fast Breaking directly after the manifest victory of
Badr It was actually the finest spectacle ever witnessed of Muslims leaving
their houses praying acclaiming Allah s Name and entertaining His praise
at the top of their voices in recognition of His favour and grace and last but
not least the support He rendered them and through which the forces of the
Truth overpowered those of evil 
SU pj Z ol 4 3i 41
 And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in
the land and were afraid that men might kidnap you but He
provided a safe place for you strengthened you with His help 
and provided you with good things so that you might be
grateful 8 26 
The Military Activities between Badr and Uhud
The battle of Badr was the first armed encounter between the Muslims
and Quraish It was in fact a decisive battle that gained the Muslims a
historic victory acknowledged by all the Arabs and dealt a heavy blow to
the religious and economic interests of the polytheists There were also the
Jews who also used to regard each Islamic victory as a heavy blow to their
religioeconomic entity Both parties were burning with rage and fury since
the Muslims had achieved that great victory 
 Verily you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the
believers Muslims the Jews and Al Mushrikun polytheists 
pagans idolaters and disbelievers etc 5 82 
Both resentful parties had their much more indignant suite in the form of
hypocrites who faked Islam just to save their faces at the head of whom
came Abdullah bin Ubai and his retinue The desert bedouins living in tents
pitched in the vicinity of Madinah who depended on plundering and looting
as a means of living were totally indifferent to this axial question of belief
and disbelief Their worry derived from fear of losing their perverted
avenues of subsistence in case a powerful nascent Muslim state should rise
up and put an end to such ill practices hence the grudge they nursed against
Islam and the Muslims in general and the person of Muhammad an u 
The whole cause of Faith was thus at stake with four furious parties
laying ambushes against the new religion each in its style Pretension to
Islam embedded with conspiracy plots and provocative deeds within
Madinah explicitly uncovered animosity pregnant with indignation and fire
of rage on the part of the Jews and there in Makkah open and persistent
calls for vengeance coupled with open intentions to mobilize all potential
resources available to silence the voice of Islam once and for all This was
later translated into military action Uhud Invasion which left a very bad
impression on the good name and esteem that the Muslims were
painstakingly working to merit and preserve 
The Muslims were always obliged to be on the lookout for any hostile
movements and it was imperative on them to launch pre emptive strikes in
all directions in order to enjoy a reasonable degree of security in this great
instability provoking ocean of unrest The following is a list of military
activities conducted in the post Badr era 
Al Kudr Invasion 
The scouting body of Madinah reported that Banu Saleem of Ghatafan
were eng a g ed in mustering troops to invade the Muslims The Prophet
f i _ m j took the initiative himself and mounted a surprise attack on them
in their own homeland at a watering place called Al Kudr Banu Saleem on
receiving the news had fled before he arrived He stayed there for three
days took their 500 camels as booty and distributed them to the fighters
after he had set aside die usual one fifth each one gained two camels 
This invasion took place in Shawwal in the year 2 A H seven days after
the event of Badr l l
An Attempt on the Life of the Prophet
The impact of defeat at Badr was so great that the Makkans began to
bum with indignation and resentment over their horrible losses To resolve
this situation two polytheists volunteered to quench their thirst and muffle
the source of that humiliation i e die Prophet 411 j 
 Umair bin Wahab Al Jumahi a terrible polytheist and an archenemy
Safwan bin Omaiyah sat together privately lamenting their loss and
remembering their dead and captives Umair expressed a fervent desire to
kill the Prophet i j and release his captured son in Madinah if it was
not for the yoke of debts he was under and the large family he had to
support Safwan also had his good reasons to see the Prophet 
killed so he offered to discharge Umair s debts and support his family if he
went on with his plan 
 Umair agreed and asked Safwan to be reticent on the whole scheme He
left for Madinah having with him a sword to which he applied some kind of
lethal poison Umar bin Al Khattab saw him at the door of the Mosque and
p Zid Al Ma ad 2 90 Ibn Hisham 2 43 44 Mukhtasar Secret Ar Rasool p 236 
understood that he had come with evil intentions He immediately went into
the Mosque and informed the Prophet fU 4 4ii jl He was let in looped by
the sling of his sword and in greeting he said good morning to which the
Prophet fi j uji replied that Allih had been Gracious and tau gh t them
the greeting of the dwellers of the Paradise peace be upon you To a
question raised by the Prophet fU 411 j about his object Umair said that
he had come to see that his captured son was well treated As for the sword 
which the Prophet 411 masked him about he cursed it and said that it
gained them nothing On exhorting him to tell his real goal he remained
obdurate and did not divulge the secret meeting with Safwan Here the
Prophet fL 4 got impatient and he himself revealed to Umair his secret
mission Umair was taken by surprise and incredible astonishment seized
him and immediately bore witness to the Messengership of Muhammad
 J 411 He then began to entertain Allah s praise for having been guided to
the Straight Path The Prophet L was pleased and asked his
Companions to teach Umair the principles of Islam recite to him the Noble
Qur an and release his son from captivity 
Safwan meanwhile was still entertaining false illusions as to the
approaching redemption of honour and burying the memory of Badr into
oblivion He was impatiently awaiting Umair s news but to his great
surprise he was told that the man had embraced Islam and changed into a
devoted believer Umair later came back to Makkah where he started to call
people unto Islam and he did actually manage to convert a lot of Makkans
into Islam 1 
Invasion of Bani Qainuqa 
We have already spoken about the treaty that the Prophet 4 411 
signed with the Jews He was very careful to abide by it to the letter and the
Muslims did not show the least violation of any of its provisions The Jews 
however whose natural disposition is closely linked to treachery betrayal
and covenant breaching could not rid themselves of the tradition of theirs 
and started a process of intrigues and troublemaking with the aim of
producing schism in the growing solid Muslim ranks Here is a relevant
model of their behaviour Shas bin Qais an elderly Jew a terrible
0 Ibn Hisham 1 661 663 
disbeliever and a greatly envious man of the Muslims passed by a group of
Muhammad j_ j uii s followers of Aws and Khazraj He perceived a
prevalent spirit of reconciliation and an atmosphere of rapport and amity
enveloping the whole group an unusual scene categorically in conflict with
the animosity and hatred that characterized their pre Islam behaviour He 
therefore sent a youth of his to sit among them remind them of Bu ath war
between them and recite some of their verses which they used to compose
satirizing each other all of this with the intention of sowing die seeds of
discord and disagreement and undermining the new Islamically orientated
inter tribal relations The youth did in fact succeed and the two parties at no
time recalled the old days and pre Islam tribal fanaticism sprang to the front
to bring about a state of war 
The Prophet w ju was reported of this account and immediately at
the head of some Emigrants set out to see to the situation He began to
rebuke them but in the manner of the great instructor and the tolerant spirit
of the understanding guide O Muslims Do you still advance pre Islamic
arguments after I have been sent to you as a Messenger Remember that it
is not rightful for you to turn backward after Allah has guided you to the
Straight Path delivered you from disbelief and created amity between you 
The Mus lims readily realized that it was a Satanic whim and a plot hatched
by the enemies They directly embraced each other and went back home
quite satisfied and in full obedience to the Messenger of AUSh w 1
Such were the practices of the Jews trouble making dissension sowing 
falsehood fabrication faking belief in the day and poetising disbelief at
night In everyday life they used to tighten the ropes oifjnancial dealings
on the M uslims If they happened to owe a Muslim something they would
shirk their obligations on grounds that he had converted into a new religion
and they would allege the basis of agreement was no longer valid If it was
the other way they would never cease to harass him day and night to pay
back the debt all of which in a desperate attempt to demolish the great
edifice of the new religion that was rapidly gaining ground and speedily
towering up skyward 
t llbnHisham 1 555 556 
The Qainuqa Jews breach the Covenant 
Seeing that Allah sided with the believers and granted them a manifest
victory and perceiving the Muslims awesome presence in Madinah the
Jews could no longer contain themselves or conceal indignation They
started a series of provocative and harmful deeds publicly The most wicked
amongst them were the tribe of Banu Qainuqa who lived in quarters within
Madinah named after them As for jobs they took up goldsmithery 
blacksmithing and crafts of making household instruments that is why war
weaponry was available in large quantities in their houses They counted
700 warriors and were the most daring amongst the Jewish co mmu nity in
Arabia and now the first to breach the covenant of cooperation and non 
aggression which they had already countersigned with the Prophet w
Their behaviour grew too impolite and unbearable They started a process of
trouble making jeering at the Muslims hurting those who frequented then 
bazaars and even intimidating their women Such things began to aggravate
the general situation so the Prophet r i_4 u uji gathered them in
assemblage admonished and called them to be rational sensible and guided
and cautioned against further transgression Nevertheless they remained
obdurate and paid no heed to his warning and said Don t be deluded on
account of defeating some Quraishites inexperienced in the art of war If
you were to engage us in fight you will realize that we are genuine war
In this regard the Words of Allah were revealed saying 
j 5 O A Jl J Lji
 Say O Muhammad w to those who disbelieve You
will be defeated and gathered together to Hell and worst indeed is
that place to rest There has already been a Sign for you O
Jews in the two armies that met in combat i e the battle of
Badr One was fighting in the cause of Allah and as for the
other they were disbelievers They the believers saw them
 the disbelievers with their own eyes twice their number
 although they were thrice their number And Allah supports
with His Victory whom He pleases Verily in this is a lesson
for those who understand 3 12 13 1
The answer of Banu Qainuqa amounted as seen to war declaration The
Prophet uii suppressed his anger and advised the Muslims to be
patient and forbearing and wait for what time might reveal 
The Jews went too far in their transgression presumptuous behaviour
and licentious practices One day a Jewish goldsmith provoked a Muslim
woman whose genitals become uncovered when he had tied the edge of the
garment to her back A Muslim man happened to be there and killed the
man the Jews retaliated by killing that Muslim The man s family called the
Muslims for help and war started 2 
On Saturday Shawwal 15th 2 A H the Prophet jui marched out
with his soldiers Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib carrying the standard of the
Muslims and laid siege to the Jews forts for 15 days Allah cast fear into
their hearts and they were obliged to defer to the Messenger jji u s
judgement on their lives wealth women and children their hands were tied
behind their backs 
At this point Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul started his hypocritical role
and began to intercede for them persistently on grounds of former alliance
between those Jews and His tribe Khazraj Muhammad jji dealt
with this man as being a Muslim He had faked conversion into Islam for
only one month by that time and so he granted him his request for Islam
accepts people at their face value Banu Qainuqa handed over all materials 
wealth and war equipage to the Prophet i jji u who set aside one fifth
and distributed the rest to his men After that they were banished out of all
Arabia to Azru a in Syria where they stayed for a while and soon perished
 Sunan Abu Da ud with Aunul Ma bood 3 115 Ibn Hisham 1 552 
P Ibn Hisham 2 47 48 
As Sawiq Invasion 
Two pronged hostile activities were being independently conducted
against the Prophet w ju plots and intrigues being hatched by Safwan
bin Omaiyah the hypocrites and Jews on the one hand going on and on
parallel lines with military hostilities being prepared by Abu Sufyan aiming
at saving the face of his people and impressing on the other Arabs that
Quraish was still a military power to be counted for In the aftermath of
Badr Abu Sufyan was burning for revenge and took a solemn vow he
would never bathe off impurity unless he had avenged himself on
Muhammad jJl ui and his followers He set out at the head of 200 men
towards Madinah but was not brave enough to attack it in broad daylight 
He instead resorted to acts of piracy that are performed in the dark He
infiltrated into the Prophet un s town and went to see an old ally
Huyai bin Akhtab who was too cowardly to let him in so he left for Salam
bin Mashkam chief of Bani Nadeer a tribe of Jews The Jew entertained
and gave him a full account of the situation therein Late at night he
despatched a group of his men to raid Al Uraid a suburb of Madinah 
There the men felled and burnt the palm trees killed two Muslims and then
took swiftly to their heels 
On hearing the news the Prophet i gathered his men and set out
at their heels but could not catch them The Muslims brought back the
provisions Sawiq a kind of barley porridge which the polytheists had
thrown aside in order to lighten their loads and hasten their escape hence
this campaign was called As Sawiq Invasion It took place in Dhul Hijjah 2
A H two months after the event of Badr t 1 
Dhi Amr Invasion Muharram 3 A H 
The Prophet j s intelligence personnel reported that Banu
Tha labah and Banu Muharib were mustering troops with the aim of raiding
the outskirts of Madinah The Prophet at the head of 450
horsemen and footmen set out to handle this new situation Uthman bin
 Affan was asked to dispose the affairs of the Muslims in Madinah On then 
way they captured a man who embraced Islam and acted as a guide for the
army When the enemies heard of the approach of the Muslims they
hurriedly dispersed in the mountains and disappeared The Muslims
encamped at a watering place called Dhi Amr for the whole of Safar 3
PI Zid Al Ma ad 2 90 91 Ibn Hisham 2 44 45 
A H The Prophet aimed to impress upon the desert bedouins in
the area that the Muslims were then powerful enough to cast fear and awe
into the hearts of their enemies 1 
Ka b bin Al Ashraf killed 
Ka b bin Al Ashraf was the most resentful Jew at Islam and the Muslims 
the keenest on inflicting harm on the Messenger of Allah and the
most zealous advocate of waging war against him He belonged to Tai tribe
but his mother to Banu Nadeer He was a wealthy man known for his
handsomeness and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Madinah
at the rear of Banu Nadeer s habitations 
On hearing the news of Badr he got terribly exasperated and swore that
he would prefer death to life if the news was true When this was confirmed
he wrote poems satirizing Muhammad fi j ih jl eulogizing Quraish and
enticing them against the Prophet He then rode to Makkah
where he started to trigger the fire of war and kindle rancour against the
Muslims in Madinah When Abu Sufyan asked him which religion he was
more inclined to the religion of the Makkans or that of Muhammad fU j 
and his companions he replied that the pagans were better guided With
respect to this situation Allah revealed His Words 
 Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the
Scripture They believe in Jibt and Taghut and say to the
disbelievers that they are better guided as regards the way than
the believers Muslims 4 51 
He then returned to Madinah to start a fresh campaign of slanderous
propaganda that took the form of obscene songs and amatory sonnets with a
view to defaming the Muslim women 
At this stage the situation became unbearable and could no longer be put
up with The Prophet u ui j gathered his men and said Who will kill
Ka b bin Al Ashraf He had maligned Alldh and His Messenger 
Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslamah Abbad bin Bishr Al Harith bin
PI Z d Al Ma ad 2 91 Dm Hisham 2 46 
Aws Abu Abs bin Hibr and Salkan bin Salamah Ka b s foster brother 
volunteered to do the job 
Muhammad bin Maslamah said 0 Messenger of Allah do you wish
that I should kill him He said Yes He said Permit me to talk to him
in the way I deem fit He said Talk as you like So Muhammad bin
Maslamah came to Ka b and talked to him saying This man i e the
Prophet fj j vA on jj has made up his mind to collect charity from us and
tlm has put us to a great hardship When he heard this Ka b said By
Allah you will be put to more trouble by him Muhammad bin Maslamah
answered No doubt now we have become his followers and we do not
like to forsake him until we see what turn his affairs will take I want that
you should give me a loan He said What will you mortgage 
Muhammad answered What do you want The immoral and heartless
Jew demanded women and children as articles of security against the debt 
Muhammad said Should we pledge our women whereas you are the most
handsome of the Arabs and the son of one of us may be abused by saying
that he was pledged for two wasq measurement unit of weight of dates but
we can pledge you our weapons Ka b agreed Salkan bin Salamah Abu
Na ilah at another time went to see Ka b for the same purpose and there
were more or less the same subjects only that Abu Na ilah would bring him
some companions The plan was successful and provided for the presence of
both men and weapons On Rabi Al Awwal 14th at night the year 3 A H 
the people said good bye to the Prophet ui and set out in the Name
of Allah to implement the carefully drawn plan The Prophet m j 
stayed back praying for them and supplicating Allah to render them success 
The men went and called upon him at night He came down although his
wife warned him not to meet them alleging that I hear a voice which
sounds like the voice of murder He said It is only Muhammad bin
Maslamah and my foster brother Abu Na ilah When a gentleman is called
at night even if he be pierced with a spear he should respond to the call 
Abu Na ilah said to his companions As he comes down I will extend my
hand towards his head to smell and when I hold him fast you should do
your job So when he came down they talked together for about an hour 
They then invited him to go out and spend a nice time in the moonlight On
the way out Abu Na ilah remarked I smell the nicest perfume from you 
Ka b said Yes I have with me a mistress who is the most scented of the
women of Arabia Abu Na ilah again said Allow me to smell the scent
on your head He said Yes you may smell So he caught it and smelt 
Then he said Allow me to do so once again He then held his head fast
and said to his companions Do your job And they killed him The group
of men came back after fulfilling their mission One of them Al Harith bin
Aws was wounded by mistake with the swords of his men and was bleeding
badly When they reached Baqee Al Gharqad they shouted Allah is
Great The Prophet ui heard them and realized that they had killed
the enemy of Allih As they saw him he said Cheerful faces are yours In
reply they said And yours O Messenger of Allah They handed the head
of the tyrant over to him He entertained Allah s praise for their success He
then applied his saliva to Al Harith s wound and it healed on the spot t 1
When the Jews learned about the death of their tyrant Ka b bin
Al Ashraf they were scared and even their stonelike hearts were in the grip
of inexpressible panic They realized that the Messenger of Allah ui
would thenceforth never hesitate to use force when good words and
admonition failed They remained silent and resigned and faked adherence
Now the Prophet uii was free to collect his thoughts and give
himself up to resolving foreign affairs and facing dangers that could be
carried with hostile wind blowing again from Makkah 
The Invasion of Buhran 
In Rabi Ath Thani the year 3 A H the Prophet uii led a
campaign comprising 300 warriors to Buhran in the area of Al Furu He
stayed there till Jumada Al Ula 3 A H No fighting took place in the
process of this patrolling invasion 2 
Zaid bin Harithah leads a Campaign on the Trade Routes of
This was the most successful campaign prior to Uhud Battle It took
place in Jumada Ath Thaniyah the year 3 A H 
Summer approached and it was high time for the Makkan trade
caravans to leave for Syria The people of Quraish whose lives depended
mainly on a mercantile economy consisting of summer caravans to Syria
and winter caravans to Abyssinia Ethiopia were now at a loss as to
1 1 Ibn Hisham 1 51 57 Sahih Al BukhSri 1 341 425 2 577 
Z4d Al Ma ad 2 91 and Sunan Abfl Da fid with Aun ul Ma bood 2 42 43 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 50 51 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 91 
what route they would have to follow in order to avoid the backbreaking
military strikes that the Muslims successfully inflicted on the polytheists 
They held a meeting to discuss the chances of escaping the economic
blockade and decided to go along a trade route across Najd to Iraq Furat
bin Haiyan was appointed as a guide for the caravan Safwan bin
Omaiyah led the caravan along the new route News of the meeting
leaked out through Na im bin Mas ud Al Ashja i under the effect of
wine and it flew fast to Madinah by Sulit bin An Nu man The Prophet
r j ui immediately mustered 100 horsemen under the leadership of
Zaid bin Harithah Al Kalbi and despatched them to intercept and capture
the caravan They caught up with the camels at a place called Al Qardah 
They took the polytheists by surprise and arrested their guide and two
other men SafWan and his guards fled away without showing the least
resistance The caravan was carrying silver and wares whose value
amounted to 100 thousand dirhams The booty was distributed among
the Muslim warriors after one fifth had been set aside for the Prophet
 J Furat bin Haiyan embraced Islam out of his own sweet free
As a result of this episode the Muslims foiled Quraish s plans to find
a new trade route The economic siege laid to Makkah was thus
consolidated and had a great impact on the mercantile economy of
Makkah The Makkans were terribly anxious and worried about their
prospects of life now at stake with no hope whatsoever for any possible
rehabilitation of commercial life or redemption of former prestige at the
socio political level except through two avenues categorically
contrasting Relinquishing all symbols of arrogance and all attitudes of
haughtiness through reconciliation with the new status quo and
peaceableness with the Muslims or launching a decisive overwhelming
war with the aim of crushing down the military forces of Madinah It was
apparent through the process of events that Quraish had opted for the
second alternative Loud cries were being heard everywhere in Makkah
demanding immediate vengeance and quick retaliatory action These
movements on all levels constituted the direct preliminaries to the battle
Cl Ibn Hisham 1 50 51 Fiqh As Seerah p 190 Rahmat ul lU alameen 2 219 
The Battle of Uhud
The defeat at Badr was an ignominy which the Quraishites pride could
not leave unavenged Revenge was therefore the catchword all over
Makkah The Makkans even forbade lamenting over their murdered people 
or ransoming their captives at Badr Battle lest the Muslims should realize
the grave degree of sadness and feeling of tragedy they were experiencing 
In the wake of Badr event Quraish was in common consent and started
fresh preparations to launch an overall war against the Muslims in order to
restore their blemished prestige and wounded pride The most enthusiastic
polytheists desiring to go into a new battle were Ikriipah bin Abi Jahl 
Safwan bin Omaiyah Abu Sufyan bin Harb and Abdullah bin Abi Rabi a 
They were determined to crush the commonwealth of Islam once and for all 
Emissaries were sent to all the tribes to make common cause against the
rising Faith As a consequence of this they managed to enlist the support of
two well known tribes Kinana and Tihamah besides some desert bedouins
Ahabish It was also decided that the profits of the escaped caravan headed
by Abu Sufyan which amounted to 1000 camels and 50 thousand Dinars 
should be devoted for providing equipment to the army The Noble Qur an
has alluded to this decision of theirs in the following words 
 Verily those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder men 
from the path of Allah and so will they continue to spend it but
in the end it will become an anguish for them Then they will be
overcomed 8 36 
They also devised other ways of recruitment including hiring poets to
entice the tribes into fighting the Muslims Safwan bin Omaiyah allured
Abu Azza the poet to work in this context in return for riches after the war
or supporting his daughters if killed Incidentally this poet was prisoner of
war in the context of the Badr events in the hands of the Muslims and the
Prophet fi j 4 _bi jj was gracious enough to release him unransomed
provided he would not engage in fight against him 
Abu Sufyan nursed the most grudge against Muslims because he had lost
most of his supplies in As Sawiq invasion let alone the heavy economic
losses that Quraish had sustained in the aftermath of the events that featured
the platoon of Zaid bin Harithah 
In the light of these successive failures Quraish precipitated and
accelerated their preparations for a decisive battle with the Muslims At the
turn of the year everything was ready for the move The Makkans also
decided to take their women along with them for they might arouse them to
fight manfully Thus a contingent of three thousand pitched warriors of
whom seven hundred were mailed soldiers and two hundred well mountedP 
cavalry with three thousand camels and fifteen women marched towards
Madinah The general leader was Abu Sufyan bin Harb the cavalry under
the leadership of Khalid bin Al Waleed assisted by Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl 
and Bani Abd Ad Dar were entrusted with the flag 
Old deep seated feelings of hatred with heart based grudge enveloped
the whole process foreshadowing bitter bloody revenge instigated fighting
between the two parties 
Meanwhile Al Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib was closely watching the
military movements and preparations for war and these were all included in
an urgent message sent by him to Prophet w who received it while
he was in Quba Mosque Ubai bin Ka b read the letter to the Prophet
r j who asked him to be reticent with respect to its serious contents 
He hurried back to Madinah convened a meeting with the Helpers and
Emigrants and conducted with them serious consultations as regards the
measures to be taken 
The whole of Madinah was put on the alert and all men were heavily
armed even during prayer in anticipation of any emergency A group of
Helpers volunteered to guard the Prophet and kept watchful eye
all night at his door amongst whom there were Sa d bin Mu adh Usaid bin
Hudair and Sa d bin Ubadah Lest they should be taken by surprise armed
groups of the Madinese began to police the entrances and roads leading to
the city To reconnoitre the movements of the polytheists Muslim platoons
began to patrol the routes for any probable enemy raids 
PI Zfid Al Ma ad 2 92 Fath Al Bari 7 346 
The Makkan army on the other hand continued the march along the
usual western road On reaching Al Abwa Hind bint Utbah Abu Sul yan s
wife suggested that they dig up the grave of the Prophet u s
mother but the leaders of the army refused to do so for fear of the
consequent results The army then followed Wadi Al Aqeeq and turned
right to encamp themselves at a place called Ainain near Uhud Mountain 
That was on Friday 6th Shawwal 3 A H 
A Consultation Assembly for a Defence Plan 
The scouting party ofMadinah conveyed the news of the Makkan army
step by step Then the Messenger of Allah held a head military
consultation assembly to exchange views about the situation He told them
about a dream he had He said By Allah I have dreamt of I implore
Allah to be a dream of bounty cows slaughtered and that there was a
groove at the pointed top of my sword and that I had inserted my hand into
an immune armour 
The interpretation of the cows was that some of his men were killed 
and the groove at the pointed top of his sword was that a member of his
House would be hurt As for the armour it was Madinah Then he offered a
suggestion that his Companions should not go out ofMadinah and that they
should encamp themselves within the city He was of the opinion that the
enemies should be left in the open to exhaust themselves and thus the
Muslims would not risk a battle But if they thought of attacking Madinah 
Muslim men would be ready to fight them at the mouths of lanes whereas
Muslim women would help from over the house roofs Abdullah bin Ubai
bin Salul the head of the hypocrites who attended the meeting as a chief
of Al Khazraj supported the Prophet s plan 
As a matter of fact his agreement was not based on the righteousness of
the plan but rather on personal benefit He did not want to fight On the
contrary he secretly aimed at being far away from fight However it was
Allah s Will that he should be disclosed and disgraced in public for the
first time It was His Will that the curtain which concealed their disbelief
behind should be uncovered and pulled down Allah s Will enabled the
Muslims to recognize the reality of those snakes that were creeping within
their garments and inside the sleeves of their clothes Thanks to Allah they
recognized them in one of the most critical times of their lives 
Some of the best honourable Companions who had missed Al Jihad in
Badr invasion suggested that the Prophet uji should go out of
Madinah and urged him to accept their point of view One of them said O 
Messenger of Allah v 4 for long time we have been looking forward
to this day and we have implored Allah to make such a day draw near 
Thanks to Allah it is time to fight So let us go out and fight our enemies lest
they should think that we have lost heart and do not dare to fight them 
Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib the paternal uncle of the Prophet 411
who had already covered the ornaments of his sword with idolaters blood
in Badr Battle was ahead of those enthusiastics who urged him to go out
and meet the disbelievers He said to the Prophet 4 j By Allah 
Who has sent the Book down unto you I will not taste food till I fight them
with my sword outside Madinah 
After weighing carefull the pros and cons of the issue it was decided that
the enemy should be resisted outside the city at Uhud 
Dividing the Islamic Army into Phalanxes and Departure to the Battle 
Ascending the pulpit at the Friday congregational prayer the Prophet
 JL u uii urged the people in his sermon to fight courageously If you
remain steadfast he said you will be helped by the Power of the All 
Mighty Then he commanded his men to make ready for the battle Most of
them rejoiced greatly 
He led the afternoon prayer with crowds of people Then he entered his
house accompanied by his two friends Abu Bakr and Umar They helped
him dress and wear his headcloth He armed himself and wore two armours
one over the other He wore his sword and went out to meet people 
People were waiting for him impatiently Sa d bin Mu adh and Usaid bin
Hudair blamed people for pressing on the Prophet 4 411 They said 
 You have forced the Messenger of Allah jl v 4 m to fight the enemy
outside Madinah Therefore they were determined to leave the whole
matter to the Prophet 4 411 l and blamed themselves for what they had
already done When the Prophet Jl uji came out they said O
 As Seerah Al Halabiyah 2 14 
Messenger of Allah we should have not disagreed with you So you are
free to do what you desire If you prefer to stay inside Madinah we will stay
with you Upon this the Messenger of Allah ui remarked It does
not become a Prophet that once he had put on armour he should take it off 
until Allah has decided between him and the enemy 1 1
The Prophet jii divided his army into three battalions 
1 Al Muhajireen battalion under the command of Mus ab bin
 Umair Al Abdari 
2 Al Ansari Aws battalion was commanded by Usaid bin Hudair 
3 Al Ansari Khazraj battalion with Al Hubab bin Al Mundhir to lead
The army consisted of a thousand fighters a hundred of them armoured 
another fifty horsemen Pl He appointed Ibn Umm Maktum to lead the
people in prayer in Madinah Departure was announced and the army moved
northwards with the two Sa ds who were armoured running in front of the
Upon passing along Al Wada mountain trail he saw a well armed
battalion which were detached from the main body of the army The
Prophet j j uji j inquired who they were and he was told that they were
Jews and were allies of Al Khazraj They told him that they wanted to
contribute to the fight against the idolaters Have they embraced
Islam The Prophet asked No they said So he refused
admitting them and said that he would not seek the assistance of
disbelievers against the idolaters 
Parading the Army 
As soon as he reached a location called Ash Shaikhan he paraded his
army He dismissed those whom he considered to be disabled or too young
to stand the fight Among them were Abdullah bin Umar bin Al Khattab 
Usama bin Zaid Usaid bin Zaheer Zaid bin Thabit Zaid bin Arqam Araba
bin Aws Amr bin Hazm Abu Sa eed Al Khudri Zaid bin Haritha
PI Quoted by Ahmad Nasa i Hakim and Ibn Ishaq 
PI Al Huda 2 92 
Al Ansari Sa d bin Habba and Al Bara bin Azib Sahih Al Bukhari
pointed out that he had shared in the fight that day 
The Messenger of Allah ui allowed both Rafi bin Khadaij and
Samura bin Jundub to join the army though they were too young The
former proved to be skillful at shooting arrows the latter wrestled the
former and beat him The admission of Rafi made Samura say I am
stronger than him I can overcome him When the Prophet ju heard
this saying he ordered them to wrestle They did Samura won so he was
Passing the Night between Uhud and Madinah 
As night fell upon them there they performed both the sunset and the
evening prayers and spent the night there as well Fifty people were chosen
to guard the camp and go round it Muhammad bin Maslama Al Ansari the
hero of the brigade of Ka b bin Al Ashraf was in charge of the guards 
Whereas Dhakwan bin Abd Qais undertook the responsibility of guarding
the Prophet i in particular 
The Rebellion of Abdullah bin Ubai and his Followers 
At the end of the night and just before it was daybreak the Prophet
ft ui moved and when he got to Ash Shawt he observed the dawn prayer 
There he was close enough to the enemy that they could see one another It
was there that Abdullah bin Ubai the hypocrite rebelled against the
Muslims One third of the army withdrew with him that is to say three
hundred fighters He said We do not know why we shall kill ourselves 
He claimed that his withdrawal was no more than showing protest against
the Messenger of Allah who had already refused his opinion and
accepted that of the others 
Undoubtedly that was not the real cause of his detachment If it had been
the refusal of his opinion as the hypocrite claimed there would have
no sense whatsoever for his joining the Prophetic army If it had been so he
would have refused to go out with the army from the very beginning of the
march As a matter of fact the real purpose of this rebellion withdrawal and
detachment at this delicate and awkward position and time was to
produce bewilderment confusion of mind and disorder in the Muslims
army who were within the sight and hear range of the enemy who were also
looking forward to seeing more and more dissension on the side of the
Muslims like themselves They also aimed at breaking the high morale of
the believers That would accelerate in their opinion the breakdown
and consequently the death of Muhammad his faithful Companions and
Islam as a whole The way would then be clear for the reclaim of
presidency which that hypocrite had lost on the advent of Islam into
Short of Allah s Care the hypocrite s plot would have been successful 
Banu Haritha of Al Aws and Banu Salama of Al Khazraj were partially
impressed by the hypocrite s behaviour Both of them were overwhelmed by
confusion and they had almost started to withdraw but Allah s Care saved
them from that disgrace About their incident Allah says 
 When two parties from among you were about to lose their
heart but Allah was their Wall Supporter and Protector And
in AMh should the believers put their trust 3 122 
 Abdullah bin Haram the father of Jabir bin Abdullah attempted to
stop their withdrawal He reminded the hypocrites of their duty at this
delicate and awkward condition but in vain He followed them reproached
them and urged them to go back saying Come and fight in the way of
Allah or at least be defenders They said If we had known that you would
really fight we would have not gone back Having despaired of them he
addressed them saying May Allah cast you away you enemies of Allah 
Allah will certainly suffice His Prophet Allah says about those hypocrites 
 And that He might test the hypocrites it was said to them 
 Come fight in the way of Allah or at least defend yourselves 
They said Had we known that fighting will take place we
would certainly have followed you They were that day nearer
to disbelief than to Faith saying with their mouths what was not
in their hearts And Allah has fall knowledge of what they
conceal 3 167 
The Remainder of the Islamic Army are on the Move to Uhud 
With the remainder of fighters the Messenger of Allah jl an moved
towards the enemy After the rebellion and withdrawal of the hypocrites the
number of soldiers was reduced to seven hundred only 
The camp of idolaters was situated in such a place that the many roads
leading to Uhud were almost blocked by them So the Messenger of Allah
 jUj jii said to his men Which man of you can lead us to where the
people i e the idolaters are along a short track that does not pass by
them Abu Khaithama said O Messenger of Allah anj I am the
man you need Then he chose a short track that led to Uhud passing by
Harrah Bani Harithah and their farms leaving the idolaters army
On their way they passed by Ha it i e the field of Marba bin Qaizi 
who was a blind hypocrite When Marba felt and realized that they were
the Prophetic army he started throwing earth at their faces so they rushed
to kill him but the Prophet jl an jl said 
 j apt IJ4 ojJs2lV 
 Do not kill him He is blind in heart and eyes 
The Messenger of Allah un went along till climbed down the
hillock of Uhud at the slope of the valley He camped there with his army
facing Madinah while their backs were to the hills of Uhud mountain So the
army of the enemy stood a barrier between the Muslims and Madinah 
The Defence Plan 
The Messenger of Allah un mobilized his army He arranged
them into two rows to prepare them for fight He selected fifty skillful
archers that formed a squad and made them under the command of
 Abdullah bin Jubair bin An Nu man Al Ansari Al Awsi Al Badri He
issued his orders to them to stay where they were on a mountain side at
the south bank of Qanat Al Wadi i e a canal of the valley south east of
Muslims camp at about one hundred and fifty metres from the Islamic army 
Later on this mountain was called the Mountain of Archers 
The Messenger of Allfih jL j i j clarified the mission of this squad in
words he directed to them He said to their leaden Drive off the horses
from us by means of arrows lest they should attack us from behind the
rear Whether we win the battle or lose it stand steadily in your position
and mind that we are not attacked from your side 
He added __ f
 Defend our backs If you see us slain Do not come to assist us 
and if you see gaming grounds do not share us Pl
In a version by Al Bukhari the Prophet iji said 
 J j lii I jU Uj h 01 
 If you see us snatched into pieces by birds do not leave this
position of yours till I send for you And if you see that we have
defeated the enemy and trodden on them do not desert your
position till I send for you Pl
With the assignment of this squad and locating it on the mountainside
and the issuance of those strict military orders the Messenger of Allah
 0 blocked the only groove that might lead the idolaters stealthily to
the rear of Muslim ranks and might even enable them to encircle them in an
The assignments of posts and responsibilities for the rest of the army
were performed by the Prophet j as follows On the right wing he
appointed Al Mundhir bin Amr On die left he appointed Az Zubair bin
Al Awwam and made Al Miqdad bin Al Aswad his assistant and
ID ibn Hisham 2 65 66 
m Fath Al Bari 7 350 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari the Book of Jihad 1 426 
supporter Az Zubair s function was to standfast in the face of Khalid bin
Al Waleed s horsemen The Messenger of Allah 411 selected the top
and the most courageous group to be in the vanguard of the army They
were notable for their readiness alertness and bravery and estimated to be
equal to thousands of men 
It was a wise and carefully laid plan which revealed the genius of
military leadership that the Prophet 411 possessed No other leader
could have drawn a more accurate or wise plan Although he approached the
site later than the enemy he managed to occupy better positions He made
the rocky mountainside to function as shield for the army s rear and right
flank He was able by blocking the only vulnerable gap on the side to 
provide additional maximum protection for the rear as well as the left wing 
For fear of possible defeat and to deter the Muslims from fleeing in which
case they would fall easy prisoners in the hands of the enemy he chose a
high place for encampment Moreover a strategic site of this sort would
surely inflict heavy losses on the polytheists if they thought of approaching
or occupying his positions In a further step he reduced the enemy to a
narrow scope of choice when they were cornered for encampment in
geographically low positions that would avail them nothing of the benefits
of any possible victory at the same time they would not be able to escape
the pursuit of the Muslims in case victory sided with the latter To make up
for the quantitative shortage in fighting personnel he chose a picked body
of fighters to stand at the front 
The army of the Prophet u 411 was thus fully mobilized on Shawwal
7th 3 A H 
The Messenger of Allah implants the Spirit of Bravery
among his Armed Forces 
The Messenger of Allah ui forbade the Muslims to start the fight
without having an order from him He then wore two armours a front
armour and a back one He urged his Companions to fight and spurred them
to show stamina and steadfastness at fight He started to implant the spirit of
boldness and bravery in them To wage and inflame his Companions and in
order to standfast in the fight he took a sharp sword held it in his hand and
called out unto his Companions and said Who is ready to take this sword
and give it its proper due Many a man set out to take it Some of them
were Ali bin Abi Talib Az Zubair bin Al Awwam and Umar bin
Al Khattab But it was granted to none Abu Dujana Sammak bin Kharsha
inquired O Messenger of AMh what is its price The Prophet 1 1 
said It is to strike the enemy s faces with it till it wias bent So Abu
Dujana said O Messenger of Allah I will take it for that price and he was
given the sword 
Abu Dujana was a man of courage who used to swagger at war He had a
red band which he wore round his head Whenever he was head banded
everybody knew that he was determined to fight to death Therefore as soon
as Abu Dujana took the Prophet an ju s sword he banded his head and
started strutting amongst the fighters 
Watching him doing that the Messenger of Allah an said This
is a sort of walking that Allah detests except in such a situation 
Recruitment of the Makkan Army 
The idolaters applied the rows system in the mobilization of their army 
The general leadership of the army was entrusted to Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin
Harb who would be in the centre position of the army Khalid bin
Al Waleed was on the right wing whereas Ikrima the son of Abu Jahl was
on the left Safwan bin Omaiya was in charge of infantry men The archers
were under the command of Abdullah bin Abi Rabi a 
As for the standard a squad of Bani Abd Ad Dar were in charge to bear
it Thus was the distribution of the posts of the army ever since Abd Munaf
had already assigned them This assignment had been inherited from Qusai
bin Kilab as we have previously alluded to in an early phase of this book 
No one had the right to compete them with it It was consistent with their
traditions that they had inherited from their ancestors 
Abu Sufyan the general leader reminded his men the standard
bearers of what had happened to Quraish on Badr Day i e battle when
their standard bearer An Nadr bin Al Harith was captured In an attempt to
wage their anger and enmity to the Muslims he said O Bani Abd Ad Dar 
You have been assigned bearers of our standard and you know that the
standard is the first thing that the enemy attacks Should it fall we fall down
too Therefore I say either you guarantee its safety or leave it for us and we
will certainly suffice you that task 
Abu Sufyan s attempt seemed to be fruitful For his speech made Bani
 Abd Ad Dar so extremely angry that they threatened him and almost
attacked him for that Addressing him they said You want us to deliver
you the custodianship of the standard Tomorrow when we fight them you
will witness our deeds As a matter of fact they fought bravely and
stoodfast in defence of the standard till they were all killed 
Political Manoeuvres of Quraish 
A little time before the break out of the battle Quraish made some
endeavours to sow the seeds of discord and dispute among the Muslims 
First Abu Sufyan sent to the Helpers a message saying Leave us alone to
fight our cousins and do not interfere If you stand aside we will not fight
you for fighting you is not a target of ours But that attempt proved to be
fruitless What could such a wicked scheme do to those whose Faith was as
solid and firm as mountains The Helpers reply was undoubtedly
disappointing and contrary to Abu Sufyan s expectations 
The zero hour was due The two parties drew nearer Undespaired by the
first failure Quraish made another attempt for the same purport but now
with the assistance of a traitor called Abu Amir Al Fasiq whose name was
 Abd Amr bin Saifi He was called a monk but the Messenger of All h
4 u 4_ui nicknamed him Al Fasiq i e perverted transgressor dissolute 
As he was the head of Aws in Al Jahiliya he could not tolerate Islam when
it came He announced his enmity to the Messenger of All h in
public He left Madinah for the Quraishites in Makkah to rally them against
the Messenger of Allah and to urge them to start the fight against
him He claimed that he was obeyed and esteemed by his people and that as
soon as they saw him come they would join him immediately 
So he was the first one among the mob and slaves of Quraish to show
resistance He called out unto his people recognized them and said O
kinfolk of Aws I am Abu Amir Their reply was No eyes of anybody
shall be consoled by viewing you O Fasiq Hearing them say so he said 
 My people must have been afflicted by an evil after my departure 
Therefore when the fight broke out he fought them fiercely and pelted his
people with stones as well 
That was how the second attempt of Quraish to sow the seeds of discord
among people of Faith This however revealed the great terror of the
Quraishites cast in their hearts in spite of their supremacy in number and
The effort of Quraishite Women at waging the Zeal of Men 
Quraishi women participated in the battle led by the wife of Abu Sufyan 
Hind bint Utbah They wandered among the rows of the idolaters tapped
on tambourines encouraged men to fight inflamed the emotions of heroes 
lancers swordsmen and brave fighters At one time they addressed the
 O Bani Abd Ad Dar 
O home defenders 
Strike with your sharp swords 
And at another time they would wage people s zeal by singing 
 If you fight bravely we will embrace
and unfold mats to welcome you 
But if you flee from the battlefield we leave you 
Desert you and no more love you 
The two parties approached and grew very close to each another The
phases of fight started The first combatant was the standard bearer Talha
bin Abi Talha Al Abdari who was the most distinguished idolater He was
one of the bravest men of Quraish fighters Muslims nicknamed him the
ram of the battalion He came forth riding a camel and challenged the
Muslims to a single combat People refrained from fighting him due to his
bravery but Az Zubair bin APAwwam advanced for the fight He did not
give die Ram any chance to fight but fell on him like a lion on his camel s
back pulled him down to the ground and slaughtered him with his sword 
The Messenger of Allah fL u who was watching that wonderful
incident exclaimed Alldhu Akbar that is Allah is the Greatest and the
Muslims exclaimed Alldhu Akbar too He praised Az Zubair when he said 
 Every Prophet has a disciple and Az Zubair is a disciple of
Soon the general engagement nsued and the fight of the two parties
grew fierce everywhere on the battlefield The strain of the fight was
centred round the carriers of the standard After the death of their leader
Talha bin Abi Talha Banu Abd Ad Dar alternated the mission
successively Talha s brother Uthman ran forward and seized the standard
which lay by the lifeless body of his brother chanting The standard bearer
has the right to dye its shaft in blood till it be beaten in his hand Hamzah
bin Abdul Muttalib attacked and dealt him a blow that cut his arm and
shoulder and went down to his navel to uncover his lung 
The standard was raised up again by Abu Sa d bin Abi Talha but Sa d
bin Abi Waqqas shot him with a deadly arrow that hit him at his throat and
made his tongue hang out breathing his last 
In another version it was narrated that Abu Sa d lifted the standard up
and challenged the Muslims to fight him Ali bin Abi Talib went forth 
They exchanged two blows Then Ali gave him a terminal blow that
finished him off 
Musafi bin Talha bin Abi Talha then hoisted the standard but was soon
shot with an arrow by Asim bin Thabit bin Abi Al Aqlah His brother Kilab
bin Talha bin Abi Talha followed him picked the banner and lifted it up but
Az Zubair bin Al Awwam attacked him and managed to kill him Their
brother Al Jallas bin Talha bin Abi Talha lifted the banner up but Talha bin
 Ubaidu Allah stabbed him to death They also said that it was Asim bin
Thabit who managed to deal a terminal blow to him 
All those six people killed round and in defence of the standard 
belonged to one house the house of Abi Talha Abdullah bin Uthman bin
 Abd Ad Dar Another man from Bani Abd Ad Dar called Artat bin
Sharhabeel carried the standard but he also was killed by Ali bin Abi Talib 
Others said it was Hamzah who killed him not Ali 
Then it was Shuraih bin Qariz who was killed by Quzman he was a
hypocrite who fought for prestige only not in defence of Islam Abu Zaid
PI As Seerah Al Halabiyah 2 18 
 Amr bin Abd Munaf Al Abdari lifted the standard up but he was killed by
Quzman too A son of Sharhabeel bin Hashim Al Abdari hoisted it again
and was also killed by Quzman 
 So we see that ten fighters of Bani Abd Ad Dar the standard bearers
were annihilated Seeing that none of Abd Ad Dars survived to carry the
standard a slave of theirs called Sawab came to raise it The slave
showed more admirable sorts of bravery and steadfastness than his former
masters Sawab the slave went on fighting till his hand was cut off So he
knelt down and embraced the banner leant it against his chest and neck lest
it should fall down to the ground He remained fighting steadily and
steadfastly till he was killed In the meanwhile he did not stop saying O
AllSh have I been excused After the death of the slave Sawab the
standard fell down to the ground and remained there as there was no one to
Whilst the brunt of the battle centred around the standard bitter fighting
was going on everywhere on the battlefield The spirit of Faith
overwhelmed the Muslims ranks so they rushed among the idolaters as if
they had been an outbreak of a destructive flood that overflowed and
knocked down all dams and barriers standing in its way I seek death I seek
death That was their announced motto on Uhud Day 
Abu Dujana recognized by the red band worn round his head came
forth fighting with the sword of the Messenger of Allah an ju He was
determined to pay its price at all costs He killed all the idolaters that stood
on his way splitting and dispersing their ranks Az Zubair bin Al Awwam
 I felt angry and discouraged when the Messenger of Allah i w ju
refused to give me the sword but gave it to Abu Dujana I said to myself I
am his paternal cousin the cousin of his aunt Safiya a Quraishite 
besides I was the first who demanded it and yet he favoured him to me By
Allah I will watch how he will use it So I followed him I saw him take
out his red band and wear it round his head Seeing him like that the
Helpers said Abu Dujana had worn the band of death Then he set out
 I am the one whom my intimate friend made covenant with 
when we were under the palm trees on the mountain side 
The covenant that we made was that I should not fight at the
But fight at the front heroically with the sword of Allah and His
No one stood die way of Abu Dujana but was killed There was a man
among the idolaters whose only target was to finish off the wounded
Muslims During the fight Abu Dujana drew near that man so I implored
Alhih that they might engage in combat They in fact did and exchanged two
sword strokes The idolater struck Abu Dujana but he escaped it and it
pierced into his leather shield The idolater s sword now stuck to it Abu
Dujana struck him with the sword and killed him Into the thick of the
battle he rushed to kill a person who was inciting the enemy to fight the
Muslims Upon this the person shrieked and lo it was a woman Abu
Dujana spared her saying I respect the Prophet in j s sword too
much to use it on a woman The woman was Hind bint Utbah 
Describing the same incident Az Zubair bin Al Awwam said I saw
Abu Dujana raising a sword over the parting part of Hind bint Utba s head
then he moved it off I said to myself Allah and His Messenger know
best i e know why he acted like thatj PJ 
Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib displayed wonderful feats of gallantry
against the overwhelming odds which stood unparalled and created
consternation and confusion in the disbelieving hosts Heroes dispersed off
his way as if they had been tree leaves blown away by strong wind In
addition to his effective contribution to the annihil ation of the idolaters who
stood in defence of the standard he was even of much greater effect at
fighting against men of bravery and distinguished horsemen It was Allah s
Will that he be murdered when he was at the top He was not killed in a
face to face fight on the battlefield in die normal way by which heroes
die but rather assassinated in the dead dark as was the custom of killing
generous and noble men that were impossible to kill in an honourable fight 
t l Ibn Hisham 2 68 69 
PI ibid 2 69 
Assassination of AsadnUfih the Lion of Allah Hamzah bin Abdul
Hamzah s assassin Wahshi bin Harb described how he killed Hamzah 
 I was a slave working to Jubair bin Mut im whose paternal uncle
Tu aimah bin Adi was injured at Badr Battle So when Quraish marched to
Uhud Jubair said to me If you kill Hamzah the uncle of Muhammad 
stealthily you shall be manumi tted 
 So I marched with the people to Uhud He used to describe himself as 
 I am a picaro good at spearing So when the two parties fought I set out
seeking Hamzah I saw him amidst people fighting He was like a white and
black striped camel striking severely with his sword and no one could stand
on his way By Allah When I was getting ready and trying to seize the fit
opportunity to spear him hiding sometimes behind a tree or a rock hoping
that he might draw nearer and be within range at that moment I caught
sight of Siba bin Abd Al Uzza going closer towards him When Hamzah
observed him he said Come on O son of the clitoris cutter for his
mother used to be a circumciser Then he struck one strong stroke that could
hardly miss his head 
Wahshi said Then I balanced my spear and shook it till I was content
with it then I speared him and it went down into his stomach and issued out
between his legs He attempted moving towards me but he was overcome by
his wound I left him there with the spear in his entrails till he died Then I
came to him pulled out my spear and returned to the encampment place I
stayed there and did not go out for he was the only one I sought I only
killed him to free myself So as soon as I got back to Makkah I became a
free man 1 
Bringing the Situation under Control 
Although the death of Asad Lion of Allah and His Messenger 
Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib was a great loss the Muslims maintained
full control over the whole situation on the battlefield On that day Abu
Bakr Umar bin Al Khattab Ali bin Abi Talib Az Zubair bin
1 Dm Hisham 2 69 72 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 583 
Al Awwam Mus ab bin Umair Talha bin Ubaidullih Abdullah bin
Jahsh Sa d bin Ar Rabi and Anas bin An Nadr and others all of them
fought so fiercely effectively and efficiently that they broke the strong will
of the idolaters and scattered them 
From his Wife s lap to Sword fights and Sorrows 
One of the brave adventurers of that day was Hanzala Al Ghaseel He
was Hanzala bin Abu Amir Abu Amir was the very monk that was
nicknamed Al Fasiq i e the dissolute evildoer He is the very one that
we have recently mentioned Hanzala who was newly married left his
wife s bed iotAl Jihad Fight in the cause of Allah He set out the moment
he heard of the call to Al Jihad When he faced the idolaters on the
battlefield he made his way through their ranks till he reached their leader
Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb and had almost killed him if he had not been
ordained to be a martyr For at that moment he was seen by Shaddad bin
Al Aswad who struck him to death 
The Contribution of the Archers Squad to the Battle 
The archers squad whom the Messenger of Allah Jl located on
the Archers Mountain had the upper hand in administering the war
activities to go in favour of the Muslim army The Makkan horsemen 
commanded by Khalid bin Al Waleed supported by Abu Amir Al Fasiq 
had for three times attacked the left wing of the Muslim army with the aim
of crushing it and then infiltrating into the rear to create a sort of confusion
and disorder in the ranks of the Muslims and subsequently inflict heavy
defeat on them But thanks to the dexterity and great efforts of the archers 
the three assaults were thwarted 1 
War activities went on and on fiercely with the Muslims in full command
of the whole military developments until the idolaters finally staggered and
retreated leaving all motives of alleged pride and affected dignity in
oblivion and their standard trodden by the feet of the fighters with none
ever courageous enough to approach it It seemed as if the three thousand
idolaters had been fighting thirty thousand Muslims and not merely several
I 1 Fath Al Bari 7 346 
Ibn T haq gaid Then Allah sent down His Help unto the Muslims and
verified His Promise to them They chased the idolaters and evacuated them
from their camp No doubt it was a certain defeat In a version by
 A bdullah bin Az Zubair that his father had said By Allah I was watching
die servants of Hind bint Utbah and her women friends fleeing with their
garments gathered up No one was there to prevent us from capturing
In another version by Al BarS bin Azib mentioned in Sahih
Al Bukhari he said When we fought them they fled and their women
could be seen fleeing in the mountains with their anklets and legs
revealed P1 The Muslims pursued the enemies putting them to sword and
collecting the spoils 
The Archers Fatal Mistake 
While the small army of Islam were recording the second absolute and
clear victory over the Makkans which was no less in splendour and glory
than the first one at Badr the majority of the archers on the mountainside
pn mm ittpH a fetal mistake that turned the whole situation upside down and
constituted a source of heavy losses amongst the Muslims It has almost
brought about die murder of the Prophet and left a very bad
impression on the fame and dignity they deservedly earned at Badr Battle 
We have already spoken about the positive orders given to the archers to
hold on to their position whatever the course of the main engagement In
spite of those strict orders and their leader s Abdullah bin Jubair
warning forty archers deserted their posts enticed by the too soon roar of
victory as well as worldly avarice for the spoils of war P The others 
however nine in nunber and Abdullah their leader decided to abide by the
Prophet fL j s enter and stay where they were until they were given
leave or kille d to the last Consequently the cleft was left inadequately
 Ibn Hisham 2 77 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 579 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 426 
The shrewd Khalid bin Al Waleed seized this golden opportunity to turn
swiftly round to the rear of the Muslim army and encompass Hum
Exterminating Ibn Jubair and his group they fell p romptly upon the rear of
the Muslims and his horsemen uttered a shout that si gnalle d the new
military developments The polytheists returned once again to counterattack
the Muslims An idolist woman called Umra bint Alqama
Al Harithiyah rushed to the lying on earth standard picked it up and
hoisted it The idolaters gathered together around the standard and called
out unto one another till they encircled the Muslims and stan dfast to fi ght
The Muslims consequently got entrapped between two millstones 
The Messenger of Allah _ui r L was then among a small group of
fighters nine in number at the rear of the armyt 1 watching die
engagement and braving the Muslim fighters Khalid and his men tonic him
by utter surprise and obliged him to follow either of two options 
a To flee for his life and abandon his army to its doomed end or
b To take action at the risk of his life ralfy the ranks of the Muslims
again and work their way through the hills of Uhud towards the
The genius of the Messenger of AMh r i j 4jN tr u his peerless and
matchless courage made him opt for die second course He raised his voice
calling out unto his Companions Slaves ofAlllh He did that though he
knew that his loud voice would be heard by die idolaters before it was heard
by the Muslims He called out unto diem risking his life in thin d e l icate
