Youth in Nation Building

The Story of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Ibn Kathir

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|Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Mecca ( Makkah), Arabia, on Monday, 12 Rabi' Al-Awal (2 August A.D. 570). His mother, Aminah, was the|
|daughter of Wahb Ibn Abdu Manaf of the Zahrah family. His father, 'Abdullah, was the son of Abdul Muttalib. His genealogy has |
|been traced to the noble house of Ishmael, the son of Prophet Abraham in about the fortieth descend. Muhammad's father died |
|before his birth. |
|Before he was six years old his mother died, and the doubly orphaned Muhammad was put under the charge of his grandfather Abdul |
|Muttalib who took the most tender care of him. But the old chief died two years afterwards. On his deathbed he confided to his |
|son Abu Talib the charge of the little orphan. |
|When Muhammad was twelve years old, he accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on a mercantile journey to Syria, and they proceeded as |
|far as Busra. The journey lasted for some months. It was at Busra that the Christian monk Bahira met Muhammad. He is related to |
|have said to Abu Talib: 'Return with this boy and guard him against the hatred of the Jews, for a great career awaits your |
|nephew." |
|After this journey, the youth of Muhammad seems to have been passed uneventfully, but all authorities agree in ascribing to him |
|such correctness of manners and purity of morals as were rare among the people of Mecca. The fair character and the honorable |
|bearing of the unobtrusive youth won the approbation of the citizens of Mecca, and b y common consent he received the title of |
|"Al Ameen," The Faithful. |
|In his early years, Muhammad was not free from the cares of life. He had to watch the flocks of his uncle, who, like the rest of |
|the Bani Hashim, had lost the greater part of his wealth. |
|From youth to manhood he led an almost solitary life. The lawlessness rife among the Meccans, the sudden outbursts of causeless |
|and bloody quarrels among the tribes frequenting the Fair of Okadh (The Arabian Olympia), and the immorality and skepticism of |
|the Quraish, naturally caused feelings of pity and sorrow in the heart of the sensitive youth. Such scenes of social misery and |
|religious degradation were characteristic of a depraved age. |
|When Muhammad was twenty five years old, he traveled once more to Syria as a factor of a noble and rich Quraishi widow named |
|Khadijah; and, having proved himself faithful in the commercial interests of that lady, he was soon rewarded with her hand in |
|marriage. This marriage proved fortunate and singularly happy. Khadijah was much the senior of her husband, but in spite of the |
|disparity of age between them, the most tender devotion on both sides existed. This marriage gave him the loving heart of a woman|
|who was ever ready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the feeble, flickering flame of hope when no man |
|believed in him and the world appeared gloomy in his eyes. |
|Until he reached thirty years of age, Muhammad was almost a stranger to the outside world. Since the death of his grandfather, |
|authority in Mecca was divided among the ten senators who constituted the governing body of the Arabian Commonwealth. There was |
|no such accord among them as to ensure the safety of individual rights and property. Though family relations afforded some degree|
|of protection to citizens, yet strangers were frequently exposed to persecution and oppression. In many cases they were robbed, |
|not only of their goods, but even of their wives and daughters. At the instigation of the faithful Muhammad, an old league called|
|the Federation of Fudul, i.e., favors was revived with the object of repressing lawlessness and defending every weak individual -|
|whether Meccan or stranger, free or slave - against any wrong or oppression to which he might be the victim within the |
|territories of Mecca. |
|When Muhammad reached thirty-five years, he settled by his judgment a grave dispute, which threatened to plunge the whole of |
|Arabia into a fresh series of her oft-recurring wars. In rebuilding the Sacred House of the Ka'ba in A.D. 605, the question arose|
|as to who should have the honor of raising the black stone, the most holy relic of that House, into its proper place. Each tribe |
|claimed that honor. The senior citizen advised the disputants to accept for their arbitrator the first man to enter from a |
|certain gate. The proposal was agreed upon, and the first man who entered the gate was Muhammad "Al-Ameen." His advice satisfied |
|all the contending parties. He ordered the stone to be placed on a piece of cloth and each tribe to share the honor of lifting it|
|up by taking hold of a part of the cloth. The stone was thus deposited in its place, and the rebuilding of the House was |
|completed without further interruption. |
|It is related that, about this time, a certain Usman, Ibn Huwairith, supported by Byzantine gold, made an attempt to convert the |
|territory of Hijaz into a Roman dependency, but the attempt failed, chiefly through the instrumentality of Muhammad. |
|These are nearly all the public acts related by historians in which Muhammad took part in the first fifteen years of his marriage|
|to Khadijah. As for his private life he is described to have been ever helpful to the needy and the helpless. His uncle Abu Talib|
|had fallen into distress through his endeavors to maintain the old position of his family. Muhammad, being rather rich at this |
|time by his alliance with Khadijah, tried to discharge part of the debt of gratitude and obligation which he owed to his uncle by|
|undertaking the bringing up and education of his son 'Ali. A year later he adopted 'Akil, another of his uncle's sons. |
|Khadijah bore Muhammad three sons and four daughters. All the males died in childhood, but in loving 'Ali he found much |
|consolation. |
|About this time, Muhammad set a good example of kindness, which created a salutary effect upon his people. His wife Khadijah had |
|made him a present of young slave named Zaid Ibn Haritha, who had been brought as a captive to Mecca and sold to Khadijah. When |
|Haritha heard that Muhammad possessed Zaid, he came to Mecca and offered a large sum for his ransom. Whereupon Muhammd said: "Let|
|Zaid come here, and if he chooses to go with you, take him without ransom; but if it be his choice to stay with me, why should I |
|not keep him?' Zaid, being brought into Muhammad's presence, declared that he would stay with his master, who treated him as if |
|he was his only son. Muhammad no sooner heard this than he took Zaid by the hand and led him to the black stone of Ka'ba, where |
|he publicly adopted him as his son, to which the father acquiesced and returned home well satisfied. Henceforward Zaid was called|
|the son of Muhammad. |
|Muhammd was now approaching his fortieth year, and his mind was ever-engaged in profound contemplation and reflection. Before him|
|lay his country, bleeding and torn by fratricidal wars and intolerable dissension's; his people, sunk in barbarism, addicted to |
|the observation of rites and superstitions, were, with all their desert virtues, lawless and cruel. His two visits to Syria had |
|opened to him a scene of unutterable moral and social desolation, rival creeds and sects tearing each other to pieces, carrying |
|their hatred to the valleys and deserts of Hijaz, and rending the townships of Arabia with their quarrels and bitterness. |
|For years after his marriage, Muhammad had been accustomed to secluding himself in a cave in Mount Hira, a few miles from Mecca. |
|To this cave he used to go for prayer and meditation, sometimes alone and sometime with his family. There, he often spent the |
|whole nights in deep thought and profound communion with the Unseen yet All-Knowing Allah of the Universe. It was during one of |
|those retirements and in the still hours of the night, when no human sympathy was near, that an angel came to him to tell him |
|that he was the Messenger of Allah sent to reclaim a fallen people to the knowledge and service of their Lord. |
|Renowned compilers of authentic traditions of Islam agree on the following account of the first revelations received by the |
|Prophet. |
|Muhammad would seclude himself in the cave of Mount Hira and worship three days and nights. He would, whenever he wished, return |
|to his family at Mecca and then go back again, taking wihim the necessities of life. Thus he continued to return to Khadijah from|
|time to time until one day the revelation came down to him and the Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) appeared to him and said: "Read!" But |
|as Muhammad was illiterate, having never received any instruction in reading or writing, he said to the angel: "I am not a |
|reader." The angel took a hold of him and squeezed him as much as he could bear, and then said again: "Read!" Then Prophet said: |
|"I am not a reader." The Angel again seized the Prophet and squeezed him and said: "Read! In the Name of Your Lord, Who has |
|created (all that exists), has created a man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most |
|Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen, has taught man that which he knew not." (Ch 96:1-4 Quran). |
|Then the Prophet repeated the words with a trembling heart. He returned to Khadijah from Mount Hira and said: "Wrap me up! Wrap |
|me up!" She wrapped him in a garment until his fear was dispelled. He told Khadijah what had occurred and that he was becoming |
|either a soothsayer or one smitten with madness. She replied: "Allah forbid! He will surely not let such a thing happen, for you |
|speak the truth, you are faithful in trust, you bear the afflictions of the people, you spend in good works what you gain in |
|trade, you are hospitable and you assist your fellow men. Have you seen anything terrible?" Muhammad replied: "Yes," and told her|
|what he had seen. Whereupon, Khadijah said: "Rejoice, O dear husband and be cheerful. He is Whose hands stands Khadijah's life |
|bears witness to the truth of this fact, that you will be the prophet to this people." Then she arose and went to her cousin |
|Waraqa Ibn Naufal, who was old and blind and who knew the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians, and is stated to have translated|
|them into Arabic. When she told him of what she had heard, he cried out: "Holy! Holy! Verily, this is the Namus (The Holy Spirit)|
|who came to Moses. He will be the prophet of his people. Tell him this and bid him to be brave at heart." When the two men met |
|subsequently in the street, the blind old student of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures spoke of his faith and trust: "I swear |
|by Him in Who hand Waraqa's life is, Allah has chosen you to be the prophet of this people. They will call you a liar, they will |
|persecute you, they will banish you, and they will fight against you. Oh, that I could live to those days. I would fight for |
|these." And he kissed him on the forehead. |
|The first vision was followed by a considerable period, during which Muhammad suffered much mental depression. The angel spoke to|
|the grieved heart of hope and trust and of the bright future when he would see the people of the earth crowding into the one true|
|faith. His destiny was unfolded to him, when, wrapped in profound meditation, melancholy and sad, he felt himself called by a |
|voice from heaven to arise and preach. O you (Muhammad) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allah) magnify! |
|(Ch 74:1-3 Quran) He arose and engaged himself in the work to which he was called. Khadijah was the first to accept his mission. |
|She was to believe in the revelations, to abandon the idolatry of her people and to join him in purity of heart and in offering |
|up prayers to Allah the Almighty. |
|At the beginning of his mission, Muhammad - hereinafter called the Prophet - opened his soul only to those who were attached to |
|him and tried to free them from the gross practices of their forefathers. After Khadijah, his cousin' Ali was the next companion.|
|The Prophet used often to go into the desert around Mecca with his wife and young cousin that they might together offer their |
|heart felt thanks to the Lord of all nations for His manifold blessings. Once they were surprised by Abu Talib, the father of |
|'Ali. He said to the Prophet: "O son of my brother, what is this religion you are following?" "It is the religion of Allah of His|
|Angels, of His Messengers and of our ancestor Abraham," answered the Prophet. "Allah has sent me to His servants, to direct them |
|towards the truth, and you, O my uncle, are the most worthy of all. It is meet that I should thus call upon you and it is meet |
|that you should accept the truth and help in spreading it." |
|Abu Talib replied: "Son of my brother, I cannot abjure the religion of my fathers; but by the Supreme Lord, while I am alive, |
|none shall dare to injure you." Then turning towards 'Ali, the venerable chief asked what religion was his. Ali answered: "O |
|father, I believe in Allah and His Prophet and go with him." Abu Talib replied: "Well my son, he will not call you to anything |
|except what is good, therefore you are free to go with him." |
|After 'Ali, Muhammad's adopted son Zaid became a convert to the new faith. He was followed by Abu Bakr, a leading member of the |
|Quraish tribe and an honest, wealthy merchant who enjoyed great consideration among his compatriots. He was but two years younger|
|than the Prophet. His adoption of the new faith was of great moral effect. Soon after, five notables presented themselves before |
|the Prophet and accepted Islam. Several converts also came from lower classes of the Arabs to adopt the new religion. |
|For three weary long years, the Prophet labored very quietly to deliver his people from the worship of idols. Polytheism was |
|deeply rooted among the people. It offered attractions, which the new faith in its purity did not possess. The Quraish had |
|personal material interests in the old worship, and their prestige was dependent upon its maintenance. The Prophet had to contend|
|with the idolatrous worship of its followers and to oppose the ruling oligarchy, which governed its destinies. |
|After three years of constant but quiet struggle, only thirty followers were secured. An important change now occurred in the |
|relations of the Prophet with the citizens of Mecca. His compatriots had begun to doubt his sanity, thinking him crazy or |
|possessed by an evil spirit. Hitherto he preached quietly and unobtrusively. He now decided to appeal publicly to the Meccans, |
|requesting them to abandon their idolatry. For this he arranged a gathering on a neighboring hill and there spoke to them of |
|their folly in the sight of Allah in worshipping pieces of stone which they called their gods. He invited them to abandon their |
|old impious worship and adopt the faith of love, truth and purity. He warned them of the fate that had overtaken past races who |
|had not heeded the preaching of former prophets. But the gathering departed without listening to the warning given them by the |
|Prophet. |
|Having thus failed to induce his fellow citizens to listen to him, he turned his attention to the strangers arriving in the city |
|on commerce or pilgrimage. But the Quraish made attempts to frustrate his efforts. They hastened themselves to meet the strangers|
|first on different routes, to warn them against holding any communication with the Prophet, whom they represented as a dangerous |
|magician. When the pilgrims or traders returned to their homes, they carried with them the news of the advent of the bold |
|preacher who was inviting the Arabs loudly - at the risk of his own life - to abandon the worship of their dear idols. |
|Now the Prophet and his followers became subject to some persecution and indignity. The hostile Quraish prevented the Prophet |
|from offering his prayers at the Sacred House of the Ka'ba; they pursued him wherever he went; they covered him and his disciples|
|with dirt and filth when engaged in their devotions; they scattered thorns in the places which he frequented for devotion and |
|meditation. Amidst all these trials the Prophet did not waver. He was full of confidence in his mission, even when on several |
|occasions he was put in imminent danger of losing his life. |
