KNOW ABOUT ISLAM
I HAVE BEEN REQUESTED BY MOST OF MY
NON-MUSLIM ASSOCIATES TO PROVIDE MATERIAL FOR THEIR STUDY TO KNOW
ABOUT ISLAM, THE MOST BLAMED RELIGION IN THE PRESENT WORLD
ISLAM HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION THESE DAYS BY MEDIA
MOST OF THE PERSONS DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ISLAM, THE RELIGION AS SUCH
THEY ONLY KNOW ABOUT THE EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD AND CONNECT ISLAM
TO THE TERRORISM
ISLAM IS CLOSELY RELATED TO CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM ORIGINATED FROM
PROPHET ABRAHAM (SWAS)
ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE AND WE HAVE PRESENTED THE TRUTH
THE LIFE OF THE MESSENGER, THE HOLY BOOK "QURAN" WITH ITS ENGLISH
TRANSLATION AND EXPLANATIONS WITH HISTORIC REFERENCES, LECTURE ON
VARIOUS TOPICS
QURAN AND HADITH {SAYING AND FOLLOWING OF PROPHET MOHAMMED (SWAS)} AND
ISLAMIC TV CHANNELS WHICH ARE AVAILABLE 24/7, CAN BE SEEN ON YOUR
COMPUTER
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READ THE BIOGRAPHY OF PROPHET MOHAMMED (SWAS) IN
ALL LANGUAGES - JUST
CLICK HERE TO VISIT, SELECT THE LANUAGE AND READ
PROPHET MOHUMMED’S
(PBUH)
LIFE
HOLY LIFE OF HAZRAT MUHAMMAD
(HAYYAT-E-TAYYABA)
Maulana A. S. Muhammad Abdul Hai (Rah.)
Courtesy:
www.al-islamforall.org
CHAPTER-I
Chapter-II
Chapter-III
Chapter-IV
Chapter-V
Chapter-VI
Chapter-VII
Chapter-VIII
Chapter-IX
Chapter-X
Chapter-XI
Chapter-XII
In the Name of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
CHAPTER-I
Islamic Movement and Pre-Islamic Scenario
1.
Importance of Islamic Movement
2.
A distinctive Features of the Islamic Movement
3.
Roman Empire
4.
India
5.
Jews
6.
Conditions of Arab
7.
Arabian Traits for Islamic Movement
8.
Difficulties in Reforming Arabs
Islamic Movement and Pre-Islamic Scenario
Islam or the message of Muhammad (PBUH) is the
magnificent reformatory movement of the world. The same movement that
has been launched by several other prophets in all times and every part
of the world. This movement reformed not only the spiritual but all
aspect of human life which has no parallel. This is a holistic movement
encompassing simultaneously the spiritual, moral, social, economic and
political aspects of human life, and no aspect of human life is out of
the purview of this movement.
Importance of Islamic Movement:
There has been innumerable reformatory and revolutionary movements in
the world. But Islamic movement is the most distinctive features. How
this movement emerged? How was it presented? What reactions did it
evoke? Such questions arise to every one who is introduced to the
movement. Replies to these queries are not so simple. Rather related
academic questions lead to understanding a movement that has the
capacity to resolve the issues that still confront the humanity. This
movement makes one realize the actual meaning of loss and profit and the
realities of the eternal life that is the ultimate destination of a man.
The movement gives a complete code of worldly life
that adorns not only the eternal life but shapes worldly life in a
manner that one gets rid of all the complexities of life that had always
bothered the mankind.
This is the distinction of Islamic movement that has
drawn the attention of every student with a view to observe and
understand the movement and the claim that it makes about itself.
A large number of books has been written and shall
continue to be written and with their help a clear introduction of
Islamic movement is available. But as the perception of light can not be
separated from the lamp and the feeling of fragrance can not be
separated from the flowers, the understanding of such a magnificent
movement cannot go without the prime mover of the movement. As such
whenever there is a reference to this movement people demand to know the
life and events of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) .They also demand the
meaning and the interpretation of Holy Qur'an, the real source of this
movement, which is quite natural.
Distinctive Features of Islamic Movement:
The greatest service to humanity is to instill values and moral
training. To eradicate evils and to present before them a complete code
of life by following that one could succeed in life in its true sense,
Many people have worked for it in their own way. But most of them chose
a specific field of reformers for this purpose and dedicated themselves
in their chosen area. Some adopted morality and spirituality while
others tried to adorn the civilization. Some entered the vast meadows of
politics. But those reformers who decided to reform the whole life of
the human beings where none other than Prophets (PBUH) of God.
It is the greatest favour of the Creator of this
universe that the teachings and message of the last prophet and details
of his life has been protected and preserved in an unparallel manner.
The biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was penned in a way that
no other historical records could get such authenticity. Moreover, the
coverage and comprehensiveness of it is such that every event of his
life, his dealings, the manners of his sitting, walking, eating habits,
style of sleeping and getting up and the style of smiling and speaking
are minutely described. In short, the details that are not available
about the greatmen of past one or two centuries are available about
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) even after 1500 years of time.
Before we study the events of Prophet's (PBUH)
life, we should keep one thing more in our minds that every work is
valued with reference to the circumstances in which it was done.
Favourable circumstances soon lead a movement to flourish. It takes
sufficient time for an ordinary movement to gain ground and when someone
rises for a cause, the masses show sympathy for the movement. In this
way, the movement gets a momentum. For instance, take any freedom
movement, people are against the atrocities of the foreign oppressors
and develop a hatred towards them and if a man of courage rises and
gives a call for freedom people join him. Even if the number of those
who actually join the movement is small due to fear, but the sympathy
and support of all countrymen is with the movement. Same is the
situation in case of economic movements. Economic exploitation compels
the people to fight the exploiters and black marketers. In short, every
movement needs favorable conditions and the support of masses for its
success. But the movements that are launched in unfavorable conditions
soon get into the rough weathers. For example if a person, in a free
land, invites his countrymen to accept the slavery of a mighty nation,
then, think about his fate and sufferings that the person is going to
face.
Nobody can gauge the real importance and the
greatness of the task entrusted to the inviter to Islam i.e. Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) unless he glances the then prevailing
conditions in Arabian Peninsula as well as in the rest of the world.
Global Condition at the Time the Call to Islam was
Given : The essence of Islam is Tawheed (Oneness of God). But this was
the very light that the Arabs and the whole world was deprived of . The
human mind was devoid of the true concept of Tawheed. It is a
fact that thousands of prophets (peace be upon them) before Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) illuminated every corner of the world with the
message of unity of god. But to the misfortune of humanity it had
forgotten the true message and has started including the moon, sun,
stars, jinns, angels, gods and goddesses, mountains, rivers, animals
other human being into the folds of divinity. Thus he entangled
himself in worshipping innumerable mortal objects and deprived himself
of the calm of worshipping one God.
There were two super powers on the face of the earth
at that time. They were Persia and Rome. Persians were following
zoroastrianism which had its effect from Iraq to India. Romans had faith
in Christianity. The whole Europe and African continent were under the
impact of Christianity. Hindus and Jews were also two important
religious sects. Everyone used to claim to be on the right path.
Worshipping of stars was common in Iran. The kings
and elites also had religious status and they were prostrated before.
The people used to sing songs in their praise. In short, Persia was
bereft of the concept of Tawheed.
Roman Empire :
After the cessation of Greek empire, Romans were considered to be the
super power of the world but by the end of 6th century A.D. this empire
had reached at the brink of its downfall, mal-administration, fear of
foes, restlessness within the country, utmost degradation of moral
values, limitless leisure had become their identity. Some people were
worshipping stars and idols. But those who embraced Christianity, were
also bereft of the concept of Tawheed. They believed in the divinity of
son and father, Ruhul Quds (Holy spirit) and Mary. Hundreds of religious
sects had cropped up and they used to fight amongst themselves.
Worshipping of graves was a common practice. The popes were prostrated
before. Popes and subsequently other religious leaders had adopted
imperial as well as divine powers. They used to decide the lawful and
unlawful. Their words were considered divine by the masses. The concept
of religiosity was to denounce the world and to keep the human body
devoid of all worldly comforts.
India :India
was passing through Puranic age. This was considered as the
darkest period in Indian history. Brahmanism was once again gaining
ground and Buddhist were almost perished. Polytheism had crossed all
bounds. The number of deities was touching 33 crore mark. It is said
that in Vedic ages, idol worship was not in practice, but it had become
common in temples. The priests were the personification of moral
degradation. Masses were vulnerable targets for these priests. Casteism
had ruined the whole society. In the begining there was no such social
discrimination but the Casteism had distorted the entire social
fabric in a manner that defied all senses of judgment. The gentry was
given privileges on hereditary and family grounds. Consuming liquor was
very common. Monastic life was considered essential part of religion.
Superstitions and fanatics were on their peak. Innumerous ritual and
faith in spirits had made the human life as blind. Every extraordinary
thing for them was god. To prostrate before every mighty or
strange thing was their religion. There were innumerable deities and
goddesses. Women priest and devdasis (woman slaves) were submerged
in the mire of moral degradation. All these heinous acts were going on
in the name of religion.. Women were put at stake in gambling. Polygamy
was a common practice. Widows were deprived of all worldly comforts.
This inhuman attitude of society used to compel a woman to lay on the
pyre of her husband. Female genocide was common due to fear of defeat
and insult and this inhuman act was a matter of boasting for them. Naked
women and men were worshipped. They used to loose sense after consuming
liquor. In short, from moral religious and social point of views, this
land of Allah was a hotbed of satanic activities.
J e w s: Being the bearer of the A l l a h ' s Deen
(religion) Jews were the ones to bring submerged in the quagmire of
sins. Their long history was replete with heinous acts. They were too
sinful to bring about any reforms. They martyred a number of prophets
sent by Allah for their reformation. They were of the view that they had
a special relationship with Allah and He will not chastise them due to
this relation. They used to regard all heavenly blessings as their
fundamental rights. For them, prophesy was their inherited legacy. The
Jew scholars were worldly people and they were enjoying its delicacies.
They used to amend the religious laws day in and day out to please the
elites and rulers. They used to follow only those divine laws which they
found easy and abandoned the rest. They use to engage in bickering
.Greed had overpowered them so much that they never used to do anything
that may have any adverse effect on their wealth or lives. Their moral
condition was worse. Polytheistic idolatry had made inroads among their
beliefs. Witchcraft, superstitions, amulet, sorcery and evil practices
had tarnished the real concept of Tawheed. When the Holy Prophet
presented before them the clear concept of Tawheed, the jews crossed all
limits and said, "the polytheists of Arabic were better than these
Muslims."
Condition of Arabian Peninsula: Let's have a glance over Arabia,
the land from where the Holy Prophet launched his movement and underwent
all kinds of miseries and hardships.
A major part of Arabia, i.e., Valley of Qura, Khaiber and Fadk were
inhabited by the Jews. They were at the helm of power in Madinah as
well. Rest of Arabia was engaged in polytheistic activities. They used
to worship trees, idols, stones, stars, angels and jins, even though
concept of one God was there and they used to regard Him as the greatest
of gods. But this belief had become so faint that they continued
worshipping the "smaller gods",. They were of the view that their
day-to-day problems were solved by these deities., so, they were mostly
engaged in offering sacrifices and votive offerings before these
deities. They used to take solemn pledges in the names of these deities.
They used to think that they can please Allah by pleasing these "smaller
gods".
These people used to regard the angels as the "daughters of Allah" and
the jinns as close relative of Allah and partner in divinity. They used
to seek their help. They had carved out idols of these "partners" in
divinity and used to worship that if they found a beautiful stone, they
would start worshipping it, if they don't get anything they would make a
mound of clay, sprinkle goat milk over it and an idol was ready. These
were innumerable idols in Arabia. They used to worship stars as well.
Among stars, they used to prefer sun and moon. Jinns and ghosts were
also worshipped. Several tales were prevalent about them. All
polytheistic superstitions were there in Arabia.
A long with these religious distortions, infightings were also common.
Trifle issues used to result into wars among tribes that used to last
for generations. No other nation could come at par with them in gambling
and consuming liquor. Their poetry was nothing but praise of wine and
the consequent obscene activities. They were beasts in human form due to
their obsession for usuary, plunder, cold bloodedness, shedding blood,
fornication and other dirty acts. They use to bury their daughters
alive. Exposure was so common that naked men and women used to make
rounds of K'aba in the name of religion. In short, Arabs had touched the
bottom of mire of sins. They had submerged their religion, morality,
social values politics and their all in this mire.
Arabian traits for
Islamic Movement : Not only Arabia rather the whole
world was engulfed in such a darkness of misguidance. Then the world
desperately needed the guiding light which could dispell this darkness
and show the right path to Allah's deviated slaves. Why was Arabia
chosen by Allah Almighty to dispel this darkness, needs a serious
thinking:
Allah Almighty had chosen Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last
messenger for guidance and light and the message of invitation (to
Islam) was to spread in the whole world. It is apparent that this
gigantic task could not be completed by an individual so, it was a must
that the Holy Prophet organize a group of reformers who could carry this
mission on even after the Prophet leaves the world. The qualities
required for this grand task were commonly found in Arabs. In addition
to it, the geographical location of Arabia such that it lies in the
central part of inhabited world. So,. it was easy to convey this message
(of Islam) to the surrounding regions. Another cogent reason was that
Arabic language had the potential that was required for the vastness of
topic. In this way, Arabic language had an upper hand over other
languages. The greatest virtue of Arabs was that they had never been
under any foreign rule. They were not acquainted with the evils of
slavery. They had Persian and Roman empires around them, but these
empires could not make them bow to them. They were extremely chivalrous
and fearless people. They used to pay no heed to dangers. Wars were
their favourite pastime. They were full of fervour and strong will
power. They were free of malice. They had sharp memory, had the ability
to learn the finer things fast. They were generous and had self esteem
and self respect. The difficult desert life style had made them
practical in their approach and if once accepted a thing it was
difficult for them to confine themselves to its appreciation from a
distance. Rather they used to rise and involve their life in their
chosen task.
Difficulties in Reforming Arabs:
The above mentioned qualities made Arabs a nation, due to which Allah
decide to entrust them with the responsibility of spreading the true
message. On the other hand the miseries that Holy Prophet faced in
reforming these people were no less. As stated earlier that to evaluate
a work it is essential to look into the circumstances in which it had
been done. So, the flourishing of Islamic movement is the greatest
achievement in terms of circumstances in which this movement was
launched. So, the way the Holy Prophet prepared this nation for Islamic
cause is nothing but a miracle.
Without putting forth these adverse situations one can not guess the
real greatness of this grand reformatory task accomplished by Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH). The obstacles that hindered the Holy Prophets are
mentioned here:
Arabs were an illiterate nation. They had no concept of Allah's
qualities, importance of the message, meaning of revelation,
understanding Allah's Book, concept of life hereafter and the real
meaning of Ibadat (worshipping). These people were blind followers of
their ancestral customs and rituals. Islam brought the true concept of
Tawheed which was contrary to their beliefs. All polytheistic evils had
taken roots in them. Superstition had taken away their wits. Infightings
were their prominent features. They had lost the power of reasoning and
thinking seriously. Their thinking was limited to wars and revenges.
Their main occupation was loot and plunder. So, when the Holy Prophet
invited them to Islam, they became amazed and exasperated. This
invitation (Islam) was against their ancestral religion and beliefs.
Islam demanded them to lead a peaceful life. It proclaimed that loot is
unlawful. It further demanded them to give up negative thinking, bad
habits and unlawful activities to gain livelihood. So, it was an uphill
task to persuade these people to give up what they were practicing for
centuries. In short, the prevailing conditions in Arabic and rest of the
world, Arabs and their habit and tendencies apparently nothing was
favourable for the movement. But when the result came, it appeared that
the Islam like a tornado took over the entire Arab. And this is the
miracle that generates a desire to know each and every aspect of
the Holy Prophet's life. The following chapter will take you
face-to-face with this great personality and its achievements.
CHAPTER-II
10.
Birth and Childhood
11. Lineage
12. Birth
13. Fostering and Childhood
Lineage :
The name of Prophet Muhammad's father was Abdullah s/o Abdul Muttalib.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the sixtieth branch of Prophet
Ibrahim's (peace upon him) geneological tree. The name of Prophet's
dynasty was Quraysh. This dynasty was the distinguished one among
dynasties of Arabs. Many persons like Nadr, Fahr and Qusai Bin Kalab
from this dynasty were prominent in terms of honour and wealth. Qusai
was appointed as the trustee of the sanctuary of K'aba in his time, this
added to their honour. Qusai did some commendable jobs like providing
Hajis with drinking water and food. Later on, these works were carried
on by his successors. The trusteeship of K'aba and making proper
arrangements for Hajis, got this dynasty an honourable and distinguished
place amongst other dynasties of Arabs. so much was the reverence of
this dynasty that nobody dared to touch the caravans of this clan.
Quraysh were comfortable in taking their merchandise from one place to
another.
Abdul Muttalib had ten or twelve sons. But five of them gained fame due
to their association with Islam or heathensim. One of them is Prophet
Muhammad's father Abdullah, second is Abu Talib, though he did not
embrace Islam but acted as Prophet's guardian for a long time. Hazrat
Hamzah and Hazrat Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) were the third
and fourth respectively who embraced Islam and gained a high
status in Islamic history. Abdul Mutallib's fifth son was Abu Lahab who
is notorious for his anti-Islamic activities.
Abduallah got married to the Wahab Bin Abd-Manaf's daughter Aamna,
She was an eminent personality in Quraysh tribe. Abdullah was 17 years
of age at the time of tying nuptial knot. He stayed with his inlaws for
three days as was their custom. Then, he set off for Sham (Syria) for
commercial purpose. On his way back to Makkah, he had serious illness
and died in Madinah. Hazrat Aamna was pregnant at this time.
Birth : It was the blessed morning of 9th day of Rabi-ul-Avval,
the day was Monday (corresponding to 20th April 571 A. D.) that the
Mercy for the Worlds, opened his eyes on this blessed land. This was the
light which was to dispel darkness of the world and to bestow the
message of guidance to the humanity. This message was last till Doomsday
and was the greatest blessing of the Creator of the universe. As father
Abdullah had died, grandfather named him Muhammad.
Fostering and Childhood : First of all Hazrat Aamna suckled him and
then Abu Lahab's maid Saubiya suckled the infant. It was customary for
Arabs to sent their infants to rural areas for lactating and upbringing,
so that, they may get the full of fresh air of suburbs and learn the
eloquent way of speaking Arabic. Bedouins were regarded more eloquent
than those living in towns. Women from rural areas used to visit the
towns to take babies with them for suckling and fostering. So, after a
few days, some women form Havazin tribe came to Makkah. Halima Sa'adia
was among these ladies. This is the lady who got the honour of suckling
Muhammad.
She came back to Makkah after two years to handover Muhammad to his
mother Aamna. But Makkah, at that time, was reeling under epidemic, so,
Hazrat Aamna sent her back with Muhammad . In this way,
Muhammad stayed with Hazrat Halima for six years.
When Muhammad attained the sixth year, his mother Aamna took him
to Madinah. Perhaps she went there to visit her husband Abdullah's grave
or to meet her relatives in Madinah. She stayed there for one month.
When she was going back to Makkah, she became ill and died at a place
called Abwa. She was buried at the same place.
Muhammad's grandfather Abdul Muttalib shouldered the
responsibility of grandson's upbringing. He always kept grandson with
him. But he died after two years. Before leaving this mortal world, he
entrusted Muhammad to his son Abu Talib who performed his duty well. Abu
Talib and Prophet's father Abdullah were from the same mother. Abu Talib
had a deep love for Muhammad. He used to avoid his own children for
Muhammad's pleasure. He used to take Muhammad with him wherever he went.
Muhammad, at the age of 10 or 12 started grazing the goats with other
children. Grazing the quadrupeds was very common occupation of children
even the ones from noble families used to graze goats.
Abu Talib was a trader. According to the rules of Quraysh, he used to
visit Sham once a year. Prophet was in the twelfth year that Abu Talib
intended to go to Sham (Syria). He did not want to take Muhammad with
him due to the inconveniences of the desert journey. But as he
was setting off, Muhammad hugged him and insisted to accompany him. So,
the affectionate uncle took the nephew with him.
CHAPTER-III
14. Pre-Prophecy Events
15. Battle of Fijar
16. Hilful Fudul
17. Construction of Holy K'aba
18. Trade
19. Nikah
20. Unusal Events
Battle of Fijaar :
A neven ending series of wars was on in Pre-Islamic period. Battle of
Fijaar is one of these fierce and bloody battles, This battle was fought
between Quraysh and Qais tribes. As the Quraysh were justifiable,
Prophet Muhammad sided with Quraysh tribe. But he raised his hand
on none. Qais tribe dominated the battlefield, but, they were
overpowered by Quraysh tribe. The war ended on a compromise.
Hilful Fudul : The endless serie0s of wars destroyed hundreds of
households. There was no clam in life. After the battle of Fijar was
over, some peace-loving people came forward and launched a reformatory
movement. One of prophet's uincle Zubair proposed that we should take
some concrete steps to keep the situation under control. So, the
elderman of Quraysh tribe sat face-to-face and a treaty was reached. It
read :
1. We will eradicate restlessness from within the land.
2. We will provide protection to travelers.
3. We will help the destitute.
4. We will stretch a helping hand to oppressed people.
5. We will not let any oppressor to operate from within Makkah.
The Prophet Muhammad was also present there and he joined the
treaty and loved it. So, once in his prophecy time, he said, "If I was
offered with red camels for breaking this treaty I would have not
accepted. If I get a fresh call for such a treaty, I will be there."
Construction of Holy K'aba : K'aba was a roofless construction.
The walls were not very high, the building was in low-lying area. The
rain water used to flow towards this direction. So, a dam was built to
stop the inflowing water but this dam was too weak to stop the gushing
water and often it collapsed. The water used to damage the Holy
Construction. So, it was settled to rebuilt Holy K'aba. All Quraysh
tribes joined hands to rebuild it. The construction work was divided
among the tribes because nobody wanted to be deprived of this noble
deed. But the re-installation of Hajr-e-Aswad* became an issue. Every
tribe claimed the honour. The swords took the place of spades.This
dispute lasted for four days. On the fifth day, an elderly Quraysh
suggested that we should appoint a judge to solve this issue and the
first person who enters the sanctuary in the morning will be the judge.
By the virtue of Allah the Holy Prophet was the first one to enter
the sanctuary. So, the Holy Prophet asked all the claimant tribes
appoint their representatives and each tribe will send one man only.
Then, he spread a sheet on the ground and put the holy relic on it and
asked the chiefs to hold onto the corners of the sheet and raise it.
When they lifted the stone in this manner upto the proper height, the
Holy Prophet inserted the stone in its place. In this way, a bloody war
was averted.
The new building of K'aba was roofed. But due to the insufficient
construction material, a part of land was left out and new foundations
were laid. This left-out part is today known as Hatim.
Trade : Arabs and Quraysh in particular were traders for ancient
times. Prophet's uncle Abu Talib was also a trader. So, the Holy Prophet
also adopted the trade as his profession. Prophet's journey with his
uncle gained him a lot of experience. So, when the prophet started that
business, the people found him an honest person in dealings and people
started investing money in his trade. Keeping of the words, fair in
dealing, righteousness and honesty, all these qualities made him
extremely respectable among Quraysh. The people started calling him
Sadiq (true of words) and Ameen (trustworthy). The Prophet made several
tripes to Syria, Basra and Yemen for commercial purposes.
Nikah (Matrimonial rites) : Hazrat Khadija was a rich and
prestigious lady of Makkah. She was a remote cousin of Prophet Muhammad.
She got married two times but both the husbands died and now she was a
widow. She was a decent and well-mannered lady having high moral status.
People used to call her Tahira (chastel lady). She was very rich. She
used to operate her business through hired traders.
Prophet Muhammad was 25 years old at this juncture. He had made
several commercial trips. He had established himself as man of high
moral status and a trustworthy trader. So, Hazrat Khadija sent a man to
Prophet Muhammad and asked him to take her merchandise for trade.
She offered handsome remuneration for it. Prophet Muhammad
accepted the offer and set off for Basra with her merchandise. He
performed his job well. Then, he came back to Makkah. After three
months, Hazrat Khadija proposed him. He accepted the proposal and the
date was fixed. On the appointed day, Prophet Muhammad, accompanied by
Abu Talib, Hazrat Hamza and other elder persons of his clan, reached
Hazrat Khadija's house. Abu Talib read out the Nikah sermon and the
Nikah was solemnised on 500 gold dirhams.
At the time of marriage, Hazrat Khadija was 40 years old and had two
sons and one daughter from her earlier husbands.
Unusal Events : Prominent personalities generally show signs of
their bright future right from their birth. These are the persons who do
some reformatory work in a particular field but the personality who was
to be entrusted for providing guidance to the whole world and to reform
each and every aspect of human life, must show such signs in abundance.
Such extraordinary events regarding Prophet Muhammad's life are
mentioned in numerous biographies. But here we are mentioning a few
authentic events :
Prophet Muhammad ordered that, "while I was in my mother's womb,
she saw a dream that a light originated from her body which illuminated
the palaces of Syria". There are many narratives prevalent in this
regard that in those days jews and christians were waiting for the
arrival of an incoming Prophet and used to give prophesy about him.
Another incident is related to Prophet's early childhood. Some
construction work was on inside the sanctuary K'aba, children along with
elders were fetching bricks. Prophet Muhammad was also among
these children. Prophet's uncle asked him to untie his leg-sheet and put
it on shoulder in order to avoid the friction by bricks which was
causing burning sensation. In Arabia, such behavior was not uncommon
even the elders felt no shame in exposing their bodies. But as Muhammad
did this, he fell unconscious due to the feeling of nakedness and his
eyes wide open. When, he came back to senses, he was uttering these
words, "my leg-sheet, my let-sheet". The people around him tied the leg
sheet around his waist. When Abu Talib asked about the reason of his
felling unconscious, he replied that, "I saw a man in while clothes who
asked me to cover my body from naval to knee." Most like it was
the first hidden voice that prophet had heard.
Story telling was very common in Arabia. They used to gather around fire
at night and a story teller take the centre stage and narrate the
concocted stories throughout the night. Once Muhammad also
intended to be there but it happened so, Muhammad halted at a place to
see a marriage function. The sleep overtook him. In the morning he came
back to his house. The same incident took place on an another occasion..
In this way Allah Almighty kept him away from such a bad company.
Prophet Muhammad was a child and Makkah was the centre of idols.
There were 360 idols in K'aba and his elders were priests. But
Muhammad never bowed before these idols nor he took part in
polytheistic rituals. As far as such polytheistic customs were
concerned, Prophet Muhammad never sided with Quraysh nor with his
clan.
CHAPTER-IV
21. Begining of Prophecy
22. Cave Hira
23. First Revelation
Now Muhammad started feeling a revolution in his
mind., His heart started inclining to worship Allah in solitude and to
ponder over the religious and moral degradation among his people. He
used to think that my people have made these idols their god. Their
moral condition is worst. He used to think of ways to eradicate these
evils. He wanted to show them the right path. He used to ponder over the
ways that how to worship the Creator of this boundless universe. Such
thoughts used to hover over his mind. He used to spend hours in solitide
pondering over these thoughts.
Cave Hira :There was a cave at a distance or three miles from
Makkah. Muhammad used to stary in this cave for hours worshipping Allah.
He used to take eatables with him, when he run out of eatables he used
to come back to his house for provisions or Hazrat Khadija used to fetch
eatables for him.
First Revelation : One day Muhammad was busy in worshipping Allah
as usual. It was the month of Ramzan that an angel sent by Allah,
appeared before him. This angel was Hazrat Jibril (peace be upon him),
who has the most elevated place among angels and who has been bringing
Allah's messages to prophets. Hazrat Jibril appeared and asked the
prophet, "read". Prophet Muhammad replied that "I am illiterate".