The idolaters indeed recognized him and reached his position even
before the other Muslims could do so 
The encompassment of the Muslims revealed three categories of people 
The first group were those who were only interested in themselves and they
went so mad that they fled They left the battlefield and did not know what
happened to the others Some of this group fled as far as Madinah Some
others went up the mountain 
1 Sahih Muslim 2 107 
The second Muslim group were those who returned to the battle but
mixed with the idolaters in such a way that they could not recognize one
another Consequently some of them were killed by mistake On the
authority of Al Bukhari he states that Aishah 4 said When it was
Uhud Battle the idolaters were utterly defeated Satan that called out O
slaves of Allah Beware the rear i e the enemy is approaching from
behind So those who were at the front turned back and fought the ones
who were behind 
Then Hudhaifah caught sight of his father Al Yaman about to be killed
by other Muslims So he said O servants of Allah Beware This is my
father This is my father Aishah 4 jh said But they did not part with
him till he was killed Hudhaifah then said May All h forgive you And
 Urwa said By Allah from that time on Hudhaifah has always been
blessed and wealthy till he died That was because he forgave them and
refused to take any blood money for his father s murder but recommended
that it be spent in charity 
This Muslim group suffered from great bewilderment and disorder
prevailed among them A lot of them got lost and did not know where to go 
 At this awkward time they heard someone calling Muhammad is killed 
This news made them even more bewildered and almost out of sense Their
morale broke down or almost did in a great number of individuals Some of
them stopped fighting slackened and cast down their weapons Others
thought of getting in touch with Abdullah bin Ubai the head of the
hypocrites and seeking his assistance to fetch them a security pledge
from Abu Sufyan 
Anas bin An Nadr passed by those people who were shuddering of fear
and panic and inquired What are you waiting for They said The
Messenger of Allah fi 4 u has been killed What do you live for after
Muhammad l u an Come on and die for what the Messenger of Allah
ft iju _m has died for Then he said O Allah I apologize for what these
people i e die Muslims have done and I swear disavowal of what the
idolaters have perpetrated Then he moved on till he was encountered by
Sa d bin Mu adh who asked him Where to Abu Umar Anas replied 
 Ah how fine the scent of the Paradise is I smell it here in Uhud He went
l l Sahih Al Bukhari 1 539 2 581 Fath Al Bari 7 351 362 363 
on and fought against the idolaters till he was killed Nobody but his sister
could recognize his dead body It had been cut and stabbed by over eighty
swords arrows or spears It was by the tip of his finger that she after die
battle recognized him 1 
Thabit bin Ad Dahdah called unto his people saying 
 O kinfolk of Helpers if M uhammad 4iM l u were killed Allah is
Everlasting and He never dies Fight in defence of your Faith Allah will
help you and so you will be victorious A group of Helpers joined him and
all set out and attacked a battalion of Khalid s horsemen He kept on
fighting till he and his friends were killed Pl
An Emigrant passed by a Helper who was besmeared by blood He said 
 O fellow Have you heard of Muhammad un ju s murder The
Helper answered If Muhammad u were killed then he must have
completed the delivery of the Message So fight in defence of your
With such boldness and encouragement the Mu slims soon recovered
their spirits came round to senses and desisted the idea of surrender or
contacting the hypocrite Abdullah bin Ubai They took up arms and
resumed the fight attempting to make way to the headquarters particularly
after the news of the Prophet s death had been falsified The glad
tidings nerved them and helped them to manage quite successfully the
break of the military blockade and concentrate their forces in an immune
place to resume a relentless and fierce fight against die polytheists 
The third group of Muslims were those who cared for nothing except the
Prophet 4 1 l At the head of them were notable Companions like Abu
Bakr Umar bin Al Khattab Ali bin Abi Talib and others an who
hastened to protect tire Prophet j j through unrivalled devotion 
As those groups of Muslims were receiving the blows of the idolaters and
resisting instantly the fight flared up around the Messenger of AllSh 
who had only nine people around him We have already mentioned that
I ZM Al Ma ad 2 93 96 Sahih Al Bukhan 2 579 
PI As Seerah Al Halabiyah 2 22 
PI ZM Al Ma ad 2 96 
when the idolaters started their encompassment there were only nine
persons around the Messenger of Allah and that as soon as he
called out unto the Muslims Come on I am the Messenger of Allah an 
fi j the idolaters heard his voice and recognized him So they turned
back and attacked him with all their power before any of his Companions
ran to his aid 
A violent raging struggle broke out between the nine Muslims and the
idolaters during which peerless sort of love self sacrifice bravery and
heroism were revealed 
Muslim on the authority of Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger
of Allah r L r 4 u4jN r u along with seven Helpers and two Emigrants was
c onfine d to a trap when the idolaters attacked him The Messenger of Allah
 u jn then said He who pushes back those idolaters will be housed
in Paradise or He will be my Companion in Paradise One of the Helpers
stepped forward and fought the idolaters in defence of the Prophet 1 1 
fL till he was killed Then they attacked the Messenger again 
The same process was repeated again and again till all die seven Helpers
were killed Then the Messenger of AllSh jii said to his two
Quraishite C omp anions We have not done justice to our Companions 1 
The last of those seven Helpers was Amara bin Yazeed bin As Sakan 
who kept on fi ghting till his wounds neutralized him and he fell dead 2 
The Most Awkward Hour in the Messenger s Life 
After the fell of Ibn Sakan the Messenger of Allah mi 111 remained
alone with only those two Quraishites In a version by Abu Uthman 
authorized in As Sahihain he said At that time there were none with the
Prophet except Talha bin Ubaidullah and Sa d bin Abi
Waqqas Pl That was die most awkward and dangerous hour for the Prophet
but it was a golden opportunity for the idolaters who promptly
took advantage of it They concentrated their attack on die Prophet jU
and looked forward to killing him 
S ahih Muslim 2 107 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 81 
P Sahih Al Bukhari 1 527 2 581 
 Utbah bin Abi Waqqas pelted him with stones One of the stones fell on
his face His lower right incisor Ruba iya i e the tooth that is between a
canine and a front tooth was injured His lower lip was wounded He was
also attacked by Abdullah bin Shihab Az Zuhri who cleaved his forehead 
 Abdullah bin Qami a Qami a means a humiliated woman who was an
obstinate strong horseman struck him violently on his shoulder wife his
sword and that stroke hurt fee Messenger of Allah for over a
month though it was not strong enough to break his two armours He
dealt a heavy blow on his cheek It was so strong that two rings of his iron 
ringed helmet penetrated into his holy cheek Take this stroke from me I
am Ibn Qami a He said while striking the Messenger wife his sword The
Messenger of Allah Jl uji replied while he was wiping fee blood
flowing on his face I implore Allah to humiliate you i e Aqma aka
Allah In Al Bukhari it is stated his incisor broke his head was cleaved and
that he started wiping fee blood off it and saying I wonder how can
people who cut the face of their Prophet and break the incisor of
his he who calls them to worship Allah How can such people thrive or
be successful About feat incident Allah Glory is to Him salt down a
Qur anic verse saying 
 Not for you O M uhammad jl but for All h is fee
decision whether He turns in mercy to pardons them or
punishes them verily they are fee Zalimun polytheists 
disobedients and wrong doers 3 128 P1
At Tabarani states that fee Prophet jL j said Allah s Wrath is
great on those who besmear fee face of His Messenger observed silence
for a short while and then resumed saying 
 j I J1 
 O Allah forgive my people for they have no knowledge 
t l Fath Al Bari 7 373 366 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 582 Sahib Muslim 2 108 
PI Fath Al Bari 7 373 
In Sahih Muslim it is stated that the Messenger of Allah ui said 
uV 4 jii 1 ij 
 My Lord forgive my people for they have no knowledge P 
In Ash Shifa a book by Ayad Al Qadi it is related that the Prophet
fU ui ju said 
 O Allah guide my people for they have no knowledge PI
It is quite certain that killing the Prophet was their primary
aim but the two Quraishites Sa d bin Abi Waqqas and Talha bin
 Ubaidullah who showed great and rare courage and fought so fiercely and
boldly that though they were only two were able to stop the idolaters
short of realizing their aim They were of the best skillful Arab archers and
kept on militating in defence of the Messenger of Allah 4 111 till the
whole squad of idolaters was driven off him j 
The Messenger of Allah 4 vi emptied his quiver of arrows and said
to Sa d bin Abi Waqqas Shoot an arrow Sa d May my father and mother
be sacrified for you PI The Prophet jji had never gathered his
parents except in the case of Sa d a privilege granted to him for his
In a version by Jabir authorized by An Nasa i concerning the
attitude of Talha bin Ubaidullah towards the gathering of idolaters around
the Messenger of Allah 4 vi when there were only some Helpers
with him Jabir said When the idolaters reached him the Messenger of
AllSh said Who will suffice us their evils i e fight them
back Talha said I will Then Jabir mentioned the advance of the
Helpers to fight and how they were killed one after the other in a similar
PI Sahih Muslim 2 108 
P Ash Shife 1 81 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 407 2 580 581 
M ibid 1 407 2 580 581 
way to Muslim s narration When all the Helpers were killed Talha
proceeded forward to fight as much as the other eleven ones did till his hand
was hurt and his fingers were cut off So he said Be they cut off The
Prophet jL j jui ju said If you had said In the Name of Allah the angels
would have raised you up before the people s very eyes Then he said 
 Allah drove the idolaters off them In Al Ikleel a book by Hakim 
it is stated that Talha had sustained thirty nine or thirty five wounds and his
fingers i e the forefinger and the one next to it got paralyzed Pl
In a version by Qais bin Abi Hazim authorized by Al Bukhari he
said I saw the hand of Talha paralyzed That was because he protected the
Prophet fi j di with it in Uhud Battle 3 
At Tirmidhi stated that the Prophet fL w then said about Talha He
who desires to see a martyr walking on the ground let him look at Talha bin
Abu Da ud At Tayalisi on the authority of Aishah _ui said 
 Whenever Uhud Day i e battle was mentioned Abu Bakr used to say 
 That was Talha s day i e battle 5 Abu Bakr recited a verse of poetry
about him O Talha bin Ubaidullah Paradise is due to you as water 
springs are due to deer to drink out of 6 At the awkward and most delicate
circumstances Allah Glory is to Him sent down His invisible Heljf In a
version by Sa d cleared and authorized in Sahih Al Bukhari and Muslim
 he said I saw the Messenger of Allah on Uhud Day with two
men dressed in white defending him fiercely I have never seen similar
to them neither before Uhud nor after it In another version He means to
say that they were Gabriel and Michael 7 
All those events happened in no time If the Prophet i s elite
Companions had realized the grave situation immediately they would have
 Fath al Bari 7 361 An Nasa i 2 52 53 
PI ibid 7 361 
 3 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 527 2 581 
I 4 Mishkat 2 566 Ibn Hisham 2 86 
1 1 Fath Al Bari 7 361 
I 6 Mukhtasar Tareekh Damishq 7 82 
I 7 S ahih Al Bukhari 2 580 
rushed on the spot and would not have left him sustain these wounds 
Unfortunately they got there after the Messenger of Allah ui ju had
been wounded and six of the Helpers killed the seventh was staggering
under the brunt of wounds and desperately militating in defence of the
Prophet jji j u However as soon as they arrived they encircled the
Messenger with their bodies and weapons and were alert enough to prevent
the enemies from reaching him The first one who returned to give help was
his cavemate Abu Bakr As Siddiq 111
In a version by Aishah ui jji recorded in Ibn Hibban s Sahih she
narrated that Abu Bakr had said 
 When it was Uhud Day and at the time that the Prophet ui ju was
left behind I was the first to go back and see him Before him I saw a man
fighting to shield him from the enemies I said to myself I wish he were
Talha Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you O Allah Let him be
Talha Let my parents be sacrificed for you On the way I was overtaken
by Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah who was then moving as swiftly as a bird 
We both rushed to dress the Prophet wounds There we found
Talha suffering from serious wounds before the Messenger of Allah ju
The Prophet u w j said See to your brother His deed entitled him for
an abode in Paradise I noticed that two rings of the iron ringed helmet had
penetrated his cheek So I set out to take them out but Abu Ubaidah
demanded By Allah O Abu Bakr I beseech you let me do it myself 
Fearing to hurt the Prophet jl jji he started pulling one of the two
rings out very slowly and carefully with his mouth Then he pulled the
arrow out by his mouth too Consequently his front tooth fell Then I
proceeded to pull the second out but Abu Ubaidah besought me to leave it 
 O Abu Bakr I adjure you by Allah to let me do it He pulled the second
ring very slowly and carefully with his mouth till it came out The
Messenger of Allah iw ju said See to your brother He has proved to
be worthy of being housed in Paradise We approached Talha to cure him
but found out that he had had some ten sword strokes in his body Pl This
showed how efficiently Talha had fought and struggled on that day 
At those awkward moments of that day a group of Muslim heroes
gathered around the Prophet v w forming a shield to protect him from
PI Zid Al Ma ad 2 95 
the idolaters Some of them were Abu Dujana Mus ab bin Umair Ali bin
Abi Talib Sahl bin Haneef Malik bin Sinan the father of Abu Sa id
Al Khudri Umm Amara Nusaiba bint Ka b Al Maziniya Qatada bin
An Nu man Umar bin Al Khattab Hatib bin Abi Balta a and Abu Talha 
The number of idolaters was steadily increasing and their attacks 
naturally got severer Their press had increased to an extent that the
Messenger of AllSh n j fell into one of the holes dug and designed
by Abu Amir Al Fasiq to be used as traps His knee scratched and Ali
helped him by grasping his hand up Talha bin Ubaidullah took him in his
lap till he could stand upright Nafi bin Jubair said I heard an Emigrant
say I have witnessed Uhud Battle and watched how arrows had been
hurled from all directions at the Prophet 1 i None of them however
hit him Abdullah bin Shihab Az Zuhri said Guide me to Muhammad j 
 j j u 4 jji By AllSh If I didn t kill him I would not hope to live Although
the Messenger of Allah j j u w was next to him alone but he did not
observe him Safwan a co polytheist of his blamed him for not translating
his words into deeds but Abdullah swore that he did not see him the
Prophet fL j ui jj and added that he might be immune to our attempts on
his life He also said that four of them pledged to make a fresh attempt and
kill him but also to no avail l
The Muslims showed unprecedented rare heroism and marvellous
sacrifices Abu Talha for instance shielded the Messenger of Allih
fi j u uii jU by his body and used his chest to protect him against the enemy
arrows Anas related that on Uhud Day when people dispersed off the
Prophet L ui u Abu Talhah was a skillful sort of archer who would pull
arrows so much that he broke two or three bows that day When a man
passed along with a quiver full of arrows the Prophet 1 1 would say 
 Spread the arrows to Abu Talhah Then when the Prophet 1 1 
watched people shooting Abu Talhah would say I sacrifice my father and
mother for your safety Do not go too close lest an arrow of theirs should hit
you I would rather die than see you hurt 2 
Abu Dujana stood before the Messenger of Allah 111 and used to
protect him from the arrows by his back Hatib bin Balta a followed Utbah
I 1 Zld Al Ma ad 2 97 
 2 Sahib Al Bukhari 2 581 
bin Abi Waqqas who broke the honourable incisor of the Prophet u
jL j uii struck him with the sword cracked his head and took his mare
and sword Sa d bin Abi Waqqas was so keen to kill his brother Utbah but
he could not however Hatib could 
Sahl bin Haneef a hero archer who had pledged to die in the cause
of Allah also played a prominent part in Uhud hostilities 
The Messenger of Allah uii himself was involved in shooting
arrows In a version by Qatadah bin An Nu man that the Messenger of
Allah fL j uii shot so many arrows that the two ends of his bow were
flattened So Qatadah bin An Nu man took it to remain with him for good 
On that day his eye was so hurt that it fell down onto his cheek but the
Messenger of All h vn uii reput it in its socket with his hand and it
became the better and the more sharp sighted of the two 
On that day Abdur Rahman bin Awf kept on fighting till his mouth was
hurt and got broken He sustained over twenty wounds some in his leg and
that lamed him 
Malik bit Sinan the father of Abi Sa eed Al Khudri sucked the blood out
of the Prophet ui u s cheek till he cleaned it The Prophet ui j 
said Spit it But Malik said By Allah I will never spit it Then he set
out to fight The Prophet jji then said He who wants to see a man
of the people of Paradise let him look at this one No sooner had he
resumed fighting than he was martyred in the thick of the battle 
Ti mm Amarah participated in die fight too She encountered Ibn Qami a
in combat and sustained a slight wound on her shoulder but she herself
also struck him with her sword several times but he survived because he
was wearing two armours She however went on striking until her wounds
Mus ab bin Umair in his turn fought fiercely and violently defending
the Prophet against die attacks of Ibn Qami a and his fellows He
was carrying the standard with his right hand In die process of fighting it
was cut off so he grabbed die standard in his left hand till this was also
amputated so he knelt down and shielded it with his chest and neck Ibn
Qami a then killed him mistaking him for the Messenger of Allah i 111 
fj on account of resemblance in appearance Only then did Ibn Qami a
shout Muhammad ju an has been killed HI
No sooner had Ibn Qami a uttered that ominous sentence than
consternation spread among Muhammad fa i 411 s followers and their
morale was drastically reduced Consequently confusion and a miserable
state of disorder prevailed amongst them Whilst the rumours managed to
adversely act amongst the Muslims it alleviated the sharp impact of the
assaults of the polytheists who came to believe that they did really achieve
their final objective and so they turned towards mutilating the dead bodies 
When Mus ab was killed the Messenger of Allah fa 411 delivered
the standard to Ali bin Abi Talib Ali in conjunction with the other
Companions went on fighting bravely and set marvellous examples of
heroism courage and endurance in both defence and attack 
Then the Messenger of Allah fa 411 fa made his way to his encircled
army Ka b bin Malik who was the first one to recognize the approaching
Prophet fi j an fa shouted as loudly as he could O folks of Muslims be
cherished The Messenger of Allah fa an fa is here But the Messenger
of Allah fa 4 ii fa signed to him to stop lest his position should be located
by the idolaters Upon hearing the shout the Muslims immediately raced
towards the source of the shout which brought about thirty Companions to
gather around the Prophet fi 1 411 With this assembled number of his
Companions the Messenger of Allah fa i 411 fa started drawing a planned
withdrawal to the hillocks nearby 
Hostilities of the enemy grew fiercer than ever with the aim of foiling the
plan of withdrawal of the Muslims Their attempts however proved to be
fruitless due to the heroic steadfastness of the lions of Islam 
 Uthman bin Abdullah bin Al Mugheerah one of the enemy
horsemen progressed towards the Messenger of Allah fa 411 fa while
saying Either I kill him i e Muhammad fa fa or I will be killed 
The Messenger of Allah fa 411 fa moved to encounter him but his mare
tripped into some holes So Al Harith bin As Simma combated with the
enemy and struck him on his leg so he went lame then he finished him off 
took his arm and overtook the Messenger of Allah fa 411 jl 
tl Ibn Hisham 2 73 80 83 Zid Al Ma ad 2 97 
a 58saS 1 2 3 
S iH A
The place where
Prophet 3g Wasi
C 1 S B UllMHm Hll ltll l
Way 0 f
bi w i ama
1 The way he adopted to reach the Prophet jj 
2 The way of the defeated ones ran to the foot of Uhud mountain after
3 The way of the defeated ones adopted towards Al Madinah after
But later on another Makkan horseman called Abdullah bin Jabir 
attacked Al Harith bin As Simma and struck him on the shoulder with his
sword and he was carried to the camp of the Muslims suffering from serious
wounds Anyway that very idolater did not escape death for Abu Dujana 
the red head banded hero and adventurer struck him heavily and cut his
During this bitter fight a desire to sleep overwhelmed the Muslims 
that was a security and tranquillity to help His slave Muslims as the Qur an
spoke in this context Abu Talhah said I was one of those who were
possessed by a desire to sleep on Uhud Day On that day my sword fell off
my hand several times Again and again it fell down and again and again I
picked it up l l
In a regular withdrawal and with great bravery and boldness the
M uslims finally retreated to the cover of Mountain Uhud Then the rest of
the army followed them to that safe position In this manner die genius of
M uhammad ut foiled that of Khalid bin Al Waleed 
Ibn Ishaq related that When the Messenger of Allah di was
going up the hillo ck he was followed by Ubai bin Khalaf who was saying 
 Where is M uhammad 411 jJ Either I kill him or I will be killed The
Companions of M uhammad 111 said O Messenger of Allah do you
mind if one of us combats with him But the Messenger of Allah
 j j said Leave him So when he drew nearer the Messenger of Allah 
 JL took the spear from Al Harith bin As Simma He shivered violently in
such a way that made all of them scatter in all directions violently and
impulsively Then he faced him observed his clavicle through a gap
between the wide opening of the armour and the part of his neck enclosed
by He speared him in that spot The effect of the stroke was so strong that it
made him roll off his horse over and over When he returned to Quraish 
they fo und that he had only had a small scratch in his neck So when blood
became congested he said By Allah Muhammad has killed me Hearing
him say so they said By Allah you are afraid to death By Allah you are
possessed by a devil He replied He had already told me when we were in
Makkah I will kill you By Allah had he spate on me he would have
killed me Eventually the enemy of Allah breathed his last at a place called
M Sahib Al Bukhari 2 582 
Sarif while they were taking him back to Makkah In a version by Abul 
Aswad on the authority of Urwa He was lowing like a bull and sa ying 
 By the One in Whose Hand is my soul if the pain I am suffe ring from
now were distributed among the people of Al Majaz it would cause them to
During the withdrawal of the Messenger of Allah m jl up to the
cover of the mountain a big rock blocked his way The Prophet 1 w l4 i 
tried to mount it but having worn a short heavy armour and being seriously
wounded he could not ascend it Readily enough Talha sat in a position
that enabled the Prophet ui u to stand on his back Then he lifted him
up till he stood on it The Prophet w then said Talha after this
job is eligible for the Garden Paradise 3 
When the Messenger of Allah ui lir u settled down in his head
quarters in the hillock the idolaters started their last attack upon the
Muslims Ibn Ishaq related that While the Prophet L w was on the
way to the hillock a group of Quraishite elite ascended the mountain They
were led by Khalid bin Al Waleed and Abu Sufyan So the Messenger of
Allah fU tic i implored his Lord saying O Allah they i e the idolaters 
should not be higher i e in position or in power than us i e the Muslims 
Therefore Umar bin Al Khattab and some of the Emigrants fought the
idolaters till they drove them down the mountain 4 
In Al Maghazi a book by Al Umawi it is stated that the idolaters
went up the mountain So the Messenger of Allah said to Sa d 
 Drive them off How can I drive them oflfby myself i e without anyone
to assist But the Messenger of Allah v 4111 repeated the phrase three
times Sa d then took an arrow out of his quiver shot it at one of them and
killed him He said Then I took another one I know to be good and I shot
with it another man Then I took a third I know and killed a third one 
Consequently they climbed down the mountain I said to myself this must
 Ibn Hisham 2 84 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 97 
 2 1 Mulchtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 250 
 3 Ibn Hisham 2 86 
 4 Ibn Hisham 2 86 
be a blessed arrow I put it in my quiver He kept it with him till he died 
His children kept it with them ever after Pl
Mutilation of the Martyrs 
That was the last attack made by the idolaters against the Prophet j 
Being almost certain of his death the idolaters returned to their camp
and started preparations to go back to Makkah Some of them involved
themselves in mutilating the killed Muslims and so did their women 
Women and men cut off the ears the noses the genitals of the martyrs 
They even cut open their bellies Hind bin Utbah for instance ripped
open the liver of Hamzah and chewed it but finding it unpleasant she spat
it out She even made die ears and noses of Muslims into anklets and
Two incidents occurred during the last hours of the fight Which revealed
for certain how far the Muslims were ready to fight and sacrifice in the way
1 Ka b bin Malik said I was one of those Muslims who fought in Uhud
and witnessed the polytheists act of barbarity in mutilating the dead
bodies but I passed them because I couldn t stand it Then I saw an
armed stout idolater pass through the Muslims and say Gather them up
and combine them in the way that sheep are gathered and slaughtered 
S imilar ly I saw an armed Muslim waiting for him I walked towards them
till I stood behind him Comparing both of them I found that the
disbeliever was better than the other in arms and figure I kept on
watching them till they were engaged in single combat The Muslim
thrust at the disbeliever with his sword that went down his hip and split it
into two When the Muslim unveiled his face he said What about that 
Ka b I am Abu Dujana Pl
2 Some Muslim women came to the battlefield when the fight was over 
Anas said I saw Aishah bint Abu Bakr di with Umm Sulaim 
Their garments were gathered up so I could see their anklets They
PI Zdd Al Ma ad 2 95 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 90 
PI Al Bidaya wan Nihaya 4 17 
carried water bags on their shoulders and emptied them into the mouths
of peopled Then they would go back to fill them and come back to do
the same Umar said Umm Saleet used to carry water bags to us on
Uhud Day Pl
When Umm Aiman who was one of those Muslim women who saw the
defeated Muslim fighters entering Madinah she started throwing dust at
their faces rebukingly saying Here is a spinning wheel take it and give up
carrying swords Then she raced to the battlefield There she watered the
wounded Hibban bin Al Arqa shot an arrow at her she fell down and ha
clothes were lifted up Seeing that the enemy of Allah burst into laughter
That sight upset the Messenger of Allah so he gave Sa d bin Abi
Waqqas an arrow lacking an arrow head and said Shoot it Sa d shot it it
pierced the idolater s throat He fell down and some parts of his body were
revealed The Messenger of Allah an ju then laughed so much that his
molars could be seen Sa d avenged her and Allah responded to her
As soon as the Messenger of Allih ui ju reached the defile Ali bin
Abu Talib went out and filled his water container with water from
Al Mihras Al Mihras is said to be hollow concaved rock co ntaining
plenty of water It was also said that it is a water spring in Uhud mountain 
Anyway Ali brought that water to the Messenger of Allih ui j to
drink Finding that it smelt bad he refused to drink it but only washed the
blood off his face and poured some of it over his head sayin g AllSh s Wrath
is great on those who besmeared His Messenger s face with blood 4 
Sahl said By Allih I know who washed the wound of the Messenger of
Allah 4 u 4_i yju and who poured out water for him and what substances 
his wound was treated with His daughter Fatimah washed it whereas Ali
poured water out of the container When Fatimah realized that water
 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 403 2 381 
PI ibid 1 401 
PI As Seerat Al Halabiyah 2 22 
 4 1 Ibn Hisham 2 83 
increased the flow of blood she took a piece of straw mat burnt it a little
and stuck it to the wound so blood ceased flowing 
Muhammad bin Maslamah brought him fresh water to drink The Prophet
fj j 4 _u drank and supplicated A 113 h to provide him with good things 2 
Owing to the wounds and their bad effects on his body the Messenger of
Alldh led his followers in prayer in a sitting posture and so did
the Muslims 3 
When the preparations of the idolaters for departure came to an end Abu
Sufyan went up the mountain and called out Is Muhammad ju
among you They did not answer him Then he asked Is Ibn Abi Quhafah
 i e Abu Bakr among you They did not answer He asked again Is
 Umar bin Al Khattab among you They did not answer him for the
Prophet fU on forbade them answering him He only asked about those
three That is because he and his people knew quite well that the call to
Islam depended to a large degree on those men Abu Sufyan then said As
for those three we have relieved you of Umar could not help but talking 
so he said O enemy of Allah those whom you have just mentioned I tell
you that they are still alive Allah has maintained what you hate Abu
Sufyan answered The mutilation of your killed is something I did not
order it but it did not displease me Then he shouted Hubal an idol let
it be sublime The Prophet said Why do you not reply 
 What shall we say They asked him Say AllSh is more Sublime and
Exalted and Mightier as well 
He said Al Uzza i e an idol is ours but you have no Uzza Why
do you not reply The Prophet ui ju said What shall we say They
inquired He said Say Allah is our Protector but you have no protector 
Abu Sufyan said Well deeds Today is a vengeance for Badr Day This
for that War is attended with alternate success Umar s reply was No 
They are not the same Our killed men are housed in Paradise but yours are
 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 584 
PI As Seerat Al Halabiyah 2 30 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 87 
Then Abu Sufyan said Come on Umar The Messenger of Allah
fL j uii said Go and see what the matter is He went there Abu
Sufyan asked him I beseech you by Allah s Name to tell me the truth 
Have we killed Muhammad in jJf Umar said O Allah No and
now he is listening to you words He said For me you are more truthful
than Ibn Qami a and even more reliable 
Ibn Ishaq said When Abu Sufyan and those who were with him were
leaving he called out notifying We will meet again at Badr next year The
Messenger of All h 4311 said to one of his men Say Yes it is an
appointment for both of us 2 
Later on the Messenger of Allah dispatched Ali bin Abi
Talib to trace them out He said to him Pursue them and see what they are
going to do and what they aim at If they dismount horses and ride on
camels back this means that they are heading for Makkah but if they ride
horses and lead camels unmounted they are leaving for Madinah By the
One in Whose Hand my soul is if they attacked Madinah I would march to
them there and I would fight them Ali said I went out and traced them
to see what they were up to I saw them mounting camels and leaving the
horses unmounted They were heading for Makkah 3 
After the departure of the Quraishites people went out to check die
identity of the killed and the wounded Zaid bin Thabit said The
Messenger of Allah sent me on Uhud Day to seek Sa d bin
Ar Rabi and said When you see him say peace be upon you from me 
and say to him the Messenger of Allah ui says How do you feel 
Zaid said I started wandering about checking the killed till I came across
Sa d when he was dying with about seventy strokes or stabs of a sword a
spear and an arrow in his body So I said O Sa d the Messenger of Allah
 j j jji tr L sends you his greetings and says peace be upon you tell me
how do you feel Sa d said And let peace be upon the Messenger of
Allah oji too Tell him I smell the scent of the Paradise And tell
the Helpers my people you shall not be excused before Allah if the
 Ibn Hisham 2 93 94 ZM Al Ma ad 2 94 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 579 
 2 Ibn Hisham 2 94 
I 3 Ibn Hisham 2 94 
Messenger of Allah 4U1 jl is hurt and your eyes are blinking i e you
are still alive and not dead Then he died M
They came across Al Usairim Amr bin Thabit whom they had
already urged to embrace Islam but refused They saw him among the
wounded on the verge of close death What has he come here for We have
parted with him and he was still too obdurate to accept Islam as his
religion They asked him What made you come here Is it out of zeal to
defend your people or is it because of an inclination to Islam He said It
is certainly an inclination to Islam I believe in Allah and in His
Messenger I have fought with the Messenger of Allah jJl jji till I have
got what you see and then he immediately died They told the Messenger
of Allah jJl j uii about him Hearing that he said He is one of the
inhabitants of Paradise Although he had not offered one single prayer 
narrated Abu Hurairah Pl
Qazman who was found among the wounded fought heroically and
killed seven or eight idolaters He was weakened by the wounds he had
sustained they carried him to the habitation of Bani Zufr The Muslims
gave him glad tidings of the Paradise But he said By Allah I have fought
out of a zeal to my people Had it not been for that I would have never
fought When his wounds worsened he committed suicide The Messenger of
Allah ui had already said whenever he was mentioned to him He is
an inhabitant of Fire This is the end of those who fight for a national
cause or in a way other than that of raising up the Word of Allah though
they fought under the banner of Islam or even in the army of the Messenger
of Allah pLj 4ui or of his Companions 
Contrary to Qazman there was a Jew of Bani Tha labah among the killed 
He said to his people O folk people of Jews By Allah you have already
known that it is imperative to support Muhammad jJLj uii They said 
 Today is Saturday He said There is no Saturday for you He took his
sword and the war equipment and said If I were killed my property should
be put at Muhammad ui s disposal Then next morning he kept on
WZfidAl Ma ad 2 96 
PI Zfid Al Ma ad 2 94 Ibn Hisham 2 90 
Pi Zfid Al Ma ad 2 97 Ibn Hisham 2 88 
fighting till he was killed The Messenger of Allah di said about
him Mukhaireeq is the best Jew l 
Burial of the Martyrs 
The Messenger of AllSh ui supervised the martyrs burial and
said I bear witness that anyone who is wounded in die way of Allah Allah
will resurrect him with his wound bleeding a liquid which is blood like in
colour but musk like in scent 2 
Some of the Companions carried their men killed in the war to Madinah 
but the Messenger of Allah w ordered that they should be sent back
in order to be buried where they were killed He ordered that they should
not be washed but buried as they were after stripping them off their armours
and leather clothes He used to bury every two or three martyrs together in
one grave and even join two men in one garment while sayin g Who is the
more learned of the Qur an and he would commit him to earth first He
would say I bear witness to those on the Day of Resurrection He buried
both Abdullah bin Amr bin Haram and Amr bin Al Jamuh in one grave
due to the affection they used to possess to each other P 
They missed the coffin of Hanzalah they sought it and found that it was
on a spot nearby with water dripping off it The Messenger of Allah 
told his Companions that the angels were washing him and said Ask his
wife They asked her and she confirmed that he had beat in a state of
ceremonial impurity That was why Hanzalah was called Ghaseel
Al Mala ikah i e the one washed by the angels M
When the Messenger of Allah fL j an l saw how his uncle and foster
brother Hamzah was mutilated he was extremely grieved When his aunt
Safiyah came to see her brother Hamzah the Messenger of Allah an lf u
ordered her son Az Zubair to dismiss her in order not to see what happened
to her brother She refused and said But why should I go away I have
been informed that they have mutilated him But so long as it is in die way
 Ibn Hisham 2 88 89 
P Ibn Hisham 2 98 
P Zad Al Ma ad 2 98 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 584 
PI 7M Al Ma ad 2 94 
of Allah whatever happens to him satisfies us I say Allah is Sufficient and
I will be patient if Allah wills She approached looked at him and
supplicated Allah for him and said To Alllh we all belong and to Him we 
will verily return and she implored Alllh to forgive him Then the
Messenger of Alllh ordered that he should be buried with
 Abdullah bin Jahsh who was his nephew as well as his foster brother 
Ibn Mas ud said We have never seen the Messenger of Alllh an
weeping so much as he was for Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib He directed
him towards Al Qiblah then he stood at his funeral and sobbed his heart
The sight of the martyrs was extremely horrible and heart breaking 
Describing Hamzah s funeral Khabbab said No shroud long enough was
available for Hamzah except a white darkish garment When they covered
his head with it it was too short to cover his feet Similarly if they covered
his feet his head would be revealed Finally they covered his head with it
and put some plant called Al Idhkhir to cover his feet Pl
Al Imam Ahmad reported that when it was Uhud Day and the time that
the idolaters returned the Messenger of Alllh jji said 
 5 3 Ju
 Istawoo i e form rows as for prayer so that I offer thanks and
praise to my Lord the Great and the All Mighty 
So they stood in rows behind him Then he said 
uj LxXj uj fjb iuii iu fib 
UJ J feiTj icJUS
UJ tOJiplj UJ c JJa pt UJ UNj
 Jjp 3 j JI c 
 O Allah no one can withhold what You permit or permit what
You withhold No one can guide whom You decree to go astray
or make go astray the one whom You guide No one can grant
Cl Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 255 
PI Mishkat 1 140 
provisions you have withheld and no one can withhold what you
grant No one can near what You ordained to be distant or
detach what You decree to be close O Allah spread onto all of
us Your Mercy Your Grace and Provisions 
jl JUbt Jl Ll 
 Su i 1 131 44 u 3 S 3 tEkil u j 
 Oi lS 31 dllj j 5l V j cllji
 Sji 3 iilij 3 3 ii sj i jjis fjbi Aj
 0 sjai jju fjbi iaU j i3 iini
 j ji sii 4 1 1
 O Allah I implore You to grant me permanent bliss that neither
changes nor vanishes O Allah You Alone we seek for Help at
hardships You Alone we resort to for security on a day of
terror O Allah to You Alone I resort to protect us from the
evils of Your grants i e the evils they may lead us to and from
the evils of Your deprivation O Allah make us love Faith and
make it pleasant and beloved wholeheartedly by us Make
disbelief ungodliness and disobedience detestable to us Let us
be among those who are rightly guided O Allah make us live as
Muslims and cause us to die as Muslims and make us join with
the righteous but not with the disgraced and misled ones O
Allah make Your enmity befall the disbelievers who belie Your
Messenger and divert from Your righteous way O Allah let
Your wrath Your chastisement and Your enmity befall the
disbelievers and those on whom You sent down the Book Let
them be afflicted with war decreed by You O Allah the Author
of Truth 1 
I 1 Musnad Imam Ahmad 3 424 
After committing all the martyrs to earth and after offering praise and
supplication to Allah the Messenger of Allah un went back to
On his way back matchless examples of love and devotion were revealed
by the truthful women believers in no way less great than the men s heroic
deeds in the fight 
Hamnah bint Jahsh met the Messenger of Allah ui on the way
back and he announced the death of her brother Abdullah bin Jahsh 
to her She said To Allah we belong and to Him we will verily return I
ask Allah s forgiveness Then he announced the death of her maternal
uncle Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib She said To Allah we belong and to
Him we will verily return I ask Allah s forgiveness But when he
announced the death of her husband Mus ab bin Umair to her she shouted
and woed Seeing her doing so the Messenger of Allah di said 
 The woman s husband is extremely dear to her 1 
He passed by a woman of Bani Dinar whose husband father and brother
were all killed at Uhud When their death announced she said How is the
Messenger of Allah _ui They said Well indeed O mother of
so Thanks for Allah he is well and as good as you desire She said Let
me see him They pointed at him Seeing him she said All misfortunes
are nothing so long as you are safe 2 
Umm Sa d bin Mu adh came running to see the Prophet ui At
that time her son was holding the rein of his mare Seeing his mother he
said to the Prophet j_ j u an j O Messenger of Allah ui ju This is
my mother The Prophet jii said She is welcome and he
stopped and waited for her When she drew near he consoled her for her
killed son Amr bin Mu adh But she said So long as I see you are safe 
my misfortune will certainly go into oblivion Then the Messenger of Allah
 supplicated Allah for the relatives of those who were killed at
Uhud and said Cheer up Umm Sa d and bear good tidings to their kindred
that all their people killed in the battle are comrades in Paradise and they are
intercessors for all their kinsfolk She replied O Messenger of Allah we
l 1 Ibn Hisham 2 98 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 99 
are satisfied Who would cry on them after this cheerful news Then she
resumed saying O Messenger of Allah invoke Allah for those who stayed
behind He said O Allah keep sorrow off their hearts And console them
with their misfortunes Compensate those who stayed behind with goodness
In the evening of that day i e Saturday the seventh of Shawwal 3 rd
year A H the Messenger arrived in Madinah As soon as he reached his
house he handed his sword to his daughter Fatimah and said O daug hter 
wash the blood off this sword By Allah it has been helpful to me today 
 Ali bin Abi Talib handed her his sword and said And wash the blood of
this sword too By Allah it has been helpful to me today So the
Messenger of Allah di said Sahl bin Haneef and Abu Dujana have
been as courageous as you are in the fight 2 
Most of the narrations confirmed that seventy Muslims were killed and
most of them sixty five Helpers forty one of whom were from Khazraj
and twenty four from Aws This besides one Jew and four Emigrants 
As for the polytheists twenty two of them were killed but some versions
speak of thirty seven after all Allah knows best Pl
On Saturday night the eighth of Shawwal and after their return from
Uhud the Muslims spent that night in an emergency case though they
were dead beat extremely exhausted They stayed on the alert and spent
that night guarding the outlets and inlets of Madinah They were specially
busy guarding their general leader the Messenger of Allah ft u an l for
fear that some suspects could commit an unexpected folly 
Hamri Al Asad Invasion 
The Messenger of Allah on his part spent the night pondering
over the situation He feared that the idolaters might think while they
were still on their way to Makkah of reversing their way and diverting to
Madinah after they had realized that they had availed no thin g of that
victory They might regret and decide to invade Madinah as a
1 1 As Seerat Al Halabiyah 2 47 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 100 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 122 129 Fath Al Bari 7 351 
compensation Therefore the Messenger of Allah was determined
to go out in pursuit of the Makkan army 
The Prophet un called out unto people and ordered them to
march to encounter the enemy of Islam That was on Sunday morning 
next day to Uhud the eighth of Shawwal He said Nobody will march to
the fight except those who have already participated in Uhud fight 
 Abdullah bin Ubai said I will march out with you No said the
Prophet pL j tin
Whilst the Muslims were suffering a lot from painful pains and deep
anxiety they responded to his call positively Jabir bin Abdullah implored
the Prophet fL an to allow him join them in that fresh invasion on
account that he always had a liking to witness all the battles that the Prophet
fL j uji was involved in He had not participated in Uhud because his
father asked him to stay in Madinah with his sisters And he was granted
The Muslims marched out until they reached a place called Hamra 
Al Asad about eight miles from Madinah He encamped there In that
place Ma bad bin Abi Ma bad came to the Messenger of Allah ui j 
and professed Islam Some people said that he remained an idolater he
simply desired to give the Messenger some advice out of abidance by a
covenant between Khuza ah his tribe and Bani Hashim He said O
Muhammad S _ui By Allah we feel great sorrow for what had
happened to you and to your Companions We really hope you will not
suffer again So the Messenger of Allah uji suggested that he
overtake Abu Sufyan and discourage him from pursuing his evil intentions 
The Messenger s fears of a possible return of die idolaters proved to be
absolutely true For no sooner had the idolaters dismounted and encamped
at Ar Rawha a place thirty six miles from Madinah than they started
reproaching one another A group of them said to another one You did
nothing You broke down their force but you left them There are still some
distinguished men among them who will probably gather people up to fight
you again So let us go back and annihilate them and crush down their
It was in fact a hasty decision taken by shallow minded people who
misjudged the potential power and morale on both parties that is why an
eminent leader of Quraish Safwan bin Omaiyah tried to dissuade his
people from pursuing that venture saying O people Do not do such a
thing For I fear that he will gather up those who had stayed behind and did
not share in Uhud Go back home as winners For I am not sure of what turn
will the consequences take if you get involved in such a fight It might be to
your prejudice in the final place Notwithstanding that weighty argument 
the majority of the polytheists were determined to embark on that risky
Ma bad bin Abu Ma bad meanwhile arrived on the scene and tried to
exaggerate the danger awaiting them in order to thwart their plan he said 
 Muhammad uii has marched to meet you with a large host of
fighters I have never seen something similar to it before He has mustered
all the troops who have tarried and did not share in Uhud They surely regret
what they have missed and want to compensate for it now Their hearts are
filled with hate and resentment Abu Sufyan said Woe to you What do
you suggest He said By AMh I see that you would not leave till he
comes and you see the heads of their horses or till the vanguard of his army
turns up to you from behind that hill 
Abu Sufyan said By Allah we have reached a common consent to
crush down the Muslims and their power The man once more with an
implied warning advised him to stop it 
In the light of this news the resolution and determination of the Makkan
army failed and panic and terror took firm hold of them They consequently
deemed it safest to complete there withdrawal back to Makkah They 
however as an alternative started a hostile nerve propaganda aiming at
dissuading the Muslims army from pursuing them A caravan belonging to
 Abd Qais happened to pass by towards Madinah Abu Sufyan in the
context of his propaganda asked them to communicate a message to
Muhammad to the effect that the Makkans had rallied their ranks
to annihilate the Messenger and his Companions in return Abu Sufyan
promised to give the people of the caravan loads of raisins at the forum of
 Ukaz the following year 
The people of the caravan conveyed the message to the Messenger of
Allah fL y iji jU at Hamra Al Asad but to no effect on the contrary Abu
Sufyan s words augmented them in Faith Allah says 
 Jae y a iji 4 ij4Ul6y yW j 
 And they said Allah Alone is Sufficient for us and He is
the Best Disposer of affairs for us So they turned with Grace
and Bounty from Allah No harm touched them and they
followed the good Pleasure of Allah And Allah is the Owner of
Great Bounty 3 173 174 
After the arrival of the caravan on Sunday the Messenger of Allah ju
uii stayed at Hamra Al Asad for three days Monday Tuesday and
Wednesday 9 11 Shawwal 3 A H and then returned to Madinah Before
his return he took Abu Azza Al Jumahi as a prisoner of war Incidentally 
this man had also been captured at Badr but on account of his poverty and
the large family he supported the Prophet ju had been gracious
enough to release him on condition that he would not involve himself in war
against the Muslims again Abu Azza did not keep his promise and took
part in Uhud hostilities on the side of the polytheists Here again he
implored Muhammad for pardon but the latter told him that a
believer wouldn t be taken twice in the same snare He then deservedly
merited the sentence of death which was executed by Az Zubair or in
another version by Asim bin Thabit 
A Makkan spy called Mu awiyah bin Al Mugheerah bin Abi Al As 
was sentenced to death too This spy was the grandfather of Abdul Malik
bin Marwan on his mother side When the idolaters went back after Uhud 
Mu awiyah came to his paternal cousin Uthman bin Affan
 Uthman gave him shelter after securing the Prophet
permission on condition that if he was caught there after three days he
would be killed But he did not comply with it so when the Muslim army
left Madinah he stayed there for more than three days during which he was
spying for Quraish So when the army returned Mu awiyah fled out of
Madinah The Messenger of Allah im jl on this account ordered Zaid
bin Harithah and Aimnar bin Yasir to pursue him and kill him So he was
Undoubtedly the invasion of Hamra Al Asad is not a separate invasion 
but rather a part or more specifically a sequel to Uhud 
That was Uhud Invasion with all its stages and details It has for long
been discussed by scholars and men of research Was it a defeat or not 
Doubtlessly the military superiority in the second phase of the battle was in
favour of the polytheists who could successfully direct the steering
mechanism of hostilities and inflict heavy losses in lives on the Muslims 
Admittedly a part of the believers were clearly defeated but this could
never be considered a Makkan victory 
The Makkan army failed to occupy the camp of the Muslims The greater
bulk of the Madinese army chaos and confusion notwi thstanding did not
take to escape on the contrary they showed matchless and heroic resistance
and managed to gather themselves again around their headquarters fighting
bravely and courageously They moreover did not allow the Makkans to
run after them in pursuit Neither Muslim captives were taken nor spoils
were gained by the Makkans The enemies of Islam were also too cowardly
to conduct the third phase of war and impress their superiority on the
battlefield on the contrary they were in hot haste to evacuate the field even
before the Muslims did Madinah itself the capital of the Muslims was only
a stone s throw from the lines of the enemy and vulnerably exposed yet the
polytheists were not bold enough to storm it to plunder its wealth or capture
the Muslim women therein 
These suggestive details in fact support our argument that the event of
Uhud was just a precious occasion on which the Makkans managed only to
inflict heavy losses on the Muslims but failed to achieve their ultimate goals
of annihilating the Muslim army in the process of their encompassment
operation After all it is not unusual for conquerors to sustain such
casualties and losses but these could under no circumstances be regarded as
victory for the hostile party 
t Ibn Hisham 2 60 129 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 91 108 Fath Al Bari 7 345 377 
Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool pp 242 275 
The incident of Hamr Al Asad is interesting in this regard It is a
curious sight indeed of a victorious army in retreat for fear of disgrace and
defeat and the crestfallen and crippled group of Muslims in pursuit 
Uhud Battle in the final judgement was just one phase of military
activities in the whole process of war between two hostile parties each of
whom earned their legitimate portion of both success and failure and then
desisted further engagement but without cowardly escape or resigned
surrender In this sense this battle could be rightly regarded as an
In this context Allah says 
 And don t be weak in die pursuit of die enemy if you are
suffering hardships then surely they too are suffering
 hardships as you are suffering but you have a hope from Allah
 for the reward i e Paradise that for which they hope not 
The verse explicidy identifies both attitudes as regards losses and
hardships as identical Both parties concluded the war operations and went
back neither victorious nor vanquished 
The Observations of the Noble Qur n on the Battle of Uhud 
Some Qur anic verses were revealed to shed light on the most decisive
phases of the battle su xessively adduce quite clearly the cause that led to
that heavy loss and illustrate the vulnerable areas that were still persisting
in the souls of some believers as regards their duties in forging a decisive
attitude with respect to die noble objectives for which the Muslim
Community was created and was supposed to accomplish 
The Noble Qur an also spoke about the attitude of the pretenders to Faith
and made clear the hostility and hatred that they harboured against Allah
and His Messenger The Words of Allah managed as well to erase all traces
of ambiguities and insinuations raised by the hypocrites and their allies the
Jews the authors of conspiracy and intrigue hatching and which were
still in active operation in die hearts of some weak of heart Muslims 
The laudable judgement and long sought objectives that were attributable
to the battle of Uhud were also another topic for die Noble Qur an to dwell
on at length Sixty verses relevant to the battle were revealed giving full
account of the first phase of the battle 
 And remember when you Muhammad left your
household in the morning to post the believers at their stations
for the battle of Uhud 3 121 
And to end in a comprehensive commentary on its results and moralities 
 Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are
now until He distinguishes the wicked from the good Nor will
Allah disclose to you the secrets of the Ghaib unseen but
Allah chooses of His Messengers whom He pleases So believe
in Allah and His Messengers And if you believe and fear Allah 
then for you there is a great reward 3 179 
Lessons and Moralities 
Ibn Al Qaiyim has made a pointed reference to the battle of Uhud and
given full elucidation of the Divine benefits and moralities that resulted
from it Some Muslim scholars on the authority oflbnHajar said The
reverse in Uhud resulted from the neglect on the part of the archers of the
explicit command of the Prophet jui j and leaving the spot which
they were ordered to safeguard to the end In other words the success of the
Mus lims depends upon their obedience to the Prophet w j As long
as they carry out his behests Allah will help them in facing all kinds of
odds But when they will set aside his commands in their pursuit of worldly
riches they are bound to come to grief Another relevant issue of great
significance says that it is customary for Prophets to be tried with different
adversities nevertheless the fina l outcome is positively in their favour 
Should the Muslims be victorious all the time great many pretenders to
Faith will enter the fold of Islam and consequently the clear line of
demarcation between true believers and hypocrites will become blurred 
Contrarily if the Muslims were to be defeated all the time the final
objective of the ministry of Prophets will not be effected It is wise then to
combine both success and failure so that sifting between true Muslims and
hypocrites could be realized 
In the aftermath of the battle of Uhud the hypocrites disclosed their real
intentions in words and in deeds consequently the Muslims got to realize
the existence of those wicked elements working secretly in their own
homeland and of course there would be appropriate measures to be taken in
due course of time 
A third point in this context refers to purposeful deferment of victory in
some areas in order to check the pride of the soul and teach the believers
how to observe full patience in times of adversity Trials and tests are
provided by Allah in order that the true believers could deservedly occupy
their abode in the blessed Hereafter Martyrdom the highest ranks that the
true friends of Allah could occupy is provided by Allah to function as a
passport granted by the Lord leading to Paradise In brief fight in the
cause of Allah is a golden opportunity for the true believers to have their
sins effaced and a Divinely devised event for the disbelievers and enemies
of Allah to face destruction and annihilation in recompense for their
disbelief tyranny and transgression 1 
 Zad Al Ma ad 2 99 108 
Military Platoons and Missions between the Battle of Uhud
and die Battle of the Confederates
Uhud s misfortune left a bad impact on both the credibility and military
reputation of the Muslims Their dignity and power in people s eyes were
unpaired Troubles and dangers spread everywhere in and out of Madinah 
The Jews hypocrites and bedouins declared publicly their enmity to the
Muslims and each party was keen on degrading and in the final place 
exterminating their whole existence 
Two months had almost passed after this battle when Banu Asad made
preparations to raid M a dinah Udal and Qarah tribes conspired against
the Muslims in the month of Safer 4 A H and killed ten of the Prophet
fi j uii j u s Companions Similarly Banu Amir plotted against them too 
and seventy Companions were killed in the battle of Ma una Well During
that period Banu Nadeer kept on announcing their enmity and were
involved in a plot to kill the Prophet Muhammad j uh in Rabi 
Al Awwal in 4 A H Banu Ghatfen were about to attack Madinah in Jumada
Al Ula in 4 A H 
Thus we see that the Muslims turned into an attractive target of several
potential dangers after they had lost their military credibility in the battle of
Uhud Muhammad jl ui most wisely managed to hpld all those hostile
currents at bay and even redeem the lost dignity of the Muslims and gain
them anew fresh glory and noble standing The first initiative he took in this
process was Hamra Al Asad pursuit operation whereby he could retain the
Muslim military reputation He succeeded in recovering his followers 
dignity and awe inspiring position in such a mann er that astonished or even
astounded both the Jews and hypocrites alike then he proceeded to crown
his successful attempts by despatching military errands and missions 
Abi Salamah Mission 
The first people to take up arms against the Muslims in the aftermath of
Uhud reverse were Banu Asad bin Khuzaimah The Intelligence Corps of
Madinah reported that Talhah and S alamah sons of Khuwailid have
mustered some volunteers to fight the Messenger of Allah an j The
Prophet ft 1 on immediately despatched a 150 man platoon of Helpers
and Emigrants headed by Abu Salamah The Muslim leader took Bani Asad
bin Khuzaimah by surprise in their own homeland neutralized their
attempts dispersed them and captured their cattle On his return Abu
Salamah had an inflammation of a previous wound he sustained in Uhud 
and caused him to die soon after This expedition took place on Muharram
1st 4 A H I 1 
An Errand led by Abdullah bln Unais 
On the fifth day of the same month Muharram 4 A H it was reported
that Khalid bin Sufyan Al Hudhali was gathering some mob to raid the
Muslim positions Abdullah bin Unais at the behest of the Prophet fi 
set out to destroy the enemies 
The Muslim military leader stayed away for eighteen days during which
he successfully fulfilled his task killed the head of the rebels and brought
his head back to Madinah on Saturday seven days before the end of
Muharram The Prophet uii as a reward gave him a stick saying
 This will function as a sign of recognition for you and me on the Day of
Resurrection On his death bed Abdullah requested that the log be with
him in his shroudd 2 
The Event of Ar Raji 
In Safar of the fourth year A H a delegation from the tribes of Udal and
Qarah came to Madinah and asked the Prophet w ju to send a group of
Companions to instruct them in religion claiming the existence of some
Mus lims among them He sent six of his Companions in another version 
ten headed by Murthid bin Abi Murthid Al Ghanawi or according to
Al Bukhari Asim bin Thabit the grandfather of Asim bin Umar bin
Al Khattab When they reached a spot called Ar Raji between Rabigh and
Jeddah a hundred archers of Banu Libyan clan surrounded the place and
attacked them The delegation of Muslims took shelter on some high
ground Fudfud and the bedouins offered them a pledge that they would not
be killed Asim refused to come down instead he fought them until he and
six of his companions were killed Three men were left Khubaib Zaid bin
I 1 Zid Al Ma ad 2 108 
PI Zid Al Ma ad 2 109 Ibn Hisham 2 619 620 
Ad Dathna and another one Once again the bedouins offered them a
guarantee of safety and they accepted When they descended the bedo uins
treacherously bound them The third man rebuked them for their insincerity
and resisted them so they killed him The other two men who had killed
some notables of Quraish at Badr were taken and sold in Makkah The first
was Khubaib who was detained for some time and then it was unanimously
decided to crucify him He was taken from the Holy Sanctuary to At Tan im
for crucifixion He requested a respite to offer a two Rak a prayer After
the final greeting he turned to his executioners and said Had I not been
afraid that you would think that I was afraid of death I would have prayed
for a long time It was then that Khubaib first set the tradition of praying
two Rak a before being executed He then said 
 O Lord Count them one by one exterminate them to the last
He then recited some verses of poetry which speak eloquently of the
atrocities borne by him and testify to his Faith in Allah at this hour of
The confederates have gathered their tribes around me 
And summoned all of them who could come 
They have gathered their women and children 
I am bound fastly to a lofty trunk 
To Allah alone I complain of my helplessness and sufferings 
And of the death the confederates have prepared for me 