|At this time Hamza, the youngest son of Abdul Muttalib, adopted Islam. Hamza was a man of distinguished bravery, an intrepid |
|warrior, generous and true, whose heroism earned for him the title of the "Lion of Allah." He became a devoted adherent of Islam |
|and everlost his life in the cause. |
|The Prophet continued preaching to the Arabs in a most gentle and reasonable manner. He called thepeople, so accustomed to |
|iniquity and wrong doings, to abandon their abominations. In burning words which excited the hearts of his hearers, he warned |
|them of the punishment which Allah had inflicted upon the ancient tribes of 'Ad and Thamud who had obstinately disobeyed the |
|teachings of Allah's messengers to them. He adjured them by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noon day brightness, by the |
|night when it spreads its veil, by the day when it appears in glory to listen to his warning before a similar destruction befell |
|them. He spoke to them of the Day of Reckoning, when their deeds in this world will be weighed before the Eternal Judge, when the|
|children who had been buried alive will be asked for what crime they were put to death. |
|Almighty Allah said: Nay, they wonder that there has come to them a Warner (Muhammad) from among themselves. So the disbeliveers |
|say: "This is a strange thing! When we are dead and have become dust (shall we be resurrected)? That is a far return." We know |
|that which the earth takes of them (their dead bodies), and with Us is a Book preserved (i.e., the Book of Decrees). |
|Nay, but, they have denied the truth (this Qur'an) when it has come to them, so they are in a confused state (can not |
|differentiate between right and wrong). Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how We have made it and adorned it, and |
|there are no rifts in it? And the earth! We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and have produced |
|therein every kind of lovely growth (plants). |
|An insight and a reminder for every slave turning to Allah (i.e., the one who believes in Allah and performs deeds of His |
|obedience, and always begs His pardon). And We send down blessed water (rain) from the sky, then we produce therewith gardens and|
|grain (every kind of harvests that are reaped). And tall date palms, with ranged clusters; a provision for (Allah's) slaves. And |
|We give life therewith to a dead land. Thus will be the resurrection (of the dead). Denied before them (i.e. these pagans of |
|Makka who denied you, O Muhammad) the people of Noah, and the dwellers of Rass, and the Thamud, and 'Ad, and Pharaoh, and the |
|brethren of Lot, and the dwellers of the Wood, and the people of Tubba, everyone of them denied their Messengers, so My Threat |
|took effect." (Ch 50: 2-14 Quran) |
|Almighty Allah also declared: All praises and thanks be to Allah Who Alone created the heavens and the earth, and originated the |
|darkness and the light, yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord. He it is Who has created you from clay, |
|and then has decreed a stated term (for you to die). And there is with Him another determined term (for you to be resurrected), |
|yet you doubt (in the Resurrection). |
|And He is Allah (to be worshipped Alone) in the heavens and on the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He |
|knows what you earn (good or bad). And never an Ayah (sign) comes to them from the Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, |
|revelations, etc.) of their Lord, but that they have been turning away from it. |
|Indeed, they rejected the truth (The Qur'an and Muhammad) when it came to them, but there will come to them the news of that (the|
|torment) which they used to mock at. Have they not seen how many a generation before them We have destroyed whom We had |
|established on the earth such as We have not established you? And We poured out on them rain from the sky in abundance, and made |
|the rivers flow under them. Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and created after them other generations." (Ch 6:1-6 Quran) |
|As the number of believers increased and the cause of the Prophet was strengthened by the conversions of many powerful citizens, |
|the Prophet's preaching alarmed the Quraish. Their power and prestige were at stake. They were the custodians of the idols, which|
|the Prophet had threatened to destroy; they were the ministers of the worship, which he denounced; in fact their existence and |
|living wholly depended upon the maintenance of the old institutions. The Prophet taught that in the sight of his Lord all human |
|were equal, the only distinction recognized among them being the weight of their piety. |
|Allah the Exalted said: 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 honorable of you in the Sight of Allah is that believer who has At Taqwa (one of the |
|Muttaqun, pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much, abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden),|
|and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained. Verily! Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (Ch 49:13 |
|Quran). |
|The Quraish would have none of this leveling of distinctions, as it reflected upon their long inherited privileges. Accordingly, |
|they organized a system of persecution in order to suppress the movement before it became firmly established. They decided that |
|each family should take upon itself the task of stamping out the new faith on the spot. Each household tortured its own members |
|or adherents or slaves who were supposed to have connected themselves with the new religion. With the exception of the Prophet, |
|who was protected by Abu Talib and his kinsmen, and Abu Bakr, and a few others who were either distinguished by their rank or |
|possessed some influence among the Quraish, all other converts were subjected to different sorts of torture. Some of them were |
|thrown into prison, starved, and then flogged. The hill of Ramada and the place called Bata thus became scenes of cruel torture. |
|One day the Quraish tried to induce the Prophet to discontinue his teachings of the new religion, which had sown discord among |
|their people. 'Utba Ibn Rabi'a, was delegated to see the Prophet and speak to him. 'Utba said: "O son of my brother, you are |
|distinguished by your qualities; yet you have sown discord among our people and cast dissension in our families; you denounced |
|our gods and goddesses and you charge our ancestors with impiety. Now we are come to make a proposition to you, and I ask you to |
|think well before you reject it." "I am listening to you, O father of Walid," said the Prophet. "O son of my brother, if by this |
|affair you intend to acquire riches, honors, and dignity, we are willing to collect for you a fortune larger than is possessed by|
|any one of us; we shall make you our chief and will do nothing without you. If you desire dominion, we shall make you our king; |
|and if the demon which possesses you cannot be subdued, we will bring you doctors and give them riches until they cure you." When|
|'Utba had finished his discourse, the Prophet said: "Now listen to me, O father of Walid." "I listen." He replied. The Prophet, |
|recited to him the first thirteen verses of Surah Fussilat, which maybe interpreted as follows: In the Name of Allah The Most |
|Beneficent, The Most Merciful. |
|Ha Mim (These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, 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 Quran in Arabic for people |
|who know. Giving glad tidings (of Paradise to the one who believes in the Oneness of Allah, 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 Hellfire to be 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, and in our ears is deafness, and |
|between us and you is a screen, so work you (on your way); verily we are working (on our way). |
|Say (O Muhammad): "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah), |
|therefore take the Straight Path to Him (with true Faith - Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him, and seek forgiveness of Him.|
|And woe to Al-Mushrikeen; (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbeliveers in the Oneness of Allah, etc, those who worship |
|others along with or set up rivals or partners to Allah etc.) Those who give not the Zakat and they are disbeliveers in the |
|Hereafter. Truly, those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger Muhammad - Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous|
|good deeds for them will be an endless reward that will never stop (Paradise). |
|Say (O Muhammad): "Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days and you set up rivals (in worship) with Him?|
|That is the Lord of the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). |
|He placed therein (the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its |
|dwellers) in four Days equal (all these four days were equal in the length of time), for all those who ask (about its creation). |
|Then He Istawa (rose over) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come both of you willingly or |
|unwillingly." They both said: "We come, willingly." Then He completed and finished from their creation as seven heavens in two |
|days and he made in each heaven with lamps (stars) to b e an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as |
|missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him the All Mighty, The All Knower. |
|But if they turn away, then say (O Muhammad): "I have warned you of a Sa'iqa (a destruction awful cry, torment, hit, a thunder |
|bolt) like the Sa'iqa which overtook 'Ad and Thamud (people)." (Ch 41:1-13 Quran). |
|When the Prophet had finished his recitation, he said to 'Utba: "This is my reply to your proposition; now take what course you |
|find best." |
|Persecution by the Quraish grew fiercer every day and the sufferings of the Prophet's disciples became unbearable. He had heard |
|of the righteousness, tolerance, and hospitality of the neighboring Christian king of Abyssinia. He recommended such of his |
|companions who were without protection to seek refuge in the kingdom of that pious king, Al Najashi (Negus). Some fifteen of the |
|unprotected adherents of Islam promptly availed themselves of the advice and sailed to Abyssinia. Here they met with a very kind |
|reception from the Negus. This is called the first hijrah (migration) in the history of Islam and occurred in the fifth year of |
|the Prophet Muhammad's mission, A.D. 615. These emigrants were soon followed by many of their fellow sufferers, until the number |
|reached eighty-three men and eighteen women. |
|The hostile Quraish, furious at the escape of their victims, sent deputes to the king of Abyssinia to request him to deliver up |
|the refugees, that they might be put to death for adjuring their old religion and embracing a new one. The king summoned the poor|
|fugitives and inquired of them what was the religion, which they had adopted in preference to their old faith. Ja'far, son of Abu|
|Talib and brother of 'Ali, acted as spokesman for the exiles. He spoke thus: "O king, we were plunged in the depth of ignorance |
|and barbarism, we adored idols, we lived in unchastity, and we ate dead bodies, and we spoke abomination, we disregarded every |
|feeling of humanity and sense of duty towards our neighbors, and 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. He called us to profess the Unity of Allah and taught |
|us to associate nothing with Him; he forbade us the worship of idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our |
|trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbors; he forbade us to speak evil of the worship of Allah and not to |
|return to the worship of idols of woos and stone and to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to give alms, to observe the fast. |
|We have believed in him, we have accepted his teachings and his injunctions to worship Allah alone and to associate nothing with |
|Him. Hence our people have persecuted us, trying to make us forego the worship of Allah and return to the worship of idols of |
|wood and stone and other abominations. They have tortured us and injured us until, finding no safety among them, we have come to |
|your kingdom trusting you will give us protection against their persecution." |
|After hearing the above speech, the hospitable king ordered the deputies to return to their people in safety and not to interfere|
|with their fugitives. Thus the emigrants passed the period of exile in peace and comfort. |
|While the followers of the Prophet sought safety in foreign lands against the persecution of their people, he continued his |
|warnings to the Quraish more strenuously than ever. Again they came to him with offers of riches and honor, which he firmly and |
|utterly refused. But they mocked at him and urged him for miracles to prove his mission. He used to answer: "Allah has not sent |
|me to work wonders; He has sent me to preach to you." |
|Thus disclaiming all power of wonder working, the Prophet ever rested the truth of his divine mission upon his wise teachings. He|
|addressed himself to the inner consciousness of man, to his common sense and to his own better judgement. Say (O Muhammad): "I am|
|only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God- Allah), therefore take the Straight Path|
|to Him (with true Faith - Islamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al Mushrikeen; |
|(polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbeliveers in the Oneness of Allah etc., those who worship others along with Allah or set |
|up rivals or partners to Allah etc. (Ch 41:6 Quran) |
|Despite all the exhortation of the Prophet, the Quraish persisted in asking him for a sign. They insisted that unless some sign |
|be sent down to him from his Lord, they would not believe. The disbeliveers used to ask: "Why has Muhammad not been sent with |
|miracles like previous prophets?" T he Prophet replied: "Because miracles had proved inadequate to convince. Noah was sent with |
|signs, and with what effect? Where was the lost tribe of Thamud? They had refused to receive the preaching of the Prophet Salih, |
|unless he showed them a sign and caused the rock to bring forth a living camel. He did what they asked. In scorn they cut the |
|camel's feet and then daring the prophet to fulfill his threats of judgment, were found dead in their beds the next morning, |
|stricken by the angel of the Lord." |
|There are some seventeen places in the Quran, in which the Prophet Muhammad is challenged to work a sign, and he answered them |
|all to the same or similar effect: Allah has the power of working miracles, and has not been believed; there were greater |
|miracles in nature than any which could be wrought outside of it; and the Quran itself was a great, everlasting miracle. The |
|Quran, the Prophet used to assert to the disbeliveers, is a book of blessings which is a warning for the whole world; it is a |
|complete guidance and explains everything necessary; it is a reminder of what is imprinted on human nature and is free from every|
|discrepancy and from error and falsehood. It is a book of true guidance and a light to all. |
|As to the sacred idols, so much honored and esteemed by the pagan Arabs, the Prophet openly recited: They are but names which you|
|have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. (CH 53:23 Quran) |
|When the Prophet thus spoke reproachfully of the sacred gods of the Quraish, the latter redoubled their persecution. But the |
|Prophet, nevertheless, continued his preaching undaunted but the hostility of his enemies or by their bitter persecution of him. |
|And despite all opposition and increased persecution, the new faith gained ground. The national fair at Okadh near Mecca |
|attracted many desert Bedouins and trading citizen of distant towns. These listened to the teachings of the Prophet, to his |
|admonitions, and to his denunciations of their sacred idols and of their superstitions. They carried back all that they had heard|
|to their distant homes, and thus the advent of the Prophet was made know to almost all parts of the peninsula. |
|The Meccans, however, were more than ever furious at the Prophet's increasing preaching against their religion. They asked his |
|uncle Abu Talib to stop him, but he could not do anything. At , as the Prophet persisted in his ardent denunciations against |
|their ungodliness and impiety, they turned him out from the Ka'ba where he used to sit and preach, and subsequently went in a |