Hearing this Hazrat Jibril started pressing the Prophet so much so that
he got tired. Then, Hazrat Jibril loosened his grip and asked him
"read". But Prophet Muhammad again denied, then Hazrat
Jibril pressed him the third time and after loosening his grip, he asked
the prophet to say:
Proclaim! (or read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created
- Created man, out of a leech like clot:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is the most Bountiful
He Who taught (the use of ) the pen,---
Taught man that which he knew not.
(Q. 96:1-5)
This was the first revelation. The Prophet Muhammad came back to
his house, having a trembling heart*. He asked Hazrat Khadija, "Wrap me
in a blanket, wrap me up in a blanket." She wrapped him up in a blanket.
When Prophet Muhammad felt clam, he told Hazrat Khadija
about what had happened to him in Whatever the prophet said and the way
Hazrat Khadija pacified him is nothing but natural feeling.
The Cave Hira, He further added that, "my life is in danger". Hazrat
Khadija solaced him and said, "no! never, there is no threat to your
life, Allah will not disgrace you, you take care of your relatives, load
yourself with the burden of others, help destitutes and feed them,
entertain the travellers. You suffer on behalf of others for sake of
justice." After these pacifications, she took the Prophet to Waraqa Bin
Naufal, an elder Christian priest. He used to recite Taurah. Hazrat
Khadija (May Allah be pleased with her) narrated to him the whole
incident of Cave Hira. Hearing all this, Waraqa said that, "This is the
Gabriel**. (Jibril who knows the hidden secrets) who used to bring
messages for Musa also. I wish that I were alive when your people would
banish you." The prophet asked, "will my people force me to leave the
native land" Then, Waraqa further added that, "the guidance you brought
was brought by several other messengers before you but all of them had
been targeted by their people. If I remain alive till that time, I will
help you". But Waraqa died after sometime.
Prophet Muhammad used to visit Cave Hira and pray there. Six
months passed over the first revelation, this gap helped the Holy
Prophet to overcome the effect of the first experience. Now, the Holy
Prophet was curiously waiting for the descending of second revelation.
Hazrat Jibril used to visit the Hoy Prophet to pacify him and assure him
that he has been selection to shoulder this responsibility of conveying
the message of Allah to his slaves. After some time Hazrat Jibril (peace
be upon him) started frequenting the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
CHAPTER-V
24. Commencement of the Invitation to Islam
25. Tow phases of the Message
26. Life of Makkah
27. Four Phases of Makkan Life
28. Secret Invitation
29. Impact of Qur'an
30. Rectification of Beliefs
31. Salahs (prayers) in Hiding
32. Traits of Believers of this Period
33. Proclamation of Invitation to Islam
34. Opposition to the Invitation
35. Reasons for Opposition to Islamic Cause
36. Opponents' Compulsions
37. Dealing with the Opponents
38. Masses Pay Attention to Invitation
39. Offer from the Opponents
40. Trial and Test
41. Migration to Abyssinia---5 Prophethood
42. Muslims in the Court of Negus
43. Negus Embraces Islam
44. Hamza Embraces Islam
45. Umar Embraces Islam
46. Confinement in the Valley of Abi Talib
47. Pace of the Call to Islam
48. Extreme Oppression and Cruelty
49. Preaching Outside Makkah
50. Night of Jinn
51. Islam in Madinah
52. Intensity in Opposition
53. First Oath of Allegiance ;at Uqba
54. Second Oath of Allegiance at Uqba
The second revelation in Cave Hira was the initial
ayahs of Chapter Al-Muddasssir:
O thou wrapped up (in a mantle)! arise and deliver thy warning!
And thy Lord do thou magnify! And thy garments keep free from
stain! And all abomination shun! Nor expect, in giving any increase
(for thyself)! But, for thy Lord's (cause) be patient and constant!
This was the beginning of prophecy. Now the Holy Prophet got the
word, "rise and show the path of success and prosperity to the deviated
humanity and warn them that there is no way of success but the slavery
of Allah. Whoever will tread on this path of slavery, will succeed. Warn
them of the deadly end in hereafter in case they deviate from the right
path. The basis of human life is the slavery of Allah and admission of
his greatness and magnificence. In this way the human life can be
consecrated from all apparent and hidden desecrations. Worsipping
someone other than Allah the basic deviations that destroys a human
being. Humans should behave well with each other without having any
greed ulterior motives.
Phase of Spreading the Message : Henceforth the period of the
invitation to the movement starts. We can devide this period into two
parts. The first one is the period that is called Makkan period and the
second one is post-migration Madinite period. The first period spans
over 13 and the second over 10 years respectively.
Life of Makkah : The Makkan period of invitational work is very
significant from the point that it was the period during which Islamic
seeds were sown in. This is the period which produced personalities that
took the world by storm to establish Islam.
Makkan period is scantily mentioned in available books on history and
prophet's biography. To gaugee the importance of this period one must go
through that part of the Holy Qur'an which was revealed during stay
Makkah. These chapters throw proper light on the nature of invitation,
prevailing condition, detail of events, arguments regarding Tawheed and
hereafter, instructions for character building, and the details
regarding the struggle between Islam and heathenism and the fervour of
protagonists of Islamic cause. The Holy Qur'an plays a decisive role in
providing all these details. We are mentioning some of these events
briefly:
Four Phases of Makkan Life : The part of Holy Prophet's life in
Makkah prior to migration can be divided into four major segments
according to the various phases of struggle between Islam and atheism.
First Phase : This phase spans over three years when the
invitational work was done secretly.
Second Phase : It spans over two years. When the Holy Prophet
proclaimed his prophecy, the people laughed at him, showered him with
allegations and revile language. All efforts were on to curb the sapling
of Islamic movement through false propaganda.
Third Phase : When this sapling grew into a plant and all
atrocities met rough weather, then, the neophytes were targeted. This
phase spans over 5 or 6 years and muslims underwent excessive
callousness throughout this period.
Fourth Phase :After the demise of Abu Talib and Hazrat Khadija,
the Holy Prophet and his companions suffered the worst of calamities and
agonies. This period spans over three years.
First Phase
Secret Invitation :
After conferment of Prophethood the first stage was to decide as to whom
the message of praying only one God should be given first. We have
already briefly mentioned about the prevailing social conditions in
Arabia. It was a hard test for the Holy Prophet to say something which
was contrary to the beliefs and customs of Arabs. So Prophet Muhammad
decided to invite those who were close to him and knew about the
righteousness and piety of Muhammad. It was not possible for them to
contradict Muhammad. Hazrat Khadija (May Allah be pleased with her) was
the closest to the Holy Prophet them there were Hazrat Zaid and Hazrat
Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them) Hazrat Ali was his cousin,
Hazrat Zaid was Prophet's slave and Abu Bakr was a close friend of his.
All these were enjoying the Prophet's decent company for years. So, the
Holy Prophet conveyed the message to Hazrat Khadija and then to rest
three. All of them listened to the message and certified it as if they
had already embraced Islam. These were the first four muslims. The
Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Zubair, Hazrat Abdur Rehman Bin Auf, Hazrat Sa'ad
Bin Abi Waqas and Hazrat Talha entered the folds of Islam on the
persuation of Hazrat Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them). In this
way, Islamic invitation started like a secret mission and the number of
muslims started increasing.
Impact of Qur'an : The chapter of the Holy Qur'an that were
revealed in this period were based upon phrases and short sentences. The
style and arrangement of words are superb. The literary impact was such
that entered the hearts of listeners. Everyone who used to listen to
these ayahs wanted to recite them again and again.
Rectification of Beliefs : These chapters of the Holy Qur'an were
describing the realities of heareafter and the true concept of Tawheed
and had such arguments that used to effect the hearts. The examples were
taken from their surroundings with which Arabs were well acquainted.
Things were explained to them with the help of events from their own
history and their traditions. Mention was made to the deviation that has
occurred in their own belief. The deterioration in their collection
morality and the social evils in their society with which they were
themselves aware were emphasized units. That was the reason that whoever
heard these ayahs was deeply impressed. Allah's Prophet started the
invitation to the movement alone, but then this was period of revelation
of initial ayahs of Qur'an which immensely helped the movement which was
slowly spreading.
Along with the convincing presentation of the concept of Tawheed,
and life hereafter Prophet Muhammad was also being prepared to
take on this grand job of spreading the message of Islam. He was also
being guided about the modalities of accomplishing this job.
Salahs (prayers) in Hiding : Till now, all the activities were
secret. Secrecy was uppermost priority in Islamic circle. Prophet
Muhammad used to perform salah in the valley of a mountain. It
happened one day that Prophet Muhammad along with Hazrat Ali was
performing salah in mountain pass. Then, Abu Talib, Prophet's uncle,
appeared on the scene. He kept watching this new way of praying with
astonishment. When the salah was completed he asked, "What is this
religion?" Prophet Muhammad replied, This is the religion
of your grandfather Prophet Ibrahim." Abu Talib said, "I can't adopt it
but you are allowed to follow it, nobody will resist you."
Traits of Believers of this Period :This was the period when
embracing Islam and siding with Prophet Muhammad was like putting one's
life at stake. The persons who embraced Islam in this period has some
qualities that prompted them to advance in this field. These people were
fed up with polytheistic rites and were looking for the true guidance.
These people were pious and believed in good moral values.
The invitation to the movement continued for three years secretly. But
how long? How long the clouds could conceal the sum which was to
illuminate the whole world with the light of guidance. So, the movement
entered the second phase.
Second Phase
Proclamation of Invitation to Islam :
Now the guidance came from Allah to proclaim openly the invitation to
Islam. So, one day Prophet Muhammad climbed mountain Safa and
called out at the top of his voice, "Ya Sabaha ".It was Arab's custom
that in case of a peril, someone used to climb an elevated place and
call out these works and people use to gather at this call. So, when the
Prophet called out these words atop the mountain Safa, a large number of
people gathered there. Among them was Prophet's uncle Abu Lahab. When
people gathered, the Holy Prophet said, "O people ! if I tell you that a
grand army is waiting behind this mountain to attack you, will you
believe me?" All replied, "Definitely by all means, you have never told
a lie and we regard you as truthful and trustworthy." Then, the Holy
Prophet said, "O people! I call you towards praying God and I want you
to refrain from the evils of idolatry. But if your deny (Allah's
religion) I warn you of a severe and painful chastisement"
Quraysh, hearing this, got incensed and Abu Lahab asked angrily, "had
you called us only to convey this?"
It was an open call to message of Islam. Now, Allah's Prophet declared
openly the task that was assigned to him and the message to which he was
inviting them all. The prophet has proclaimed that Allah is the sole
Creator and Owner of this universe. He created man and He is the master
of all creatures. The man's place is nothing more than being Allah's
slave. It is man's duty to serve Allah and Obey His commands. Allah has
bestowed the honour of being a supreme creature to man, so, he should
not make partners in Allah divinity. Akkah is the Creator, Ruler and
Cherisher of the whole universe and its creatures. No one other than
Allah, deserves to be worshipped, or to be obeyed and adored. Allah has
bestowed some powers to man. This worldly life is a time-bound test.
When the time of this test will be over, the man must go back to his
Lord. Then, Allah will decide his fate according to the good or bad
deeds performed by that man. The proclamation by Prophet Muhammad
was not an ordinary one. The Quraysh and other people were extremely
angry with the Holy Prophet because he had hurt their "religious
sentiments". Everyone in Makkah was talking about the invitation given
by Muhammad and his claim of prophecy. A few days later, Prophet
Muhammad asked Hazrat Ali to make arrangements for a feast. All
members of Abdul Muttalib's (Prophet's gandfathe) clan were invited to
this feast. Hamza, Abu Talib and Abbas all were there. When the
eating was over, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon
him) stood up and addressed the gathering, "I brought the thing which is
sufficient for both this world and hereafter. Who will help me in
conveying this message?" It was a tense moment because the "help" meant
that the helper will have to face the enmity of the whole Arabia. All he
gets for helping Muhammad was the success in hereafter and the honour
before his Lord. No other benefit was in sight. The silence dominated
the gathering. And then, to everyone's surprise, Hazrat Ali rose from
hihs place and said, "Though I have a sore eye (his eyes were soring),
my legs are thin and weak, but I will support you actively." This show
of valour and extraordinary determination by a 13 year's old boy took
the gathering by surprise.
Opposition to the Invitation : There were forty plus muslims in
Islamic group. So, Prophet Muhammad proclaimed Tawheed within the
sanctuary of K'aba. For polytheists of Makkah it was the greatest
insult. This proclamation evoked a furore. All of them fell avidly upon
the Holy Prophet. Haris Bin Abi Hala rushed to rescue him. But he
succumbed to multiple wounds of swords and got martyrdom for the sake of
Islamic cause. The Holy Prophet managed to escape and the tumult was
somehow subsided.
Reasons for Opposition to Islamic Cause :This open invitation to
Islam was most perplexing for Quraysh and they were opposing the call
vehemently. K'aba was the source of honour and dignity for Makkah and
the Quraysh were the trustee and caretaker of K'aba. So in a way,
Quraysh were ruling the whole Arabia from the religious point. People
used to seek their counsel in affairs regarding religion and regard them
reliable. So, the first target of Islamic invitation was the very
religion led by Quraysh. It was obvious that the blind faith in
ancestral religion does not let the believers to listen to the word of
guidance. This was the reason that polytheists used to get exasperated
on hearing the message of guidance. Quraysh elites and men of power were
viewing the downfall of their "religious dominance" , in case this
new faith (Islam) takes roots. So, everyone of them was opposing the
call to Islam with as much force as they had. Quraysh were also engaged
in activities which were contrary to their religious status. The
polytheistic religion did not prohibit them from these wrong doings and
they were enjoying a lofty status among their people. The masses used to
avoid their misdeeds due to the status and dignity enjoyed by them.
The Holy Prophet Muhammed on one hand used to describe the evils
of idolatry and invite the people towards pure Tawheed, he used to make
them realize the day when they will be presented before their Lord and
will be questioned about their deeds. On the other hand he used to
describe their evil customs and warn them of their deadly end if they
did not accept the true message (Islam). The Holy Prophet used to expose
the weakness of their basic values and its result. This used to incite
the respectable peoples amongst Quraysh, because they had no courage to
give up their evil acts nor they could justify their actions. so, they
used to feel that they were being disagraced before their won people who
were criticizing them behind their back. This was enough to make them
perplexed. The Holy Qur'an was also warning these idolators of painful
chastisement. These Ayahs were presented in a simple manner, but
the people used to know clearly, as to what they are referring to.
These cogent reasons were enough to oppose the Islamic movement and it
was possible for those powerful people to physically annihilate the
small groups of Muslims to settle the score once for all. But Allah
willed otherwise, these handful neophytes were selected as the
protagonists of Islamic movement and they were chosen to spread Islam in
the length and breadth of the world. So, these were some compulsions
which prefented Quraysh from taking this extreme step.
Opponents' Compulsions : The battles in near past had broken
Quraysh. They were so frustrated with wars (after the war of Fijar) that
they hated any further war. This small number of muslims comprised of
men from different tribes and their killing meant declaring a war aginst
all these tribes. In those days, the killing of one person from a tribe
meant the disgrace of the tribe, so these people used to take revenge.
So, a single murder used to take revenge. So, a single murder used to
result into the loss of hundreds of people. sine it was feared that the
whole Makkah will turn into a battlefield, Quraysh decided to adopt some
other ways to curb this movement.
They started making fun of the movement and its followers & tried to
incriminate them wrongly. They showered the protagonists of Islamic
movement with abuses. They invented novel ways of false propaganda. They
called him insane and mad, awarded him the titles of poet and sorcerer.
They used to disturb the gatherings where the Holy Prophet used to
invite the people to Islam.
Dealing with the Opponents : The part of the Holy Qur'an that was
being revealed in this period was full of instructions to cope with this
situation. The objections of opponents were met with proper replies. For
example, in chapter Al-Qalam, Allah Almighty has pacified the prophet
:
Thou art not, By the grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.
Nay, verily for thee is a reward unfailing : and surely thou
hast sublime morals. Soon with thou see, and they will see,
which of you is afflicted with madness. Verily it is thy Lord
that Knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from
His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true)
guidance. So obey not to those who deny (the truth). Their
desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.
Then leave Me alone with such as reject this message: by
degrees shall We draw them on little by little from directions
they perceive not. A (long) respite will I grant them: truly
powerful is My plan. Or is it that thou dost ask them for a
reward, to that they are burdened with a load of debt? So
wait with patience for the command of thy Lord.
This chapter is a specimen from the Holy Qur'an that was revealed in
this Makkan period of Islamic movement. It was made crystal clear that
the inviter to Islam was neither a soothsayer not a sorcerer. Compare
the qualities of the Holy Prophet with the characteristics of poets,
sorceres and soothsayers. There is no similarity between the Holy
Prophet and those wrong doers.
Masses Pay Attention to Invitation : Quraysh's anti-Islamic
propaganda was causing curiosity in the hearts of people. they wanted to
see and listen to Holy Prophet's sermons so as to know the reality. The
visitors to K'aba or the traders who used to visit Makkah, started
visiting Holy prophet secretly. Deeply touched by Prophet's
compassionate being and divine ayahs, these people, on return to their
home towns, used to invite others to Islam in their respective regions.
A large number of people from adjoining areas started pouring in Makkah
only to have a glimpse of Holy Prophet. Hazrat Abu Zarr's (May Allah be
pleased with him) incident is a good example. Ghifar tribe was located
on the route used by Quraysh to reach Sham (Syria). When the word about
the prophet reached in this tribe, Hazrat Abu Zarr got curious to meet
the Holy Prophet. First, he sent his brother Anees to Makkah to collect
information about the Holy Prophet and his preaching. Anees did as his
brother asked him and told Hazrat Abu Zarr that "the person (the Holy
Prophet) bears a moral character, teaches good manners and invites the
people to one God and the ayahs, he recite, are quite different from
poetic words."
Abu Zarr could not calm down his desire to meet the Holy Prophet. So, he
got ready for the journey to Makkah.
When he reached Makkah, he got frightened and could not ask anyone about
the Holy Prophet. When he was in the sanctuary of K'aba, he met Hazrat
Ali (May Allah be pleased with him). He stayed for three days with
Hazrat Ali, only the he could collect enough courage to describe the
motive of his journey to Makkah. Hazrat Ali took him in the benign
presence of the Holy Prophet. As a result of this meeting, he
embraced Islam. The Holy Prophet ordered him to go back to his people
but the effect of Tawheed had ward off all his fears and anxieties, so
he reached in the sanctuary and called out
Hearing this, the people from all directions fell upon him. Allah
Almighty sent Hazrat Abbas at this time, he told the gathering that this
man is from Gifar tribe and you people pass by this tribe with your
merchandise. So, if you kill him, you lose that route. This warning
worked and they let Hazrat Abu Zarr free.
Hazrat Abu Zarr, when back among his people, invited his people to
embrace Islam, half of the tribe responded positively to his call and
embraced Islam. Aslam tribe was located in the vicinity of Ghifar tribe.
The people of this tribe also embraced Islam. In this way Islamic
invitation started spreading. The spread of Islam was tormenting the
infidels of Makkah. So, some elites and other privileged people called
on Abu Talib to complain about the Prophet. They told Abu Talib that
"Your nephew insults our idols, calls our ancestors deviated people and
term all of us foolish and wrong doers. So, either you persuade him or
permit us to settle the issue once for all." Abu Talib realized the
gravity of matter, he knew that he can't face the Quraysh single
handedly. So, he said to the Holy Prophet, "My dear nephew! don't load
me with the burden that is unbearable for me." The Holy Prophet realized
that now Abu Talib is retreating, so he said calmly to his uncle "By
God, if these people put the sun on my one hand and moon on the other, I
will not fight shy from fulfilling my duty. Either Allah will accomplish
the task or I will sacrifice myself for this noble cause." This
determination and bold decision encouraged abu Talib and he said to the
Holy Prophet, "Go on, nobody would be able to harm you."
Offer from Opponents : Abu Talib was the last hope for Quraysh
but he disappointed them so Quraysh decided to use a soft option to
finish this new movement. They sent Utba Bin Rabi' to Holy Prophet. Utba
asked the Prophet, tell us Muhammad, do you want marry in a decent
family? Is amassing wealth your target? We can provide you all this. We
are ready to give Makkah under your rule and we will fulfill all other
demands as well. But give up your invitational work."
The adversaries' mentality was too low to reach the height and loftiness
of Islamic movement. For them, material purposes were a must for a
movement. They could not imagine that this person was doing all this to
please his Lord and he was obeying the commands of his Lord. They knew
that a person puts his life at stake for the sake of wealth and power.
They did not know that some people do this for the success of eternal
life in hereafter. So, Utba was confident that his offers will prevent
Muhammad from doing his invitation work. But the Holy Prophet recited a
few ayahs from Holy Qur'an to elaborate Tawheed, invitation (to Islam)
and his prophecy.
Hearing this reply, Utba went back to Quraysh chiefs and he was
impressed with Prophet Mohammad he told the chiefs, "The divine
ayahs recited by Muhammad are not a poet's words. I request you people
to leave Muhammad with him. If he succeeds, he will dominate the whole
Arabia which will be a matter of pride for you. And if the reverse
happen, Arabs would kill him."
Now Quraysh were left with one and only option. It was to use full
aggression against Islamic movement to curb it. So, Quraysh decided to
inflict all kinds of hardships. They resolved to tease and torture
Muslims as and when they find an opportunity.
Third Phase
Trial and Test : Until now, the Islamic invitation resulted into
three forms:
1. Some fortunate person had embraced Islam and were ready to serve the
Islamic cause at every cost.
2. The majority of infidels had rejected the invitation due to their
blinkered vision, selfishness, misconceptions and the blind faith in
their ancestral religion. i.e. idolatry. These infidels were opposing
the movement.
3. The Islamic invitation was spreading outside Makkah and Islamic
circle was expanding gradually.
Henceforth the struggle between the new Islamic movement and ancient
Jahilityat (ignorance) begins. Those who wanted to cling on to their old
religion were, determined to erase this new Islamic movement with all
available resources. They inflicted all kinds of atrocities and
cruelties on Muslims and tried their best to take them away from Islam.
This is the period which saw the extremities of Quraysh's oppressions
and endless series of atrocities and inhuman punishments.
We all are aware of the hot and dry climate of Arabia. The infidels used
to force Muslims to lie on the burning sand, they used to press their
hearts with stones. They used to brand them with hot iron rods, dip them
into water, relentlessly beat them. In short they crossed all limits.
Historians have copied some incidents of these cruelties. We are
mentioning a few below:
Hazrat Khabbad (Rad.) was Umme Ammar's slave. Only six or seven persons
had embraced Islam until now, he followed the suit and became the target
of Quraysh's atrocities. One day, they laid him on burning coals
and a man put his leg on his chest so that he may not turn from one side
to other till the coals cooled down under his back. The burning marks
were apparent on Hazrat Khabba's back even after a long time.
Hazrat Bilal (Rad.) was Umayya Bin Khalf's slave. Umayya used to make
him lie on burning sand at the time of midday. He used to put a heavy
stone on Hazrat Bilal's chest and say to him "deny Islam otherwise you
will die one day in thie sand." But Hazrat Bilal (Rad.) even in this
painful condition used to utter "Ahad Ahad" ("the One, the One"). Umayya
used to a rope around his neck and handover the other end to urchins who
used to drag him from one corner of the city to another.
Hazrat Ammar (Rad.) was from Yemen. He was one of the courageous men who
embraced in this early stage. When he embraced Islam, Quraysh used to
make him lie on burning sand and beat him mercilessly till he fainted.
Hazrat Labniah (Rad.) was a maid servant. Hazrat Umar (Rad.), before he
embraced Islam, used to beat her mercilessly till he himself used to get
tired but this pious lady used to repeat the words, "If you don's
embrace Islam, Allah will punish you."
Hazrat Zubaira (Rad.) was also a maid servant in Hazrat Umar's clan.
Once upon a time, Abu Jahal beat her so much that she lost her eyesight.
In short, Muslims were facing all kinds of inhuman punishments. But
Quraysh despite all these inhuman acts could not divert a single Muslim
from Islam.
When atrocities were inflicted upon these helpless Muslims, people used
to get attracted towards them. The patience and endurance of Muslims
forced them to think as to what was the thing that was giving power to
these Muslims to cling on to their new religion. These infidels used to
acknowledge that the dealings of these Muslims was fait and ideal and
their Lord and they will not worship anyone other than Allah and they
will follow His commands. This firm-footing on part of these Muslims
used to put a question mark before many of them. Apparently this is the
common matter for us nowadays and we are astonished that why those
Muslims were tortured too much. The reason behind it is that neither we
know the complete meaning of the word "Rab" nor we put before us all
aspects of Ibadat (worship). But infidels knew the meaning of "Rab" i.e.
Allah Almighty. They also knew the vastness of "Rab" and "Ibadat".
So, both, assertive and listener knew that"
(1) There is no god but Allah. So, the man should be thankful to him. He
should pray and prostrate before him. No one deserves worshipping other
than Allah.
(2) There is no master but Allah. So, the man should accept His slavery.
The slavery and subordination to anyone other than Allah is not proper.
(3) There is no ruler but Allah. So, it is proper for man to obey Him
and be thankful to Him.
Islam was the proclamation that was ceasing the "divinity" of idols.
These idols were being worshipped for a long long time. Islam was an
open revolutionary call against idolatry, so no religious leader or
tribal chief was ready to tolerate it. More and more people were getting
inclined to Islamic movement to watch it from close quarters. They were
feeling a clemency in their hearts for these protagonists of Islamic
movement. Atrocities on men of truth always provided ladder to success.
So, on one hand the Quraysh were increasing the atrocities and on the
other hand Islamic movement was spreading. There was not a single house
in Makkah which was bereft of Islam. This flourishing of Islamic
movement was adding to the worries and anger of opponents. In a matter
of days their brothers, nephews, sisters, brother-in-law, sons and
daughters had embraced Islam. In addition to it they were ready to cut
off all their mundane relations for the sake of Islam. This was a vital
blow for these infidels. Moreover, all the new entrants to Islam were
the cream of Arabian society, their wit, moral values and general human
qualities were well known. This kind of conversions used to compel the
masses to ponder over the authenticity of Islam and the Holy Prophet.
They wanted to know that what was the thing which fuelled their spirits
so much that they (Muslims) were even ready to sacrifice their lives for
the sake of Islam. They (infidels) witnessed that Islam has added to
their (Muslims') piety, truthfulness, moral values and fair dealings.
All these things were creating the grandeur of Islam in their hearts
though many of them did not accept Islam.
Migration to Abyssinia, 5 Prophethood: The Holy Prophet had
entered the sixth year of prophecy and he realized the continuance of
Quraysh's oppressions. Though he was sure that the Quraysh would not be
able to turn away even a single Muslim from Islam but as the hardships
were out of their endurance and performing Islamic duties was becoming
almost impossible in Makkah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad decided
that some Muslims should migrate to Abyssinia which is located on the
eastern coast of Africa. A just and kind Christian king was at the helm
of affairs in Abhyssinia. This migration on one hand, provided solace a
golden opportunity to spread Islam in far off areas.
So, the first batch of 11 men and 4 women got ready for migration. It
was the month of Rajab in 5 Prophet hood, these people reached the port,
two people embarked on ships. The sailors charged nominal fair. When
Quraysh came to know about this migration they gave a chase but by the
virtue of Allah the ships had left the port.
The migrations got relief in Abyssinia and they started living in peace.