Lord of the Throne Give me endurance against their design 
They have cut my flesh bit by bit and I have been deprived of sustenance 
They let me choose infidelity but death is preferable 
Tears roll out of my eyes though not of fear 
By Allah I fear not if I die a Muslim 
On what side I fall for the sake of Allah 
I will not show subservience to the enemy 
If Lord so desires He will bless my tom limbs and broken joints 
Abu Sufyan then addressed him saying I adjure you by Allah don t
you wish that Muhammad jJl j uit were here in your place so that we
might cut off his head and that you were with your family Khubaib
answered By Allah I do not wish that Muhammad ro now were in
the place I occupy or that a thorn could hurt him and that I were sitting with
my family Quraish ordered Uqbah bin Al Harith whose father had been
killed by Khubaib himself to crucify him They also appointed someone to
guard his corpse Amr bin Omaiyah Ad Damari played a cunning trick and
carried the corpse stealthily at night to bury it somewhere It was later
reported that shortly before his crucifixion he was seen eating a bunch of
grapes although there was not even one date available in Makkah at that
time In fact it was nothing but sustenance bestowed upon him by Allah 
Safwan bin Omaiyah purchased the second man Zaid bin Ad Dathna 
and killed him as an act of vengeance for his hither s murder 
Quraish whom Asim had killed one of their notables sent someone to
fetch a portion of his body but to their disappointment his corpse was
inaccessible because a large swarm of hornets had been shielding him
against any malicious tampering Asim had already given his Lord a pledge
to remain immune against any polytheist tampering with respect to his body 
and also stay detached from any contact with the enemies of Allah Umar
bin Al Khattab when hearing this piece of news exclaimed Allah verily
protects His believing slave after death just as He does during his
The Tragedy of Ma una Well 
Ma una Well tragedy which was even more horrible than that of
Ar Raji took place in the same month 
Abu Bara Amir bin Malik nicknamed Spear Player came to the
Messenger of Alkih mj in Madinah The Messenger of AllSh dii 
called him to embrace Islam but he neither agreed nor refused He said O
Messenger of Allah if you dispatch some of your Companions to the people
of Najd to call them to Islam I expect them to accept I am afraid the
people of Najd will kill them Said the Messenger But he replied I will
protect them Ibn Ishaq confirms that forty men were sent to them but
As Sahih states that they were seventy Al Mundhir bin Amr one of
PI Dm Hisham 2 169 179 ZM Al Ma ad 2 109 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 568 569 585 
Bam Sa ida nicknamed Freed to die commanded that group who were
the best and most learned in the Qur an and jurisprudence 
On their way to Najd they used to gather firewood to buy food for the
people of Ahl As Suffah as charity by day and study meditate on the
meanings of the Qur an by night They kept on doing that till they arrived at
Ma una Well which was a well in between Bani Amir Harrah and Bani
Saleem They stayed there and sent the Message of die Prophet with
Haram bin Milhan the brother of Umm Sulaim to the enemy of Allah Amir
bin At Tufail Amir did not heed the Message but rather ordered a man to
spear Haram in the back When the spear penetrated Haram s body he saw
the blood and said Allahu Akbar i e Allah is the Greatest By Lord of
Al Ka bah I have won 
Then the enemy of Allah promptly called out Bani Amir to fight the
rest Bani Amir refused because they were under the protection of Abu
Bara Therefore he turned to Bani Saleem for help The people of Usaiyah 
Ri al and Dhakwan who were folks of Bani Saleem responded to his call 
The Companions of the Prophet uji who were encompassed by
idolaters kept on fighting till they were all killed The only survivor was
Ka b bin Zaid bin An Najjar who was carried wounded from among the
dead It was in Al Khandaq the trench Battle that he was killed 
 Amr bin Omaiyah Ad Damari and Al Mundhir bin Uqbah bin Amir 
who were entrusted with the Muslims animals far from them saw the birds
circling in the air over the battleground Al Mundhir rushed to share in the
fight till he was killed But Amr bin Omaiyah was captured Amir set him
free when he knew that he was of Mudar tribe but that was after he had cut
his hair He did that to fulfil a pledge of his mother s to set a slave free 
Returning to the Prophet uii Amr bin Omaiyah conveyed the
news of the painful disaster which resulted in the murder of seventy of the
best believers and recalled the tragedy of Uhud but with the difference that
those of Uhud were killed in a clear war but those ofMa una were killed in
a disgraceful treachery On his way back to Qarqara 4 Amr bin Omaiyah
rested in the shade of a tree and there two men of Bani Kilab joined him 
When they slept Amr killed them both thinking that by doing that he
would avenge some of his killed companions Then he found out that they
had been given a pledge of protection by the Prophet He told the
Messenger of Alllh 411 what he had done The Messenger of Allah
 Jl j 1 said to Amr You have killed two people their blood money
shall be a debt I have to discharge He then engaged himself collecting
their blood money from the Muslims and their allies the Jews 1 This very
act was later to trigger the invasion of Bani An Nadeer 
The Prophet 0 411 ju was so deeply moved by this tragedy and that of
Ar Raji that he used to invoke Allah s wrath against those people and tribes
who killed his Companions Anas reported that for thirty days the Prophet
fi 1 uii supplicated Alllh against those who killed his Companions at
Ma una Well Every dawn prayer he would invoke Alllh s wrath against
Ri l Dhakwan Lihyan and Usaiyah He would say Usaiyah disobeyed
Alllh and His Messenger Therefore Alllh sent down unto His
Messenger a Qur lnic verse that we kept on reciting till it was abrogated
later on Inform our folk that we have encountered our Lord and He is
satisfied with us and we are satisfied with Him So the Messenger of Alllh
 jl 411 ju stopped his invocation 2 
Bani An Nadeer Invasions 
We have already spoken about the disgraceful behaviour of the Jews and
how they were always thirsting to shed the blood of the Muslims and
undermine the cause of Islam despite all the covenants and pledges they had
given to the Prophet i uii Their behaviour fluctuated between
resignation and slackness after the Banu Qainuqa event and the murder of
Ka b bin Al Ashraf and rebellion coupled with treacherous clandestine
contacts with Quraish and the hypocrites in order to establish an alliance
against the Muslims after the battle of Uhudl 3 Being inexperienced in war
tactics they resorted to conspiracy and intrigue hatching They first of all
declared open hatred and enmity and chose to play all sorts of tricks that
might harm the Muslims but were very careful not to initiate any sort of
hostilities that might involve them in open war 
The Prophet on his part exercised the highest degree of
patience with them but they went too far in their provocative deeds 
t l Ibn Hisham 2 183 188 Zad Al Ma ad 2 109 110 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 584 586 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 586 588 
PI Aunul Ma bood 3 116 117 
especially after Ar Raji and Ma una Well events they even made an
attempt on his life 
Once the Prophet ui with some of his Companions set out to see
Banu Nadeer and seek their help in raising the blood money he had to pay
to Bani Kalb for the two men that Amr bin Omaiyah Ad Daman had killed
by mistake All of that was in accordance with the clauses of the treaty that
both parties had already signed On hearing his story they said they would
share in paying the blood money and asked him and his Companions Abu
Bakr Umar Ali and others to sit under a wall of their houses and wait 
The Jews held a short private meeting and conspired to kill the Prophet
uii jJl The most wicked among them Amr bin Jahsh volunteered to
climb up the wall and drop a large millstone on his head One of them 
Salam bin Mashkam cautioned them against perpetrating such a crime 
predicting that Allah would divulge their plot to him and added that such an
act would constitute a manifest violation of the pact concluded with the
In fact Gabriel did come down to reveal to the Prophet w their
wicked criminal intention so he with his Companions hurried off back to
Madinah On their way he told his Companions of the Divine Revelation 
Soon after the Prophet delegated Muhammad bin Maslamah
to communicate an ultimatum to Bani Nadeer to the effect that they should
evacuate Madinah within ten days otherwise their heads would be cut off 
The chief of the hypocrites Abdullah bin Ubai urged the Jews not to pay
heed to the Prophet i uii j s words and to stay in their habitations 
offering to run to their support with two thousands of his followers and
assuring them of help to come from Quraizah tribe and former allies Banu
Ghatfan In this regards Allah says 
 If you are expelled we too indeed will go out with you and
we shall never obey anyone against you and if you are attacked
 in fight we shall indeed help you 59 11 
The Jews regained their confidence and were determined to fight Their
chief Huyai bin Akhtab relied hopefully on what the chief of the hypocrites
said So he sent to the Messenger of Allah fa uii saying We will not
leave our houses Do whatever you like to do 
Undoubtedly the situation was awkward for the Muslims Launching a
war against their opponents at this critical stage could entail terrible far
reaching ramifications in the light of the unfavourable conditions they were
passing through besides the hostile environment growing in power and
hatred around them the harbinger of which assumed the form of killing the
Muslim missions as it has been already introduced 
The Jews of Bani Nadeer were also a power to count for and the
prospects of inflicting a military defeat on them was precarious 
consequently forcing them into war engagement would be attended with
unpredictable risks On the other hand the continual state of repeated
assassinations and acts of treachery carried out against the Muslims
individually and collectively brought about unbearable headache to
Muhammad uii ju s followers Having judged all the prevalent status
quo in this perspective and in the light of the disgraceful attempt on the life
of the Prophet uii the Muslims made the decisive decisions of
taking up arms whatever turn the consequences could assume 
When the Messenger of Allah u di received the reply of Huyai bin
Akhtab he said Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allah is the Greatest of all 
and his Companions repeated after him Then he set out to fight them after
appointing Ibn Umm Maktum to dispose the affairs of Madinah during his
absence The standard was entrusted to Ali bin Abi Talib He laid siege to
their forts for six nights in another version fifteen 
s Banu Nadeer resorted to their castles mounted them and started shooting
 arrows and pelting stones at the Muslims enjoying the strategic advantage
that their thick fields of palm trees provided The Muslims were therefore
ordered to fell and bum those trees In this respect Allah the All Mighty 
states in the Qur an 
 What you O Muslims cut down of the palm trees of the
enemy or you left them standing on their stems it was by leave
of All h 59 5 
Quraizah tribe remained neutral and the hypocrite Abdullah bin Ubai as
well as Ghatfan failed to keep their promises of support In this regard All h
 Their allies deceived them like Satan when he says to man 
 Disbelieve in All h But when man disbelieves in Allah 
Satan says I am free of you 59 16 
The siege did not last long for Allah the All Mighty cast horror into the
hearts of the Jews and they willingly offered to comply with the Prophet
 j j u un s order and leave Madinah The Prophet 4 i i accepted
their request and allowed them to carry as much luggage as their camels
could lift arms were excepted Of course they had no choice but to carry
out the orders so they took with them everything they could carry even the
pegs and beams of ceilings Their caravan counted 600 loaded camels
including their chiefs Huyai bin Akhtab and Salam bin Abi Al Huqaiq who
left for Khaibar whereas another party shifted to Syria Two of them
embraced Islam Yameen bin Amr and Abu Sa d bin Wahab and so they
retained their personal wealth 
The Messenger of Allah 4i seized their weapons land houses 
and wealth Amongst the other booty he managed to capture there were 50
armours 50 helmets and 340 swords 
This booty was exclusively the Prophet i 4i because no fighting
was involved in capturing it He divided the booty at his own discretion
among the early Emigrants and two poor Helpers Abu Dujana and Suhail
bin Haneef Anyway the Messenger of Allih l spent a portion of
this wealth on his family to sustain their living the year around The rest was
expended to provide the Muslim army with equipment for further wars in
the way of Allah 
The invasion of Bani An Nadeer took place in Rabi Al Awwal 4 A H 
i e in August 625 A D Almost all the verses of Surah Al Hashr Chapter 59
 The Gathering describe the banishment of the Jews and reveal the
disgraceful manners of the hypocrites The verses manifest the rules
relevant to the booty In this Chapter Allah the All Mighty praises the
Emigrants and Helpers This Chapter also shows the legitimacy of cut tin g
down and burning the enemy s land and trees for military purposes Such
acts cannot be regarded as phenomena of corruption so long that they are in
the way of AllSh 
In this very Chapter Allah recommends the believers to be pious and
prepare themselves for the world to come and He ends it with a compliment
upon Himself and a manifestation of His Holy Names and Attributes 
As this Chapter concentrates on Bani An Nadeer and their banishment 
Ibn Abbas used to describe it as An Nadeer Chapter 1 
The Invasion of Najd 
With the peaceful victory that the Muslims achieved at Bani An Nadeer
invasion their control over Madinah was undisputedly established and the
hypocrites receded to a state of silence and stopped their artful machinations
publicly Consequently the Prophet pi an jl had ample time to direct all
his energies and human resources towards suppressing the desert bedouins
and curbing their harmful provocations and wicked malicious practices of
killing his missionaries and even contemplating an invasion of Madinah
itself 2 Meanwhile the Muslim scouting groups reported building up of
bedouin troops of Bani Muharib and Tha labah of Ghatfan around Madinah 
The Prophet uii with the Muslims hurriedly set out to discipline
those new outlaws cast fear into their hearts and deter them from
perpetrating further wicked practices These deterring operations were
carried out repeatedly and did produce effective results The rebellious hard 
hearted desert bedouins were terrorized into the mountains and Madinah
remained completely immune against their raids 
In the context of these invasions it is interesting to draw some
prominence to a significant one Dhat Ar Riqa rags campaign which
some scholars claim took place in Najd a large area of tableland in the
Arabian Peninsula in Rabi Ath Thani or Jumada Al Ula 4 A H They
substantiate their claim by saying that it was strategically necessary to carry
out this campaign in order to quell the rebellious bedouins in order to meet
the exigencies of the agreed upon encounter with the polytheists i e minor
l 1 Ibn Hisham 2 190 192 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 71 110 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 574 575 
P Fiqh As Seerah p 214 
Badr Battle in Sha ban 4 A H The most authentic opinion however is that
Dhat Ar Riqa campaign took place after the fall of Khaibar This is
supported by the fact that Abu Hurairah and Abu Musa Al Ash ari 
witnessed the battle Abu Hurairah embraced Islam only some days before
Khaibar and Abu Musa Al Ash ari came back from Abyssinia Ethiopia 
and joined the Prophet un at Khaibar The rules relating to the
prayer of fear which the Prophet j un observed at Dhat Ar Riqa 
campaign were revealed at Asfan Invasion and this beyond a shadow of
doubt took place after Al Khandaq the trench Battle in late 5 A H 
The Invasion of Badr the Second 
When the Muslims destroyed the power of the Arab desert tribes and
guarded themselves against their evils they started preparations to
encounter their great enemy A year elapsed since they fought Quraish at
Uhud So it was due time to meet them and start war again in order to
determine which of the two parties was worthy of survival 1 
In Sha ban 4 A H January 626 A D the Messenger of Allah j set
out to Badr accompanied by one thousand and five hundred fighters and ten
mounted horsemen and with Ali bin Abi Talib as standard bearer 
 Abdullah bin Rawahah was given authority over Madinah during the
Prophet J w jji s absence Reaching Badr the Muslims stayed there
waiting for the idolaters to come 
Abu Sufyan s forces comprised two thousand footmen and fifty
horsemen They reached Mar Az Zahran some distance form Makkah and
camped at a water place called Mijannah Being reluctant discouraged and
extremely terrified of the consequences of the approaching fight Abu
Sufyan turned to his people and began to introduce cowardice based flimsy
pretexts in order to dissuade his men from going to war saying O tribe of
Quraish Nothing will improve the condition you are in but a fruitful year
 a year during which your animals feed on plants and bushes and give you
milk to drink And I see that this is a rainless year therefore I am returning
now and I recommend you to return with me 
l l l Fiqh As Seerah p 315 
It seems that his army were also possessed of the same fears and
apprehensions for they readily obeyed him without the least hesitation 
The Muslims who were then at Badr stayed for eight days waiting for
their enemy They took advantage of their stay by selling goods and earning
double as much the price out of it When the idolaters declined to fight the
balance of powers shifted to rest in favour of the Muslims who thus
regained their military reputation their dignity and managed to impose their
awe inspiring presence over the whole of Arabia In brief they mastered
and controlled the whole situation 
This invasion had many a name It is called Badr the Appointment 
 Badr the Second Badr the Latter and Badr Minor 1 
The Invasion of Doumat Al Jandal 
With the Messenger return from Badr peace and security
prevailed the whole area and the Islamic headquarters Madinah enjoyed
full security The Prophet w then deemed it fit and appropriate to
head for the most distant areas of Arabia in order to subdue all hostile
elements in order to force undisputed recognition out of friend and enemy
After a six month lull of military activities the Prophet ui was
reported that some tribes in the vicinity of Doumat Al Jandal on the
borders of Syria were involved in highway robbery and plundering and
were on their way to muster troops and raid Madinah itself He immediately
appointed Siba bin Arfatah Al Ghifari to dispose the affairs of Madinah
during his absence and set out at the head of 1000 Muslims in late Rabi 
Al Awwal 5 A H taking with him a man named Madhkur fromBani
 Udhrah as a guide 
On their way to Doumat Al Jandal they used to march by night and hide
by day so that they might take the enemy by surprise When they drew near
their destination the Muslims discovered that the highway men had moved
to another place so they captured their cattle and shepherds The inhabitants
of Doumat Al Jandal had also fled in all directions for their lives and
evacuated their habitations The Prophet un stayed there for 5 days
1 1 Ibn Hisham 2 209 210 Zad Al Ma ad 2 112
during which he despatched expeditionary forces to hunt for the enemy
personnel but they detected none He then returned to Madinah but en route
he entered into a peace treaty with Uyainah bin Hisn Doumat Al Jandal is
located at about a distance of fifteen days inarch from Madinah and five
With this decisive and steady progress and wise strict plans the Prophet
managed to spread security control the situation and make peace
prevail the whole area He also succeeded in shifting the course of events
for the welfare of the Muslims by reducing the incessant internal and
external troubles The hypocrites were silenced a tribe of the Jews
evacuated while the other continued to fake good neighbourliness and
seemingly faithful adherence to the covenants the desert bedouins subdued
and finally the archenemy Quraish no longer keen on attacking the Muslims 
This secure strategic attitude created optimum circumstances for the
Muslims to resume their logical course in propagating Islam and
communicating the Messages of the Lord to all worlds 
Banu Abs Banu Kalb
Damra and Diyan 
Arab tribes in the lifetime
of Prophet 2H
Al Ahzab the Confederates Invasion
Once again peace and security enveloped the Arabian Peninsula and this
turbulent area began to experience a period of lull after a whole year war 
The Jews however whose treachery intrigues and disloyalty made them
taste all types of humiliation and disgrace were not admonished After they
had been exiled to Khaibar they remained waiting anxiously for the results
of the skirmishes going on between the Muslims and the idolaters Contrary
to their hopes the events of the war were in favour of the Muslims 
therefore they started a new stage of conspiracy and prepared themselves to
deal a deadly blow against the Muslims but were too cowardly to
manoeuvre directly against them so they laid a dreadful plan in order to
achieve their objectives Twenty chiefs of the Jews with some celebrities of
Bani Nadir went to Makkah to negot iate an u nholy alliance with Quraish 
They began to goad the people there to attack the Messenger of Allah
fL_ j 4 1 011 promising them full support and backing People of Quraish 
who had been languid and proved too weak to challenge the Muslims at
Badr seized this opportunity to redeem their stained honour and blemished
reputation The same delegation set out for Ghatfan called them to do the
same and they responded positively The Jewish delegation then started a
fresh effort and toured some parts of Arabia and managed to incite the
confederates of disbelief against the Prophet fi w j his Message and
the believers in Allah Quraish Kinanah and other allies from Tihama in
the south rallied ranked and recruited four thousand men under the
leadership of Abu Sufyan From the east there came tribes of Banu Saleem 
Ghatfan Bani Murrah etc They all headed for Madinah and gathered in its
vicinity at a time already agreed upon It was a great army of ten thousand
fighters They in fact outnumbered all the Muslims in Madinah women 
lads and elders included To tell the truth if they had launched a surprise
attack against Madinah they could have exterminated all the Muslims 
However the leadership inside the city was on the alert and the intelligence
personnel managed to reconnoitre the area of the enemies and reported their
movement to the people in charge in Madinah The Messenger of Allah
fi j i summoned a high advisory board and conducted a careful
discussion of a plan to defend Madinah After a lengthy talk between
military leaders and people possessed of sound advice it was agreed on the
proposal of an honourable Companion Salman Al Farisi to dig trenches as
defensive lines The Muslims with the Prophet an at their head 
encouraging helping and reminding them of the reward in the Hereafter 
most actively and diligently started to build a trench around Madinah 
Severe hunger bordering on starvation could not dissuade or discourage
them from achieving their desperately sought objective Salman said O
Messenger of AllSh When siege was to laid to us in Persia we used to dig
trenches to defend ourselves It was really an unprecedented wise plan The
Messenger of Allah hurriedly gave orders to implement the plan 
Forty yards was allocated to each group of ten to dig Sahl bin Sa d said 
We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah j the men
used to dig and we evacuate the earth on our backs 
Some preternatural Prophetic signs appeared in the process of trenching 
Jabir bin Abdullah seeing the Prophet jii starving slaughtered a
sheep cooked some barley and requested the Prophet and some
Companions to accept his invitation but the Prophet L gathered all
the thousand people engaged in digging the trench and they started to eat
until they were all completely full and yet the shoulder of mutton and dough
that was being baked remained as they were undiminished A certain
woman brought a handful of dates and passed by the Prophet u w j 
who took the dates threw them over his cloak and invited his followers to
eat The dates began to increase in number until they dropped over the trim
of his robe Another illustrious preternatural example went to the effect that
an obstinate rock stood out as an immu ne obstacle in the ditch The
Prophet jii jO took the spade and struck and the rock immediately
turned into a loose sand dune In another version Al Bara said On
Al Khandaq the trench Day there stood out a rock too immune for our
spades to break up We therefore went to see the Messenger of All h
 ui ju for advice He took the spade and struck the rock uttering in the
Name of Allah Allah is Great the keys of Ash Sham Geographical Syria 
are mine I swear by Allah I can see its palaces at the moment on the
second strike he said Allah is Great Persia is mine I swear by Allah I can
now see the white palace of Madain and for the third time he struck the
rock which turned into very small pieces he said Allah is Great I have
been given the keys of Yemen I swear by Allah I can see die gates of San a
while I am in my place The same version was narrated by Ishaq The
northern part of Madinah was the most vulnerable all the other sides being
surrounded by mountains and palm tree orchards the Prophet ui as a
skillful military expert understood that the Confederates would march in
that direction so die trench was ordered to be on that side The Muslims
went on digging the trench for several days they used to work on it during
the day and go back home in the evening until it had assumed its full
dimensions militarily before the huge army of the idolaters 2 which
numbered as many as ten thousand fighters arrived and settled in the
vicinity of Madinah in places called Al Asyal and Uhud 
 And when the believers saw Al Ahzab the confederates 
they said This is what Allah and His Messenger Muhammad
fL jh had promised us and Allah and His Messenger
 Muhammad an jj had spoken the truth and it only added
to their Faith and to their submissiveness to Allih 33 22 
Three thousand Muslims with Muhammad uji at their head 
came out to encounter the idolaters with Allah s Promise of victory deeply
established in their min ds They entrenched themselves in Sila Mountain
with the trench standing as a barrier between them and the disbelievers 
On attempting to attack the Muslims and break into Madinah the
idolaters were surprised to see a wide trench a new stratagem unknown in
Arabia before standing as an obstinate obstruction Consequently they
decided to lay siege to Madinah and began to manoeuvre around the trench
tr ying hard to find a vulnerable spot through which they could infiltrate into
Madinah To deter their enemies from approaching or bridging any gap in
their defences the Muslims hurled arrows and engaged in skirmishes with
them The veteran fighters of Quraish were averse to this situation waiting
in vain in anticipation of what the siege might reveal Therefore they
decid ed that a group of fighters led by Amr bin Abd e Wudd Tkrima bin
Abi Jahl and Dirar bin Al Khattab should work its way through the trench 
I 1 Ibn Hisham 3 330 331 
They in fact managed to do that and their horsemen captured a marshy area
between the trench and Sila Mountain Amr challenged the M uslims to a
duel and Ali bin Abi Talib was deputed After a short but fierce
engagement Ali killed Amr and obliged the others to evacuate in a state of
panic and confusion However some days later the polytheists conducted
fresh desperate attempts but all of them failed due to Muslims steadfastness
and heroic confrontation 
In the context of the events of the Trench Battle the Messenger of Allah
fj jji failed to observe some prayers in their right time Jabir ih 
narrated On the Day of Trench U mar bin Al Khattab came 
cursing the disbelievers of Quraish and said O Allah s Messenger I have
not offered the afternoon prayer and the sun has set The Prophet 111 
replied By Allah I too have not offered the prayer yet The Prophet
fj jui then went to Buthan performed ablution and observed the
afternoon prayer after the sun had set and then offered the sunset prayer
after it Ul He was so indignant for this failure that he invoked Allah s wrath
on his enemies and besought Allah to fill their houses and graves with fire
because they distracted him from observing the afternoon prayer It was
narrated by Ahmed and Shafa i that the events of that battle detained him
from the noon afternoon evening and night prayers but he observed them
combined The different narrations point to the fact that the situation lasted
for a few days Pl
It is clear that and because of the trench standing between the two
parties no direct engagement took place but rather there were military
activities confined to arrow hurling consequently the fight claimed the lives
of a small number of fighters six Muslims and ten polytheists one or two
killed by sword 
During the process of fighting Sa d bin Mu adh was shot by an arrow
that pierced his artery Perceiving his end approaching he invoked Allah
saying Oh Allah you know nothing is closer to my heart than striving in
Your way against those people disbelievers who belied Your Messenger
and banished him from his town Oh Allah I deeply believe that You have
decreed that we should fight them so if there is still more fighting to go
t Sahih Al Bukhari 2 590 
 3 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 287 Sharh Muslim 1 227 
with them let me stay alive in order to strive more against them If it has
settled down I beseech you to ignite it again so that I breathe my last in its
context He concluded his supplication beseeching Allah not to let him
die until he had had full revenge on Banu Quraiza In the midst of these
difficult circumstances plotteiy and intrigues were in fervent action against
the Muslims The chief criminal of Bani Nadir Huyai headed for the
habitations of Banu Quraiza to incite their chief Ka b bin Asad Al Qurazi 
who had drawn a pact with the Messenger of All h fU iii ju to run to his
aid in times of war Ka b in the beginning resisted all Huyai s temptation 
but Huyai was clever enough to manipulate him speaking of Quraish and
their notables in Al Asyal as well as Ghatfan and their chieftains
entrenched in Uhud all in one mind determined to exterminate Muhammad
 ui and his followers He moreover promised to stay in Ka b s fort
exposing himself to any potential danger in case Quraish and Ghatfan
recanted The wicked man went on in this manner until he later managed to
win Ka b to his side and persuade him to break his covenant with the
Muslims 2 Banu Quraiza then started to launch war operations against the
Muslims especially the secluded garrisons that housed the women and
children of the Muslims On the authority of Ibn Ishaq Safiyah ui 
daughter of Abdul Muttalib happened to be in a garrison with Hassan bin
Thabit as well as some women and children Safiyah said A Jew was
spotted lurking around our site which was vulnerable to any enemy attacks
because there were no men to defend it I informed Hassan that I was
suspicious of that man s presence near us He might take us by surprise now
that the Messenger of Allah _m and the Muslims are too busy to
come to our aid why don t you get down and kill him Hassan answered
that he would not do it so I took a bar of wood went down and struck the
Jew to death I returned and asked Hassan to loot him but again Hassan
refused to do that 3 This event had a far reaching effect and discouraged the
Jews from conducting further attacks thinking that those sites were fortified
and protected by Muslim fighters They however went on providing the
idolaters with supplies in token of their support against the Muslims 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 3 S91 
P Ibn Hisham 3 337 
PI ibid 2 228 
On hearing this bad news the Messenger 4111 j despatched four
Muslim prominent leaders Sa d bin Mu adh Sa d bin Ubada Abdullah
bin Rawaha and Khawat bin Jubair for investigation but warning against
any sort of spreading panic amongst the Muslims and advising that they
should declare in public that the rumours are groundless if they happen to be
so Unfortunately the four men discovered that the news was true and that
the Jews announced openly that no pact of alliance existed any longer with
Muhammad an The Messenger of Allah fL an was briefed on
this situation and the Muslims understood their critical position with the
horrible danger implied therein Their back was vulnerable to the attacks of
Banu Quraiza and a huge army with no way to connive at in front while
their women and children unprotected standing in between In this regard 
 And when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the
throats and you were harbouring doubts about Allih There the
believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking 
 33 10 11 
Now that the Muslims were shut in within the Trench on the defensive 
the hypocrites taunted them with having indulged in delusive hopes of
defeating Kisra emperor of Persia and Caesar emperor of the Romans 
They began to sow the seeds of defeatism and pretended to withdraw for
the defence of their homes though these were in no way exposed to danger 
Here Allah says 
 And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease
 of doubts said Allah and His Messenger jm l 
promised us nothing but delusions And when a party of them
saiu O people of Yathrib Al Madinah there is no stand
 possible for you against the enemy attack therefore go
back And a band of them asked for permission of die Prophet
 fL j uiju saying Truly our homes lie open to the enemy 
And they lay not open They but wished to flee 33 12 13 
The Messenger of Allah un wrapped hims elf in his robe and
began to meditate on die perfidy of Banu Quraiza The spirit of hopefulness
prevailed over him and he rose to his feet saying 
 Allah is Great Hearken you Muslims to Allah s good tidings
of victory and support 
He then started to lay decisive plans aiming at protecting the women and
children and sent some fighters back to Madinah to guard them against any
surprise assault by the enemy The second step was to take action that could
lead to undermining the ranks of the disbelieving confederates There he
had in mind to conclude a sort of reconciliation with the chiefs of Ghatfan
on the basis of donating them a third of Madinah s fruit crops He sought
the advice of his chief Companions namely Sa d bin Mu adh and Sa d bin
 Ubadah whose reply went as follows 
 O Messenger of Allah If it is Allah s injunction then we have to obey 
but if it is a new course you want to follow just to provide security for us
then we don t need it We experienced those people in polytheism and
idolatry and we can safely say that they don t need the fruit of our orchards 
they rather need to exterminate us completely Now that Allah has honoured
us with Islam I believe the best recourse in this situation is to put them to
the sword Thereupon the Prophet corrected their Belief saying 
 My new policy is being forged to provide your security after all the Arabs
have united to annihilate you Muslims 
Allah the Glorious the Exalted praise is to him created something that
led to the dissension of the enemies of Islam and later on to their full defeat 
A man from the tribe of Ghatfan called Na im bin Mas ud asked to be
admitted in the audience of the Prophet u ui He declared that he had
embraced Islam secretly and asked the Prophet ui to order him do
anything that might benefit the Muslims The Prophet asked him
to do anything that could help the Muslims in the present distress and use
any strategem of avail The man in a shuttle movement between the Jews 
Quraish and Ghatfan managed to incite each party to let down the other He
went to see the chiefs of Banu Quraiza and whispered in their ears not to
trust Quraish nor fight with them unless the latter pledged some hostages 
He tried to lend support to his counsel by claiming that Quraish would
forsake them if they perceived that victory over Muhammad fa i 4 U 1 ju was
far fetched and the Muslims then would have terrible revenge on them 
Na im then headed for the camp of Quraish and managed to practise a
similar strategem in its final result but different in content He claimed that
he felt that the Jews regretted breaching their covenant with Muhammad
faj Di jJl and his followers He told them that the Jews maintained regular
correspondence with the Muslims to the effect that Quraishite hostages be
sent to the camp of the Muslims with full Jewish allegiance paid to them as
already agreed upon Na im then exhorted Quraish not to send hostages to
the Jews On a third errand he did the same with the people of Ghatfan 
On Saturday night Shawwal 5 A H both Quraish and Ghatfan
despatched envoys to the Jews exhorting them to go into war against
M uhamma d fa _ui _ r u The Jews sent back messages that they would not
fight on Saturday They added that they needed hostages from them to
guarantee their consistency On receiving the replies Quraish and Ghatfan
came to believe Na im s words fully Therefore they sent a message to the
Jews again inviting them to war and asking them to preclude that condition
of hostages Na im s scheme proved successful and a state of distrust and
suspicion among the disbelieving allies prevailed and reduced their morale
to deplorable degree 
Meanwhile the Muslims were preoccupied supplicating their Lord to
protect their homes and provide security for their families The Messenger
of Allah fa an fa on his part invoked AllSh s wrath on the Confederates
 Oh Allfih You are quick in account You are the sender of the
Book we beseech You to defeat the confederates 1
Allih the Glorious the Exalted responded to the call of the Muslims on
the spot Coupled with the dissension and variance that found their way into
the hearts of the disbelievers forces of nature wind rain and cold
weaned them tents were blown down cooking vessels and other equipage
That very cold night the Messenger of Allah 4 j ju despatched
Hudhaifa bin Al Yaman to hunt around for news about the enemy He found
out that they were preparing to leave frustrated for their inability to achieve
their target Allah did really fulfill His Promise spared the Muslims fighting
a formidable army supported His slave Muhammad uii and
inflicted a heavy blow on the Confederates 
The battle of the Trench took place in the fifth year Hijri The siege of
Madinah started in Shawwal and ended in Dhul Qa dah i e it lasted for
over a month It was in feet a battle of nerves rather than of losses No bitter
fighting was recorded nevertheless it was one of the most decisive battles
in the early history of Islam and proved beyond a shadow of doubt that no
forces however huge could ever exterminate the nascent Islamic power
growing steadily in Madinah When Allah obliged the Confederates to
evacuate His Messenger was in a position to confidently declare that
thenceforth he would take the initiative in war and would not wait for the
land of Islam to be invaded I 2 1
 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 411 2 590 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 590 
Invading Banu Quraiza
Archangel Gabriel f _ji l on the very day the Messenger of Allah
 L 4 i came back to Madinah after the previous battle and while he was
washing in Umm Salama s house visited him asking that he should
unsheathe his sword and head for the habitation of the seditious Banu
Quraiza and fight them Gabriel noted that he with a procession of angels
would go ahead to shake their forts and cast fear in their hearts 
The Messenger of Allah in immediately summoned the prayer
caller and ordered him to announce fresh hostilities against Banu Quraiza 
institued Ibn Umm Maktum as a ruler of Madinah and entrusted the banner
of war to Ali bin Abi Talib who marched towards the appointed target and
came close enough to hear the Jews abusing the Messenger of Allah 
who on his part set out at the head of three thousand infantry men and thirty
horsemen of Ansar Helpers and Muhajireen Emigrants On their way to
encounter the enemy the afternoon prayer was due Some Muslims refused
to observe it until they had defeated the enemy while others offered it in its
proper time as usual The Prophet objected to neither When
they reached the habitations of Banu Quraiza they laid tight siege to their
forts Seeing this terrible situation they were in the chief of the Jews Ka b
bin Asad offered them three alternatives to embrace Islam and
consequently their life wealth women and children would be in full
security and reminded them that such behaviour would not be incongruous
with what they had read in their books about the veracity of Muhammad s
Prophethood to kill their children and women and then challenge the
Prophet 1 ui and his followers to the sword to either exterminate the
 Muslims or be exterminated or as a third possibility to take Muhammad
 1 and his people by surprise on Saturday a day mutually
understood to witness no fighting 
None of those alternatives appealed them so their chief angrily and
indignantly turned to them saying You have never been decisive in
decision making since you were bom The gloomy future already visible 
they made contacts with some Muslims who had maintained good relation
with them in order to learn about their fate in the light of the current
circumstances They requested that Abu Lubaba be despatched to them for
advice On his arrival the men began to implore women and children to cry
desperately In answer to their demand for advice he pointed to his throat
saying it was homicide awaiting them He then immediately realized that he
had betrayed the Prophet s trust so he headed directly for the mosque in
Madinah and tied himself to a wooden tall pole swearing that no one would
untie him save the Messenger of Allah w ju and added that he would
never enter the habitation of Banu Quraiza in recompense for the deadly
mistake he made When the Messenger fU w was informed of this
incident he said I would have begged Allah to forgive him if he had
asked me but since he had tied himself out of his own free will then it was
Allah Who would turn to him in forgiveness 
The Jews of Banu Quraiza could have endured the siege much longer
because food and water were plentifully available and their strongholds
were greatly fortified whereas the Muslims were in the wild bare land
suffering a lot from cold and hunger let alone too much fatigue consequent
on endless warfare operations that had started even before the battle of
Confederates Nevertheless this was a battle of nerves for Allah had cast
fear in the the Jews hearts and their morale had almost collapsed especially
when two Muslim heroes Ali bin Abi Talib and Az Zubair bin Awwam
Uii ail proceeded with Ali swearing that he would never stop until he had
either stormed their garrisons or been martyred like Hamza a former
In the light of this reluctance they had nothing except to comply with the
Messenger s judgement The Messenger of Allah ordered that
the men should handcuffed and this was done under the supervision of
Muhammad bin Salamah Al Ansari while the women and children were
isolated in confinement Thereupon Al Aws tribe interceded begging the
Prophet r i_ j 4_ui lS to be lenient towards them He suggested that Sa d bin
Mu adh a former ally be deputed to give verdict about them and they
Sa d meanwhile stayed behind in Madinah due to a serious wound he
sustained in the Confederates Battle He was summoned and brought on a
donkey On his way to the Prophet jii the Jews used to exhort him
to be lenient in his judgement on account of former friendship Sa d
remained silent but when they persisted he uttered It is time for Sa d not to
be afraid of the blame of the blamers On hearing this decisive attitude 
some of them returned to Madinah waiting for a desperate doom 
On arrival he alighted with the help of some men He was informed that
the Jews had agreed to accept his verdict about them He immediately
wondered if his judgement would pass on all the people present the Prophet
fL 4 ii jL included turning his face away in honour of him The reply was
He decided that all the able bodied male persons belonging to the tribe
should be killed women and children taken prisoners and their wealth
divided among the Muslim fighters The Prophet 411 accepted his
judgement saying that Sa d had adjudged by the Command of Allah In fact 
the Jews deserved that severe punitive action for the ugly treachery they had
harboured against Islam and die large arsenal they have amassed and which
consisted of one thousand and five hundred swords two thousand spears 
three hundred armours and five hundred shields all of which went into the
hands of the Muslims Trenches were dug in the bazaar ofMadinah and a
number of Jews between six and seven hundred were beheaded therein Hot
beds of intrigue and treachery were thus exterminated once and for all 
Huyai a chief criminal of war a devil of Bani Nadir and Safiyah s
father had joined the ranks of Banu Quraiza when Quraish and Ghatfan
defected was admitted into the audience of the Prophet 411 j with his
hands tied to his neck with a rope In audacious defiance he declared
obstinate enmity to the Prophet 1 but admitted that Allah s Will
was to be fulfilled and added that he was resigned to his fate He was
ordered to sit down and was beheaded on the spot 
Only one woman of the Jews was killed because she had killed a Muslim
warrior by flinging a grinding stone upon him A few elements of the enemy
embraced Islam and their lives wealth and children were spared As for the
spoils of the war the Prophet jl 4 ji divided them after putting a fifth
aside in accordance with AllSh s injunctions Three shares went to the
horseman and one to the infantry fighter Women captives were sent to Najd
to be bartered with horses and weaponry For himself the Prophet 411 
selected Rehana bint Amr bin Khanaqah manumitted and married her in
the year 6 Hijri She died shortly after the farewell pilgrimage and was
buried in Al Baqi 1 1
After the war with Banu Quraiza had been settled and they had been
defeated Sa d bin Mu adh s wish was gratified and he gave his last breath 
In response to his supplication Aishahc uii narrated Sa d s wounds
began to bleed from the front part of his neck while he was in his tent which
 ibn Hisham 2 245 Talqeeh Fuhum Ahl Al Athar p 12 
the Prophet 411 had pitched for him in the mosque so that he would
be in close proximity in order to inquire about and watch his well being
closely The people were not scared except when the blood flowed towards
them and in the Mosque along with Sa d s tent there was the tent of Banu
Ghifar They said O people of the tent what is it that is coming to us from
you Lo it was Sa d s wound that was bleeding and he died thereon 1 
Jabir narrated that the Messenger of AllSh u4 had said The
Throne of the Compassionate shook for the death of Sa d bin Mu adh Pl 
When his bier was carried At Tirmidhi said The hypocrites alleged it was
too light The Messenger of Allah 411 retorted 
cji s Si 
 The angels are carrying him 
In the process of the sieze laid to Banu Quraiza one man of the Muslims 
Khallad bin Suwaid was killed when a women of the Jews dropped the
grinding stone on him and another Abu Sinan bin Mihsan the brother of
Abu Lubaba stayed tied for six nights His wife used to untie him at
prayer times and then he tied himself again to the pole One early morning 
Allah the All Forgiving revealed a verse to the Messenger of Allah j 411
to the effect that Allah had turned to Abu Lubaba with forgiveness The
Muslims rushed to release him but he insisted that the Messenger of AllSh
 jl j 1 jut jju himself do it And this was done shortly before the morning
This Ghazwah took place in the month of Dhul Qa dah in the year five
HijriPl and the siege of Banu Quraiza s forts lasted for 25 days The
Chapter of Confederates was revealed containing Allah s Words concerning
the basic issues relating to the believers and hypocrites during the battle of
the Confederates and die consequences of the treachery and breaching of
covenants by the Jews 
 Sahib Al Bukhari 2 591 
p Sahih Al Bukhari 1 536 Sahib Muslim 2 294 Jami At Tinnidhi 2 225 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 237 238 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 590 591 ZM Al Ma ad 2 72 74 
Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 287 290 
Military Activities continued
Salam bin Abi Al Huqaiq Abu Rafi was a terrible Jew criminal who
had mustered the troops of the Confederates and provided them with a lot of
wealth and supplies on the one handl 1 and used to malign the Prophet
 4 ui ju on the other When the Muslims had settled their affair with
Banu Quraiza Al Khazraj tribe a rival of Al Aws asked for the Prophet s
permission to kill that criminal in order to merit a virtue equal to that of
Al Aws who had killed another criminal of the Jews Ka b bin Al Ashraf 
The Prophet ju gave them his permission provided that no women
or children be killed 
A group of five people with Abdullah bin Ateeq at their head headed
for Khaibar where Abu RafP s fort was situated When they approached
the place Abdullah advised his men to stay a little behind while he went
ahead disguised himself in his cloak as if he had been relieving himself 
When the people of the fort went in the gate keeper called him to enter
thinking he was one of them Abdullah went in and linked inside He then
began to unbolt the doors leading to Salam s room There it was absolutely
dark but he managed to put him to the sword and then leave in safety On
his way back his leg broke so he wrapped it up in a band and hid in a secret
place until morning when someone stood on the wall and announced the
death of Salam bin Abi Al Huqaiq officially On hearing the glad news he
left and went to see the Prophet 111 j who listened to the whole story 
and then asked Abdullah to stretch his leg which he wiped and the fracture
healed on the spot 2 
In another version l the group of five participated in killing that enemy
of Islam This incident took place in Dhul Qa dah or Dhul Hijjah in the year
five Hijri Pl
 Fath Al Bari 7 343 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 577 
PI Rahmat al liTalameen 2 223 
Shortly after the conclusion of the battle with the Confederates and
Quraiza the Prophet i began to despatch punitive expeditions to
force the aggressive tribes and rebellious Arabians to come to peaceful
terms with the rising state of Islam 
A platoon of thirty believers under the leadership of Muhammad bin
Maslamah was despatched on a military mission in Muharram the sixth
year Hijri following the two previous battles It headed for the habitation of
Bani Bakr sept The Muslims attacked that sept and dispersed them in all
directions Plenty of spoils fell to the lot of the Muslims who returned home
with a terrible disbeliever Thumamah bin Uthal Al Hanafi chief of Bani
Hanifa who had gone out by order of Musailama the Liarf l to assassinate
the Prophet L an j The Prophet s Companions tied him to a pole of the
Prophetic Mosque To a question posed by the Prophet jui ju 
Thumamah used to say If you were to kill someone then you would have
to choose one of noble descent if you were to be gracious then let it be to a
grateful man and if you were to ask for money you would have to ask for it
from a generous man He repeated that three times on three different
occasions On the third time the Prophet ui ordered that he should
be released He soon went nearby washed and then came back to profess
the new faith addressing the Prophet an No face had been more
awful to me than yours but now it is the closest to my heart no religion had
ever been more repugnant to me than yours now it is the dearest in my
heart Now I want to perform the Umrah lesser pilgrimage The Prophet
gave him good tidings and asked him to do that On his arrival in
Makkah the Quraishites accused him of apostasy He denied it and affirmed
that he had embraced Islam and then swore that they would never get a
grain from Yamama a suburban area around Makkah unless the Prophet
fL j jji would allow it In fact he did it and refused to send food
supplies to Makkah until the Prophet an interceded at the Makkans 
earnest plea 2 
1 1 As Seerah Al Halabiyah 2 297 
PI ZSd Al Ma ad 2 119 Mukhtasar Seen Ar Rasool p 292 293 
Bani Libyan Invasion 
Bani Lihyan had acted treacherously towards ten of the Prophet s
Companions and had them hanged Their habitation being situated deep in
the heart ofHijaz on the borders ofMakkah and due to deep seated blood 
revenge between the Muslims on the one hand and Quraish and the
Arabians on the other the Prophet ui l deemed it unwise to penetrate
deep and come close to the greatest enemy Quraish However when the
power of the allied Confederates collapsed and they began to slacken and
resign to the current unfavourable balance of power the Messenger of Allah
fL j seized this rare opportunity and decided that it was time to take
revenge on Bani Lihyan He set out in Rabi Al Awwal or Jumada Al Ula in
the year six Hijri at the head of two hundred Muslim fighters and made a
feint of heading for Syria then soon changed route towards Batn Gharran 
the scene of his Companions tragedy and invoked Allah s mercy on them 
News of his march reached Bani Libyan who immediately fled to the
mountain tops nearby and thus remained out of his reach On his way back 
the Prophet 11 despatched a group of ten horsemen to a place called
Kura Al Ghamim in the vicinity of the habitation of Quraish in order to
indirectly confirm his growing military power All these skirmishes took
fourteen days after which he left back for home 
Expeditions and Delegations continued 
1 A platoon led by Ukasha bin Al Mihsan was despatched to a place
called Al Ghamir inhabited by Bani Asad in the year six Hijri The
enemy immediately fled leaving behind them two hundred camels which
were taken to Madinah 
2 A platoon led by Muhammad bin Maslamah set out towards the
habitation of Bani Tha labah in Dhil Qassa But a hundred men of the
enemies ambushed and killed all of them except Muhammad bin
Maslamah who managed to escape but badly wounded 
3 In retaliation against Bani ThaMabah Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah at the
head of forty men was despatched to Dhil Qassa They walked that night
and took the enemy by surprise in the morning Again they fled to the
mountains except one who was injured and later embraced Islam A lot
of booty fell to their lot in that particular incident 
4 A platoon under the leadership of Zaid bin Haritha was sent to
Al Jumum the habitation of Bani Saleem in the same year A woman
from Bani Muzaina showed than the way to the enemy s camp There
the Muslims took some captives and gained a lot of booty Later on the
Messenger of Allah fi j jji granted the woman her freedom and
married her to one of his followers 
5 Zaid bin Haritha in Jumada Al Ula 6 Hijri at the head of a hundred and
seventy horsemen set out to a place called Al Ais intercepted a caravan
of Quraish led by Abul As the Prophet s relative and looted their
camels Abul As escaped and took refuge in Zainab s his wife and the
Prophet s daughter house He begged her to ask the Prophet
for the restitution of his wealth The Prophet L recommended 
but without coercion that the people do that They immediately gave the
man back all his wealth He went back to Makkah gave over the trusts to
those entitled to them embraced Islam and emigrated to Madinah where
the Prophet an reunited him with his wife Zainab after three and
a half years of their first marriage contract The verse relating to
prohibition of marriage between women Muslims and disbelievers had
not been revealed then 
6 In Jumada Ath Thania the same year Zaid at the head of fifteen men
raided Bani Tha labah and captured twenty of their camels but the people
7 In Rajab of the same year Zaid at the head of twelve men set out to a
place called Wadi Al Qura in a reconnaissance mission to explore the
movements of the enemy The people there attacked the Muslims killed
nine of them while the rest including Zaid bin Haritha managed to
8 The invasion of Al Khabt diluted yoghurt took place in the year eight
Hijri i e before Al Hudaibiyah Treaty Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah led
 Rahmat al liralameen 2 226 ZM Al Ma ad 2 120 122 
three hundred horsemen to observe a caravan belonging to Quraish 
Because of the inadequacy of food supplies they began to starve so
much that they had Khabt diluted yoghurt hence the appellation The
Army of Al Khabt One of the men slaughtered nine camels at three
times three each time at different stages of the mission Abu Ubaidah 
the leader of the campaign prohibited him from doing so The sea was
generous and presented them with an animal called Al Anbar sperm 
whale so rich in fat that they subsisted on it for half a month When they
came back home they narrated the story to the Prophet who
co mment ed that it was provision granted by Allah and asked them to
share him some of its meat 1 
This campaign came chronologically prior to Al Hudaibiyah Treaty
because of and after which the Muslims stopped intercepting Quraishi
 U Sahih Al Bukhari 2 625 626 Sahih Muslim 2 145 146 
Bani Al Mustaliq Muraisi Ghazwah Sha ban 6 Hijri
Though militarily it did not assume its full dimension this Ghazwah had
certain implications that brought about a state of turbulence within the
Islamic State and resulted in disgracefulness to clothe in the hypocrites 
Moreover it entailed enactment of consolidating legislations that attached
an impression of nobility dignity and purity of souls to the Islamic
News reached the Prophet un on Sha ban 2nd to the effect that
the chief of Bani Al Mustaliq Al Harith bin Dirar had mobilised his men 
along with some Arabs to attack Madinah Buraidah bin Al Haseeb
Al Aslami was immediately despatched to verify the reports He had some
words with Abi Dirar who confirmed his intention of war He later sent a
reconnoiterer to explore the positions of the Muslims but he was captured
and killed The Prophet summoned his men and ordered them to
prepare for war Before leaving Zaid bin Haritha was mandated to see to the
affairs of Madinah and dispose them On hearing the advent of the Muslims 
the disbelievers got frightened and the Arabs going with them defected and
ran away to their lives Abu Bakr was entrusted with the banner of the
Emigrants and that of the Helpers went to Sa d bin Ubada The two armies
were stationed at a well called Muraisi Arrow shooting went on for an hour 
and then the Muslims rushed and engaged with the enemy in a battle that
ended in full victory for the Muslims Some men were killed women and
children of the disbelievers taken as captives and a lot of booty fell to the
lot of the Muslims Only one Muslim was killed by mistake by a Helper 
Amongst the captives was Juwairiyah daughter of Al Harith chief of the
disbelievers The Prophet u uii married her and in compensation the
Muslims had to m an um i t a hundred others of the enemy prisoners who
embraced Islam and were then called the Prophet s in iawsJ l
The Treacherous Role of the Hypocrites prior to
the Bani Al Mustaliq Ghazwah 
 Abdullah bin Ubai a terrible hypocrite was full of rancour against Islam
and the Muslims because he believed that the Prophet un had
 Zad Al Ma ad 2 112 113 Ibn Hisham 2 289 290 294 295 
dispossessed him of his leadership over Al Aws and Al Khazraj two clans
already agreed on the Prophethood of Muhammad and his
masterhood over them 
 Abdullah s rancour had appeared before he feigned Islam Following the
battle of Badr he made pretensions of being a Muslim but deep at heart he
remained that terrible enemy of Allah His Messenger and all the believers 
in general His sole target had always been to sow the seeds of dissension in
the Muslim co mmuni ty and undermine the cause of the new heavenly
religion it has His treacherous behaviour could be witnessed everywhere
but was strikingly evident in his wicked attempts at creating a state of
confusion and disorder amongst the Muslims at Uhud Battle His hypocrisy
and deceit assumed serious and ugly dimensions when he used to stand up
among the Muslims shortly before the Prophet s Friday speech and
mockingly say to them This is the Messenger of Allah who has honoured
you with Allah so you have got to support obey and listen to him and
then he would sit down 
He did the same following Uhud Battle on Friday He was so rude and
presumptuous that his words smacked unmistakingly of deeply rooted
rancour so that some of the Muslims took him by his cloak reproachingly
and silenced him He immediately left uttering rude and mocking words A
Helper met him at the Mosque gate and ordered him to return and beg the
Messenger for Allah s forgiveness but he retorted that he had never wanted
him to ask for that 1 He moreover conducted clandestine contacts with
Rani Nadir another tribe of Jews encouraging them to make alliance with
him and promising support for them all of this in his ceaseless efforts in a
long process of conspiracy and intrigue hatched against the Muslims 
Allah s Words as regards his treacherous acts and awe inspiring attempts
during the Trench Battle came to testify quite clearly to this mode of
 And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease
 of doubts said Allah and His Messenger uii ju 
promised us nothing but delusions 33 12 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 105 
The verses go on in the same context to describe the hypocrite as a
coward and a defeatist He is a liar and has no regard for pledges solemnly
made He is treacherous disloyal and perfidious He is niggardly and
greedy In short he is the complete antithesis of a true believer 
 They think that Al Ahzab the Confederates have not yet
withdrawn and if Al Ahzab the Confederates should come
 again they would wish they were in the deserts wandering 
among the bedouins seeking news about you from a far place 
and if they happen to be among you they would not fight but
little 33 20 
All enemies of Islam from the Jews hypocrites and polytheists did
acknowledge that Islam had the upper hand not because of material
superiority multitudes of troops or much equipment but it was rather due to
the noble values refined ethics and high attributes that imbued the Muslim
community and whoever was attached to it The enemies of Islam were
already aware of that flood of light derived wholly from the person of the
Prophet jj 3 who always stood as an excellent exemplar for men to
copy and follow 
The enemies of Islam after steering the course of futile warfare against
the new religion for five years came to realize fully that exte rminating
Islam is not accessible in the battlefields so they resorted to other tactics 
They being reputed gossip mongers decided to launch a widespread
propaganda campaign aiming at slandering the person of the Prophet
ij j 4_ui in a most sensitive area of the Arabian life namely ethics and
traditions Following the battle of the Confederates the Prophet 4 u un jl 
married Zainab bint Jahsh after her marriage with Zaid bin Haritha his
adopted son had broken up They seized this opportunity and began to
circulate idle talk against the Prophet pu jui in Arabia depending on a