|body to Abu Talib. They urged the venerable chief to prevent his nephew from abusing their gods any longer or uttering any ill |
|words against their ancestors. They warned Abu Talib that if he would not do that, he would be excluded from the communion of his|
|people and driven to side with Muhammad; the matter would then be settled by fight until one of the two parties were |
|exterminated. |
|Abu Talib neither wished to separate himself from his people, nor forsake his nephew for the idolaters to revenge themselves |
|upon. He spoke to the Prophet very softly and begged him to abandon his affair. To this suggestion the Prophet firmly replied: "O|
|my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to cause me to renounce my task, verily I would |
|not desist therefrom until Allah made manifest His cause or I perished in the attempt." The Prophet, overcome by the thought that|
|his uncle and protector was willing to desert him, turned to depart. But Abu Talib called him loudly to come back, and he came. |
|"Say whatever you please; for by the Lord I shall not desert you ever." |
|The Quraish again attempted in vain to cause Abu Talib to abandon his nephew. The venerable chief declared his intention to |
|protect his nephew against any menace or violence. He appealed to the sense of honor of the two families of the Bani Hashim and |
|the Bani Muttalib, both families being kinsmen of the Prophet, to protect their member from falling a victim to the hatred of |
|rival parties. All the members of the two families nobly responded to the appeal of Abu Talib except Abu Lahab, one of the |
|Prophet's uncles, who took part with the persecutors. |
|During this period, 'Umar Al-Khattab adopted Islam. In him the new faith gained a valuable adherent and an important factor in |
|the future development and propagation of Islam. Hitherto he had been a violent opposer of the Prophet and a bitter enemy of |
|Islam. His conversion is said to have been worked by the miraculous effect on his mind of a Surah of the Quran which his sister |
|was reading in her house, where he had gone with the intention of killing her for adopting Islam. Thus the party of the Prophet |
|had been strengthened by the conversation by his uncle Hamza, a man of great valor and merit; and of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, both men|
|of great energy and reputation. The Muslims now ventured to perform their devotions in public. |
|Alarmed at the bold part which the Prophet and his followers were not able to assume, and roused by the return of the deputies |
|from Abyssinia and the announcement of their unsuccessful mission, the Quraish determined to check by a decisive blow any further|
|progress of Islam. Towards this end, in the seventh year of the mission, they made a solemn covenant against the descendants of |
|Hashim and Muttalib, engaging themselves to contract no marriage with any of them and to have no communication with them. Upon |
|this, the Quraish became divided into two factions, and the two families of Hashim and Muttalib all repaired to Abu Talib as |
|their chief. Abu Lahab, the Prophet's uncle, however, out of his inveterate hatred of his nephew and his doctrine, went over to |
|the opposite party, whose chief was Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb, of the family of Umayya. The persecuted party, Muslims as well as |
|idolaters betook themselves to a defile on the eastern skirts of Mecca. They lived in this defensive position for three years. |
|The provisions, which they had carried with them, were soon exhausted. Probably they would have entirely perished but for the |
|sympathy and occasional help received from less bigoted compatriots. |
|Towards the beginning of the tenth year of the mission, reconciliation was concluded between the Quraish and the two families of |
|Hashim and Abdul Muttalib through the intermediation of Hisham, Ibn Umar, and Zobeir, Ibn Abu Umayya. Thus, the alliance against |
|the two families was abolished, and they were able to return to Mecca. |
|During the period the Prophet and his kinspeople passed in their defensive position, Islam made no progress outside; but in the |
|sacred months, when violence was considered sacrilege, the Prophet used to come out of his temporary prison to preach Islam to |
|the pilgrims. In the following year, both Abu Talib and Khadijah died. Thus the Prophet lost in Abu Talib the kind guardian of |
|his youth who had hitherto protected him against his enemies, and in Khadijah his most encouraging companion. She was ever his |
|angel of hope and consolation. The Prophet, weighed down by the loss of his amiable protector and his beloved wife, without hope |
|of turning the Quraish from idolatry, with a saddened heart, yet full of trust, resolved to exercise his ministry in some of her |
|field. He chose Taif, a town about sixty miles east of Mecca, where he went accompanied by a faithful servant Zaid. The tribe of |
|Thakif, who were the inhabitants of Taif, received Muhammad very coldly. However, he stayed there for one month. Though the more |
|considerate and better sort of men treated him with a little respect, the slaves and common people refused to listen to his |
|teachings; they were outrageously indignant at his invitation to abandon the gods they worshipped with such freedom of morals and|
|lightness of heart. At length they rose against him, and bringing him to the wall of the city, obliged him to depart and return |
|to Mecca. |
|The repulse greatly discouraged his followers; however, the Prophet boldly continued to preach to the public assemblies at the |
|pilgrimage and gained several new converts, among whom were six of the city of Yahtrib (later called Medina), of the Jewish tribe|
|of Khazraj. When these Yathribites returned home, they spread the news among their people that a prophet had arisen among the |
|Arabs who was to call them to Allah and put an end to their inquiries. |
|In the twelfth year of his mission, the Prophet made his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven. His |
|journey, known in history as Miraj (Ascension) was a real bodily one and not only a vision. It was at this time that Allah |
|ordered the Muslims to pray the five daily prayers. |
|Almighty Allah had said: Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) (above all that evil they associate with Him), Who took His slave |
|Muhammad for a journey by night from AL Masjid al Haram (at Makka) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood |
|whereof We have blessed, order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, |
|He is the All Hearer, the All Seer." (Ch 17:1 Quran) |
|Abbas Ibn Malik reported that Malik Ibn Sasaa said that Allah's Messenger described to them his Night Journey saying: "While I |
|was lying in Al-Hatim or Al-Hijr, suddenly someone came to me and cut my body open from here to here." I asked Al-Jarud, who was |
|by my side, "What does he mean?" He said: "It means from his throat to his public area," or said, "From the top of the chest." |
|The Prophet further said, "He then took out my heart. Then a gold tray of Belief was brought to me and my heart was washed and |
|was filled (with Belief) and then returned to its original place. Then a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger |
|than a donkey was brought to me." (On this Al-Jarud asked: "Was it in the Buraq, O Abu Hamza?" I (Anas) replied in the |
|affirmative. The Prophet said: "The animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach of the |
|animals' sight. I was carried on it, and Gabriel set out with me till we reached the nearest heaven. |
|"When he asked for the gate to be opened, it was asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered, 'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is accompany|
|you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has Muhammad been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was |
|said. 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened, and when I went over the first heaven, I saw Adam |
|there. Gabriel said to me: 'This is your father, Adam; pay him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to|
|me and said: 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me till we reached the second heaven. |
|Gabriel asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered: 'Gabriel.' It was asked: 'Who is accompany |
|you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked: 'Has he been called?' Gabriel answered in the affirmative. Then it was said: 'He|
|is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened. |
|"When I went over the second heaven, here I saw John (Yahya) and Jesus (Isa), who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said to me:|
|"These are John and Jesus; pay them your greetings.' So I greeted them and both of them returned my greetings to me and said, |
|'You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the third heaven and asked for its gate |
|to be opened. IT was asked 'Who is it?' And Gabriel replied: 'Gabriel.' It was asked, 'Who is accompany you?' Gabriel replied, |
|'Muhammad.' It was asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said: 'He is welcomed, what an |
|excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened, and when I went over the third heaven there I saw Joseph (Yusuf), Gabriel said to |
|me: 'This is Joseph, pay him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said: 'You are welcomed, O|
|pious brother and pious Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fourth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. IT was |
|asked 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied, 'Gabriel' It was asked: 'Who is accompany you?' Gabriel replied: 'Muhammad.' It was asked: |
|'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said: 'He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is!' |
|"The gate was opened, and when I went over the fourth heaven, there I saw Enoch (Idris), Gabriel said to me: 'This is Enoch; pay |
|him your greetings.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said: 'You are welcomed O pious brother and pious |
|Prophet.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the fifth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who is it?' |
|Gabriel replied: 'Gabriel.' It was asked: 'Who is accompany you?' Gabriel replied 'Muhammad.' It was asked: 'Has he been called?'|
|Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it was said: 'He is welcomed, what an excellent visit his is!' So when I went over the |
|fifth heaven, there I saw Aaron (Harun), Gabriel said to me: "This is Aaron; pay hyour greetings.' So I greeted him and he |
|returned the greetings to me and said: "You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet." The Gabriel ascended with me to the|
|sixth heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied: 'Gabriel.' It was asked: 'Who is |
|accompanying you?' Gabriel replied: 'Muhammad.' It was said: 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. It was |
|said: 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' |
|"When I went over the sixth heaven, there I saw Moses (Musa). Gabriel said to me: "This is Moses; pay him your greeting. So I |
|greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said: "You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet." When I left him |
|(Moses) he wept. Someone asked him: 'What makes you weep?' Moses said: 'I weep because after me there has been sent (as Prophet) |
|a young man whose followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my followers.' Then Gabriel ascended with me to the |
|seventh heaven and asked for its gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who is it?' Gabriel replied: 'Gabriel.' It was asked: 'Who is |
|accompanying you?' Gabriel replied: 'Muhammad.' It was asked: 'Has he been called?' Gabriel replied in the affirmative. Then it |
|said: 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' |
|"So when I went (over the seventh heaven), there I saw Abraham (Ibrahim). Gabriel said to me: 'This is your father; pay your |
|greetings to him.' So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said: 'You are welcomed, O pious son and pious |
|Prophet.' Then I was made to ascend to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha (the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary). Behold! Its fruits were like the|
|jars of Hajr (a place near Medina) and its leaves were as big as the ears of elephants. Gabriel said: "This is the Lote Tree of |
|the utmost and boundary.' Behold! There ran four rivers, two were hidden and two were visible, I asked: 'What are these two kinds|
|of rivers, O Gabriel?' He replied: 'As for the hidden rivers, they are two rivers in Paradise and the visible rivers are the Nile|
|and the Euphrates.' |
|"Then Al-Bait-ul-Ma'mur (the Sacred House) was shown to me and a container full of wine and another full of milk and a third full|
|of honey were brought to me. I took the milk. Gabriel remarked: 'This is the Islamic religion which you and your followers are |
|following.' Then the prayers were enjoined on me: they were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses, who asked |
|me; 'What have you been ordered to do?' I replied: 'I have been ordered to offer fifty prayers a day.' Moses said: 'Your |
|followers cannot bear fifty prayers a day, and by Allah I have tested people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani|
|Israel in vain. Go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers'' burden.' So I went back, and Allah reduced |
|ten prayers for me. Then again I came to Moses, but he repeated the same as he had said before. Then again I went back to Allah, |
|and He reduced ten more prayers. When I came to Moses he said the same. I went back to Allah, and He ordered m to observe ten |
|prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he repeated the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered to observe five |
|prayers a day. |
|"When I came back to Moses, he said: 'What have you been ordered?' I replied: 'I have been ordered to observe five prayers a |
|day.' He said: 'Your followers cannot bear fear prayers a day, and no doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you, |
|and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lesson your followers' burden.'|
|I said: 'I have requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am satisfied now and surrender to Allah's Order.' When I |
|left, I heard a voice saying: 'I have passed My order and have lessened the burden of My worshippers.'" |
|In this year, twelve men of Yathrib, of whom ten were of the Jewish tribe of Khazraj and the other two of Aws, came to Meccan and|
|took an oath of fidelity to the Prophet at Al-Aqaba, a hill on the north of that city. This oath was called the Women's' Oath, |
|not that any women were present at this time, but because a man was not thereby obliged to take up arms in defense of the Prophet|
|or his religion, it being the same oath that was afterwards exacted of the women. This oath was as follows: "We will not |
|associate anything with Allah; we will not steal nor commit adultery or fornication, nor kill our children (as the pagan Arabs |
|used to do when they apprehended that they would not be able to maintain them), nor forge calumnies; we will obey the Prophet in |
|everything that is reasonable, and we will be faithful to him in well and sorrow." When they had solemnly engaged to do all this,|
|the Prophet sent one of his disciples, Mus'ab Ibn Umair, home with them to teach them the fundamental doctrines and ceremonies of|
|the religion. Mus'ab, having arrived at Yathrib by the assistance of those who had been formerly converted, gained several new |
|converts, particularly Usaid Ibn Khudair, a chief of man of the city, and Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh, prince of the tribe of Aws. Islam |
|spread so fast that there was a scarce a house that did not have some Muslims in it. |
|The next year, being the thirteenth of the mission (A.D. 622) Mus'ab returned from Yathrib accompanied by seventy-three men and |
|two women of that city who had adopted Islam, besides others who were as yet unbelievers. On their arrival, these Yathribites |
|immediately sent to the Prophet and invited him to their city. The Prophet was not in great need of such assistance, for his |
|opponents had by this time grown so powerful in Mecca that he could not stay there much longer without imminent danger. He |