When the news reached the Quraysh, they became very angry and decided to
sent a delegation to the king of Abyssinia (Arabs used to call him
Najashi - Negus) to request him for the extradition of these Muslim
migrants. Abdullah Bin Rabi'a and Amr Bin Al-Aas were selected as
emissaries. They set off for Abyssinia. In Abyssinia, they first met the
popes of Negus. They told the popes that these migrants are following a
new religion, when we dealt them rudely, they took shelter in your
country. They requested the popes to recommend their case before the
king and ask him to extradite these migrants.
Muslims in the Court of Negus : When Negus was presented with
extradition request, he sent for Muslims and asked them, "what new
religion you people have invented?" Muslims had chosen Hazrat J'afar Bin
Abi Talib as their representative. J'afar was Hazrat Ali's brother. In
reply to Najashi's question, Hazrat J'afar delivered a lengthy speech
elaborating the Islam and faith in Allah. The gist of this speech is as
follows:
"O king! we people were groping in the darkness of misguidance for
centuries.
We were worshipping hundreds of idols in place of one God. We used to
eat
dead animals. Fornification, plundering, thefts and mutual fights were
our occu-
pations. Every powerful man among us, used to feel pride in dwarfing the
weak .
In short we were beast in human form. Then, Allah showered us with
His mercy.
He sent a messenger among us, who is a human like us. We are aware of
his
genealogy. He is extremely noble, decent, trustworthy, truthful and a
pious person.
Friend and foes, all acknowledge his nobility. This messenger invited us
to Islam
and asked us to give up worshipping idols. He asked us to acknowledge
Allah as
the owner and Master of our souls and possessions. He asked us to pray
only for
Allah, speak truth, give up blood shedding, give up usurping orphan's
wealth,
help our neighbours, avoid fornification and other dirty acts, spend our
wealth
in the way of Allah and that way is to help destitute. We have faith in
this messenger, we gave up worshipping of idols and all evil-doings. So,
our people (infidles) started oppressing us and forcing us to reconvert
to their old religion (i.e. idolatry). These two persons (Amr and
Abdullah) have come here to take us back to Makkah for forcing us to
reconvert."
Negus, after hearing all this, asked Hazrat J'afar to recite
something of Allah's message revealed to prophet. Hazrat J'afar recited
few ayahs of chapter Maryam, Najashi was so impressed that tears started
rolling out of his eyes, he said, "By God, these ayahs and Injeel
both are the reflection of the same lamp." Saying this he told Quraysh
plainly that these Muslims will not be handed over to you."
Negus Embraces Islam : The other day Quraysh played another
trick. They reached the court of Negus and requested him to ask these
Muslims about their belief regarding Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him)."
These Quraysh knew that Muslims call Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), son
of Miriam instead of son of God which is contrary to the belief of
Christians. When Najashi comes to know this, he will, get angry with
Muslims. Negus again sent for the Muslims. When confronted with this
question, Muslims first hesitated but Hazrat J'afar replied, "we will
say what is truth regardless of consequences."
So Hazrat J'afar replied in the court, full of courtiers, that, "Our
Prophet has told us that Hazrat Isa was a devotee and prophet of Allah."
Hearing this Najashi picked a straw from the ground and said, By God!
whatever you said, Isa was not more than that by the size of this
straw." In this way Quraysh's this trick too met with failure. Najashi
allowed Hazrat J'afar (Rad.) and his companions to stay peacefully in
Abyssinia and certified the peophecy of Hazrat Muhammad and
embraced Islam, Najashi's name was As hama. When he died, the Holy
Prophet performed funeral prayer in absentia for Najashi. Almost 83
Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia until now.
Hamza Embraces Islam : In Makkah, on one hand was the Quraysh's
oppressions and on the other hand was the patience and steadfastness of
Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Amid this struggle, the
gentry of Makkah was embracing Islam. Hazrat Hamza was prophet's uncle,
but he had not embraced Islam yet. The merciless behaviour of infidels
with Prophet Muhammad was soul-shattering, not only for his
relatives but for strangers too. One day Abu Jahal showed extreme
disrespect to the Holy Prophet. Hazrat Hamza was out on hunting.
When he came back, one of his maid servants narrated this incident to
him. Hazrat Hamza got incensed, took his bow and arrow and reached
the sanctuary and lambasted Abu Jahal angrily and said, "I have embraced
Islam."
Though he uttered these words overwhelmed with his love for Prophet
Muhammad but his heart was still not ready to leave the ancestors"
religion, he kept thinking all the day long. At last the call to truth
dominated him and Hazrat Hamza embraced Islam. This incident dates back
to 6 prophet hood. After a few days, Hazrat Umar also embraced Islam.
This is a very important event in the invitational history of Islam.
Umar Embraces Islam : Before he embraced Islam, Hazrat Umar was a
bigoted enemy of Islam. The Quraysh chiefs were increasing day-by-day in
opposing Islam and the caller to Islam. On the other hand mercy
and love for these people used to overwhelm prophet, who used to pray to
Allah for providing guidance to these deviated enemies. Abu Jahal and
Umar both were hide-bound enemies of the Prophet but when all the
attempts to take these two in Islamic circle failed, the Holy
Prophet made a plea in the presence of Allah Almighty that, "O my Lord,
from Abu Jahal and Umar, whoever is dearer to you, honour him with
Islam." After a few days Hazrat Umar got the divine help to embrace
Islam. The derail are as follows:
Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) himself narrates that, "One
night, I came out of my house with the intention to tease the Holy
Prophet. The prophet, was going to Masjid Haram (sacred mosque), he
entered the mosque and started performing the prayer. I was all ears.
The Holy Prophet recited Chapter Al-haqqa. I was amazed to listen the
divine words. The order and diction of words was superb. It came to my
mind that he (Holy Prophet) is a poet. As soon as this idea crossed my
mind, the Holy Prophet recited these ayah:
(That this is verily the world of an honoured messenger; It is not
the word of a poet : Little it is ye believe!)
As I heard these ayahs, it came to my mind at once that this
person (the Holy Prophet ) came to know what was in my mind. This person
is a soothsayer. Then, the Holy Prophet recited this ayah:
(Nor it is the word of a soothsayer :
(This is ) a message sent down from the Lord of the worlds.)
The Holy Prophet recited this Surah till end and I felt that Islam
is nesting in my heart. "But as Hazrat Umar was a seasoned man of firm
nature, he overcame this emotional feeling and kept on moving on the
path of enmity with Islam. One day fueled by frenzy, he left his house
with the intention to do away with Prophet Muhammad (Allah
saves us). On his way he met Naeem Bin Abdullah. Naeem asked him, "where
are you going?" Umar replied, "Today I want to settle the issue with
Muhammad Naeem asked him to have the knowledge of what is
happening in his own house, he told him that his sister and
brother-in-law had embraced Islam, hearing this, Umar took turn and
reached his sister's house straight on. His sister was reciting Holy
Qur'an. As she saw Hazrat Umar coming, she hid the Holy Qur'an. Hazrat
Umar who had heard her reciting asked her, "What were you reciting?"
Saying that both of you have renounced the religion of your forefathers,
he started beating his brother-in-law, and when the sister tried to
intervene, Umar gave her a sound beating till both of them bled. But
when both of them told him plainly that they had embraced Islam and any
atrocity on his part can't divert them from the path of Islam, Umar
softened a little bit by their determination and said to his sister,
"Okay, then let me see what you were reading", Fatima, (Umar's sister)
presented before him the parts of Holy manuscript. Hazrat Umar started
reading, it was chapter Ta'Ha and when he read:
"Verily I am Allah : There is no god but I :
So serve thou Me (only), and establish
regular prayer for my remembrance.
Overwhelmed with the efficacy of the Holy Qur'an, Umar called out :
There is no god but Allah
He intended to meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad and set off
straight on. This was the time, the Holy Prophet was staying with Arqam.
When the companion saw Hazrat Umar coming with a naked sword, they
hesitated but Hazrat Hamza (peace be upon him) said, "Let him in, better
if he is with sound intention, otherwise I will behead him with his
sword itself". Hazrat Umar entered the house, the Holy Prophet
Muhammad advanced and got hold on his garment and ordered, "Tell me
Umar what brought you here?" Overawed, Hazrat Umar replied with extreme
humility "To have faith." The Holy Prophet spontaneously called out
"Allho Akbar" and all the companions followed the suit.
The Apostle raised the cry of "Allah-o-Akbar" and all the companions
followed suit.
Islamic group became more powerful after Hazrat Umar embraced Islam.
Till now Muslims were not able to perform their religious duties openly
and it was almost impossible to perform congregational prayer in K'aba.
But things changed after Hazrat Umar's embracing of Islam. He made his
embracing (of Islam) public though it evoked a furore, but at the end of
the day muslims started offering congregational prayers in K'aba. Their
party became more powerful. The whole world witnessed that the
invocation of Prophet Muhammad resulted in a manner that today
after fourteen hundred years back. The history is a deponent of the
unparalleled honour and dignity bestowed by Allah, through Hazrat Umar
to Islam.
Confinement in valley of Abi Talib in 7 prophethood : With the
Islamic movement gaining momentum, the chiefs of Quraysh tribe were
getting perplexed and they were charting out plans to crush this
movement. So, all the tribes intrigued untidily and reached an agreement
which read; nobody will establish links with Prophet Muhammad and
his dynasty, nobody will transact with them, no one will meet them and
give them eatables until they handover Muhammad to them for
slaining. This written agreements was put up at the gate of K'aba.
Now Bani Hashim were left with two options, either to handover
Prophet Muhammad to infidels or be ready to face the consequent
calamities as a result of this economic and social boycott. So, Abu
Talib, with the whole dynasty of Bani hashim, moved to a mountain valley
which was a legacy of Bani hashim.
In this mountain pass these people along with Prophet Muhammad
passed a harsh period of three years. Sometimes, they used to chew
leaves to put off the fire of belly. Intensity of hunger compelled them
to boil the dry leather and eat it. Children's wailing due to hunger was
a matter of joy for hard-hearted Quraysh oppressors. But there were some
people who sneaked in some eatables.
Bani Hashim remained in this pathetic condition for three years. At
last, God softened the hearts of these oppressors. They themselves, took
the initiative to break the agreement. Clemency entered the hearts of
these people one by one. Abu Jahal and some of his like people were put
aside and they were allowed to come out of the valley in 10th
prophethood.
Pace of the Call to Islam : As stated earlier, the details of the
struggle of Makkan period are rarely mentioned in the books of history
and biography of prophet. So, the details of the work of call to Islam
and its movement continued during this economic and societal boycott and
what were the impacts of this movement, are not found. The revelation of
Qur'an was on. The text, instructions and teaching of surahs (Chapter)
of this period are an evidence of the hardships faced by this movement.
The sermons, revealed by Allah Almighty, during this long and regorous
struggle, were full of fervour and efficacy. These sermons describe the
religious duties of faithfuls and directs them to follow it. They also
tell how to elevate their personal character to heights. To practise
piousness, and elevate it is highly stressed upon. Moral elevation and
improvement in behaviour have been stressed in theses sermons. A
collective sense and group morality has been cultivated. Ways of
propagating the true religion (Islam) have been tole. Keeping patience
in hardships and unbearable circumstances has been repeatedly
emphasized.
The courage of Muslims has been motivated with the promises of success
and tidings of heaven. Sustenance on the rough and hard uneven path of
religion and struggle with courage in the path of Allah have been given
prominence. Inculcating a passion for laying their lives and all kind of
sacrifices enabled them to face any difficulty and bear every hardship.
On the other hand, adversaries and the ones who renounced the religion
of Allah (Islam) had been warned continuously of their deadly end. They
had been admonished by stories of those nations who adopted the path of
negligence and denial and ultimately met their deadly end. Arabs,
themselves knew all about these people, their attention have been drawn
towards the ruins of those devastated settlements, they used to pass by.
Then they were presented with the concept of Tawheed (oneness of God)
and the realities of the Day of Judgment with such clear signs that they
used to witness with their own eyes in their surroundings. Polytheism
and its evil were made clear. They were warned of the consequences of
waging a war against Allah. Estrangement in life due to the denial of
Doom's day, were described openly. The loss of humanity pointed out. All
these advices were logically presented and affected the hearts.
Adversaries and atheists were given proper replies to their objections.
The suspicions created by them were cleared. In short all the confusions
that had and that they used to create, have been wiped off, but the
hostility and enmity continued piling during this period.
Fourth Phase
Extreme Oppression and Cruelty : Prophet Muhammad came out of
valley of Abi Talib and got a temporary relief from affliction of
Quraysh. Abu Talib died a few days later and then Hazrat Khadija (Rad.)
left this mortal world. Prophet Muhammad used to call this
year, "the year of sorrow". Opposition of Quraysh and their tormenting
intensified after the deaths of these two. This was the hardest time for
Islamic Movement. Now Quraysh started tormenting muslims and Prophet
Muhammad with utmost cruelty.
Preaching Outside Makkah : Almost all Makkan elites and good
people had joined Islam. So, Prophet Muhammad decided to go out
of Makkah to spread the message of Islam. Following this programme he
reached Ta'if. Ta'if housed a lot of rich and influential people.
Prophet Muhammad went to them with the invitation of Islam. But the
wealth and status refrained them from accepting the truth, as it happens
usually. One of them said, "Was there none other than you for Allah to
make a messenger?" Another said, "I can not talk to you. If you are
honest then out of respect but if you are liar (God save us) then you
are too mean to talk." In short these "elders" took him lightly even and
incited the rowdies and hooligans of the city against him. These goons
intercepted the Prophet and made mockery of his preaching and on one
occasion they stoned him so much that he got wounded, and blood flew
down filling his shoes. But they continued stoning and abusing till the
Prophet took shelter in a garden.
One can easily guess the kind of courage and boldness is required to go
alone in an alien city opposed to him and propagate religion and convey
the message of Allah to the people. This is the highest example of one's
complete faith and dependence on Allah and a worth-emulating model for
future generations.
Different tribes used to come to Makkah at the time of Haj, Prophet
Muhammad used to go to each tribe and call them to embrace Islam.
Likewise he used to visit the fairs and taking the advantage he used to
address the gatherings and put before them the concept of Islam. Abu
Lahab and some other of his kind from Quraysh used to accompany Prophet
and urge the people not to listen to his sermons. They use to say, "See
don't listen to him, he has deviated from the right path and tells lies.
the Prophet Muhammad at these occasions, used to narrate those
ayahs of Qur'an which enter in to the hearts of people who often
used to embrace Islam. Prophet Muhammad's such visits yielded
multi-faceted success. Now, the call to Islam was not strange rather it
became familiar in remote areas. People who ultimately embraced Islam
became the active members of Islamic movement and started the work of
spreading and inviting towards Islam in their respective regions.
Night of Jinn : Jinns are a creature out of God's numerous
creation. They like human beings possess the qualities of intention and
discretion. On this basis they are entitled to God's message. It is
obligatory for them to have faith in oneness of God (Tawheed), prophecy
and the Day of Judgment. To follow the commands by Allah, is a must
for them. Based upon this, there are good and evil Jinns among them.
There has been different views about the existence of Jinns, there used
to be lot of talks amongst Arabs about Jinns. They were worshipped their
help was sought. Spiritualists used to claim friendship with them.
Several kinds of stories were prevalent regarding Jinns. In brief, the
jinns were considered to be a part of divinity like thousands of other
gods and goddesses. Islam purified these ill beliefs. It (Islam) proved
that Jinns are a creature of Allah but they have no rights in divinity.
Neither they can benefit someone on their discretion nor they can harm
and to be the slave of Allah is must for them. There are obedient and
disobedient of of Allah among them, like human beings. They will also
get reward for punishment of their deeds. The Jinns, like human beings,
are helpless before the boundless powers of Almighty.
Prophet Muhammad was spreading the complete religion bestowed by
Allah Almighty and the world was at the receiving end. To follow this
religion, was the duty of human beings as well as of Jinns. Once upon a
time Prophet Muhammad was on his mission of spreading Islam and
going to a popular fair Ukaz. On this way to Ukaz he stayed at Nakhla at
night. In the morning Prophet Muhammad along with some of his
companions was offering Namaz (prayer) and reciting Qur'an. At the same
time a group of Jinns passed by there. They listened to the Qur'an. This
incident is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an chapter Al-Ahqaf, like this :
Behold, We turned towards you a company of Jinns listening
to the Qur'an when they stood in the presence thereof, they
said, "listen in silence!" When the (reading) was finished they
returned to their people, to warn them. They said, O' our
people! we have heard a book revealed after Musa, confirming
what came before it . It guides to the truth and to a straight
path . "O' our people hearken to the one who invites (you) to
Allah, and believe in him . He will forgive you from a
chastisement grievous.
Prophet Muhammad
came to know of this incident by a revelation. The details of this
incident are mentioned in the "Chapter Jinn".
Islam in Madinah in 10 Prophethood : Islam was spreading in the
farthest area of Arabian Peninsula. It entered madinah also. Jews had
inhabited Madinah for a long time. They built their castles near
Madinah. Aus and Khazraj were two brothers whose native land was Yemen,
but for a long period they had settled in Madinah. Their progeny later
developed into two big dynasties which were called Aus and Khazraj the
same people, who were later called Ansar. These people too had built
castles in Madinah and its suburbs. These people, from the faith were
idol-worshippers. But, due to the interaction with Jews, they were
familiar with the concept of prophethood, revelation, divine books and
the beliefs regarding Doom's day. They had nothing of their own, so they
were impressed by Jews and used to listen them. They head Jew erudites
saying that a messenger is due to come in this world and whoever will
accompany him, will be successful. The followers of this messenger will
overcome the whole world. Due to these fortellings, people of Madinah
got attracted towards Prophet Muhammad and his call to Islam.
Prophet Muhammad routine was, that during the time of Haj he used
to go to the chiefs of tribes. He use to make them familiar with the
message of Islam. It happened in 10th year of the prophethood that
Prophet gave a call to join Islam and recited some verses from Qur'an
before some people of Khazraj dynasty. This recitation affected their
hearts and they understood that, this was the Prophet about who Jew
scholars had said that a messenger was due to come. They looked at each
other and said, 'Lest it be not happen that Jews take a lead over us in
accepting the faith in this messenger". Saying this, they accepted
Islam. They were six in number. In this way, it was the entry of Islam
in Ansars of Madinah and the settlement which was due to become, which
ultimately became the cardinal point for Islamic movement.
Intensity in Opposition : Enmity and struggle increases with the
expansion of every movement. But the tempest that Islamic movement's
expansion brought was a hard test for the supporters of this movement.
So, on one hand, the Islamic movement was expanding and on the other
hand, the conditions that (Prophet) and his followers were facing got
bad to worse. Quraysh chiefs had decided that they would harass
Prophet Muhammad to an extent that he will give up giving the call
to Islam. All major chiefs of Quraysh were the neighbours of Prophet and
some were his great foes. These people used to lay thorns in Prophet's
path, make fun him while he offered Namaz. While he was prostrating,
they used to put tripe on his neck. They used to roll the sheet around
his neck and pull it so relentlessly that his blessed neck would become
red with marks on it. They used to incite lads who abused him and
clapped. When he used to deliver a sermon, they used to disrupt it and
say, this is a lie. In short, they used to adopt every possible and
abominable trick to annoy and harass him.
The revelations descended by Allah on his messenger, in this period, had
all the means of guidance to cope with this kind of situations.
Supporters of Islamic movement were being told that apparently, the
hardships faced by truth, should not be considered as permanent. The
worldly life is full of these kinds of odds. And the genuine test of
success is not the worldly life but it is the life after the day of
Judgment. There is no doubt in it that the life after death will be
better for those who will adopt a life full of fear of God.
The Prophet Muhammad was being addressed and told, "Though we
know, whatever is happening to you, is extremely painful but these
people, really falsifying not you but they are falsifying Me and this is
not something new. Prior to this, My messengers have been facing more or
less the same situation. But those messengers endured it patiently and
faced all kinds of hardships and miseries until My help reached them.
You are passing through the same circumstances and you will have to cope
with this kind of situations. "They were repeatedly made to understand
from different angles that in the struggle of good and evil, there is a
definite law of Allah Almighty. Nobody can change it. From the point of
view of this law, it is necessary that righteous people should be tested
for a long time. Their patience, piousness, selflessness, loyality,
devotion and firmness of belief be tested. This is to assess that how
strong they are in their dependence on Allah and faith in Allah. This
struggle creates in them the qualities which help them later in being
the supporters of the religion of Allah. When these people prove them
worthy in this test, the help from Allah comes on its time. Nobody can
fetch it.
First Oath of Allegiance at Uqba in 11 Prophethood : Twelve men
came in the presence of Prophet Muhammad and took the oath of
allegiance and expressed the desire that they want someone who can
teach them Islamic rules. So, Hazrat Mus'ab bin Umair (Rad.) was sent
with them. He used to visit each and every house in Madinah. He used to
recite ayahs of Holy Qur'an before them and invite them towards Islam.
One or two men used to embrace Islam daily. Slowly, Islam started
spreading outside Madinah. The chief of Aus tribe Hazrat sa'ad bin Ma'az
also embraced Islam on the invitation of Hazrat Mus'ab. The whole Aus
tribe followed him and converted to Islam.
Second Oath of Allegiance at Uqba in 12 Prophethood : Seventy two
men came the next year and converted to Islam in the presence of
Prophet Muhammad . They did not tell their companions about it .
They promised to be with Islamic movement whatever the circumstances be
Prophet Muhammad selected twelve out of these 72 persons and
appointed them as chiefs. Nine of these twelve were from khazraj tribe
and the rest three were from Aus tribe. They promised Prophet
Muhammad :
(i) They will worship only Allah.
(ii) They will not steal .
(iii) They will not commit fornication.
(iv) They will not kill their children.
(v) They will not bring false allegation against
anyone.
(vi) They will not fight shy from any of the Prophet
Muhammad's commands.
After their taking oath of allegiance, Prophet Muhammad said to
them, if you comply with these conditions, then, there is tiding of
heaven for you, otherwise your matter is in the hands of Allah, He can
forgive you or chastise you.
In the meantime, when these people were taking oath, As'ad bin Zararah
(Rad.) stood up and said, "O brethren! Do you know the meaning of taking
this oath? Keep it in your mind, this is like declaration war against
Arabs and non-Arabs." All of them replied, yes we are taking the oath
keeping everything in mind. Some other persons also made the same kind
of enthusiastic speeches. An agreement was reached between these
neophytes and : Prophet Muhammad According to this
agreement if Prophet Muhammad came to Madinah, these people would
stand by his side till the last gasp. At this junture Hazrat Bar'a
(Rad.) he said, "We have been brought up under the shadow of
swords."
CHAPTER-VI
55. Miracles and Me'raj
56. Splitting of the Moon
57. Night of Me'raj
58. Importance of Me'raj and Signs for Future
59. Dethroning of Jews
60. Warning to Infidels of Makkah
61. Fundamentals of Islamic Society
62. Indications for Migration
63. Importance of Supererogatory Prayer
64. Characteristics of Invitation in this Period
65. Dependence on Allah and Patience
66. Qur'an is a Miracle
67. Decisive Talk
68. Preparation for Migration
In terms of religion, a miracle means the things
which Allah shows before the eyes of people to prove the claim of a
messenger's prophethood. There is a peculiarity in it, that it is
against the law of the Nature. For instance, fire burns but it does not
burn, the sea flows but it becomes clam, the tree remain fixed at its
place but it starts moving, the dead body become alive or the stick turn
into a snake etc. In this world, the real cause of every function is
God's omnipotence and His intention. So, there are certains rules for
some function which happens, continuously. In the same way, some
functions which are under Almighty's omnipotence, may happen,
contradicting the normal principles, and when Allah wills, they
happen.
Most of the Prophets had been bestowed miracles to prove their
prophecy. But these miracles rarely caused the infidels to have faith
and belief. Taking place of miracles is beyond reasoning. So, when the
people denied a prophet even after a miracle, they have been chastised
by Allah and have been erased from the face of the earth. Infidels of
Quraysh, used to ask the Prophet Mohammad to show miracles. This
demand of theirs was being dilly-dallied because it has been the method
of Allah that if the nations are shown a clear miracle, then they would
be left with one two options--- have faith or be perished, but
Allah Almighty had not willed to kill them, yet. That is why, this
demand of them was being evaded continuously. But ten long years had
passed over the invitations to Islam and it had crossed all bounds to
persuade the infidels. So, sometimes, Prophet Muhammad and other
muslims used to wish, would that some signs from Allah appear causing
the infidels to have faith in Allah and that sign would convince them.
But Prophet Muhammad's wish was responded, "don't be impatient,
go on inviting people to Islam, the way We went." Miracles are the last
options. If We willed, We would soften the hearts of each and every
infidel and compel them to take the path of guidance, but it is not Our
method. Neither a human being's intention and discretion can be tested
this way nor does it evoke that moral and spiritual revolution. But if
you find that their avoidance and denial has become unbearable and you
are unable to face them, then do whatever you can. Plunge into the earth
or climb over the sky and bring a miracle*. But it is not that
Prophet Muhammad did not get miracles. The greatest miracle
bestowed to Prophet, is the Holy Qur'an whose details are ahead. In
addition to this, Prophet, showed numerous miracles at proper times. The
two most important miracle were of splitting of the moon (Shaqqul Qamar)
into two halves and the Prophet's excursion to the skies. Apart
from it, many fortellings, raining due to Prophet's prayer and people
finding guidance, at time of need a little thing becoming sufficient,
cure of ailments, flowing of water were some of the other miracles which
took place from time to time.
Splitting of the Moon : Splitting of the moon is a very important
of the miracles of the Prophet Mohammad in ending the arguments
of the infidels of Makkah. Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood (Rad.) narrated
this incident which is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. He was
present at the time of occurrence, he himself witnessed the moon,
splitting into two halves. He says, "We were with Prophet Muhammad
in Mina and saw that the moon splitting into two parts. One of its
two pieces moved towards the mountain. The prophet said, "Be a witness"
but as stated earlier that it is not necessary that miracles cause
infidels to have faith in Allah rather it is so, that miracles are
demanded by those who have their hearts filled with denial and
obstinacy. In this way, they look out for excuses. But those who have
the ability to have faith and those who are not entangled in vested
interests and selfishness, for them the Prophet's self and his
preachings are not less than miracles. They take the initiative in
accepting the truth. So, after the splitting of moon, the infidels said,
"O! this is magic and such things happen by the power of magic for a
long time." In this way, these people did not get guidance but a sin
added to the list of their sins that they falsified Allah and his
messenger after such an open sign.
Night of Me'raj : Me'raj means climbing up. Prophet Muhammad
has used this word to describe his celestial sojourn, so this journey is
called "Me'raj". The other name of this journey is Asra'. Asra' means
night journey. Because the Me'raj was a nightlong journey, it is called
Asra' too. In Holy Qur'an also it is termed as Asra'.
The duties of Prophet (peace be upon him) was inviting, propagating and
firm-footing on the path of religion. This required solid faith and
belief. So, it was essential for them to witness those realities with
their own eyes. Then whatever they say, they say it forcefully and with
emphasis before the people. They say to the people that, "you are
denying a thing only on the basis of analogy and suspicion, but we are
describing the truth which we have seen with our own eyes. You have
suspicion, but we are describing the truth which we have seen with our
own eyes. You have suspicion, we have knowledge. So, angels appeared
before most of the Prophets (peace be upon them). The prophets have been
made to see hell and paradise and what happens after death has been
shown to them in their worldly lives. Me'raj or Asra' in one of such
incidents. During this journey Prophet Muhammad witnessed all
those realities, which are believe by a Muslim, without seeing, only on
the words of Prophet.