tradition among the desert Arabs that prohibits contracting a marriage with
an adopted son s divorcee They alleged that his marriage would be
considered a heinous sin They also based their malicious propaganda on die
fact that Zainab was his fifth wife whereas the number was strictly limited
to a maximum of four in the Noble Qur an hence the validity of this
marriage was in doubt according to them 
These rumours and gossips had a negative impact on the morale of some
weak hearted Muslims until the decisive verses were revealed acquitting the
Prophet uii and invalidating all those ill designs and obnoxious
 O Prophet Muhammad ui Keep your duty to Allah 
and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites i e do not
follow their advices Verily AMh is Ever AU Knower All 
The wicked Role they played in the course of
the Ghazwah of Bani Al Mustaliq 
During this Ghazwah the hypocrites almost managed to create a sort of
discord among the Muslims themselves coupled with a serious and ugly
slander against the Prophet w himself In short their behaviour was
an authentic translation of Allah s Words 
 Had they marched out with you they would have added to you
nothing except disorder and they would have hurried about in
your midst spreading corruption and sowing sedition among
you 9 47 
A quarrel was about to break out between the Emigrants and the Helpers
on account of plots and evil intentions designed by the hypocrites The
Prophet j j 4 _iii jju told them off describing their misbehaviour as
something smacking of pre Islamic practices They hypocrites with
 Abdullah bin Ubai at their head were furious for the challenge which the
Muslims showed towards the hostile plans and vicious intrigues woven
behind closed doors and swore the most honourable will expel the meanest
out of Madinah and added They the Muslims have outnumbered and
shared us our land If you fatten your dog it will eat you When that talk
was reported to the Prophet L jji Umar avenerable Companion 
asked for permission to have Ibn Ubai killed The Prophet
naturally turned down his proposal on the grounds that it did not become of
a Prophet u 411 jl to be accused of killing his people He on the contrary
in an unexpected move asked Umar to announce departure He marched
with his men for two days until the sun grew too hot TTiey stopped and fell
asleep a clever attempt at diverting his people s attention from die previous
event Abdullah s son heard of that vile of his father and as the party
reached Madinah he drew his sword and barred his father s entry into the
town until he had confessed and declared that he himself was the meanest of
the citizens of Madinah and the Prophet 411 j the most honourable of
them Thus the boast recoiled on his head It was also reported that the son
was ready to kill his father if the Prophet i ro had wanted him to 
The Slander Affair 
This extremely painful incident took place on the Prophet s return from
the expedition against Bani Mustaliq TTie Muslim army had to halt for a
night at a place a short distance from Madinah In this expedition the
Prophet fLy jm was accompanied by his noble and talented wife 
 Aishah jji As it so happened Aishah went out some
distance from the camp to attend to the call of nature When she returned 
she discovered that she had dropped her necklace somewhere The necklace
itself was of no great value but as it was a loan from a friend Aishah 
went out again to search for it On her return to her great grief and
mortification the army had already marched away with the camel she was
riding her attendants thinking that she was in the litter as she was then thin 
very young and light of weight In her helplessness she sat down and cried
till sleep overpowered her Safwan bin Mu attal an Emigrant who was
coming in the rear recognized her as he had seen her before the verse
enjoining the veil was revealed and brought her on his camel to Madinah
without saying a single word to her himself walking behind the animal The
hypocrites of Madinah led by Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul sought to make
capital out of this incident and spread a malicious scandal against Aishah
t j uii and unfortunately some of the Muslims also became involved in it 
On arrival in Madinah the Prophet u held counsel with his
Companions who pronounced different opinions ranging from divorce to
retention The incident almost roused a fight between two rival factions 
Al Aws and Al Khazraj but the Prophet s intervention silenced both parties
on the sport Aishah i u unaware of the rumours being circulated fell
ill and was confined to bed for a month On recovering she heard of the
slander and took permission to go and see her parents seeking authentic
news She then burst into tears and stayed for two days and one sleepless
night ceaselessly weeping to such an extent that she felt her liver was about
to rip open The Prophet i di ju visited her in that situation and after
testifying to the Oneness of Allah he told her If you are innocent Allah
will acquit you otherwise you have to beg for His forgiveness and pardon 
She stopped weeping and asked her parents to speak for her but they had
nothing to say so she herself took the initiative and said Should I tell you I
am innocent and AllSh knows that I am surely innocent you will not
believe me and if I were to admit something of which AllSh knows I am
innocent you will believe me then I will have nothing to make recourse to
except the words of the father of Prophet Yusuf Joseph 
 So for me patience is most fitting And it is AllSh Alone 
Whose Help can be sought against that which you assert 
She then turned away and lay down for some rest At that decisive
moment the Revelation came acquitting Aishah of all the
slanderous talk fabricated in this concern Aishah w of course was
wholeheartedly joyful and praised AllSh thankfully AllSh s Words in this
regard went as follows 
 Verily Those who brought forth the slander against Aishah
Ui uii the wife of the Prophet fi u w are a group
among you 24 11 
The principal elements involved in the slander affair Mistah bin Athatha 
Hassan bin Thabit and Hamnah bint Jahsh were flogged with eighty stripes 
As for the man who took the principal part Abdullah bin Ubai he was
not flogged either because the corporal punishment commutes the
chastisement in store for him in the Hereafter and he does not deserve this
merit or for the same public interest for which he was not killed previously 
He moreover became the butt of reproach and humiliation amongst his
people after his real intentions had been unequivocally exposed to all the
Almost a month later the Messenger of Allah u i and Umar bin
Al Khattab were engaged in the following talk Don t you see Umar if I
had had him Abdullah bin Ubai killed a large number of dignitaries would
have furiously hastened to fight for him Now on the contrary if I ask them
to kill him they will do so out of their own free will Umar replied I
swear by Allah that the Prophet s judgement is much more sound than
I l Sahih Al Bukhari 1 364 2 696 698 Z8d Al Ma ad 2 113 115 Ibn Hisham 2 297 307 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 293 
Delegations and Expeditions following Al Muraisi Ghazwah
1 A military expedition led by Abdur Rahman bin 4 Auf was despatched to
the habitation of Bani Kalb in Doumat Al Jandal in Sha ban 6 Hijri 
Before setting out the Prophet w summoned 4 Abdur Rahman 
and placed his hand on the latter s hand invoking Allah s blessings and
giving him commandments to act magnanimously during the war He
told him to many the king s daughter if they obeyed him Abdur
Rahman stayed among those people for three days invited them to Islam
and they responded positively He then did marry the king s daughter
Tamadur bint Al Asbagh 
2 In the same month and year 4 Ali bin Abi Talib was despatched at the
head of a platoon to the habitation of Bani Sa d bin Bakr in a place called
Fadk Prophet Muhammad u had been reported that those had
rallied ranks to support the Jews The Muslim fighters used to march in
the day and lurk at night On their way they captured an enemy scout
who admitted being sent to Khaibar tribe to offer them support in return
for their dates Ali and his companions raided their encampment 
captured five hundred camels and two thousand goats but Banu Sa d 
with their chieftain Wabr bin 4 Aleem had fled away 
3 An expedition led by Abu Bakr As Siddiq or Zaid bin Haritha was
despatched to Wadi Al Qura in Ramadan 6 Hijri after Fazara sept had
made an attempt at the Prophet s life Following the morning prayer the
detachment was given orders to raid the enemy Some of them were
killed and others captured Amongst the captives were Umm Qirfa and
her beautiful daughter who was sent to Makkah as a ransom for the
release of some Muslim prisoners there Umm Qirfa s attempts at the
Prophet s life recoiled on her and the thirty horsemen she had gathered
and sustained to implement her evil scheme were all killed 
4 Anas bin Malik reported that some people belonging to tribe of Uraina
came to Allah s Messenger j v i ui and made pretensions to Islam 
They stayed in Madinah but found its climate uncongenial so they were
asked to pitch their tents in the pastures nearby They did so and were all
right They then fell on the Prophet s shepherd and killed him turned
 Sahih Muslim 2 89 
apostates from Islam and drove off the camels This news reached the
Prophet ji j tin who sent a group of twenty Muslims led by Karz bin
Jabir Al Fihri on their track They were brought and handed over to him
He had their hands and feet cut off their eyes gouged out in recompense
for their behaviour and then they were thrown on the stony ground until
they died 1 
Biographers also reported Amr bin Omaiya Ad Damari and Salamah bin
Abi Salamah to have been sent on an errand to kill Abu Sufyan the chief
of Quraish who had already sent a bedouin to kill the Prophet 
The two men mission failed except for three polytheists killed on die
way It is noteworthy that all the foregone invasions did not imply real
bitter fighting they were rather skirmishes or punitive military
manoeuvres carried out to deter some enemies still unsubdued Deep
meditation on the development of war circumstances reveal the
continuous collapse of the morale among the enemies of Islam who had
come to understand that they were no longer in a position to contain the
Islamic call or weaken its active drive This state of affairs reached its
climax in Al Hudaibiyah Treaty when the two belligerent parties 
believers and disbelievers entered into a truce agreement that pointed
markedly to the ever growing power of Islam and recorded
unequivocally the perpetuity of this heavenly religion in pan Arabia 
ti ZfidAl Ma ad 2 122 
Al Hudaibiyah Treaty
 Dhul Qa dah 6 A H 
When Arabia began to witness the large impressive sweep in favour of
the Muslims the forerunners of the great conquest and success of the
Islamic Call started gradually to loom on the demographic horizon and the
true believers restored their undisputed right to observe worship in the
It was about the sixth year Hijri when the Prophet saw in a
dream while he was still in Madinah that he had entered the sacred
sanctuary in Makkah in security with his followers and was performing the
ceremonies of Umrah lesser pilgrimage Their heads were being shaved
and hair cut off As soon as he informed some of his Companions the
contents of his dream their hearts leapt up with joy since they found in it
the actualization of their deep longing to take part in pilgrimage and its
hallowed rites after an exile of six years 
The Prophet had his clothes washed mounted his camel and
marched out towards Makkah at the head of fifteen hundred Muslims
including his wife Umm Salamah Some desert bedouins whose Faith was
lukewarm hung back and made excuses They carried no weapons with
them except sheathed swords because they had no intention of fighting Ibn
Umm Maktum was mandated to dispose the affairs of Madinah during the
Prophet s absence As they approached Makkah and in a place called Dhi
Hulaifa he ordered that the sacrificial animals be garlanded and all
believers donned Al Ihram the pilgrim s garb He despatched a
reconnoiterer to hunt around for news of the enemy The man came back to
tell the Prophet ui that a large number of slaves as well as a huge
army were gathered to oppose him and that the road to Makkah was
completely blocked The Prophet consulted his Companions 
who were of the opinion that they would fight none unless they were
debarred from performing their pilgrimage 
The Quraishites on their part held a meeting during which they
considered the whole situation and decided to resist the Prophet s mission at
all costs Two hundred horsemen led by Khalid bin Al Waleed were
despatched to take the Muslims by surprise during Zuhr the afternoon 
prayer However the rules of prayer of fear were revealed meanwhile and
thus Khalid and his men missed the chance The Muslims avoided marching
on that way and decided to follow a rugged rocky one Here Khalid ran
back to Quraish to brief them on the latest situation 
When the Muslims reached a spot called Thaniyat Al Marar the
Prophet s camel stumbled and knelt down and was too stubborn to move 
Muhammad fu uii swore he would willingly accede to any plan they
put forward that would glorify Allah s sanctities He then reprovingly
spurred his camel and it leapt up They resumed their march and came to
pitch their tents at the furthest part of Al Hudaibiyah beside a well of scanty
water The Muslims reported thirst to the Prophet jL who took an
arrow out of his quiver and placed it in the ditch Water immediately gushed
forth and his followers drank to their fill When the Prophet had
rested Budail bin Warqa Al Khuza i with some celebrities of Khuza ah
tribe the Prophet s confidants came and asked him what he had come for 
The Prophet un replied that it was not for war that he had come
forth I have no other design he said but to perform Umrah the lesser
pilgrimage in the Holy Sanctuary Should Quraish embrace the new
religion as some people have done they are most welcome but if they
stand in my way or debar the Muslims from pilgrimage I will surely fight
them to the last man and Allah s Order must be fulfilled The envoy
carried the message back to Quraish who sent another one called Mikraz
bin Hafs On seeing him the Prophet un said that that was a
treacherous man He was given the same message to communicate to his
people He was followed by another ambassador known as Al Hulais bin
 Alqamah He was very much impressed by the spirit of devotion that the
Muslims had for the Sacred Ka bah He went back to his men and warned
them against debarring M uham mad ui and his Companions from
doing honour to Allah s house on the peril of breaking his alliance with
them Hulais was succeeded by Urwa bin Mas ud Ath Thaqafi to negotiate
with Muhammad j uii In the course of discussion he said to the
Prophet oji Muhammad Have you gathered around yourself
mixed people and then brought them against your kith and kin in order to
destroy them By Allah I think I see you deserted by these people
tomorrow At this point Abu Bakr stood up and expressed his resentment at
this imputation Al Mugheerah bin Shu bah expressed the same attitude and
reprovingly forbade him from touching the Prophet s beard Here Quraish s
envoy remarked indignantly and alluded to the latter s treacherous act of
killing his companions and looting them before he embraced Islam 
Meanwhile Urwah during his stay in the Muslim camp had been closely
watching the unfathomable love and profound respect that the followers of
Muhammad vj jii showed him He returned and conveyed to Quraish
his impression that those people could not forsake the Prophet jji 
under any circumstances He expressed his feelings in the following words 
 I have been to Chosroes Caesar and Negus in their kingdoms but never
have I seen a king among a people like Muhammad among his
Companions If he performs his ablution they would not let the water
thereof fall on the ground if he expectorates they would have the mucus to
rub their faces with if he speaks they would lower their voices They will
not abandon him for anything in any case He now offers you a reasonable
plan so do what you please 
Seeing an overwhelming tendency towards reconciliation among their
chiefs some reckless fight prone youngsters of Quraish devised a wicked
plan that could hinder the peace treaty They decided to infiltrate into the
camp of the Muslims and produce intentional skirmishes that might trigger
the fuse of war Muhammad bin Maslamah chief of the Muslim guards 
took them captives but in view of the far reaching imminent results about to
be achieved the Prophet 4 i set them free In this context Allah says 
 And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you and your
hands from them in the midst of Makkah after He had made you
victors over them 48 24 
Time passed Negotiations went on but with no results Then the Prophet
 j j ui i desired Umar to see the nobles of Quraish on his behalf Umar
excused himself on account of the personal enmity of Quraish he had 
moreover no influential relatives in the city who could shield him from
danger and he pointed to Uthman bin Affan who belonged to one of the
most powerful families in Makkah as the suitable envoy Uthman went to
Abu Sufyan and other chiefs and told them that the Muslims had come only
to visit and pay their homage to the Sacred House to do worship there and
that they had no intention to fight He was also asked to call them to Islam 
and give glad tidings to the believers in Makkah women and men that the
conquest was approaching and Islam was surely to prevail because AllSh
would verily establish His religion in Makkah Uthman also assured them
that after the performance of ceremonies they would soon depart peacefully 
but the Quraishites were adamant and not prepared to grant them the
permission to visit Al Ka bah They however offered Uthman the
permission to perform the pilgrimage if he so desired in his individual
capacity but Uthman declined the offer saying How is it possible that I
avail myself of this opportunity when the Prophet v an is denied of
it The Muslims anxiously waited for the arrival of Uthman with mingled
feelings of fear and anxiety But his arrival was considerably delayed and a
foul play was suspected on the part of Quraish The Muslims were greatly
worried and took a solemn pledge at the hand of the Prophet v that
they would sacrifice their lives to avenge the death of their Companion and
stand firmly by their master Muhammad under all conditions 
This pledge goes by the name of Bay at Ar Ridwart a covenant of fealty 
The first men to take a pledge were Abu Sinan Al Asadi and Salamah bin
Al Akwa who gave a solemn promise to die in the cause of Truth three
times at the front of the army in the middle and in the rear The Prophet
jJl j v jii caught his left hand on behalf of Uthman This fealty was sworn
under a tree with Umar holding the Prophet s hand and Ma qil bin Yasar
holding a branch of the tree up The Noble Qur an has referred to this
pledge in die following words 
 Indeed Allih was pleased with the believers when they gave
their Bai a pledge to you O Muhammad y m under
the tree 48 18 
When Quraish saw the firm determination of the Muslims to shed the last
drop of blood for the defence of their Faith they came to their senses and
realized that Muhammad s followers could not be cowed down by these
tactics After some further interchange of messages they agreed to conclude
a treaty of reconciliation and peace with the Muslims The clauses of the
said treaty go as follows 
1 The Muslims shall return this time and come back next year but they
shall not stay in Makkah for more than three days 
2 They shall not come back armed but can bring with them swords only
sheathed in scabbards and these shall be kept in bags 
3 War activities shall be suspended for ten years during which both parties
will live in full security and neither will raise sword against the other 
4 If anyone from Quraish goes over to Muhammad ui without his
guardian s permission he should be sent back to Quraish but should any
of Muhammad s followers return to Quraish he shall not be sent back 
5 Whosoever wishes to join Muhammad w or enter into treaty
with him should have the liberty to do so and likewise whosoever
wishes to join Quraish or enter into treaty with them should be allowed
to do so 
Some dispute arose with regard to the preamble For example when the
agreement was to be committed to writing Ali bin Abi Talib who acted as
a scribe began with die words Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem i e In the
Name of Allih the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful but the Makkan
plenipotentiary Suhail bin Amr declared that he knew nothing about
Ar Rahman and insisted upon die customary formula Bi ismika Allahumma 
i e In Your Name O AllSh The Muslims grumbled with uneasiness but
the Prophet 4_Ul agreed He then went on to dictate This is what
Muh ammad the Messenger of Allah has agreed to with Suhail bin Amr 
Upon this Suhail again protested Had we acknowledged you as Prophet 
we would not have debarred you from the Sacred House nor fought against
you Write your own nam e and the name of your father The Muslims
grumbled as before and refused to consent to the change The Prophet
jjL j 4 _ui however in the larger interest of Islam attached no importance
to such an insignificant detail erased the words himself and dictated
instead M uhammad the son of 4 Abdullah Soon after this treaty Khuza a
c l an a former ally of Banu Hashim joined the ranks of Muhammad aui
and Banu Bakr sided with Quraish 
It was during this time while the treaty was being written that Abu
Jandal Suhail s son appeared on the scene He was brutally chained and
was staggering with privation and fatigue The Prophet in and his
Companions were moved to pity and tried to secure his release but Suhail
was adamant and said To signify that you are faithful to your contract an
opportunity has just arrived The Prophet ui said But the treaty
was not signed when your son entered the camp Upon this he burst forth
and said but the terms of the treaty were agreed upon It was indeed an
anxious moment On the one hand Abu Jandal was lamenting at the top of
his voice Am I to be returned to the polytheists that they might entice me
from my religion O Muslims but on the other hand the faithful
engagement was also considered to be necessary above all other
considerations The Prophet s heart welled up with sympathy but he wanted
to honour his word at all costs He consoled Abu Jandal and said Be
patient resign yourself to the Will of Allah AlUlh is going to provide for
you and your helpless companions relief and me ans of escape We have
concluded a treaty of peace with diem and we have taken the pledge in the
Name of Allah We are therefore under no circ umstan ces prepared to br eak
it Umar bin Al Khattab could not help giving vent to die deep seated
agony of his heart He rose to his feet uttering words implyin g deep hatred
and extreme indignation and requested Abu Jandal to take his sword and kill
Suhail but the son spared his father However in silent resignation was
therefore Abu Jandal borne away with his chains 
When the peace treaty had been concluded the Prophet jl jji 
ordered his Companions to slaughter their sacrificial animal s but they were
too depressed to do that The Prophet w gave instructions in thi s
regard three times but with negative response He told his wife Umm
Salamah about this attitude of his Companions She advised that he hims elf
take the initiative slaughter his animal and have his head shaved Seeing
that the Muslims with rended hearts started to slaughter their animals and
shave their heads They even almost killed one another because of their
distress The Prophet prayed three times for those who shaved
their heads and once for those who cut their hair A camel was sacrificed on
behalf of seven men and a cow on behalf of the same number of people The
Prophet JL an sacrificed a camel which once belonged to Abu Jahl and
which the Muslims had seized as booty at Badr thus enrag in g the
polytheists During Al Hudaibiyah campaign the Prophet jm ir u
permitted Ka b bin Ujrah who was in a state of Ihram state of ritual
consecration of the pilgrim for Umrah lesser pilgrimage to shave his
head due to illness on the condition that he will pay compensation by
sacrificing a sheep fasting for three days or feeding six needy persons 
Concerning this the following verse was revealed 
 And whosoever of you is ill or has an ailment in his scalp
 necessitating shaving he must pay a Fidyah ransom of either
fasting three days or giving Sadaqa feeding six poor persons 
or offering sacrifice one sheep 2 196 
Meanwhile some believing women emigrated to Madinah and asked the
Prophet fL j 4 an for refuge which they were granted When their families
demanded their return he would not hand them back because the following
verse was revealed 
 O you who believe When believing women come to you as
emigrants examine them Allah knows best as to their Faith 
then if you know them for true believers send them not back to
the disbelievers they are not lawful wives for the disbelievers
nor are the disbelievers lawful husbands for them But give the
disbelievers that amount of money which they have spent as
their Mahr to them And there will be no sin on you to marry
them if you have paid their Mahr to them Likewise hold not the
disbelieving women as wives 60 10 
The reason why the believing women were not handed back was either
because they were not originally included in the terms of the treaty which
mentioned only men or because the Qur an abrogated any terms dealing
with women in the verse 
 O Prophet When believing women come to you to give you
the Bai a Pledge that they will not associate anything in
worship with Allah 60 12 
This is the verse which forbade Muslim women from marrying
disbelieving men Likewise Muslim men were commanded to terminate
their marriages to disbelieving women In compliance with this injunction 
 Umar bin Al Khattab divorced two wives he had married before he
embraced Islam Mu awiyah married the first woman and Safwan bin
Omaiyah married the second 
Al Hudaibiyah Treaty Socio political Impact 
A series of events confirmed the profound wisdom and splendid results
of the peace treaty which Allah called a manifest victory How could it be
otherwise when Quraish had recognized the legitimate Muslims existence
on the scene of political life in Arabia and began to deal with the believers
on equal terms Quraish in the light of the articles of the treaty had
indirectly relinquished its claim to religious leadership and admitted that
they were no longer interested in people other than Quraish and washed
their hands of any sort of intervention in the religious future of the Arabian
Peninsula The Muslims did not have in mind to seize people s property or
kill them through bloody wars nor did they ever think of pursuing any
coercive approaches in their endeavours to propagate Islam on the contrary 
their sole target was to provide an atmosphere of freedom as regards
ideology or religion 
 Then whosoever wills let him believe and whosoever wills let
him disbelieve 18 29 
The Muslims on the other hand had the opportunity to spread Islam over
areas not then explored When there was armistice war was abolished and
men met and consulted together none talked about Islam intelligently
without entering it within the two years following the conclusion of the
treaty double as many entered Islam as ever before This is supported by the
fact that the Prophet went out to Al Hudaibiyah with only 1 400
men but when he set out to liberate Makkah two years later he had 10 000
men with him 
The article of the treaty pertaining to cessation of hostilities for ten years
points directly to the utter failure of political haughtiness exercised by
Quraish and its allies and functions as evidence of the collapse and
impotence of the war instigator 
Quraish had been obliged to lose those advantages in return for one
seemingly in its favour but does not actually bear any harm against the
Muslims i e the article that speaks of handing over believing men who
seek refuge with the Muslims without their guardians consent to Quraish 
At first glance it was a most distressing clause and was considered
objectionable in the Muslim camp However in the course of events it
proved to be a great blessing The Muslims sent back to Makkah were not
likely to renounce the blessings of Islam contrariwise those very Muslims
turned out to be centres of influence for Islam It was impossible to think
that they would become apostates or renegades The wisdom behind this
truce assumed its full dimensions in some subsequent events After the
Prophet fj j ut had reached Madinah Abu Baseer who had escaped
from Quraish came to him as a Muslim Quraish sent two men demanding
his return so die Prophet m handed him over to them On the way
to Makkah Abu Baseer managed to kill one of them and the other one fled
to Madinah with Abu Baseer in pursuit When he reached the Prophet
on jX he said Your obligation is over and Allah has freed you from
it You duly handed me over to the men and AMh has rescued me from
them The Prophet un said Woe is his mother he would have
kindled a war if there had been others with him When he heard that he
knew tha t he would be handed back to them so he fled from Madinah and
went as far as Saif Al Bahr The other Muslims who were oppressed in
Makkah began to escape to Abu Baseer He was joined by Abu Jandal and
others until a fair sized colony was formed and soon sought revenge on
Quraish and started to intercept their caravans The pagans of Makkah
finding themselves unable to control those exiled colonists begged the
Prophet fi _ui jX to do away with the clause which governed the
extradition They implored him by Allah and by their ties of kinship to send
for the group saying that whoever joined the Muslims in Madinah would be
safe from them So the Prophet on sent for the group and they
responded as expected positively 
These are the realities of the clauses of the truce treaty and as it seems
they all function in favour of the nascent Islamic state However two points
in the treaty made it distasteful to some Muslims namely they were not
given access to the Holy Sanctuary that year and the seemingly humiliating
attitude as regards reconciliation with the pagans of Quraish Umar unable
to contain himself for the distress taking full grasp of his heart went to the
Prophet L w and said Aren t you the true Messenger of Allah The
Prophet fi j 4jii replied calmly Why not Umar again spoke and
asked Aren t we on the path of righteousness and our enemies in the
wrong Without showing any resentment the Prophet fU 3 w replied
that it was so On getting this reply he further urged Then we should not
suffer any humiliation in the matter of Faith The Prophet un was
unruffled and with perfect confidence said I am the true Messenger of
Allah I never disobey Him He shall help me Did you not tell us 
rejoined Umar that we shall perform pilgrimage But I have never told
you replied the Prophet L m u that we shall do so this very year 
 Umar was silenced But his mind was disturbed He went to Abu Bakr and
expressed his feelings before him Abu Bakr who had never been in doubt
as regards the Prophet s truthfulness and veracity confirmed what the
Prophet fj j jji had told him In due course the Chapter of Victory
 48th was revealed saying 
 Verily We have given you O Muhammad a
manifest victory 48 1 
The Messenger of Allah ui summoned Umar and imported to
him the happy tidings Umar was overjoyed and greatly regretted his
former attitude He used to spend in charity observe fasting and prayer and
free as many slaves as possible in expiation for that reckless attitude he had
The early part of the year 7 A H witnessed the Islamization of three
prominent men of Makkah Amr bin Al As Khalid bin Al Waleed and
 Uthman bin Talhah On their arrival and entrance into the fold of Islam the
Prophet mu ui said Quraish has given us its own blood 
t l Fath Al Bari 7 439 458 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 378 381 
The Second Stage
A New Phase of Islamic Action
Al Hudaibiyah Truce marked a new phase in the process of Islamic
action and life of the Muslims Quraish a bitter enemy of Islam now
withdraws from the war arena and embraces a peaceful settlement with the
Muslims thus the third support of a tripartite enemy Quraish Ghatfan and
the Jews is broken and being the holder of the banner of paganism in
Arabia the other pagans aggressive feelings towards Islam considerably
subsided Ghatfan Tribe no longer constituted any remarkable threat and
their provocative deeds were mainly Jewish instigated actions The Jews 
after being banished from Madinah resorted to Khaibar to change it into a
hot bed of intrigues against the Prophet There they used to
hatch their plots ignite the fire of dissension and allure the Arabs living in
the vicinity of Madinah to join them with the aim of exterminating the new
Islamic state or at least inflict heavy losses on the Muslims The Prophet
 L u jj not heedless of their devilish schemes placed a decisive war
with them as a first priority on his agenda shortly after the endorsement of
the above mentioned treaty The treaty of Hudaibiyah allowed the Muslims
to intensify their Islamic career and double up their ceaseless efforts in
propagating their Da wah and consequently give this sort of action
preponderance over the military activities Hence we deem it imperative to
divide this post treaty stage into two sections 
1 Ceaseless peaceful efforts in propagating the Islamic Da wah
 Call and initiating a sort of correspondence with kings and
princes of the neighbouring political entities 
2 Military activities 
The Prophet s Plans
to spread the Message of Islam
Late in the six year A H on his return from Hudaibiyah the Prophet
r i j UJI u i decided to send messages to the kings beyond Arabia calling
them to Islam In order to authenticate the credentials of his envoys a silver
seal was made in which were graven the words Muhammad the Messenger
of Allah in the following formation 
Envoys were chosen on the basis of their experience and knowledge and
sent on their errands in Muharram in the year 7 A H a few days before
heading for Khaibar 2 
1 A Deputation to Abyssinia Ethiopia 
Negus king of Abyssinia Ethiopia his name was Ashama bin
Al Abjar received the Prophet s message despatched by Amr bin Omaiyah
Ad Damari which At Tabari referred to either late in the sixth year or early
in the seventh year A H Deep scrutiny into the letter shows that it was not
the one sent after Al Hudaibiyah event Wording of the letter rather
indicates that it was sent to that king when Ja far and his companions
emigrated to Abyssinia Ethiopia during the Makkan period One of its
sentences read I have despatched my cousin Ja far with a group of
Muslims to you Do be generous towards them and give up haughtiness 
Al Baihaqi on the authority of Ibn Ishaq gave the following narration of
the Prophet s letter sent to Negus 
 This letter is sent from Muhammad the Prophet to Negus Al Ashama 
the king of Abyssinia Ethiopia 
W Sahih Al Bukhari 2 872 873 
I 2 Rahmat al lil alameen 1 171 
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance and believes in Allah and
His Messenger I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Alone with no
associate He has taken neither a wife nor a son and that Muhammad is His
slave and Messenger I call you unto the fold of Islam if you embrace
Islam you will find safety 
 Say O Muhammad um O people of the Scripture
 Jews and Christians come to a word that is just between us
and you that we worship none but Allah and that we associate
no partners with Him and that none of us shall take others as
lords besides Allah Then if they turn away say Bear witness
that we are Muslims 3 64 
Should you reject this invitation then you will be held responsible for all
the evils of the Christians of your people 
Dr Hameedullah Paris a reliable verifier has adduced a version of the
above letter disclosed only a short time ago and identical to Ibn Al Qaiyim s
narration Dr Hameedullah exerted painstaking effort and used all means of
modem technology to verify the text of the letter which reads as follows 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From M uhamma d the Messenger of Allah to Negus king of Abyssinia
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance Salutations I entertain
Allah s praise there is no god but He the Sovereign the Holy the Source
of peace the Giver of peace the Guardian of faith the Preserver of safety I
bear witness that Jesus the son of Mary is the spirit of Allah and His Word
which He cast into Mary the virgin the good the pure so that she
conceived Jesus Allah created him from His spirit and His breathing as He
created Adam by His Hand I call you to Allah Alone with no associate and
to His obedience and to follow me and to believe in that which came to me 
for I am the Messenger of Allih I invite you and your men to Allah the
Glorious the All Mighty I hereby bear witness that I have communicated
my message and advice I invite you to listen and accept my advice Peace
be upon him who follows true guidance 
The text of this letter is doubtlessly authentic but to maintain that it was
written after Al Hudaibiyah event is still a question lacking in definite
When Amr bin Omaiyah Ad Damari communicated the Apostolic letter
to Negus the latter took the parchment and placed it on his eye descended
to the floor confessed his faith in Islam and wrote the following reply to the
Prophet j j u 111 j 
 In the Name of AU h 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Negus Ashama to Muhammad the Messenger of AllAh Peace be
upon you O Messenger of Allah and mercy and blessing from Allih beside
Whom there is no god I have received your letter in which you have
mentioned about Jesus and by the Lord of heaven and earth Jesus is not
more than what you say We fully acknowledge that with which you have
been sent to us and we have entertained your cousin and his companions I
bear witness that you are the Messenger of AllSh true and confirming
 those who have gone before you I pledge to you through your cousin and
surrender myself through him to the Lord of the worlds 2 
The Prophet _w had asked Negus to send Ja far and his
companions the emigrants to Abyssinia Ethiopia back home They came
back to see the Prophet jl 111 j in Khaibar Negus later died in Rajab 9
A H shortly after Tabuk Ghazwa The Prophet ft 1 111 announced his
death and observed prayer in absentia for him Another king succeeded
Negus to the throne and another letter was sent to him by the Prophet
but whether or not he embraced Islam is still a question not answered yet 3 
I l Z3d Al Ma ad 3 60 
I 2 Zad Al Ma ad 3 61 
PI Sahih Muslim 2 99 
2 Letter to the Vicegerent of Egypt called Muqawqas 
The Prophet um wrote to Juraij bin Mattat l called Muqawqas 
vicegerent of Egypt and Alexandria saying 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad slave of Allih and His Messenger to Muqawqas 
vicegerent of Egypt 
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance Thereafter I invite you to
accept Islam Therefore if you want security accept Islam If you accept
Islam Allah the Sublime shall reward you doubly But if you refuse to do
so you will bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts 
n zi jiii ji 
61 oj 6 cz
 Say O Muhammad uii O people of the Scripture
 Jews and Christians come to a word that is just between us
and you that we worship none but Allah and that we associate
no partners with Him and that none of us shall take others as
lords besides Allah Then if they turn away say Bear witness
that we are Muslims 3 64 
Hatib bin Abi Balta a who was chosen to communicate the message 
requested an audience with Muqawqas before imparting the contents of the
letter He addressed Egypt s vicegerent saying There used to be someone
before you who had arrogated the status of the Supreme Lord so Allah
punished him and made an example of him in the Hereafter and in this life 
therefore take warning and never set a bad example to others Muqawqas
answered We are in no position to relinquish our religion except for a
better one Hatib resumed We invite you to embrace Islam which will
suffice you all what you may lose Our Prophet has called people to profess
this Faith Quraish and the Jews stood against him as bitter enemies 
PI Rahmat al lil alameen 1 178 Dr Hamidullah said that his name was Binyamin 
whereas Christians stood closest to his Call Upon my life Moses s news
about Christ is identical to the latter s good tidings about the advent of
Muhammad likewise this invitation of ours to you to embrace Islam is
similar to your invitation to the people of Torah to accept the New
Testament Once a Prophet rises in a nation he is eligible for positive
response hence you are subject to the same Divine Law Bear in mind that
we have not come to dissuade you from religion of Christ but rather bidding
you to adhere to its tenets Muqawqas meditated over the contents of the
letter deeply and said I have come to the conviction that this Prophet bids
nothing abominable he is neither a straying magician nor a lying
soothsayer He bears the true manifest seeds of Prophethood and so I will
consider the affair deeply He took the parchment and ordered that it be
kept in an ivory casket He called a scribe to write the following reply in
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muqawqas to Muhammad bin Abdullah 
Peace be upon you I have read your letter and understood its contents 
and what you are calling for I already know that the coming of a Prophet is
still due but I used to believe he would be bom in Syria I am sending you
as presents two maids who come from noble Coptic families clothing and a
steed for riding on Peace be upon you 
It is noteworthy that Muqawqas did not avail himself of this priceless
opportunity and he did not embrace Islam The presents were accepted 
Maria the first maid stayed with the Prophet u and gave birth to
his son Ibrahim the other Sirin was given to Hassan bin Thabit Al Ansari 
3 A Letter to Chosroes Emperor of Persia 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Chosroes king of Persia 
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance believes in Allah and His
Messenger and testifies that there is no god but Allah Alone with no
associate and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger I invite you to
accept the religion of Allah I am the Messenger of Allah sent to all people
in order that I may infuse fear of Allih in every living person and that the
charge may be proved against those who reject the Truth Accept Islam as
your religion so that you may live in security otherwise you will be
responsible for all the sins of the Magians 
 Abdullah bin Hudhafa As Sahmi was chosen to carry the letter This
envoy carried it to the king of Bahrain but we do not know as yet if the
latter despatched to Chosroes by one of his men or chose Abdullah himself 
The proud monarch was enraged by the style of the letter as the name of
the Prophet fju ui had been put above his own name He tore the letter
into shreds and forthwith dictated a command to his viceroy in Yemen to
send a couple of troopers to arrest the Prophet and bring him to his
presence The governor Bazan by name immediately sent two men to
Madinah for the purpose As soon as the men reached Madinah the Prophet
fj j j tin ju was informed by a Divine Revelation that Pervez the emperor of
Persia had been murdered by his son The Prophet ui ju disclosed to
them the news and they were stunned He added asking them to tell their
new monarch that Islam would prevail everywhere and outstrip the
sovereignty of Chosroes himself They hurried back to Bazan and
communicated to him what they heard Meanwhile Sherweh the new
monarch sent a letter to Bazan confirming the news and bidding him to stop
any procedures as regards the Prophet till further notice Bazan together
with the Persians in Yemen went into the folds of Islam and gladly
signified his adhesion to the Prophet 1 
4 The Envoy to Caesar King of Rome 
Al Bukhari gave a long narration of the contents of the letter sent by the
Prophet ft aii to Hercules king of the Byzantines 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad the slave of Allah and His Messenger to Hercules 
king of the Byzantines 
P Falh Al Bari 8 127 128 
Blessed are those who follow true guidance I invite you to embrace
Islam so that you may live in security If you come within the fold of Is lam 
All h will give you double reward but in case you turn your back upon it 
then the burden of the sins of all your people shall fall on your shoulders 
 Say O Muhammad fU jii j O people of the Scripture
 Jews and Christians come to a word that is just between us
and you that we worship none but Allah and that we associate
no partners with Him and that none of us shall take others as
lords besides Allah Then if they turn away say Bear witness
that we are Muslims 3 64 P1
The Muslim envoy Dihyah bin Khalifah Al Kalbi was ordered to hand
the letter over to king of Busra who would in turn send it to Caesar 
Incidentally Abu Sufyan bin Harb who by that time had not embraced
Islam was summoned to the court and Hercules asked him many questions
about Muhammad and the religion which he preached The
testimony which this avowed enemy of the Prophet gave regarding the
personal excellence of the Prophet s character and the good that Islam was
doing the human race left Hercules wonder struck 
Al Bukhari on the authority of Ibn Abbas narrated that Hercules sent for
Abu Sufyan and his companions who happened to be trading in Ash Sham 
Jerusalem That was during the truce that had been concluded between the
polytheists of Quraish and the Messenger of Allah ih j Hercules 
seated amongst his chiefs of staff asked Who amongst you is the nearest
relative to the man who claims to be a Prophet I Abu Sufyan replied I
am the nearest relative to him from amongst the group So they made me sit
in front of him and made my companions sit behind me Then he called
upon his translator and said to him Tell them i e Abu Sufyan s
companions that I am going to ask him i e Abu Sufyan regarding that
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 4 5 
men who claims to be a Prophet So if he tells a lie they should contradict
him instantly By Allah had I not been afraid that my companions would
consider me a liar I would have told lies Abu Sufyan later said 
Abu Sufyan s testimony went as follows Muhammad descends from a
noble family No one of his family happened to assume kingship His
followers are those deemed weak with numbers ever growing He neither
tells lies nor betrays others we fight him and he fights us but with alternate
victory He bids people to worship Allah Alone with no associate and
abandon our fathers beliefs He orders us to observe prayer honesty 
abstinence and maintain strong family ties Hercules on hearing this
testimony turned to his translator bidding him to communicate to us his
following impression which reveals full conviction in the truthfulness of
M uhammad s Prophethood I fully realize that Prophets come from noble
families he does not affect any previous example of Prophethood Since
none of his ancestors was a monarch we cannot then allege that he is a man
trying to reclaim his father s monarchy So long as he does not tell lies to
people he is for the more reason immune to telling lies as regards Allah 
Concerning his followers being those deemed weak with numbers ever
growing it is something that goes in agreement with questions of Faith until
this latter assumes its full dimensions geographically and demographically I
have understood that no instance of apostasy has as yet appeared among his
followers and this points to the bliss of Faith that finds its abode in the
human heart Betrayal as I see is alien to him because real Prophets hold
betrayal in abhorrence Bidding worship of Allah with no associates 
observance of prayer honesty and abstinence and prohibition of paganism
are traits bound to rubject to him all my possessions I have already known
that a Prophet must arise but it has never occurred to me that he will be an
Arab from among you If I was sure I would be faithful to him I might hope
to meet him and if I were with him I would wash his feet Hercules then
requested that the Prophet s letter be read The observations of the emperor
and finally the definite and clear cut exposition of the Islamic message
could not but create a tense atmosphere amongst the clergy present at the
court We were ordered to go out Abu Sufyan said While coming out I
said to my companions The matter of Ibn Abi Kabshah i e Muhammad
 j on l has become so prominent that even the king of Banu Al Asfar
 i e the Romans is afraid of him So I continued to believe that Allah s
Messenger would be victorious till Allah made me embrace
Islam The king did not embrace Islam for it was differently o rdained
However the Muslim envoy was returned to Madinah with the felicitations
of the emperor 
On his way back to Mad inah Dihyah Al Kalbi was intercepted by people
from Judham tribe in Hasmi who looted the presents sent to the Prophet
fi j on Zaid bin Haritha at the head of five hundred men was
despatched to that spot inflicted heavy losses on those people and captured
1000 camels 5000 of their cattle and a hundred women and boys The chief
of Judham who had embraced Islam filed a com plaint with the Prophet who
gave a positive response to the former s protest and ordered that all the
spoils and captives be returned 
5 A Letter to Mnndhlr bln Sawa Governor of Bahrain 
The Prophet j jii despatched Al Ala bin Al Hadrami to the
governor of Bahrain carrying a letter inviting him to embrace Islam in
reply Al Mundhir bin Sawa wrote the following letter 
 Allah s Messenger I received your injunctions Prior to this 
I read your letter which you wrote to the people of Bahrain exte nding to
them an invitation to Islam Islam appealed to some of than and they
entered the fold of Islam while others did not find it appe alin g In my
country there live Magians and Jews and therefore you may inform me of
the treatment to be extended to them 
The Prophet wrote the following letter in reply to his 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad Messenger of Alldh to Mundhir bin Sawa 
Peace be on you I praise Allah with no associate and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His slave and Messenger 
Thereafter I remind you of Allah the Mighty die Glorious Whoever
accepts admonition does it for his own good Whoever follows my
messengers and acts in accordance with their guidance he in fact accepts
My messengers have highly praised your behaviour You shall continue
in your present office Give the new Muslims full chance to preach their
religion I accept your recommendation regarding the people of Bahrain 
and I pardon the offences of the offenders therefore you may also forgive
Of the people of Bahrain whoever wants to go on in their Jewish or
Magian faith should be made to pay Jizya poll tax 
6 A Letter to Haudha bin Ali Governor of Yamama 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad Messenger of Allah to Haudha bin Ali 
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance Be informed that my
religion shall prevail everywhere You should accept Islam and whatever
under your command shall remain yours 
The envoy chosen was Sulait bin Amr Al Amiri who after
communicating his message carried back the following reply to the Prophet
pL j 111 jLtl
 The Faith to which you invite me is very good I am a famous orator
and poet the Arabs highly respect me ajjd I am of account among them If
you include me in your government I am prepared to follow you 
The governor then bestowed a reward on Sulait and presented him with
clothes made of Hajr fabric Of course he put all those presents in the trust
of the Prophet u ju 
The Prophet 1 11 did not accept Haudha s demand He usually
turned down such peremptory tone and would say that the whole matter
was in the Hand of Allah Who gave His land to whoever He desired 
Gabriel later came with the Revelation that Haudha had died The Prophet
 uji in the context of his comment on this news said Yamama is
bound to give rise to a liar who will arrogate Prophethood to himself but he
 ZSd Al Ma ad 3 61 62 
will subsequently be killed In reply to a question relating to the identity of
the killer the Prophet said It is one of you followers of Islam 1 
7 A Letter to Harith bin Abi S hamir Ai Ghassani King of Damascus 
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad Messenger of Allah to Al Harith bin Abi Shamir
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance believes in it and regards
it as true I invite you to believe in Allah Alone with no associate 
thenceafter your kingdom will re main yours 
Shuja bin Wahab had the honour of taking the letter to Harith who upon
hearing the letter read in his audience was madly infuriated and uttered 
 Who dares to disposs me of my country I U fight him the Prophet and
arrogantly rejected the Prophet s invitation to the fold of Islam 2 
8 A Letter to the King of Oman Jaifer and his Brother Abd
 In the Name of Allah 
the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
From Muhammad bin Abdullah to Jaifer and Abd Al Jalandi 
Peace be upon him who follows true guidance thereafter I invite both of
you to the Call of Islam Embrace Islam Allah has sent me as a Prophet to
all His creatures in order that I may instil fear of Allah in the hearts of His
disobedient creatures so that there may be left no excuse for those who deny
Allah If you two accept Islam you will remain in command of your
country but if you refuse my Call you ve got to remember that all your
possessions are perishable My horsemen will appropriate your land and my
Prophethood will assume preponderance over your kingship 
1 Z d Al Ma ad 3 63 
I 2 Zad Al Ma ad 3 62 Muhadarat Tareekh A 1 1 I mam Al Islamiyah 1 146 
 Amr bin Al As who was chosen to cany the letter narrated the
following story that happened before he was admitted into the audience of
 When I arrived in Oman I contacted Abd who was known to be more
mild tempered ban his brother 
 Amr I am die messenger of AllSh s Prophet coming to see both you
and your brother 
 Abd You have to see my brother and read to him the letter you are
carrying He is my senior in both age and kingship 
Incidentally what is the purport of your mission 
 Amr The Prophet calls upon you to believe in Allah Alone with no
associate discard any other deities and testify to the slavehood
and Messengership of Muhammad 
 Abd O Amr You come from a noble family but first of all tell me
what was your father s attitude concerning this Faith You
know we used to follow his steps 
 Amr Death overtook him before believing in Muhammad s mission 
I wish now he had embraced Islam and been truthful to it
before his death I myself had adopted the same attitude until
AllSh guided me towards Islam 
 Abd When did you embrace Islam 
 Amr When I was at Negus s court By the way the latter did also
enter into die fold of Islam 
 Abd What was his people s reaction 
 Amr They approved of him and followed his steps 
 Abd The bishops and monks 
 Amr They did the same 
 Abd Beware Amr of lying for this soon betrays man 
 Amr I never tell lies moreover our religion never allows it 
 Abd Has Hercules been informed of the Islamization of Negus 
 Amr Yes of course 
 Abd How did you happen to know that 
 Amr Negus used to pay land tax to Hercules but when the former
embraced Islam he swore he would discontinue that tax When
this news reached Hercules his courtiers urged him to take
action against Negus but he refused and added that he himself
would do the same if he were not sparing of his kingship 
 Abd What does your Prophet exhort you to do 
 Amr He exhorts us to obey Allah the All Mighty the All Glorious 
be pious and maintain good ties with family kin he forbids
disobedience aggression adultery wine idolatry and devotion
to the cross 
 Abd Fair words and fair beliefs are those you are calling for I wish
my brother would follow me to believe in M uhammad
and profess his religion but my brother is too sparing of his
kingship to become a subordinate
 Amr Should your brother surrender himself to Islam the Prophet
would give him authority over his people and take alms tax
from the wealthy people to be given to the needy 
Abd That is fair behaviour But what is this alma tax you have
 Amr It is a Divine injunction that alms tax be taken from the well to 
do people who have surplus wealth and be distributed to the
 Abd I doubt if this can work among our people 
 Amr stayed for some days to be admitted into Jaifer s court until he was
finally granted this permit He asked me to hand him the letter to read it
After that he asked me how Quraish reacted and I answered that they had
followed him some out of their own freewill and others overpowered by
military fighting Now people have chosen Islam in preference to other
creeds and have realized through their mental insight that they had been
straying in darkness None except you is now out of the domain of Islam 
so I advise you to embrace Islam so that you can provide security to
yourself and your country 
Here he asked me to call on him the following day The following day
he showed some reluctance in receiving me but his brother Abd 
interceded and I was given the chance to see him again but this time to
address me in a threatening arrogant tone However after a private talk with
his brother and reconsidering the whole situation both brothers embraced
Islam and proved to be true to Is lam that had begun to make its way into this
The context of this story reveals that this letter was sent at a much later
date than the others most likely after the conquest of Makkah 
Through these letters the Prophet managed to communicate his Message
to most monarchs at Unit time some believed while others remained
obdurate and persisted in their disbelief However the idea of embracing
Islam and the advent of a new Prophet preoccupied all of them 
Post Hudaibiyah Hostilities
Dhu Qarad Invasion 
It was in fact not a battle but rather a skirmish carried out against a
platoon of Bani Fazarah The place by which it was fought is known as Dhu
Qarad a reservoir of water at a day s journey from Madinah According to
the majority of scholars this incident took place three days before the battle
It has been narrated on the authority of Salamah bin Al Akwa the hero
of this battle that the Messenger of Allah sent his hireling
Rabah with his camels to a nearby pasture I taking Talhah s horse went
there for the same purpose When the day dawned Abdur Rahman
Al Fazari made a raid drove away all the camels and killed the man who
looked after them I told Rabah to ride the horse take it to Talhah and
inform the Messenger of AllSh fi g _w that the polytheists had muHs
away with his camels Then I stood upon a hillock and turning my face to
Madinah shouted thrice Come to our help After that I set out in pursuit
of the raiders shooting at them with arrows and chanting self eulogatory 
I am the son ofAl Akwa 
Today is the day ofdefeat for the mean 
By Allah I continued shooting at them and hamstringing their animals 
Whenever a horseman turned upon me I would come to a tree hid myself 
sitting at its base shoot at him and hamstring his horse At last they entered
a narrow mountain gorge I ascended that mountain and held diem at bay
throwing stones at them I continued to chase them in this way until I got all
the camels released with no one left with them They fled in all directions
and I following and shooting at diem continually until they dropped more
than thirty mantles and thirty lances lightening their burden On everything
they dropped I put a tnaik with a stone so that the Messenger of Allah pL 
and his Companions might recognize them that it was booty left by the
enemy They went on until they came to a narrow valley They sat down to
eat something and I sat on the top of a tapering rode Four of diem ascended
the mountain coming towards me When they were near enough to hear me 
I shouted Do you recognize me They said No Who are you I said 
 I am Salamah son of Al Akwa I can kill anyone of you I like but none of
you can kill me So they returned I did not move from my place until I saw
the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah u un ju who came riding
through the trees The foremost among them was Akhram behind him was
Abu Qatadah Al Ansari followed by Al Miqdad bin Al Aswad Akhram and
 Abdur Rahman Al Fazari met in combat Akhram hamstrung Abdur
Rahman s horse but the latter managed to strike him with his lance and kill
him Abdur Rahman turned around riding Akhram s horse Abu Qatadah 
seeing this got engaged in fierce combat with Abdur Rahman smote him
with his lance and it was fatal The polytheists consequently fled away and I
was in their pursuit until before sunset they reached a valley with a spring of
water called Dhu Qarad They rested there to have a drink I however 
r unning in hot pursuit turned them out of the valley before they could drink
a drop of water Later on the Prophet uii along with his
Companions overtook me I addressed him saying Messenger of Allah let
me select from our people one hundred men and I will follow the marauders
and finish them In reply the Prophet said Ibn Al Akwa you
have taken enough and so now you have to show magnanimity now they
have reached die habitation of Ghatfan where they are being feted He
added saying Our best horseman today is Abu Qatadah and our best
footman today is Salamah He allotted me two shares of the booty the
share meant for the horseman and the other meant for the footman and
combined both of them for me Intending to return to Madinah he made me
mount behind him on his she camel called Al Adba 
The Conquest of Khaibar
 In Moharram 7A H 
Khaibar was a spacious strongly fortified territory studded with castles
and farms lying at a distance of 60 80 miles north of Madinah now a
village known for its uncongenial climate After Al Hudaibiyah Treaty the
major party of the anti Islam tripartite coalition Quraish the bedouin
horde of Najd tribes and the Jews was neutralized therefore the Prophet
A i uji j l deemed it an appropriate time to settle his affairs with the other
two wings the Jews and the Najd tribes in order that peace and
security could prevail and the Muslims may devote their time and effort in
propagating the Message of Allah and calling people to embrace it Khaibar
itself had always remained a hotbed of intrigue and conspiracy and the
Jews had always constituted it a source of military provocations and war
instigation centre so it was given a top priority on the agenda of the
Prophet s compelling exigencies The Jews of Khaibar had united by an
ancient alliance with the Confederates triggered Bani Quraiza to practise
treachery maintained contacts with Ghatfan and the Arabians and they even
devised an attempt at the Prophet s life In fact the continual afflictions that
the Muslims had sustained were primarily attributable to the Jews Envoys
were repeatedly sent to them for peaceful settlement but all in vain 
Consequently the Prophet i an came to the conclusion that a military
campaign was a must in order to forestall their hostilities 
Interpreters of the Noble Qur an suggest that capturing Khaibar had been
a Divine promise implied in Allah s Words 
 Allah has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture 
and He has hastened for you this 48 20 
i e Al Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty and the surrender of Khaibar 
The hypocrites and people weak of heart had hung back from jo ining the
true Muslims in Al Hudaibiyah campaigns so now Allah the All Mighty