|therefore accepted their proposal and met them one night by appointment at Al Aqaba attended by his uncle Al-Abbas, who, though |
|he as not then a convert, wished his nephew well. Al Abbas made a speech to those of Yathrib wherein he told them that, as the |
|Prophet Muhammad was obliged to quit his native city and seek shelter elsewhere, and they had offered him their protection, they |
|would do well not to deceive him; and that if they were not firmly resolved to defend and not to betray him, they had better |
|declare their minds and let him provide for his safety in some other manner. Upon their professing their sincerity, the Prophet |
|swore to be faithful to them, on condition that they should worship none but Allah observe the precepts of Islam, obey the |
|Prophet in all that was right, and protect him against all insults as heartily as they would their wives and families. They then |
|asked him what would be their return, if they should happen to be killed in the cause of Allah; he answered: "Paradise," |
|whereupon they pledged their faith to him and his cause. The Prophet then selected twelve men out of their number to act as his |
|delegates. Thus was concluded the second covenant of Al Aqaba. The Yathribites returned home leaving the Prophet to arrange for |
|the journey to their city. The Prophet directed his followers to seek immediate safety at Yathrib, which they accordingly did. |
|About one hundred families silently disappeared from Mecca and proceeded to Yathrib, where they were received with enthusiasm and|
|much ho spitality. Finally, all the disciples had gone to Yathrib. The Prophet alone remained at Mecca, keeping with him only his|
|young cousin, 'Ali, and his devoted friend Abu Bakr. |
|The Meccans, fearing the consequence of this new alliance, began to think seriously of preventing Muhammad from escaping to |
|Yathrib. They met in all haste. After several milder expedients had been rejected, they decided that he should be killed. They |
|agreed that one man should be chosen out of every tribe and that each man should strike a blow at him with his sword so that |
|responsibility of the guilt would rest equally on all tribes. The Bani Hashim, Muhammad's own tribe, were much inferior and |
|therefore would not be able to revenge their kinsman's death. |
|A number of noble youths were selected for the bloody deed. As the night advanced, the assassins posted themselves round the |
|Prophet's dwelling. They watched all night long, waiting to murder Muhammad when he should leave his house at the early dawn. By |
|some the Prophet had warned of the danger, and he directed 'Ali to lie down in his place and wrap himself up in his green clock, |
|which he did. The Prophet miraculously escaped through the window and he repaired to the house of Abu Bakr, unperceived by door. |
|These, in the meantime, looking through a crevice and seeing 'Ali, whom they mistook for Muhammad himself, asleep, continued |
|watching there until morning. When 'Ali arose, they found themselves deceived. The fury of the Quraish was now unbounded. The |
|news that the would be assassins had returned unsuccessful and that Muhammad had escaped aroused their whole energy. A price of a|
|hundred camels was set upon Muhammad's head. |
|Narrated 'Aisha Bint Abu Bakr (the wife of the Prophet): "I never remembered my parents believing in any religion other than the |
|true religion (Islam), and (I don't remember) a single day passing without our being visited by Allah's Messenger in the morning |
|and in the evening. When the Muslims were put to test (troubled by the pagans), Abu Bakr set out migrating to the land of |
|Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and when he reached Bark-al-Ghimad, Ibn Ad-Daghina, the chief of the tribe of Qara, met him and said, 'O |
|Abu Bakr! Where are you going?' Abu Bakr replied: 'My people have turned me out (of my country), so I want to wander on the earth|
|and worship my Lord.' Ibn Ad-Dhagina said: 'O Abu Bakr! A man like you should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven |
|out, because you help the destitute, earn their living, and you keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the weak and the|
|poor, entertain guests generously, and help the calamity-stricken persons. Therefore, I am your protector. Go back and worship |
|your Lord in your town.' |
|"So Abu Bakr returned and Ibn Ad-Daghina accompanied him. In the evening Ibn Ad-Dhagina visited the nobles of Quraish and said to|
|them. 'A man like Abu Bakr should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out. Do you (Quraish) drive out a man who helps|
|the destitute, earns their living, keeps good relations with his kith and kin, helps the weak and poor, entertain guests |
|generously and helps the calamity-stricken persons?' So the people of Quraish could not refuse Ibn Ad-Dhagina's protection, and |
|they said to Ibn Ad-Daghina: 'Let Abu Bakr worship his Lord in his house. He can pray and recite there whatever he likes, but he |
|should not hurt us with it, and should not do it publicly, because we are afraid that he may affect our women and children." Ibn |
|Ad-Dhagina told Abu Bakr all of that. Abu Bakr stayed in that state, worshipping his Lord in his house. He did not pray publicly,|
|nor did he recite Quran outside his house. |
|"Then a thought occurred to Abu Bakr to build a mosque in front of his house, and there he used to pray and recite the Quran. The|
|women and children of the pagans began to gather around him in great number. They used to wonder at him and look at him. Abu Bakr|
|was a man who used to weep too much, and he could not help weeping or reciting the Quran. That situation scared the nobles of the|
|pagans of Quraish, so they sent for Ibn Ad-Daghina. When he came to them, they said: 'We accepted your protection of Abu Bakr on |
|condition that he should worship his Lord in his house, but he has violated the conditions and he has built a mosque in front of |
|his house where he prays and recites the Quran publicly. We are not afraid that he may affect our women and children unfavorably.|
|So, prevent him from that. If he likes to confine the worship of his Lord to his house, he may do so, but if he insists on doing |
|that openly, ask him to release you from your obligation to protect him, for we dislike to break our pact with you, but we deny |
|Abu Bakr the right to announce his act publicly.' Ibn Ad-Dhagina went to Abu Bakr and said: 'O Abu Bakr! You know well what |
|contract I have made on your behalf; now, you are either to abide by it, or else release me from my obligation of protecting you,|
|because I do not want the Arabs hear that my people have dishonored a contract I have made on behalf of another man.' Abu Bakr |
|replied: 'I release you from your pact to protect me and am pleased with the protection from Allah.' Aisha's narration's |
|continues: "At that time the Prophet was in Mecca, and he said to the Muslims: 'In a dream I have been shown your migration |
|place, a land of date palm trees, between two mountains, the two stony tracts.' So, some people migrated to Medina, and most of |
|those people who had previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Medina. Abu Bakr also prepared to leave for Medina,|
|but Allah's Messenger said to him: 'Wait for awhile, because I hope that I will be allowed to migrate also.' Abu Bakr replied: |
|'Do you indeed expect this? Let my father be sacrificed for you!' The Prophet said: 'Yes.' So Abu Bakr did not migrate for the |
|sake of Allah's Messenger in order to accompany him. He fed two she camels he possessed with the leaves of As-Samur tree that |
|fell on being struck by a stick for four months. |
|"One day, while we were sitting in Abu Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr: 'This is Allah's Messenger with his head |
|covered coming at a time at which he never used to visit us before.' Abu Bakr said: 'May my parents be sacrificed for him. By |
|Allah he has not come at this hour except for a great necessity.' So Allah's Messenger came and asked permission to enter, and he|
|was allowed to enter. When he entered, he said to Abu Bakr: "Tell everyone who is present with you to go away.' Abu Bakr replied:|
|'There are none but your family, May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger!' The Prophet said: 'I have been given |
|permission to migrate.' Abu Bakr said: 'Shall I accompany you? May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger!' Allah's|
|Messenger said: 'Yes.' Abu Bakr said, 'O Allah's Messenger! May my father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels|
|of mine.' Allah's Messenger replied: 'I will accept it with payment.' So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey |
|food in a leather bag for them. Asma, Abu Bakr's daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag |
|with it, and for that reason she was named 'Dhat-un-Nitaqain' (the owner of two belts). |
|"Then Allah's Messenger and Abu Bakr reached a cave on the mountain of Thaur and stayed there for three nights. Abdullah Ibn Abi |
|Bakr who was an intelligent and sagacious youth, used to stay with them overnight. He used to leave them before daybreak so that |
|in the morning he would be with Quraish as if he had spent the night in Mecca. He would keep in mind any plot made against them |
|and when it became dark he would go and inform them of it. 'Amir Ibn Fuhaira, the freed slave of Abu Bakr, used to bring the |
|milch sheep (of his master, Abu Bakr) to them a little while after nightfall in order to rest the sheep there. So they always had|
|fresh milk at night, the milk of their sheep, and the milk which they warmed by throwing heated stones in it. 'Amir Ibn Fuhaira |
|would then call the herd away when it was still dark (before daybreak). He did the same in each of those three nights. Allah's |
|Messenger and Abu Bakr had hired a man from the tribe of Bani Ad-Dail from the family of Bani Abd Ibn Adi as an expert guide, and|
|he was in alliance with the family of Al-As Ibn Wail As-Sahmi and he was in the religion of the infidels of Quraish. The Prophet |
|and Abu Bakr trusted him and gave him their two she-camels and took his promise to bring their two she-camels to the cave of the |
|mountain of Thaur in the morning after three nights later. And when they set out, Amir Ibn Futhaira and the guide went along with|
|them and the guide led them, along the seashore." (Sahih Al-Bukhari). |
|The nephew of Suraqa Ibn Ju'sham said that his father informed him that he heard Suraqa Ibn Jusham saying: "The messengers of the|
|pagans of Quraish came to us declaring that they had assigned for the persons who would kill or arrest Allah's Messenger and Abu |
|Bakr, a reward equal to their bloodmoney. While I was sitting in one of the gatherings of my tribe, Bani Mudlij, a man from them |
|came to us and stood up while we were sitting and said: 'O Suraqa! No , I have just seen some people far away on the seashore, |
|and I think they are Muhammad and his companions.' I, too, realized that it must have been they. But I said: 'No, it is not they,|
|but you have seen so-and-so and so-and-so, whom we saw set out.' I stayed in the gathering for a while and then got up and left |
|for my home, and ordered my slave-girl to get my horse, which was behind a hillock, and keep it ready for me. |
|"Then I took my spear and left by the back door of my house dragging the lower end of the spear on the ground and keeping it low.|
|Then I reached my horse, mounted it and made it gallop. When I approached them (Muhammad and Abu Bakr), my horse stumbled and I |
|fell down from it. Then I stood up, gold hold of my quiver and took out the divining arrows and drew lots as to whether I should |
|harm them or not, and the lot which I disliked came out. But I remounted my horse and let it gallop, giving no importance to the |
|divining arrows. When I heard the recitation of the Qur'an by Allah's Messenger who did not look hither and thither while Abu |
|Bakr was doing it often, suddenly the forelegs of my horse sank into the ground up to the knees, and I fell down from it. Then I |
|rebuked it, and it got up but could hardly take out its forelegs from the ground, and when it stood up straight again, its |
|forelegs caused dust to rise up in the sky like smoke. Then again I drew lots with the divining arrows, and the lot which I |
|disliked came out. So I called upon them to feel secure. They stopped, and I remounted my horse and went to them. When I saw how |
|I had been hampered from harming them, it came to my mind that the cause of Allah's Messenger (Islam) would become victorious. So|
|I said to them: 'Your people have assigned a reward equal to bloodmoney for your head.' Then I told them all the plans the people|
|of Mecca had made concerning them. Then I offered them some journey food and goods, but they refused to take anything and did not|
|ask for anything, but the Prophet said: 'Do not tell others about us.' Then I requested him to write for me a statement of |
|security and peace. He ordered 'Amir Ibn Fuhaira, who wrote it for me on a parchment, and then Allah's Messenger proceeded on his|
|way." (Sahih Al-Bukhari) |
|"Narrated 'Urwa Ibn Az-Zubair: "Allah's Messenger met Az Zubair in a caravan of Muslim merchants who were returning from Sham. Az|
|-Zubair provided Allah's Messenger and Abu Bakr with white clothes to wear. When the Muslims of Medina heard the new of the |
|departure of Allah's Messenger from Mecca (towards Medina), they started going to the Harra every morning,. They would wait for |
|him till the heat of the noon forced them to return. One day, after waiting for a long while, they returned home, and when they |
|went into their houses, a Jew climbed up to the roof of one of the forts of his people to look for something, and he saw Allah's |
|Messenger and his companions, dressed in white clothes, emerging out of the desert mirage. |
|"The Jew could not help shouting at the top of his voice: 'O you Arabs! Here is your great man whom you have been waiting for!' |
|So all the Muslims rushed to their arms and received Allah's Messenger on the summit of Harra. The Prophet turned with them to |
|the right and alighted at the quarters of Bani Amr Ibn Auf, and this was on Monday in the month of Rabi ul Awal. Abu Bakr stood |
|up, receiving the people, while Allah's Messenger sat down and kept silent. Some of the Ansar who came and had not seen Allah's |
|Messenger before began greeting Abu Bakr, but when the sunshine fell on Allah's Messenger and Abu Bakr came forward and shaded |
|him with his sheet, only then the people came to know Allah's Messenger. Allah's Messenger stayed with Bani Amr Ibn Auf for ten |
|nights and established the mosque (Mosque of Quba) which was founded on piety. Allah's Messenger prayed in it and then mounted |
|his she-camel and proceeded on, accompanied by the people till his she-camel knelt down at the place of the Mosque of Allah's |
|Messenger at Medina. Some Muslims used to pray there in those days, and that place was a yard for drying dates belonging to |
|Suhail and Sahl, the orphan boys who were under the guardianship of Asad In Zurara. When his she-camel knelt down, Allah's |
|Messenger said: 'This place, Allah willing, will be our abiding place.' Allah's Messenger then called the two boys and told them |
|to suggest a price for that yard so that he might take it as a mosque. The two boys said: 'No, but we will give it as a gift, O |
|Allah's Messenger!' Allah's Messenger then built a mosque there. The Prophet himself started carrying unburned bricks for its |
|building and while doing so, he was saying: 'This load is better than the load of Khaibar, for it is more pious in the Sight of |
|Allah and purer and better rewardable.' He was also saying: 'O Allah! The actual reward is the reward in the Hereafter, so bestow|
|Your Mercy on the Ansar and the Emigrants.' Thus the Prophet recited (by way of proverb) the poem of some Muslim poet whose name |
|is unknown to me." (Ibn Shibab said, 'In the hadiths, it does not occur that Allah's Messenger recited a complete poetic verse |
|other than this one.') (Sahih Al-Bukhari) |
|Thus was accomplished the hijrah, or the flight of Muhammad as called in European annals, from which the Islamic calendar dates. |
|When the Prophet Muhammad and his companions settled at Yathrib, this city changed its name, and henceforth was called, |
|Al-Medina, Al-Munawara, the Illuminated City, or more shortly, Medina, the City. It is situated about eleven-day's journey to the|