What is the exact date of Me'raj, is not known. But by putting forth
different version, historians say that this incident occurred one and a
half year prior to Hijrat (migration). If we see the versions of Bukhari
and Muslim, the complete detail is as follows:
One morning Prophet Muhammad dictated that previous night my
Lord honoured me. I was sleeping when Jibril (peace be upon him) came
and woke me up and took me to the sanctuary of Ka'ba. Here, he slit my
chest and washed it with the water of Zam Zam (Zam Zam is a blessed well
near Ka'ba) and filled it with faith and wisdom. Then, he presented
before me an animal to ride which was a little smaller than mule and was
white in colour. Its name was Burraq. It was very fast. As I rode it, it
took no time and we were at the entrance of the mosque. I offered the
prayer of two rak'at (a bending of torso from an upright position,
followed by two prostrations). Then, Jibril (peace be upon him) extended
two bowls to me. One bowl was filled with wine and the other one was
with milk. I took the bowl containing milk ad denied the bowl of wine,
Jibril, seeing this, said, you adopted the religion of nature by
accepting milk bowl.
After that, the journey to the skies, started. We reached the first sky
(sky of world, Jibril said to the custodian angel to open the gate. He
asked, "Who is he with you?" , Jibril (peace be upon him) told him, "He
is Prophet Muhammad." The angel asked, Has he been invited?" Jibril
replied positively. The angel opened the gate and said, "Such a
personality is welcome." When we enter in, we met Adam (peace be upon
him). Jibril said to me, "He is your father (remote ancestor of human
race) Adam, salute him. I salute him. he replied my salute and said, "O
my noble son and noble messenger, be happy." Then, we reached the second
layer of sky and faced the same questions as we faced on the first layer
of sky. The gate opened and we entered inside and met Yahya and Isa
(peace be upon them). Jibril introduced me with them and said, "salute
them." I saluted. Both of them replied and said, "welcome O' noble
brother and noble messenger." Then we reached the third layer. Here we
met Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). We exchanged salutes. On the
fourth sky we met Prophet Idris (peace be upon him). On the fifth sky we
met Prophet Haroon (peace be upon him) and on the sixth sky we met
Prophet Musa (peace be upon him). we met Prophet Abraham on the seventh
sky. In response to my salutation, Prophet Abraham said, welcome O'
noble son and noble messenger." Then, I was taken to Sidratul Muntaha
(the lotus three in the seventh heaven). On this tree innumerable
angels were shining like glow worms.
Here in the seventh heaven, Prophet Muhammad observed a
lot of things. He also conversed with Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty
imposed fifty prayers (Namaz) in a day and night. When Prophet came back
after these observations, he met Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). He
asked, "Say what have you brought from God's place?" Prophet
Muhammad said, "Fifty prayers in a day". Moses said , "Your
followers will find it too much, go back and ask Him to lessen them."
So, Prophet Muhammad went back and pleaded God and got a part
slashed. But Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) sent him back again and
again and got a slash every time. At last this number came down to five
prayers in a day and night. Musa (peace be upon him) was still not
satisfied and asked him to get some more slash, but at this point
Prophet Muhammad said, "Now, I am feeling too shy to utter a word.
The voice of Allah Almighty came, "We slashed the number from 50 to 5
but those who will perform five prayers a day will get the reward
of fifty prayers".
Prophet Muhammad got two other gifts from God, one of them is
last ayahs of chapter Baqra which describe the Islamic beliefs and the
completion of faith and has the tiding that the period of hardship is
about to over. Second good news was that whoever will avoid polytheism,
will be absoluted.
In this jouney , Prophet Muhammad saw hell and heaven and what
would happen after death and what kind of situations one had to pass
according to one's deeds, it was all portrayed before his eyes.
When Prophet descended back to the Dome of Rock, he saw a gathering of
Prophets (peace be upon them). They all performed congregational prayer.
Prophet Muhammad was the Imam (leader) of the prayer. Then, he
came back to his place and woke up at the same place in the morning.
Importance of Me'raj and Signs for Future : When Prophet
Muhammad narrated this incident in the morning, the infidels of
Quraysh called him a liar (God save us). Those who had faith in Prophet
they certified each and every word and said, "We regard the words of
Prophet as true". So, this incident of Me'raj was a test for people's
faith ad verification of prophecy and on the other hand it was a means
of witnessing the innumerable hidden truths for Prophet Muhammad.
Simultaneously it was prelude to the in coming revolution, the Islamic
movement was to face soon. The details of this indication are found in
chapter Bani Israel mentioning the Me'raj. The open signs found in this
chapter are as follows:
Dethroning of Jews :Bani Israel were still the heirs of Allah's
religion and were authorized to give the world; the message of Allah.
But they did not fulfill this duty. They, themselves became a victim of
worldly evils and they were in no position to perform the duty of
speading Allah's religion. So, it was decided to handover this noble
cause to bani Isma'il. Prophet Muhammad was commissioned out of
this dynasty. Until now Bani Israel had not been addressed directly.
Now, they were told through chapter Bani Israel, "you had committed too
much sins and had been tried two times prior to this, but you did not
mend yourselves. And now, after the commissioning of this Prophet
Muhammad you have a chance. If you follow him, you will succeed." It
was a great tiding for those who were leading a miserable and humiliated
life in Makkah. This tiding proved to be true later on.
Warning to Infidels of Makkah : Infidels of Makkah crossed all
limits in committing atrocities and they repeatedly used to say that if
he is the Prophet of Allah, why it is that they have not been chastised
though he (Prophet) warned us. They were told that Allah does not punish
a nation having no prophet. When a messenger is sent among them, the
elites and upper caste people oppose the movement of truth. The ordinary
people cooperate with them except a few who have the ability to
understand the truth and come forward and accept it. Then the struggle
start in the two groups of people, ultimately help comes from Allah.
Time is fixed for such help. But since the man is hasty in nature he
sometimes asks things that are not good for them, rather they are evil.
He does not think that actions of Allah Almighty are all fixed in terms
of time. Ponder over day and night, they are the signs of Allah, and
come after the other, on a fixed principle. Have a look at past history,
so many nations after Noah (peace be upon him) have been perished. God
is fully aware of the conditions of his followers. He rewardes them
according to their merits. So, the infidels of Makkah should keep it in
their minds, the attitude that they adopt towards the invitation of
Allah's messenger, will determine the way they shall be dealt with. A
decisive time was about to come.
Fundamentals of Islamic Society : Islam's difficult time was
about to be over and society based upon Islamic principles, was in the
offings. So, the gift of the fundamental principles for Islamic way of
life, was associated with the event Me'raj. These principles later
served the Islamic system as the guiding principles. They are:
1. There is no god but Allah. None should share with Allah in His
right to devotion, life, obedience and sovereignty.
2. Parents should be respected and obeyed (but if there is clash
between parent's obedience and obedience of God, then, parents are not
to be obeyed).
3. Rights of relatives, poors and travellers should be
accomplished. Right of one human being on other should not be ignored,
without accomplishing other's right, no society can survive.
4. Don't be an extravagant. Abuse of divine blessings is a
satanic act. A society in which, people either spend lavishly or become
miser, can never be a prosperous society. A middle way should be adopted
in spending or stocking the wealth.
5. Don't kill your children, fearing the poverty. God
provides sustenance, he arranges it . Don't kill your off springs due to
immense poverty. It is a very bad act and equivalent to suicide for the
society.
6. Don't approach fornication. Not only avoid this dirty
act, but also end those stimulants which provoke for this heinous act.
The society which will not be free from this curse, will undermine
itself and will soon meet its deadly end.
7. Don't kill anyone without a reason. The society, not
providing the guarantee of life, can never be a prosperous society.
Peace is the essence of every civilization. So, providing security of
life and property is a basic need.
8. Behave with orphans in a good manner. Weak people and
those who can't defend their rights, deserve help. The society which can
not defend the rights of such people, can not progress.
9. Fulfill your promise. You will be questioned about it.
Here we mean mutual accords and promises of people and the pledge, one
takes while having faith in God.
10. Balance your scales and correct your measures while weighing
and measuring. Fair dealing and peaceful co-existence are must for a
peaceful society. Where, there is mistrust among people and they
generally snatch each other's rights, there will be no mutual trust and
prosperity in the society.
11. Do not persue a thing, about which you have no knowledge. Do
not form a new opinion on hearsay and speculation but base it on
knowledge, otherwise it will result in a mess. An ideal society should
be devoid of this evil. The man should always keep it in mind that he
will be questioned on all his senses, heart, mind and eyes.
12. Do not behave proud and arrogant. They lead to deterioration in
moral values. A man into this evil is extremely detrimental for the
society. It is necessary for congenial relations, that people do not
regard others as inferior and of lower to themselves and do not treat
him in an inhuman manner.
Inidications for Migration : It has been the procedure of Allah
Almighty that when He sends a messenger to a nation, He grants them
chances to listen to the invitation of messenger, understand it and
accept. Few accept this invitation but the majority having a vested
interest to continue blind pursuit of their ancestors and that carnal
desires, refuse to accept this invitation and resolve to oppose it.
There comes a time, when it become clear that those who have the ability
to accept the truth (Islam), have accepted it and none is left in their
nation who would listen to the invitation and would ponder over it.
At this stage, the people ask for miracles and often they are obliged
with miracles. So, Prophet Muhammad was also asked for miracles.
Miracles appeared form his holy self but the non-believers kept on
denying them. So, it was decided that Prophet should desolate this
nation so that they could be punished. This chastisement comes in the
form of natural powers of sky or earth, like, earthquakes, floods or
storms. And sometimes faithful begets this punishment. Allah Almighty
explained this method in chapter Bani Isra'el and ordered clearly that
these infidels will soon be at the extremity of callousness and will
force prophet to migrate from Makkah. And if it happened so. Allah also
warned that they too would not be able to live peacefully. This had been
the practice with all messengers sent by Allah earlier and this custom
would remain unchanged.
Importance of Supererogatory Prayer : A long with these
conditions, God directed the Prophet, to cope with the prevalent
conditions, to perform prayer especially Tahajjud prayer (this prayer is
offered after midnight) and God persuaded the prophet to pray for
migration, and ask like this, "O my Lord, send me to a better place and
help me in migration and victory over enemies. "After this the Prophet
got the glad tiding that false is due to finish and truth will prevail.
False is bound to perish if the truth wages a war against it.
The obstinate objections of the infidels of Makkah were met with proper
replies. In this way they have been satisfied. Then, events related to
Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) have been mentioned for their
admonition.
Characteristics of Invitation in this period : The chapters of
Qur'an which were being revealed in this period, according to the
conditions, have the following characteristics :
1. Dependence on Allah and Patience : It is human nature that
when he struggles for something and the result are not in accordance
with his expectations, he gets disappointed. This is the most delicate
stage for the supporters of the invitation of truth (Islam). If they,
God forbid, get disappointed, then, this is the greatest failure for
them as well as for their mission (of Islam). A firm faith is required
at this stage for a strong-footing, leaving everything on Allah and
concerted efforts with complete reliance on Allah. In this last period.
Allah Almighty descended particular instructions. After 12 years of
continuous struggle, the result could have been discouraging for a
low-spirited person. After such a long time hardships that muslims
continued to face was to strength the hearts of faithfuls and make them
firm on the path of righteousness.
In this regard, the text of chapter Ankaboot (spider) is a good example.
The faithful have been told clearly in it that testing and trial are
must in the way that you have adopted. This is the touchstone
which tests the claim of faith and distinguishes between truth and
false. But this test of faithfuls, does not mean that infidels are
really gaining ground; they should keep this in their minds that they
can't win against Allah. At last, the truth will prevail. But there is a
condition that those having faith, prove themselves worthy of Allah's
help by showing patience and persistency. Muslims have been told about
the impeding hurdles in their way. But they need not to be disgusted.
Allah's slaves who raised themselves for Islamic cause, came across the
same circumstances. They were reminded Prophet Noah's (peace be upon
him) incident that how he faced the hostility of his people for nine and
half years, with patience and firmness. Similarly, Prophet Abraham,
Prophet Lut, Prophet Shoaib, Prophet Saleh and Prophet Musa (peace be
upon them) came across more or less the same conditions. At last, the
truth prevailed and the false fled away.
2. Qur'an us a Miracle :It has been mentioned earlier that
when the infidels asked for miracles, Prophet Muhammad and other
muslims used to desire, "would that something miraculous happen causing
these people to believe. The advice from Allah Almighty in response to
this desire, has also been mentioned earlier. On this occasion, Allah
Almighty clearly indicated the greatest miracle bestowed to the last
Prophet Muhammad. He told, "you people demand miracles, you should
go and see that miracle which is everlasting and has means of guidance
for every person who has wit and wisdom. This miracle is Qur'an". This
is the reality that Qur'an is the greatest miracle out of the miracles,
bestowed to Prophet Muhammad.
Chapter Ankaboot, which was descended in this period described that
everyone knew that Prophet Muhammad neither knew to read and
write nor he got education, but despite this, the ayahs he had been
reciting, were so eloquent and full of wisdom i.e. the Holy Qur'an. No
body could bring forth such a work. What a wonder, an illiterate person
is flowing the sea of eloquece before them. So, why did these people
want to miracle. Tell them that the happening of miracle is on the
discretion of your Lord. I am here to warn you of your end. You should
ponder over the divine ayahs which I read out to you, are not they
enough evidence of my prophecy? Ponder over these ayahs, you will come
to know that they (ayahs) are entirely source of mercy and advice.
Prophet Muhammad himself termed the Holy Qur'an as the greatest
miracle. He ordered that "Allah Almighty has bestowed each and every
prophet, so many miracles that caused masses to believe. But the miracle
I have been bestowed with is revelation (the Holy Qur'an) which has been
revealed upon me, so, I hope that on the Doomsday, my followers will be
in majority." Qur'an is a perennial miracle, other miracles were
temporary miracles. They are over now. But this miracles will be here
till the Day of Judgment and will continue to attract people towards it.
The Holy Qur'an is full of rhythm of words, eloquence, rhetoric and
concealed truths and foretellings . No human mind could reach them. Its
power of efficacy, rules and teachings are so useful that till date no
better system of life could come forth for human society. Despite the
vastness of the topic, it is free of contradiction and metaphorical
differences. The person who was reading out these ayahs, was an
illiterate person. All these things were great arguments in proving the
Holy Qur'an a miracle. These arguments even today are enough for
us to feel satisfied over the Prophecy of Prophet Muhammad.
3. Decisive Talk : The speciality of chapters of this period is that
the infidels were being addressed decisively in a manner that the time
of persuation was over. This is the last chance, accept the truth or get
ready to face the consequences.
So, it was told, "I (prophet) am unwavering on a clear guidance, coming
from my Lord, but you people are disbelieving it and you are inviting
the chastisement. But I tell you that, I don't possess that thing you
are hastening for . It is up to God. If it would have been in my hand
the matter would have been settled by now. Allah has the knowledge of
hidden things. He knows the time of occurrence of different things. He
can chastise you at His will. Then, he further advise, the people who
took the religion lightly and were lustful in worldly life. Leave it
with them. But keep on reading out Holy Qur'an to them, if they do not
still believe you tell them, to do whatever they wanted to do, he
(prophet) was acting to his capacity. Soon they will come to know that
who was on the right track"*.
This is the specimen of the style of Qur'an. Apart from it, this style
is apparent in revelations of this period and in a sense, it was a
proclamation that the matter was in the decisive phase.
4. Preparation for Migration : The Chapter of this period
also indicate towards migration so, it was advised in chapter Ankaboot
(spider) that "O' my slaves, always be in my service, even if your
motherland becomes narrow due to My slavery do not bother, my land is
very vast." It means, do not cut off the relation of slavery with Allah,
though you have to desert your homeland. Death is the greatest fear for
every animate, so, believe it that everyone is to die and you will come
back to Me. So, if you die in My way, there is nothing to fear. Whoever
is accompanied with wealth of faith and good deeds, will be accommodated
in gardens where lakes will be flowing beneath them ad it would be his
eternal abode. How good this reward is for those who are pious. These
righteous people keep their feet fixed on the path of Allah in worse to
worst conditions and they keep relying on Allah in their struggle
period.
Then, it was told that the second fear in leaving one' native land was
of monetary deficit. Their faith was strengthened by telling them that
the matter of providing sustenance was in the hands of Allah. There are
so many animates, but they do not load themselves with sustenance.
Allah provides them with sustenance and feed them. So, why do you get
disappointed of His providence or do you think that he will not provide
you with sustenance.
Apart from it, in one of this period's chapter Bani Israel, invocation
for migration was taught. It was like this, "O' my Lord! take me to a
better place and take me out of Makkah in a good manner and give us
victory over foes. O' prophet, proclaim that the truth prevailed and the
false erased. The false was to be erased".
In short, this and many other indications are found in this period's
chapters. These chapters, on one hand, were indicating towards the
incoming storm and on the other hand were drawing attention towards the
preparedness that was required to cope with these conditions. Some other
characteristics were firm belief in life hereafter, uprooting the
worldly delicacies, keeping in mind the requirements of genuine Tawheed,
dependence and solid faith in Allah, presenting the divine advices
without lessening or adding, and to offer prayer to get strength for all
these purposes. The muslims were being trained and were also being
advised to propagate Islam in these hard times.
CHAPTER-VII
69. Migration
70. Migration of Common Muslims to Madinah
71. Counsel for the Killing of Prophet Muhammad
72. Departure from Makkah
73. Sojoum to Madinah
74. Journey to Madinah
75. Arrival in Madinah
76. Stay in Madinah
77. Construction of Nabavi Mosque
78. Fraternization
In Islamic terminology migration means to leave one's
native land and travel to some other place only to accomplish the
requirement of religion. It is not proper for a Muslim to cling on to a
place for the sake of trade, house, property or for the proximity of
near and dear when, living an Islamic life and propagation of Islam were
not allowed.
This is to be understood that a faithful Muslim can live in a country
governed by infidels, only on two conditions. First one is that he keeps
struggling for the dominance of Islam and changing the infidel regime
into an Islamic system. Muslims were continuously working for the same
cause in Makkah and they were braving all atrocities for this cause. The
second condition is, that, he does not find a way out or he has no other
place where he can lead an Islamic life and could work to bring an
Islamic system. B ut when he finds a place where he could perform
his religious duties, as were the hopes with Madinah, then only those
who are extremely handicapped or helpless or not able to take the
journey due to illness or poverty, deserve exemption.
Migration of Common Muslims to Madinah :After sufficient
propagation of Islam in madinah, Prophet Muhammad granted
permission to common muslims, who were being victimised by infidels
stepped up their oppressions and tried their best to keep these
migrating people in the claws of their atrocities. But muslims, at this
juncture, preferred to endanger their souls, wealth and children for the
sake of Islam. Temptations and pressures could not resists them. Slowly,
a sizable number of companions (May God be pleased with them) reached
Madinah. Now Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Ali (Rad.) were there in Makkah
with Prophet Muhammad or there were some muslims who were unable
to trevel due to poverty.
Counsel for the Prophet Muhammad's killing : With the advent of
thirteenth year of prophecy a lot of companions (May God be pleased with
them) had migrated to Madinah. It was a matter of worry of Quraysh when
they observed that muslims were getting powerful in Madinah and Islam
was spreading there. So, they started charting out plans to abolish
Islam. They had a fixed place "house of counselling" for
discussing local issues. All senior chiefs, representing each tribe,
gathered there and discussed the ways to abolish this movement. Some of
them were of the view that Prophet Muhammad should be chained and
confined in a lonely house. But others rejected this idea and said, the
companions of Prophet Muhammad would rescue him ad they may
defeat us. Some others opined that Muhammad should be banished. But this
was also rejected on the ground that wherever he will go, his words will
attract people and they will follow him and movement will gain momentum.
At the end, Abu Jahal said, that, select a youth from every tribe and
make a group, this group will kill Prophet Muhammad . In this way
all tribes will be involved in his murder and it will not be possible
for Hashim dynasty to wage a war single handedly against all the
tribes. All gave assent to this plan and a night was fixed for this
purpose and it was decided that on that night the gang of youths will
besiege the house (of prophet) and when he steps out in the morning,
they will kill him.. Arab used to avoid entering anybody's house at
midnight.
Allah Almighty made Prophet Muhammad aware of this secret plan
and this was the time that Prophet got the order, through revelation, to
migrate from Makkah to Madinah. So, Prophet Muhammad consulated Hazrat
Abu Bakr Siddiq two or three days prior to the migration and it was
settled that Abu Bakr (Rad.) will acoompany Prophet Muhammad. Camels for
this journey were also arranged.
Departure form Makkah : Prophet Muhammad called Hazrat Ali, on
the very night that had been fixed for Prophet's murder by infidels, and
told that I have gotten the command for migration. Tonight I will set
off for Madinah. I have been entrusted with the deposits of many people.
return these deposits in the morning to them and lie on my bed tonight,
so that they may get satisfied about my presence in the house.
Infidels of Makkah were thirsty of Prophet's blood but despite this,
they used to regard him trustworthy and honest and used to entrust with
him their wealth and belongings.
Infidels besieged Prophet's house at night . When the night deepened,
Prophet came out of the house calmly and satisfactorily and he was
reciting the ayahs of Chapter Yaseen*. Then, he uttered, "Sha-htil
Wajuh" (May God deface them) and threw a fistful of dust towards
infidels and passed away among them. At this time, by the omnipotence of
Allah Almighty, those besieging the house, lose their senses and could
not see the Prophet treading away. Then, Prophet took Hazrat Abu Bakr
from his house and along with him took refuge in the Saur Cave.
Sojourn in Cave Saur : The son of Hazrat Abu Bakr (Rad.), Hazrat
Abdullah was a minor at that time. He used to stay with them at night
and in the morning he would come to Makkah and collect informations
about the plannings of infidels and convey these informations to both
the elders. Later at night, a slave of Abu Bakr (Rad.) used to fetch
goat milk or some food. So, these two stayed there for three nights.
In the morning, when infidels came to know that Prophet Muhammad
has migrated from Makkah, they became worried and started looking for
him here and there. At one time, they reached case Saur where Prophet
Muhammad and Abu Bakr (Rad.) were hiding. Abu Bakr got perplexed,
hearing the sound of footsteps. He was not worried for himself but he
was worried for the safety of Prophet Muhammad lest somebody may
harm him. Prophet Muhammad, seeing his condition, solaced him
clamly and said:
Do not panic, Allah is with us (chapter Tauba)
And it happened so. By the decree of Allah, some signs* appeared at the
entrance of cave. The infidels saw them and thought that nobody has
entered the cave.
The infidels also announced a reward of 100 camels for the person who
arrests Prophet Muhammad dead or alive. A lot of people set off
in search of Prophet after this announcement of reward.
Journey to Madinah :On the fourth day, Prophet Muhammad came out
of the Cave Saur and travelled throughout the night and day. For this
journey Abu Bakr (Rad.) had trained two fine she-camels. A guide had
also been appointed. On the way to Madinah, second day, when the rays of
sun were falling straight, they halted near a cliff to take rest. There,
they met a shepherd who gave them milk to drink. Suddenly, as the
Prophet Muhammad was to depart, a man named Saraqa bin Ja'sham saw
him. This man was out in search of Prophet Muhammad , to get
reward., He galloped his horse, the horse stumbled and fell down. He
tried again to attack Prophet Muhammad. As he advanced this time,
by God's omnipotence, the legs of his horse submerged upto knees in the
ground. Now, Saraqa panicked and sensed that this was something
extraordinary. He could not attack Prophet Muhammad and got
frightened and surrendered to Prophet Muhammad forgave him and
gave him amnesty. This incident was also a miracle of Prophet
Muhammad.
Arrival in Madinah :The news of Prophet's arrival in Madinah had
spread before his arrival. The whole city was eagerly waiting for his
arrival. Children and elders used to come out of the city in the morning
everyday and would go back in the afternoon. And then, one day that
blessed occasion arrived, where these people were waiting for. They saw
the rising dust ad the whole city resounded with Takbeers (praise of
God). Everyone became happy. Qaba is a place near Madinah, at a distance
of three miles. There was an Ansar settlement. The family of Amr-bin-Auf
was most distinguished. Kulsoom bin Alhadam was the officer of this
dynasty. He was a lucky person that Prophet Muhammad honoured him
and agreed to be his guest. Prophet Muhammad stayed at his house
in Qaba. Hazrat Ali who followed Prophet Muhammad by a gap of
three days, reached Qaba and stayed here. Prophet Muhammad
reached Qaba in the thirteenth year of prophethood, on 8th, in the month
of Rabi-ul-Awwal (corresponding to September 20, 622). During his stay
at Qaba, Prophet Muhammad wanted to build a mosque so, he laid
the foundation with his blessed hand along with other companions (May
God be pleased with them) constructed the mosque. After a few days
Prophet Muhammad set off for Madinah. It was Friday. By early
afternoon they reached Bani Salim locality. It was time for Zuhar (early
afternoon) prayer. Prophet Muhammad gave his very first Friday
sermon and performed the very first Friday prayer under his leadership
(Imamat). Every devoted person was wishing to accommodate Prophet
Muhammad to get honour. Every tribal would plead, "My lord this is
your house, please stay here." Everybody was laying the red carpet and
every one was full of enthusiasm. On the terraces, women were singing:
"The full moon has appeared
from the valleys of mountain vide
Thanking the God is obligatory for us
As long as worshippers pray"
Innocent girls were playing on the
small tambouring and singing :
We are the daughters of Najjar dynasty
What a good neighbour is Prophet Muhammad
Prophet asked these girls, "Do you have
affection for me?" these girls said, "Yes". Prophet said, "I too have
affection for you."
Stay in Madinah :Who will get the honour to host Prophet? This
was an unsloved mystery. Prophet Muhammad ordered, "The house
where my she-camel will halt, I will stay in". Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari
got this honour. Ayyub's house was near Nabavi mosque. It was a
two-storeyed house. Abu Ayyub offered upper storey but Prophet
Muhammad preferred lower storey to facilitate interaction with
people. Abu Ayyub (Rad.) and his wife shifted to the upper storey.
Prophet Muhammad stayed in the house for seven months. Then,
Prophet Muhammad shifted to the newly constructed rooms near Nabavi
mosque. Within a few days Prophet's relatives also arrived in Madinah.
Construction of Nabavi Mosque :After settling in Madinah, the
most important thing was the construction of a mosque. There was a
fallow land near Prophet's staying place which belonged to two orphans.
They were paid and the land was acquired. The construction of mosque
became a reality. Prophet used to work at the site as a labourer and
fetch stones. This mosque was built on a simple style. Mud bricks were
used for walls and dry date leaves for thatched roofs and date trunks
were used as pillars. The Qibla (direction in which muslims turn in
prayer) was in the direction of Dome of Rock (Baitul Muqaddus) bacause
till now it was the qibla for muslims . Then, the direction of qibla was
changed to K'aba, the same change took place in nabavi mosque too. The
floor with stones.
In one corner of mosque, was a covered platform called Suffa. This was a
staying place for homeless muslims.
After the completion of mosque, Prophet Muhammad got some rooms
constructed near the mosque for his holy wives. These rooms were also
made of mud bricks and had thatched roofs.
The size of these rooms was 7 x 10 feet. The roofs were 6 feet high,
blanket curtains were hanging on doors.
The prosperous Ansar neighbours used to send milk to prophet or
sometimes curry etc. The life was going on with these scantly
provisions.
Fraternization :All those muslims who left Makkah were
unemployed, some of them had to leave their belongings in Makkah. They
managed to rescue their souls only. Though all these migrants were there
as hosts of Ansars, but it was being felt that their permanent
settlement is necessary. These people used to prefer a self dependent
life. So, when the construction of Nabavi mosque completed, Prophet
Muhammad sent for some Ansars and ordered them, "These migrants are
like your brothers, then he called out an Ansar and a migrant buy their
names and ordered, both of you are brothers now" and in this way a
brotherhood was established among these neophytes. These sincere slaves
of Allah, considered each other more than brothers rather they were best
friends. Ansars declared all their movable and immovable properties and
made these migrants, their partners of fifty-fifty. Earnings from
orchards, crops, utensils, house, property, in short, every thing was
divided among them and the plight of these homeless migrants transformed
into properity. Some of them started business and bought shops. Some
adopted other professions. In this way, these migrants became settled
businessmen and traders. This is the loftiest example of brotherhood and
sacrifice.