inculcated the following words in His Prophet s ears 
 65 jar d
 Those who lagged behind will say when you set forth to take
the spoils Allow us to follow you They want to change
Allah s Words Say You shall not follow us thus Allah has
said beforehand Then they will say Nay you envy us Nay 
but they understand not except a little 48 15 
For this reason the Prophet invited only those who were
willing to fight in the cause of Allah to accompany him in his march against
Khaibar 1400 men only who had sworn allegiance in response to his call 
Meanwhile Siba bin Arfatah Al Ghifari was chosen to run the affairs
of Madinah Another incident of high significance is noteworthy namely
the Islamization of Abu Huraira a venerable Muslim scholar and an
authentic narrator of the Prophetic traditions 
The hypocrites of Arabia took notice of the fresh Islamic intentions so
they began to alert the Jews to the imminent military activities Their chief 
 Abdullah bin Ubai delegated an envoy to the Jews of Khaibar warning
them against the dangers approaching and nerving them to resist the
Muslims as they outnumbered the latter and were better equipped On
hearing the news the Jews despatched Kinanah bin Abi Al Huqaiq and
Haudha bin Qais to their former allies the tribe of Ghatfan requesting
military assistance promising to grant them half the yield of the fiuit that
their farms could yield if they managed to beat the Muslims 
The Prophet marched by way of Isra Mountain and then went forward
with the army till he halted in a valley called Ar Raji encamping between
Khaibar and Ghatfan so as to prevent the latter from reinforcing the Jews 
The guides accompanying him led him to an intersection from which
branched out three roads with different designations all leading to his
destination He abstained from following the first two roads on grounds of
their ominous designation and chose the third for its propitious indications 
It is noteworthy that some interesting incidents featured the Muslims 
march towards Khaibar of which we mention the following 
1 It has been narrated on the authority of Salamah bin Al Akwa who said 
We marched upon Khaibar with die Messenger of AllSh u We
journeyed during die night One of die men said to my brother Amir 
Won t you recite to us some of your verses Amir So he began to chant
his verses to urge the camels reciting 
O Allah if You had not guided us 
We would have neither been guided rightly nor practised
charity nor offered prayers 
We wish to lay down our lives for You so forgive You our
And keep us steadfast when we encounter our enemies 
Bestow upon us peace and tranquility 
Behold when with a cry they called upon us to help 
The Messenger of Allah jl w said Who is this driver of the
camels They said It is Amir He said Allah will show mercy to
him A man said Martyrdom is reserved for him O Messenger of
Allah would that you had allowed us to benefit ourselves from his
life The Prophet s Companions had already known that he would
never invoke Allih s mercy upon a close Companion but to single him
out for martyrdom Pl
2 On their way down a valley the Muslims began to entertain Allah s
Greatness shouting at the top of their voices Allah is Great Allah is
Great there is no god but Allah The Prophet asked them to
lower down their voices saying The One you are invoking is neither
absent nor deaf He is close to you All hearing l 3 l 
3 In a spot called As Sahba not far from Khaibar the Prophet ui
observed the afternoon prayer then he called his Companions to have
whatever food provisions they had What they brought was too scanty to
satisfy them all The Prophet took it by his hand and it immediately grew
in quantity so they all ate to their fill Shortly afterward he and the
others rinsed their mouths and performed the evening prayer without
ablution 4 he did the same for the night prayed 5 
 i Sahih Al Bukhari 2 603 Sahih Muslim 2 115 
P Sahih Muslim 2 115 
P Sahih AI Bukhari 2 605 
t 4 Sahih AI Bukhari 2 603 
P Maghazi Al Waqidi p 112 
The following morning at sunrise the Muslims encountered the Jews
when they had come out about their jobs with their axes spades and strings
driving their cattle along They began to shout in surprise Muhammad has
come along with his force The Messenger of Allah u ui said Allah
is Great Khaibar shall face destruction Behold When we descend in the
city centre it will be a bad day for those who have been warned but have
not taken heed J l 3 
For encampment the Prophet i jl 0 uji had chosen a certain plot of
land he deemed suitable to serve as the headquarters of his army However 
a veteran fighter of his called Hubab bin Al Mundhir suggested that they 
under the exigencies of war requirements and for the sake of providing
maximum logistic facilities shift to another place On approaching the
vicinity of Khaibar the Prophet ordered his troops to halt and began to
invoke his Lord saying O Allah Lord of the seven heavens and what they
harbour beneath Lord of the seven earths and what lies in their wombs 
Lord of devils and whomsoever they have led astray we beseech You to
grant us the good of this village Khaibar the good of its inhabitants and
the good that lies in it We seek refuge with You from the evil of this
village the evil of its inhabitants and the evil that lies in it Then he
ordered 4 Now march towards the village in the Name of Allah 1 2 1
 The banner the Prophet j declared would be entrusted to a
man who loves Allah and His Messenger and they Allah and His
Messenger love him All the Muslims came forward in the following
morning hoping to be granted the honour of carrying the banner The
Prophet uji called for Ali bin Abi Talib whose eyes used to hurt 
and handed it to him Ali on his part pledged he would fight the enemies
until they embraced Islam The Prophet up ui j answered him saying 
 Take things easy and invite them to accept Islam and brief them on their
duties towards Allah I swear by Allah that if only one should be guided
through your example that would surely outweigh the best of our
HI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 603 604 
m IbnHisham 2 329 
 3 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 505 606 
Khaibar it seems was split into two parts with five forts in the first 
Na im As Sa b bin Mu adh the castle of Az Zubair Abi Castle and
An Nizar in Ash Shiqq three others were in part two Al Qamus 
Al Wateeh and As Salalim 
The Actual Operation begins 
The Prophet uji began the campaign by reducing the minor
strongholds one after the other The first fort he was to attack was Na im 
the first defence line with a formidable strategic position Marhab the
leader of the fort invited Amr bin Al Akwa to meet him in combat and the
latter responded when Amr struck the Jew his sword recoiled and
wounded his knee and he died of that wound The Prophet later
said For him Amir there is a double reward in the Hereafter He
indicated this by putting two of his fingers together Ali bin Abi Talib then
undertook to meet Marhab in combat and managed to kill him Yasir 
Marhab s brother then turned up challenging the Muslims to a fight Az 
Zubair was equal to it and killed him on the spot Real fighting then broke
out and lasted for a few days The Jews showed courage and proved to be
too formidable even to the repeated rushes of the veteran soldiers of Islam 
However they later realized the futility of resistance and began to abandon
their positions in An Na im and infiltrate into the fortress of As Sa b 
Al Hubab bin Al Mundhir Al Ansari led the attack on As Sa b fortress
and laid siege to it for three days after which the Muslims stormed it with a
lot of booty provisions and food to fall to their lot therein This victory
came in the wake of the Prophet s di invocation to Allah to help
Banu Aslam in their relentless and daring attempts to capture that fort 
During the process of the war operations extreme hunger struck the
Muslims They lit fires slaughtered domestic asses and began to cook them 
When the Prophet u uji inquired about the fires and cooking he
ordered that they throw away the meat and wash the cooking pots 
forbidding the practice of eating such meat 
The Jews meanwhile evacuated An Natat and barricaded themselves in
Az Zubair fort a formidable defensive position inaccessible to both cavalry
and infantry The Muslims besieged it for three days but in vain A Jew spy
told the Prophet about a subterranean water source that provided them with
water and advised that it be cut off in order to undermine their resistance 
The Prophet uji did that so the Jews got out to engage with the
Muslims in fierce figh t in g during which some Muslims and ten Jews were
killed but the fort was eventually conquered 
Shortly after this battle the Jews moved to Abi Castle and barricaded
themselves inside The same events recurred the Muslims besieged the new
site for three days and then the great Muslim hero Abu Dujanah Sammak
bin Kharshah Al Ansari of the red ribbon led the Muslim army and
broke into the castle conducted fierce military operations within and forced
the re mainin g Jews to flee for their lives into another fort An Nizar 
An Nizar was the most powerful fort and the Jews came to the
established conviction that it was too immune to be stormed so they
deemed it a safe place for their children and women The Muslims 
however were not dismayed but dragged on the siege but because standing
at a commanding top the fort was impregnable The Jews inside were too
cowardly to meet the Muslims in open fight but rather hurled a shower of
arrows and stones on the attackers Considering this situation the Prophet
f i j i in ordered that rams be used and these proved effective and caused
cracks in the ramparts providing an easy access into the heart of the fort 
where the Jews were put to rout and fled in all directions leaving behind
their women and children 
With these series of military victories the first division of Khaibar was
totally reduced and the Jews in the other minor fortresses evacuated them
and fled to the second division 
The Second Part of Khaibar conquered 
When the Prophet w ju along with his army moved to this part of
Khaibar Al Katiba he laid a heavy siege to it for fourteen days with the
Jews barricading themselves inside their forts When he was about to use the
r ams the Jews realized that they would perish therefore they asked for a
negotiable peace treaty 
There is one controversial point in this context Was this part of Khaibar
 with its three forts conquered by force Ibn Ishaq clearly stated that
Al Qamus fort was conquered by force Al Waqidi on the other hand 
maintained that die three forts were taken through peace negotiations and
force if any was resorted to only to hand the fort over to the Muslims the
two other forts surrendered without fighting
Ibn Abi Al Huqaiq was despatched to the Messenger of Allah fUj 44 L dJl
to negotiate the surrender treaty The Prophet fU agreed to spare
their lives on condition they evacuate Khaibar and the adjacent land leaving
whatever gold and silver they had in their possession However he
stipulated that he would disavow any commitment if they concealed
anything Shortly afterwards the forts were handed over to the Muslims and
all Khaibar was reduced and brought under the sway of Islam 
This treaty notwithstanding Abi Al Huqaiq s two sons concealed a
leather bag full of jewels and money belonging to Huyai bin Al Akhtab 
who carried it with him when Banu Nadir had been banished Kinanah bin
Ar Rabi who had hidden the musk somewhere was obdurate in his denial
and so he was killed when the musk was discovered and his dishonesty was
proven Abi Al Huqaiq s two sons were killed in recompense for breaching
the covenant and Safiyah Huyai s daughter was taken as a captive 
Distribution of Spoils 
In accordance with the agreement already concluded the Jews would be
obliged to evacuate Khaibar but they were anxious to keep on cultivating
the rich soil and fine orchard for which Khaibar was famous They 
therefore approached the Prophet ui j with the request that they be
allowed to cultivate their lands and they would give half of the produce to
the Muslims Muhammad uii was kind enough to accede to their
The Messenger fL an divided the land of Khaibar into two one half
to provide the food to be stored in case of any accidental calamity that might
befall the Muslims and for entertaining the foreign delegates who started to
frequent Madinah a lot the other half would go to the Muslims who had
witnessed Al Hudaibiyah event whether present or absent The total number
of shares came to 36 of which 18 were given to the people above 
mentioned The army consisted of 1400 men of whom were 200 horsemen 
The horseman was allotted 3 shares and the footman one 
The spoils taken at Khaibar were so great that Ibn Umar said We never
ate our fill until we had conquered Khaibar Aishah ui is narrated to
have said Now we can eat our fill of dates 2 
On their return to Madinah the Emigrants were able to return to the
Helpers of Madinah all the gifts they had received All of this affluence
came after the conquest of Khaibar and the great economic benefits that the
Muslims began to reap 3 
The conquest of Khaibar coincided with the arrival of the Prophet s
cousin Ja far bin Abi Talib and his companions along with Abi Musa
Al Ash ari and some Mus lims from Abyssinia Ethiopia 
Abu Musa Al Ash ari narrated that he and over fifty companions while
in Yemen took a ship which landed them in Abyssinia Ethiopia and they
happened to meet there Ja far and his companions He said We stayed
together until the Prophet fU an sent an envoy asking us to come back 
When we returned we found out that he had already conquered Khaibar yet
he gave us our due shares of the spoils The advent of those men came at
the request made by the Messenger of Allah v an to Negus king of
Abyssinia Ethiopia through a Prophetic deputy Amr bin Omaiya
Ad Damari Negus sent them back 16 men altogether with their wives and
children on two boats The rest of emigrants had arrived in Madinah
In the same context Safiyah whose husband Kinanah bin Abi Al Huqaiq
was killed for treachery was taken as a captive and brought along with
other prisoners of war After the permission of the Prophet an was
sought Dihyah Al Kalbi chose one of them and she happened to be Safiyah 
The other Muslims however advised that Safiyah being die daughter of the
chief of Bani Quraiza and Bani Nadir should be married to the Prophet
r i ui jL who agreed to their opinion invited her to Islam freed and took
t l Zid Al Ma ad 2 137 138 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 609 
PI Zid Al Ma ad 2 148 Sahih Muslim 2 96 
HI Muhadarat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiyah 1 128 
her as wife on her embracing Islam The wedding feast consisted of dates
and fat and was held on his way back to Madinah at a spot called Sadd
After the conquest of Khaibar a Jewish woman called Zainab bint
Al Harith offered the Prophet y w a roasted sheep she had poisoned 
He took a mouthful but it was not to his liking so he spat it out After
investigation the woman confessed that she had stuffed the food with
poison alleging that if the eater were a king she would then rid herself of
him but should he be a Prophet then he would be bound to learn about it 
The Prophet y j however connived at her treacherous attempt but
ordered that she be killed when Bishr bin Al Bara died of that poison 
The number of Muslims who were martyred was controversial but it
ranged between 16 and 18 while the number of Jews killed came to 93 
The rest of Khaibar also fell to the Muslims Allah cast fear into the
hearts of the people of Fadak a village standing to the north of Khaibar and
they hastened to ask for peace and be allowed to leave in safety and give
up their wealth in return for that The Prophet y y entered into an
agreement with them similar to the previous one with the people of Khaibar 
Fadak was exclusively the Prophet s because neither Muslim cavalry nor
camelry were involved in fight thereby 
No sooner had the Prophet y any discharged the affair of Khaibar
than he started a fresh move towards Wadi Al Qura another Jewish colony
in Arabia He mobilized his forces and divided them into three regiments
with four banners entrusted to Sa d bin Ubada Al Hubab bin Mundhir 
 Abbad bin Bishr and Sahl bin Haneef Prior to fighting he invited the Jews
to embrace Islam but all his words and exhortations fell on deaf ears Eleven
of the Jews were killed one after another and with each one newly killed a
fresh call was extended inviting those people to profess the new faith 
Fighting went on ceaselessly for approximately two days and resulted in full
surrender of the Jews Their land was conquered and a lot of booty fell in
the hands of the Muslims 
The Prophet jl 4iii stayed in Wadi Al Qura for four days distributed
the booty among the Muslim fighters and reached an agreement with the
Jews similar to that of Khaibar 1 
The Jews of Taima hearing beforehand about the successive victories of
the Muslim army and the defeats that their brethren the Jews had sustained 
showed no resistance when the Prophet f i 4 u in preached their habitation 
On the contrary they took the initiative and offered to sign a reconciliation
treaty to the effect that they receive protection but pay tribute in return 
Having achieved his objective and subdued the Jews completely the
Prophet ft ui ju made his way back home and arrived in Madinah in late
Safar or early Rabi Al Awwal 7 A H 
It is noteworthy that the Prophet w ju being the best amongst war
experts realized quite readily that evacuating Madinah after the lapse of the
prohibited months Muharram Dhul Qa da and Dhul Hijja would not be
wise at all with the presence of the desert bedouins roaming in its vicinity 
Such a careless attitude the Prophet believed would tempt the
undisciplined mob to practise their favourite hobby of plundering looting
and all acts of piracy This premonition always in mind the Prophet
fi in despatched Aban bin Sa id at the head of a platoon to deter those
bedouins and forestall any attempt at raiding the headquarters of the nascent
Islamic state during his absence in Khaibar Aban achieved his task
successfully and joined the Prophet in Khaibar after it had been
M ZM Al Ma ad 2 146 147 
The Expedition called Dhat ur Riqa in the year 7 A H 
Having subdued two powerful sides of the Confederates coalition the
Prophet j j 4 ju started preparations to discipline the third party i e the
desert bedouins who took Najd for habitation and continued in their usual
practices of looting and plundering Unlike the Jews of Khaibar and people
of Makkah they had a liking for living in the wilderness dispersed in
scattered spots hence the difficulty of bringing them under control and the
futility of carrying out deterrent campaigns against them However the
Prophet fL j uji jX was determined to put an end to this unacceptable
situation and called the Muslims around him to get ready to launch a
decisive campaign against those harassing rebels Meanwhile it was
reported to him that Bani Muharib and Banu ThaTbah of the Ghatfan tribe
were gathering army in order to encounter the Muslims The Prophet 
proceeded towards Najd at the head of 400 or 700 men after he had
mandated Abu Dhar in another version Uthman bin Affan to dispose
the affairs of Madinah during his absence The Muslim fighters penetrated
deep into their land until they reached a spot called Nakhlah where they
came across some bedouins of Ghatfan but no fighting took place because
the latter had agreed to go into reconciliation with the Muslims The Prophet
 Xj v 4 ji jL led his followers that day in a prayer of fear 
Al Bukhari on the authority of Abu Musa Al Ash ari narrated that they
set out on an expedition with the Messenger of Allah ui We were
six in number and had with us only one camel which we rode turn by turn 
Our feet were injured My feet were so badly injured that my nails came off 
We therefore bandaged our feet with rags so this expedition was called
Dhat ur Riqa i e the expedition of rags 
Jabir narrated In the course of Dhat ur Riqa expedition we came to a
leafy tree where the Prophet sat shading himself off the burning
sun The others dispersed here and there seeking shelter from heat The
Prophet fU w had a short nap after he had hung his sword on the tree 
A polytheist meanwhile came seized the sword and unsheathed it 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 592 Sahib Muslim 2 118 
The Prophet v i jm woke up to find his sword drawn in the man s
hand The bedouin here asked the Prophet unarmed then Who would
hold me back from killing you now The Prophet un then
answered It is Allah In another version it was reported that the Prophet
 Jl j vii _ui took the sword when it had fallen down and the man said You
 the Prophet are the best one to hold a sword The Prophet 
asked the man if he would testify to the Oneness of Allah and the
Messengership of Muhammad The Arabian answered that he would never
engage in a fight against him nor would he ally people fighting the
Muslims The Prophet uii set the man free and let him go to his
people to say to them that he had seen the best one among all people 
A woman from the Arabians was taken prisoner in the context of this
battle Her husband on hearing the news swore he would never stop until
he had shed the blood of a Muslim Secretly at night he approached the
camp of the Muslims when he saw two sentries stationed there to alert the
Muslims against any emergency He shot the first one Abbad bin Bishr 
who was observing prayer with an arrow but he did not stop prayer he
simply pulled it out Then he was shot by three other arrows but would not
interrupt his prayer After he had done the closing salutations he awakened
his companion Ammar bin Yasir who remonstrated that he should have
alerted him to which the latter replied that he was half way through a
Chapter and did not like to interrupt it Pl
The victory at the expedition of Dhat ur Riqa had a tremendous impact
on all the Arabians It cast fear into their hearts and rendered them too
powerless to antagonize the Muslim society in Madinah They began to
acquiesce in the prevailing situation and resigned themselves to new geo 
political conditions working in favour of the new religion Some of them
even embraced Islam and took an active part in the conquest of Makkah and
the battle of Hunain and received their due shares of the war booty 
From that time onward the anti Islam tripartite coalition had been
subdued and peace and security prevailed The Muslims then started to
redress any political imbalance and fill in the small gaps that still triggered
1 1 Mukhtasar See rat Ar Rasool p 264 Fath Al Bari 7 416 
PI Zad Al Ma ad 2 112 Ibn Hisham 2 203 209 
unrest here and there in the face of the great drive oflslamizationthat
enveloped the whole area We could in this context mention some of these
incidental skirmishes which pointed markedly to the ever growing power of
the Muslim society 
1 A platoon headed by Ghalib bin Abdullah Al Laithi in Safar or in Rabi 
Al Awwal 7 A H was despatched to muffle the provocative behaviour of
Bani Al Muluh The Muslims managed to kill a large number of the
enemy soldiers and captured a great deal of booty A large army of
polytheists rushed in their heel but floods hindered the pursuit and the
Muslims managed to withdraw in safety 
2 Umar bin Al Khattab at the head of a 30 soldier group set out to a spot
called Turbah in Sha ban 7 A H to discipline the people of Hawazin He
no longer arrived at their habitation that they fled for their lives 
3 Thirty men with Basheer bin Sa d Al Ansari headed for Bani Murrah in
Sha ban 7 A H in Fadak area He killed a large number of the enemy and
seized a lot of their camels and cattle On his way back the enemy
gathered up forces and overtook the Muslims at night They showered
Basheer and his men with arrows and killed all the Muslims except
Basheer who took refuge in Fadak and stayed with the Jews there until
his wounds healed 
4 Ghalib bin Abdullah Al Laithi at the head of a platoon of 130 men
launched an attack against Bani Awal and Bani Abd bin Thaibah in
Ramadan 7 A H They killed some of die enemy s men and captured
their cattle and camels Usama bin Zaid killed Mardas bin Nahik a
polytheist but after he had pronounced the testimony of Allah s Oneness
to which incident the Prophet commented addressing his
Companions Would you rip open his heart to discern whether he is
truthful or a liar 
5 A thirty horseman group headed by Abdullah bin Rawaha marched
towards Khaibar on reports that Aseer or Basheer bin Razam was
rallying the ranks of Bani Ghatfan to attack the Muslims They managed
to persuade that Jew to follow them to Madinah encouraging him that the
Prophet pu j uii would institute him as a ruler of Khaibar On their
way back there occurred a sort of misunderstanding that gave rise to
fierce fighting between the two parties resulting in the death of Aseer and
the thirty men with him 
6 In Shawwal 7 A H Basheer bin Sa d Al Ansari marched towards Yemen
and Jabar at the head of300 Muslim fighters to subdue a large mob of
polytheists who gathered to raid the outskirts of Madinah Basheer and
his men used to march at night and lurk during the day until they reached
their destination Having heard about the advent of the Muslims the
polytheists fled away leaving behind them a large booty and two men
who later embraced Islam on arrival in Madinah 
7 In the year 7 A H shortly before the Compensatory Umrah lesser
pilgrimage a man called Jashm bin Mu awiyah came to a spot called
Ghabah where he wanted to gather the people of Qais and entice them
into fighting the Muslims The Prophet uii on hearing these
reports despatched Abu Hadrad with two men to see to the situation 
Abu Hadrad through a clever strategy managed to rout the enemy and
capture a lot of their cattle 
I l Zfid Al Ma ad 2 149 150 Rahmat ul Walameen 2 229 230 
Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasooi p 322 324 
The Compensatory Umrah
When Dhul Qa da month approached towards the close of the seventh
year A H the Prophet uji ordered his people and the men who
witnessed Al HudaibiyahTraceTreaty in particular to make preparations to
perform Umrah lesser pilgrimage He proceeded with 2000 men besides
some women and children 1 and 60 camels for sacrifice to visit the Holy
Sanctuary in Makkah The Muslims took their weapons with them fearing
the treachery of the Quraishites but left them with a party of two hundred
men at a place some eight miles from Makkah They entered the city with
the swords in their scabbards 2 with the Prophet m at their head on
his she camel Al Qaswa while the surrounding Companions attentively
focusing their look on him all saying Here I am at Your service O
Allah The Quraishites had left the place and retired to their tents on the
adjoining hills The Muslims performed the usual circumambulation
vigorously and briskly and on recommendation by the Prophet ui ju
they did their best to appear strong and steadfast in their circumambulation
as the polytheists had spread rumours that they were weak because the fever
of Yathrib Madinah had sapped their strength They were ordered to run in
the first three rounds and then walk in the remaining ones The Makkans
meanwhile aligned on the top of Qu aiqa an Mount watching the Muslims 
tongue tied at witnessing their strength and devotion When they entered the
Holy Sanctuary Abdullah bin Rawaha walked before the Prophet w ju
 Get out of his way you disbelievers make way we will fight you about
its revelation with strokes that will remove heads from shoulders and make
friend unmindful of friend 
After ritual walking and running between the two hills of Makkah Safa
and Marwah the Prophet _w ju with the Muslims halted at the latter
spot to slaughter the sacrificial animals and shave their heads 
1 1 Fath Al Bari 7 700 
 21 Zad Al Ma ad 2 151 Fath Al Bari 7 700 
The main body of the pilgrims had now performed the basic rites of the
lesser pilgrimage but there remained those who were entrusted the charge
of the weapons The Prophet had these relieved and they went through the
same devotions as the others did 
On the morning of the fourth day of the pilgrimage the notables of
Quraish asked Ali bin Abi Talib to tell the Prophet i m to leave
Makkah along with his Companions He of course could not conceive of
violating the terms of Al Hudaibiyah Treaty therefore he ordered his men
to depart for a village called Sarif where he stayed for some time 
It was during this visit of the Prophet uii to Makkah for
pilgrimage that his uncle Abbas offered the hand of his sister in law 
Maimuna the daughter of Harith to him The Prophet was
kind enough to accept this offer since it was an effective step towards
cementing the ties of relationship between the Prophet and the
influential men of Makkah The wedding took place in Sarif HI
Narrators attached different designations to this lesser pilgrimage Some
called it the compensatory lesser pilgrimage performed instead of that
uncompleted of Hudaibiyah and the other one given preponderance by
jurists is the lesser pilgrimage consequent on certain terms of a treaty
already agreed upon 
On the whole compensatory judicial consent retribution and
reconciliation are all terms applicable to that visit 
Some military operations directed against some still obdurate desert
Arabians took place at the conclusion of the lesser pilgrimage of which we
1 A platoon of 50 men led by Ibn Abi Al Awja was despatched by the
Prophet to the habitations of Bani Saleem inviting them to
embrace Islam but all the words fell on deaf ears Fierce fighting erupted
between both parties during which the Muslim leader was wounded and
two of the enemy were captured 
2 Ghalib bin Abdullah at the head of200 men was despatched to Fadak
where they killed some rebels and a lot of booty fell to their lot 
PI ZfidAl Ma ad 2 152 
3 Banu Quda a had gathered a large number of men to raid the Muslim
positions On hearing the news the Prophet jji despatched Ka b
bin Umair Al Ansari at the head of 15 men to deal with this situation 
They encountered the army and called them to enter into the fold of
Islam but the rebels gave a negative response and showered the Muslims
with arrows killing all of them except one who was carried back home
later seriously wounded 
There was also an insignificant skirmish that occurred in Rabi 
Al Awwal 8 A H Shuja bin Wahab Al Asadi along with 25 men marched
towards Bani Hawazin tribe where they encountered no resistance but
managed to gain some booty 2 
Cl Rahmat ul liPalameen 2 231 
 2 Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl Al Athar p 33 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 231 
The Battle of Mu tah
It was the most significant and the fiercest battle during the lifetime of
the Messenger of Allah di a preliminary and a prelude to the great
conquests of the land of the Christians It took place in Jumada Al Ula 8
A H September 629 A D Mu tah is a village that lies on the borders of
The Prophet L uii had sent Al Harith bin Umair Al Azdi on an
errand to carry a letter to the ruler of Busra On his way he was intercepted
by Sharhabeel bin Amr Al Ghassani the governor of Al Balqa and a close
ally to Caesar the Byzantine Emperor Al Harith was tied and beheaded by
Killing envoys and messengers used to be regarded as the most awful
crime and amounted to the degree of war declaration The Prophet ui
was shocked on hearing the news and ordered that a large army of 3000 men
be mobilized and despatched to the north to discipline the transgressors It
was the largest Muslim army never mobilized on this scale except in the
process of the Confederates Battle 
Zaid bin Haritha was appointed to lead the army Ja far bin Abi Talib
would replace him if he was killed and Abdullah bin Rawaha would
succeed Ja far in case the latter fell 2 A white banner was raised and
handed over to ZaidJ 3 
The Prophet fi_ uii recommended that they reach the scene of
Al Harith s minder and invite the people to profess Islam Should the latter
respond positively then no war would ensue otherwise fighting them would
be the only alternative left 
He ordered them 
i 4 L jOz 4 1 4 1
iLSli Tj I jJJj IjJ ftj
 oll to jOvlNj 4
 Zad Al Ma ad 2 155 Fath Al Bari 7 511 
t 2 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 611 
P Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 327 
 Fight the disbelievers in the Name of Allah neither breach a
covenant nor entertain treachery and under no circumstances a
new bom woman an ageing man or a hermit should be killed 
moreover neither trees should be cut down nor homes
At the conclusion of the military preparations the people of Madinah
gathered and bade the army farewell Abdullah bin Rawaha began to weep
at that moment and when asked why he was weeping he swore that it was
not love for this world nor under a motive of infatuation with the glamour of
life but rather the Words of Allah speaking of Fire that he heard die Prophet
 j j 1 ui reciting 
 There is not one of you but will pass over it Hell this is with
your Lord a Decree which must be accomplished 19 71 
The Muslim army then marched northward to Ma an a town bordering
on geographical Syria There news came to the effect that Heraclius had
mobilized a hundred thousand troops together with another hundred
thousand men of Lakham Judham and Balqain Arabian tribes allied to
the Byzantines The Muslims on their part had never thought of
encountering such a huge army They were at a loss about what course to
follow and spent two nights debating these unfavourable conditions Some
suggested that they should write a letter to the Prophet seeking
his advice Abdullah bin Rawaha was opposed to diem being reluctant and
addressed the Muslims saying I swear by Allah that this very object which
you hold in abhorrence is the very one you have set out seeking martyrdom 
In our fight we don t count on number of soldiers or equipment but rather
on the Faith that Allah has honoured us with Dart to win either of the two 
victory or martyrdom In die light of these words they moved to engage
with the enemy in Masharif a town of Al Balqa and then changed
direction towards Mu tah where they encamped The right flank was led by
Qutba bin Qatadah Al Udhari and the left by Ubadah bin Malik
Al Ansari Bitter fighting started between the two parties three thousand
Muslims against an enemy fiftyfold as large 
 Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 327 Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 271 
Zaid bin Haritha the closest to the Messenger s heart assumed
leadership and began to fight tenaciously and in matchless spirit of bravery
until he fell fatally stabbed Ja far bin Abi Talib then took the banner and
did a miraculous job In the thick of the battle he dismounted hamstrung
his horse and resumed fighting until his right hand was cut off He seized
the banner with his left hand until this too was gone He then clasped the
banner with both arms until a Byzantine soldier struck and cut him into two
parts he was posthumously called the flying Ja far or Ja far with two
wings because Allah has awarded him two wings to fly wherever he
desired there in the eternal Garden Al Bukhari reported fifty stabs in his
body none of them in the back 
 Abdullah bin Rawaha then proceeded to hold up the banner and fight
bravely on his horseback while reciting enthusiastic verses until he too was
killed Thereupon a man from Bani Ajlan called Thabit bin Al Arqam
took the banner and called upon the Muslims to choose a leader The honour
was unanim ously granted to Khalid bin Al Waleed a skilled brave fighter
and an outstanding strategist It was reported by Al Bukhari that he used
nine swords that broke while he was relentlessly and courageously fighting
the enemies of Islam He however realizing the grave situation the
Muslims were in began to follow a different course of encounter revealing
the super strategy maker that Khalid was rightly called He reshuffled the
right and left flanks of the Muslim army and introduced forward a division
from the rear in order to cast fear into the hearts of the Byzantine by
deluding them that fresh reinforcements had arrived The Muslims engaged
with the enemies in sporadic skirmishes but gradually and judiciously
retreating in a fully organized and well planned withdrawal 
The Byzantines seeing this new strategy believed that they were being
entrapped and drawn in the heart of the desert They stopped the pursuit 
and consequently the Muslims managed to retreat back to Madinah with the
slightest losses 2 
The Muslims sustained twelve martyrs whereas the number of casualties
among the Byzantines was unknown although the details of the battle point
clearly to a large number Even though the battle did not satisfy the
t l l Sahih Al Bukhari 2 611 
PI Fath Al Bari 7 513 514 ZMAl Ma ad 2 156 
Muslims objective namely avenging Al Harith s murder it resulted in a
far ranging impact and attached to the Muslims a great reputation in the
battlefields The Byzantine Empire at that time was a power to be reckoned
with and mere thinking of antagonizing it used to mean self annihilation 
let alone a three thousand soldier army going into fight against 200 000
soldiers far better equipped and lavishly furnished with all luxurious
conveniences The battle was a real miracle proving that the Muslims were
something exceptional not then familiar Moreover it gave evidence that
Allah backed them and their Prophet Muhammad was really Allah s
Messenger In the light of these new strategic changes the archenemies
among the desert bedouins began to reconcile themselves with the new
uprising faith and several recalcitrant tribes like Banu Saleem Ashja 1 
Ghatfan Dhubyan Fazarah and others came to profess Islam out of their
own sweet free will 
Mu tah Battle after all constituted the forerunner of the blood encounter
to take place with the Byzantines subsequently It pointed markedly to a
new epoch of the Islamic conquest of the Byzantine empire and other
remote countries to follow at a later stage 
Dhat As Salasil Campaign 
Dhat As Salasil is a spot situated ten days walk north of Madinah The
Muslims are said to have encamped in a place with a well of water called
Salsal hence the terminology Dhat As Salasil In view of the alliance
between the Arabian tribes on the borders of Syria and the Byzantines the
Prophet fL j _iii deemed it of top urgency to carry out a wisely planned
manoeuvre that might bring about a state of rapport with those bedouins 
and would at the same time detach them from the Byzantines For the
implementation of this plan he chose Amr bin Al As whose paternal
grandmother came from Bali a tribe dwelling in that area This motive in
mind combined with provocative military movements by Bani Quda a 
precipitated this preemptive strike which started in Jumada Ath Thaniya 8
 Amr bin Al As was awarded a white flag with a black banner to go
with it He set out at the head of300 Emigrants and Helpers assisted by a
cavalry of 30 men and was recommended to seek help from Bali Udhra
and Balqain tribes He used to march at night and lurk during the day On
approaching the enemy lines and realizing the large build up of men he sent
for reinforcements from Madinah and these arrived on the spot headed by
Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah leading further 200 men as well as other
platoons including Abu Bakr and Umar bin Al Khattab All of them were
given strict orders to cooperate work in harmony and never leave any area
At noon Abu Ubaidah wanted to lead the Muslims in prayer but Amr
objected on grounds that the former came only to assist and leadership in
prayer was given to Amr 
The Muslim army reached the habitations of Quda a and penetrated deep
in their land destroyed the enemies and obliged the others to flee for their
lives in different directions 
At the conclusion of the military operations a courier was despatched to
the Messenger of Allah un to brief him on the developments of
events and the ultimate victory achieved 
In Sha ban month 8 A H news reached the Prophet uii of
amassing troops by Bani Ghatfan still outside the domain of Islam He
urgently summoned Abu Qatadah and sent him at the head of fifteen men to
discipline those outlaws 
It took fifteen days to teach them an unforgettable lesson Some were
killed others captured and all their property confiscated 
 Rahmat ul liPalameen 2 233 Talqeeh Fuhootn Ahl Al Athar p 33 
The Conquest of Makkah
Ibn Al Qaiyim described the conquest of Makkah as the greatest one
by which AllSh honoured His religion Messenger soldiers and honest
party He thereby rescued the Sacred House whose guidance all people
seek It was the greatest propitious event in heaven and on earth It was
the most significant prelude to a new era that was to witness the great
march of Islamization and the entry of people into the fold of Islam in
huge hosts It provided an ever shining face and a most glowing source of
inspiration to the whole earth 
Pre Conquest Events 
According to the terms of the treaty of Hudaibiyah the Arab tribes
were given the option to join either of the parties the Muslims or
Quraish with which they desired to enter into treaty alliance Should any
of these tribes suffer aggression then the party to which it was allied
would have the right to retaliate As a consequence BanuBakr joined
Quraish and Khuza ah joined the Prophet ui They thus lived in
peace for sometime but ulterior motives stretching back to pre Islamic
period ignited by unabated fire of revenge triggered fresh hostilities 
Banu Bakr without caring a bit for the provisions of the treaty attacked
Banu Khuza ah in a place called Al Wateer in Sha ban 8 A H Quraish
helped Banu Bakr with men and arms taking advantage of the dark night 
Pressed by their enemies the tribesmen of Khuza ah sought the Holy
Sanctuary but here too their lives were not spared and contrary to all
accepted traditions Nawfal the chief of Banu Bakr chasing them in the
sanctified area where no blood should be shed massacred his
When the aggrieved party sought justice from their Muslim allies the
Prophet jl j jji jju as their leader demanded an immediate redress for
not only violating the treaty but also slaying men allied to him in the
WzildAl Ma ad 2 160 
sanctified area Three demands were made the acceptance of any one of
them was imperative 
a to pay blood money for the victims of Khuza ah 
b to terminate their alliance with Banu Bakr or
c to consider the truce to have been nullified 
This behaviour on the part of Quraish was clearly a breach of the treaty
of Al Hudaibiyah and was obviously an act of hostility against the allies of
the Muslims i e Banu Khuza ah Quraish immediately realized the grave
situation and feared the horrible consequences looming on the horizon 
They immediately called for an emergency meeting and decided to delegate
their chief Abu Sufyan to Madinah for a renewal of the truce He directly
headed for the house of his daughter Umm Habiba the Prophet s wife But
as he went to sit on the Messenger s carpet she folded it up My daughter 
said he I hardly knew if you think the carpet is too good for me or that I
am too good for the carpet She replied It is the Messenger of Allah s
carpet and you are an unclean polytheist 
Being disgusted at the curt reply of his daughter Abu Sufyan stepped out
of her room and went to see the Prophet but the latter was well
aware of his tricks and did not hold him any assurance He then approached
Abu Bakr but the latter too declined to interfere He contacted Umar to
intercede but this great Companion made a point blank refusal At last he
saw Ali bin Abi Talib and began begging him in the most humble words 
cunningly alluding to the prospects of mastery over all the Arabs if he were
to intercede for the renewal of the treaty Ali also briefly regretted his
inability to do anything for him 
Abu Sufyan turned his steps back to Makkah in a state of bitter
disappointment and utt t horror There he submitted a report of his meeting
with his daughter Abu Bakr Umar and Ali s reaction and the meaningful
silence of die Prophet The Makkans were dismayed but did not expect
Preparations for the Attack on Makkah 
and the Prophet s Attempt at imposing a News Black out 
On the authority of At Tabari the Messenger of AllSh i asked
 Aishah l uii his spouse three days prior to receiving news relating to
breaching of covenant to make preparations peculiar to marching out for
war Abu Bakr meanwhile came in and asked Aishah ui what the
matter was showing surprise at the preparations being made as it was not 
as he said the usual time for war She replied that she had no idea On the
morning of the third day Amr bin Sdlim Al Khuza i arrived in the company
of forty horsemen to brief die Prophet n on the plight of his people
and seeking the Muslims help for retaliation People of Madinah then got to
know that Quraish had breached die covenant Budail followed Amr and
then Abu Sufyan and the news was unequivocally confirmed 
With view of securing a complete news black out concerning his military
intentions the Prophet bi despatched an eight men platoon under
the leadership of Qatadah bin Rab i in the direction of Edam a short
distance from Madinah in Ramadan 8 A H in order to divert the attention
of people and screen off the main target with which he was preoccupied 
There was so much dread and fear everywhere that Hatib one of the
most trusted followers of the Prophet secretly despatched a
female messenger with a letter to Makkah containing intimation of the
intended attack The Prophet received news from die heaven of
Hatib s action and sent Ali and Al Miqdad with instructions to go after her 
They overtook the messenger and after a long search discovered the letter
carefully hidden in her locks The Prophet 0 ui summoned Hatib and
asked him what had induced him to this act He replied O Messenger of
Allih ft j jm yJ 1 I have no affinity of blood with Quraish there is only a
kind of friendly relationship between them and myself My family is at
Makkah and there is no one to look after it or to offer protection to it My
position stands in striking contrast to that of the refugees whose families are
secure due to their blood ties with Quraish I felt that since I am not related
to them I should for the safety of my children earn their gratitude by doing
good to them I swear by Allah that I have not done this act as an apostate 
forsaking Islam I was prompted only by the considerations I have just
 Umar wanted to cut his head offas a hypocrite but the Prophet
accepted his excuse and granted him pardon then addressed Umar saying 
M Hatib is one of those who fought in the battle of Badr How do you know
that he is a hypocrite Allah is likely to look favourably on those who
participated in that battle Turning then to Hatib he said Do as you
please for I have forgiven you 
After making full preparation the Prophet fi_y jji proceeded to
Makkah at the head of ten thousand soldiers on the 10th of Ramadan 8 A H 
He mandated Abu Ruhm Al Ghifari to dispose the affairs of Madinah
during his absence When they reached Al Juhfa Al Abbas bin Abdul
Muttalib and his family came to join the Prophet ui j At Al Abwa 
 the Muslims came across Abu Sufyan bin Al Harith and Abdullah bin
Omaiyah the Prophet s cousins but on account of the harm they had
inflicted and their satiric language on the believers they were not
welcomed Ali addressed Abu Sufyan to go and beseech the Prophet
 j_j 4_ui for pardon and confess his ill behaviour in a manner similar to
that of Yusuf s the Prophet Joseph brothers 
 They said By Allah Indeed Allah has preferred you above us 
and we certainly have been sinners 12 91 
Abu Sufyan observed Ali s counsel to which the Prophet quoted
Allah s Words 
 He said No reproach on you this day may Allah forgive you 
and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy 
Abu Sufyan rec ted some verses paying a generous tribute to the Prophet
fiy ait and professing Islam as his only religion 
The Muslims then marched on in a state of fasting until they reached a
place called Al Qadeed where water was available There they broke fasti 1 1
and resumed their movement towards Mar Az Zahran The Quraishites were
quite unaware of the development of affairs but the Prophet ui did
not like to take them by surprise He therefore ordered his men to kindle
fire on all sides for cooking purposes The idea behind this was that Quraish
HI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 613 
should be afforded full opportunity to assess the situation in which they
were pitchforked correctly and should not endanger their lives by leaping
blindly in the battlefield Umar bin Al Khattab was entrusted with die
guard duty In the meanwhile Abu Sufyan along with Hakim bin Hizam and
Budail bin Warqua two terrible polytheists went out to reconnoiter 
Before they got near the camp they met Abbas the Prophet s uncle He
apprised Abu Sufyan of the situation and advised him to accept Islam and
persuade his people to surrender before M uhammad an otherwise 
his head would be struck off 
Under the prevailing compelling circumstances Abu Sufyan went in the
company of Abbas seeking the Prophet s jj jii audience The
Muslims were furious to see Abu Sufyan and wanted to kill him on the spot
But the two men managed not without difficulties to see the Messenger of
Allah fL jii who advised that they see him die following day The
Prophet fL addressed Abu Sufyan saying Woe to you Isn t it time
for you to bear witness to the Oneness of Allah and Prophethood of
Muhammad Here the archenemy of Islam began to beseech die Prophet
fL j u an in the most earnest words that testify to the Prophet s generosity
and mild temper begging for pardon and forgiveness and professing
wholeheartedly the new faith 
On request by Abbas the Prophet jh in the context of die
general amnesty he proclaimed gave Abu Sufyan who had a liking for
bragging a special privilege saying He who takes refuge in Abu Sufyan s
house is safe whosoever confines himself to his house the inmates thereof
shall be in safety and he who enters the Sacred Mosque is safe 
On the morning of Tuesday 17th Ramadan 8 A H the Prophet jii
left Mar Az Zahran He ordered Al Abbas to detain Abu Sufyan at a
commanding gorge that could afford a full view of the Muslim army
parading on its way towards Makkah and hence give him the chance to see
the great and powerful soldiers of Allah The different tribes successively
passed with their banners flown up until at last the battalion of the
Emigrants and Helpers with die Prophet 1 at their head heavily
armed marched by Abu Sufyan began to wonder who those people were to
which Al Abbas told him that they woe Muhammad r L 9 i 4m u L and his
Companions Abu Sufyan said that no army however powerful could resist
those people and addressing Al Abbas he said I swear by Allah that the
sovereignty of your brother s son has become too powerful to withstand 
Al Abbas answered It is rather the power of Prophethood to which the
Sa d bin Ubadah carried the flag of the Helpers When he passed by Abu
Sufyan he said Today will witness the great fight you cannot seek
sanctuary at Al Ka bah Today will witness the humiliation of Quraish 
Abu Sufyan complained about this to the Prophet fa who got angry
and said Nay today Al Ka bah will be sanctified and Quraish honoured 
and quickly ordered that Sa d should be stripped off the flag and that it
should be entrusted to his son Qais in another version to Az Zubair 
A1 Abbas urged Abu Sufyan to hasten into Makkah and warn the
Quraishites against any aggressive behaviour towards the Muslims There in
Makkah he shouted at the top of his voice and warned against any
hostilities advising them to seek safety in his house His wife got indignant
and tugged at his moustache cursing him and abusing his cowardly stance 
The people within Makkah mocked Abu Sufyan and dispersed in different
directions some into their houses others into the Holy Sanctuary while
some undisciplined reckless ruffians led by Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl Safwan
bin Omaiyah and Suhail bin Amr encamped themselves in a place called
Khandamah with a murderous intent in their minds 
The Prophet on his part was quite modestly and calmly
drawing the final touches for the military breakthrough awaiting the
Muslims by Allah s Will He appointed Khalid bin Al Waleed as a leader
of the right flanlr of die army with Aslam Sulaim Ghifar Muzainah and
Juhainah tribes under his command to enter Makkah through its lower
avenues Az Zubair bin Awwam was to lead the left flank and would storm
Makkah from the upper side holding up the Messenger s banner Abu
 Ubaidah took command of the infantry and was to penetrate into the city
via a side valley They were given full and decisive orders not to kill unless
in self defence and in that case they would exterminate any aggressive
elements and quell any opposition 
The Muslim battalions marched out each in its already drawn route to
fulfill the miss ions they were supposed to carry out Khalid bin Al Waleed
worked his way into the heart of the town quite successively killing twelve
of the ruffians and sustaining two martyrs Az Zubair set out and reached
the fixed destination where he planted the banner at Al Fath conquest 
Mosque and waited there for the arrival of the Prophet m A tent
was pitched for him where he offered prayers of thanks to die All Mighty
Allah Who out of His immense grace had granted him a spl endid victory 
But he did not repose long He in the company of the Helpers nH
Emigrants got up and proceeded towards Al Ka bah the Sacred House 
which is an emblem of die Oneness and Supremacy of Allfih It was
unfortunately infested with idols that numbered 360 He knocked diem
down with his bow while reciting die verse of the Noble Qur Sn 
 And Say Truth i e Islamic Monotheism or this Qur Sn or
Jihad against polytheists has come and Batil falsehood Le 
Satan or polytheism etc has vanished Surely Batil is ever
bound to vanish 17 81 
And Allah further said 
 Say O Muhammad jJ The Truth the Qur Sn and
Allah s Inspiration has come and Al Batil falsehood Iblis 
can neither create anything nor resurrect any thing 34 49 
He then started die usual circumambulation on his ride He was not in a
state of Ihram ritual consecration then On completion he called for
 Uthman bin Talhah the janitor oiAl Ka bah from whom he took the key 
He went in and saw images of Prophets I brahim and lghmael t f ji
throwing divination arrows He denounced these acts of Quraish amt
ordered that all idols be dismanded images and effigies deleted He then
entered the sacred hall to face die wall opposite the door and them again
performed devout prostrations and went around acc laiming Allih s
Greatness and Oneness Shortly afterwards he returned to die door way and
standing upon its elevated step gazed in thankfulne ss on die thron ging
multitude below and delivered the following celebrated address 
 There is no god but AllSh Alone He has no associates He
made good His Promise that He held to His slave and helped
him and defeated all the Confederates along Bear in mind that
every claim of privilege whether that of blood or property is
under my heel except that of the custody of Al Ka bah and
supplying of water to the pilgrims Bear in mind that for anyone
who is slain even though semi deliberately with club or whip 
for him die blood money is very severe a hundred camels forty
of them to be pregnant
j p CJot Ji d l
 vj j ijusiu
 O people of Quraish surely Allah has abolished from you all
pride of die pre Islamic era and all conceit in your ancestry 
 because all men are descended from Adam and Adam was
made out of clay 
He then recited to them die verse 
 O mankind We have created you from a male and a female 
and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one
another Verily the most honourable of you near Allah is that
 believer who has At Taqwa i e one of the Muttaqun i e 
pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much abstain from
all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden and
love Allfih much perform all kinds of good deeds which He has
ordained Verily Allah is All Knowing All Aware 49 13 
He further added 
JpU Oj jjf 4
 O you people of Quraish What do you think of die treatment
that I am about to accord to you 
 O noble brother and son of noble brother We expect nothing
but goodness from you 
Upon this he said 
iv lZ Cs z t Z A Ou us ft b 
lilyi i5ti i iii
 I speak to you in the same words as Yusuf the Prophet Joseph 
spoke unto his brothers He said No reproach on you this day 
 12 92 go your way for you are freed ones 
As for the door keeping of Al Ka bah and supplying of water to pilgrims 
the Prophet jji ordered that these jobs remain in the hand of
 Uthman bin Talhah and that the key will stay with him and his descendants
When time for prayer approached Bilal ascended Al Ka bah and called
for prayer Abu Sufyan bin Harb Itab bin Usaid and Al Harith bin Hisham
were meanwhile sitting in the yard Itab bin Usaid commented on the new
situation Bilal ascending Al Ka bah and calling for prayer saying that
Allah honoured Usaid his father having not heard such words The Prophet
 j 4_ui cr L approached and assisted by Divine Revelation told them that he
had learnt about what they had spoken of Al Harith and Itab taken by
incredible surprise immediately professed Islam and bore witness to the
Messengership of Muhammad adding that We swear by Allah
that none had been with us to inform you 
On that very day the Prophet entered Timm Hani s house
where he washed and offered prayers of victory Umm Hani had sheltered
two Makkan relatives of hers in her house in which act she was granted
support by the Prophet aw j 
Shedding blood of nine arch criminals was declared lawful even under
the curtains of Al Ka bah Nevertheless only four of them were killed while
the others were pardoned for different reasons As for those who were
killed mention could be made of Abdul Uzza bin Khatal who had become
a Muslim and then deputed to collect alms tax in the company of a Helper 
They had also a slave with them Abdullah in a fit of rage killed the
Helper s slave on account of a mere trifling dispute and joined the pagan
Arabs as an apostate He was never repentant at this heinous crime but
rather employed two women singers and incited them to sing satirically
about the Prophet an
The other man who was put to death was Miqyas bin Sababa He was a
Muslim A Helper accidently killed his brother Hisham The Prophet an
 had arranged the payment of blood money to him which he had
accepted His revengeful nature however was never appeased so he killed
the Helper and went to Makkah as an apostate 
Similarly Huwairith and one woman singer went to death 
On the other hand every attempt was made to grant pardon to the people 
 Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl who had attacked Khalid s detachment at the time of
the entry into Makkah was forgiven To Wahshi the murderer of Hamzah 
the Prophet s uncle and to Hind who had chewed his liver was also
extended his generous clemency The same generous treatment was
accorded to Habar who had attacked the Prophet s daughter with a spear 
while on her way from Makkah to Madinah so grievously that she
ultimately died of the fatal injuries 
In the same context of magnanimity peculiar to Muhammad jji l 
two chiefs of Quraish were pardoned once they had embraced Islam They
were Safwan bin Omaiyah and Fudalah bin Umair The latter had
attempted to assassinate the Prophet 4 u i i while circumambulating in
the Holy Sanctuary The Prophet s matchless tolerance and broad 
mindedness instigated by his mission as A mercy to all people converted
a terrible hypocrite into a faithful devout believer 
On the second day of the great conquest the Prophet stood up
and addressed the people in matters relating to the holy status of Makkah 
After entertaining Allah s praise he proclaimed that Makkah was a holy
land and would remain so till the Day of Judgement No bloodshed was
allowed therein Should anyone take the liberty of fighting within Makkah
on grounds derived from the events that characterized the conquest he
should remember that it had been a licence granted temporarily to the
Prophet and virtually does not go for others Ibn Abbas narrated 
The Prophet jh said Allah has made Makkah a sanctuary so it
was a sanctuary before me and will continue to be a sanctuary after me It
was legal fen me i e I was allowed to fight in it for a few hours of a
day It is not allowed to uproot its shrubs or to cut its trees or to chase or
disturb its game or to pick up its fallen things except by a person who
would announce that what has found publicly Al Abbas said O
Allah s Messenger Except the lemon grass for it is used by our
goldsmiths and for our homes The Prophet fi i then said Except
the lemon grass 
In this context out of the spirit of revenge the tribesmen of Khuza ah
killed a man from Laith Tribe Here the Prophet was indignant and ordered
Khuza ah to stop those pre Islamic practices He moreover gave the family
of anyone killed the right to consider either of two options blood money or
just retribution the killer is killed 
After having delivered his address the Prophet i an rode to a small
hill Safa not far from Al Ka bah Turning his face towards the Sacred
House amidst a vast admiring and devotional multitude he raised his hand
in fervent prayer to Allah The citizens of Madinah who had gathered round
him entertained fear as Allah had given him victory over his native city he
might choose to stay here He insisted on explanation of their fear and so
they spoke openly He immediately dispelled their fears and assured them
that he had lived with them and would die with them 
Immediately after the great conquest the Makkans came to realize that
the only way to success lay in the avenue of Islam They complied with the
new realities and gathered to pledge fealty to the Prophet an The
men came first pledging full obedience in all areas they can afford Then
came the women to follow the men s example The Prophet an with
 Umar bin Al Khattab receiving the pledge of fealty and communicating to
them for him Hind bint Utbah Abu Sufyan s wife came in the trail of
women disguised lest the Prophet 111 should recognize and account
for her having chewed the liver of Hamzah his uncle The Prophet an
r j accepted their allegiance on condition that they associate none with
Allah to which they immediately agreed He added that they should not
practise theft Here Hind complained that her husband Abu Sufyan was
tight fisted Her husband interrupted granting all his worldly possessions to
her The Prophet laughed and recognized the woman She
implored him to extend his pardon to her and efface all her previous sins 
Some other conditions were appended including the prohibition of adultery 
infanticide or forging falsehood To all these orders Hind replied positively
swearing that she would not have come to take an oath of allegiance if she
had had the least seed of disobedience to him On returning home she broke
her idol admitting her delusion as regards stone gods 
The Messenger of Allah 011 stayed in Makkah for 19 days 
Dining that period he used to define the way to Islam guide people to die
orthodox path He ordered Abu Usaid Al Khuza i to restore the pillars of
the Holy Sanctuary sent missions to all quarters inviting them to adopt
Islam and break down the graven images still lying in the vicinity of
Makkah and he did have all of them scrapped inculcating in the believers 
ears his words 
 o jLS uli J gi 1 j 
 Whoever believes in Allah and the Hereafter is supposed to
scrap out the idols that should happen to be in his house 
Shortly after the great conquest the Prophet fj_j oji began to
despatch platoons and errands aiming at eliminating the last symbols
reminiscent of pre Islamic practices 