|north of Mecca. At that time it was ruled by two Kahtanite tribes, Aws and Khazraj. These two tribes, however, were constantly |
|quarreling among themselves. It was only about that time when the Prophet announced his mission at Mecca that these tribes, after|
|long years of continuous warfare, entered on a period of comparative peace. When the Prophet settled at Medina, the tribes of Aws|
|and Khazraj forgot entirely their old feuds and were united together in the bond of Islam. Their old divisions were soon effaced |
|and the Ansar", the Helpers of the Prophet, became the common designation of all Medinites who had helped the Prophet in his |
|cause. Those who emigrated with him from Mecca received the title of "Muhajereen" or the Emigrants. The Prophet, in order to |
|unite both classes in closer bonds, established between them a brotherhood, which linked them together as children of the same |
|parents, with the Prophet as their guardian. |
|The first step the Prophet took, after his settlement at Medina, was to built a mosque for the worship of Allah according to |
|principles of Islam. Also, houses for the accommodation of the emigrants were soon erected. |
|Medina and its suburb were at this time inhabited by three distinct parties, the Emigrants, the Helpers, and the Jews. In order |
|to weld them together into an orderly federation, the Prophet granted a charter to the people, clearly defining their rights and |
|obligations. This charter represented the framework of the first commonwealth organized by the Prophet. It started thus: 'In the |
|name of he Most Merciful and Compassionate Lord, this charter is given by Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah to all believers, |
|whether of Quraish or Medina, and all individuals of whatever origin who have made common cause with them, who shall all |
|constitute one nation." |
|The following are some extracts from the charter: The state of peace and war shall be common to all Muslims; no one among them |
|shall have the right of concluding peace with, or declaring war against, the enemies of his co-religionists. The Jews who attach |
|themselves to our commonwealth shall be protected from all insults and vexations; they shall have an equal right with our people |
|to our assistance and good offices. The Jews of the various branches and all others doiciled in Medina shall form with the |
|Muslims one composite nation; they shall practice their religion as freely as the Muslims. The allies of the Jews shall enjoy the|
|same security and freedom. The guilty shall be pursued and punished. The Jews shall join the Muslims in defending Medina all |
|enemies. The interior of Medina shall be a sacred place for all who accept this charter. All true Muslims shall hold in |
|abhorrence every man guilty of crime, injustice or disorder; no one shall uphold the culpable, though he be his nearest kin. |
|After dealing with the interior management of the State, the charter concluded as follows: "All future disputes arising among |
|those who accept this charter shall be referred, under Allah to the Prophet." |
|Thus this charter put an end to the state of anarchy that prevailed among the Arabs. It constituted the Prophet Muhammad as chief|
|magistrate of the nation. |
|The party of the Ansars, or Helpers, included some lukewarm converts who retained an ill-concealed predilection for idolatry. |
|These were headed by Abdullah Ibn Ubai, a man with some claims to distinction. They ostensibly joined Islam, but in secret were |
|disaffected. They often were a source of considerable danger to the newborn commonwealth and required unceasing watchfulness on |
|the part of the Prophet. Towards them he always showed the greatest patience and forbearance, hoping in the end to win them over |
|to the faith, which expectations were fully justified by the result. While the death of Abdullah Ibn Ubai, his party which were |
|known as the party of the "Munafiqeen" (the Hypocrites) disappeared. |
|The Jews who constituted the third party of the Medinites were, however, the most serious element of danger. No kindness or |
|generous treatment on the part of the Prophet would seem to satisfy them. They soon broke off and ranged themselves with the |
|enemies of the new faith. They did not hesitate to declare openly that they preferred idolatry, with its attendant evils, to the |
|faith of Islam. Thus, the Prophet had to keep an eye on his enemies outside Medina, on the one hand, and those within the city on|
|the other. The Meccans who had sworn Muhammad's death were well acquainted, thanks to the party of the Hypocrites and of the Jews|
|at Medina, with the real forces of the Muslims. They also knew that the Jews had accepted Muhammad's alliance only from motives |
|of temporary expedience and that they would break away from him to join the idolaters as soon as the latter showed themselves in |
|the vicinity of Medina. The safety of the state required the proscription of the traitors who were secretly giving information to|
|the common enemy. About six men were executed for high treason of this nature. |
|Towards the second year of the hijrah, the idolaters of Mecca began a series of hostile acts against the Muslims of Medina. They |
|sent men in parties to commit depredations on the fruit trees of the Muslims of Medina and to carry away their flocks. Now came |
|the moment of severest trial to Islam. It became the duty of the Prophet to take serious measures to guard against any plot |
|rising from within or a sudden attack from without. He put Medina in a state of military discipline. He had to send frequent |
|reconnoitering parties to guard against any sudden onslaught. No sooner did the Prophet organize hi state than a large |
|well-equipped army of the Meccans was afield. A force constituting of one thousand men marched under Abu Jahl, a great enemy of |
|Islam, towards Medina to attack the city. The Muslims received timely notice of their enemies' intention. A body of three hundred|
|adherents, of whom two thirds were citizens of Medina, was gathered to forestall the idolaters by occupying the valley of Badr, |
|situated near the sea between Mecca and Medina. When the Prophet saw the army of the infidels approaching the valley, he prayed |
|that the little band of Muslims might not be destroyed. |
|The army of the Meccans advanced into the open space which separated the Muslims from the idolaters. According to Arab usage, the|
|battle was began by simple combats. The engagement that became general. The result of the battle was that the Meccans were driven|
|back with great loss. Several of their chiefs were slain, including Abu Jahl. A large number of idolaters remained prisoners in |
|the hands of the Muslims. They were, contrary to all usage and traditions of the Arabs, treated with the greatest humanity. The |
|Prophet gave strict orders that sympathy should be shown to them in their misfortune and that they should be treated with |
|kindness. These instructions were faithfully obeyed by the Muslims to whose care the prisoners were confided. Dealing with this |
|event, Sir William Muir, in his book Life of Muhammad, quotes one of the prisoners saying: "Blessing be on the men of Medina; |
|they made us ride, while they themselves walked; they gave us wheaten bread to eat, when there was little of it, contenting |
|themselves with dates." |
|Almighty Allah said: And Allah has already made you victorious at Badr, when you were a weak little force. So fear Allah much |
|(abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden and love Allah much, perform all kinds of good deeds which |
|He has ordained) that you may be grateful. (Remember) when you (Muhammad) said to the believers, "is it not enough for you that |
|your Lord (Allah) should help you with three thousand angels; sent down? Yes, if you hold on to patience and piety, and the enemy|
|comes rushing at you; your Lord will help you with five thousand angels having marks of distinction. Allah made it not but as a |
|message of good news for you and as an assurance to your hearts. And there is no victory except from Allah the All Mighty, the |
|All Wise. That He might cut off a part of those who disbelieve, or expose them to infamy, so that they retire frustrated." (Ch |
|3:123-127 Quran). |
|The remarkable circumstances, which led to the victory of Badr, and results, which followed from it, made a deep impression on |
|the minds of the Muslims; the angels of the heaven had battled on their side against their enemies. The division of the spoils |
|created some dissension between the Muslim warriors. For the moment, the Prophet divided it equally among all. Subsequently, a |
|Qur'an revelation laid down a rule for future division of the spoils. According to this rule, a fifth was reserved for the public|
|treasury for the support of the poor and indigent, while the distribution of the remaining four fifths was left to the discretion|
|of the Chief of the State. |
|The next battle between the Quraish and the Muslims was the battle of Uhud, a hill about four miles to the north of Medina. The |
|idolaters, to revenge their loss at Badr, made tremendous preparations for a new attack upon the Muslims. They collected an army |
|of three thousand strong men, of whom seven hundred were armed with coats of mail, and two hundred horses. These forces advanced |
|under the conduct of Abu Sufyan and encamped at a village six miles from Medina, where they gave themselves up to spoiling the |
|fields and flocks of the Medinites. The Prophet, being much inferior to his enemies in number, at first determined to keep |
|himself within the town and to receive them there; but afterwards, the advice of some of his companions prevailing he marched out|
|against them at the head of one thousand men, of whom one hundred were armed with coats of mail; but he had no more than one |
|horse, besides his own, in his whole army. With these forces he halted at Mount Uhud. He was soon abandoned by Abdullah Ibn Ubai,|
|the leader of the Hypocrites, with three hundred of his followers. Thus, the small force of the Prophet was reduced to seven |
|hundred. |
|At Mount Uhud the Muslim troops passed the night, and in the morning, after offering their prayers, they advanced into the plain.|
|The Prophet contrived to have the hill at his back, and, the better to secure his men from being surrounded, he placed fifty |
|archers on the height in the rear, behind the troops, and gave them strict orders not to leave their posts whatever might happen.|
|When they came to engage, the Prophet had superiority at first. But afterward, his archers left their position for the sake of |
|plunder, thus allowing the enemy to attack the Muslims in the fear and surround them. The Prophet lost the day and very nearly |
|lost his life. He was struck down by a shower of stones and wounded in the face by two arrows, and one of his front teeth was |
|broken. Of the Muslims, seventy men were killed, among whom was the Prophet's uncle Hamza. Of the infidels, twenty-two men were |
|lost. |
|The Quraish were too exhausted to follow up their advantage, either by attacking Medina or by driving the Muslims from the |
|heights of Uhud. They retreated from the Medinite territories after barbarously mutilating the corpses of their dead enemies. |
|Almighty Allah said: So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are |
|indeed (true) believers. If a wound (and killing ) has touched you, be sure a similar wound (and killing) has touched the others.|
|And so are the days (good and not so good), We give to men by turns, that Allah may test those who believe, and that He may take |
|martyrs from among you. And Allah likes not the Zalimeen (polytheists and wrongdoers). |
|And that Allah may test (or purify) the believers (from sins) and destroy the disbeliveers. Do you think that you will enter |
|Paradise before Allah tests those of you who fought (in His Cause) and (also) tests those who are patient? You did indeed wish |
|for death (Ash-shahadah- martyrdom) before you met it. Now you have seen it openly with your own eyes." (Ch 3:139-143 Quran) |
|Allah the Exalted also said: We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they joined others in worship |
|with Allah for which He has sent no authority; their abode will be the Fire and how evil is the abode of the Zalimeen |
|(polytheists and wrong-doers). And Allah did indeed fulfil His Promise to you when you were killing them (your enemy) with His |
|Permission; until (the moment) you lost your courage and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed after He showed you (of|
|the booty) which you love. Among you are some that desire this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then He made you flee |
|from them (your enemy), and He might test you. But surely, He forgave you, and Allah is most Gracious to the believers. |
|And remember when you ran away (dreadfully) without even a casting a side-glance at anyone, and the Messenger (Muhammad) was in |
|your rear calling you back. There did Allah give you one distress after another by way of requital to teach you not to grieve for|
|that which had escaped you, nor that which had befallen you. And Allah is Well Aware of all that you do. |
|Then after the distress, He sent down security for you. Slumber overtook a party of you, while another party was thinking about |
|themselves (as how to save their ownselves, ignoring the others and the Prophet) and thought wrongly of Allah - the thought of |
|ignorance. They said, "Have we any part in the affair?" Say you (O Muhammad): "Indeed the affair belongs wholly to Allah." They |
|hide within themselves what they dare not reveal to you, saying: "If we had anything to do with the affair, none of us would have|
|been killed here." Say: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth|
|to the place of their death," but that Allah might test what is in your breasts; and to Mahis (to test, to purify, to get rid of)|
|that which was in your hearts (sins), and Allah is All Knower of what is in (your) breasts." (Ch 3:151-154 Quran). |
|Narrated Al-Baraa' Ibn Azib: "The Prophet appointed Abdullah Ibn Jubair as the commander of the infantry men (archers) who were |
|fifty on the day (of the battle) of Uhud. He instructed them: 'Stick to your place, and don't leave it even if you see birds |
|snatching us, till I send for you; and if you see that we have defeated the infidels and made them flee, even then you should not|
|leave your place till I send for you.' Then the infidels were defeated. By Allah I saw the women fleeing lifting up their clothes|
|revealing their leg bangles and their legs. So, the companions of Abdullah Ibn Jubair said: "The booty! O people, the booty! Your|
|companions have become victorious, what are you waiting for now?" Abdullah Ibn Jubair said: "Have you forgotten what Allah's |
|Messenger said to you?" They replied: "By Allah! We will go to the people (the enemy) and collect our share from the war booty." |
|But when they went to them, they were forced to turn back defeated. At that time Allah's Messenger in their rear was calling them|
|back. Only twelve men remained with the Prophet, and the infidels martyred seventy men from us. |
|"The Prophet and his companions caused the Pagans to lose one hundred and forty men, seventy of whom were captured and seventy |
|were killed. Then Abu Sufyan asked three times: 'Is Muhammad present among these people?' The Prophet ordered his companions not |
|to answer him. Then he asked three times: 'Is Ibn Abu Quhafa present amongst these people?' He asked again three times: 'Is Ibn |
|Al Khattab present among these people?' He then returned to his companions and said: 'As for these (men), they have been killed.'|
|'Umar could not control himself and said to Abu Sufyan: ' You told a lie, by Allah! O enemy of Allah! All those you have |
|mentioned are alive, and the thing which will make you unhappy is still there.' Abu Sufyan said: 'Our victory today compensates |
|for yours in the Battle of Badr, and in war (the victory) is always undecided and is shared in turns by the belligerents. You |
|will find some of your killed men mutilated, but I did not urge my men to do so, yet I do not feel sorry for their deed.' After |
|that he started reciting cheerfully: 'O Hubal, be superior!' On that the Prophet said (to his companions): 'Why don't you answer |
|hiback?' They said: 'O Allah's Messenger! What shall we say?' He said: 'Say, Allah is Higher and more Sublime.' Then Abu Sufyan |