CHAPTER-VIII
79. Invitation to Islam in a New Era
80. Pacts with Jews
81. Hypocrites (pretenders to Islam)
82. Change in the Direction of Qibla
Prior to migration, politheists of Makkah were being
given invitation to Islam. It was a new thing for them. after migration
Muslims came across Jews, they were convinced of Tawheed (oneness of
God), Prophecy, hereafter, angels and revelation etc. Being disciples of
Prophet Muso (May God be pleased with him) they were bound to accept
divine laws. In principle, their religion was itself Islam towards which
Prophet Muhammad was inviting. It was another thing that the
negligence for centuries created innumerable evils in them. Their life
was bereft of genuine divine laws and bounds. Passing time created
innovations and un-Islamic customs in their society. They had Taurah
(the book revealed on Musa), but they had amended it an iterpreted the
divine laws with ulterior motives and elucidations. They had a feebel
relation with Deen (religion) of Allah. Their society had such
deep-rooted evils that had made them incorrigible. They were in no
position to listen to a reformer sent by Allah and regarded him their
greatest foe and tried best to silence him. Though, these people,
according to their origin, were "muslims", but they were too spoiled to
recall their genuine religion.
Therefore , Islamic movement had two motives, first one was to impart
the basic knowledge of Islamic principles ad second task was to
rejuvenate the spirits of these people with Islam, who were "defaced
muslims". Now muslims from all diredtions were heading towards Madinah.
With these migrants and Ansars of Madinah, a small Islamic state was
taking its shape. Now Islamic movement had an agenda based upon, the
invitation of principles, reformation of beliefs and moral teachings,
reformation of mode of life, administrative laws ad laws to reforms
mutual relations. So, this agenda was strictly followed.
The other notable point was that till now, Muslims were spreading to
Islam among infidels and undergoing the oppressions of infidels. But a
small Islamic state had taken in shape, surrounded by hot beds of
infidelity. Now it was not a matter of teasing and annoying rather they
all (infidels) were collectively trying to erase this party of muslims
from the face of the earth. They were fearing that if this Islamic
Centre gained momentum, they will find no ground under their feet to
stay. Therefore, it had become must for the survival of this small group
and it's Islamic movement to :-
1. Propagate Islam with a gush of fervour and prove its genuineness with
arguments, and to change public opinion about Islam.
2. Prove the misconception of adversaries' beliefs with arguments so
that the person having reasoning ability, may not find it difficult to
reach the reality.
3. Make proper arrangements for those who had migrated to his new
Islamic state, leaving behind their properly and business. They should
be armed with such power of faith and morality that in case of poverty,
hunger and restlessness, they could face the happenings with great
patience. They should not be stumbled in facing worse to worst
conditions.
4. Muslims would be enabled to face the adversaries with full might
despite weakness and lack of means. The genuineness of Islam and
dependence on Allah would help them to stay in the battlefield.
5. Fill the protagonists of Islamic cause with such a passion that they
may uproot every hurdle that comes in the way of establishing an Islamic
system of life.
So, Prophet Muhammad paid attention towards these point, after
making arrangements for Nabavi mosque, and some other important
buildings and providing permanent shelters for migrants. A major part of
chapter Baqra was descended in this peirod, and same point were
stressed upon in this part of the chapter.
Pacts with Jews : Madinah city was surrounded by jew settlements.
It was the need of hour to invite these jews to Islam and establish
political contracts with them, because infildels of Makkah were not
sitting idle after the migration of muslims. When these infidels
realized that, muslims were becoming a well organized group in Madinah,
they started charting out plans to raze this Islamic Centre (Madinah)
forcefully. So, it was obligatory for muslims, to establish political
contacts clearly with jews living around Madinah. So,. that it may be
assessed whether in case of war with polytheists of Makkah, they will
get the support of these jews. So, muslims started negotiation with
tribes living between Madinah and the coast of Red. Sea. Some tribes
agreed that they will be non-alligned in case of Quraysh or any other
tribal attack on Madinah. Some other tribes agreed attack on Madinah
Someother tribes agreed that they will help muslims in time of need.
Hypocrites (Protenders of Islam) :The issue of hepocrites was an
important one among the issues that Islamic Movement was confronted
with. In the last stage of Makkan period, some people who joined Islamic
group and regarded the invitation to Islam as true, found it difficult
to cut off their relations with their people due to the weakness of
faith. The prohibitions of relations, trade or cultivation often used to
hinder them from fulfilling Islamic duties. But now, some atheists, in
the garb of hypocrites joined Islamic groups, just to create
disturbances. Thus, there were some people who used to pose as muslims.
Their hearts were not convinced to Islam. But the majority of their
tribe convinced to Islam. But the majority of their tribe or dynasty
embracing Islam compelled them to join the muslims. There were some
other opportunists who had plunged into Islamic groups to gain worldly
privileges and on the other hand, they had good relations with atheists.
They were of the view that if Islam dominates heathenism they will get
amnesty within Islamic circle and if infidelity wins, their interest
will be safe. These hidden enemies were a matter of concern for Islamic
movement and it was not easy to bring them out. How these mischievous
people were dealt with, will be described later. At this time it was the
need of hour to identify politheists and separate them from true
muslims. It was greatly felt that those bigots who were still following
anti-Islamic customs or whose faiths was weak should be separated from
muslims, because Islamic movement was passing through a critical phase.
Change in the Direction of Qible: Dome of Rock was still the
qibla for muslims. Muslims used to face it while performing prayer.
Jews, too, used to face it while offering prayer. It was 2 A.
H.and the month of Sh'aban the God descended the order to change the
qibla from Dome of Rock (Baitul Muqaddas) to K'aba. Prophet Muhammad
who was performing the prayer at that time, turned his face towards
K'aba. It was a very important event of Islamic history. The divine
words describe the importance of this event, "We made K'aba, your qibla,
the reason behind it is that let it be known as to who is a disciple of
Prophet and who is going to turn back." It was also the proclamation of
the fact that jews, who were still the bearer of the responsibility to
give the world moral and spiritual guidance, have been dethroned because
they did not fulfil their duty and did not value this belssing. From now
on this responsibility is being entrusted to muslilms and they will
fulfil this responsibility.
The impact of this incident was to the people whose hearts were berefit
of faith, criticized the Prophet Muhammad and their status among
muslim became clear. In this way many such muslims deserted Islamic
group and to a greater extent, muslim group got rid of such useless
people.
CHAPTER-IX
83. Defence of Islamic Movement
84. Peril for Quraysh
85. Conspiracy of Quraysh
86. Pressure on Quraysh
87. Hazrami's Murder
88. War at Bahr
89. Escalation by Quraysh
90. Preparedness of Muslims
91. March (of muslims) from Madinah
92. Battlefield
93. Commencement of War.
94. Defeat to Quraysh
95. Consequence and Impacts of the Battle of Badr
96. Battle of Ohad
97. Reasons
98. Quraysh Advancing
99. Cheating by Hypocrites
100. Equipment of Muslim Youths
101. Orderly Arrangement of Army
102.Equipment of Quraysh
103. Commencement of War
104. Quraysh's Attack from the Backside.
105. Aid from Allah and Victory
106. Reasons for early Defeat and Training of Muslims
107. Dependence on Allah
108. Infatuation of Wealth
109. Guarantee of Success
110. The Real Motive of Islamic Movement
111. The Root of Weakness
112. After Ohad's Defeat
113. Breach of Promise by Tribes
114. Opposition of Jew Savants and Saint
115. Battle with Bani Qainqa
116. K'ab Bin Ashraf's Murder
117. Banu Nuzair's Expulsion
118. Battle of Ahzab
119. Digging of Trenches
120. Infidel's Attack
121. Aid from Allah Almighty
122. Dependence on the Virtue of Allah
123. Trail of Claim of Faith
124. The Root of Weakness
125. Prophet: The worth-following Model
126. Banu-Qarizah's Slaughter
127. Hudaibiyah Treaty
128. Journey of Visit Holy K'aba
129. Negotiations with Quraysh
130. Bai'atur Rizwan
131. Treaty of compromise
132. Hazrat Abu Jandal's Issue
133. Effect of the Treaty of Hudaibiya
Defence of Islamic Movement
When some people of Madinah became disciple of
Prophet Muhammad at Uqba in Makkah anad invited him to come to
Madinah with his disciples, it was feared that this this Bai'at (ritual
to become a disciple) was in a sense, a big challenge from the people of
Madinah to the whole Arabian Nation. So one of the disciples Abbas bin
Ubadah (Rad.) addressed his companions and said, "Do you know the
meaning of this oath? You are waging a war against the whole world by
becoming his disciple. So, if you are thinking that you would hand over
this person to enemies when you sense your wealth was in danger or your
nobles were in the jaws of death, leave him right now. Because, then it
would be defamation of this life and hereafter and if you are true in
your intentions you intend to remain faithful to him right now. Because,
then it would be defamation of this life and hereafter and if you are
true in your intentions you intend to remain faithful to him even if you
lose your wealth and your nobles, then invite him and hold his hands.
Believe it this would be virtuous for life and hereafter. "On this
occasion all the delegates collectively announced, "We are ready to
endanger our lives and our elders for the sake of this persons. Now a
time had come to test the people of Madinah in their claim.
Peril for Quraysh : The migration of Prophet Muhammad and
muslims to Madinah meant that Islam had got a settling place. Muslims
who had been tested of their patience and uprightness, time and again,
had taken the shape of an organised group. It was a peril for Quraysh
people and they were seeing it clearly that the Islamic movement was a
message of destruction for their centuries old Jahili set-up. Another
thing that had made them restless was that their economy was largely
depended on their economy was largely depended on their trade with Yemen
and Sham (Syria), and Madinah was situated on the trade route going
along the red sea to Syria. Muslims were in powerful position in
Madinah. Their trade was in danger. Quraysh could use this route, on two
conditions. Either by establishing friendly ties with muslims or by
crushing their might completely. This was the reason why Quraysh tried
their best, prior to migration, to stop muslims from gathering in
Madinah.. But their planning met with failure. So, now, they decided to
abolish this upcoming danger at any cost.
Conspiracy of Quraysh : Abdullah bin Ubai was a chief in Madinah
Prior to migration, people of Madinah wanted to make him their king. But
when people of Madinah started embracing Islam and Prophet Muhammad
along with other muslims migrated from Makkah to Madinah, this
scheme failed and Abdulah Bin Ubai lost all his hopes. People of Makkah
wrote him a letter which read, "Your people have given shelter to our
enemy, we swear by Allah, either you fight with his and sent him out of
Madinah or we will escalate you and kill your men and take your women
under slavery ". This letter proved to be a sop for Abdulah Bin Ubai's
broken hopes. But Prophet Muhammad convicned him at the right
time and asked him, "Will you fight you own brethren and sons." As the
majority of Ansars had accepted Islam, so Abdullah shunned his evil
designs.
At that very time a chief of Madinah, S'ad Bin M'az went to Makkah to
perform Ummrah (off-seasonal "minor haj"). At the entrace of Haram (the
K'aba close) he met Abu Jahal. He (Abu Jahal) said to him "you gave
shelter to our apostates (muslims) and expect that we will let you
circumambulate in this sanctuary. If you had not been the guest of
Umayya Bin Khalf, we would have not spared you." Hearing this S'ad
replied, "I swear by God, if you hinder me from doing this (tawaf) I
will desist you from passing through Madinah, on your way to Syria, In a
way, it was a proclamation that if Quraysh did any mischievous thing,
they will have to close their commercial route which passes by Madinah.
Pressure on Quraysh :Quraysh had evil designs on Islamic mofement
and were trying their best to abolish this movement, so, in order to
make them look down and raze them, Muslims had no other option except
grabing this key way to close the trade of Quraysh people. Only this
pressure could bow them. As it is stated earlier, Prophet Muhammad
had already managaed to make agreements with jews, living near this key
way. Small troops of muslims started interception convoys only to warn
them. But these troops neither looted nor shed blood of any of infidels.
But this step of muslims was a clear indication for Quraysh that they
should trim their sails according to the prevailing wind. A fight with
muslims will cause mutual losses.
Hazrami's Murder : During this very period, Prophet Muhammad
continued to remain alert about his surroundings so as to know the
type of conspiracies that Quraysh were hatcting against him. It was
second year of migration in the month of Rajab, Prophet Muhammad
sent a group of thirteen muslims, under the leadership of Abdullah Bin
Hajash, towards Nakhla. This place (Nakhla) is situated between Makkah
and Ta'if. Prophet ordered, while handling over a letter to Abdullah,
"open it after two days". Abdullah opened it after two days, the message
was, "stay in Nakhla and get information about Quraysh and inform me."
Accidently, some Quraysh traders were coming back from Syria
through this route to Makkah. Abdullah attacked them, in which one
person Al-Hazrami was killed and two were arrested with a lot of booty.
Abdullah came to Madinah and narrated this to the prophet and presented
him the booty. Prophet Muhammad expressed extreme displeasure and
ordered, "I did not allow you to loot and kill." He did not accept the
booty as well. The person killed and the two arrested were elites of
Makkah. This incident provoked Quraysh and set a trend of revenge
henceforth.
War at Badr :It was second year of migration, the month of
Sh'aban (February or March 623 A.D.) a very large caravan of
Quraysh, having merchandise worth 50 thousand guineas, was passing the
region which was under the control of Muslims. There were 30 to 40
guards with caravan. Abu Sufian was the leader of caravan, sensing the
fear of attack by muslims, he send a messenger towards Makkah to bring
reinforcement. This man, when reached Makkah, raised an alarm that "the
caravan is being looted by muslims, rush for the help." The merchandise
belonged to many of those in Makkah. It became a common issue, so, all
the major chiefs set off for a battle and an army of one thousand
enthusiastic youths marched towards Madinah with pomp and show. They had
determined to settle the issue once for all to avoid these day-to-day
troubles. These people had the desire to save their wealth, severe
enmity, passion o f bigotry in their hearts. In short, they were rushing
towards Madinah with a frenzy and splendour.
Escalation by Quraysh : Prophet Muhammad was fully aware of these
developments. He anticipated that if Quraysh succeeded in their evils
designs on muslims and defeated them, then, it would be difficult for
the Islamic movement to flourish ad overcome these infidels. Hardly two
years had passed in Madinah and the migrants had left all their
belongings in Makkah and were empty-handed. Ansars were novice in the
matter of concern. amids this circumstances, the danger of defeat of
muslims, in case of attack by Quraysh was looming large. And even if
they just extricate their caravan forcefully, the muslims will lose
their credibility and in future, it would be very easy for nearby tribes
to dwarf muslims and put them in tight corner, acting on Quraysh's
directions. On the other hand, jews, polytheists and hypocrites of
Madinah would raise their heads and challenge muslims. So Prophet
Muhammad decided to face them in battlefied with all available
resources. He wanted to make it clear as to who deserved the survival.
Preparedness of Muslims : After making this decision Prophet
Muhammad gathered all migrants and Ansars and informed them with all
that has happened. In the north of Madinah was a mercantile caravan and
from the western side, the army of Quraysh was advancing . God told
prolphet asked them, who they wanted? In response to this query, most of
the companions expressed the desire that the caravan should be attacked
first. But Prophet had a different picture before his eyes, so he
repeated his question. Then, one of the immigrants, Maqdad-Bin-Amr
(Rad.) stood up and said, "O' the prophet of Allah, we are with you, act
according to God's comand. We shall never say no to you, as Bani Israel
had said to their prophet "Go away, you and your Lord will fight
(enemies), we are sitting here*." But before reaching a final decision,
it was necessary to know the opinion of Ansars. So, Prophet Muhammad
directly addressed them and repeated his question. Then S'ad Bin M'az
stood up and said, O' prophet of Allah! we have complete faith in you
and we have certified you prophecy. We have witnessed that whatever you
have brought, is true. We have taken solemn oath to obey you, so, O'
prophet of Allah! do what you want to do. We swear by Him (Allah) Who
has sent you with truth that if you take us to sea and enter into
it, we will dive into it with you. No one of us will turn his back. We
will be firm-footed in the battlefield. We will exhibit true devotion
and if God willed we will please you by our valour and courage. So,
depending on the omnipotence of Allah, take us with you."
After these speeches, it was concluded that the army of Quraysh will be
attacked first. It was not an easy task. Muslims were less in number and
poorly armed. They were a little more than 300 in number, only two or
three of them possessed horses and only 70 camels, only sixty muslims
had chain armours. So, most of the muslims were frightened and they were
of the view, as if they were knowingly going in the jaws of death.
Following ayahsfrom chapter "infaal" depict this picture;
Just as your Lord ordered you out of
your house in truth,
even though a party among the believers disliked it . Dis-
puting will you concerning the truth after it was made
manifest, as if they were being driven to death while they
see it. Behold! Allah promised you one of the two parties
that it should be yours. You wished that the one unarmed
should be yours. But Allah willed to establish the truth accor-
ding to his words, and to cut off the roots of unbelievers. That
He might establish truth and prove falsehood false. Distasteful
though it be to those in guilt.
March (of muslims) for Madinah : Despite this lack of means, on
12 of Ramzan in the year 2 A.H.,Prophet Muhammad with faith in
Allah, marched with three hundred muslims from Madinah in south west
direction. The army of Quraysh was advancing from the same direction.
Prophet reached Badr on 16 of Ramzan.Badr is the name of a village which
is situated at a distance of 80 miles in the south west direction of
Madinah. On reaching here, they came to know that army of Quraysh had
reached the other end of the valley. Prophet Muhammad asked
muslims to camp here.
On the other hand, Quraysh were heavily armed. Their army consisted of
more than one thousand soldiers and almost hundred commanders. They had
a very good supply of provisions. Utba-Bin-Rabi'a was the supreme
commander of their army.
After reaching the vicinity of Badr, Quraysh got the information that
their mercantile caravan is out of the reach of muslims. Hence the
chiefs of Zohra and Adi tribes said, "it is not necessary of fight now"
but Abu Jahal did not acknowledge them. People of Zohra and Adi tribes
went back due to this and the rest of the army kept advancing.
Battlefield : Quraysh were best positioned in the battlefield,
the ground was solid. But muslims were on sandy part of battlefield. All
took rest at night. But Prophet Muhammad kept praying throughout
the night and on 17 of Ramzan, after offering Fajr prayer, Prophet
addressed muslim soldiers and told them about Jihad (holy war).
Then, Prophet Muhammad arrayed the troops according to the
strategy of war. Fasts had been imposed in this very year. And it was a
strange test of muslims that they, in their very first month of Ramzan,
were going to fight an army which was three times more powerful than
them. Two pleasant things happened that night which were the symbol of
God's grace. One thing was that muslims enjoyed a sound sleep and woke
up refreshed in the morning, secondly it rained this very night which
hardened the sandy land. The part where Quraysh army was camping, became
muddy and their feet used to get submerged in the ground. Muslims stored
water in ponds for bathing and ablution. Muslims got ready for the
fight, their hearts were satisfied and free of fear and perplexion as
they had performed prayer.
Commencement of War: When both armies came
face-to-face it was a strange sight. On one side, were 313 poorly armed
muslims who had full faith in Allah, and on the other hand were well
armed one thousand infidels who had come with a determination to silence
the voice of believers completely. At this occasion Prophet Muhammad
extended his hands for prayer with extreme humbleness. He prayed,.
"O' God they are arrogant Quraysh and they are here to falsify me. O'
God send your help which you promised me. O' God ! if these handful
muslims die, then, who will pray you."
The migrants in this war were in a difficult test, they were going to
face their own brothers, sons and relatives. Their fathers, sons, uncles
and brothers were in the range of their swords. They were sheding
the blood of their own dear ones. Only those who had taken full
allegiance to Allah, could prove themselves worthy of this trial. They
were determined to establish relations only with those having faith and
abandon the rest. But Ansars were evenly balanced in this trial. Untill
now, their "guilt", in the eyes of atheists and polytheists of Arab, was
that they had given shelter to muslims, their arch-rivals. But now, they
were helping Islam openly and had drew their sword against atheists of
Makkah. This meant that the whole Arab was now the enemy of Madinah. The
population of Madinah was not more than one thousand. But the affection
for Allah and Prophet Muhammad and faith in the hereafter enabled
them to take such a frastic step. Nobody could dare to put his wealth,
property and dependants in danger with the enmity of whole Arabia.
Defeat to Quraysh : This was an stage in faith (iman) that
undoubtedly brought help from Allah. so, God helped this weak party of
313 muslims and gave Quraysh a back-breaking defeat. About 70 people of
Quraysh died in this battle and an equal number was taken into
custody. Those killed, included all major chiefs. Among them Shaibah.
Utba, Abu Jahal, Zam'a, Aas and Umayya etc. are worth-mentioning. The
killings of their chiefs broke the morale of Quraysh. Among muslims, six
migrants and eight Ansars got martyrdom .The prisoners of war were
distributed among the companions of Prophet and they were being directed
to behave well with these prisoners. So, the companions provided them
with all facilities, though they themselves suffered on some occasions.
This good behaviour made their hearts soft for Islam. This was the
greatest success for Islamic movement. Later, some of these prisoners
were released for ransom and some who were poor were released on the
condition that each of them would make ten children literate.
Consequences and Impacts of the Battle of Badr : Battle of Badr
was an important one from the point of tits consequences and impacts. In
fact, it was the first instalment of punishment for atheists, from
Allah, for denying the invitation to Islam. This battle made it clear as
to who deserved the survival more? Islam or heathenism (certainly
Islam) and how the things will take shape in future. This first battle
in Islamic history is called a grand one. Detailed commentary on this
battle is there in different from the one given by kings and generals
after they win a battle.
The characteristics of these comments compel us to have a glance over
them. These comments throw light on the nature of Islamic movement and
the programme of training for muslims;
(1) As stated earlier, wars were the hobby of
Arabs in pre-Islamic period. They were keenly interested in the booty of
wars. Often this lust of wealth used to cause a battle among themselves.
But Islamic concept of war was beyond wealth and booty and it was
necessary to make muslims realize this very concept. Battle of Badr was
first of its kind which tested muslims, whether the concept of Islamic
war and moral values had settled in their minds or the concepts and
motives of pre-Islamic wars was still there in their hearts.
After battle of Badr, some people kept the booty in their own
possessions, as it was a pre-Islamic tradition but some others who
remained busy in chasing infidels or giving protection to Prophet
Muhammad got nothing. This led to uinpleasantness among them. the
time had come that the booty is not the reward of war. Take it as
"Infaal" viz a gift from Allah which is given in addition to
remuneration. The genuine reward for fighting in the way of Allah, will
be bestowed by Him on the Day of Judgement. What you get here, is not an
individual's property rather it is a bonus. So, the question of
possession this bonus does not arise. All this (booty) belongs to Allah
and his prophet. The distribution principles were constituted in this
regard. It was a great moral reformation. Muslims were told to draw
swords only for the reformation of moral degradation and to
unchain the slaves of Allah from the slavery of idols. A true muslim
never uses his sword to gain worldly benefits rather he uses it when he
sees that the evil powers are trying to gag him and then he (muslim)
uses his power to curb those who become obstacles in reformation through
invitation and propagation. So, a muslim should not aim at material
benefits that one gets in the preliminary stage of this cause.
(2) Obeying the commands is as important as the
presence of soul in the body. So, the stress was given on obeying the
command unhesitatingly. So, at the time of distributing the body,
complete obedience was asked for and muslims were told that all belongs
to Allah and His Prophet and their decision about it is final and all
should comply with their decision.
(3) It is a trend that most of the (un-Islamic)
movements describe the achievements of disciples and activists with
exaggeration to boost their moral and incite their emotions to gain
familiarity and popularity. This kind of exaggerations motivate them to
offer sacrifices. After getting victory in battles or gaining
achievements they present titles and medals to their heroes and
protagonists and bestow rewards. They make arrangements for the
upgradation of their status, in order to please them so that, they may
show their valour time and again. This kind of rewards inspire others to
gain high status like them. Islamic movement has a different trend.
Despite the fact that 313 poorly - armed muslims defeated the army of
one thousand heavily-armed infidels, while they had inadequate means and
provisions, they (muslims) were told that, don't think that this is your
achievement. It was the virtue of Allah's mercy that enabled you to
defeat and make the enemies flee from the battlefield. Their original
power is dependent on Allah and not on means of physical strength. They
should always have faith in him while facing the foes in the
battlefield. At the very time of attack, Prophet Muhammad threw a
fistful of sand towards the enemies saying, "Shahtul Wujooh" (May God
deface them) and after that Muslims swooped down the enemies and their
feet lost the ground. This could be an opportunity to gain popularity
for others. But neither Prophet Muhammad did something like that
nor his disciples. But Allah Almighty made it clear in Qur'an and told
muslims that, "you did not kill them rather Allah killed them." And
Prophet Muhammad was told, "you did not throw (dust) but Allah threw
it" and the quotation from Qur'an, "Allah did all this to make muslims
pass through this test successfully.*" Muslims were made to understand
that Allah arranges all affairs of the world and what ever happens in
the world, is the result of His command and intention. A muslim always
have trust in Allah and obey Allah and His messenger in whatever the
circumstances are. Here lies his test.
(4) Jihad (holywar) is the touchstone in Islamic
movement which ultimately examines every protagonist of the movement.
When struggle between Islam and healthensim reaches to an extreme where
a believer has no choice but to enter the battlefield, in order to carry
on his religious duty of invitation (to Islam) and propagation, then,
there is no way out of the arena. If a person flees from battlefield,
leaving his duty to serve the cause of Islam what can, it means except
that:
(a) Life is dearer to him them the cause of the battle.
(b) He has no faith that life and death are decided by Allah and nobody
dies until He wills, and when He wills nobody can dilly-dally.
(c) Some desire other than Allah's pleasure and success in hereafter is
flourishing in his heart. It means that he did not devote himself for
establishing the Deen (religion) of Allah.
If any of the above things find place in one's heart then, his faith is
not complete. So, on the occasion of this first and important battle,
all muslims were told that a true muslim never shows his back in the
battlefield. Prophet Muhammad ordered that there are three sins
which mars every good deed. They are (i) polytheism (ii) usurping the
rights of parents and (iii) fleeing from war, being fought in the way of
Allah.
(5) Unnecessary interest in mundane relations also
hinders a person from advancing in the way of Allah. wealth and progeny
become obstacle in this path. So, Allah Almighty, at this occasion
defined the real status of wealth and offering, "Know that your
posessions and your progeny are but a trail and that it is Allah with
whom lies your highest reward.*" Allah Almighty put believers in trial
by bestowing wealth whether they use it fairly or not. Or to see whether
the wealth stops him from putting his life at stake for the cause of
Allah or make him tardy in terms of struggle for Islam. In the same way,
progeny is the second option (paper) of his exam, on one hand a believer
is to pay their (children's) rights in a way that the qualities.
Secondly it is to see that the natural affection for offspring bestowed
by Allah , may not hinder a believer from treading the path of
Allah.this is the dual trial regarding wealth and progency that every
believer should be well prepared for.
(6) Patience is the essence of every movement. But for
Islamic movement, it is as necessary as the presence of soul in the
body. This quality was given prominence in Makkah for muslims who were
passing through inevitable circumstances. But the situation there was
that muslims were left with no option but enduring the atrocities. Now,
the Islamic movement was entering the second phase. It was feared that
muslims may commit excesses. That is why muslims, in these changed
circumstances, were being asked to increase and maintain this quality
(of patience). In divine words, "O' you who believe! when you meet
a force be firm and call Allah in remembrance much (and often) that you
may prosper. Obey Allah and His messenger; And fall into no
disputes, lest you lose heart and your power depart and be patienta and
preserving : For Allah is with those, who patiently preserve."