He sent Khalid bin Al Waleed in Ramadan 8 A H to a spot called
Nakhlah where there was a goddess called Al Uzza venerated by Quraish
and Kinanah tribes It had custodians from Bani Shaiban Khalid at the
head of thirty horsemen arrived at the spot and exterminated it On his
return the Prophet fj_j oji asked him if he had seen anything there to
which Khalid gave a negative answer Here he was told that it had not been
destroyed and he had to go there again and fulfill the task He went back
again and there he saw a black woman naked with tom hair Khalid struck
her with his sword into two parts He returned and narrated the story to the
Prophet j j u ui jU who then confirmed the fulfillment of the task 
Later in the same month Amr bin Al As was sent on an errand to
destroy another idol venerated by Hudhail called Suwa It used to stand at
a distance of three kilometres from Makkah On a question posed by the
door keeper Amr said he had been ordered by the Prophet fU u ui ju to
knock down the idol The man warned Amr that he would not be able to do
it Amr was surprised to see someone still in the wrong approached the
idol and destroyed it then he broke the casket beside it but found nothing 
The man immediately embraced Islam 
Sa d bin Zaid Al Ashhali was also sent in the same month and on the
same mission to Al Mashallal to destroy an idol Manat venerated by both
Al Aws and Al Khazraj tribes Here also a black woman naked with
messy hair appeared wailing and beating on her chest Sa d immediately
killed her destroyed the idol and broke the casket and returned at the
conclusion of his errand 
Khalid bin Al Waleed at the head of 350 horsemen of Helpers 
Emigrants and Bani Saleem was despatched once again in the same year 8
A H to the habitation of Bani Khuzaimah bedouins to invite them to the
fold of Islam He was instructed to carry out his mission with peace and
goodwill There the people were not articulate enough to communicate
their intentions so Khalid ordered his men to kill them and take the others
as captives He even had in mind to kill the captives but some of the
Companions were opposed to his plan News of bloodshed reached the
Prophet fj j jui He was deeply grieved and raised his hands towards
the heaven uttering these words O Allah I am innocent of what Khalid
has done twice M He immediately sent Ali to make every possible
reparation to the tribes who had been wronged After a careful inquiry 
 Ali paid the blood money to all those who suffered loss The remaining
portion was also distributed amongst the members of the tribe in order to
alleviate their suffering Khalid due to his irrational behaviour had a row
with Abdur Rahman bin Awf Hearing this the Prophet ju u w jl got
angry and ordered Khalid to stop that altercation adding that his
Companions meaning Abdur Rahman bin Awf were too high in rank to
be involved in such arguments 
That is the story of the conquest of Makkah and the decisive battle that
exterminated paganism once and for all The other tribes in the Arabian
Peninsula were waiting and closely watching the final outcome of the
bitter struggle between the Muslims and idolaters already convinced that
the Holy Sanctuary would not fall but in the hands of the righteous party 
It had been a conviction deeply established in their minds ever since the
elephant army of Abraha Al Ashram advanced from Yemen intending to
destroy the Sacred House 50 years before 
t Sahih Al Bukhari 1 450 2 622 
Al Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty was the natural prelude to this great victory
in which people believed deeply and over which people talked a lot The
Muslims in Makkah who had feared to declare their Faith in public began
to appear and work ardently for this new approach of life People began to
convert into Islam in hosts and the Muslim army that numbered 3000 only
in the previous Ghazwah now came to reach 10 000 in number In fact this
decisive change provided people with the keen insight to perceive things
and the world around them as a whole in a different perceptive The
Muslims were then to steer the whole political and religious affairs of all
Arabia They had monopolised both the religious supremacy and temporal
The whole post Hudaibiyah phase had been well fledged in favour of the
new Islamic movement Streams of the desert Arabians began to pour in
paying full homage to the Messenger of Allah ju embracing the
new faith and then carrying it to different quarters for propagation 
The Third Stage
The third and last stage of the life of the Messenger fJ 4 JLe 4 JUI
embodies the fruitful results of his call to Islam which were the
consequences of long timed holy fights in the way of Allah Jihad 
troubles toil disturbances trials and a lot of bloody conflicts and battles 
which lasted for over twenty years 
The conquest of Makkah was considered the most serious profit
achieved by Muslims during those years For it affected the course of
events and consequently altered the Arabs whole life It was a decisive
distinction between preconquest and post conquest periods For Quraish 
at that time was in the eyes of Arabs the defenders and helpers of Arabs 
Other Arabs are only their ancillaries The submission of Quraish is 
therefore estimated to be a final elimination of paganism in the Arabian
This stage can be divided into two main phases 
The phase of 1 holy wars and fighting 
 2 the tribes and people s race to embrace Islam 
Being so close and rather inseparable the two phases of this stage
intervene in such a way that a happening of one phase occurs during the
progress of the other However we have preferred for expository
purposes to deal with these two phases distinctively The fighting phase
was given the priority in order due to the fact that it is more intimate and fit
than the other 
The conquest of Makkah which came forth as a consequence of a swift
blow astounded both the Arabs and other tribes who realized that they were
doomed and had to submit to the new situation as a fait accompli Some of
the fierce powerful proud tribes did not submit and favoured resistance 
Ahead of these were the septs of Hawazin and Thaqif Nasr Jashm and Sa d
bin Bakr and people of Bani Hilal all of whom of Qais Ailan They
thought that they were too mighty to admit or surrender to such a victory 
So they met Malik bin Awf An Nasri and made up their mind to proceed
fighting against the Muslims 
The Enemy s March and their Encampment at Awtas 
When Malik bin Awf the general leader decided to march and
fight the Muslims he made his countrypeople take their wealth women and
children with them to Awtas which is a valley in Hawazin land and is
quite near Hunain It differs from Hunain in its being adjacent to Dhi 
Al Majaz which is around ten miles from Makkah in Arafat s direction 1 1
The War experienced Man wrongs the Leader s Judgement 
As soon as they had camped in Awtas people crowded round Malik The
old sane Duraid bin As Simmah who was well known as a war experienced
man and who was among those who gathered round Malik asked What
valley are we in In Awtas they said What a good course it is for
horses It is neither a sharp pointed height nor a loosed soiled plain What 
Why do I hear camels growling the donkeys braying the children s cries
and the sheep bleating asked Duraid They said Malik bin Awf had
made people bring their women properties and children with them So he
called Malik and asked him what made him do such a thing Malik said that
his aim was to have everybody s family and properties around them so that
they fight fiercely to protect them I swear by Allah that you are nothing
but a shepherd answered Duraid Do you believe that there is anything
whatsoever can stand in the way of a defeated one or stop him from
fleeing If you win the battle you avail nothing but a man with a sword and
m Fath Al Bari 8 27 42
a spear but if you lose you will bring disgrace on your people and
properties then he resumed his talk and went on wondering about some
septs and their leaders O Malik thrusting the distinguished people of
Hawazin into the battlefield will avail you nothing Raise them up to where
they can be safe Then make the young people mount their horses and fight 
If you win those whom you tarried will follow you but if you were the
loser it would be a loss of a battle but your kinsmen people and properties
would not be lost 
But Malik the general leader refused this suggestion By Allah he
said I will not do such a thing You must have grown a senile Hawazin
have to obey me or else I will lean my body against this sword so that it
penetrates through my back He rejected any sort of contribution of
Duraid s in that concern 
 We obey you said his people Duraid consequently said Today is a
day that I have not missed but surely I will not be tempted to witness 
Reconnoitering the Weapons of the Messenger of Allah fa sA fa
The spies that Malik had already dispatched to spy Muslim forces 
returned with their limbs cut off Woe unto you What happened to you 
Said Malik They said We have seen distinguished people on spotted
horsebacks What you see would not have happened if we had been firmly
Reconnoitering the Enemy s Weapons 
News about the enemy s marching were conveyed to the Messenger of
Allah fL tin u so he sent out Al Aslami with orders to mix with people 
stay with them so that he would be able to know their news and to convey it
to the Messenger of AllSh MU ui when he turns back That was exactly
what he managed to do 
The Messenger of Alllh fa t wj leaves Makkah for Hunain 
On Shawwal the nineteenth the captive day the Messenger of Allah
 _ui left Makkah accompanied by twelve thousand Muslims Ten
thousand of those had previously shared in Makkah Conquest A great
number of the other two thousand who were Makkans had recently
embraced Islam That march was on the nineteenth day of his conquest to
Makkah He borrowed a hundred armours with their equipment from
Safwan bin Omaiyah He appointed Itab bin Usaid as a governor over
Makkah When it was evening time a horseman came to the Messenger of
Allah jii jX and said I have climbed up so and so mountains and
came across Hawazin with their riding camels livestock and sheep 
Hawazin wholly were gathered together there The Messenger of Allah
pi j uui j u smiled then and said They will all be Muslims spoils
tomorrow if Allah will That night Anas bin Abi Murthid Al Ghanawi
volunteered to guard 
On their way to Hunain they saw a great green Nabk plant that was
called Dhat Anwat the one with suspenders That was because the Arabs
used to hang their weapons on it slay beasts under it and keep to it So some
of army members asked the Messenger of Allah j to make them a
Nabk with suspenders as the one they had Allah is the Greatest of all He
said I swear by the One in Whose Hand is Muhammad s soul that you
have just said what the people of Moses said to him They said Make us a
god as the one they have Surely you are ignorant people These are
Sunnah but you will follow and comply with the modes of life of those who
preceded you l 2 l
Seeing how great in number the army was some of them said We shall
not be defeated Their statement sounded hard upon the Messenger of
Allah Ml UI L 
The Islamic Army stunned the Archers and the Attackers 
On Wednesday night the tenth of Shawwal the Muslim army arrived at
Hunain Malik bin Awf who had previously entered the valley by night 
gave orders to his army to hide inside the valley and lurk for the Muslims on
roads entrances narrow hiding places His orders to his men were to hurl
stones at Muslims whenever they caught sight of them and then to make a
one man attack against them 
At early dawn the Messenger of Allah started mobilizing his
army and distributing posts and flags to people In the dark and just before
I Abu Da fld 
P At Tirmidhi 
dawn the Muslims moved towards Hunain Valley They started descending
into it unaware of the presence of an enemy lurking for them inside the
valley So at the moment they were cam p ing arrows began showering
intensively at them whereas the enemy s battalions started a fierce attack
against the Muslims who had to retreat in disorder and utter confusion It
was such a shatteringly defeat that Abu Sufyan bin Harb who had recently
embraced Islam said that their retreat would not stop till they got to the Red
Sea Jablah or Kildah bin Al Junaid commented on that by saying Surely
magic has grown inactive today 
The Messenger of Allah ui turned to the right and said Come
on people I am the Messenger of AUSh I am M uhamma d the son of
Abdullah Those who stoodfast by him were only few Emigrants and some
of his kinsmen The matchless bravery of the Prophet fi y was then
brought to light He went on and on in his attempts to make his mule
standfast in the face of the disbelievers while saying loudly 
 Truly saying I am the Prophet
I am the grand son of Abdul Muttalib 
However Abu Sufyan who was then holding the rein Of the Prophet s
mule and Al Abbas who was holding its stirrup were endeavouring to
make it halt The Messenger of Allah pL ui j dismounted and asked his
Lord to render him help 
 O Allah send down Your Help 
Mulsims return to the Battlefield and the fierceness of the Fight 
The Messenger of Allah ui ordered his uncle Al Abbas who
was a sonorous voiced man to call out on the followers As loudly as he
could Al Abbas shouted Where are die lancers By AllSh Al Abbas
said Upon hearing my voice calling them back they turned round to the
battlefield as if they had been oryxes wild cows tending towards their
 Here we are at your service Here we are 1 They said There you see
them trying to stop their camels and reverse to the battle He who was
unable to force his camel to turn back would take his armour fling it round
his neck and hastily dismount his camel with his weapon in his hand letting
his camel move freely and run towards the voice source Voices would grow
louder and louder till a hundred of them gathered round the Prophet and
resumed the fight 
Those who were called out upon next were Al Ansar the Helpers O 
folks of Al Ansar Folks of Al Ansar 
The last group to be called out upon were Bani Al Harith bin Al Khazraj 
Mus lims battalions poured successively into the battlefield in the same
manne r that they had left it The stamina of both parties was superb Both of
them stoodfast and fought fiercely The Messenger of Allah jl 3 ui was
so eagerly and furiously watching the battle that he said 
 Now the fight has grown fierce 
Picking up a handful of earth he hurled it at their faces while saying 
 May your faces be shameful 
Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter
Reverse of Fortunes and the Enemy s utter Defeat 
Few hours had elapsed since the earth handful was hurled at the enemy s
faces when they were shatteringly defeated About seventy men of Thaqif
alone were killed and the Muslims plundered all their riding camels 
weapons and cattle 
All h Glory is to Him alluded to this sudden change in the Qur an when
PI Sahih Muslim 2 100 
 and on the Day of Hunain battle when you rejoiced at your
great number but it availed you naught and the earth vast as it
is was straitened for you then you turned back in flight Then
Allah did send down His Sakinah calmness tranquillity and
reassurance etc on the Messenger Muhammad 
and on the believers and sent down forces angels which you
saw not and punished the disbelievers Such is the recompense
of disbelievers 9 25 26 
Hot Pursuit of the Enemy 
After their defeat some enemy troops headed for Ta if others to
Nakhlah and Awtas A group of Muslims headed by Abu A mir Al Ash ari 
were despatched to chase the enemy some skirmishes took place during
which Abu Amir was killed 
A similar battalion of horsemen pursued the idolaters who threaded the
track to Nakhlah and caught up with Duraid bin As Simmah who was killed
by Rabi a bin Rafi After collecting the booty the Messenger of Alldh
 j ui left for Ta if to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters 
The booty was six thousand captives twenty four thousand camels over
forty thousand sheep and four thousand silver ounces The Messenger of
Allah j jji gave orders that booty should be confined at Al J iranah
and ordained Mas ud bin 4 Amr Al Ghifari to be in charge of it It was only
when he was entirely free from Ta if Campaign that one of the captives
As Shaima the daughter of Al Harith As Sa diya the Messenger s foster
sister was brought to the Messenger of Allah ui she introduced
herself to him Upon recognizing her by a certain mark he honoured her 
spread for her his garment and seated her on it He was graceful and
released her and made her turn back to her people 
Ta if Campaign 
Ta if Campaign is in fact an extension of Hunain Ghazwah that is
because the majority of the defeated troops of Hawazin and Thaqif went
into Ta if with the general commander Malik bin Awf An Nasri and
fortified themselves within it So upon finishing with Hunain Invasion he
gathered the booty at Al Ji ranah in the very month i e Shawwal and in
the eighth year A H 
A vanguard battalion of a thousand men led by Khalid bin Al Waleed
marched towards At Ta if Whereas the Messenger of Allah
proceeded passing through Nakhlah Al Yamaniyah Qam Al Manazil and
through Laiyah At Laiyah there was a castle that belonged to Malik bin
 Awf so the Messenger of Allah jh gave orders to have it
destroyed He resumed his march till he got to Ta if There he dismounted 
camped near its castle and laid siege to the castle inhabitants but not for
How long the siege continued is still a matter of disagreement It
however stands between 10 20 days 
A lot of arrow shooting and rock hurling occurred during the siege For
as soon as the Muslims laid siege round the castle its people started
shooting arrows against them The arrows were so intense and fierce that
they looked as if they had been locusts on the move A number of Muslims
were wounded and twelve were killed 
To be far from the arrow range the Muslims had to ascend to a higher
location and camped on i e to what is now called At Ta if Mosque The
Prophet fL set up a mangonel and shelled the castle Eventually a
gap was made in the castle wall through which a number of Muslims
managed to pass into the castle sheltered by a wooden tank with the
purpose of setting fire into it Anyway the enemy poured down molten hot
iron on them Affected by this the Muslims stepped out of the tank and were
again exposed to arrow shooting and consequently some of them were
To force the enemy to surrender the Prophet jl di tended to a war
policy of burning and cutting the enemy s crops His order was to cut their
U Sahih Muslim narrated by Anas 1 Fath Al Bari 8 45 
vineyards and bum them Seeing that the Muslims started rapidly cutting
and burning their vines they implored the Prophet w to stop and
have mercy on them for the sake of Allah and out of kinship motives So the
Prophet agreed When the caller of the Messenger of Allah jji called
out unto people saying He whosoever descends and steps out of the castle
is free Twenty three men came outl l One of them was Abu Bakrah who
tied himself to a wall and let himself down by means of a small wheel that
would normally be used for drawing up water from a well The way he let
himself down made the Prophet nickname him Abu Bakrah i e the man
with the wheel The Messenger of Allah an set them all free and
entrusted each one of them to a Muslim to care about their living affairs 
which was too hard for the castle folkspeople to bear 
Seeing that the siege lasted too long and that the castle was immune and
could stand any siege for they had already stored a supply that suffices for
over a year and that the Muslims were suffering day by day from
arrow shots and heated iron hooks the Messenger of Allah 
consulted Nawfal bin Mu awiyah Ad Daili about that He said They are
like a fox hiding inside its burrow If you stoodfast at it you would catch it 
but if you parted with it no harm would afflict you The Messenger of
Allah fL ui decided to lift the siege and depart Umar bin Al Khattab 
who was ordered by the Prophet to notify people said to them If Allah
will we are leaving the castle and going back tomorrow As it was too hard
for the Muslims to go back and leave the castle unconquered they
complained saying Should we go away while the castle is still unopened 
His reply was Then start fighting in the morning In the morning they
fought and were wounded So when he repeated this statement If Allah
will we are leaving the castle and going back tomorrow they were pleased
and carried out the order submissively and started moving which made the
Messenger of Allah di laugh 
As soon as they mounted and started moving the Messenger
 J t Ip I IjJ ji 
 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 620 
 Say Here we are returning repenting worshipping Allah and
to our Lord we offer praise 
When the Messenger of Allah was asked to invoke Allah against Thaqif 
otj U12J J l
 O Allah guide Thaqif and bring them to us as Muslims 
The Distribution of the Booty at Al Ji ranah 
Upon returning and lifting the siege in Ta if the Messenger of Allah
fi j uji had stayed over ten nights at Al Ji ranah before starting to
distribute the booty Distribution delay was due to the Prophet s hope that
Hawazin s delegation might arrive and announce their repentance and
consequently reclaim their loss Seeing that none of them arrived he started
dividing the booty so as to calm down the tribes chiefs and the celebrities
of Makkah The first to receive booty and the ones who obtained the
greatest number of shares were the people who had recently embraced
Abu Sufyan bin Harb was given a hundred camels and forty gold 
ounces and yet he said What about my son Yazeed s Share So he was
given the same quantity for his son as well But yet he exclaimed And
what about the share of Mu awiyah my second son So the Prophet
gave Mu awiyah as much as he gave his father and brother 
Hakeem bin_Hizam was given a hundred camels but he was given a
hundred more when he demanded Safwan bin Omaiyah was given three
hundred camels a hundred camels at each time It is thus mentioned in
Shifa l Book by Qadi Iyadh The Prophet fU mu w ju gave Al Harith bin
Harith bin Kilda a hundred camels He also gave some chiefs of Quraish and
other clans a hundred camels he gave others fifty and some others had
Eventually it was spread among people that Muhammad grants
generously and fears not to grow poor This made bedouins gather around
him expecting to be given some wealth They were so many that they forced
I Ash Shifa 1 86 
the Prophet ui jl to seek refuge against a tree and they even took away
his garment O people He said Give me back my garment For I swear
by the One in Whose Hand is Muhammad s soul that if I had as many
numerous camels as the number ofTihama trees I would distribute them
among you You know quite well that I am neither mean nor coward or a
liar Standing by his camel he plucked out a hair of his camel s hump and
held it between his two fingers lifted it up and said O people I swear by
Allah that I get nothing but one fifth of your booty and this very fifth goes
back to you 
As soon as he had given the new converts the Messenger of Allah
fL uii ordered Zaid bin Thabit to fetch the booty and summon people 
Then he ordained shares to people A footman s share was four camels and
forty sheep and a horseman would take twelve camels and a hundred and
twenty sheep This distribution of booty was based on a wise policy In this
world there are lots of people who know the truth only when it comes
through their stomachs and they do not recognize it if it comes through their
brains The similitude of such people is as the guidance of an animal to its
herd by means of a bunch of clover held at a constant distance off its mouth 
The animal would try all the time to catch it so it would eventually go into
the herd safely In the same way you have to do various kinds of temptations
to make certain kind of people familiarize Islam and be pleased with 
The Helpers Al Ansar are furious at the Messenger of Allah fL J 
At first the Prophet s policy of distribution was uncomprehended by
many a man Therefore sharp tongued people started expressing their
objections The Helpers were among those who were afflicted by this
policy They were deprived of Hunain gifts though they had been the ones
who were summoned at Hunain hard times and they were the first to rush to
fight with the Messenger of Allah 4 u j and standfast till the defeat
turned into victory Now here they are watching those who escaped fill their
hands with booty while they are given nothing 
On the authority of Ibn Ishaq When the Messenger of Allah
had given Quraish and Arab tribes those gifts and allotted nothing to the
Helpers a group of the Helpers felt so uneasy about it that a lot of ill 
 Fiqh us Seerah pp 298 299 
statements against the Prophet fu t _w ju were spread among them to an
extent that one of them said By Allah the Messenger of Allah 
was ill spoken of by his folksmen And those ill statements went on
spreading till Sa d bin Ubadah met the Messenger of Allah m jl who
in his turn faced his people after a while 
Sa d bin Ubadah said O Messenger of Allah this group of the Helpers
arp furious at you about the distribution of the booty that you had won You
have allotted shares to your own kinsmen and forwarded lots of gifts to the
Arab tribes But this group has obtained nothing The Prophet u w 
asked Sa d exclaiming Sa d what do you think of all that Sa d replied 
 O Messenger of Allah You know that I am nothing but a member of this
group Call out on your people and bring them forth to me into this shed 
Said the Prophet u u 
So Sa d went out and summoned them When some Emigrants came he
let them in but forbade others When they were all gathered together he
informed the Prophet saying This group of the Helpers have just arrived to
meet you in compliance with your orders As soon as the Messenger
 111 jL faced them he thanked Allah and praised Him then said to them
inquiring I have been told that you are angry with me Didn t I come to
you when you were astray and Allah guided you You were poor and Allah
gave you wealth Weren t you foes and Allah made you love one another 
 Yes they said Allah and His Messenger are better and more gracious 
Then he said What prevents you from replying to the Messenger of Allah 
O tribe of Helpers They said What should be the reply O Messenger of
Allah while to the Lord and to his Messenger belong all benevolence and
The Prophet j again said 
3 jJ iilj uU
 But by Allah you might have answered and answered truly for
I would have testified to its truth myself You came to us belied
and rejected and we accepted you you came to us as helpless
and we helped you a fugitive and we took you in poor and we
You Helpers do you feel anxious for the things of this world 
wherewith I have sought to incline these people unto the Faith in
which you are already established 
Jij olJtJU J Ul c t jL aiSll j Sit 
Sfjp 4 ojC j dill Jj i jJ
jlifti ciii3 i a j tlJi ilL jJ3 t T ci i
tjL aiS l f lljtj tjUaiS l 111 ijl aiSfl C cJU J ill 
ijCaiSn 5 d dj
Are you not satisfied O group of Helpers that the people go
with ewes and camels while you go along with the Messenger of
Allah fL u 4ii ju to your dwellings By Him in Whose Hand is
my life had there been no migration I would have been one of
the Helpers If the people would go through a valley and
passage and the Helpers go through another valley and passage 
I would go through the valley and passage of the Helpers Allah 
Have mercy on the Helpers their children and their children s
The audience wept until tears rolled down their beards as they said 
i L j Ills gg Sil J yL jj
 Yes we are satisfied O Prophet of Allah fU 4 ji with
our lot and share 
Then the Prophet uh left the gathering and the people also
Arrival of the Hawazin Delegation 
Hawazin s delegation arrived a Muslims just after the distribution of
spoils They were fourteen men headed by Zuhair bin Sard The
Messenger s foster uncle was one of them They asked him to bestow upon
them some of the wealth and spoils They uttered so touching words that the
 Ibn Hisham 2 499 500 and like this quoted by Bukhari 2 620 621 
Messenger of Allah w said to them You surely see who are with
me The most desirable speech to me is the most truthful Which is dearer to
you your wealth or your women and children They replied Nothing
whatsoever compares with kinship Then when I perform the noon prayer 
stand up and say We intercede with the Messenger of Allah an to
exhort the believers and we intercede with the believers to exhort the
Messenger of Allah v w j to forego the captives of our people fallen to
their lot So when the Messenger of Allah performed the noon
prayer they stood up and said what they had been told to say The
Messenger then said As for what belongs to me and to the
children of Abdul Muttalib you may consider them from now on yours 
And I will ask my folksmen to give back theirs Upon hearing that the
Emigrants and the Helpers said What belongs to us is from now on 
offered to the Messenger of Allah im But Al Aqra bin Habis said 
 We will grant none of what belongs to me and to Bani Tamim so did
 Uyaina bin Hisn who said As for me and Bani Fazarah I say No 
Al Abbas bin Mirdas also refused and said No for Bani Saleem and him 
His people however said otherwise Whatever spoils belong to us we offer
to the Messenger of Allah 4011 You have undermined my
position Said Al Abbas bin Mirdas spontaneously Then the Messenger
of Allah JL u tin said These people have come to you as Muslims For
this I have already tarried the distribution of the booty Besides I have
granted them a fair option but they refused to have anything other than their
women and children Therefore he who has some of theirs and will prefer
willingly to give them back let them do But those who favours to keep
what he owns to himself let them grant them back too and he will be given
as a recompense six times as much from the first booty that Allah may
provide us People then said We will willingly offer them all for the sake
of the Messenger of Allah The Messenger of Allah u jii said But
in this way we are not able to find out who is content and who is not So go
back and we will be waiting for your chiefs to convey to us your decisions 
All of them gave back the women and children The only one who refused
to comply with the Messenger s desire was Uyaina bin Hisn He refused to
let an old woman of theirs go back at first Later on he let her go back The
Messenger of Allah ju 1 j i gave every captive a garment as a gift 
Lesser Pilgrimage Al Umrah to Makkah and leaving for Madinah 
Having accomplished the distribution of the spoils at Al Ji ranah he left
it while wearing Al Umrah clothes and proceeded to Makkah to perform
Al Umrah The Messenger of Allah L u di j turned back from there to
Madinah after appointing Itab bin Usaid on Makkah as governor His
arrival to Madinah was by the last six nights of Dhul Qa dah in the year 8
A H On this occasion Muhammad Al Ghazali said 
 What a great change it is between the victorious period of Muhammad
at present which Allah has towered with a manifest conquest and that
period of the past during which Muhammad first arrived at this town eight
When he first came to Madinah he was pursued and wanted He was
seeking a secure shelter He was a lonely stranger who sought
companionship and comfort The people of Madinah welcomed him gave
him residence and aided him and embraced the light of Islam which had
been sent down upon him They for his sake did not care about the enmity
of other peoples Here he is entering Madinah again after the lapse of eight
years of that first visit Madinah the town that had received him once when
he was a frightened Emigrant it receives him once again when Makkah has
become in his hands and at his disposal It is Makkah that has got rid of its
pride and Jahiliyah i e pre Islamic period and traditions It is now proud
again and mighty in Islam The Messenger of Allah forgave all the errors
and wrongs of its people 
 Verily he who fears Allah with obedience to Him by
abstaining from sins and evil deeds and by performing
righteous good deeds and is patient then surely Allah makes
not the reward of the good doers to be lost 12 90 l l
 1 Fiqh us Seerah 303 Zad Al Ma ad 2 160 201 Ibn Hisham 2 389 501 
Sahih Bukhari Chapter Fath Ghazwah Hunain Awtas and At Ta if 2 612 622 
Fath Al Bari 8 3 58 
Missions and Platoons
After the Conquest
Upon returning from this long successful travel the Messenger of Allah
fi j viu 4 jji stayed in Madinah where he received delegates and dispatched
agents and appointed preachers and callers to Islam everywhere Those
whose hearts were still full of prejudice against Islam and therefore were too
proud to embrace Allah s religion were decisively muffled on their non 
acquiescence in the status quo prevalent then in Arabia 
Here is a mini image about the believed ones We have already stated
that the Messenger s arrival in Madinah was by the last days of the eighth
year of Al Hijra No sooner the crescent of Muharram of the ninth year
turned up than the Messenger of All h j dispatched the believed
ones to the tribes as shown in the list below 
1 Uyaina bin Hisn
2 Yazeed bin Husain
3 Abbad bin Bishr Al Ashhali
4 Rafi bin Mukaith
5 Amr bin Al As
6 Ad Dahhak bin Sufyan
7 Basheer bin Sufyan
8 Ibn Al Lutabiyah Al Azdi
9 Al Muhajir bin Abi Omaiyah
10 Ziyad bin Labid
1 l Adi bin Hatim
12 Malik bin Nuwairah
13 Az Zabraqan bin Badr
14 Qais bin Asim
15 Al Ala bin Al Hadrami
16 Ali bin Abi Talib
to Bani Tamim 
to Aslam and Ghifar 
to Sulaim and Muzainah 
to Bani Fazarah 
to Bani Kilab 
to Bani Ka b 
to Bani Dhubyan 
to Sana a Al Aswad Al Ansi called
at him when he was in it 
to Tai and Bani Asad 
to Bani Hanzalah 
to Bani Sa d a portion of them 
to Bani Sa d a portion of them 
to Al Bahrain 
to Najran to collect Sadaqa Jizya 
Some of these agents were despatched in Muharram 7 A H others were
sent later until the tribes they were heading for had completely converted
into Islam Such a move clearly demonstrates the great success that the
Islamic Da wah Call enjoyed after Al Hudaibiyah Treaty However 
shortly after the conquest of Makkah people began to embrace Islam in
In the same way that the believed ones were dispatched to the tribes we
understand that dispatching some more platoons to all regions of Arabia is a
necessity for the prevalence and domination of security on all lands of
Here is a list of those platoons 
1 Uyaina bin Hisn Al Fazari s platoon in Al Muharram the ninth year of
Al Hijra to Bani Tamim It consisted of fifty horsemen none of them
was an Emigrant or a Helper 
This expedition was dispatched due to the fact that Bani Tamim had
already urged other tribes not to pay tribute Al Jizya and eventually
stopped them from paying it
Therefore Uyaina bin Hisn set out to fight them All the way long he
marched by night and lurked by day He went on that way till he
overtook them and attacked them in die desert They fled back for their
lives Eleven men twenty one women and thirty boys were captured
then He drove them back to Madinah and were housed in Ramlah bint
Al Harith s residence Ten of their leaders who came to the Prophet s
door called out unto him saying O Muhammad come out and face us 
When he went out they held him and started talking 
He exchanged talk with them for a while then left them and went to
perform the noon prayer After prayer he sat in the mosque patio They
proclaimed a desire to show boasting and self pride For this purpose
they introduced their orator Utarid bin Hajib who delivered his speech 
The Messenger of Allah jl w asked Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas
 the Muslim orator to respond He did that In return they brought
forth their poet Az Zabraqan bin Badr who recited some boastful poetry 
Hassan bin Thabit the poet of Islam promptly replied back When talks
and poetry came to an end Al Aqra bin Habis said Their orator is
more eloquent than ours and their poet is more poetically learned than
ours Their voices and sayings excel ours as well Eventually they
announced their embracing Islam Consequently the Messenger of Allah
fL j uii ji acknowledged their Islamization awarded them well and
rendered them back their women and children 
2 A platoon headed by Qutbah bin Amir to a spot called Khath am in
Tabalah a plot of land not far from Turbah That was in Safar 9 A H 
Accompanied by twenty men and only ten camels to mount alternatively
on Qutbah raided them and fought so fiercely that a great number of
both parties were wounded and some others were killed The Muslims
drove back with them camels women and sheep to Madinah 
3 The mission of Dahhak bin Sufyan Al Kilabi to Bani KilabinRabi 
Al Awwal in the year 9 A H This mission was sent to Bani Kilab to call
them to embrace Islam Refusing to embrace Islam they started to fight
against the Muslims but were defeated and sustained one man killed 
4 The three hundred men expedition of Alqamah bin Mujazziz Al Mudlaji
to Jeddah shores in Rabi Al Akhir This expedition was dispatched to
fight against some men from Al Habasha Abyssinia Ethiopia who
gathered together near the shores of Jeddah and exercised acts of piracy
against the Makkans Therefore he cross ed the sea till he got to an island 
But as soon as the pirates had learned of Muslims arrival they fledJ 1 
5 The task of the platoon of Ali bin Abi Talib was to demolish Al Qullus 
which was an idol that belonged to Tai tribe That was in Rabi 
Al Awwal in the year 9 A H Ali was dispatched by the Messenger of
Allah jLy ui with one hundred fifty men A hundred of them were on
camels The other fifty were on horseback He held a black flag and a
At dawn they raided Mahallat Hatim demolished the idol and filled
their hands with spoils camels and sheep booties whereas Adi fled to
Ash Sham The sister of Adi bin Hatim was one of the captives Inside
Al Qullus safe Muslims found three swords and three armours On the
way they distributed the spoils and put aside the best things to the
Messenger of Allah ui j They did not share the Hatims 
Upon arrival in Madinah the sister of Adi bin Hatim begged the
Messenger of Allah L uii to have mercy on her and said O
 Fath Al Bari 8 59 
Messenger of All h my brother is absent and ther is dead and I am too
old to render any service Be beneficent to me so that Allah may be
bountiful to you He said Who is your brother She said It is Adi
bin Hatim Is he not the one who fled from Allah and his Messenger 
Said the Prophet then went away from her Next day she
reiterated the same thing as the day before and received the same answer 
A day later she uttered similar words this time he made benefaction to
her The man who was beside the Prophet and whom she thought to be
 Ali said to hen Ask for an animal from him to ride on And she was
granted her request
She returned to Ash Sham where she met her brother and said to him 
 The Messenger of AllSh an j has done me such noble deed that
your father would never have done it Therefore willy nilly frightened
or secure you should go and see him Unsecure neither protected by
some one not even recommended by a letter as a means of protection 
 Adi came and met the Prophet The Messenger of Allah ui took
him home with him As soon as he sat before him the Messenger of
Allah fL ui thanked Allah and praised him then said What makes
you flee Do you flee lest you should say there is no god but Allah Do
you know any other god but Allah No he said then talked for a
while The Messenger of Allah went on saying Certainly you flee so
that you may not hear the statement saying Allah is the Greatest Do
you know anyone who is greater than Allah No he said The Jews
are those whose portion is wrath and the Christians are those who have
gone astray the Prophet retorted I am a Muslim and I believe in one
God Allah Adi finally proclaimed with a joyous face The Prophet
ordered him a residence with one of the Helpers From that time he
started calling at the Prophet uii in the mornings and in the
On the authority of Ibn Ishaq when the Prophet uii made him
sit down in front of him in his house the Prophet said O Adi were you
not cast in disbelief Yes Adi said Did you not share one quarter
of your people s gains Yes Said Adi The Messenger of Allah
fL j said It is sinful in your religion to do such a thing and you
1 1 Zad Al Ma ad 2 205 
should not allow yourself to do it Yes by Allah that is true said
 Adi Thus I worked out that he was a Prophet inspired by Allah and
sent to people He knows what is unknown 
In another version the Prophet said Adi embrace Islam
and you shall be secure But I am a man of religion Said Adi I
know your religion better than you Said the Prophet Do you know my
religion better than me Adi asked The Prophet replied Yes He
said Are you not cast in disbelief because you appropriate to yourself
the fourth of your people s gains Yes Said Adi It is unlawful in
your religion to do such a thing The Prophet said and Adi added He
did not need to say it again for I immediately acquiesced it 1 2 
Al Bukhari narrates that Adi said While we were with the Prophet
fL v k 4jji a man came in and complained to him about poverty Then
another man came in and complained about highway robbery The
Messenger of Allah ui then said O Adi have you ever been to
Al Hirah If you were doomed to live long life you would be able to see
a riding camel woman travel from Hirah till it cireumambulates
Al Ka bah fearing none but Allah and if you were to live long enough
you would open the treasures of Kisra And if you were to live long you
would be able to see man offering a handful of gold or silver to others
but none accepts to take it At the end of this Hadith Adi later on says 
 I have seen a riding camel woman travel from Al Hirah till it
circumambulates the Ka bah fearing none but Allah I have also been one
of those who opened the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuz If you were to
live long life you would witness what the Prophet Abul Qasim ui 
had already said about offering a handful of i e the Prophet s
prophecies did really come tme I 3 
 Ibn Hisham 2 581 
I 2 Musnad Imam Ahmad 
P Sahih Al Bukhari Mishkat Al Masabih 2 524 
The Invasion of Tabuk
in Rajah in the Year 9 A H 
The invasion and the conquest of Makkah was considered a decisive one
between the truth and the error As a result of which the Arabs had no more
doubt in Muhammad s mission Thus we see that things went contrary to the
pagans expectations People started to embrace Islam the religion of Allah 
in great numbers This is manifested clearly in the chapter The
delegations of this book It can also be deduced out of the enormous
number of people who shared in the Hajjatul Wadd Farewell Pilgrimage 
All domestic troubles came to an end Muslims eventually felt at ease and
started setting up the teachings of Allah s Laws and intensifying the Call to
The underlying Reasons 
The Byzantine power which was considered the greatest military force
on earth at that time showed an unjustifiable opposition towards Muslims 
As we have already mentioned their opposition started at killing the
ambassador of the Messenger of Allah fi 3 jji Al Harith bin Umair
Al Azdi by Sharhabeel bin Amr Al Ghassani The ambassador was then
carrying a message from the Prophet 1 ui ju to the ruler of Busra We
have also stated that the Prophet consequently dispatched a brigade under
the command of Zaid bin Haritha who had a fierce fight against the
Byzantines at Mu tah Although Muslim forces could not have revenge on
those haughty overproud tyrants the confrontation itself had a great
impression on the Arabs all over Arabia 
Caesar who could neither ignore the great benefit that Mu tah Battle
had brought to Muslims nor could he disregard the Arab tribes 
expectations of independence and their hopes of getting free from his
influence and reign nor he could ignore their alliance to the Muslims 
realizing all that Caesar was aware of the progressive danger threatening
his borders especially Ash Sham fronts which were neighbouring Arab
lands So he concluded that demolition of the Muslims power had grown an
urgent necessity This decision of his should in his opinion be achieved
before the Muslims become too powerful to conquer and raise troubles and
unrest in the adjacent Arab territories 
To meet these exigencies Caesar mustered a huge army of the
Byzantines and pro Roman Ghassanide tribes to launch a decisive bloody
battle against the Muslims 
General News about the Byzantines and Ghassanide Preparations for
No sooner news about the Byzantine s preparations for a decisive
invasion against Muslims reached Madinah than fear spread among them 
They started to envisage the Byzantine invasion in the least sound they
could hear This could be clearly worked out of what had happened to
 Umar bin Al Khattab one day 
The Prophet had taken an oath to stay off his wives fora
month in the ninth year of Al Hijra Therefore he deserted them and kept
off in a private place At the beginning the Companions of the Messenger
of Allah were puzzled and could not work out the reason for such
behaviour They thought the Prophet ui had divorced them and that
was why he was grieved disturbed and upset In Umar s version of the
very story he says I used to have a Helper friend who often informed me
about what happened if I weren t present and in return I always informed
him of what had taken place during his absence They both lived in the high
part of Madinah Both of them used to call at the Prophet alternatively
during that time of suspense Then one day I heard my friend knock at the
door saying Open up Open up I asked wondering What s the matter 
Has the Ghassanide come No it is more serious than that The Messenger
of Allah j 4iu has deserted his wives t l
In another version Umar said We talked about Ghassanide
preparations to invade us When it was his turn to convey the news to me he
went down and returned in the evening He knocked at the door violently
and said Is he sleeping I was terrified but I went out to meet him 
 Something serious bad taken place He said Has the Ghassaindes
arrived Said I No he said it is greater and more serious The
Messenger of AlUih ui has divorced his wives PI
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 730 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 334 
This state of too much alertness manifests clearly the seriousness of the
situation that Muslims began to experience The seriousness of the situation
was confirmed to a large degree by the hypocrites behaviour when news
about the Byzantines preparations reached Madinah The fact that the
Messenger of Allih on won all the battles he fought and that no
power on earth could make him terrified and that he had always proved to
be able to overcome all the obstacles that stood in his way did not prevent
the hypocrites who concealed evil in their hearts from expecting an
affliction to fall upon the Muslims and Islam 
They used to harbour evil and ill intentions against the whole process of
Islam and the Muslims On grounds of illusory hopes of destroying this
great religious edifice they erected a hotbed of conspiracy and intrigue in
the form of a mosque Masjid e Darar the mosque of harm They
approached the Prophet with the request that he should come and
consecrate the place by praying in it himself As he was at the moment
about to start for Tabuk he deferred compliance with their request till his
return Meanwhile he came to know through Divine Revelation that it was
not a Mosque for devotion and prayer but a meeting place for the anti 
Islamic elements On his return therefore the Prophet an sent a
party to demolish the new structure 
Particular News about the Byzantine and
Ghassanide Preparations for War 
A magnified image of the prominent danger threatening the Muslims life
was carried to them by the Nabateans who brought oil from Ash Sham to
Madinah They carried news about Heraclius preparations and equipment
of an enormous army counting over forty thousand fighters besides Lukham 
Judham and other tribes allied to the Byzantines They said that its vanguard
had already reached Al Balqa Thus was the grave situation standing in
ambush for the Muslims The general situation was aggravated seriously by
other adverse factors of too much hot weather drought and the rough and
rugged distance they had to cover in case they decided to encounter the
The Messenger of Allah s jl u concept and estimation of the
situation and its development was more precise and accurate than all others 
He thought that if he tarried or dealt passively with the situation in such a
way that might enable the Byzantines to paddle through the Islamic
controlled provinces or to go as far as Madinah this would amid these
circumstances leave the most awful impression on Islam as well as on the
Muslims military credibility 
The pre Islamic beliefs and traditions Al Jahiliyah which were at that
time dying because of the strong decisive blow that they had already had at
Hunain could have had a way to come back to life once again in such an
environment The hypocrites who were conspiring against the Muslims so
that they might stab them in the back whereas Byzantines would attack them
from the front If such a thing came to light and they succeeded in their evil
attempts the Prophet and his Companions efforts to spread Islam would
collapse and their profits which were the consequences of successive and
constant fights and invasions would be invalidated The Messenger of Allah
 ju un realised all that very well So in spite of the hardships and
drought that Muslims were suffering from the Prophet im was
determined that the Muslims should invade the Byzantines and fight a
decisive battle at their own borders He was determined not to tarry at all in
order to thwart any Roman attempt to approach the land of Islam 
When the Messenger of Allah had made up his mind and took
his final decision he ordered his Companions to get ready for war and sent
for the Makkans and the other Arab tribes asking for their assistance 
Contrary to his habit of concealing his real intention of the invasion by
means of declaring a false one he announced openly his intention of
meeting the Byzantines and fighting them He cleared the situation to his
people so that they would get ready and urged them to fight in the way of
Allah On this occasion a part of Surat Bara a Chapter 9 The
Repentance was sent down by Allah urging them to steadfastness and
On the other hand the Messenger of All h fL im cherished them to
pay charities and to spend the best of their fortunes in the way Of Allah 
No sooner had the Muslims heard the voice of the Messenger of AllSh
fi i jh tr Lm calling them to fight the Byzantines than they rushed to comply
with his orders With great speed they started getting ready for war Tribes
and phratries from here and there began pouring in Madinah Almost all the
Muslims responded positively Only those who had weakness at their hearts
favoured to stay behind They were only three people Even the needy and
die poor who could not afford a ride came to the Messenger of Allah
asking for one so that they would be able to share in the fight against the
Byzantines But when he said 
 I can find no mounts for you they turned back while their
eyes overflowing with tears of grief that they could not find
anything to spend for Jihad 9 92 
The Muslims raced to spend out money and to pay charities to provide
this invasion Uthman for instance who had already rigged two hundred 
saddled camels to travel to Ash Sham presented them all with two hundred
ounces of gold as charity He also fetched a thousand dinars and cast them
all into the lap of the Messenger of Allah ro who turned them over
and said From this day on nothing will harm Uthman regardless of what
he does 1 Again and again Uthman gave till his charity toped to nine
hundred camels and a hundred horses besides the money he paid 
Abdur Rahman bin Awf on his side paid two hundred silver ounces 
whereas Abu Bakr paid the whole money he had and left nothing but Allah
and His Messenger as a fortune for his family Umar paid half his fortune 
Al Abbas gifted a lot of money Talhah Sa d bin Ubadah and Muhammad
bin Maslamah gave money for the welfare of the invasion Asim bin Adi 
on his turn offered ninety camel burdens of dates People raced to pay little
and much charities alike One of them gave the only half bushel or the only
bushel he owned Women shared in this competition by giving the things
they owned such as musk armlets anklets ear rings and rings No one
abstained from spending out money or was too mean to grant money or
anything except the hypocrites 
1 1 Jami At Tinnidhi 2 211 The virtues of Uthman 
 Those who defame such of the believers who give charity in
Allah s cause voluntarily and those who could not find to give
charity in Allah s cause except what is available to them so
they mock at them believers 9 79 
The Muslim Army is leaving for Tabuk 
Upon accomplishing the equipment of the army the Messenger of Allah
fL j _m jX ordained that Muhammad bin Maslamah Al Ansari should be
appointed over Madinah in another version Siba bin Arftah To Ali bin
Abu Talib he entrusted his family s safety and affairs and ordered him to
stay with them This move made the hypocrites undervalue Ali so he
followed the Messenger of Allah pLj ole till and caught up with him But
the Prophet made Ali turn back to Madinah after saying Would it not
suffice you to be my successor in the way that Aaron Harun was to
Moses Then he proceeded saying But no Prophet succeeds me 
On Thursday the Messenger of Allah 111 matched northwards to
Tabuk The army that numbered thirty thousand fighters was a great one 
when compared with the previous armies of Islam Muslims had never
marched with such a great number before 
Despite all the gifts of wealth and mounts the army was not perfectly
equipped The shortage of provisions and mounts was so serious that
eighteen men mounted one camel alternatively As for provisions members
of the army at times had to eat the leaves of trees till their lips got swollen 
Some others had to slaughter camels though they were so dear so that
they could drink the water of their stomach that is why that army was called
 The army of distress 
On their way to Tabuk the army of Islam passed by Al Hijr which
was the native land of Thamud who cut out huge rocks in the valley that
is Al Qura Valley of today They watered from its well but later the
Messenger of AllSh o told them not to drink of that water nor
perform the ablution with it The dough they made he asked them to feed
their camels with He forbade them to eat anything whatsoever of it As an
alternative he told them to water from that well which Prophet Salih s she 
camel used to water from 
On the authority of Ibn Umar Upon passing by Al Hijr the Prophet
fL j said 
 Do not alter the houses of those who erred themselves lest
what had happened to them would afflict you but if you had to
do such a thing let it be associated with weeping 
Then he raised his head up and accelerated his strides till he passed the
valley out Pl
Shortage of water and the army s need to it made them complain to the
Messenger of Allah uii about that So he supplicated Allah who
sent a rainful cloud It rained and so all people drank and supplied
themselves with their need of water 
When they drew near Tabuk the Prophet said If Allah will tomorrow
you will arrive at Tabuk spring You will not get there before daytime So
whoever reaches it should not touch its water but wait till I come Mu adh
said When we reached the spring it used to gush forth some water We
found that two men had already preceded us to it The Messenger of Allah
fj jji j l asked them Have you touched its water They replied Yes 
He said what Allah inspired him to say then he scooped up little water of
that spring thin stream which gathered together he washed his face and
hand with it and poured it back into it consequently plenty of water spouted
out of it so people watered Mu adh said die Messenger of Allah if you
were doomed to live long life you will see in here fields full of
On the way to Tabuk or as soon as they reached Tabuk the Messenger
of Allah fj_j _ui jj said Severe wind will blow tonight so none of you
should stand up Whoever has a camel should tie it up Later on when the
HI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 637 
PI Sahih Muslim 2 246 
strong wind blew one of the men stood up and the wind carried him away
to Tai Mountain 1 
All the way long the Messenger of Allah was intent on the
performance of the combined prayer of noon and the afternoon and so did
he with sunset and evening prayers His prayers for both were either pre 
time or post time prayers 
The Army of Islam at Tabuk 
Arriving at Tabuk and camping there the Muslim army was ready to face
the enemy There the Messenger of Allah delivered an eloquent
speech that included the most inclusive words In that speech he urged the
Muslims to seek the welfare of this world and the world to come He warned
and cherished them and gave them good tidings By doing that he cherished
those who were broken in spirits and blocked up the gap of shortage and
mess they were suffering from due to lack of supplies food and other
Upon learning of the Muslims march the Byzantines and their allies
were so terrified that none of them dared set out to fight On the contrary
they scattered inside their territory It brought in itself a good credit to the
Muslim forces That had gained military reputation in the mid and remote
lands of Arabian Peninsula The great and serious political profits that the
Muslim forces had obtained were far better than the ones they could have
acquired if the two armies had been engaged in military confrontation 
The Head of Ailah Yahna bin Rawbah came to the Messenger of Allah
fi s jji ju made peace with him and paid him the tribute Al Jizya Both
of Jarba and Adhruh peoples paid him tribute as well So the Messenger of
Allah JL 3 u jui j gave each a guarantee letter similar to Yahna s in which
 In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful 
This is a guarantee of protection from Allah and Muhammad the
Prophet the Messenger of Allah to Yahna bin Rawbah and the
people of Ailah their ships their caravans on land and sea shall
111 ibid Sahih Muslim 2 246 
have the custody of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad he and
whosoever are with him of Ash Sham people and those of the sea 
Whosoever contravenes this treaty his wealth shall not save him it
shall be the fair prize of him that takes it Now it should not be
lawful to hinder the men from any springs which they have been in
the habit of frequenting nor from any journeys they desire to make 
whether by sea or by land 
The Messenger of Allah pL u w dispatched Khalid bin Al Waleed at
the head of four hundred and fifty horsemen to Ukaidir Dumat Al Jandal
and said to him You will see him hunting oryxes So when Khalid drew
near his castle and was as far as an eye sight range he saw the oryxes
coming out rubbing their horns against the castle gate As it was a moony
night Khalid could see Ukaidir come out to hunt them so he captured him
 though he was surrounded by his men and brought him back to the
Messenger of Allih L l uh ir ju who spared his life and made peace with
him for the payment of two thousand camels eight hundred heads of cattle 
four hundred armours and four hundred lances He obliged him to recognize
the duty of paying tribute and charged him with collecting it from Dumat 
Tabuk Ailah and Taima 
The tribes who used to ally the Byzantines became quite certain that
their dependence oinn their former masters came to an end Therefore they
turned into being pro Muslims The Islamic state had therefore enlarged its
borders to an extent that it touched the Byzantines and their agents 
borders So we see that the Byzantine agents role was over 
Returning to Madinah 
The Muslim army returned from Tabuk victoriously undeceived or
wronged That was because AllSh had sufficed them the evils of fight 
On the way back and at a mountain road twelve hypocrites sought the
Prophet s life and that was while he was passing along that mountain road
with only Ammar holding the rein of his she camel and Hudhaifa bin
Al Yaman driving it at the time that people had already gone down into the
bottom of the valley 
The hypocrites seized that opportunity to seek the Prophet s life As the
Messenger of Allah ui and his two companions were moving along 
they heard thrusts of people coming towards him from behind with their
faces veiled Hudhaifa who was sent by the Prophet to see what was going
on saw them and stroke their mounts faces with a crook in his hand and
Allah cast fear into their hearts They fled away and overtook their people 
However Hudhaifa named them to the Messenger of Allah ui
and informed him of their intentions So that was why Hudhaifa was called
the confidant of the Messenger of Allah ui About this event
Allah the Exalted says 
 And they resolved that plot to murder Prophet Muhammad
 L jj which they were unable to carry out 9 74 
When his headquarters Madinah began to loom at the horizon the
Prophet 4 u A jui said This is a cheerful sight This is Uhud which is a
mountain we like it and it likes us When the Madinese leamt of their
arrival they set out to meet the army Women youths youngsters and small
children went out of town to celebrate their home return wholeheartedly
 L 1 co I l_ jU _ J 
 The full moon shone down upon us through the traits of
Al Wada Mountain 
Thanks is due to us as long as a supplicator invokes to Allah 
The Messenger of Allah ui s march to Tabuk was in Rajab and
his return in Ramadan So we see that this Ghazwah took fifty days twenty
days of which were spent in Tabuk and the others on the way to and fro 
Tabuk Invasion was the last one made by the Prophet j 
The People Who lagged Behind 
Due to its particular circumstances this invasion was a peculiar severe
trial provided by Allah only to try the believers Faith and sort them out of
others This is Allah s permanent Will in such circumstances In this respect
 Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are
now until He distinguish the wicked from the good 3 179 
Lagging and hanging back from full participation in that invasion
amounted to the degree of hypocrisy Whenever the Messenger of Allah
ft uii yju was informed of a man s lingering he would say Leave him
alone If Allah knows him to be good He will enable him to follow you but
if he were not so Allah would relieve us of him 
Nobody stayed behind except those who were either hindered by a
serious excuse or the hypocrites who told lies to Allah and His Messenger 
Some of those hypocrites lingering was due to an excuse based on
forgery and delusion Some others tarried but didn t ask for an instant
permission But there were three believers who unjustifiably lingered They
were the ones whom Allah tried their Faith but later on He turned to them
in mercy and accepted their repentance 
As soon as the Messenger of Allah w had entered Madinah he
prayed two Rah a then he sat to receive his people The hypocrites who
were over eighty men 1 came and offered various kinds of excuses and
started swearing The Prophet acknowledged their excuses and invoked
Allah s forgiveness for them but he entrusted their inner thoughts and Faith
As for the three faithful believers Ka b bin Malik Murara bin
Ar Rabi and Hilal bin Omaiyah who favoured telling the truth the
Messenger of Allah w bade his Companions not to talk to them 
Consequently they were subject to a severe boycott and were excluded
from the life of the community Everybody turned them their back So they
felt as if the whole land had become constrained to them in spite of its
spaciousness and they felt awkward and uneasy The hard times they lived
and which lasted for over forty days were towered by an order to them to
forsake their wives After fifty days boycott All h turned to them and
revealed that in Qur an 
H k t latf of f26 421
 Fath Al Bari 8 119 