|said: 'We have the idol of Al-Uzza, and you have no 'Uzza.' The Prophet said (to his companions): 'Why don't you answer him |
|back?' They asked: 'O Allah's Messenger! What shall we say?' He said: 'Say Allah is our Helper and you have no helper.'" (Sahih |
|Al Bukhari) |
|The moral effect of this disastrous battle was such as to encourage some neighboring nomad tribes to make forays upon the Medinte|
|territories, but most of these were repelled. |
|The Jews also were not slow to involve in trouble the Prophet and his followers. They tried to create disaffection among his |
|people and slandered him and his adherents. They mispronounced the words of the Qur'an so as to give them an offensive meaning. |
|They also caused their poets, who were superior in culture and intelligence, to use their influence to sow sedition among the |
|Muslims. One of their distinguished poets, called Ka'b, of the Bani An-Nadir, spared no efforts in publicly deploring the ill |
|success of the idolaters after their defect at Badr. |
|By his satires against the Prophet and his disciples, and his elegies on the Meccans who had fallen at Badr, Ka'b succeeded in |
|exciting the Quraish to that frenzy of vengeance which broke out at Uhud. He then returned to Medina, where he continued to |
|attack the Prophet and the Muslims, men and women, in terms of the most obscene character. Though he belonged to the tribe of |
|Bani An Nadir, which had entered into the compact with the Muslims and pledged itself both for the internal and external safety |
|of the State, he openly directed his acts against the commonwealth of which he was a member. |
|Another Jew, Sallam by name, of the same tribe, behaved equally fiercely and bitterly against the Muslims. He lived with a party |
|of his tribe at Khaibar, a village five days' journey northwest of Medina. He made every effort to excite the neighboring Arab |
|tribes against the Muslims. The Muslim commonwealth with the object of securing safety among the community, passed a sentence of |
|outlawry upon Ka'b and Sallam. |
|The members of another Jewish tribe, namely Bani Qainuqa', were sentenced to expulsion from the Medinite territory for having |
|openly and knowingly infringed the terms of the compact. It was necessary to put an end to their hostile actions of the sake of |
|maintaining peace and security. The Prophet had to go to their headquarters, where he required them to enter definitively into |
|the Muslim commonwealth by embracing Islam or to leave Medina. To this they replied in the most offensive terms: "You have had a |
|quarrel with men ignorant of the art of war. If you are desirous of having any dealings with us, we shall show you that we are |
|men." They then shut themselves up in their fortress and set the Prophet and his authority at defiance. The Muslims decided to |
|reduce them and laid siege to their fortress without loss of time. After fifteen days they surrendered. Though the Muslims at |
|first intended to inflict some severe punishment on them, they contented themselves by banishing the Bani Qainuqa'. |
|The Bani An-Nadir had now behaved in the same way as Bani Qainuqa'. The had likewise, knowingly and publicly, disregarded the |
|terms of the Charter. The Prophet sent them a message similar to that which was sent to their brethren, the Qainuqa'. Then, |
|relying on the assistance of the Hypocrites' party, returned for a defiant reply. After a siege of fifteen days, they sued for |
|terms. The Muslims renewed their previous offer, and the Jews of An Nadir chose to execute Medina. They were allowed to take with|
|them all their movable property, with the exception of their arms. Before leaving Medina, they destroyed all their dwellings in |
|immovable property and arms which they could not carry away with them were distributed by the Prophet with the consent of the |
|Ansar and the Emigrants. A principle was henceforth adopted that any acquisition not made in actual warfare should belong to that|
|state and that its disposal should be left to the discretion of the ruling authorities. |
|Almighty Allah said: (And there is also a share in this booty) for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and |
|their property, seeking Bounties from Allah and to please Him. And helping Allah (helping His Religion) and His Messenger |
|(Muhammad). Such are indeed the truthful (to what we say); and those who, before them, had homes (in Al Madina) and had adopted |
|the Faith, love, those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (from the |
|booty of Bani An Nadir), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that. And |
|whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful." (Ch 59:8-9 Quran) |
|The expulsion of the Bani An-Nadir took place in the fourth year of the hijrah. The remaining portion of this year and the early |
|part of the next were passed in repressing the hostile attempts of the nomadic tribes against the Muslims and inflicting |
|punishment for various murderous forays on the Medinite territories. Of this nature was the expedition against the Christian |
|Arabs of Dumat Al Jandal (a place about seven days' journey to the south of Damascus), who had stopped the Medinites traffic with|
|Syria and even threatened a raid upon Medina. These marauders, however, fled on the approach of the Muslims, and the Prophet |
|returned to Medina after concluding a treaty with a neighboring chief, to whom he granted permission of pasturage in the Medinite|
|territories. |
|In the same year, the enemies of Islam made every possible attempt to stir up the tribes against the Muslims. The Jews also took |
|an active, if hidden, part in those intrigues. An army of ten thousand well-equipped men, marched towards Medina under the |
|command of Abu Sufyan. They encamped near Mount Uhud, a few miles from the city. The Muslims could gather only an army of three |
|thousand men. Seeing their inferiority in numbers on the one hand, and the turbulence of the Hypocrites within the town on the |
|other, they preferred to remain on the defensive. They dug a deep moat round the unprotected quarters of Medina and encamped |
|outside the city with a trench in front of them. They relied for safety of the other side upon their allies, the Quaraiza, who |
|possessed several fortresses at a short distance towards the south and were bound by the compact to assist the Muslim s against |
|any raiders. These Jews, however, were induced by the idolaters to violate their pledge and to join the Quraish. As these Jews |
|were acquainted with the Hypocrites within the walls of the city were waiting for an opportunity to play their part, the |
|situation of the Muslims was most dangerous. |
|The siege had already lasted for twenty days. The enemy made great efforts to cross the trench, but every attempt was fiercely |
|repulsed by the small Muslim force. Disunion was now rife in the midst of the besieging army. Their horses were perishing fast, |
|and provisions were becoming less every day. During the night, a storm of wind and rain caused their tents to be overthrown and |
|their lights extinguished. Abu Sufyan and the majority of his army fled, and the rest took refuge with the Quraiza. The Muslims, |
|though they were satisfied with the failure of their enemies, could not help thinking that the victory was unsatisfactory so long|
|as the Quraiza, who had violated their sworn pledge, remained so near. The Jews might at any time surprise Medina from their |
|side. The Muslims felt it their duty to demand an explanation of the violation of the pledge. This was utterly refused. |
|Consequently, the Jews were besieged and compelled to surrender at discretion. They only asked that their punishment should be |
|left to the judgment of Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh, the prince of the tribe of Aws. This chief, who was a fierce soldier, had been wounded |
|in the attack, and, indeed, died of his wounds the following day. Infuriated by the treacherous conduct of the Bani Quraiza, he |
|gave judgment that the fighting men should be to death and that the women and children should become the slaves of the Muslims. |
|The sentence was carried into execution. |
|It was about this time that the Prophet granted tot he monks of the Monastry of St. Catherine, near Mount Sinai, his liberal |
|charter by which they secured for the Christians noble and generous privileges and immunities. He undertook himself and enjoined |
|his followers, to protect the Christians, to defend their churches and the residences of their priests and to guard them from all|
|injuries. They were not to be unfairly taxed; no bishop was to be driven out of his diocese; nor Christian was to be forced to |
|reject his religion; no monk was to be expelled from his Monastry; no pilgrim was to be stopped from his pilgrimage; nor were the|
|Christian churches to be pulled down for the sake of building mosques or houses for the Muslims. Christian women married to |
|Muslims were to enjoy their own religion and not to be subjected to compulsion or annoyance of any kind. If the Christians should|
|stand in need of assistance for the repair of their churches or monasteries, or any other matter pertaining to their religion, |
|the Muslims were to assist them. This was not to be considered as supporting their religion, but as simply rendering them |
|assistance in special circumstances. Should the Muslims be engaged in hostilities with outside Christians, no Christian resident |
|among the Muslims should be treated with contempt on account of his creed. The Prophet declared that any Muslim violating any |
|clause of the charter should be regarded as a transgressor of Allah's commandments, a violator of His testament and neglectful of|
|His faith. |
|Six years had already elapsed since the Prophet and his Meccan followers had fled from their birthplace. Their hearts began to |
|yearn for their homes and for their Sacred House the Ka'ba. As the season of the pilgrimage approached, the Prophet announced his|
|intention to visit the holy center, and numerous voices of his disciples responded to the call. Preparations were soon made for |
|the journey to Mecca. The Prophet, accompanied by seven or eight hundred Muslims, Emigrants and Ansars, all totally unarmed, set |
|out on the pilgrimage. The Quraish, who were still full of animosity towards the Muslims, gathered a large army to prevent them |
|from entering Mecca and maltreated the envoy whom the Prophet had sent to ask permission to visit the holy places. After much |
|difficulty, a treaty was concluded by which it was agreed that all hostilities should cease for ten years; that anyone coming |
|from the Quraish to the Prophet without the permission of the guardian or chief should be given back to the idolaters; that any |
|Muslim persons going over to the Meccans should not be surrendered; that any tribe desirous of entering into alliance, either |
|with the Quraish or with the Muslims, should be at liberty to do so without disputes; that the Muslims should go back to Medina |
|on the present occasion and stop advancing further; that they should be permitted in the following year to visit Mecca and to |
|remain there for three days with the arms they used on journeys, namely, their scimitars in sheaths. |
|The Treaty of Hudaibiya thus ended, the Prophet returned with his people to Medina. |
|About this time it was revealed to the Prophet that his mission should be universal. He dispatched several envoys to invite the |
|neighboring sovereigns to Islam. The embassy to the king of Persia, Chosroes Parvis, was received with disdain and contumely. He |
|was haughtily amazed at the boldness of the Mecca fugitive in addressing him on terms of equality. He was so enraged that he tore|
|up into pieces the Prophet's letter of invitation to Islam and dismissed the envoy from his presence with great contempt. When |
|the Prophet received information on this treatment, he calmly observed: "Thus will the Empire of Chosroes be torn to pieces." |
|The embassy to Heraclitus, the Emperor of the Romans, was received much more politely and reverentially. He treated the |
|ambassador with great respect and sent the Prophet a gracious reply to his message. |
|Another envoy was sent to an Arab price of the Ghassanite tribe, a Christian feudatory of Heraclius. This prince, instead of |
|receiving the envoy with any respect, cruelly murdered him. This act caused great consternation among the Muslims, who considered|
|it as an outrage of international obligations. |
|Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb informed me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been |
|accompanying a caravan from Quraish. They were merchants doing business in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan) at the |
|time when Allah's Messenger had a truce with Abu Sufyan and Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his companions went to Heraclius |
|at Ilya (Jerusalem). |
|Heraclitus called them in the court and he had all the senior Roman dignitaries around him. He called for his translator who, |
|translating Heraclius's question, said to them: "Who among you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?" Abu |
|Sufyan replied: "I am the nearest relative to him (amongst the group)." |
|Heraclius said: "Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and make his companions stand behind him." Abu Sufyan added: "Heraclius told |
|his translator to tell my companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man (The Prophet) and if I told a |
|lie they (my companions) should contradict me. By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labeling me a liar, I would have |
|not have spoken the truth about the Prophet." Abu Sufyan's narration continues: |
|"The first question he asked me about him was; |
|What is his family status among you?" |
|"I replied: "He belongs to a good noble family amongst us." |
|Heraclius further asked: "Has anybody among you ever claimed the same (to be a Prophet) before him?" |
|I replied: "No." |
|He said: "Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?" |
|I replied: "No." |
|Heraclius asked: "Do the nobles or the poor follow him?" |
|I replied: "It is the poor who follow him." |
|He said: "Are his followers increasing or decreasing (day by day)?" |
|I replied: "They are increasing." |
|He then asked: "Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterwards?" |
|I replied: "No." |
|Heraclius said: "Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?" |
|I replied: "No." |
|Hereaclius said: "Does he break his promises?" |
|I replied: "No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it." I could not find opportunity to say anything |
|against him except that. |
|Heraclius asked: "Have you ever had a war with him?" |
|I replied: "Yes." |
|Then he said: "What was the outcome of the battles?" |
|I replied: "Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we." |
|Heraclius said: "What does he order you to do?" |
|I said: "He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our |
|ancestors had said. He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations with our kith and kin." |
|Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following: "I asked you about his family and your reply was that he belonged |
|to a very noble family. In fact, all the Messengers come from noble families among their respective peoples. I questioned you |
|whether anybody else among you claimed such a thing; your reply was in the negative. If the answer had been in the affirmative, I|
|would have thought that this man was following the previous man's statement. Then I asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was|
|a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take |
|back his ancestral kingdom. I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said and your |
|reply was in the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah. I |
|then asked you whether the rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it was the poor who followed him. And, in fact,|
|all the Messengers have been followed by this veryclass of people. Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or |
|decreasing. You replied that they were increasing, and, in fact, this is the way of true faith, till it is complete in all |
|respects. I further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion, became displeased and discarded his |
|religion. You reply was in the negative, and, in fact this is (the sign of) true faith, when its delight enters the hearts and |