Following guidelines are part of "Patience".
(1) Desires and emotions to be kept under control.
(2) Haste, panic and fear should be avoided.
(3) Avarice and improper passions may not be in one's
heart. Act cool-headedly and decisively.
(4) One should not retreat while facing hardships and
dangers.
(5) Ire, fury and provocation may not victimize one
for wrong doings.
(6) One should keep his cool while facing hardships
and miserable conditions.
(7) Excessive eagerness to achieve the target should
not compel one to act according to an immature plan.
(8) Worldly benefits may not lure the muslims to
incline towards these benefits. Muslims were required to give the test
of their patience through some other modes also, in the changed
circumstances.
Sometimes, the passion to achieve the target, dominates one's heart.
Placed before this passion, one does not take adequate care of truth and
justice and justifies his lapses. But Islamic movement which is
absolutely based upon fundamentals of truth, does not allow its
disciples to step over truth and justice. So, muslims at this critical
juncture of struggle between Islam and heathenism, were being advised to
reach political pacts with adversaries in addition to the instructions
regarding their moral training. The essence of these instructions is
that muslims should never make victory, defeat or material benefits a
base to breach their pacts. They should always have trust in Allah and
respect these pacts with complete honesty even if it compels them to
refrain from helping their own brethren.
These are some of the chief characteristics of the comment given on
battle of Badr in Holy Qur'an. This comment on the war of Badr is an
evidence of the distinction of Islamic movement over other movements and
how this (Islamic) movement trains its disciples.
Battle of Ohad
Reasons; though muslims came back victorious
from Badr but it was like the stirring of hornet's nest. Battle of Badr
was the first war between muslims and infidels and muslims faced them
fiercly and defeated them. This incident cautioned the whole Arabia
against ,muslims and the arch rivals of this movement got infuriated.
The relatives of deceased Quraysh chiefs were also waiting in wings to
take revenge. A single murder used to cause battles for many generations
and those killed at Badr were not ordinary people, their blood was very
costly. The signs of a storm were apparent. Jew tribes who had aligned
with muslims, infringed the pacts. They despite having belief in God,
prophecy, hereafter and divine books, attached their sympathies with
polytheists of Quraysh. They openly started inciting polytheists for war
against muslims especially the chief of Bani Nuzair tribe K'ab Bin
Ashraf showed extreme meanness and severe enmity. So, it became clear
that Jews will have no regard of neighbourhood and the pacts reached
with muslims and Prophet Muhammad . Now, this small town of
Madinah was surrounded by enemies on all sides and their financial
condition was very weak. Now, after the war they were facing many more
problems.
All major chiefs of Makkah had vowed to take revenge and they were amid
the flames of frenzy. Jews further blowed the fire of revenge and
incited the infidels of Makkah for a war against muslims. Hardly one
year had passed that news started trickling in Madinah that polytheists
of Makkah are ready with a very strong army to launch a massive attack
on Madinah.
Quraysh's Advancing : In the first week of shavval 3 A.H.,
Prophet Muhammad sent out two men to collect information. They came
back and informed that the army of Quraysh had reached the
vicinity of Madinah and their horses have wiped off a pasture of
Madinah. Now, Prophet discussed the matter with his companions, whether
to face Quraysh from within Madinah or should we fight outside Madinah?
Some companion opined that we should face them staying within Madinah
but some youths who were keen to get martyrdom, insisted that the battle
should be fought in the open. So, this insistence made prophet's
mind to fight in the open.
Cheating by Hypocrites :Quraysh camped on the hill of Ohad near
Madinah. Prophet Muhammad after a gap of one day i.e. on Friday
after offering Friday namaz marched with one thousand companions towards
Ohad. Abdullah Bin Ubai, a hypocrite, was among these companions and he
was a deadly enemy of ,muslims. Several hypocrites who were under the
influence of Abdullah were there. So, Abdullah along with three hundred
other hypocrites deserted muslims. Now there were 700 companions with
Prophet. Such a desertion at this critical stage was a strong
psychological trick but muslims whose hearts were filled with faith in
Allah.,hereafter and the desire to get maryrdom in the way of Allah,
paid no heed. This incident could not leave an adverse effect on them
and they kept advancing, having dependence on Allah.
Enthusiasm of Muslim Youths : On this occasion Prophet
Muhammad reviewed his companions and sent back minors. Two minor
named Raf'e and Samrah were among muslims, when minors were being
separated, Raf'e stood on his toes to look longer in height. This trick
paid and he was included. But Samrah could not get the permission. On
being rejected, Samrah said, "you included Raf'e so I should also be
granted permission because I defeated him in wrestling bout. So, to test
his calm, a wrestling competition was held between them. Samrah defeated
Raf'e and was included in the army. This is a small incident but enough
to estimate their spirit to sacrifice the lives in the way of Allah.
Orderly Arrangement of Army : Ohad mountain is at a distance of
4 miles from Madinah. Prophet Muhammad arrayed the army in a
manner that on the backside was mountain and they were face to face with
Qyraysh army. There was a mountain pass on the back from where muslims
could be attacked. So, Prophet deployed fifty arrowmen there under the
leadership of Abdullah Bin Jubair and directed them, "Let no one come
through this pass and never move from this position even if you see that
preying birds are piercing our bodies.
Equipmenet of Quraysh : Quraysh were well equipped this time.
They were almost 3000 in number, all well-armed. It was a custom of
Arabs that women used to take part in wars to encourage their army and
the soldier used to fight fiercely thinking that if they lose war, their
women will be disgraced. On this occasion of Ohad, several women were
present with Quraysh army. Many of their women had lost their sons and
relatives in the battle of Badr. These women had pledged that they will
quench their thirst of revenge with the blood of the enemies.
Commencement of War : Quraysh army was well trained. When the war
started, the women started playing on tambourine and started singing
encouraging songs to provoke the sense of honour so that the soldiers
may recall the sorrow of Badr's deceased soldiers and their zeal of
revenge may get strength. In the begining muslims were dominant and
killed several soldiers of Quraysh and their army scattered. Muslims
took it as their victory so they, is this early stage of victory,
started collecting booty. The soldiers deployed at the mountain pass
thought that the war had ended and they joined those looting the booty.
Their leader Abdullah Bin Jubair tried to prevent them and reminded them
the order of Prophet Muhammad but all left the pass except a few.
Quraysh's Attack from the Backside : Khalid Bin Waleed, who was
commanding a cavalry unit for infidels did not let this opportunity slip
from his hands. He took a turn and attacked muslims from the backside.
Abdullah Bin Jubair along with a few soldiers tried to stop the ambush
but they could not. The enemies swoop down muslims and those infidels
who were fleeing the battlefield also came back and attacked muslims
from both sides. This situation panicked muslims and the changed
radically. Muslims scattered and starting running here and there. amid
this hullabaloo, the rumour that Prophet Muhammad got martydom,
spread. Thir rumour made muslims lost their presence of mind and they
lost all their hopes.
Aid from Allah and Victory : At this time ten to twelve
companions had escorted Prophet Muhammad who was wounded. The
companions took Propheet to a cliff and other muslims got the
information that Prophet Muhammad is safe and sound and present
in the battlefield. All gathered around Prophet but Allah knows what
happened on this occasion that infidels turned back and left the
battlefield without completing their victory.
When they moved out of battlefield, they said to each other, we missed a
golden opportunity to crush the power of muslims, we lost it and came
back. They halted at a place and discussed whether to attack Madinah
again but they could not dare to do so and went back to Makkah.
Prophet Muhammad was also of the view that enemies may come back, so
he gathered muslims and ordered to chase the infidels. It was a critical
situation but those having a true faith, got ready to take the risk and
Prophet Muhammad chased the enemies upto a place is at a distance
of 8 miles from Madinah. But when they came to know that Quraysh have
gone back, they all came back to Madinah.
Reasons for Early Defeat and Training of Muslims :The early
defeat of muslims in Ohad's battle was due to hypocrite's plannings and
tricks but there were some weakness on behalf of muslims as well. They
could not get the proper training. It was their second chance of
fighting in the path of Allah. That is why they committed some mistakes.
They were guilty of negligence from their duty, disobeying the commands
and collecting booty before disarming the enemy. So, after this war
also, Allah Almighty commented on it and explained all errors in muslims
from Islamic point of view and He gave all necessary instructions. These
instructions are mentioned in the last part of chapter Aale Imran.
Some of these instructions are being mentioned here so that the status
of war in Islamic movement may be understood. And how events of war and
happenings are interpreted, from Isalamic point of view.
Dependence on Allah : When muslims went out for fighting
infidels, their number was about one thousand, while the number of
enemies was 3000. Then, 300 hypocrites deserted them and they were only
700 left compared to 3000 infidels. They had insufficient arms and their
one-third army had already cheated them. At this point some people gave
up hope. The only force that enabled muslims to get ready for fight was
that of Allah Almighty. The solace given by Prophet Muhammad to
muslims is mentioned by Allah Almighty in Holy Qur'an, "Remember when
two of your parties showed cowardice; though Allah was there to protect
them, and the faithfuls should trust Allah. Afterall, Allah had helped
you at Badr, when you were very weak. Thus you should show your
gratitude to Allah. Remember when prophet was telling the fiathful, "Is
it not enough for you that Allah helped you with three thousand angels
(specially) sent down? Yes, if you remain patient and act in obedience
of Allah. He would help you with five thousand angels when the enemies
raid you at your doorstep. Allah has told you this as a message of hope
for you, and as an assurance to you. There is no victory except from
Allah, Exalted, the Wise. "Muslims were made to understand that a muslim
should not rely upon their physical power, the source of their genuine
power is faith in Allah and dependence on His aid.
Infatuation of Wealth :If there is no stimulus to energise human
being then, successive failures lower the morale. Muslims were defeated
in Ohad. This could have resulted in the lowering of the morale. So,
muslims were guaranteed victory if they did not panic and show
courage and should remain unwavering on their faith and fulfil its
requirements. Do this part of yours and leave the rest on Allah, surely
He will drive away you worries and sorrows. "So, lose not hearts nor
fall into despair. For you would ultimately gain victory if you are true
in faith and fulfil its requirement. In so far the small problems and
temporary defects are concerned they are also faced by the other group.
When they do not bother, when you are on a right path.
You are desirous of paradise but do you think that you will get it as
such. You have not been tested yet by Allah as to who will
sacrifice himself for Allah and who will endure with him during this
difficult times.
The Real Motive of Islamic Movement : Every movement has a
central figure which is the essence of the movement., But principle
based movements' survival and progress never depends on an individual
rather they depend on the truth and firmness on those principles. It is
not difficult to understand the importance of the noble prophets (peace
be upon them) for such Islamic movements. But to establish that this
movement is based upon principles and its survival and flourishing
depended purely on the power of those principles which Islam puts forth,
it was necessary to tell muslims lest they may think, they will rise for
the cause of Allah only till the prophet is alive and when they are
deprived of his direct guidance they will adopt some other way. So, when
the rumour of Prophet Muhammad 's martyrdom spread in the battlefields
of Ohad, some muslims lost their heart and they thought that it was of
no use to fight without Prophet. To rectify this assumption they were
told that, "Prophet Muhammad is not more than a messenger of
Allah. Many prophets had passed away before him. If he died or was
slain, will you then turn back on your heels? If any one did turn back
on the heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the
other hand) will swifty reward those who (serve him) with gratitude*."
It is not necessary that to follow and to establish the truth (Islam)
that you have consciously chozen for yourself that Prophet will be
always with you. It is a barter of your own success and prosperity. If
you remain steadfast you will gain. The real power of this Deen
(religion) is the truth it represents. It's progress neither depends on
your efforts nor on any personality.
The Root of Weakness : The root of all human weakness is death.
They were reminded at this hour that fleeing the death is of no avail.
No one dies before the time of his death, fixed by Allah. Nobody can
live or die after or before this fixed time. So fear not the death. What
one should worry is to see whether he was serving the right purpose of
his life? We should think whether we are spending our life according to
Islamic laws. If one seeks the material things he gets in his life time.
But one, who works for the reward in hereafter, Allah will reward him
for his good deeds. This opportunity should be availed by these who have
had the blessings of embracing Islam, following its duties and
establishing the truth (Islam). They should put forth their best for the
cause. They will get good reward in the form of eternal success. Those
who thank Allah for His blessings and best of bestowals.
After Ohad's Defeat : Except one or two tribes, the whole Arabia
was against the surging Islamic movement. This movement was affecting
their ancestral religions and customs. Islam wanted to raise moral
values and make the disciples to avoid evils which were prevalent in
Arabia. These evils included wine, gambling, fornication and robberies.
Prior to the battle of Badr, these tribes were all pondering over the
ways to eradicate Islam. But the defeat of Badr lowered their morale and
they were in a dilemma as to how to face the believers. But after the
battle of Ohad they got back their lost stamina and a lot many tribes
challenged Islam. Some of these events are as follows:
Breach of Promise by Tribes :(1) Muharram 4 A.H, a tirbe named
Jofed of Qutn region intended to attack Madinah. Prophet Muhammad
sent a small party under the leadership of Abu Salmah to face them. The
attackers turned to heels and fled away.
(2) After that in this very month a tribe Lahyan of Kohistane Arna
intended to attack Madinah. Abdullah Bin Anis was sent to repulse them.
Their chief Sufyan was killed and his men fled away.
(3) Safar 4 A.H., the chief of Kalab tribe Abu Bara' came in the
presence of Prophet Muhammad and said, "send some preachers with
me, I and my people want to listen to Islamic preachings." Prophet
Muhammad sent 70 companions with him. Most of them were from
As-habe-Suffa*. These companions were killed by the chief of the tribe
Aamir Bin Tufail and his aides. It was a shocking incident for
Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad used to curse against
these killers after Fajr salah throughout the month. Aamir spared one of
these 70 companions saying, "my mother took a vow to free a slave. Go
away I free you for this vow." When Amr Bin Umayya was returning to
Madinah, he met two men of Aamir's tribe. Umayya killed them and got the
sop that he at least took some revenge. When Prophet Muhammad
came to know this incident he disliked it because he had promised
immunity to this tribe and these killings were against this resolution.
So, he ordered to pay blood-money for these two persons.
In the same way two more tribes did the same thing. Prophet, on their
request, sent 10 companions with them to impart religious education, but
these oppressors breach the promise. Seven of these ten companions got
martyrdom by fighting these infidels and three were taken into custody.
Khaib and Zaid (may "Allah be pleased with them) were among these
prisoners. The enemies sold them out in Makkah. Khaib had killed Haris
Bin Aamir of Quraysh in the battle of Ohad. The son of Haris bought
Khaib so that he may kill him to take revenge. They martyred him after a
few days. Similarly Safwan Bin Umayya bought Hazrat Zaid and martyred
him.
Such kind of prodding was on from neighbouring tribes and the
adversaries were committing excesses. Muslims were at the receiving end.
'At the same time jews also forced certain eventualities which were
cause of anxiety to muslims.
Opposition of Jew Servants and Saints : Prophet Muhammad
had reached various pacts with jew tribes when he migrated to Madinah.
These tribes, through these pacts were assured that they and their
properties would be protected. They would have the freedom to practise
their religion. Despite these pacts, the growth of Islamic movement was
making them perturbed and they had reasons for it :
(1) Until now jews had a upper hand from religious
point of view. All other tribes use to regard them worth-honouring but
with the advent of Islam the hollowness of false religiosity and
professional god-fearing was being exposed. Prophet Muhammad's
preachings were making the people understand the real meaning of
religiousness and piety. So, the trade of these savants and saints was
facing a "recession".
(2) Open criticism on the dealings of jews
especially their scholars and pious people, was being revealed through
Holy Qur'an. For example, "(they are fond of ) listening to falsehood of
devouring anything forbidden*." and, "You will see many of them, racing
each other in sins and transgression and their eating of things
forbidden. Evil indeed are the things they do. **"
"They took usury, though they were forbidden and that they devoured
men's wealth wrongfully. We have prepared for those among them who
reject faith, a grievous chastiement.*" Such warnings are present in
Al-Baqra, Al-Ma'eda and Aale Imran chapters. These warnings used to make
them angry and they indiscriminately used to start tormenting muslims.
(3) With Islam spreading rapidly, they were fearing that they would have
to give in to Islam one day or the another.
Battle with Bani Qainqa' : After the battle of Badr jews first
took its notice, as they feared that Islam would become a powerful
religion. So, just after Badr, in Shavval in the year 2 A.H., jew tribe
Bani Qainqa' declared a war against muslims and infringed the pact that
they had with muslims. The instant reason for this battle was that a jew
molested a muslim woman. Her husband killed a jew in anger. The jews
retaliated and killed this muslim. Prophet Muhammad tried to
assuage the matter. But jews replied that we are not like Quraysh who
fled away from Badr, we will give you tooth-breaking reply. So, jews,
disregarding the pact, announced the war. So, Prophet Muhammad
retaliated. Jews confined themselves in a fort. After a siege which
lasted 15 days it was settled that jews be exiled. So, 700 jews were
banished.
K'ab Bin Ashraf's Murder :K'ab Bin Ashraf was a famous jew poet.
He composed verses after the battle of Badr, that were very provoking
against muslims in Makkah. Poets used to have a lot of influence during
those days. He composed two elegies of Quraysh's deceased in Badr and
recited them in Makkah in a manner that made everyone wail and cry.
Then, he came to Madinah and recited satirical verses about Prophet
Muhammad and incited people through different means. On one occasion
he invited Prophet Muhammad for a feast and hatched a conspiracy
to kill him. Prophet discussed this situation with his companions and
with his assent Muhammad Bin Muslimah murdered K'ab in the month of
Rabiul Avval, in the year 3 A.H.
Banu Nuzair's Expulsion : Banu Nuzair committed several breaches
and conspired many times to assassinate Prophet Muhammad. They
had been inciteds for this purpose by Quraysh also. When they became a
nuisance, Prophet Muhammad ordered to lay a siege around their
fort which lasted for 15 days. At last they agreed to vacatethe fort
with as much belongings as they could carry on their camels. According
to this agreement manyof their chiefs took the way to khaibar. They
carried almost all essential items with them.
Now both the enemies of muslims joined hands, they were polytheists of
Arabia and jews. They started charting out plans and decided to attack
Madinah unitedly. In the begining, whenever information of attack
trickled in, Prophet Muhammad went out with muslims to face them
but the enemies turned to their heels and ran away. On one occasion in
Muharram 5 A.H., he chased them upto Zatur Riqa' and second time in
Rabiul Avval in the year 5 A.H., he chased them upto Domatul
Jandal.
Battle of Ahzab*
People of Banu Nuzair tribe reached Khaibar. Here
they hatched a dire conspiracy against muslims. They instigated nearby
tribes against muslims and made Quraysh agree for a battle and told
them, if we attack them untidily, we can crush this movement. Quraysh
were already prepared for a war. So, a grand army of almost 10000
soldiers from various tribes of jews and infidels of Makkah, was
constituted.
When Prophet Muhammad came to know that infidels are preparing to
attack Madina on such a large scale, he counselled his companions.
Hazrat Salman Farsi (Rad.) was of the view that it is not proper to
fight with such a large number in open fied. So, we should choose a
proper place for us and dig trenches around that place so that , the
enemy might not attack us directly. This suggestion was unanimously
accepted.
Digging of Trenches :Madinah was surrounded by houses and oasis
on three sides, only oneside was open. Prophet Muhammad
deployed three thousand companions on digging a trench. This digging
started on 8 the Zu-Q'ada 5 A.H. Prophet Muhammad himself dug the
ground and gave ten yards of land to everyone for digging. These 3000
muslims dug this 5 yards deep trench in 20 days. Prophet Muhammad
himself took interest in digging the trench. During the digging a rock
became a hurdle, it was too hard to break. Prophet Muhammad came
forward and hit the rock with a violent blow of pickaxe, the rock
shattered to pieces. This was also a miracle of Prophet Muhammad.
Infidel's Attack :The infidels divided their army in their
contingent and attacked Madinah from three sides. This fierce attack has
been depicted in the Holy Qur'an like this,
"Behold! they came on you from above
you and from below you,
and behold, the eyes swerved and the hearts gaped upto the thro-
ats, and you imagined various (vain) thoughts about Allah, in that
situation were the believers tried. They were shaken as by a treme-
ndoous shaking."
This was the time of trial. On one hand was biting
cold, lack of provisions, continuous starvations, sleepless nights,
restless days, fear of life hovering, wealth and offspring being the
target of enemies, and a strong army of enemy at offence. All these
things were horrifying. But the believers remained steadfast with power
of faith. It was not a matter to bear for those with a weak faith and
those who were hypocrites, so, these hardshipos exposed them and they
started complaining. "Allah and his messenger promised us nothing but
delusions" .(chapter Al-Ahzab, ayah 12). They started offering excuses
to save their lives, "O' people of Yathrib, come back, today you have no
place" (chapter al-Ahzab, ayah14). They asked Prophet Muhammad to
grant them permission to stay in their houses and protect them as their
houses are unsafe. But those whose faith was firm and who were true in
their claim of faith, their condition was different. They said when they
saw this strong army, "This is what Allah and His messenger had promised
us. And it only added to their faith and zeal in obedience. Among the
believers were the men who have been true to their covenant with Allah.
Of them some have died and some (still) wait but they have never changed
(their determination) in the least". (chapter Al-Ahzab, ayah 22-23).
This siege lasted one month and it was so intense that muslims used to
starve for 3 times a day. The siege was adding to the hardships and
miseries. The infidels could not get across the trench so, they kept
waiting on the other side. Prophet Muhammad had deployed muslims
on various positions. The infidels used to pelt stones and shot arrows
from the other side of trench. The muslims used to give proper replies.
In the meantimes the infidels used to launch attacks. sometime, muslims
had to use their complete might in repulsing the surging attacks of
infidels. Sometimes, muslims had to delay their salahs.
Aid from Allah Almighty : The prolonging of the siege was
lowering the morale of infidels. It was not an easy task to provisions
to 10000 soldiers. And the inclemency of weather was unbearable. In the
meantime the violent stormy wind uprooted their tents. The whole army
got scattered. This storm was chastisement from Allah for infidels and a
cause of blessing for muslims. Allah Almighty has described it as his
favour :
"O' you who believe! Remember the
grace of Allah (bestowed)
on you when there came down on you hosts but We sent agianst
them a hurricane and forces that you saw not but Allah sees all
that you do."
The infields could not brave this condition and their
power broke. First it were jews who evaded and when Quraysh remained
desolate, they found it better to go back. The clouds of hardships that
were hovering over Madinah drove away and this heppened only with the
virtue and hidden help from Allah. This battle is mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an and the aspects of muslims training and admonition have been
mentioned here :
Dependence on the Virtue of Allah :The real power rests with
Allah, it is the faith of a believer. Whatever happens is due to His
will and pleasure. A believer does not regard his achievement a result
of his power or his efforts rather he regards it, as the reality is,
Allah's virtue. In Ahzab , the army of 10000 infidels could not inflict
the harm to muslims and they went back disapponted. It was such an
occasion that muslims might have thought that this victory was due to
their course of action (digging the trench) so it was a good opportunity
for muslims to feel proud. But Allah Almighty, at this occasion, ordered
to save muslims from this weakness, "O' you believe! Remember the grace
of Allah on you, when there came down on you hosts. But we sent against
them a hurricane force that you saw not. But Allah sees (clearly) all
that you do."
This is the mental training required for the protagonists of Islamic
movement. A believer should always have faith in Allah. He should keep
it in mind that God is the true accomplisher and with this they should
keep on advancing to establish the Deen (religion) heedless of the
might and power of opponents.
Trial of Claim of Faith :A muslim is tried of his faith in the
times of calamities. He himself knows the degree of his faith and others
can also see how deep they are in water. In ordinary circumstances, it
is difficult to estimate that how far one can go in making efforts to
get his goal. Often one mistook him. But when there is a hard time it is
easy t differentiate between pure and impure. The same thing was done by
Ahzab battle. A sizable number of hypocrites and those with a feeble
faith were mixed with muslims and it was necessary that muslims should
idetify them. So, when the digging of trench started, these people were
exposed. Continuous digging, working for 24 hours regardless of rest,
and facing such a strong army and then remaining firm in an atmosphere
charged with fear and harassment. These were the hardships which
differentiated between true muslims and hypocrites. The hypocrites
called out, the Prophet promised us victory but now the defeat is
imminent, we understood that, "Allah and His messenger pronised us
nothing but delusions"(chapter Al-Ahzab, ayah 12). Some of them started
offering excuses and left the battlefield on the pretext of saving their
houses. But those whose faith was stern, took these things in a
different way. When they saw the enemies coming down on them they called
out, "This is what Allah and His messenger promised us and Allah and His
messenger told us what was true. And it only messenger told us what was
true. And it only added to their faith and their zeal in obedience."
(chapter Al-Ahzab, ayah 32).
The Root of Weakness : Fear of life and loss of prperty are
man's greatest weaknesses. Islam asks a muslims to have faith faith in
Allah and His qualities. The basic belief is that life, death, profit,
loss and everything is from Allah. Nobody can change the life into death
of profit into loss. This very belief and faith is the basis if muslim's
strength. The weakness of one's faith will be apparent in one's faith
will be apparent in one's deeds. So, it was told clearly to muslims.
Say, "running away will not profit you if you are running away from
death or slaughter and even if, no more than a brief respite will you be
allowed to enjoy". Say, "who is it that can screen you from Allah. If it
be His wish to give you punishment or to give you mercy. Nor will they
find for themselves, besides Allah, any protector or helper"(chapter
Al-Ahzab, ayah 16-17). If this belief is in one's heat then why he will
turn away? A man should always test his faith. More often he remains in
darkness about himself. When a test in there, he gets correct estimate
about himself.
Prophet : the Worth-Following Model :
Amid the mentioning of this war, muslims were directed that the life
of Prophet Muhammad is a worth-following specimen for you. But
thosse who have belief in the rewards of hearafter and meeting with
Allah, can be right person to profit themselves and those who recall
Allah more often. The specimen of Prophet's patience, dependence
on Allah, determination, perseverance, is enough for believers to keep
their hopes aloft, strengthening the heart in inevitable circumstances
and dependence on Allah with complete perseverance and it is a specimen
that the believers can follow till the end off this world. Those who are
determined to establish Islam should stroll on this path. This specimen
is to be put before them at every turning of life. This is the guiding
light for them.
Banu-Quraizah's Slaughter :It is mentioned earlier that
Prophet Muhammad had signed several treaties with jew tribes. The
jews honoured these treaties in the beginning but they started to breach
them later. Due to these breaches, Banu-Nuzair had been banished. But
Banu-Quraizah dmade a new agreement and Prophet allowed them to live
with peace in their castles.
At the time of Ahzab battle, many jew tribes provoked Banu Quraizah and
they joined the confederate forces. They paid no heed to the treaties
reached with Prophet Muhammad. When the battle of Ahzab was over,
Prophet Muhammad first of all paid heed to Banu Quraizah and
decided to punish them for the breach of the treaty. They made this
breach, at a critical time when the whole Arabia surged over muslims and
apparently it was felt that muslims had no escape. Banu Quraizah had
proved that they were snake of grass. They made agreements with muslims,
satisfied them but deceived them at the time of need. They joined others
to annihilate muslims. So, their castles were besieged. And the siege
lasted for a month and at the end of the day Banu Quraizah surrendered.
It was decided, in accordance with the rules in Torah, that those who
were fit for war should be slaughtered and the rest should be arrested.
Their wealth and belongings was forfeited. 1400 persons were slaughtered
including a woman whose guilt was that she dropped a stone from the fort
a muslim and killed him..