 And He did foigive also the three whom the Prophet in jJ 
left i e he did not give his judgement in their case and their
case was suspended for Allah s Decision till for them the earth 
vast as it is was straitened and their ownselves were straitened
to them and they perceived that there is no fleeing from Allah 
and no refuge but with Him Then He accepted their repentance 
that they might repent unto Him Verily Allah is the One Who
accepts repentance Most Merciful 9 118 
Allah s turning to them was a great joy for both Muslims and the three
concerned The joy of the stayers behind was unaccountable in aim and
degree It was the happiest day in their lives The good tiding cherished
them and filled their hearts with delight As for those who lingered due to
disability or sickness or any other serious excuse Allah the Exalted said
A 1 a
 There is no blame on those who are weak or ill or who find no
resources to spend in holy warfare Jihad if they are sincere
 in duty to Allah and His Messenger 9 91 
When he approached Madinah the Messenger ofAllah said 
 jj s ill I i j J b 1 
 ojuJL 3l5 4 4 r 
 Inside Madinah there are certain men who though being left
back due to serious excuses they have all the time been with
you Lingerers as they are they have been while you were
passing valleys or walking along roads Do you mean that
they have done that while they are still in Madinah They
wondered Yes though they are in Madinah The Prophet said 
The Invasion of Tabuk and its Far Reaching Ramifications 
The effect of this invasion is great as regards extending and confirming
die Mus lims influence and domination on the Arabian Peninsula It was
quite obvious to everybody that no power but Islam s would live long
among the Arabs The remainders of Jahiliyin and hypocrites who used
to conspire steadily against the Muslims and who peipetually relied on
Byzantine power when they were in need of support or help these people
lost their expectations and desires of ever reclaiming their ex influence 
Realizing that there was no way out and that they were to submit to the fait
accompli they gave up their attempts 
From that time on hypocrites were no longer treated leniently or even
gently by the Muslims Allah not only bade Muslims to treat them severely
but He also forbade them to take their gift charities or perform prayer on
their dead or ask Allah s forgiveness for them or even visit their tombs 
Allah bade the Muslims to demolish the mosque which they verily
appointed and used as a hiding place where they might practise their plots 
conspiracy and deceit Some Qur anic verses were sent down disclosing
them publicly and utterly so that everybody in Madinah got to know their
The great impact that this invasion produced could be perceived in of the
great number of delegations who came successively to meet the Messenger
of All h 111 Naturally deputations used to come to meet him at the
end of an invasion particularly after Makkah Conquest 1 but they were not
as many as these nor were they as frequent as they were then in the wake of
Tabuk event It was certainly the greatest 
The Qur anic Verses Relating to this Invasion 
Many a verse of Bara a Tauba Chapter handling the event of Tabuk
were revealed Some verses were revealed before the march while others
after setting out for Tabuk i e in the context of the battle Some other
verses were also revealed on the Prophet s arrival in Madinah All of which
covered the incidents that featured this invasion the immanent
circumstances of the battle exposure of the hypocrites the prerogatives and
special rank earmarked for the strivers in the cause of Allah acceptance of
the repentance of the truthful believers who slackened and those who hung
O Ibn Hisham 2 515 537 7M Al Ma ad 3 2 13 
Sahih Al Bukhari 2 633 635 637 1 252 414 Fath Al Bari 8 110 126 
Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool pp 391 407 
Some Important Events that featured that Year 
During this year many events of great significance took place They
1 After the Messenger s return from Tabuk the sworn allegation of
infidelity 1 between Uwaimir Al Ajlani and his wife took place 
2 Pelting with stones the Ghamidiyah woman who confessed committing
adultery She was pelted with stones only after weaning her child off her
3 Negus Ashama the king of Abyssinia Ethiopia died so the Prophet
fL 4 i performed prayer in absentia for him 
4 The death of Umm Kulthum the daughter of the Prophet u l the
Prophet felt extremely sad at her death Had I got a third daughter I
would let you marry her He said to Uthman 
5 The death of Abdullah bin Abi Salool the head of hypocrites after the
Prophet s return from Tabuk The Messenger of Allah 1 u ui asked
Allah s forgiveness for him He also prayed for him in spite of Umar s
disapproval and his attempt to prevent him from doing that Later on a
Qur anic verse was revealed attesting to Umar s right viewpoint 
 riln cases of an infidelity accusation that lacks evidence both husband and wife swear by
Allah that they are innocent and did not commit infidelity The husband invokes Allah 
curses on himself if he is lying and the woman invokes Allah s wrath on her if she is
performs the Pilgrimage
In the month Dhul Qa dah or in Dhul Hijjah of the very year the ninth
of Al Hijra the Messenger of Allah dispatched Abu Bakr iii 
the truthful as a deputy prince of Al Hajj pilgrimage so that he would
lead the Muslims in performing of the p il g rima ge rituals 
Soon after the departure of the Muslims there came a Revelation from
AllSh the opening passages of the Chapter 9 entitled Repentance Surah
Tauba or Bara a in which freedom from obligation is proclaimed from
Allah in regard to those idolatrous tribes who had shown no respect for the
treaties which they had entered into with the Prophet _ui
Communication of this news went in line with the Arabian traditions of
making public any change relating to declining conventions of blood and
 Ali bin Abi Talib was deputed to make this declaration He overtook
Abu Bakr at Al Aij or Dajnan Abu Bakr inquired whether the Prophet
fi j had put him in command or he had just been commissioned to
make the announcement I have been deputed to make the proclamation
only replied Ali The two Companions then proceeded with the pilgrimage
process Towards the close of the rituals on the day of the ritual sacrifice 
 Ali stood at Al Jamrah a spot at which stones are pelted and read aloud to
the multitudes that thronged around him and declared quittance from
covenants with idolaters and giving them four months respite to reconsider
their position As for the other idolaters with whom the believers had a
treaty and had abated nothing of the Muslims rights nor had supported
anyone against them then the terms of the treaty would run valid until the
duration of which expired 
Abu Bakr then sent some Muslims to declare publicly that no disbeliever
would after that year perform pilgrimage nor would anyone be allowed to
make the Tawaf going round of the Sacred House unclothed 
That proclamation in fact vetoed all aspects of paganism out of Arabia
and stated quite unequivocally that those pre Islam practices were no longer
in operation 1 
1 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 220 415 2 626 671 Zld Al Ma ad 3 25 26 
Ibn Hisham 2 543 546 
A Meditation on the Ghazawat
Meditation on the Prophet s Ghazawat missions and the battalions he
formed and dispatched will certainly give us and everybody a true and clear
impression that the Prophet 111 jl was the greatest military leader in
the whole world as well as the most righteous the most insightful and the
most alert one He was not a man of superior genius for this concern but he
was also the Master and the greatest of all Messengers as far as Prophethood
and Heavenly Message are concerned Besides all the battles that he had
fought were standard in their application to the requirements of strictness 
bravery and good arrangements that fitted the terms and conditions of war 
None of the battles he fought was lost as a consequence of shortage of
wisdom or due to any other technical error in army mobilization or a
location in a wrong strategical position The loss of any of his battle was not
due to misjudgement about occupying the best and the most appropriate
sites of battles nor was it due to a mischoice of leaders of the fight for he
had proved himself to be a peculiar sort of leader that differs from any of
those leaders that our world had known and experienced As regards Uhud
and Hunain events there were consequences of weakness in some military
elements in Hunain and disobedience to orders in Uhud Their non 
compliance with wisdom and the plan of the battle played a passive role in
the course of those two invasions 
His genius was clearly shown in these two battles when the Muslims
were defeated for he stoodfast facing the enemy and managed by his super
wisdom to thwart the enemy s aim as was the case in Uhud Similarly he
managed to change the Muslims defeat in Hunain into a victory 
Notwithstanding the fact that serious grave developments in military
operations usually leave the worst impression on the military leaders and
entice them to flee for their lives 
We have so far discussed the mere aspects of military leadership of the
invasions On the other hand through these invasions he was able to impose
security institute peace diffuse dissension and destroy the military might of
the enemies through relentless struggle between Islam and paganism 
The Prophet had also profound insight and could differentiate the faithful
from the hypocrites and plotters 
Great was the group of military leaders who fought and excelled the
Persians and the Byzantines in the battlefields of Ash Sham and Iraq with
respect to war strategy and leading the fight procedures The very leaders 
who succeeded Muhammad managed to drive off the enemies of
Islam from their lands and countries their gardens and springs and their
farms They drove them off their honourable residence and from the grace
and provisions they owned and enjoyed Those Muslim leaders were all
Muhammad s men They were imbued with the spirit of Islam at the hand of the
Prophet fL j u 4tu j 
Thanks to these battles the Messenger of Allah ui managed
accommodation seciued land and provided chances of work for all
Muslims He even made a lot of inquiries about the refugee problems who
 then had no houses or fortunes He equipped the army with weapons 
horses and expenditures He had all that realized without exercising a
particle weight of injustice The Prophet u ui has altered the standards
and aims of pre Islamic wars Their war was no more than robbing killing 
plundering tyranny and aggression oriented wars Those wars focused on
winning victory oppressing the weakling and demolishing their houses and
constructions For them war was a means by which they can rape or unveil
women practise cruelty against the weakling the babies and small children 
spoil tillage and race and spread corruption on the earth Islamic wars are
different from pre Islamic wars A war in Islam is a Jihad That is to say it
is a noble sacred fight in the way of Allah for the verification of a Muslim
society that seeks to free man from oppression tyranny and aggression It is
a society that everyone everywhere and at all times should be proud ofiPre 
Islamic thoughts and traditions of Al Jahiliyah period have been turned
upside down by Islam These were so hard upon the weakling that they had
to invoke Allah to enable them to get away from that pre Islamic
environment by saying 
 Ja U fJUaJI ijyijl JL jA iLj l2j 
 Our Lord rescue us from this town whose people are
oppressors and raise for us from You one who will protect and
raise for us from You one who will help 
The war of corruption slaying and robbing that used to prevail has now
turned into a sacred one Al Jihad One of the greatest aims of Al Jihad is to
free man from the aggression the oppression and the tyranny of men of
power A man of power in Islam is a weakling till after the right of the
poor is taken from him War in Islam is Jihad for the purification of the
land of Allah from deception treachery sinful deeds and aggression It is a
sacred war that aims at spreading security safety mercy and compassion as
well as observing the rights and magnanimity The Messenger of Allah
 j j 4 u jii had issued honourable strict rules about war and bade his
soldiers and leaders to comply with them They were forbidden to break
those rules under any circumstances In reference to Sulaiman bin
Buraidah s version who said that his father had told him that whenever the
Messenger of Allah u un appointed a leader on an army or on a
battalion he used to recommend him to fear Allah the Great and All 
Mighty when dealing with those who were closest to him and to be good
with all Muslims Then the Prophet iit would say to him 
 Jj3 l j i Lii mS i xjl j oil
 lay J 11
 Let your invasion be in the Name of Allah and for His sake 
Fight those who disbelieve in Allah Invade but do not
exaggerate nor commit treachery Never deform the corpse of a
dead person or kill an infant child 
The Messenger of Allah jii asked people to facilitate but he
forbade them to bear down hard on others or constrain Pacify he said 
 and do not disincline 1 When it happened that he arrived at the battlefield
by night he would never invade the enemy till it was morning He utterly
forbade burning i e torturing people in fire killing children and women or
even beating them He also forbade theft and robbery and proceeded so far
as to say gains acquired through plundering are not less forbidden than the
flesh of a corpse Corruption of tillage and race and cutting down of trees
were all forbidden unless they were badly needed and there was no other
til Sahih Muslim 2 82 83 
 Do not kill a wounded person nor run after a fleeing one or kill
He decreed that envoys cannot be killed He also stressed on not killing
those who made covenants He even said 
 y Sp i ji far y p ft 
 He whoever kills one who is under pledge to a covenant shall
not smell Paradise though its smell could be experienced at a
forty year distance from it 
There were some other noble rules which purified wars from their
Al Jahiliyah pre Islamic filthiness and turned them into sacred warsJ l
 Zad Al Ma ad 2 64 68 and for detail Jifiad in Islam pp 216 262 
People embrace the Religion
of Allah in Large Crowds
The invasion and the conquest of Makkah was as we have already
stated a decisive battle that destroyed paganism utterly The Arabs as
a result of that battle were able to differentiate the truth from the error 
Delusion no longer existed in their life So they raced to embrace Islam 
 Amr bin Salamah said We were at a water spring where the passage
of people was So when camel riders passed by us we used to ask them 
 What is the matter with people What is this man i e the Prophet like 
They would say He claims that AMh has revealed so and so I used to
memorize those words as if they had been recited within my chest The
Arabs used to ascribe their Islamization to the conquest They would say 
 Leave him alone to face his people If he were a truthful Prophet he
would overcome them So when the conquest took place peoples
hastened to declare their Islam My father was the quickest of all my
people to embrace Islam Arriving at his people he said By Allah I have
just verily been to the Prophet ju And he said Perform so a
prayer at such a time and so and so prayers at such and such time When
the prayer time is due let one of you call for the prayer and appoint the
most learned of the Qur an among you to be an Imam leader of
yours This Prophetic tradition manifests the great effect of the
conquest of Makkah on the phase of events It certainly shows the
influence of the conquest of Makkah upon the consolidation of Islam as
well as on the Arabs stand and their surrender to Islam That influence
was absolutely confirmed and deeply rooted after the invasion of Tabuk 
A clear and an obvious evidence of that influence could be deduced from
the great number of delegations arriving in Madinah successively in the
ninth and tenth years of Al Hijra The immense crowds of people who
raced to embrace the religion of Allah and the great army which included
ten thousand fighters in the invasion of the conquest of Makkah had
grown big enough to include thirty thousand fighters sharing in Tabuk
Cl Sahih Al Bukhari 2 615 616 
invasion It was only in less than a year after the conquest of Makkah that
this growth in Islamic army had taken place A hundred thousand or a
hundred and forty four thousand Muslim pilgrims shared in Hajjatul 
Wada i e Farewell Pilgrimage it was such an enormous number of
Muslims surging as an ocean of men round the Messenger of Allah
 j_j t t u an jL that the horizon echoed their voices and the expanses of land
shook whereby while saying Labbaik i e Lord here we are
worshipping glorifying and magnifying Allah and thanking Him 
The number of delegations listed in Ahl Al Maghazi were over seventy 
Investigating such a large number is not an accessible thing besides stating
them in detail is not of a great benefit Therefore I am going to reveal an
expose about what is historically wonderful or highly significant Anyway a
reader should always keep in mind that whilst the majority of tribes arrived
in Madinah after the conquest there were also pre conquest delegations 
1 The delegation of Abdul Qais This tribe had two arrivals The first
was in the fifth year of Al Hijra or before that date Munqidh bin Haiyan 
a member of that tribe used to trade in Madinah So as soon as he heard
of Islam when he had arrived in it for trading that was after the
migration he embraced Islam and carried a pledge from the Prophet
fi jii jju to his people who eventually became Muslims too Thirteen
or fourteen of them came to the Prophet 0 in one of the Hurum
Months It was then that they asked the Prophet s advice about the Faith
and drinks Their chief was Al Ashaj Al Usri to whom the Messenger of
Allah fj_ 4iii jL said You have two qualities that Allah likes They are
Their second arrival was in the Year of Delegations They were forty
men Al Jarud bin Al Ala Al Abdi who was Christian but turned to be
a good Muslim was one of that group 
2 Daws Delegation The arrival of this tribe was in the early times of the
seventh year and that was when the Messenger of Allah s ui was
in Khaibar At Tufail bin Amr Ad Dawsi that we have already talked
about and explained how he became a Muslim at the time the Messenger
of Allah fL uii jju was in Makkah He went back home to his people
where he kept calling people to Islam but they tarried till he despaired of
them and returned to the Messenger of Allah j_ ui and asked him
to invoke Allah against Daws but the Messenger of Allah ut
invoked Allah to guide Daws Later on Daws embraced Islam So
At Tufail arrived in Madinah accompanied by seventy or eighty families
of his people in the early times of the seventh year of Al Hijra at the
 Explanation of Sahih Muslim by An Nawawi 1 33 Fath Al Bari 8 85 86 
time that the Messenger of Allah f L j4 u jn tr L was at Khaibar so he
overtook him there 
3 Farwah Bani Amr Al Judhami s messenger Farwah was an Arab
leader in the Byzantine army He was a Byzantine agent ruler by proxy
on the Arabs allied to the Byzantines His home was at Mu an and the
surrounding area of Ash Sham lands Seeing the stamina and courage of
the Muslims he became a Muslim The battle of Mu tah which took
place in the eighth year of Al Hijra compelled his admiration He sent
a white mule gift with a messenger of his to the Messenger of Allah
fi j jii to inform him of his conversion into Islam When the
Byzantines learnt of his embracing Islam they sent him to prison At first
they gave him an opportunity to choose one of the two either he
defects from Islam or death shall be his punishment Refusing to defect
they crucified him and cut his neck at a water fountain called Afra in
4 Sudd Delegation The arrival of this delegation was after the departure
of the Messenger of Allah from Al Ji ranah in the eighth year
of Al Hijra It was because the Messenger of AUdh aiij had
already dispatched a mission that comprised four hundred Muslims and
asked them to go to where Sudd was Sudd was a fresh water fountain 
in Yemen While the mission was camping there at the starting point of a
canal Ziyad bin Al Harith As Sudd i learned of their stay so he came to
the Messenger of Allah ut and said I have come to you as a
deputy of my people so tell your army to go back and I guarantee of my
people The army were sent away off the canal In his turn As Sudd i
went back cherished and urged his people to come and meet the
Messenger of Allah fi Eventually fifteen of them came and
pledged allegiance to him as true Muslims Returning home they in their
turn urged the rest to be Muslims Thus Islam spread among them Later
on a hundred men joined the Messenger of Allah v an j in Hajjatul 
Wada Farewell Pilgrimage 
5 The arrival of Ka b bin Zuhair bin Abi Sulma Ka b who was a
member of a family of poets was considered one of the most poetic Arab
1 1 Zad Al Ma ad 3 45 Tafheem ul Qur in 2 169 
poets He used to satirize the Prophet jji when he wasn t a
Muslim In the eighth year of Al Hijra and at the time that the Messenger
of AllSh fLy ij ui j had already gone back from At Ta if invasion Bujair
bin Zuhair wrote a letter to his brother Ka b warning and advising him 
 The Messenger of Allah an jJ had killed some men in Makkah
who used to satirize and harm him and that the other poets who had
survived fled in all directions for their lives So if you want to save your
skin hasten to the Messenger of Allah 111 u He never kills those
who resort to him as repentant If you refuse to do as I tell it is up to you
to try to save your skin by any means The two brothers corresponded
with one another for a long time till Ka b was awkward and felt as if the
earth had constrained on him Arriving in Madinah he stayed at a man s
house from Juhainah as a guest They performed the dawn prayer
together but when he was about to leave the man suggested that he go to
the Messenger of Allah i un j He went there sat by him put his
hand in his The Messenger of Allah who had never seen Ka b
before did not recognize him Ka b then said O Messenger of Allah 
Ka b bin Zuhair has come to you as a repentant Muslim will he be
secure and forgiven if I fetch him The Messenger of Allah
said Yes I am Ka b bin Zuhair said he Upon hearing that one of
the Helpers rose to his feet and asked the Messenger s allowance to cut
his throat Leave him alone Said the Prophet ui u He has
become a repentant Muslim after his disposal of the past Ka b then
recited his well known poem Su ad appeared in which he praised
the Prophet l thanked him and apologized for the wrongs he
had done He acknowledged Muhammad s mission Both Emigrants and
Helpers were spoken of in this poem but differently He praised the
Emigrants but criticized the Helpers for one of them demanded a
Prophet s permission to kill him Later on Ka b tried to compensate for
that by praising the Helpers too but that was in another poem 
6 Udharah Delegation This delegation which consisted of twelve men 
had arrived in Madinah in Safar the ninth year of Al Hijra They spent
three days there One of them was Hamza bin An Nu man When they
were asked who they were they said We are Bani Udharah the foster
brothers of Qusai to his mother We are the ones who supported Qusai 
and removed Khuza a and Bani Bakr from the bosom of Makkah We
have relatives and kinspeople So the Messenger of Allah w
welcomed them and gave good tidings to them which was Ash Sham
Conquest but he on the other hand forbade them from consulting a
soothsayer and from eating the slain animals they slaughtered Eventually
they became Muslims stayed there for several days then went back 
7 Bali Delegation Their arrival was in Rabi Al Awwal the ninth year of
Al Hijra They embraced Islam stayed in Madinah for three days Their
chief Abu Ad Dabeeb wondered whether hospitality was rewarded by
Allah The Messenger of Allah u ui said 
 Yes and so is any charity you offer to poor or rich people that
He also inquired about the time allotted to hospitality Three days 
said he What about the stray ewe The Prophet said It is either yours
or your brother s otherwise it goes to the wolf He inquired about the
stray camel It is not of your business Leave it alone Its owner will try
to find it 
8 Thaqif Delegation Their arrival was in Ramadan the ninth year of
Al Hijra after the return of the Messenger of Allah ft from
Tabuk As to how they became Muslims this could be deduced from the
Their chief Urwah bin Mas ud Ath Thaqafi came to see the
Messenger of Allah after the latter s return from At Ta if in
Dhul Qa dah in the year 8 A H Urwah became a Muslim He thought
that when he will tell his people and call them to embrace Islam they
would obey him because he had always been an obeyed Master He was
even more beloved to them than their own firstborn But contrary to that 
when he called them to Islam they shot arrows at him from everywhere
and killed him They remained as they were for months before they
started discussing the situation again among themselves Upon realizing
that they were incapable of fighting the neighbouring Arabs who had
paid allegiance to the Prophet fi and converted to Islam they
made up their mind to dispatch a man to the Messenger of Allah ui
They concluded that Abd Yalail bin Amr would be the right messenger 
 Abd refused to do such a thing lest they should kill him as they had
killed Urwah I will not do such a thing till you send some other men
with me said Abd So they sent two men of their allies and three others
from Bani Malik The six of them including Uthman bin Abi Al As
Ath Thaqafi who was the youngest among them all 
When they entered into the Prophet s jl 411 audience a tent was
pitched up in a comer of the mosque so that they might listen to the
Qur an and see people at prayer During their stay they came again and
again to the Prophet fL uii who kept on calling them to embrace
Islam till their chief asked the Messenger of Allah fL s to enter
into a peace treaty between him and Thaqif by means of which he allows
them to commit fornication drink wine and deal with usury They also
asked him not to injure their tyrant idol Al Lat or to oblige them to
perform the prayer Finally they insisted that they would not knock down
the idols themselves But the Messenger of Allah fL s ui turned
down all their requests They went aside to council Realizing that there
were no other alternatives they yielded and professed Islam The only
condition that they insisted on was that the demolition of Al Lat should
be dealt with and handled by the Messenger of Allah jl ui whereas
Thaqif should in no way knock it down themselves The Messenger of
Allah j j an jL agreed and took a pledge with them 
Being the most attentive and the keenest to study jurisprudence and
learn Qur an Uthman bin Abi Al As was appointed by the Messenger
of Allah 1 j an a prince on his people His keenness and carefulness
to learn the Qur an and study jurisprudence were clearly discernible
through his behaviour during their stay 
Everyday morning the group of delegates used to go and see the
Messenger of AMh fL uii Being the youngest one Uthman bin
Abi Al As was left behind with their camels and things to keep an eye
on At noon when they came back and slept Uthman used to go to the
Messenger of Allah jl ji w in order to learn the Qur an and inquire
about religious matters If it happened that the Messenger of Allah
fL j uji was asleep he would then go to Abu Bakr for the same
purpose With the passage of time he turned out to be a source of
blessing to his people For at the Apostasy Times Ar Riddah when
Thaqif were determined to apostatize he addressed them saying 0 
folkmen of Thaqif You have been the latest at embracing Islam so do
not be the first to apostatize Consequently they gave up apostasy and
clung fast to Islam 
The group of delegates returned home but they were determined to
conceal the truth for a while They told their people to expect fight at any
moment They pretended to be grieved and depressed They claimed that
the Messenger of Allah v ui demanded that they should embrace
Islam and abandon adultery drinking wine and dealing with usury and
some other things or else he would fight them Seized by the arrogance
and zeal of Al Jahiliyah pre Islamic traditions Thaqif remained for
days intent on fighting Then Allah cast terror and dismay in their hearts
in such a way that they gave up fighting and thought that the delegation
should go back to him and announce their approval It was until then that
the group of delegates told them the truth and revealed the items of their
peace talk with the Prophet consequently Thaqif embraced Islam 
The Messenger of Allah _ui sent some men to demolish the
idol called Al Lat under the command of Khalid bin Al Waleed 
Al Mugheerah bin Shu bah stood to his feet held the hoe and the ax and
said By Allah I will make you laugh at Thaqif He struck with them 
and pretended to fall down while running The people of Thaqif trembled
at that sight and said May Allah dismay Al Mugheerah off The
goddess has killed him Hearing that Al Mugheerah leapt up to his feet
and said May Allah bring shame on you Al Lat is nothing but a mass
of dirt and stones Then he struck the door and broke it He mounted its
highest wall and so did the other men They knocked Al Lat down till
they levelled it with the ground Then they dug up its foundation and
brought out its jewels and garments to the great astonishment of Thaqif 
Khalid bin Al Waleed and his group came back to the Messenger of
Allah fi kin carrying Al Lat s jewels and garments The Messenger
of Allah uii distributed them and thanked Allah for helping his
Prophet and solidifying his religion 
I 1 Zad Al Ma ad 3 26 28 Ibn Hisham 3 537 542 
9 The message of the Yemeni kings After the return of the Messenger of
Allah fL j an from Tabuk a message came to him from the kings of
Himyar Al Harith bin Abd Kilal Na eem bin Abd Kilal An Nu man
bin Qeel Dhi Ra in Hamdan and Mu afir Their messenger was Malik
bin Murrah Ar Rahawi They sent him in order to inform the Prophet
fi j about their embracing Islam and their parting with
polytheism In reply to their message the Messenger of Allah jl j i w j 
gave them the pledge of Allah and the pledge Of His Messenger provided
they paid the tribute which was still overdue He sent to them some of
his Companions under the command of Mu adh bin Jabal a vi
10 Hamdan Delegation The arrival of this delegation was in the ninth year
of Al Hijra after the Messenger s return from Tabuk So the Messenger
of Allah fL uii gave them a pledge to guarantee the fulfillment of
their demands He sent to them Malik bin An Namt as their chief and
appointed him as an agent on those of his people who embraced Islam 
Khalid bin Al Waleed was appointed for them all with a purpose of
calling them to Islam He stayed with them for six months calling them to
Islam but no one responded to his call Later on Ali bin Abi Talib was
dispatched there and Khalid was ordered to come back Upon arriving at
Hamdan Ali communicated to them a message from the Messenger of
Allah i uii jj and called them to Islam They responded to the call
and became Muslims Ali wrote to the Messenger of Allah ui 
informing him of the good tidings The Messenger of Allah 4 1 111 
was briefed on the content of that letter so he prostrated then raised his
head up and said Peace be upon Hamdan Peace be upon Hamdan 
11 The Delegation of Bani Fazarah Upon the Messenger s return from
Tabuk the delegation of Bani Fazarah came to see him That was in the
ninth year of Al Hijra The group of delegates were over ten men They
came in order to profess Islam and complain about the drought of their
region The Messenger of Allah ft vi ascended the pulpit lifted his
hands up and implored Allah to send rain forth onto them and said 
iloL Jlj J j iiUJljil fjbl 
t 4 lib 4 4 li l y 4
ifiiSlj lylii USi di JW U liiU t
mjlp i j 13 13 4 Jji Oil Jin i Sl3 33 13
 O Allah let rain fall down and water Your country and
animals and spread Your mercy and bring to life the dead lands 
O Allah send rain that would be saving comforting and
sprouting grass and overwhelming vast areas sooner and later 
Let it be useful rain and not harmful O Allah let it be rain of
mercy and not rain of torture and chastisement Let that rain not
be destructive or floody O Allah send us down water and help
to fight the enemies 1
12 Najran s Delegation Najran is rather a big area of land It was at a
distance of seven trip stagessouthwardsofMakkahtowardsYemen lt
included seventy three villages It took a fast rider one day ride to get
there PI Its military forces consisted of a hundred thousand fighters 
Their arrival was in the year 9 A H The delegation comprised sixty
men Twenty four of them were of noble families Three out of twenty 
four were at one time leaders of Najran Al Aqib i e who was in charge
of princehood and government affairs His name was Abdul Maseeh 
The second was As Saiyid the Master under whose supervision were
the educational and political affairs his name was Al Aiham or
Sharhabeel Abu Haritha bin Alqamah was the third He was a bishop to
whom all religious presidency and spiritual leadership belonged and were
When that group of delegates arrived in Madinah they met the
Prophet j j on exchanged inquiries with him but when he called
them to Islam and recited the Qur an to them they refused They asked
him what he thought about Isa i e Jesus f ii he j tarried a
whole day till the following Qur anic reply was revealed to him 
t Zad Al Ma ad 3 48 
PI Fath Al Bari 8 94 
 Verily the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of
Adam He created him from dust then He said to him Bel 
 and he was This is the truth from your Lord so be not of
those who doubt Then whoever disputes with you concerning
him Jesus after all this knowledge that has come to you i e 
Jesus being a slave of Allah and having no share in Divinity 
say O Muhammad i ui jJ Come let us call our sons and
your sons our women arid your women ourselves and
yourselves then we pray and invoke sincerely the Curse of
Allah upon those who lie 3 59 61 
v When it was morning the Messenger of Allah an told them
what Iesa Jesus was in the light of the recently revealed verses He left
them a whole day to consult and think it over So when it was next
morning and they still showed disapproval to admit Allah s Words about
 Isa or to embrace Islam the Prophet suggested Al Mubahala that is each
party should supplicate and implore Allah to send His Curse upon him or
them if they were telling lies After that suggestion of his the Prophet
fL j 4_di iS l came forward wrapping Al Hasan and Al Husain under his
garment whereas Fatimah was walking at his back Seeing that the
Prophet i j i jJl was serious and prepared to face them firmly they
went aside and started consulting Al Aqib and As Saiyid i e the
Master said to each other We shall not supplicate For I swear by
Allah if he is really a Prophet and exchanges curses with us we will
never prosper nor will the descendants of ours Consequently neither us
nor our animals will survive it Finally they made their mind to resort to
the Messenger of Allah s judgement about their cause They came to him
and said We grant you what you have demanded The Messenger of
Allah fiu jm ju then admitted that agreement and ordered them to pay
Al Jizya i e tribute and he made peace with them for the provision of
two thousand garments one thousand of them to be delivered in Rajab 
the other thousand ones in Safar With every garment they had to pay an
ounce of gold In return they will have the covenant of Allah and His
Messenger He gave them a covenant that provides for practicing their
religious affairs freely They asked the Prophet l j ih to appoint a
trustworthy man to receive the money agreed on for peace so he sent
them the trustworthy man of this nation Abu Ubaidah bin Al Jarrah to
receive the amounts of money agreed on in the peace treaty 
By the time Islam started to spread in Najran naturally they did not
have to pay Al Jizya that usually non Muslims paid Whatever the case
was it was said that Al Aqib and As Saiyid embraced Islam as soon as
they reached Najran on their journey back home It is also said that the
Prophet JL 4ji sent to them 4 Ali too for the collection of charities
13 Ban Haneefa Delegation They arrived in Madinah in the ninth year of
Al Hijra They were 17 in number and included the Master of Liars 
Musailima 2 bin Thumamah bin Kabeer bin Habeeb bin Al Harith of
Bani Haneefa The group of delegates were housed in a Helper s house 
They came to the Prophet ui and declared their Islamization As
for Musailima the liar versions vary concerning his embracing Islam 
Contemplation of all these versions shows clearly that Musailima
expressed disapproval and revealed haughtiness boastful spirit and
expectations to be a prince 
At first the Prophet w j attempted going on well with him he
dealt with him nicely and charitably but that did not do with him The
Messenger of Allah Uf ui perceived evil in his soul and recognized
that he was one of those three evils he dreamt of while asleep 
The Prophet 3 w had already dreamt that he had been granted
the treasures of earth His hand fell upon two golden bracelets which
distressed and worried him a lot He was taught by inspiration to blow
them off so he did that and they were gone off They were interpreted to
be two liars who would turn up after the death of Muhammad u j 
So when Musailima acted that way and showed disapproval he realized
that he would be one of the two liars However Musailima used to say 
1 1 Fath Al Bari 8 94 95 Z8d Al Ma ad 3 38 40 
PI Fath Al Bari 8 87 
 If Muhammad appointed me a successor of his I would be a Muslim 
Later on the Messenger of Allah came to him with a piece of
palm leaf in his hand and in the company of his orator Thabit bin Qais
bin Shammas He was among some of his friends The Prophet
talked to him but Musailima addressed him saying If you agree to
transfer the whole thing to me after your death I will not stand in your
way The Messenger of Allah mu replied If you asked me to
give you this i e a piece of a palm leaf I would not grant it to you You
are doomed Even if you repented and stopped what you were doing 
Allah appointed that you would be slain By Allah I swear that I see you
now in the very state that has been revealed to me Here is Thabit You
will hear my answer from him Then he went away t 1
Finally the Prophet s predictions of Musailima came true for when
Musailima returned to Yamama he kept on thinking about the Prophet
fL 4 i uii and how he would be his partner His dreams and thoughts
went so far as to claim that he himself was a prophet To confirm his
prophecy he started uttering rhymed statements He said that it was
lawful to drink wine and commit adultery He however bore witness
that the Messenger of Allah fi ml an was a real Prophet His people 
who were fascinated by what he allowed them to do followed him and
made bargains with him He grew so prominent among them that they
called him the beneficent of Al Yamama He wrote to the Messenger of
Allah fi 4 i uii saying I have been appointed an associate with you 
so I will have a half and Quraish will have the other half of the people s
affairs The Messenger of Allah s reply was a letter saying that 
 Verily the earth is Allah s He gives it as a heritage to whom
He will of His slaves and the blessed end is for the Muttaqun
 pious 7 128 P1
 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 627 628 Fatfa Al Bari 8 87 93 
PI Zfid Al Ma ad 3 31 32 
On the authority of Ibn Mas ud he says When the two messengers of
Musailima Ibn An Nawaha and Ibn Athal came to the Messenger
of AllSh JL j 4 tii he asked them Do you bear witness that I am the
Messenger of Allah Their reply was We testify that Musailima is the
Messenger of Allah I believe in Allah and in His Messenger said the
Prophet ft j ui ju If I had ever thought of killing a messenger I would
have killed you both 1 
Musailima s pretence to prophethood was in the tenth year of
Al Hijra But he was killed in Al Yamama war during Abu Bakr
As Siddeeq era in Rabi Al Awwal in the twelfth year of Al Hijra He
was killed by Wahshi the killer of Hamzah The second person who
claimed to be a prophet was Al Aswad Al Ansi who was in Yemen He
was killed by Fairuz His head was cut off a day and a night before the
Prophet s death So when the delegates came he told them the news that
reached him through Divine Revelation News about his death reached
Abu Bakr i ui from Yemen 2 
14 The Delegation of Bani Amir bin Sa sa a Among the group of
delegates were Amir bin At Tufail the enemy of AMh Arbad bin
Qais Labid s maternal brother Khalid bin Ja far and Jabbar bin
Aslam All of them were the leaders and satans of their people Amir
was the one who double crossed the group of Ma una well When this
delegation made their mind to come to Madinah Amir and Arbad
conspired to kill the Prophet 3 ui ju So when the group of delegates
arrived Amir kept on talking to the Prophet whereas Arbad
turned aside trying to draw his sword He managed to draw a span of
hand long but Allah stilled his hand so that he was unable to proceed
with its withdrawal Allah protected the Prophet u ui j The Prophet
j uji invoked Allah against them So when they returned Allah
sent down a thunderbolt unto Arbad and his camel and he was burnt As
for Amir he called at a house of a woman who was from Bani Salul and
had a gland sore He eventually died while he was saying What am I
like I have a gland similar to a camel s And here I am dying in the
house of the woman from Bani Salul 
PI Mishkat Al Masabeeh 2 347 
P Fath Al Bari 8 93 
In Sahih Al Bukhari it is narrated that Amir came to the Prophet
fj j uii j u and said I grant you an opportunity to choose one of two 
you will have the flat land people and I will have townspeople or I will
succeed you Otherwise I will invade your people with a thousand he 
camels and a thousand she camels But later on he got plague stricken
in a woman s house So he said What I have a gland similar to a
camel s and here I am in a woman s house ofBani so and so people 
Fetch me my mare He mounted it but died on its back 
15 Tujeeb Delegation They came to Madinah carrying the surplus of
charities Sadaqat of their people That is to say the extra charities they
had after they had distributed the poor due They were thirteen men 
They asked about the Qur an and Sunnah the Prophet s saying deeds
and sanctions so that they might learn them They demanded things from
the Messenger of Allah Jl w to which he gave them pledges They
did not stay long so when the Messenger of AMh uji 
acknowledged their demands and allowed them to depart they sent him a
boy whom they had already left at their property The young man said to
the Prophet By Allah I swear I have left my home for
Madinah with a purpose that you invoke Allah the Great and All 
Mighty for me to forgive me and have mercy on me and to make my
heart a source of content and sufficiency The Messenger of Allah 
supplicated Allah to grant him what he demanded 
From that time on he was the most contented person In Ar Riddah
 i e the Apostasy Times he stoodfast as a Muslim and warned his
people and reminded them of Allah and went on preaching them till they
stoodfast and did not apostatize The group of delegates met the Prophet
 L 111 again in the Farewell Pilgrimage in the tenth year of Al Hijra 
16 Tai Delegation One of that group of delegates who came to meet the
Prophet j jji jL was Zaid Al Khail They talked to the Prophet
fL uii who urged them to embrace Islam They agreed and grew
good Muslims About Zaid the Messenger of Allah ju ui said 
 The Arabs are never exact at estimating people They have never told
me about the virtues of a man correctly for when I see the man
concerned I realize that they have overestimated him except Zaid
Al Khail when I met him I knew that they had underestimated him 
Then he named him Zaid Al Khair i e Zaid die bounteous 
The delegations arrived successively in Madinah during the ninth and
tenth of Al Hijra Biographers and invasion writers have written down
about some of Yemen delegations They were Al Azd Bani Sa d Hadheem
from Quda ah Bani Amir bin Qais Bani Asad Bahra Khaulan Muharib 
Bani Al Harith bin Ka b Ghamid Bani Al Muntafiq Salaman Bani Abs 
Muzainah Murad Zabid Kinda Dhi Murrah Ghassan Bani Aish and
Nakh which were the last group of delegates Nakh Delegation comprised
two hundred men and they arrived in the middle of Muharram in the
eleventh year of Al Hijra The majority of these groups of delegates arrived
during the ninth and tenth years of Al Hijra The arrival of some of them
tarried till the eleventh year of Al Hijra 
The succession of these delegations indicated the great degree of the
entire acceptance which the Islamic Call reached It manifested its influence
and domination on vast areas of Arabia The Arabs observed Al Madinah
with such a great respect and estimation that they could do nothing but
surrender and submit to it Al Madinah had become the headquarters of all
Arabia so it was impossible to avoid it We dare not say that all the
Arabians were possessed and enchanted by this religion There were lots of
hard hearted bedouins among the Arabs who surrendered i e became
Muslims only because their master did so Their souls were not sanctified
yet Their tendency to raids had been deeply rooted in their souls The
teachings of Islam had not crystallized their souls well yet Accounting
some of them the Qur an says 
 The bedouins are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy and
more likely to be in ignorance of the limits Allah s
Commandments and His legal laws etc which Allah has
revealed to His Messenger And Allah is All Knower All Wise 
And of the bedouins there are some who look upon what they
spend in Allah s cause as a fine and watch for calamities for
you on them be the calamity of evil And Allah is All Hearer 
All Knower 9 97 98 
The Qur an praised others saying 
 And of the bedouins there are some who believe in Allah and
the Last Day and look upon what they spend in Allah s cause as
approaches to Allah and a cause of receiving the Messenger s
invocations Indeed these are an approach for them Allah will
admit them to His Mercy Certainly AUSh is Oft Forgiving 
Most Merciful 9 99 
Those of them who were present at Makkah Madinah and Thaqif and in
many other areas of Al Yemen and Al Bahrain were different because Islam
had been firmly rooted in their souls Some of them were great Companions
and Masters of Muslims 
 Muhadarat Tareekh Al Umam Al Islamiya 1 144 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 13 2 626 630 
Ibn Hisham 2 501 503 510 514 537 542 560 601 Zfid Al Ma ad 3 26 60 
Fath Al Bari 8 83 103 Rahmat ul liralameen 1 184 217 
The Success and Impact
of the Call
Before we move one more step and meditate on the last days of the
Messenger of Allah s life we ought to cast a quick glance at the great work
that was a peculiarity of his That very peculiarity that made him excel all
other Prophets and Messengers and made him so superb that Allih made
him atop the formers and the latters It was him that was addressed by 
 O you wrapped in garments i e Prophet Muhammad
Stand to pray all night except a little 73 1 2 
 O you Muha m mad fL u ui j enveloped in garments Arise
and warn 74 1 2 
So he arose and kept on like that for over twenty years During those
years he undertook to carry the burdens of the great expectations on his
shoulders for die sake of die whole mankind and humanity the Faith and
Jihad in various fields 
The Messenger of Allah undertook the burdens of struggle
and Al Jihad in die conscience of mankind which was then drowning in the
illusions of Al Jahiliyah and its images that were loaded with the ground
weights and gravitations He took upon his shoulder to free man s
conscience which was chained with desires and lusts As soon as he had
freed the conscience of his Companions from the burdens and heaps of
Al Jahiliyah and earthly life he started another batde in another field or
rather successive battles against the enemy of Allah s Call and against
those who conspired against it It was a batde against those who conspired
against the believers and against those who were so careful to tend that pure
plant in its implantation before it grew up and stretched its roots in soil and
extended its branches up into die air and thus dawned upon other areas No
sooner had he finished die battles in die Arabian Peninsula than the
Byzantines began preparations to destroy this new nation on the northern
The first battle i e the battle of conscience was not over yet It was
in fact a perpetual one Satan who was its leader did not spare a moment
without exercising his activity in the depth of human conscience 
Muhammad jL on the other hand was attending on calling to
Allah s religion there and he was keen on fighting that perpetual battle in all
fields in spite of their hard circumstances and the world s conspiracy against
him He went on calling effectively and actively surrounded by the believers
who were seeking security through ceaseless toil and great patience 
The Companions acted perpetually and patiently by day and they spent
the night worshipping their Lord reciting and memorizing the Qur an
glorifying and magnifying Allah and imploring Him by night all that at the
behest of their Lord the All Mighty 
For over twenty years the Messenger of Allah had been
leading that progressive steady battle disregarding any other affairs that
kept him off that noble goal He went on hat way till the Islamic Call
proved to be successful on a large scale that puzzled all men possessed of
The Islamic Call eventually prevailed all over Arabia It removed all
traces of Al Jahiliyah from the horizon of the peninsula The sick minds of
Al Jahiliyah grew healthy in Islam They did not only get rid of idol 
worship but they also knocked them down The general atmosphere began
to echo there is no god but Allah The calls to prayers were heard five
times a day penetrating space and breaking the silence of the dead desert
and bringing back life through the new belief Reciters and memorizers of
the Qur an set out northwards and southwards reciting verses of the Qur an
and carrying out Allah s injunctions 
Scattered people and tribes were united and man moved from man s
worship of man to man s worship of Allah There were no more oppressors
nor oppressed no masters nor slaves nor people bound to other people nor
aggressors that would practise aggression All people were slaves of Allah 
They were beloved brothers obeying Allah s rules Thanks to Allah they
disposed of arrogance and the boastful spirit 
 Fi Zilal Al Qur fin 29 168 169 
jfc i p aei 
V y cSjiSH ijJ Ji i VJ
 An Arab is no better than a non Arab In return a non Arab is
no better than an Arab A red raced man was not better than a
black one except in piety Mankind are all Adam s children and
Adam was created from dust 
Thanks to the Islamic Call the Arab unity had become a reality and so
was the case with human unity and social justice as far as their earthly and
heavenly affairs were concerned The time course of events had changed 
the features on die earth s surface and the crooked line of history had grown
straight and the mentality had beat rectified 
The spirit and the corrupted conscience of people the distorted values
and measures of Al Jahiliyah had overwhelmed the whole world during that
period of Al Jahiliyah The prevalence of slavery injustice extravagant
luxury adultery depression deprivity disbelief stray from the straight path
and darkness all of those vrcrefait accomplis in spite of die existence of the
heavenly religions The teachings of those religions had grown weak and
lost all influence on men s souls and spirits and became mere lifeless ritual
When this Call had accomplished its role in human life it freed
mankind s spirit of superstitions illusions white slavery corruption and
man s worship of man Islam had freed the h uman society of filth 
dissolution injustice and tyranny There were no more social distinctions 
nor clergymen s or governors dictatorship Islam had set up a world built
on solid virtuous and clean foundations it was based on positivity righteous
construction freedom and renewal Truth faith di gnit y active steady deeds 
the development and improvement of means of living and reclaim of ri ght s
were all bases upon which die Islamic state was hnilt til
Thanks to these evolutions Arabia witnessed such an unprecedented
blessed resurrection since construction and es tablishment found its way to
it Never had its history been so religious pious and brilliant as it had been
during those peculiar days of its life 
til Madha Khasira A1 Alam bi Inhitatil Muslimeen p 14 
The Farewell Pilgrimage
After the accomplishment of the Call the proclamation of the Message
and the establishment of a new society oa the basis of There is no god but
Allah and on Mu h a mma d s mission a secret call uprose in the heart of the
Messenger of Allah fi an jl telling him that his stay in the Lower World
was about to terminate That was clear in his talk to Mu adh whom he had
dispatched to Yemen in the tenth year of Al Hijra O Mu adh You may
not see me after this current year You may even pass by this very Mosque
of mine and my tomb Upon hearing that Mu adh cried for fear that he
would part with the Messenger of Allah an
Allah s care was so bounteous as to let the Prophet w j see the
fruits of his Call for the sake of which he suffered various sorts of trouble
for over twenty years Those twenty years had elapsed actively He used to
spend his last days meeting at the outskirts of Makkah members of tribes
and their representatives who used to consult him and learn the laws and
legislation of Islam from him and in return he used to exact their testimony
that he had delivered trust and communicated the Message and counselled
The Messenger of Alllh announced an intention to proceed
with this blessed pilgrimage journey himself Enormous crowds of people
came to Madinah all of whom seek the guidance and Imamate of the
Messenger of Alldh an jl in the pilgrimage Al Hajj W On a Saturday
of die last four days of Dhul Qa dah the Prophet started the
departure preparations procedure 2 He combed his hair applied some
perfume wore his garment saddled his camel and set off in the afternoon 
He arrived at Dhul Hulaifa before the afternoon prayer He performed two
Rak a and spent the night there When it was morning he said to his
j fa jr j J sHn
I l Sahih Muslim 1 394 
P Fath Al Bari 8 104 
 A comer sent by my Lord has called on me tonight and said 
 Pray in this blessed valley and say I intend Umrah combined
with pilgrimage Umrah into Al Hajj P1
Before performing the noon prayer he bathed for Ihram ritual
consecration and Aishah perfumed him on both his body and
head with her hand with a Dharira a plant and with a perfume containing
musk The thick sticky layer of perfume could be seen among his parts of
hair and beard He left it unwashed wore his loincloth and garment He
performed the noon prayer shortened two Rak a He proclaimed pilgrimage
procedure associated with Umrah at his prayer place He then mounted his
she camel Al Qaswa and proclaimed There is no god but Allah When
he moved into the desert he acclaimed the Name of Allah 
He proceeded with his journey till he approached Makkah He spent the
night at Dhi Tuwa and entered Makkah after performing the dawn prayer 
He had a bath on Sunday morning the fourth of Dhul Hijjah the tenth year
of Al Hijra He spent eight days on the way which was an average period 
As soon as he entered Al Haram Mosque he circumambulated Al Ka bah
and walked to and fro Sa 7 between As Safa and Al Marwah He did not
finish the Ihram ritual consecration because he was Qarin i e intending
 Umrah and Al Hajj associated He then took Al Hadi i e the sacrificial
animals in order to slaughter them He camped on a high place of Makkah
 Al Hajun As for circumambulation he performed only that of Al Hajj
Those of his Companions who had no Hadi with them to sacrifice were
ordered to observe Ihram i e the state of ritual consecration into Umrah
 i e lesser pilgrimage and circumambulate Al Ka bah and stride ritually to
and fro between As Safa and Al Marwah After that they could relieve
themselves from Ihram They however showed reluctance to do what they
had been told Thereupon the Messenger of Allah 1 di said Had I
known beforehand what I knew afterward I would not bring Hadi and if I
did not have Hadi I would break Ihram On hearing these words his
Companions obeyed the orders to the latter 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 207 
On the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah that is the Day of Tarwiyah he left
for Mina where he performed die noon foe afternoon foe sunset foe
evening and foe dawn prayers i e five prayers Then he stayed for a
while till foe sun rose up then he passed along till he reached Arafah where
there was a tent built for him atNamirah He sat inside till foe sun went
down He ordered that Al Qaswa his she camel should be prepared for
him They saddled it and had it ready so he went down foe valley where a
hundred thousand and twenty four or forty four thousand people gathered
round him There he stood up and delivered foe following speech 
lii fa jZ faft fa fa fa vfaZ fa l 
fay fa fa fafa fa Si fa Uafa fa
 jjb iU j Jt tli 
 O people Listen to what I say I do not know whether I will
ever meet you at this place once again after this current year t l
It is unlawful for you to shed foe blood of one another or take
 unlawfully foe fortunes of one another They are as unlawful 
 Haram as shedding blood on such a day as today and in such a
month as this Haram month and in such a sanctified city as this
sacred city i e Makkah and foe surrounding areas 
 uuil fa fa cJj UUJl fa 
 Behold all practices of paganism and ignorance are now under
my feet The blood revenge of foe Days of Ignorance pre 
Islamic time are remitted The first claim on blood I abolish is
that of Ibn Rabi a bin Harith who was nursed in foe tribe of Sa d
and whom Hudhail killed Usury is forbidden and I make a
beginning by remitting the amount of interest which Abbas bin
 Abdul Muttalib has to receive Verily it is remitted entirely 
4 4il fa fa 4 1 vfa
PI Ibn Hisham 2 603 
SSL Jfc U iu 5fc 
 oj iu Jfc 
 0 people Fear Allah concerning women Verily you have
taken them on die security of Allah and have made their persons
lawful unto you by Words of AUSh It is incumbent upon them
to honour their conjugal rights and not to commit acts of
impropriety which if they do you have authority to chastise
them yet not severely If your wives refrain from impropriety
and are faithful to you clothe and feed them suitably 
t j 1Iwfiel 01 oJUj I jl jJ U izS f Jij 
 Verily I have left amongst you the Book of AUShandthe
Sunnah Traditions of His Messenger which if you hold fast 
you shall never go astray 1 
 O people I am not succeeded by a Prophet and you are not
succeeded by any nation So I recommend you to worship your
Lord to pray the five prayers to fast Ramadan and to offer the
Zakat poor due of your provision willingly I recommend you
to do the pilgrimage to die Sacred House of your Lord and to
obey those who are in charge of you then you will be awarded to
enter the Paradise of your Lord 2 
 And if you were asked about me what wanted you to say 
P Sahih Muslim 1 397 
 2 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 263 
 V ii t V 
 C waj C b JLft sib I 
 We bear witness that you have conveyed the message and
discharged your ministry 
He then raised his forefinger skywards and then moved it down towards
people while saying 
 O Allah Bear witness 
He said that phrase thrice Cl
The one who repeated the Prophet s statements loudly at
 Arafat was Rabi a bin Omaiyah bin Khalaf Pl
As soon as the Prophet ju had accomplished delivering the
speech the following Qur nic verse was reyealed to him 
 This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My
Favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your
religion 5 3 
Upon hearing this verse Umar cried What makes you cry He was
asked His answer was Nothing succeeds perfection but imperfection P1
Bilal called for prayer after the speech and then made the second call 
The Prophet uh performed both of the noon and the afternoon
prayers separately with no prayers in between He then mounted his she 
camel Al Qaswa approached the location of the vigil directed his face
towards Al Qiblah kept on standing till sunset when the sky yellow colour
vanished a bit and the disc of the sun disappeared Osamah added that the
Prophet fUjvii on moved onward to Muzdalifa where he observed the
1 1 Sahih Muslim 1 397 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 605 
PI Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 265 
sunset and the evening prayers with one First call and two second calls 
He did not entertain the Glory of Allah between the two prayers Then he
lay down till it was dawn prayer time He performed it with one first call
and one second call at almost daybreak time Mounting on his Al Qaswa 
he moved towards Al Mash ar Al Haram He faced Al Qiblah and started
supplicating Allah is the Greatest There is no god but Allah He
remained there till it was clear morning and before the sun rose high he
made his way to Mina He walked a little and threaded the mid road leading
to the big Jamrah where he stopped and pelted seven pebbles at it saying
 Allah is the Greatest each time They were like small pebbles hurled from
the bottom of the valley Then he set off to the sacrificial place where he
sacrificed sixty three camels with his hands and asked Ali to slaughter the
others a hundred and thirty seven altogether He made Ali share him in
Al Hadi A piece of meat from each slaughtered animal was ordered to be
cooked in a pot and from which both men ate and drank the soup 
Then the Messenger of Allah 4_ui ju mounted his she camel and
returned to the House where he observed the noon prayer at Makkah and
there he came upon the children of Abdul Muttalib were supplying
drinking water to people at Zamzam Well Draw up water children of
 Abdul Muttalib I would draw up with you if I were not afraid that people
would appropriate this honour after me They handed him a pail of water
and he drank to his fill t l
At the daytime of the tenth of Dhul Hijjah on the Slaughtering Day
 Yaum An Nahr The Prophet delivered another speech That was
at high time morning while he was mounting a grey mule Ali conveyed
his statements to the people who were standing or sitting Pl He repeated
some of the statements that he had previously said the day before The two
Sheikh Bukhari and Muslim reported a version narrated by Abi Bakrah
The Prophet fU i an l made a speech on Yaum An Nahr day
of slaughtering and said 
PI Sahih Muslim 1 397 400 
PI Abu Da Ad 1 270 
 Time has grown similar in form and state to the time when
Allah created the heavens and the earth A year is twelve
months Four of which are Sacred Months Hurum Three of
the four months are successive They are Dhul Qa dah Dhul 
Hijjah and Al Muharram The fourth Month is Rajab Mudar 
which comes between Jumada and Sha ban 
 What month is this month He asked We said Allah and
His Messenger know best of all He kept silent for a while till
we thought he would attach to it a different appellation Is it
not Dhul Hijjah He wondered Yes It is We said Then he
asked What is this town called We said Allah and His
Messenger know best of all He was silent for a while till we
thought he would give it a different name Is it not Al Baldah 
 i e the town asked he Yes It is We replied Then he asked
again What day is it today We replied Allah and His
Messenger know best of all Then he kept silent for a while and
said wondering Is it not Art Nahr i e slaughtering Day 
 Yes It is Said we Then he said 