|mixes with them completely. I asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You replied in the negative, and likewise the Messengers |
|never betray. Then I asked you what he ordered you to do. You replied that he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and |
|not to worship anything along with Him, and forbade you to worship idols, and ordered you to pray, to speak the truth and to be |
|chaste. If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I kne w it (from the |
|scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I |
|would go immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet." |
|Heraclius then asked for the letter addressed by Allah's Messenger which had been delivered by Dihya to the Governor of Busra, |
|who forwarded it to Heraclius to read. The contents of the letter were as follows: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the |
|Merciful. (This letter is) from Muhammad, the slave of Allah and His Messenger to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantine. Peace be upon|
|him who follows the right path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam, and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will |
|double your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam, you will be committing a sin by misguiding your subjects. |
|And I recite to you Allah's Statement: SAY (O Muhammad): 'O People of the Scripture (Jews & 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.' " |
|Abu Sufyan then added: When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue and cry in the Royal|
|Court. So we turned out of the court. I told my companions that the question of Ibn-Abi-Kabsha (the Prophet Muhammad) had become |
|so prominent that even the King of Bani Al-Asfar (Byzantine) was afraid of him. Then I started to become sure that he (the |
|Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future till I embraced Islam (Allah guided me to it). |
|The sub narrator added that Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of Ilya (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of |
|Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrated that once while Heraclius was visiting Ilya (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning with a sad mood. |
|Some of his priests asked him why he as in that mood. Hreaclius was a foreteller and an astrologer. He replied: "At night when I |
|looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they |
|who practice circumcision?" The people replied: "Except the Jews, nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of |
|them (Jews). Just Issue orders to kill very Jew present in the country.' |
|While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Messenger to Heraclius was |
|brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger of Ghassan was |
|circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs. The |
|messenger replied: "Arabs also practice circumcision." |
|After hearing that Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in |
|Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs (a town in Syria) and stayed there till he received |
|the reply of his letter from his friend, who agreed with him in his opinion about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact that |
|he was a Prophet. On that, Heraclius invited all the heads of the Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they |
|assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace be closed. Then he came out and said: "O Byzantines! If success is your |
|desire and if you seek right guidance and want your empire to remain, then give a pledge of allegiance to this Prophet (embrace |
|Islam)." |
|(on hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towards the gates of the palace like onagers but found the doors closed. |
|Heraclius realized their hatred towards Islam and when he lost the hope of their embracing Islam, he ordered that they should be |
|brought back in audience. |
|(When they returned) he said: "What was already said was just to test the strength of your conviction and I have seen it." The |
|people prostrated before him and became pleased with him, and this was the end of Heraclius's story (in connection with his |
|faith). (Sahih Al-Bukhari) |
|In the same year the Jews of Khaibar, a strongly fortified territory at a distance of four days' journey from Medina, showed |
|implacable hatred towards the Muslims. United by alliance with the tribe of Ghatfan, as well as with other cognate tribes, the |
|Jews of Khaibar made serious attempts to for ma coalition against the Muslims. The Prophet and his adherents were apprised of |
|this movement and immediate measures were taken in order to repress any new attack upon Medina. An expedition of fourteen hundred|
|men was soon prepared to march against Khaibar. The allies of the Jews left them to face the war with the Muslims all alone. The |
|Jews firmly resisted the attacks of the Muslims, but eventually all their fortress had to be surrendered, one after the other to |
|their enemies. They prayed for forgiveness, which was accorded to them on certain conditions. Their lands and immovable property |
|were secured to them, together with the free practice of their religion. After subduing Khaibar, the Muslims returned to Medina |
|in safety. |
|Before the end of the year, it being the seventh year of the hijrah, the Prophet and his adherents availed themselves of their |
|armistice with the Quraish to visit the holy Ka'ba. The Prophet, accompanied by two hundred Muslims, went to Mecca to perform the|
|rites of pilgrimage. On this occasion the Quraish evacuated the city during the three days which the ceremonies lasted. |
|Sir William Muir, in his book, Life of Mohammed Vol. III comments on the incident as follows: |
|It was surely a strange sight, which at this time presented itself at the vale of Mecca, a sight unique in the history of the |
|world. The ancient city is for three days evacuated by all its inhabitants, high and low, every house deserted, and as they |
|retire, the exiled converts, many years banished from their birth-place, approach in a great body accompanied by their allies, |
|revisit the empty homes of their childhood, and within the short allotted space, fulfil the rites of pilgrimage. The outside |
|inhabitants, climbing the heights around take refuge under tents or other shelter among the hills and glens; and clustering on |
|the overhanging peak of Abu Qubeis, thence watch the movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at their head, they |
|make the circuit of the Ka'ba and rapid procession between Essafa and Marwah, and anxiously scan every figure, if perchance they |
|may recognize among the worshippers some long lost friend or relative. It was a scene rendered only by the throes, which gave |
|birth to Islam. |
|In accordance with the terms of the treaty, the Muslims left Mecca at the end of three day's visit. This peaceful visit was |
|followed by important conversions among the Quraish. Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, known as the Sword of Allah, who, before this, had been|
|a bitter enemy of Islam and who commanded the Quraish cavalry at Uhud; and Amr Ibn Al' As, another important character and |
|warrior, adopted the new faith. |
|When the Prophet and his followers returned to Medina, they arranged in expedition to exact retribution from the Ghassanite |
|prince who had killed the Muslim envoy. A force of three thousand men, under the Prophet's adopted son Zaid, was sent to take |
|reparation from the offending tribe. |
|Khalid Ibn Al-Walid was one of the generals chosen for the expedition. When they reached the neighborhood of Muta, a village to |
|the southeast of the Dead Sea, they met with an overwhelming force of Arabs and Romans who were assembled to oppose them. The |
|Muslims, however, resolved resolutely to push forward. Their courage was of no avail and they suffered great losses. In this |
|battle Zaid and Ja'far, a cousin of the Prophet, and several other notables were killed. Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, by a series of |
|maneuvers, succeeded in drawing off the army and conducting it without further loses to Medina. A month later, however, Amr Ibn |
|Al-' As marched unopposed through the lands of the hostile tribes, received their submission, and restored the prestige of Islam |
|on the Syrian frontier. |
|About the end of the seventh year of the hijrah, the Quraish and their allies, the Bani Bakr, violated the terms of the peace |
|concluded at Hudaibiya by attacking the Bani Khuzaah, who were in alliance with the Muslims. The Bani Khuzzah appealed to the |
|Prophet for help and protection. The Prophet determined to make a stop to the reign of injustice and oppression, which had lasted|
|so long at Mecca. He immediately gathered ten thousand men to march against the idolaters and set out on January, 630. |
|After eight days the Muslims army halted, and alighted at Marr Az-Zahran, a day's journey from Mecca. On the night of their |
|arrival, Abu Sufyan, who was delegated by the Quraish to ask the Prophet to abandon his project, presented himself and besought |
|an interview. In the morning it was granted. "Has the time not come, O Abu Sufyan," said the Prophet, "for you to acknowledge |
|that there is no deity save Allah and that I am His Messenger?" Abu Sufyan, after hesitating for awhile, pronounced the |
|prescribed formula of belief and adopted Islam. He was then sent back to prepare the city for the Prophet's approach. |
|With the exception of a slight resistance by certain clans headed by Ikrima and Safwan, in which many Muslims were killed, the |
|Prophet entered Mecca almost unopposed. The city which had treated him so cruelly, driven him and his faithful band for refuge |
|among strangers, the city which had sworn his life and the lives of his devoted adherents, now lay at his mercy. His old |
|persecutors were now completely at his feet. The Prophet entered Mecca on his favorite camel Al Kaswa, having Usama Ibn Zaid |
|sitting behind him. On his way he recited Surah Al Fath (Victory), the first verses of which maybe interpreted thus: Verily! We |
|have given you (O Muhammad) a manifest victory. That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and future, and complete His |
|Favor on you, and guide you on the Straight Path; and that Allah may help you with strong help. (Ch 48:1-3 Quran) |
|The Muslim army entered the city unpretentiously and peacefully. No house was robbed, no man or woman was insulted. The Prophet |
|granted a general amnesty to the entire population of Mecca. Only four criminals, whom justice condemned, were proscribed. He did|
|however, order the destruction of all idols and pagan images of worship, upon which three hundred and fifty idols which were in |
|the Sacred House of Ka'ba were thrown down. The Prophet himself destroyed a wooden pigeon hung from the roof and regarded as one |
|of the deities of the Quraish. During the downfall of the images and idols he was heard to cry aloud: "Allah is great. Truth has |
|come and falsehood has vanished; verily falsehood is fleeting." The old idolaters observed thoughtfully the destruction of their |
|gods, which were utterly powerless. After the Prophet had abolished these pagan idols and every pagan rite, he delivered a sermon|
|to the assembled people. He dwelt upon the natural brotherhood of man in the words of the Qur'an: O Mankind! We have created you |
|for a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you |
|in the Sight of Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa (one of the Muttaqun, pious, and righteous persons who fear Allah much,|
|abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden), and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which|
|He has ordained.) Verily Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Ch 49:13 Quran) |
|Narrated Hisham's father: When Allah's Messenger set out (towards Mecca) during the year of the Conquest (of Mecca) and this news|
|reached (the infidels of Quraish), Abu Sufyan, Hakim Ibn Hizam and Budail Ibn Waraqa came out to gather information about Allah's|
|Messenger. They proceeded on their way till they reached a place called Marr-az-Zahran (which is near Mecca). Behold! There they |
|saw many fires as if they were the fires of Arafat." Budail Ibn Waraqa' said: "Banu' Amr are less in number than that." Some of |
|the guards of Allah's Messenger saw them and took them over, caught them, and bthem to Allah's Messenger. Abu Sufyan embraced |
|Islam. |
|When the Prophet proceeded, he said to Al' Abbas: "Keep Abu Sufyan standing at the top of the mountain so that he would look at |
|the Muslims. SO Al- Abbas kept him standing (at that place) and the tribes with the Prophet started passing in front of Abu |
|Sufyan in military batches. A batch passed in front of Abu Sufyan and said: "O 'Abbas who are these?" 'Abbas said: "They are Banu|
|Ghaifar." Abu Sufyan said: "I have got nothing to do with Ghifar." Then a batch of the tribe of Juhaina passed by and he said |
|similarly as above. Then a batch of the tribe of Sa'd Ibn Huzaim passed by and he said similarly as above. Then came a batch, the|
|like of which Abu Sufyan had not seen. He said: "Who are these?" Abbas said: "They are the Ansar headed by Sa'd Ibn 'Ubada, the |
|one holding the flag." Sa'd Ibn 'Ubada said: "O Abu Sufyan! Today is the day of a great battle and today (what is prohibited in |
|)the Ka'ba will be permissible." Abu Sufyan said, "O Abbas! How excellent the day of destruction is!" Then came another batch of |
|warriors which was the smallest of all the batches, and in it there was Allah's Messenger and his companions, and the flag of the|
|Prophet was carried by Az-Zubair Ibn Al-Awwam. When Allah's Messenger passed by Abu Sufyan, the latter said to the Prophet: "Do |
|you know what Sa'd Ibn Ubada said?" The Prophet said: "What did he say?" Abu Sufyan said: "He said so-and-so." The Prophet said: |
|"Sa'd told a lie, but today Allah will give superiority to the Ka'ba and today the Ka'ba will be covered with a cloth covering." |
|Allah's Messenger ordered that his flag be fixed at Al-Hajun. |
|Narrated Urwa: Nafi' Ibn Jubair Ibn Mut'im said: "I heard Al-Abbas saying to Az-Zubair Ibn Al- Awwam, 'O Abu Abdullah! Did |
|Allah's Messenger order you to fix the flag here?' "Allah's Messenger ordered Khalid Ibn Al-Walid to enter Mecca from its upper |
|part from Kadaa' while the Prophet himself entered from Kudaa. Two men from the cavalry of Khalid Ibn Al-Walid named Hubaish Ibn |
|Al Ashar and Kurz Ibn Jabir Al-Fihri were martyred on that day. (Sahih Al Bukhari) |
|Now great multitudes came to adopt Islam and take the oath of allegiance to the Prophet. For this purpose an assembly was held at|
|As-Safa Mountain. Umar, acting as the Prophet's deputy administered the oath, whereby the people bound themselves not to adore |
|any deity but Allah to obey the Prophet to abstain from theft, adultery, infanticide, lying and backbiting. Thus was fulfilled |
|the prophecy embodied in the Surah Al Fath in the Quran. |
|During his stay at Mecca, the Prophet dispatched his principal disciples in every direction to preach Islam among the wild tribes|
|of the desert and call them to the true religion of Allah. He sent small detachments of his troops into the suburbs who destroyed|
|the temples of Al Uzza, Suwaa, and Manat, the three famous idols in the temples of the neighboring tribes. The Prophet gave |
|strict orders that these expeditions should be carried out in a peaceable manner. These injunctions were obeyed in all cases, |
|with one exception. The troops under Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, the fierce newly-converted warrior, killed a few of the Bani Jazima. |
|When the news of this wanton bloodshed reached the Prophet, he was deeply grieved and exclaimed: "Oh, my Lord, I am innocent of |
|what Khalid has done." He dispatched a large sum of money for the widows and orphans of the slain and severely rebuked Khalid. |
|At this time the tribes of Hawazin and Thakif showed unwillingness to render obedience to the Muslims without resistance. They |
|formed a league with the intention of attacking the Prophet, but he was vigilant enough to frustrate their plan. A big battle was|
|fought with this new enemy of Islam near Hunain, a deep and narrow defile nine miles northeast of Mecca. The idolaters were |
|utterly defeated. One body of the enemy, consisting chiefly of the Thakif tribe, took refuge in their fortified city of Ta'if, |