Hudaibhiyah Treaty
K'aba was the original centre of Islam. Prophet
Ibrahim and his son Isma'il (peace be upon them) had constructed
it when Allah ordered them so. Muslims were away from this centre for
six years. Haj was an important component of the basic tenants to Islam.
So, now muslims' ardent desire was to visit K'aba for Haj.
Journey to Visit Holy K'aba : Arabs used to engage in wars
throughout the year but they used to announce a ceasefire (truce) for
four months to provide a safe passage to people for visiting K'aba. In
the month of Zu-Q'adah in the year6 A.H., Prophet Muhammad
intended to visit K'aba. A large number of companions were also curious
for this felicity of visiting K'aba. So, 1400 muslims got ready for the
journey. They performed initial ritual of sacrifice (animals) at
Zul-Halifa. It was a clear indication that their intention is just to
visit K'aba. They are not going to attack infidels of Makkah. Despite
this Prophet Muhammad sent a man to bring information regarding
Quraysh's intentions. He brought the news that Quraysh have gathered all
tribes and announced that they will not let Prophet Muhammad
enter Makkah. Be ready for a confrontation. They started deploying their
army outside Makkah and were ready for a fight.
Negotiations with Quraysh : The Holy Prophet got this information
but he kept moving and halted at Hudaibhiyah, a place near Makkah.
Hudaibiyah is the name of a well and the village is also named after it.
Chief of Khazah tribe met the Holy Prophet here and informed him about
the preparations of Quraysh. Prophet ordered him, go and tell them that
we are here to perform Umrah. We do not want to fight and just want to
visit and circumambulate the Holy K'aba. Quraysh got this massage. Sosme
mischievous persons said "We need not listen to his message." But a
sobre man named Urvvah said, "No, you believe me and I will go and talk
Muhammad. So, Urvah came to Prophet Muhammad but the
matter could not be settled. In the meantime, Quraysh sent a detachment
to attack muslims. These soldiers were arrested but the Holy Prophet
showing mercy, forgave them and they were released later. It was decided
that Hazrat Usman (Rad.) should be sent to Makkah for negotiations. He
went to Makkah and negotiated with Quraysh but they remained
adamant that muslims will not be allowed to visit the Holy K'aba rather
they detained Hazrat Usman.
Bai'atur Rizwan :The word spread here that Hazrat Usman has been
martyred. This news made the muslims restless. The Holy Prophet hearing
this news, ordered that now it is a must to take the revenge of his
blood. Saying this the Holy Prophet sat under an Acacia tree and
discussed the matter with his companions (May Allah be pleased with
them) that we will take revenge at any cost. This resolution enthused
with a strange spirit amongst muslims. All of them, overhelmed with the
desire to get martyrdom, got ready to take revenge from infidels. This
oath is termed as Bai'atur Rizwan and is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.
At this occasion, Allah Almighty has expressed His pleasure for those
lucky persons who pledged with the Holy Prophet Muhammad .
Treaty of Compromise : Quraysh got the information about this oath
and the spirited muslims. On the other hand, muslims came to know that
the news of the killing of Usman (Rad.) was wrong. Quraysh sent Suhail
Bin Amr as their envoy for negotiations. These negotiations lasted a few
hours and at last the conditions for compromise were settled. Hazrat Ali
(Rad.) was called in to scribe the treaty. When he wrote that this
treaty is from Muhammad Rassollullah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him), the envoy Suhail objected to this and said that the word
"Rasooullah" (prophet of Allah) should not be written, we disagree to
this. So, the Holy Prophet sustained his objection and deleted word
"Rassolullah" with his holy hand and ordered, "By God! I am Allah's
prophet, whether you believe it or not." The conditions of this treaty
are as follows:
1. Muslims would go back this year.
2. They will come next year and stay only for three days.
3. They should not carry arms. Only a sheathed sword will be allowed on
the condition that it will not be unsheathed.
4. The muslims who are still in Makkah, will not be allowed to got to
Madinah and if any muslim wants to come back to Makkah, he will not be
stopped from doingso.
5. If an infidel or a muslims goes to Madinah (from Makkah) he will be
extradited but if a muslim goes to Makkah, he will not be extradited.
6. All other tribes of Arabian peninsula will be free to align
themselves with muslims or infidels.
7. The tenure of this treaty will be 10 years.
Apparently all these conditions were against the interests of muslims
and it was felt that muslims compromised with these conditions.
Hazrat Abu Jandal's Issue: It is a matter of chance that as the
scribing of treaty was in the offing, the son of Suhail, Abu Jandal
managed to flee from Makkah and reached the place Hudaibiyah. He was
chained, he fell down before muslims and narrated his woes he was facing
as he accpeted Islam. Abu Jandal pleaded the Holy Prophet and said,
"rescue me from the claws of infidels and take me with you." Suhail
objected and said that this is against the treaty, you can not take him
to Madinah. It was a testing time, on one hand there was a neophyte who
was being tortured for accepting Islam and was crying out for assistance
and on the other hand was the treaty and its conditions. All muslims got
uneasy. Even Hazrat Umar (Rad.) said to the Holy Prophet, "when you are
the true messenger of Allah, whay shall we suffer this disgrace at the
hands of infidels". But Prophet ordered that, "I am the messenger of
Allah and I can not disobey His command. He will help me." In short, the
scribing got completed and Abu Jandal had to return back to Makkah in
accordnace with the treaty and followers of Islam succeeded in their
test of following the prophet. On one side it was an apparent insult of
Islam, the bad condition of Abu Jandal and on the other hand it was a
total acceptance of prophet's command. Prophet told Abu Jandal to have
patience and assured him that Allah Almighty will find a way for him and
others oppressed. We cannot got back to our commitment. Abu Jandal had
to return back chained.
Effect of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah :Prophet stayed for three days
in Hudaibiyah after the treaty. On his way back to Madinah, Allah
Almighty descended chapter Fat'haw (victory). In this chapter Allah
Almighty hinted towards the incident of this treaty and termed it as
"Fat'he Mubeen" (an open victory). And the events that followed this
treaty have clearly explained that this treaty (of Hudaibiyah) was a
prelude to a great victory in Islamic History. Its details are as
follows :
Until now there was a war like situation but now muslims and non-muslims
started interacting. They started establishing commercial and ancestral
relations. Non-muslims use to come to Madinah fearlessly and stay there
for months and interact with muslims. In this way they found an
opportunity to view the Islamic movement from close quarters. They were
being affected strangely. They were finding muslims, for whom they had
hatred and anger , much better than their own people in moral values,
dealings and behaviour. They found that muslims, who were their arch
rivals, had no malice and enmity with them rather they hated their wrong
beliefs and customs. Every word of muslims was full of sympathy and
humanity. Despite many battles, that were fought between them, muslims
were nicely behaving with them. They (infidels) used to discuss their
objections and doubts regarding Islam with muslims and get satisfactory
answers. They realised their errors and their misconceptions about Islam
faded away. So, within two years of this treaty, a large number of
people embraced Islam even some major chiefs of Quraysh were affected by
Islam and they abandoned infidels and embraced Islam. Khalid Bin Waleed
and Amr Bin Al'as entered the folds of Islam in this period. The sphere
of Islam was expanding and it was all set to overwhelm the world. The
leaders of infidels were taking it as on end to their Jahili beliefs*
Quraysh were feeling that they were losing ground against the Islam.
They found no other option except to breach the treaty, as soon as
possible and try their fate against the Islamic movement whole-heatedly.
They wanted to build dams to stop this surging flood of Islam. The
breach of this treaty will be mentioned on proper occasion in the
chapter on Fatah-e-Makkah.
CHAPTER-X
134. Letters to Emperors
135. Letter to khosrau of Rome
136. Dialogue with Abu Safyan
137. Letter to King of Persia (Iran)
138. Letter to Negus and Aziz of Egypt
Letters to Emperors
Treaty of Hudaibiyah provided satisfaction to the
Holy Prophet. Now, he decided to pay some more attention to invitation
and propagation of Islam.
One day the Holy Prophet Muhammad addressed the companmions and
ordered, O' people ! Allah has sent me in the world as a messenger of
mercy (my message is for all and it is a mercy for the whole world). Now
do not contradict me like the apsotles of Christ. Go! and convey the
message of truth (Islam) toall."
In this very period i.e, in the end of 6 A.H, Prophet Muhammad
wrote invitation letters to many ekmperors and these letters were
delivered to emperors of several nations by his companions. The
speciments of some of these letters, whose details are available in the
history, are as follows :
Letter to Khosrau of Rome delivered by Wahya Kalbi (Rad.)
Letter to Khosrau Parvez king of Persia delivered by Abdul Bin Khuzefah
(Rad.)
Letter to Aziz-e-Misr (egypt) delivered by Hatib Bin Abi Balt'ah (Rad.)
Letter to Negus (Najashi) king of Abyssiania delevered by Umar Bin
Umayya.
Letter to Khosrau of Rome : The letter sent to the kind of Rome was as
follows:
With the name of Allah,
The most beneficient and merciful
On behalf of Muhammad, who is a slave and
messenger of Allah , to Hercules the King of Rome
May Allah grant him salvation who follows the guidance. After this I
invite you to Islam. Be a faithful and obedient slave of Allah to get
salvation. He will reward you in two folds. But if you do not obey
Allah, then the sins of your people will also be on your shoulders
(because of your denial, the invitation to Islam would not reach them).
O' the bearer of a Holy Book! come towards the thing which is common
between us that we will not worship
anybody except Allah. nor shall we attribute anyone his lord except
Allah. But if you turn down this offer
(Islam, we clearly say) be a witness that we are muslims(that is we obey
Allah and worship Him)
Dialogue with Abu Sufyan:
Wahya Bin Kalbi delivered this letter to Haris Ghassani in Basra who was
the governor of Syria appointed by Khosrau of Rome. He despatched it to
Khosrau. Khosrau read the letter and ordered his men to bring an Arab
before him. In those days Abu Sufyan was in this region on a commercial
trip. His men presented Sufyan in the court. Their conversation is as
follows:
Khosrau :
What kind of dynasty, the caller to Islam belong to ?
Abu Sufyan : He belongs to a noble
dynasty.
Khosrau :
Had anybody claimed prophecy in this dynasty before him?
Abu Sufyan : No, never.
Khosrau :
Are the people who accepted this faith, rich or poor?
Abu Sufyan : They are poor people.
Khosrau : Is
the number of disciple is increasing or decreasing?
Abu Sufyan : The number of disciples is
increasing continuously.
Khosrau :
Has anyone of you people found him telling a lie?
Abu Sufyan : No never
Khosrau :
Does he break his promise?
Abu Sufyan : He never say anything
contrary to his commitment and resolution.
He reached a fresh treaty (of Hudaibiyah). It is to see whether he
keeps his words in this regard.
Khosrau :
Have you ever fought against him?
Abu Sufyan : Yes, we fought a battle.
Khosrau : What was
the result?
Abu Sufyan : He defeated us twice and we
defeated him once.
Khosrau : What
does he teach?
Abu Sufyan : He asks to worship only one
God, never make a companion to
Allah. Offer salah, to pious. speak truth, behave with each other
with compassion and mercy.
After this conversation he said, "Prophets are always
born in noble dynasties. If someone else in his dynasty had claimed
prophecy then it was possible that his claim was influenced by his
family. And if there had been a king in his dynasty the it might be
understood that he was doing all this to get the reigns of power. When
it is proved that he never told a lie then how it is possible that he
might have concocted such a great lie about God (that he is the Prophet
of Allah). This is also a fact that the early disciples of any Prophets
are from poor sections of the society. A true that Prophets never
cheat or deceive. You say that he insists on salah (prayer), piety and
God-fearing. If all this is true, I am sure some day or other his empire
would engulf my empire too. I had the knowledge that a prophet is due to
come but I had not imagined that Arab would get this honour. If I could
go there, I would have washed his feet."
These comments of Khosrau exasperated his countries, popes and scholars
and it was feared that they might not revolt against him. This fear
engulfed light of guidance emerging in the heart of Khosrau. It is a
fact that wealth and authority always become a hurdle in accepting the
truth.
Letter to King of Persia (Iran) : The specimen of the letter to
the king Khosrau Parvez is as follow :
"With the name of Allah, the most beneficient
and most merciful.
from Muhammad, the prophet of Allah to the king Khosrau of
Persia. Peace be upon him who follows guidance and have faith
in Allah and His prophet and gives the witness that there is no god
but Allah and that I am the messenger, sent by Allah for the hum-
an beings so that I may warn everyone of his deadly end (due to
disobeying Allah). You, too become an obedient and loyal slave of
Allah . You will be in peace otherwise the burden of Zoroastrians
will be on your "shoulders".
Khosrau Pervez was a king of pomp and show.
To him the style of letter was very painful. The letter had the name of
Allah, then the name of sender and then the name of king and that too in
a simple way without appelation and respect and without the particular
style of letter writing that was prevalent in Persia. Khosrau got angry
and said, 'he is my salve and dares to address me like this" Saying this
he tore the blessed letter. He ordered the governor of Yemen to present
this claimant to prophecy before him.
The governor of Yemen sent out two men in the blessed audience to
request him for paying a visit. In the meantime the son of Khosrau
killed him and captured the power. When these two men were presented in
the blessed audience., they were unaware of the murder of their King.
Allah Almighty had informed Prophet Muhammad about this murder .
So, the Holy Prophet Muhammad informed them of this incident and
commanded them, "go back and tell your governor that Islamic rule will
expand to the capital city of Khosrau's empire." When these men went
back to Yemen, they knew that the information regarding the murder of
Khosrau was true.
Letter to Negus and Aziz of Egypt : The same kind of letters were
sent to the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and the King Aziz of Egypt.
Negus, in response to the letter, wrote back, "I give witness that you
are the true messenger of Allah" Negus embraced Islam in the
presence of Hazrat Ja'far who had migrated to Abyssinia.
Though king Aziz of Egypt did not accept Islam but he gave respect to
the bearers and sent them back with gifts.
CHAPTER-XI
139. Stability of Islamic State
140. Policy of Escalation on Enemy
141. Attack on Khaibar
142. Training of Muslims Society
143. Performing of Umrah
144. Conquest of Makkah
145. Breach of Hudaibiyah Treaty
146. Preparations for Attack on Makkah
147. Abu Sufyan's Arrest
148. Entry into Makkah
149. Proclamation of Amnesty in Makkah
150. Entry into the Sanctuary of K'ba
151. Post Victory Sermon
152. General Amnesty
153. Battle of Hunain
154. Impacts of the Conquest Over Makkah
155. Battle of Hunain
156. Persuit of Foes and Benediction
157. Battle of Tabuk
158. Struggle with Roman Empire
159. War Preparation by Ceasar
160. Decision to Face the Enemy
161. Exposure of Hypocricy
162. Departure for Tabuk
163. Stay at Tabuk
164. Conspiracy of Hypocricy
165. Return From Tabuk
166. Dealing with Hypocrites
167. Conspiracy of Abu Aamir
168. Zarrar Mosque
169. Completion of Believers' Training
170. K'aba Incident
171. Features of Muslim Society
172. Reality of the Claim of Faith
173. Believers' Religeous Training
174. Clear Declaration of Daul Islam's policy
Stability of Islamic State
When Banu Nuzair were banished from Madinah they
setteled in Khaibar. Khaibar is situated in the north-west of Madinah at
a distance of 200 miles. They built a few castle in Khaibar.
Khaibar was the largest centre of Islam's adversaries and a constant
danger for Islam. These very jews stimulated the tribes for the battle
of Ahzab. They did not succeed in this conspiracy. But they did not give
up hope and remained busy in hatching conspiracies to harm muslims. In
order to achieve this purpose they conspired with various tribes of
Arabs especially Quraysh and instigated the Hypocrites of Madina to step
up their undermining of Islam from within so that Islam is banished
forever by an external attack. All these efforts of jews were in
the knowledge of Prophet Muhammad. He tried his best to reach a
proper agreement with jews in order to make them give up their
anti-Islamic activities but to no avail. The jews did not give up
conspiring. They even lured other tribes that if they agree to launch a
joint attack on Madinah, they will start giving half of the produce of
their oasis to them every year. In short, as a result of these
Intrigues, many tribes gave in to the temptation and agreed to launch a
joint attack on Madinah.,
Policy of Aggression on Enemy ; Until now muslims were fighting
for their defence, everytime the enemy escalated war on them., they used
their weapons to defend themselves. Allah Almighty helped them and they
defeated the opponents. But now the things were changing and it was the
nbeed of the hour that where ever a danger to Islam emerges, it should
be curbed before it could galvanise itself into a big force against
Islam. A defensive war is needed for the protection and establishing of
Islam, but when necessary an offense against the enemy is also a must.
Islam is a system of life, a complete code of life and to safeguard it ,
it in not enough to defend in case of an attack by the anti-Islamic
forces. Rather, it is also essential to make efforts to undermine
anti-Islamic systems, to establish Islam.
After the battle of Ahzab Islamic movement had entered a phase where
defensive wars were not sufficient. The time had come to plunge into the
arrays of enemy to remove their threat. That is why the Holy Prophet,
after the battle of Ahzab, said, "Now it will not be so that people
attack us, rather we will come out to attack them.*"
Attack on Khaibar : The time had come to curb the mischief of
jews. So, Prophet Muhammad started making arrangements for the
attack on Khaibar. Prophet Muhammad came out of Madinah in
Muharram, 7 A.H. to prevent the likely attack of jews. There were 1600
soldiers with him, out of which only 200 were
cavaliers and remaining were infantry.
There were 6 forts in Khaibar housing 20000 soldiers. When,
it became certain that these jews wanted to fight and they
will not agree for any pact or compromise, Prophet Muhammad gave
an address to there companions and urged them to put their lives at
stake for the sak of Allah. After a siege that lasted for 20 days,
Allah gave victory to the muslims. 93 jews were killed and 15 muslims
embraced martyrdom in this war. A strong jew wrestler named Marhab was
killed by Hazrat Ali (Rad.). it was a great incident for muslims, as
jews were very proud of his stength.
After the victory, the jews made he plea that if muslims leave their
fields in their possessions they will give half of the yields to
muslims. Their after was accepted by the Holy Prophet . In coming
years, to get this 50 percent yields, muslims rulers made justice with
jews which won over the hearts of jews. The officers used to pile up the
crops into two equal heaps and allow the jew farmers to choose their
share.
Training of Muslim Society : Post Ohad (battle) scenario depicts
the extent of dangers that Islam was facing. To appreciatae these
dangers, the battle of Ahzab and its consequences are enough. This was a
period of dilemma but Prophet Muhammad, on the one hand was
acting like an alert general to settle these issues and on the other
hand, he was training the protagonists of Islamic movement in his
capacity of their patron and a moral guide. Rules and regulations for
this new Islamic society were being enacted. If we go through chapter
"Nisa" and chapter "Ma'edah" that were revealed during this period, we
come to know that prominence was being given on building Islamic
character and rules and regulations for muslims societry.
Chapter Nisa' descended on defferent occasions in 4 and 5 , A.H . It can
be easily guaged how Prophet Muhammad was organising this new
muslims society on the new moral values, etiques, social values and mode
of life and rectifying the new Islamic society from Jahili customs.
Muslims were being bestowed clear instructions as to how they should
organise their social life as well as their individual life on the
principles of Islam. They were told the principles to organize the
family, they were being given clear instructions about Nikah (matrimony)
and divorce. Many evils were being rremoved from the society by
determining the rights of men and women. The protection of orphans' and
destitutes' rights was given prominence. Rules for the inheritance were
enacted. Ways, to solve domestic quarrels were elucidated. Consuming
liquor was banned. Directions for cleanliness and purity were given.
Muslims were told about the kind of relation a person shall have with
Allah and His slaves. People of Books (jews, christians and sabians)
were criticized for their misconducts and improper ways of living and
they were told about their inaccuracies and on the other hand muslims
were made to understand that they should avoid these evils.
Islamic movement could have never succeeded against falsehood had it
lacked the reformation on these aspects. Protagonists of Islamic
movement should always keep their individuals status high only in terms
of their moral alone but Muslims should present an ideal society which
would prove its supremacy over non Islamic Society. To attain this
purpose, imitation or conscious efforts were not needed rather it comes
naturally when the protagonists become God-fearing and kind. The
prophet's reformatory and revolutionary movement is distinguished from
all other movements from this point of view. A prophet pays more
attention to the education, training and rectification of his disciples
than his anxiousness to propagate the Deen. This exclusive quality is
mentioned in the text of Chapter Nisa'. On one hand laws regarding
society, urbanization and mortality are described and on the other hand
the aspects of invitation (to Islam) and propagation are also
illustrated. Polytheists and people of Books are being invited towards
the true religion (Islam).
After compromise of Hudaibiyah, chapter Ma'edah was descended in the
year 7, A. H. Due to the conditions of Hudaibiyah, muslims could not
perform Umrah in this year. Rather it had been settled that Prophet
would come next year to visit K'aba. So, at this juncture, rules
and rituals regarding the visit to K'aba were told and they were taught
not to commit any excess even if the infidels were commit the same.
Uptill the revelation of Sura Maeda, the condition of muslims had
changed. This was not the time that Islam was surrounded by enemies
on all sides as the post-Ohad condition were. Now Islam had a power of
its own and the Islamic state had expanded. The tribes surrounding
Madinah upto a distance of 150 to 200 miles had given in and the
constant danger of jews to Madina had faded now. The jews who were still
there had accepted the subordination to State of Madina. It had become
clear that Islam was not a collection of some beliefs which in general
terms is called a "religion" which is related only with one's heart and
brain. Rather, Islam is a complete system of life, which encircles all
aspects of human life like society, politics, peace and war. And it was
also crystal clear that muslims were in a position to follow their own
chosen religion, without any restriction whatsoever. There was no
indrances from any other system or laws. They were free to call others
towards Islam.
Muslims had developed a culture of their own by now, which was
distinguished from others. Their moral values, mode of life,
transactions, in short the whole structure of their life was taking
shape in accordance with Islamic principles. They had an apparent
supremacy on other. They had their own rules and regulations regarding
civil and criminal matters; had their own courts. They had their ways of
dealings and commercial transactions. They had a complete law for
inheritance. They had laws about Nikah, divorce and Hejab (veil) and
other similar matter. Even, they had clear instructions regarding
etiquette, behaviour and relationships. All these things made the
Islamic society and Islamic way of life, distinguished from all other
non-Islamic societies. And this was all due to the continuous efforts
and training being imparted by Prophet Muhammad that was
resulting in increasing virtue in the life of Muslims. Capter Ma'edah
contains manners and rituals for Haj journey, distinction between
'Halal' & 'Haram' (prohibited) in eatables, rules of ablution, bath and
dry ablution, prohibition of liquor and gambling as unlawful,
instructions regarding witness, emphasis on justice etc. All those
aspects which were essential for re-construction of Islamic society,
were being paid full attention.
Performing Umrah : According to the conditions of Hudaibiyah
treaty in the year 7, A.H., Prophet Muhammad along with a large
number of muslims visited K'aba and performed Umrah. The companions of
Prophet were charged with a strong feeling of hapiness the enthusiasm.
This scene fanned and flames of envy and bigotry in the hearts of
infidels of Makkah. Now, they found the same Hudaibiyah treaty, which
was heavily in their favour, as insignificant.
Conquest of Makkah
Breach of Hudaibiyah Treaty :
According to the countenance of Hudaibiyah treaty, Arab tribes were free
to align with muslims or Quraysh. So, Khaza'h tribe entered in all
alliance with muslims and Banu Bakr tribe allied themselves with
Quraysh. For around one and a half year this agreement was followed but
thereafter, a war broke out between Khaza'h and Banu Bakr tribes which
were traditional enemies of each other. This all happened when Banu Bakr
launched an attack on Khaza'h. Quraysh helped Banu Bakr launched an
attack on Khaza'h. Quraysh helped Banu Bakr tribe as they were angry
with Khaza'h due to their pact with muslims. Both Quraysh and Banu Bakr
started killing Khaza'h so much so that even when they took shelter
inside K'aba, they were not spared and shed their blood inside the
sanctuary of K'aba.
So, Khaza'h tribe under compulsion, informed Prophet Muhammad of
this cruelty and sought help on the basis of the pact that they had with
the Prophet. When the Holy Prophet heard the miseries of Khaza'h, he got
shocked. He sent an envoy to Quraysh asking them to stop this blood-bath
and he set three conditions :
(1) Khaza'h tribe should be paid blood-money for their deceased. Or
(2) Quraysh stop backing Banu-Bakr tribe. Or
(3) Breach of Hudaibiyah treaty should be announced.
In reply to these conditions one amongst Quraysh Qazta Bin Umar, said,
"We accept only the third condition." After the envoy set-off, Quraysh
got worried and sent Abu sufyan as an envoy to get Hudaibiyah treaty
renewed. But Prophet Muhammad on the basis of his knowledge of
the situation and their attitude of Quraysh till now had no confidence
and he did not accept the proposal of Abu-Sufyan
Preparations for Attack on Makkah : The Holy K'aba was the centre
of Tawheed (oneness of God) and purity that was build by Prophet Ibrahim
(peace be upon him) with the sole purpose to worship Allah. But this
centre of Tawheed was still in the possession of infidels and had become
the greatest centre of polytheism. The Holy Prophet was the caller to
that very religion that was brought of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon
him) and was a protagonist of Tawheed. From this angle, it was the need
of hour that this centre should be cleaned from all descriptions of
polytheism. But until this time the circumstances were not favourable
for this purpose. But now the Holy Prophet assessed that the time had
come that this House of Allah be preserved for His worship alone and
this House be purified from all the evils of idolism. So, the Holy
Prophet sent messages to all ally tribes with whom he had alliances.
All this was done secretly so that the Quraysh may not get the wind of
it. When all preparation for the attack were completed, Prophet
Muhammad marched towards Makkah on 10 of Ramzan in 8, A.H. A
grand army comprising of 10,000 venturesome soldiers was with him.
The allies were joining in his way to Makkah.
Abu Sufyan's Arrest : When Islamic army neared Makkah, abu Sufyan
who was stealthily assessing the army, was arrested and presented before
the Holy Prophet. This was the very Abu Sufyan who was a front-runner in
opposing Islam. He had repeatedly conspired attacks on Madinah and had
even plotted to kill the Holy Prophet. All such guilts were such that he
should have been instantly killed, but the Holy Prophet had a mercy on
him and said, "go, today no explanation will be sought from you. May
Allah forgive you and He is the most merciful." It was a strange
behaviour which opened the eyes of Abu Sufyan and he became aware of the
fact that this person (the Prophet) was not thirsty of their (infidel's)
blood nor he, like other kings, was proud and arrogant. Moved by this
Abu Sufyan embraced Islam did not go back to Makkah and joined the army
of the devotees of the Prophet.
Entry into Makkah :Now the Holy Prophet ordered Khalid Bin
Waleed to enter Makkah from one side and instructed him not to kill
anyone, and was allowed to kill only in case some one attacks. The Holy
Prophet entered from the other side. Some Quraysh tribes shot arrows on
Khalid's army and martyred three muslims. Khalid had to retaliate.
Thirteen attackers were killed and the rest took to their feet. When the
Holy Prophet got the information of this attack, he sought explanation
from Khalid, but when he knew the reality, the prophet said, "Allah
willed so." On the other hand Prophet Muhammad entered Makkah
without facing resistance and nobody was killed by his army.
Proclamation of Amnesty in Makkah : The Holy Prophet as he
entered Madinah, announced amnesty to all those persons:
(1) who shuts his door and stays inside.
(2) who enters the house of Abu Sufyan.
(3) who takes shelter in Holy K'aba.
But 6 or 7 persons were exempted from this amnesty,
as they had exceeded the limits in opposing the Islam and whose
slaughter was a must.