z JJ J f to
 Shedding the blood of one another and eating or taking one
another s provisions unwillingly and your honour are all
inviolable Haram It is unlawful to violate their holiness They
must be as sacred to one another as this sacred day in this
sacred month in this sacred town 
 You will go back to be resurrected after death to your Lord 
There you will be accounted for your deeds So do not turn into
people who go astray and kill one another 
f l DU lj3U cJ S 
 e Li J j 4 vSUj 
 Have I not delivered the Message of my Lord Yes you
have Said they O Allah Bear witness Let him that is
present convey it unto him who is absent For haply many
people to whom the Message is conveyed may be more mindful
of it than the audience said he t 1
In another version it is said that the Prophet an had said in that
t jJ j jL u a oL 9 Sit 
IJl jl j ot J ji oUaLtll oj Sit 4 oj3Ij
8 o 4 Up S yc u Uli 5plt 5J 4 Lb 
 He whoever plunges into misfortune will certainly aggrieve
himself So let no one of you inflict an evil upon his parents 
Verily Satan has utterly despaired being worshipped in this
country of yours but he will be obeyed at your committing
trivial things you disdain Satan will be contented with such
The Messenger ofAllSh j an spent r TarAree Daysfllth 12th
and 13th of Dhul Hijjah in Mina performing the ritual teachings of Islam 
remembering AllSh praying following the ways of guidance of Ibrahim 
wiping out all traces and features or polytheism On some days of
At Tashreeq he delivered some speeches as well In a version to Abu Da ud
with good reference to Sira the daughter of Nabhan she said The
Messenger of Allah fLj 4 j1p 4l l l made us a speech at the Ru us Heads Day
in which he said Is it not this the middle day of At Tashreeq Days 3 
 i Sahih Al Bukhari 1 234 
PI At Tinnidbi 2 38 13S Mishkat Al Masabih 1 234 
I 3 Abu Da fld 1 269 
His speech that day was similar to that of Art Nahr Day s It was made
after the revelation of Surat An Nasr 
On the second day of An Nafr i e Departure on the thirteenth of
Dhul Hijjah the Prophet 1 1 proceeded with An Nafr to Mina and
stayed at a high place of a mountain side at Bani Kinanah from Al Abtah 
He spent the rest of that day and night there where he performed the
noon the afternoon die sunset and the evening prayers 
Then he slept for a short while and mounted leaving for the Ka bah He
performed the Farewell Ciicumambulation Tawaf Al Wada after ordering
his Companions to do the same thing 
Upon the accomplishment of his religious rituals he quickened his move
to the purified Madinah He went there not to seek rest but to resume the
strife and struggle in the way of Allah 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 631 2 631 Ibn Hisham 2 601 603 
Zdd Al Ma ad 1 196 218 220 
The Last Expeditions
The pride of the Byzantine State made it deny Muslims their right to live 
The Byzantine arrogance made them even kill those agents of theirs who
embraced Islam Killing Farwah bin Amr Al Judhami who was their agent
on Mu an was an evidence of their arrogance Due to that arrogance and
presumptuousness of the Byzantines the Messenger of Allah j a jLc 4UI J L 
started to mobilize a great army in Safar in the eleventh year of Al Hijra and
made it under the command of Osamah bin Zaid bin Haritha with orders to
have the horses of Muslims tread on the lands bordering Al Balqa and
Ad Darum of Palestine His aim was to terrorize Byzantines and to implant
confidence into the hearts of Arabs who were settled at the borders of the
Byzantines His other purpose was to deliver a message to everybody there so
that no one may dare say that the Church brutality can t go with impunity and
that Islamization is not synonymous with fear and vulnerability 
The leadership of Osamah was subject to criticism Because he was still
too young people tarried at joining his expedition The Messenger of Allah
fi j 4i addressed people saying 
 cP Xo3 t AjjU jl 
b j itfi 1 d s i j d s 01 41 J
 No wonder now you contest his leadership for you have already
contested the ex leadership of his father Yes by Allah his father 
who was one of the most beloved people to me was quite
efficient for leadership and this son of his is one of the most
beloved individuals to me after his father 1 
So people started tending towards Osamah and joined his army The
number of volunteers in his army was so enormous that they formed such a
long queue that they had to descend the escarpment which was a parasang
off Madinah The anxiety provoking news about the Messenger of Allah s
sickness however made the expedition tarry again in order to know what
Allah had willed as regards His Messenger w ju 
It was Allah s Will that Osamah s expedition would be the first one
dispatched during the caliphate of the veracious Abu Bakr Pl
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 612 
PI Ibn Hisham 2 560 606 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 612 
The Journey to Allah the Sublime
Symptoms of Farewell 
When the Call to Islam grew complete and the new faith dominated the
whole situation The Messenger of Allah jji started to develop
certain symptoms that bespoke of leave taking They could be perceived
through his statements and deeds 
 In Ramadan in the tenth year of Al Hijra he secluded himself for
twenty days in contrast to ten previously 
 The archangel Gabriel reviewed the Qur an twice with him 
 His words in the Farewell Pilgrimage i e Al Waday 
 ljbl cjOjXJIIJLjj A JLxj 
 I do not know whether I will ever meet you at this place
once again after this current year 
 The revelation of An Nasr Chapter amid At Tashreeq Days So when
it was sent down on him he realized that it was the parting time and
that Surah was an announcement of his approaching death 
On the early days of Safar in the eleventh year of Al Hijra the
Prophet fL ju went out to Uhud and observed a farewell prayer
to the martyrs It looked like saying goodbye to both the dead and the
living alike He then ascended the pulpit and addressed the people
4ii j j vj i yys
t Q b ou t J j d out
 I am to precede you and I have been made witness upon you 
By Allah you will meet me at the Fountain very soon I have
been given the keys of worldly treasures By Allah I do not fear
for you that you will turn polytheists after me But I do fear that
acquisition of worldly riches should entice you to strike one
another s neck 
 One day at midnight he went to Al Baqee cemetry and implored
Allah to forgive the martyrs of Islam He said Peace be upon you
tomb dwellers May that morning that dawns upon you be more
relieving than that which dawn upon the living Afflictions are
approaching them like cloudy lumps of a dark night the last of
which follows the first The last one is bearing more evil than the
first He comforted them saying We will follow you 
The Start of the Disease 
On Monday the twenty ninth of Safar in the eleventh year of Al Hijra he
participated in funeral rites in Al Baqee On the way back he had a
headache his temperature rose so high that the heat effect could be felt over
He led the Muslims in prayer for eleven days though he was sick The
total number of his sick days were either thirteen or fourteen 
The Last Week 
When his sickness grew severe he asked his wives Where shall I stay
tomorrow Where shall I stay They understood what he wanted So
they allowed him to stay wherever he wished He moved to Aishah s room
leaning while he was walking on Al Fadl bin Al Abbas and Ali bin
Abi Talib Head banded as he was he dragged his feet till he came into her
abode It was there that he spent the last week of his life 
During that period Aishah used to recite Al Mu awwidhat Chapters
113 and 114 of the Qur an and other supplications which he had already
Five days before death 
On Wednesday five days before he died the Prophet s temperature rose
so high signalling the severeness of his disease He fainted and suffered
from pain Pour out on me seven Qirab water skin pots of various water
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 585 
wells so that I may go out to meet people and talk to them So they seated
him in a container usually used for washing and poured out water on him
till he said That is enough That is enough 
Then he felt well enough to enter the Mosque He entered it band headed 
sat on the pulpit and made a speech to the people who were gathering
together around him He said 
 The curse of Allah falls upon the Jews and Christians for they
have made their Prophets tombs places of worship 
Then he said 
 Do not make my tomb a worshipped idol 2 
Then he offered himself and invited the people to repay any injuries he
might have inflicted on them saying 
CO y W 1 J P 4J OJUb CO y 
 o iSillU yey iJlgi L J y a 
 He whom I have ever lashed his back I offer him my back so
that he may avenge himself on me He whom I have ever
blasphemed his honour here I am offering my honour so that he
may avenge himself 
Then he descended and performed the noon prayer Again he returned to
the pulpit and sat on it He resumed his first speech about enmity and some
A man then said You owe me three Dirhams The Prophet pL j U 111 JL 
said Fadl pay him the money He went on saying 
 Mel Jij i jCLej t jCjVU
 f f i 
o j 4 
W Sahih Al Bukhari 1 62 Muatta Imam Malik p 360 
 2 Muata Imam Malik p 65 
 I admonish you to be good to Al Ansar the Helpers They are
my family and with them I found shelter They have acquitted
themselves credibly of the responsibility that fell upon them and
now there remains what you have to do You should fully
acknowledge and appreciate the favour that they have shown 
and should overlook their faults 
In another version 
 Ic jUajS I idjs i 01 
j JXli iiiij Ji Ali Jy i 3 J i
a 0 I C 
dr JJ iJ
 The number of believers would increase but the number of
Helpers would decrease to the extent that they would be among
men as salt in the food So he who from among you occupies a
position of responsibility and is powerful enough to do harm or
good to the people he should fully acknowledge and appreciate
the favour that these benefactors have shown and overlook their
1 oXjp li U 3JI ij of 4 I js s o 
 tX t j 
 Allah the Great has given a slave of His the opportunity to
make a choice between whatever he desires of Allah s
provisions in this world and what He keeps for him in the
world but he has opted for the latter 
Abu Sa id Al Khudri said Upon hearing that Abu Bakr cried and said 
 We sacrifice our fathers and mothers for your sake We wondered why
Abu Bakr said such a thing People said Look at that old man The
Messenger of Allah uii j says about a slave of Allah who was granted
the right between the best fortunes of this world and the bounty of Allah in
the Hereafter but he says We sacrifice our fathers and mothers for your
sake It was later on that we realized what he had aimed at The Messenger
I 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 536 
of Allih j _ _ui j_u was the slave informed to choose We also
acknowledged that Abu Bakr was the most learned among us 
Then the Messenger of Allah ui said 
lo i cis jJj 4 jz aJUj Jst Si 
f i syt o d oiijv JS 
 s J 4 c i c 
 The fellow I feel most secure in his company is Abu Bakr If I
were to make friendship with any other one than Allah I would
have Abu Bakr a bosom friend of mine For him I feel affection
and brotherhood of Islam No gate shall be kept open in the
Mosque except that of Abu Bakr s Pl
Four days before his death 
On Thursday four days before the death of the Messenger of Allah
 L vl ui jU he said to people though he was suffering from a severe pain 
 Come here I will cause you to write something so that you will never fall
into error Upon this Umar bin Al Khattab said The Prophet of Allah
fL uii is suffering from acute pain and you have the Qur an with you 
the Book of AllSh is sufficient unto you Others however wanted the
writing to be made When Muhammad m heard them debating over
it he ordered them to go away and leave him alone 3 
That day he recommended three things 
1 Jews Christians and polytheists should be expelled out of Arabia 
2 He recommended that delegations should be honoured and
entertained in a way similar to the one he used to do 
3 As for the third the narrator said that he had forgotten it It could
have been adherence to the Holy Book and the Sunnah It was
likely to be the accomplishment and the mobilization of Osamah s
 Mishkat Al Masabih 2 546 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 22 429 449 2 638 Mishkat Al Masabih 2 548 
P Sahih Al Bukhari 2 637 
army or it could have been performance of prayers and being
attentive to slaves 
In spite of the strain of disease and suffering from pain the Prophet
 JL ui jL used to lead all the prayers till that Thursday four days before
he died On that day he led the sunset prayer and recited 
 By the winds or angels or the Messengers of AMh sent forth
one after another 77 l t l
In the evening he grew so sick that he could not overcome the strain of
disease or go out to enter the Mosque Aishah said The Prophet an
asked Have the people performed the prayer No They haven t They
are waiting for you Put some water in the washing pot Said he We did
what he ordered So he washed and wanted to stand up but he fainted 
When he came round he asked again Have the people prayed Then the
same sequence of events took place again and again for the second and the
third times from the time he washed to the time he fainted after his attempts
to stand up Therefore he sent to Abu Bakr to lead the prayer himself Abu
Bakr then led the prayer during those days P They were seventeen prayers
in the lifetime of Muhammad ui
Three or four times Aishah talked to the Prophet ut j to exempt
Abu Bakr from leadership in prayer lest people should despair of him but
he refused and said 
 You women are like the women who tried to entice Joseph
 Yusuf into immorality Convey my request to Abu Bakr to
lead the prayer 
A Day or Two prior to Death 
On Saturday or on Sunday the Prophet w felt that he was well
enough to perform the prayer so he went out leaning on two men in order to
HI Mishkat Al Masabih 1 102 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 99 
perform the noon prayer Abu Bakr who was then about to lead the prayer
withdrew when he saw him coming but the Prophet made him a
gesture to stay where he was and said Seat me next to him They seated
him on the left hand side of Abu Bakr The Prophet 411 jl led the
prayer and Abu Bakr followed him and raised his voice at every Allahu
Akbar i e Allah is the Greatest the Prophet said so that the
people may hear clearly 
A Day before his Death 
On Sunday a day before he died the Prophet u set his slaves
free paid as a charity the seven Dinars he owned and gave his weapons as a
present to the Muslims So when night fell Aishah had to borrow some oil
from her neighbour to light her oil lantern 
Even his armour was mortgaged as a security with a Jew for thirty Sa a
cubic measure of barley 
The Last Day Alive 
In a narration by Anas bin Malik he said While the Muslims were
performing the dawn prayer on Monday led by Abu Bakr they were
surprised to see the Messenger of Allah 111 raising the curtain of
 Aishah s room He looked at them while they were praying aligned
properly and smiled cheerfully Seeing him Abu Bakr withdrew to join the
lines and give way to him to lead the prayer For he thought that the Prophet
r 1 j ssi wanted to go out and pray Anas said The Muslims who were
praying were so delighted that they were almost too enraptured at their
prayers The Messenger of Allah made them a gesture to
continue their prayer v ent into the room and drew down the curtain 2 
The Messenger of Allah jj l j di did not live for the next prayer time 
When it was daytime the Prophet ui called Fatimah and told her
something in a secret voice that made her cry Then he whispered to her
something else which made her laugh Aishah enquired from her after the
Prophet s death as to this weeping and laughing to which Fatimah replied 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 98 99 
PI ibid 2 640 
 The first time he disclosed to me that he would not recover from his illness
and I wept Then he told me that I would be the first of his family to join
him so I laughed 1 
He gave Fatimah glad tidings that she would become the lady of all
women of the world Pl
Fatimah witnessed the great pain that afflicted her father So she said 
 What great pain my father is in To these words the Prophet
JLtu Jb dLl j J 
 He will not suffer any more when today is over P 
He asked that Al Hasan and Al Husain be brought to him He kissed
them and recommended that they be looked after He asked to see his wives 
They were brought to him He preached them and told them to remember
Allah Pain grew so much severe that the trace of poison he had at Khaibar
came to light It was so sore that he said to Aishah I still feel the painful
effect of that food I tasted at Khaibar I feel as if death is approaching 4 
He ordered die people to perform the prayers and be attentive to slaves He
repeated it several times 5 
The Prophet ft j J breathes his Last 
When the pangs of death started Aishah leant him against her She used
to say One of Allah s bounties upon me is that the Messenger of Allah
fL j uii jj died in my house while I am still alive He died between my
chest and neck while he was leaning against me Allah has mixed his saliva
with mine at his death For Abdur Rahman the son of Abu Bakr came
in with a Siwak i e the root of a desert plant used for brushing teeth in his
hand while I was leaning the Messenger of Allah ju against me I
noticed that he was looking at the Siwak so I asked him for I knew that
 SahihAl Bukhari 2 638 
PI Rahmat ul liTalameen 1 282 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 2 641 
 4 1 ibid 2 637 
PI ibid 2 637 
he wanted it Would you like me to take it for you He nodded in
agreement I took it and gave it to him As it was too hard for him I asked
him Shall I soften it for you He nodded in agreement So I softened it
with my saliva and he passed it on his teeth 
In another version it is said So he brushed Istanna his teeth as nice as
he could There was a water container Rakwa available at his hand with
some water in He put his hand in it and wiped his face with it and said 
 There is no god but AllSh Death is full of agonies 
As soon as he had finished his Shvok brushing he raised his hand or his
finger up looked upwards to the ceiling and moved his lips So Aishah
listened to him She heard him say With those on whom You have
bestowed Your Grace with the Prophets and the Truthful ones
 As Siddeeqeen the martyrs and the good doers O Allah forgive me and
have mercy upon me and join me to the Companionship on high 2 Then at
intervals he uttered these words The most exalted Companionship on high 
To Allilh we turn and to Him we turn back for help and last abode This
event took place at high morning time on Monday the twelfth of Rabi Al 
Awwal in the eleventh year of Al Hijrah He was sixty three years and four
days old when he died 
The Companions concern over the Prophet s Death 
The great loss news was soon known by everybody in Madinah Dark
grief spread on all areas and horizons of Madinah Anas said 
Ja_ c JjLJoft
 I have never witnessed a day better or brighter than that day on
which the Messenger of AIM w came to us and I have
jJ S VjJAYj dLS
oU fjj c jIj
 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 640 
P ibid 2 638 641 
never witnessed a more awful or darker day than that one on
which the Messenger of Allah an died on t l
When he died Fatimah said O Father whom his Lord responded to his
supplication O Father whose abode is Paradise O Father whom I
announce his death to Gabriel 2 
 Umar s Attitude 
 Umar who was so stunned that he almost lost consciousness and stood
before people addressing them Some of the hypocrites claim that die
Messenger of Allah u an died The Messenger of Allah l did
not die but went to his Lord in the same way as Moses bin Imran did He
stayed away for forty nights but finally came back though they said he had
been dead By Allah the Messenger of Allah 111 will come back and
he will cut off the hands and legs of those who claim his death 3 
Abu Bakr s Attitude 
Abu Bakr left his house at As Sunh and came forth to the Mosque on a
mare back At the Mosque he dismounted and entered He talked to nobody
but went on till he entered Aishah s abode and went directly to where the
Messenger of Allah was The Prophet was covered
with a Yemeni mantle He uncovered his face and tended down kissed him
and cried Then he said I sacrifice my father and mother for your sake 
Allah verily will not cause you to die twice You have just experienced the
death that Allah had ordained 
Then he went out and found Umar talking to people He said Umar 
be seated Umar refused to do so People parted Umar and came towards
Abu Bakr who started a speech saying 
 4 i J 06
 Mishkat ul Masabih 2 547 
 2 Sahih Al Bukhari 2 641 
 3 Ibn Hisham 2 655 
 And now he who worships M uhamma d pi J jU 4_JJt L 
Muh amm ad is dead now But he who worships Allah He is
Ever Living and He never dies Allah says 
 Mu hamm ad fi jx l x is no more than a Messenger and
indeed many Messengers have passed away before him If he
dies or is killed will you then turn back on your heels as
disbelievers And he who turns back on his heels not the least
harm will he do to Allah and Allah will give reward to those
who are grateful 3 144 
Ibn Abbas said By Allah it sounded as if people had never heard such
a Qur anic verse till Abu Bakr recited it as a reminder So people started
reciting it till there was no man who did not recite it 
Ibn Al Musaiyab said that Umar had said By Allah as soon as I heard
Abu Bakr say it I fell down to the ground I felt as if my legs had been
unable to carry me so I collapsed when I heard him say it Only then did I
realize that Muhammad ai had really died 1 
Burial and Farewell Preparations to his Honourable Body 
Dispute about who would succeed him an broke out even before
having the Messenger of Allih s body prepared for burial Lots of
arguments discussions dialogues took place between the Helpers and
Emigrants in the roofed passage portico of Bani Sa ida Finally they
acknowledged Abu Bakr ni as a caliph They spent the whole Monday
there till it was night People were so busy with their arguments that it was
late night just about dawn of Tuesday yet his blessed body was still
lying on his bed covered with an inked garment He was locked in the room 
On Tuesday his body was washed with his clothes on He was washed
by Al Abbas Ali Al Fadl and Qathm the two sons of Al Abbas as
well as Shaqran die Messenger s freed slave Osamah bin Zaid and Aws
bin Khauli Al Abbas Al Fadl and Qathm turned his body round whereas
I l Sahih Al Bukhari 2 640 641 
Osamah and Shaqran poured out water Ali washed him and Aws leant him
against his chest 
They shrouded him in three white Sahooli cotton cloth which had neither
a headclothl l nor a casing and inserted him in 
A sort of disagreement arose with regard to a burial place Abu Bakr
said I heard the Messenger of Allah an j say A dead Prophet is
buried where he dies So Abu Talhah lifted the bed on which he died dug
underneath and cut the ground to make the tomb 
People entered the room ten by tea They prayed for the Prophet 
The first to pray for him were people of his clan Then the Emigrants then
the Helpers Women prayed for him after men The young were the last to
This process took Tuesday long and Wednesday night i e the night
which precedes Wednesday morning Aishah said We did not know that
the Prophet uji jl was being buried till we heard the sound of tools
digging the ground at the depth of Wednesday night P1
I l Sahih Al Bukhari 1 169 Sahih Muslim 1 306 
t 2 l Mukhtasar Seerat Ar Rasool p 471 Ibn Hisham 2 649 665 
Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl Al Athar p 38 39 Rahmat ul lil alameen 1 277 286 
The Prophetic Household
1 Khadijah Bint Khuwailid In Makkah prior to Hijra the Prophet s
household comprised him fi _ un and his wife Khadijah bint
Khuwailid He was twenty five and she was forty when they got married 
She was the first woman he married She was the only wife he had till
she died He had sons and daughters with her None of their sons lived
long They all died Their daughters were Zainab Ruqaiya Umm
Kulthum and Fatimah 
Z ainab was married to her maternal cousin Abu Al As bin Al Rabi 
and that was before Al Hijra Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum were both
married to Uthman bin Affan c jji successively i e he married one
after the death of her sister Fatimah was married to Ali bin Abi Talib 
and that was in the period between Badr and Uhud battles The sons and
daughters that Fatimah and Ali had were Al Hasan Al Husain Zainab
and Umm Kulthum 
It is well known that the Prophet was exceptionally
authorized to have more than four wives for various reasons The wives
he married were thirteen Nine of them outlived him Two died in his
lifetime Khadijah and the Mother of the poor Umm Al Masakeen 
Zainab bint Khuzaima besides two others with whom he did not
consummate his marriage 
2 Sawdah bint Zam a He married her in Shawwal in the tenth year of
Prophethood a few days after the death of Khadijah Prior to that she
was married to a paternal cousin of hers called As Sakran bin Amr 
3 Aishah bint Abu Bakr He married her in the eleventh year of
Prophethood a year after his marriage toSawdahjand two years and five
months before Al Hijra She was six years old when he married her 
However he did not consummate the marriage with her till Shawwal
seven months after Al Hijra and that was in Madinah She was nine
then She was the only virgin he married and the most beloved creature
to him As a woman she was the most learned woman in jurisprudence 
4 Hafsah bint Umar bin Al Khattab She was Aiyim i e husbandless 
Her ex husband was Khunais bin Hudhafa As Sahmi in the period
between Badr and Uhud battles The Messenger of Allah
married her in the third year of Al Hijra 
5 Zainab bint Khuzaimah She was from Bani Hilal bin Amir bin
Sa sa a Was nicknamed Umm AI Masakeen because of her kindness and
care towards them She used to be the wife of 4 Abdullah bin Jahsh who
was martyred at Uhud was married to the Prophet ui in the
fourth year of Al Hijra but she died two or three months after her
marriage to the Messenger of Allah 4 ui
6 Umm Salamah Hind bint Abi Omaiyah She used to be the wife of
Abu Salamah who died in Jumada Al Akhir in the fourth year of
Al Hijra The Messenger of Allah married her in Shawwal of
the same year 
7 Zainab bint Jahsh bin Riyab She was from Bani Asad bin Khuzaimah
and was the Messenger s paternal cousin She was married to Zaid bin
Haritha who was then considered son of the Prophet ui 
However Zaid divorced her Allah sent down some Qur anic verses with
 So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her i e 
divorced her We gave her to you in marriage 33 37 
About her Allah has sent down some verses of Al Ahzab Chapter that
discussed the adoption of children in detail anyway we will discuss
this later The Messenger of Allah si married her in Dhul 
Qa dah the fifth year of Al Hijra 
8 Juwairiyah bint Al Harith Al Harith was the head of Bani
Al Mustaliq of Khuza ah Juwairiyah was among the booty that fell to
the Muslims from Bani Al Mustaliq She was a portion of Thabit bin
Qais bin Shammas share He made her a covenant to set her free at a
certain time The Messenger of Allah accomplished the
covenant and married her in Sha ban in the sixth year of Al Hijra 
9 Umm Habibah Ramlah the daughter of Abu Sufyan She was married
to Ubaidullah bin Jahsh She migrated with him to Abyssinia Ethiopia 
When Ubaidullah apostatized and became a Christian she stoodfast to
her religion and refused to convert However Ubaidullah died there in
Abyssinia Ethiopia The Messenger of Allah 1 ui dispatched
 Amr bin Omaiyah Ad Damri with a letter to Negus the king asking him
for Umm Habibah s hand that was in Muharram in the seventh year
of Al Hijra Negus agreed and sent her to the Prophet ui in the
company of Sharhabeel bin Hasnah 
lO Safiyah bint Huyai bin Akhtab From the Children of Israel she was
among the booty taken at Khaibar battle The Messenger of Allah
fj i jji jU took her for himself He set her free and married her after that
conquest in the seventh year of Al Hijra 
1 l Maimunah bint Al Haritb The daughter of Al Harith and the sister of
Umm Al Fadl Lubabah bint Al Harith The Prophet married
her after the Compensatory Umrah Lesser Pilgrimage That was in
Dhul Qa dah in the seventh year of Al Hijra 
Those were the eleven women that the Messenger of Allah 
had married and consummated marriage with them He outlived two of them
 Khadijah and Zainab the Umm Al Masakeen Whereas the other nine
wives outlived him 
The two wives that he did not consummate marriage with were one from
Bani Kilab and the other from Kindah and this was the one called
Besides these he had two concubines The first was Mariyah the Coptic
 an Egyptian Christian a present gift from Al Muqauqis vicegerent erf
Egypt she gave birth to his son Ibrahim who died in Madinah while still
a little child on the 28th or 29th of Shawwal in the year 10 A H i e 27th
January 632 A D The second one was Raihanah bint Zaid An Nadriyah or
Quraziyah a captive from Bani Quraiza Some people say she was one of his
wives However Ibn Al Qaiyim gives more weight to the first version Abu
 Ubaidah spoke of two more concubines Jameelah a captive and another
one a bondwoman granted to him by Zainab bint Jahsh Pl
Whosoever meditates on die life of the Messenger of Allah i di
will conceive that his marriage to this great number of women in the late
PI Zfid Al Ma ad 1 29 
years of his lifetime after he had almost spent thirty years of his best days
of youth sufficing himself to one old wife Khadijah and later on to
Sawdah was in no way an overwhelming lustful desire to be satisfied
through such a number of wives These marriages were in fact motivated by
aims and purposes much more glorious and greater than what nor mal
marriages usually aim at 
The tendency of the Messenger of Allah 411 j towards es tablishing
a relationship by marriage with both Abu Bakr and Umar and his marriage
to Aishah and Hafsah and getting his daughter Fatimah married to Ali
bin Abi Talib and the marriage of his two daughters Ruqaiyah and Umm
Kulthum to Uthman indicate clearly that he aimed at confirmin g the
relationship among the four men whose sacrifices and great
achievements in the cause of Islam are well known 
Besides this there was that tradition of the Arabs to honour the in law
relations For them a son or a daughter in law was a means by which they
sought the consolidation of relationship and affection with various phratries 
Hostility and fights against alliances and affinities would bring an
unforgettable shame disgrace and degradation to them 
By marrying the Mothers of believers the Prophet fa wanted to
demolish or break down the Arab tribes enmity to Islam and extinguish
their intense hatred Umm Salamah was from Bani Makhzum the clan of
Abu Jahl and Khalid bin Al Waleed Her marriage to the Messenger of
Allah ft j va jui produced good results Khalid s deliberately undecisive
attitude at Uhud for instance was due to the Messenger s marriage to
Umm Salamah Khalid went even further than that in a short time he
willingly became a keen obedient Muslim 
After the Messenger of Allah s marriage to Umm Habibah Abu Sufyan 
her father did not encounter him with any sort of hostility Similarly his
marriage to Juwairiyah and Safiyah made the two tribes stop all sorts of
provocation aggression or hostility against Islam Better still Juwairiyah 
herself was one of the greatest sources of blessing to her own people On
the occasion of her marriage to the Prophet 1 411 his Companions set
a hundred families of her people free They said It is for their affinity with
the Messenger of Allah No need to say what great good
impression this gratitude had on everybody s soul One of the greatest
motives of all is Allah s bidding his Prophet to educate and purify the souls
of people who had known nothing whatsoever about courtesy education and
culture He had to teach them to comply with the necessities of civilization
and to contribute to the solidification and the establishment of a new Islamic
An essential fundamental rule of the Muslim society is to prohibit mixing
of men and women Providing direct education for women though highly
compelling is impossible in the light of this Islamic norm Therefore the
Prophet ft ui had to select some women of different ages and talents 
and indoctrinate them systematically in order to educate she bedouins and
townswomen old and young and thus furnish them with the instruments of
propagating the true faith The Mothers of believers i e wives of the
Prophet ju jii jj were in such a convenient position that they could
convey the state of the Prophet ui and his affairs to people men and
women Being educated and taught the teachings and rules of Islam his
wives especially those who outlived him played a very important role in
conveying Prophetic traditions Ahadith to the Muslims Aishah for
instance related a large number of the Prophet s deeds and statements 
His marriage to his paternal cousin Zainab bint Jahsh was a peculiar case
which aimed at eradicating a deeply rooted pre Islamic tradition i e the
adoption of children In Al Jahiliyah the Arabs used to consider an adopted
person exactly like a real son or daughter as far as rights and sanctities are
concerned That Jahiliyah tradition had been so deeply rooted in their hearts
that it was not easy to remove or uproot it This tradition in fact affronts the
basic principles of Islam especially those concerned with marriage divorce
and inheritance and some other cases and brought about lots of corruptions
and indecencies Naturally Islam stands against such deeds and attempts to
remove them from the Islamic society 
For the eradication of this tradition Allah die Exalted bid His
Messenger to marry his cousin Zainab bint Jahsh who was an
ex wife to Zaid She was at variance with Zaid to an extent that he intended
to divorce her that was at die time when the Confederates Al Ahzab 
were making an evil alliance against the Messenger of Allah v i and
against the Muslims The Messenger of Allah w feared that the
hypocrites the idolaters and the Jews would make a propaganda out of it
and try to influence some Muslims of weak hearts That was why he urged
Zaid not to divorce her in order not to get involved into that trial 
Undoubtedly this hesitation and partiality were alien to the character of
the Prophet jii They did not apply to the power of determination
and will with which he had been sent Allah the Exalted blamed him for
that by saying 
 And remember when you said to him Zaid bin Haritha
 jji the freed slave of the Prophet ju 411 jJ on whom
Allah has bestowed grace by guiding him to Islam and you O
Muhammad an too have done favour by manumitting
him Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allah But you did
hide in yourself i e what Allah has already made known to you
that He will give her to you in marriage that which Allah will
make manifest you did fear the people i e Muhammad
ji i jji jU married the divorced wife of his manumitted slave 
whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear him 
Finally Zaid divorced Zainab and the Messenger of Allah u w ju
married her at the time he laid siege to Bani Quraiza That was after she had
finished her Iddat i e period during which a widow or a divorcee may not
remarry Allah Himself had already ordained it and so gave him no other
alternative Allah had even started the marriage Himself by saying 
 So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her i e 
divorced her We gave her to you in marriage so that in
future there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of
 the marriage of the wives of their adopted sons when the latter
have no desire to keep them i e they have divorced them 
And that was in order to break down the tradition of child adoption in
practice after He had done it in words 
 Call them adopted sons by the names of their fathers that is
more just near Allah 33 5 
 Muhammad 011 is not the father of any man among
you but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last end of the
Prophets 33 40 
Lots of deeply rooted traditions cannot be uprooted or demolished or
even adjusted by mere words They must be matched and associated with
the action of the advocate of the Message himself 
This could be perceived through the deeds practised by the Muslims at
Al Hudaibiyah Umrah Lesser Pilgrimage during which Urwah bin
Mas ud Al Thaqafi saw certain Muslims tend to pick up any expectoration
that fell down from the Prophet an He also saw them race to the
water of his ablution and they almost quarrelled for it There were others
who competed to pledge allegiance to death and some others pledged not to
flee from the battlefield Among those people were eminent Companions
like Umar and Abu Bakr who although dedicated all their lives to the
Prophet uji jj and to the cause of Islam but refused to carry out the
Messenger s ordres with respect to slaughtering sacrificial animals after the
ratification of Al Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty the filing that perturbed and
caused the Prophet to feel anxious However when Umm
Salamah 1 jji advised that he take the initiative and sacrifice his animals 
his followers raced to follow his example a clear evidence in support of the
saying Actions speak louder than words in the process of exterminating a
deeply established tradition 
Hypocrites aroused a lot of suspicions and made a broad false
propaganda against that marriage Their acts and talks about that marriage
had ill effects on those Muslims whose Faith was still weak particularly
that Zainab was the fifth wife and the Noble Qur an limited the number
up to four only Zaid was traditionally his son and so a father marrying his
son s divorcee was a heinous sin in the eyes of the Arabians 
Al Ahzab Surah was revealed to shed full light on the two issues i e 
Islam does not recognize adoption of children and the Prophet ui j is
given by Allah more freedom as regards the number of wives he can hold
than other Muslims in order to achieve noble and honourable purposes 
However the treatment of the Messenger of Allah w to his
wives was of honourable noble and superb nature His wives were on tops
in respect of honour satisfaction patience modesty and service that is to
say the performance of housework and marriage duties Although the
Messenger s house life was hard and unbearable none of his wives
complained Anas said about the Prophet s life According to my
knowledge the Messenger of AMh uji has never tasted a thin
flattened loaf in all his lifetime nor has he ever seen with his own eyes
roasted mutton 1 
 Aishah said Over two months have elapsed during which we have
seen three crescents and yet no fire has been kindled in the houses of the
Messenger of Allah j_ di i e they did not cook food What did you
eat to sustain yourselves Urwah asked She said The two blacks dates
and water 2 Lots of information about die hard life of the Prophet 
In spite of these hardships straits and adversity of life in the house of the
Prophet fi j u ui j none of his wives uttered a word of complaint worthy of
reproach but once This exception was required by human instinctive
inclinations However it was not so important and consequently it did not
require the decree of a legislative rule AMh has given them an opportunity
to choose between two things as clearly stated in die following verses 
I Sahih Al Bukhari 2 956 
t 2 ibid 2 956 
 O Prophet Muhammad u 111 Say to your wives If you
desire the life of this world and its glitter then come I will
make a provision for you and set you free in a handsome manner
 divorce But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the
Home of the Hereafter then verily AllMi has prepared for Al 
Muhsinat good doers amongst you an enormous reward 
 33 28 29 
They were so noble and honest that none of them preferred the life of
this world and its glitter to the abode in the Hereafter 
Although they were many in number nothing of the dispute occurrences
that normally happen among co wives took place in their houses Very few
cases could be the only exception but they were quite normal Allah
reproached them for that so they ceased to do such a thing This incident is
mentioned in At Tahreem Chapter 
 O Prophet Why do you ban for yourself that which Allah has
made lawful to you 66 1 to the end of the fifth verse 
Discussing polygamy in my opinion is not a necessity since a
person who is familiar with the Europeans and indecent practices 
sufferings wickedness their sorrows and distresses the horrible crimes they
commit in this respect as well as the trials the disasters that they are
involved in and which emanate directly from their disregard of the principle
of polygamy form a good reason to justify the soundness of polygamy 
The distorted picture of life in Europe with the ill practices featuring it 
could truthfully justify the existence and practice of polygamy In this there
are Divine signs for all people possessed of lucid mind 
The Prophet fa 
Attributes and Manners
The Prophet uji combined both perfection of creation and
perfection of manners 
This impression on people can be deduced by the bliss that overwhelmed
their hearts and filled them with dignity Men s dignity devotion and
estimation of the Messenger of Allah i were unique and matchless 
No other man in the whole world has been so honoured and beloved Those
who knew him well were fascinated and enchanted by him They were
ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of saving a nail of his from hurt or
injury Being privileged by lots of prerogatives of perfection that no one
else had been endowed with his Companions found that he was peerless
and so they loved him 
Here we list a brief summary of the versions about his beauty and
perfection To encompass all which is addmittedly beyond our power 
Beauty of Creation 
Describing the Messenger of Allah 111 who passed by her tent on
his journey of migration Umm Ma bad Al Khuza iyah said to her husband 
 He was innocently bright and had broad countenance His manners
were fine Neither was his belly bulging out nor was his head deprived of
hair He had black attractive eyes finely arched by continuous eyebrows 
His hair glossy and black inclined to curl he wore long His voice was
extremely commanding His head was large well formed and set on a
slender neck His expression was pensive and contemplative serene and
sublime The stranger was fascinated from the distance but no sooner he
became intimate with him than this fascination was changed into
attachment and respect His expression was very sweet and distinct His
speech was well set and free from the use of superfluous words as if it
were a rosary of beads His stature was neither too high nor too small to
look repulsive He was a twig amongst the two singularly bri gh t and
fresh He was always surrounded by his Companions Whenever he
uttered something the listeners would hear him with rapt attention and
whenever he issued any command they vied with each other in carry ing
it out He was a master and a commander His utterances were marked by
truth and sincerity free from all kinds of falsehoods and lies 1 
 Ah bin Abi Talib describing him said The Messenger of Allah an
was neither excessively tall nor extremely short He was medium height
among his friends His hair was neither curly nor wavy It was in between It
was not too curly nor was it plain straight It was both curly and wavy
combined His face was not swollen or meaty compact It was fairly round 
His mouth was white He had black and large eyes with long haired eyelids 
His joints limbs and shoulder joints were rather big He had a rod like
little hair extending from his chest down to his navel but the rest of his
body was almost hairless He had thick hand palms and thick fingers and
toes At walking he lifted his feet off the ground as if he had been walking
in a muddy remainder of water When he turned he turned all The
Prophethood Seal was between his shoulders He is the Seal of Prophets the
most generous and the bravest of all 
His speech was the most reliable He was the keenest and the most
attentive to people s trust and was very careful to pay people s due in full 
The Prophet jju jji was the most tractable and the most yielding
companion seeing him unexpectedly you fear him and venerate him He
who has acquaintance with him will like him He who describes him says 
iiL ju Yj i pv
 I have never seen such a person neither before nor after seeing
Jabir bin Samurah reported that Allah s Messenger ui had a
broad free with reddish wide eyes and lean heels Pl
Abu At Tufail said He was white good looking He was neither fat nor
thin neither tall nor short 
Anas bin Malik said He had unfolded hands and was pink coloured He
was neither white nor brown He was rather whitish In both his head and
I 1 Zfid Al Ma ad 2 45 
P Ibn His ham 1 401 Jami At Tinnidhi 4 303 
PI Sahih Al Muslim 2 258 
beard there were as many as twenty grey hairs besides some grey hairs at
his temples In another version and some scattered white hairs in his
Abu Juhaifa said I have seen some grey colour under his lower lip 
Al Bara said He was of medium height broad shouldered his hair went
up to his earlobes I saw him dressed in a red garment and I assure you I
have never seen someone more handsome At first he used to let his hair
loose so as to be in compliance with the people of the Book but later on he
used to part it Pl
Al Bara also said He had the most handsome face and the best
character When he was asked Was the Messenger s face sword like 
 No he said it was moon like But in another version he said His face
was round Ar Rabi bint Muawwidh said Had you seen him you would
have felt that the sun was shining Jabir bin Samurah said I saw him at
one full moony night I looked at him He was dressed in a red garment I
compared him with the moon and found that for me he was better than
the moon P 
Abu Huraira said I have never seen a thing nicer than the Messenger of
Allah L s 4jji jL It seems as if the sunlight were moving within his face I
have never seen one who is faster in pace than the Messenger of AU h
pi j jji tfi It seemed as if the earth had folded itself up to shorten the
distance for him For we used to wear ourselves out while he was at full
Ka b bin Malik said When he was pleased his face would shine with so
bright light that you would believe that it was a moon piece 5 Once he
sweated hot at Aishah s and the features of his face twinkled so I recited a
poem by Abu Kabeer Al Hudhali 
jfejl JS cSy 
 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 502 
PI ibid 1 503 
P Mishkat Al Masabeeh 2 518 
M ibid 2 518 
PI Sahih Al Bukhari 1 502
 If you watch his face features you will see them twinkling like
die lightning of an approaching rain 1 
Whenever Abu Bakr saw him he would say 
 j jipl ty JL jLai y
 He is faithful chosen by Allah and calls for forgiveness He
shines like a full moon light when it is far from dark
 Umar used to recite verses by Zuhair describing Haram bin Sinan 
 Were you other than a human being you would be a lighted
moon at a full moon night 
Then he would add Thus was die Messenger of Allah w
When he got angry his face would go so red that you would think it were
 an inflected red skin spot with pomegranate grains on both cheeks 4 
Jabir bin Samurah said His legs were gentle delicate and in conformity 
His laughter is no more than smiling Looking at him will make you say He
is black eyed though he is not so 5 
Ibn Al Abbas said His two front teeth were splitted so whenever he
speaks light goes through them His neck was as pure and silvery as a neck
of doll His eyelids were long haired but his beard was thick His forehead
was broad but his eyebrows were like the metal piece attached to a lance 
but they were unhomed His nose was high tipped middle cambered with
narrow nostrils His cheeks were plain but he had little hair running down
like a rod from his throat to his navel He had hair neither on his abdomen
nor on his chest except some on his arms and shoulders His chest was broad
and flatted He had long forearms with expansive palms of the hand His
W Rahmat ul lil alameen 2 72 
PI Khulasa As Siyar p 20 
M Mishkat Al Masabeeh 1 22 
PI Jatni At Tinnidhi 4 306 
legs were plain straight and stretching down His other limbs were straight
too The two hollows of his soles hardly touch the ground When he walks
away he vanishes soon but he walks at ease when he is not in a hurry The
way he walks seems similar to one who is leaning forwards and is about to
Anas said I have never touched silk or a silky garment softer than the
palm of the Prophet s ui ju nor have I smelt a perfume or any scent
nicer than his In another version I have never smelt ambergris nor musk
nor any other thing sweeter than die scent and die smell of die Messenger of
Allah jLj ui
Abu Juhaifa said I took his hand and put it on my head and I found that
it was colder than ice and better scented than die musk perfume 2 
Jabir bin Samurah who was a little child then said When he wiped
my cheek I felt it was cold and scented as if it had been taken out of a shop
of a perfume workshop 3 
Anas said His sweat was pearl like Umm Sulaim said His sweat
smelt nicer than the nicest perfume 
Jabir said Whoever pursues a road that has been trodden by the
Messenger of Allah l will certainly scent his smell and will be
quite sure that the Messenger of Allah 4 jl has already passed it 
The Seal of Prophethood which was similar in size to a pigeon s egg was
between his shoulders on the left side having spots on it like moles 4 
The Perfection of Soul and Nobility 
The Prophet jji jl was noted for superb eloquence and fluency in
Arabic He was remarkable in position and rank He was an accurate 
unpretending straightforward speaker He was well versed in Arabic and
quite familiar with the dialects and accents of every tribe He spoke with his
entertainers using their own accents and dialects He mastered and was quite
 Khulasa As Siyar p 19 20 
 2 J Sahih Al Bukhari 1 503 
 3 Sahih Muslim 2 256 
W ibid 2 259 
eloquent at both bedouin and town speech So he had the strength and
eloquence of bedouin language as well as the clarity and the decorated
splendid speech of town Above all there was the assistance of Allah
embodied in the revealed verses of the Qur an 
His stamina endurance and forgiveness out of a commanding position
 his patience and standing what he detested these were all talents 
attributes and qualities Allah Himself had brought him on Even wise men
have their flaws but the Messenger of Allah j unlike everybody 
the more he was hurt or injured the more clement and patient he became 
The more insolence an ignorant anybody exercised against him the more
enduring he became 
iUij Jz fj u 4 i j u 
b J ot p i Uj j t Sis uij Sis 
1 Jti jUu o Sj i 4 j 4 1
 The Messenger of Allah u w j whenever he is given the
opportunity to choose between two affairs he always chooses
the easiest and the most convenient But if he is certain that it is
sinful he will be as far as he could from it He has never
avenged himself but when the sanctity of Allah is violated he
would That would be for Allah s not for himself He is the last
one to get angry and the first to be satisfied His hospitality and
generosity were matchless His gifts and endowments manifest a
man who does not fear poverty 
Ibn Abbas said The Prophet j was the most generous He is
usually most generous of all times in Ramadan the times at which the angel
Gabriel r _ji comes to see him Gabriel used to visit him every night of
Ramadan and review the Qur an with him Verily the Messenger of Allah
r i J 4 ij u t r u is more generous at giving bounty or charity than the blowing
 U Sahih Al Bukhari 1 503 
 The Prophet an would never deny anything he was asked for 1
His courage his succour and his might are distinguishable He was the
most courageous He witnessed awkward and difficult times and stoodfast at
them More than once brave men and daring ones fled away leaving him
alone yet he stood with full composure facing the enemy without turning
his back All brave men must have experienced fleeing once or have been
driven off the battlefield at a round at a time except the Prophet i jn j 
 Ali said Whenever the fight grew fierce and the eyes of fighters went red 
we used to resort to the Prophet 111 for succour He was always the
closest to the enemy 2 
Anas said One night the people of Madinah felt alarmed People went
out hurriedly towards die source of sound but the Prophet had
already gone ahead of them He was on the horseback of Abu Talhah which
had no saddle over it and a sword was slung round his neck and said to
them There was nothing to be afraid for P 
He was the most modest and the first one to cast his eyes down Abu
Sa id Al Khudri said He was shier than a virgin in her boudoir When he
hates a thing we read it on his face 4 He does not stare at anybody s face 
He always casts his eyes down He looks at the ground more than he looks
sky wards His utmost looks at people are glances He is willingly and
modestly obeyed by everybody He would never name a person whom he
had heard ill news about which he hated Instead he would say Why do
certain people do so 
Al Farazdaq verse of poem fits him very much and the best one to be
I 1 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 503 
P Ash Shifa 1 89 
P Sahih Al Bukhari 1 407 Sahih Muslim 2 252 
I 4 Sahih Al Bukhari 1 504 
 He casts his eyes modestly but the eyes of others are cast down
due to his solemnity and words issue out of his mouth only
while he is smiling 
The Prophet jji is the most just the most decent the most
truthful at speech and the honestest of all Those who have exchanged
speech with him and even his enemies acknowledge his noble qualities 
Even before the Prophethood he was nicknamed Al Ameen i e the truthful 
the truthworthy Even then in Al Jahiliyah they used to turn to him
for judgement and consultation In a version by At Tirmidhi he says that
 Ali had said that he had been told by Abu Jahl that he Abu Jahl said to the
Messenger of AllSh u 3 4 ui We do not call you a liar but we do not
have faith in what you have brought 1 In His Book Allah the Exalted 
said about them 
 It is not you that they deny but it is the Verses the Qur an of
Allah that the Zalimun polytheists and wrong doers deny 
Even when Heraclius asked Abu Sufyan Have you ever accused him of
lying before the ministry of Prophethood Abu Sufyan said No 
He was most modest and far from being arrogant or proud He forbade
people to stand up at his presence as other people usually do for their kings 
Visiting the poor the needy and entertaining them are some of his habits 
If a slave invited him he would accept the invitation He always sat among
his friends as if he were an ordinary person of them Aishah said that he
used to repair his shoes sew or mend his dress and to do what ordinary men
did in their houses After all he was a human being like others He used to
check his dress lest it has some insects on Milking the she sheep and
catering for himself were some of his normal jobs 2 The Prophet jii
was the most truthful to his pledges and it is one of his qualities to establish
good and steady relationship with his relatives Silat Ar Rahim He is
the most merciful gentle and amiable to all people His way of living is the
simplest one Ill manners and indecency are two qualities completely alien
t Mishkat Al Masabeeh 2 521 
PI ibid 2 520 
to him He was decent and did not call anybody names He was not the sort
of person who cursed or made noise in the streets He did not exchange
offences with others He pushed back an offence or an error by forgiveness
and overlooking Nobody was allowed to walk behind him i e as a
bodyguard He did not feel himself superior to others not even to his slaves
 men or women as far as food or clothes were concerned 
Whoever served him should be served by him too Ugh an utterance of
complaint is a word that had never been said by him to his servant nor was
his servant blamed for doing a thing or leaving it undone Loving the poor
and the needy and entertaining them or participating in their funerals were
things the Prophet always observed He never contempted or
disgraced a poor man for his poverty Once he was travelling with his
Companions and when it was time to have food prepared he asked them to
slaughter a she sheep A man said I will slaughter it another one said I
will skin it out A third said I will cook it So the Messenger of AllSh
 Jl an jL said I will collect wood for fire They said No We will suffice
you that work I know that you can do it for me but I hate to be
privileged Allah hates to see a slave of his privileged to others So he went
and collected fire wood 
Let us have some of the description of Hind bin Abi Halah The
Messenger of AMh j was continually sad thinking perpetually 
He had no rest i e for long He only spoke when it was necessary He
would remain silent for a long time and whenever he spoke he would end
his talk with his jawbone but not out of the comers of his mouth i e 
 snobbishly His speech was inclusive He spoke inclusively and decisively 
It was not excessive nor was it short of meaning It was amiable It was in
no way hard discoroning He glorified the bounty of Allah even if it were
little If he had no liking for someone s food he would neither praise nor
He was always in full control of his temper and he would never get
seemed angry unless it was necessary He never got angry for himself nor
did he avenge himself It was for Allah s sanctity and religion that he
always seemed angry 
I l Khulasa As Siyar p 22 
When he pointed at a thing he would do so with his full hand palm and
he would turn it round to show surprise If he were angry he would turn both
his body and face aside When he was pleased he cast his eyes down His
laughter was mostly smiling It was then that his teeth which were like hail 
stones were revealed 
He never spoke unless it was something closely relevant to him He
confirmed the brotherhood relationship among his Companions and thus he
made them intimate and did not separate them or implant enmity among
them Those who were honourable with their peoples were honoured and
respected by him and were assigned rulers over their own peoples His
cheerfulness was never withdrawn at anyone s face even at those whom he
warned his people from or those whom he himself was on the alert of He
visited friends and inquired about people s affairs He confirmed what was
right and criticized the awful and tried to undermine it He was moderate in
all affairs He was equal to others and was not privileged He would never
act heedlessly lest the others should get heedless Each situation was dealt
with in its proper due 
Righteousness was his target so he was never short of it nor indifferent
to it People who sat next to him were the best of their people and the best of
them all were for him those who provided common consultations For
him the greatest ones and the highest in ranks were the best at providing
comfort and co ordination and succour Remembrance of Allah was a
thing he aimed at and established whenever he sat down or stands up No
certain position was assigned for him to sit on He sits at the end of the
group seated next to the last sitter in the place He ordered people to do the
same He entertained his participants in social gatherings alike so that the
one addressed would think that there was no one honoured by the Prophet
3 but himself He whoever sat next to him or interrupted him in
order to ask for his advice about an affair of his would be the first to start
the talk and the one to end it The Prophet would listen to him
patiently till he ended his speech He never denied a request to anyone if
unapproachable then few gratifying words would work instead 
His magnanimity broad mindedness his tolerance could embrace all
people and entitled him to be regarded as father for them all Injustice all
of them were almost equal Nobody was better than another except on the
criterion of Allah fearing A favoured one to him was the most Allah
 assembly was a meeting of clemency timidness patience and
oices were not raised in rows or riots Inviolable things were
never viumble Fearing Allah and worship were their means to sympathy
and compassion They used to esteem the old and have mercy on the young 
They assisted the needy and entertained strangers 
The Messenger of Allah jji ju was always cheerful easy pleasant 
tempered and lenient He was never rude or rough nor clamorous or
indecent He was neither a reproacher nor a praiser He overlooked what he
did not desire yet you would never despair of him Three qualities he
disposed of hypocrisy excessiveness and what was none of his concern 
People did not fear him in three areas for they were not qualities or
habits of his He never disparaged or reproached nor did he seek the
defects or shortages of others He only spoke things whose reward was
Divinely desirable When he spoke his listeners would attentively listen
casting down their heads They only spoke when he was silent They did not
have disputes or arguments about who was to talk He who talked in his
presence would be listened to by everybody till he finished his talk Their
talk would be about the topic discussed or delivered by their first speaker 
The Messenger of Allah ui ju used to laugh at what they laughed at
and admired what they used to admire He would always show patience with
a stranger s harshness at talk He used to say 
SM f lilll ilJLlajSf j i ojjijti Lflilla j ISI 
 When you see a person seeking an object earnestly assist him
to get Iris need And never ask for a reward except from the
reward Giver i e Allah 1 
Kharijah bin Zaid said The Prophet 4 u ui was the most honoured
among the people with whom he sat His limbs could hardly be seen He
was often silent and rarely talked when speech was not a necessity He
turned away from those whose speech was rude or impolite His laughter
was no more than a smile His speech which was decisive it was neither
excessive nor incomplete Out of reverence and esteem and following the
01 Ash Shifa 1 126 
example of their Prophet un u the Companions laughter at his
presence was smiling as well 
On the whole the Prophet uii was ornamented with peerless
attributes of perfection No wonder to be like that for he was brought up 
educated and taught the Qur an by Allah He was even praised by Allah 
 And verily you O Muhammad w are on an exalted
standard of character 68 4 
Those were the attributes and qualities that die Prophet jji
enjoyed which made the hearts of souls of the people close to him draw
near to him and love him Those traits made him so popular that the restraint
and enmity of his people grew less and they started to embrace Islam in
This description is in fact no more than a rapid review or rather short
brief lines of Muhammad s aspects of full perfection Trying to
encompass the whole perfect picture of the Prophet ui No one can
ever claim to be possessed of full knowledge or complete mastery of the
great attributes of the greatest man in this universe No one can ever give
this man the top of perfection his due descrpition He was a man who
always sought Allah s light to such an extent that he was wholly imbued
with the Qur anic approach 
US jl ji jlll
O Allah send your blessings and the Holy Words of Yours 
upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have
send blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim You are
worthy of all praise All Glorious 
c SjC US Jl JjIj p 1H 
dd Jl 3
O Allah bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as
You have already blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim 
You are worthy of all praise All Glorious 
t Ash Shifa 1 107 