|which eight or nine years before had dismissed the Prophet from within its walls with injuries and insults. The remainder of the |
|defeated force, consisting principally of the Hawazin, sought at a camp in the valley of Autas. This camp was raided by the |
|Muslim troops. The families of the Hawazin, their flocks and herds with all their other effects, were captured by the troops of |
|the Prophet. Ta'if was then besieged for a few days only, after which the Prophet raised the siege, well knowing that the people |
|of Ta'if would soon be forced by circumstances to submit without bloodshed. Returning to his camp where the prisoners of Hawazin |
|were left safely, the Prophet found a deputation from this hostile tribe who begged him to set free their families. The Prophet |
|replied that he was willing to give back his own share of those captives and that of the children of Abdul Muttalib, but that he |
|could not force his followers to abandon the fruits of their victory. The disciples followed the generous example of their |
|teacher. The hearts of several members of the Thakir tribe were so influenced by this that they offered their allegiance and soon|
|became earnest Muslims. The Prophet now returned to Medina fully satisfied with the achievements of his mission. |
|The ninth year of the hijrah is known as the Year of Embassies, as being the year in which the various tribes of Arabia submitted|
|to the claim of the Prophet and sent embassies to render homage to him. |
|These tribes had been awaiting the issue of the war between Muhammad and the Quraish; but as soon as the tribe - the principal of|
|the whole nation and the descendants of Ishmael, whose prerogatives none offered to dispute - had submitted, they were satisfied |
|that it was not in their power to oppose Muhammad. Hence their embassies flocked into Medina to make their submission to him. The|
|conquest of Mecca decided the fate of idolatry in Arabia. Now deputations began to arrive from all sides to render the adherence |
|to Islam of various tribes. Among the rest, five princes of the tribe of Himyar professed Islam and sent ambassadors to notify |
|Muhammad of the same. These were the princes of Yemen, Mahra, Oman, and Yamama. |
|The idolaters of Ta'if, the very people who had driven the Messenger of Islam from their midst with violence and contempt, now |
|sent a deputation to pray forgiveness and ask to be numbered among his followers. They begged, however, for temporary |
|preservation of their idols. As a last appeal they begged for one month of grace only. But even this was not conceded. The |
|Prophet said Islam and the idols could not exist together. They then begged for exemption from the daily prayers. The Prophet |
|replied that without devotion, religion would be nothing. At last they submitted to all that was required of them. They, however,|
|asked to be exempted from destroying the idols with their own hands. This was granted. The Prophet selected Abu Sufyan and |
|Mughira to destroy the idols of Ta'if, the chief of which was the notorious idol of Al-Lat. This was carried out amidst cries of |
|despair and grief from the women of Ta'if. |
|The conversion of this tribe of Ta'if is worthy of notice. This tribe, which hither to had proved hostile to the new faith, was |
|noted among the Arabs for its idolatrous priesthood. A small detachment under Ali was sent to reduce them to obedience and to |
|destroy their idols. The prince of the tribe was 'Adi, the son of the famous Hatim, whose generosity was spoken of all over |
|Arabia. On the approach of the Muslim force, Adi fled to Syria, leaving his sister with his principal clansmen, to fall into the |
|hands of the Muslims. These were conducted by Ali with every sign of respect and sympathy to Medina. When the daughter of Hatim |
|came before the Prophet, she addressed him in the following words: "Messenger of Allah, my father is dead; my brother, my only |
|relation fled into the mountains on the approach of the Muslims. I cannot ransom myself; I count on your generosity for my |
|deliverance. My father was an illustrious man, the prince of his tribe, a man who ransomed prisoners, protected the honor of |
|women, fed the poor, cothe afflicted, and was deaf to no appeal." The Prophet replied: "Your father had the virtues of a true |
|Muslim; if it were permitted to invoke the mercy of Allah on any whose life was passed in idolatry, I would pray to Allah for |
|mercy for the soul of Hatim." Then, addressing the Muslims around him, he said: "the daughter of Hatim is free, her father was a |
|generous and humane man; Allah loves and rewards the merciful." With the daughter of Hatim, all her people were set at liberty. |
|She proceeded to Syria and related to her brother the generosity of Muhammad. 'Adi, touched by gratitude, hastened to Medina, |
|where he was kindly received by the Prophet. He professed Islam and returned to his people and persuaded them to abandon |
|idolatry. They all submitted and became devoted Muslims. |
|Hitherto no prohibition had been enforced against idolaters entering the Holy Ka'ba, or performing their abominable rites within |
|the sacred precincts. Towards the end of the ninth year of the hijrah, during the month of pilgrimage 'Ali was delegated by the |
|Prophet to read a proclamation that ran as follows: "No idolater shall after this year perform the pilgrimage; no one shall make |
|the circuit of the Ka'ba naked (such a disgraceful custom was practiced by the pagan Arabs); and treaty with the Prophet shall |
|continue in force but four months are allowed to every man to return to his territories; after that there will be no obligation |
|on the Prophet, except towards those with whom treaties have been concluded." |
|The vast multitude who had listened to the above declaration returned to their homes, and before the following year was over the |
|majority of them were Muslims. |
|During the tenth year of the hijrah, as in the preceding one, numerous embassies continued to pour into Medina from all parts of |
|Arabia, to testify to the allegiance of their chiefs and their tribes. Teachers were sent by the Prophet into the different |
|provinces to teach the new converts the principles and precepts of Islam. These teachers were invariably given the following |
|injunctions when they were about to depart on their mission: "Deal gently with the people, and be not harsh; cheer them, and do |
|not look down upon them with contempt. You will meet with many believers in the Holy Scriptures, who will ask you: 'What is the |
|key to heaven?' Answer them it (the key to heaven) is to bear witness to the divine truth and to do good." |
|Thus, the mission of the Prophet Muhammad was now accomplished; the whole work was achieved in his lifetime. Idolatry with its |
|nameless abominations was entirely destroyed. The people who were sunk in superstition, cruelty, and vice in regions where |
|spiritual life was utterly unknown were now united in one bond of faith, hope and charity. The tribes which had been from time |
|immemorial engaged in perpetual wars were now united together by the ties of brotherhood, love, and harmony. Henceforth, their |
|aims were not confined to this earth alone; but there was something beyond the grave - much higher, purer, and diviner - calling |
|them to the practice of charity, goodness, justice, and universal love. They could now perceive that Allah was not that which |
|they had carved out of wood or stone, but the Almighty Loving, Merciful, the Creator of the Universe. |
|On the return of the sacred month of pilgrimage, the Prophet, under the presentiment of his approaching end, determined to make a|
|farewell pilgrimage to Mecca. In February 632, he left Medina with a very considerable concourse of Muslims. It is stated that |
|from ninety thousand to one hundred and forty thousand people accompanied the Prophet. Before completing all rites of the |
|pilgrimage, he addressed the assembled multitude from the top of Mount Arafat in the following words: |
|"O people! Listen to my words, for I know not whether another year will be vouchsafed to me after this year to find myself among |
|you. Your lives and property are sacred and inviolable among one another until you appear before the Lord, as this day and this |
|month are sacred for all; and remember, you will have to appear before your Lord Who will demand from you an account for all your|
|actions. O people, you have rights over your wives, and your wives have a right over you. Verily you have taken them on the |
|security of Allah and have made their people lawful unto you by the words of Allah. And your slaves, see that you feed them with |
|such food as you eat yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff you wear, and if they commit a fault which you are not inclined |
|to forgive, then part with them; for they are the servants of the Lord and are not to be harshly treated. O people, listen to my |
|words and understand them. Know that all Muslims are brothers. You are one brotherhood; but no man shall take ought from his |
|brother, unless by his free consent. Keep yourselves from injustice. Let him who is present tell this to him who is absent. It |
|maybe that he who is told this afterward may remember better than he who has now heard it. |
|The Prophet concluded his sermon by exclaiming: "O Lord, I have fulfilled my message and accomplished my work." The assembled |
|multitude, all in one voice, cried: "Yea, verily you have." The Prophet again exclaimed: "O Lord, I beseech You, bear witness to |
|it." |
|Having rigorously performed all the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, that his example might be followed by all Muslims for all |
|succeeding ages, the Prophet returned with his followers to Medina. |
|The eleventh year of the hijrah, being the last year of Muhammad's life, was spent at Medina. There he settled the organization |
|of the provincial and tribal communities which had adopted Islam and become the component parts of the Muslims federation. More |
|officers had to be deputed to the interior provinces for the purpose of teaching their inhabitants the precepts of the religion, |
|administering justice, and collecting Zakat. Muadh Ibn Jabal was sent to Yemen. On his departure to that distant province the |
|Prophet enjoined him to use his own discretion in the event of his being unable to find express authority in the Quran. Ali was |
|deputed to Yamama in the southeast of the peninsula. To him the Prophet said: "Never decide between any two parties who come to |
|you for justice unless you first hear both of them." |
|A force was not being prepared under Usama, Ibn Zaid, whose father was killed at Muta, against the Byzantines, to exact the |
|long-delayed reparation for the murder of the envoy to Syria. However, the news of the Prophet's sickness and failing health |
|caused that expedition to be stopped. This news was soon noised abroad and produced disorder in some districts. Three pretenders |
|had arisen who gave themselves out as prophets and tried by all kinds of imposture to win over their tribes. The most dangerous |
|of these pretenders was known as Al Aswad. He was a chief of Yemen and a conjurer. He soon succeeded in gaining over his |
|tribesmen and, with the help, reduced to subjection many of the neighboring towns. He killed Shahr, whom the Prophet had |
|appointed as Governor of Sana in the place of his father Bazan, who had just died. Bazan had been the viceroy of Yemen under |
|Chosroes of Persia; after he had adopted Islam he was allowed by the Prophet to remain as Governor of Yemen. He was able to |
|convert to Islam all the Persian colony in that province. Al-Aswad, the conjurer, had now killed Shahr, but soon after he was |
|massacred by the Persians of Yemen. |
|The other two pretenders, Tulayha and Haroun by name, were not suppressed until after the death of the Prophet, during the reign |
|of Abu Bakr. Haroun, better known as Mussaylamah, addressed to the Prophet a letter which ran as follows: "From Mussaylamah the |
|Prophet of Allah, to Muhammad the Prophet of Allah. Peace be to you. I am your partner. Let the exercise of authority be divided |
|between us. Half the earth will be mine, and half will belong to your Quraish. But the Quraish are too greedy to be satisfied |
|with a just division." To this letter the Prophet replied as follows: "From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Mussaylamah the |
|liar. Peace be to those who follow the right path. The earth belongs to Allah. It is He Who makes the reign whomsoever He |
|pleases. Only those will prosper who fear the Lord." |
|The health of the Prophet grew worse. His last days were remarkable for the calmness and serenity of his mind. He was able, |
|though weak and feeble, to lead the public prayers until within three days of his death. He requested that he might be permitted |
|to stay at 'Aisha's house close to the mosque during his illness, an arrangement to which his other wives assented. As long as |
|his strength lasted, he took part in the public prayers. The last time he appeared in the mosque he addressed the congregation, |
|after the usual prayers were over, in the following words: "O Muslims, if I have wronged anyone of you, here I am to answer for |
|it; if I owe anything to anyone, all I may happen to possess belongs to you." A man in the crowd rose and claimed three Dhirhams |
|which he had given to a poor man at the request of the Prophet. They were immediately paid back with these words: "Better to |
|blush in this world than in the next." |
|The Prophet then prayed and implored Allah's mercy for those who had fallen in the persecution of their enemies. He recommended |
|to all his followers the observance of religious duties and the leading of a life of peace and goodwill. Then he spoke with |
|emotion and with a voice still so powerful as to reach beyond the outer doors of the mosque: "By the Lord in Whose hand lies the |
|soul of Muhammad as to myself, no man can lay hold on me in any matter; I have not made lawful anything excepting what Allah has |
|made lawful; nor have I prohibited anything but that which Allah in His Book has prohibited." |
|Then turning to the women who sat close by, he exclaimed: "O Fatimah, my, daughter, and Safia, my aunt, work you both that which |
|procure you acceptance with the Lord, for verily I have no power to save you in any wise." He then rose and re-entered the house |
|of Aisha. |
|After this, the Prophet never appeared at public prayers. A few hours after he returned from the mosque, the Prophet died while |
|laying his head on the bosom of Aisha. As soon as the Prophet's death was announced, a crowd of people gathered at the door of |
|the house of Aisha, exclaiming: "How can our messenger be dead?" Umar said: "No, he is not dead; he will be restored to us, and |
|those are traitors to the cause of Islam who say he is dead. If they say so let them be cut in pieces." But Abu Bakr entered the |
|house at this moment, and after he had touched the body of the Prophet with a demonstration of profound affection, he appear at |
|the door and addressed the crowd with the following speech: "O Muslims, if anyone of you has been worshipping Muhammad, then let |
|me tell you that Muhammad is dead. But if you really do worship Allah then know that Allah is living and will never die. Do you |
|forget the verse in the Quran: Muhammad is not more than a Messenger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him. |
|If he dies or is killed, will you then turn your back on your heels (as disbeliveers)? 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." (Ch 3:144 Quran). Upon hearing this |
|speech of Abu Bakr, 'Umar acknowledged his error, and the crowd was satisfied and dispersed. |
|Al-Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, presided at the preparation for the burial, and the body was duly washed and perfumed. There was |
|some dispute between the Quraish and the Ansars as to the place of burial; however, Abu Bakr settled the dispute by affirming |
|that he had heard the Prophet say that a prophet should be buried at the very spot where he died. A grave was accordingly dug in |
|the ground within the house of Aisha and under the bed on which the Prophet died. In this grave the body was buried, and the |
|usual rites were performed by those who were present. |
|Thus ended the glorious life of that Prophet Muhammad. |
|May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. |