The Prophet Muhammad entered Makkah in a grand style that his
banner was a white colour and the flag was of black colour. There was a
helmet on his head covered with black turban. The Holy Prophet was
reciting chapter "Inna Fatahna" (we made you victorious) loudly. He was
so much bet on his camel, due to fear of God and humility, that his
blessed face used to touch the back of the camel.
Entry into the Sanctuary of K'aba : When the Holy Prophet entered
the Holy K'aba, the first order that he gave was to remove and throw all
the Idols out. There were 360 idols in K'aba at that time. The walls
were covered with pictures. All the idols were removed and the pictures
were erased. In this way, the House of Allah was consecrated from the
evils of polytheism. Them he recited Takbeers (repeat the words
Allahu-Akbar in praise of Allah), circumambulated the Holy K'aba and
offered salah at Maqame Ibrahim (name of a place in the precincts of the
Holy K'aba where lies the stone on which Ibrahim rests his feet while
building the sanctuary). This was the exultation of victory which
surprised the infidels. They saw that these people were neither boasting
nor exaggerrating, nor there was any pomp and show after such a grand
victory. Rather they were bowing before their Lord with extreme
humbleness and humility and were busy in praising and reciting Takbeers.
Everyone of them (infidels) was uttering, "Neither it is monarchy nor
conquest, it is something else."
Post Victory Sermon : After the conquest of Makkah the Holy
Prophet gave a very important historical sermon. Some portions of the
sermon are quoted in "Ahadis". He said:
"There is no god but Allah. There is
no partner of Allah. He
made true His promise. He helped his slave and dispersed
all groups single handedly. Listen you
people all glories,
killings of past and revenges and all blood-money are under
my feet. Only the supervision of Holy K'aba and quenching
the thirst of Hujjaj are exceptions. O' people of Quraysh !
Now Allah has erased the Jahili arrogance and proud of lin-
eage . All of us are the progeny of Adam who
had been
created out of soil."
Then, the Holy Prophet recited these ayahs from the
Holy Qur'an :
"O' mankind ! we created you from a
single
(pair) of a male and female, and made you into
nations and tribes that you may know each ot-
her. Verily the most honoured of you in the
sight of Allah is (he who is ) the most righteous
of you and Allah has f u l l k n o w l e d
g e
and is well-acquainted."
This is the style of speech delivered by the Islam's
greatest conqueror. It has no expression of anger, no hatred, nor it
contains the mention of achievements and there is no praise for the
protagonists of Islam. Whatever the praise, it has, is only for Allah.
Nothing happens but with His virtue.
Taking revenge of murder was very important for Arabs. Often these
revenges used to result in wars. They had made it a matter of prestige
to take revenge. The fathers used to inherit revenge to his son and the
son to his son. In this way, this jahili custom had taken its roots in
Arab tribes. Prophet Muhammad abolished this custom of taking
revenge or in other words, the Holy Prophet granted them a life full of
peace and security. There was a chronic disease of feeling proud on
one's lineage in Arabs. Islam does not allow racial determine one's
piety and nobility in Islam. The only distinction in Islam is on the
basis of one's obedience for Allah and His Prophet. There is no concept
of nobility of lineage in Islam. The dynasties are only for mutual
identification and introduction. So, the Holy Prophet has provided a
permanent cure for this disease by announcing equality among all human
beings which no other religion grants to its followers.
General Amnesty : The gathering which was being addressed by the
Holy Prophet included many head strongs of Quraysh and those who
included had pledged to finish Islam and also those who had tormented
muslims so much that they were compelled to leave their mother land. It
included those who had usurped the properties of muslims. It also
included those who had abused Holy Prophet and laid thorns on
his path and those who threw garbage on him and had even tried to kill
him. It included killer or Holy Prophet's uncle, who had taken out his
liver and chewed it up. It included also those who had slaughtered
neophytes (muslims), only because they announced surrender before one
God. Prophet Muhammad looked at all of them and said, "Do you
know, how I will deal with you?" These people had seen the way, the
Prophet entered Makkah and how he dealt with situation. They immediately
called out,
"You (the Holy Prophet) are a noble brother and the son of a
noble brother".
Hearing this, Prophet Muhammad ordered, "today I remit all your
sins, you all are free."
Prophet Muhammad did not ask infidels to vacate the houses they
had usurped. Rather, he asked migrants to give up their claims.
This extraordinary behaviours of Prophet Muhammad made Quraysh
tyrants to fall on to his feet. They proclaimed that,
"You're the true messenger of Allah
not a conqueror and your invitation is
nothing but truth."
This was the scenario of the conquest of Makkah. It was not a
victory over land, property or wealth rather the hearts were won and
this was the greatest victory.
Battle of Hunain
Impacts of the Conquest over Makkah : Prophet Muhammad's
merciful behaviour and the interaction between muslims and infidels
resulted into a wide acceptance of Islam by a large number of infidels.
On the other hand this victory shunned the misconception of all tribes
about the prophecy. They realized that the inviter to Islam (the Holy
Prophet) was not hungry of power or wealth rather he was the messenger
of Allah and the characteristics of Islam were before their eyes. The
whole Arab realized the reality of this invitation (to Islam) and those
who had the capacity is their heart, knew that this was the truth,
nothing but truth. so, just after the victory over Makkah,
delegations from various tribes started pouring to embrace Islam. This
situation for those who still had over Makkah, delegations from various
tribes started pouring in to embrace Islam. This situation for those who
had anger and hatred against Islam, was uncomfortable. The flames of
bigotry and opposition flared in their hearts. Hawazan and saqeef were
two tribes leading in this aspect. These people were very fond of wars.
The spread of Islam made them extremely perplexed. They understood that
they were the next target. The chiefs of these two tribes discussed the
gravity of the matter and decided that whatever may happen, muslims
ought to be challenged to prevent this danger from spreading further,
otherwise they would themselves perish. They chose Malik Ibne Auf Nazri
as their king and started preparations for war. They also aligned
with many other tribes with themselves.
Battle of Hunain : When the Holy Prophet was apprised of
these developments, he counselled with his companions and it was decided
to suppress this increasing menace in time. So, on 10 of Shavval in the
year 8, A.H., the Holy Prophet set out with a strong army of 12000
soldiers to curb this danger. Muslims were sure that the enemy will take
to feet, seeing the strong and well-armed army. So, some of the muslims
started exaggerating, "No one can dominate us" But it is against the
dignity of muslims to feel proud of his power but should always rely on
Allah and His virtues. Allah Almighty has ordered in the Holy Qur'an,
"Assuredly Allah did
help you in many
battlefields and on the
day of Hunain.
Behold your great numbers elated you
but they availed you naught. The land
for all that, it wide did constrain
you
and you turned back in the retreat.
But
Allah pour His calm on the messenger
and on the believers and sent down
forces which you saw no. He punished
the unbelievers thus does He reward
those without faith."
(chapter Al-Taubah Ayah-25,26)
Hunain is the name of valley between Makkah and
Ta'if. This battle was fought here. When the muslims army entered the
valley, the enemy soldiers started shooting arrows on them relentlessly
from the surrounding hillocks. Muslims were not ready for this ambush.
Their arrays got dispersed and for some time they lost the ground. Many
Beduin tribes turned their back in retreat, most of them were those who
embraced Islam in the recent past and their spiritual training was
incomplete. Amid this chaotic situation, the Holy Prophet remained
steadfast and used to call muslims to show valour. This steadiness of
the Holy Prophet and the firmness of a large number of companions around
the prophet reinforced muslims and then everyone of them proved that he
was a valourous soldier. Allah Almighty has termed this patience of the
Holy Prophet and his companions as his calm (state of satisfaction and
tranquility) bestowed by Allah to him. As a result, the tide of war
turned in favour of muslims and they had a comprehensive victory over
infidels. Seventy infidels were killed and thousands of them were taken
into custody.
Persuit of Foes and Benediction :The rest of the infidels army
took refuge in Ta'if. This place used to be considered a safe place. The
Holy Prophet gave them a chase and laid seige around Ta'if. Ta'if had a
strong find, famous fort, in which the infidels had taken refuge. The
seige lasted for 20 days and when the Holy Prophet Muhammad was
sure that the enemy was broken and they were not in a position to offer
any resistance, lifted the seige and humbly made request to Allah for
Saqeef (tribe) that Allah guide them and make their minds to surrender
to him (the Holy Prophet). So was the prophet's compassion and mercy
that used to compel him to pray even in the favour of his enemies.
Battle of Tabuk
Struggle with Roman Empire :
To the north of Arabian Peninsula, was Roman Empire. Even before the
victory over Makkah, the relations with Romans started getting sour.
Prophet Muhammad had sent a delegation of Muslims to invite those
tribes living in the north near the border of Syria. Most of these
people were Christians and were under influence of Roman Empire. These
tirbals killed 15 delegates, and only the leader of the delegation k'ab
Bin Ghafari managed to escape and reached Madinah. Prophet Muhammad
in this very period sent message to Islam to Sharjeel, ruler of
Basra, but he also killed the Prophet's envoy Haris Bin Umair. This
ruler of Basra was also a subordinate to Ceasar of Rome. So, due to
these reasons, the Holy Prophet sent an army of 3000 soldiers towards
Syria in Jamadiul Ula in the year 8, A.H., so that, muslims in
this region are not considere weak and harassed. When Sharjeel
heard of the arrival of this army, he came out with a strong army of
1,00,000 soldiers to help Sharjeel under the command of his brother The
order. But the muslims continued advancing and at last 3000 spirited
muslims clashed with such a big Roman army at a place 'Motah".
Apparently, the result of this situation would have resulted in complete
annihileton of this small muslims group in the hands of the big roman
army. But by the virtue of Allah, this Roman army could not harm the
muslims. It was such an extraordinary incident that the muslims became a
terror to the nearby tribes and those living in for flunged areas got
attracted towards Islam , which resulted into conversion of thousands of
them to Islam.
The most impressive incident was that a commander of the Roman army,
Foroha - Bin - Amr Aljazami, got attracted towards the teachings of
Islam and became a muslim. And then he gave a strong proof of his faith,
as when Caesar of Rome asked him either to reconvert to his
previous religion i.e., christianity and get reinstated or be ready for
execution. But, he spurned his rank and status and announced that the
success in hereafter is dearer to him than the mundane leadership. So,
he was killed: This incident was such that thousands of the people
understood the real importance and moral strength of Islam and they
realized that it was not easy for them to cope with the surging flood of
this new movement.
War preparation by Ceasar : The next year, Ceasar started
deploying his army on the border of Syria to take revenge of the battle
of 'Motah'. He started collecting troops from his subordinate troops
from his subordinate tribes. Prophet Muhammad was apprised of
these preparations. It was a critical situation for Islamic movement. A
little slackness at this hour would have spoiled every thing. On the one
hand all those Arab tribes who were defeated recently in Hunain and
Makkah would have rebelled. And on the other hand the hypocrites of
Madinah, who were continous by conspiring with anti-Islamic forces would
have created problems from within. This would have resulted in a very
difficult situation for the movement and organisation. And then it would
have been difficult to face a powerful attack by Roman Empire. It was
feared that Islamic movement would have succumbed to these three
attacks. Keeping all these things in mind the Holy Prophet with his God
gifted sagacity and vision and decided to clash with mighty Caesar,
because at this juncture lack of courage would have spoilt the entire
work.
Decision to Face the Enemy : To prepare for a at this hour war
was a very difficult test for the muslims. There was a famine in the
country., the summer season was on its peak, the crops were about to be
ripen, and the armoury was insufficient. The journey was very long and
the fight was with a very strong power. Despite this situation and fully
appreciating the difficulties, the Holy Prophet declared a war and
clearly told where to go and for what purpose.
This should be kept in mind that till that time Islamic movement was
openly facing the external enemies who had weakened after the defat of
the war of 'Hunain and Makka' but the internal enemies i.e., hypocrites
were being avoided and this was because the movement was not so stable
as to face internal and external enemies, simultaneously. Moreover
amongst the hypocrites, all were not of same category. They included
many, who still had a weak "Imam" or had doubts about Islam and need a
reprieve for the time being to get rid of their scepticism. So, that
ultimately only those are left who deliberately wanted to harm Islam.
So, for a long period these people were made to understand with clemency
and rudeness. Resultantly, those who had a little faith ultimately
adopted the right path. All these issues were settled. Muslims had
overpowered their opponents to a large extent. Now, they were starting
their struggle with the mighty outside powers. So it was necessary to
crush the internal enemies first, as there was an apprehension that to
that they will conspire with the outside enemies to herm the muslims.
Exposure of Hypocrisy : It was necessary to expose hypocrites and
to unveil their faces, which were covered with the mask of
treachery and betrayal so that their real faces, which were covered with
the mask of treachery and betrayal so that their real faces are shown to
the society. They should be deprived of any say in the matters of
muslims which they were enjoying by posing themselves as muslims. So,
the declaration of the war of Tabuk proved very usefull in unveiling
these so called "muslims". All the true believers got ready for Jihad
(holy war) when the money was needed they brought out their belongings
and presented it . And when some of them could not accompany the Holy
Prophet, due to lack of conveyance, they broke into tears, out of
desperation. In this way, it became clear ass to how many were sincere
amongst the muslims. In comparison, all those who had no faith got
frightened with the declaration of War. They started offering different
excuses and tried to get excemption. Prophet Muhammad showed a
soft attitude and granted them permission to stay back from war. The
hypocrites also started inciting and persuading others to refrain from
the battle. They used to say that the heat was unbearable and going to
war this situation was similar to going for a suicide. In short, this
declaration (of war) proved a touchstone on which the hypocrites and
muslims were fully exposed. So, now a stern action against all such
people was possible. As such, the arrabngement that Prophet Muhammad
made for them after his return from Tabuk will be discussed on a proper
occasion.
Departure for Tabuk : In Rajab in the year 9, A.H. The Holy
Prophet left makkah with 30000 strong army. There were ten thousands
camel riders. The number of camels was so low that many used to take
turns in riding them. But the believes showed extreme sincerity of
faith, obedience for the Holy Prophet curiosity to lay their
lives in the way of Allah. Allah Almighty liked it and gave them their
target., without a blood-bath. When they reached Tabuk, they came to
know that Caesar has withdrawn his army from the border and there was
none to fight. Actually it was so that when Caesare, came to know that
muslims despite knowing about his army are on their way to Tabuk, he
thought if fit to call back his troops because he had seen the chivalry
of muslims in the battle of Motah, when 3000 muslims calashed with a
strong army of 2 lac Romans. And now when he came to know that
Prophet Muhammad was himself coming with an army of 30000 soldiers,
he decided not to confront this flood (of muslims) last it may not
happen that the things may turn upside down Ceasing his creadibility.
Stay at Tabuk : This retreat of Caesar was enough for the Holy
Prophet and instead of Chazing him, he preferred to stengthen
his influence in this area. He stayed there for 20 days. During this
period many small states situated between Islamic State and Roman Empire
were made to accept subordination to Islamic government, till now they
were under Roman influence. These states agreed to pay tax to muslims.
And the tribes whose loyalties were with Romans until now, became helper
of Islamic government.
Conspiracy of Hypocrites : When, the Holy Prophet departed for
Tabuk, all those Hypocrites who were not muslims but had joined the
Islamic Movement for their selfish molvies were left behind in Madinah.
They were sure that the muslims will not come back safe from this
expedition. Some will succumb to inclemency and hardships of weather and
the rest will be slaughtered by the strong army of Caesar. These
hypocrites had also built a mosque (Zarrar mosque), where they used to
meet avoiding muslims and used to discuss their anti-Muslim agenda. On
this occasion, they hatched numerous conspiracies to harm the Islamic
Movement. They even decided to make Abdullah Bin Ubai as the next king
of Madinah after the defeat of muslims, of which they were sure.
But the Allah willed otherwise and that time was hopes of coming closer
when all the hypocrites were going to be shattered completely. So, when
the news of the warless triumph of the muslims reached the enemies, they
suffered a heavy blow. The lost all hopes.
Return from Tabuk: After returning from Tabuk Prophet Muhammad
had programmes before him :
(i) Implementations on a clear policy about
hypocrites and to develop a system of complete safeguard for their
conspiracies.
(ii) Training of true believers and the completion of
task of their character building, without which it was not possible for
them to shoulder the ensuing great responsibility of the affirmation of
truth.
(iii) Proclamation of the clear political theory of
Darul-Islam (house of Islam) on which the his new Islamic state was to
be built.
Dealings with Hypocrites : Prophet Muhammad was on his way to
Madinah, that Allah Almighty revealed Sur'a Taubah and gave his Prophet
many directions, which he was to follow on his return to Madinah. Till
now, the hypocrites were dealt with a soft-hand policy on the basis of
which their excuses for not going to Tabuk were accepted. Allah Almighty
ordered the Holy Prophet to change this moderate policy and deal with
them strictly. If they offer financial aids for toe proving their false
claim of faith, it should not be acepted. If any one of them dies , the
Prophet should not offer his funeral prayer. Muslims should not deal
with them sincerely and friendly on the basis of individual or blood
relations.
Conspiracies of Abu Aamir : Before coming of Prophet in Madina, a
charistian monk Abu Aamir was very famous, due to his sainthood and
knowledge. The people had firm belief in him. When, the Holy Prophet
came to Madinah, this monk should have taken initiative and embraced
Islam. But the misconception of knowledge and God-fearing and the
show of traditional and customary piety hinders one's way and do not let
him follow the light of true guidance. The same thing happened with Abu
Aamir. He felt that his professional piety and showmanship would no
longer be safe and he would not be able to reign the hearts of people.
So, he became a straunch enemy of Islamic movement.
In the begining, Abu Aamir thought that it was transitory glory and
people would no longer desire such piety and sanctions. But when Quraysh
were defeated in Badr, he got incensed and he used all his energies in
his to incite Quraysh and other tribes against Islam and whatever
mukslims faced in Ohad and Ahzab battles was the result of the efforts
of the gentleman. This christian left no stone unturned to conspire with
polytheists and tried his best to put off the lamp of Tawheed (oneness
of God). But when the verdict of Allah came clearly that "this lamp
could not be put off with blows" and that Islam would be the most
dominant religion of the whole Arab, then, this "God-fearing monk"
became extremely restless. Now he set off for Rome to warn the Caesar
and ask him to do whatever he could to face his surging flood of Islam.
Zaraar Mosque: A gang of polytheists of Madinah was involved with
Abu Aamir in his anti-Islamic activities. These people use to hatch
conspiracies to harm Islam. So, on the advice of Abu Aamir some of these
polytheists to build this separate mosque and it became the centre
of their anti-Islamic activities.
There were two mosques in madina. At that time one was Qaba' mosque in
one corner of city and second was Nabavi mosque situated in the centre
of the city. So, no third mosque was required but these polytheists put
forth the excuse that some elderly and physically-challenged people find
it very difficult to go to these two mosques and hence the need for this
third mosque. They pleaded with the Holy Prophet to once lead a
prayer so that the mosque may become blessed one. Prophet Muhammad
had replied, "now I am busy in preparations for Tabuk, put in on my
coming back." But when the Holy Prophet was on his way back to
Madinah, Allah Almighty decended those Ayahs and prohibited where in he
was clearly to offer prayer in this mosque and he was told that this
place was being used as a centre to conspire against muslims and was not
a proper place for the Prophet to offer prayer. So, the Holy Prophet
Muhammad ordered some men to go and demolish of this mosque this
mosque prior to his arrival in Madinah . The demolition of the
mosque was an open declaration of muslim's future agenda against the
Hypocrites, which was followed scruplously later on.
Compleltion of Believers' Training : Now the Islamic movement was
entering the phase of international struggle and it was the time, when
these Arab muslims were going on a mission to convey the message of
Allah to the non muslims world. At this juncture, even a minor weakness
could have resulted in a major hindrance for muslims. So, at this
juncture full attention was given towards the completion of believers'
training. Every sign of weakness of faith in them was sorted out and
muslims were asked to remove all these weaknesses. At the time of Tabuk,
whereas those who had absolutely no belief in Islam were left behind but
there were some true believers who could not go due to weaknesses or
laziness, even when they were true muslims. For reforming these people,
it was necessary to ldealt with them a rough hand to stop the recurrence
of such things. In this context, the incident of three companions namely
K'ab Bin Malik, Hilal Bin Uamayya ahd Murarah Bin Rabi
(Rad.) who were true believers is very educate and tells us about
the quality of the training basis provided to muslims. Those three
companions were true and tested believers but they could not accompany
Prophet Muhammad out of laziness. They were therefore dealt very
rudely. And when back in Madinah for Tabuk, Prophet Muhammad
ordered the muslims not to talk with them. And their wives were also
asked to stay away from them, after forty days. Allah Almighty accepted
their penitence and descended the order of their forgiving, which is
mentioned in Sur'a Taubah. The incident of one of them K'ab Bin Malik
(Rad.) has been comprehensively reported by him, which is very much
worth-inspiring, he narrates :
K'ab's incident : When Prophet Muhammad was preparing
muslims for Tabuk, I too used to intend to accompany and start
preparing but the laziness used to overpower me and I used to say that
there is a plenty of time and it will take no time to get ready, when
their comes. The matter remained pending, when, the time of departure
came and I was not ready. I thought "let the army move, I will start one
or two days later and will join them. In short, I could not go due to
laziness.
When I used to see that the people with whom I was left behind were
either hypocrites or those who were physically challenged, then, I used
to feel ashamed and feel pity with muself.
When the Holy Prophet Muhammad returned back from the journey he
as usual first, offered two rak'at prayer in the Mosque. Then, he sat to
meet. Now, the hypocrites started narrating their excuses and tried to
convince the Prophet of their compulsions. They were a little more than
eighty persons. Prophet Muhammad listened to their concocted
tales and accepted their apparent excuses and left their matter to
Allah, and forgave them. Now it was my turn. I advanced and saluted him.
The Holy Prophet looked at me smiled and said. "Tell me what hindered
you?" I humbly said, "If I were present before a man of world, I might
have made him agree by concoction. But regarding you, it is my faith
that if I make you agree by offering excuses, then Allah Almighty will
make you angry with me but if I tell you the truth, whether it
displeases you, I am sure Allah will make some way for my forgiveness.
The fact is that I have no excuses toput forth. I had the capability to
accompany you." At this, the Holy Prophet ordered, this is the
person who spoke truth, okay now stand up and wait till Allah Almighty
decides your fate." I got up and joined people of my tribe. Two other
persons (Murarah Bin Rabi' and Hilal Bin Umayya) narrated the truth as I
did.
After this the Holy Prophet passed the order that nobody would talk to
all three of us. Those two confined themselves in their houses. But I
used to come out and offer congregational salah, move in the markets but
nobody used to talk to me. I used to feel that the world had changed. I
am a stranger here and had no acquaintance. I used to go to mosque for
prayer and salute the Prophet and keep waiting that he replies me or
not. While offering prayer, I used to glance the Prophet stealthily, how
he looks at me. But the situation was so that as long as I was offering
the prayer, he use to look at me but when I finished the prayer he used
to distracts. One day out of perplexion I went to my cousin brother and
childhood companion Abu Qatadah and got onto the wall of his garden and
saluted him but to my worry he did not reply to me. I said, "I make you
swear by Allah and ask you, do I not have ardent love for Allah and His
prophet? He remained silent. I again asked, no reply. Then, on third
time he just said, Allah and His messenger know better." At this reply I
broke into tears and got down the wall.
During these very days, I was once passing by the market that a Syrian
gave me a letter of Emperor Ghassan. I opened the envelope and read, "We
heard that your master is torturing you, you are no mean person nor you
are such to be wasted. Come to us, we will wroth you." I said, "another
trouble" and at the same moment threw the letter into the fire.
Forty days passed in this manner when suddenly the word came from the
Holy Prophet, "desert your wife too" I asked, "Do I divorce her?" I got
the reply , "No, just leave her."
I sent my wife to my inlaws and said, "wait till Allah sends his
verdict."
On the fiftieth day, after offering morning prayer I was sitting on the
rood of my house. I was feeling very uneasy that suddenly someone called
me and said, "Congratulations K'ab Bin Malik!" Hearing this, I fell into
prostration as I knew that the word for my forgiveness has come. Then,
there was a melee, everyone was competing with other for greeting me
that my penitence has been accepted. I rose and moved towards Nabavi
mosque. I saw that the Prophet's face was gleaming with glee. I saluted
him. He ordered, "congratulations to you, this is the best day of your
life." I asked "Is this forgiveness from you or from Allah?" The Holy
Prophet said, "from Allah" and recited those verses of Chapter Taubah,
mentioning the acceptance of penitence.
I humbly said, O' Prophet of Allah! it is a part of my penitence that I
give all my wealth in charity." He said, "retain some, it is better for
you." According to it I retained my property in Khaibar and gave the
rest in charity. Then I promised Allah that the truth for which Allah
forgave me I will remain steadfast on it throughout my life. So, I never
say anything willingly contrary to the rules and I am hopeful that Allah
will save me from this in future."
Features of Muslim Society: The details of this incident depict
the scenario of the venerable companions' society and some of its
characteristics, which are such that every muslim should emulate him. It
tells what kind of temperament Islamic movement provides to its
protagonists.
First of all, the thing that comes ahead is that when there is a
struggle between Islam and heathenism, it is time of believers' hard
test. A minor negligence can spoil the achievements of whole life. And
if a believer leaves the movement at this juncture, whether with a bad
intention or not or it is his first mistake of life, it is feared that
this negligency may not spoil his lifetime worships and good deeds.
There is no room for a believer that he, in such a case, support
heathensim in place of Islam. If a muslim acts in an unIslamic way, it
gives boost to anti-Islamic powers. This situation becomes more critical
when Islamic movement exists against these evil movements and the
believers use their capabilities for a non-Islamic cause.
Secondly, when it is time to fulfil one's duty, negligence is not a
proper thing. A person wastes his time and the excuse of laziness foes
not benefit him that he was not doing it with a bad intention.
The situation, here is that on one hand the hypocrites are offering
excuses, and every one knew that they were telling lies but the Holy
Prophet Muhammad forgave them because they were not expected to show
sincerity. On the other hand there are true believers who have given
proofs of their faith and sincerity many times before this, they do not
like to concoct. They admit their errors straightforwardly. But they are
dealt so rudely that the whole society boycotts them, not because that
there was any doubt about their sincerity but why they did an act
similar to those of hypocrites. The interesting thing in that the way,
the disciples bear it and the way the whole party follows commands, all
aspects are matchless. The punishment is rigorous but there is no anger
or hatred but there is ardent love with punishment. This is in a way
that a Compassionate father punishes his guilty son and hopefully expect
that his son would be on right path in and then he would hug him. The
disciple is mentally perplexed due to hardship of the punishment but his
obedience and affection for the leader do not allow hatred or rebellion
to enter his heart nor is there a complaint nor be seeks applause for
his previous achievements. Then, see the extremity of the spirit of
obeying the commands of the leader in the party. Here the words comes
for boycott, there it seems that the boycotted person has no relative in
the town even an acquaintance is not there. And as the word of
forgiveness trickles in, everyone gets enthused and competes with one
anothers in congratulating the person.
This is a specimen of the obedience for Prophet which the Holy Qur'an
preaches to its disciples. Such devotion for its leader or a chosen
autonty is essential, for these working for a religion. The guilty
believer sees that the hypocrites are telling lies but they are being
forgiven and he who spoke the truth, got a severe punishment. But this
does not evoke any anger or displeasure in him. He endures the
punishment for 50 days but, even for a single moment this does not come
to his mind that he is being victimized and his previous achievements
are being undermined or his faith and sincerity was being doubles.
Though he does not have an ill-intention nor his heart is bereft of the
ardent love for the Prophet and for Allah. He did not hatch any
conspiracy, in the group nor did he spread any disqust among two people.
He did not try to spread dissension in the party nor he tried to form a
new group. Rather, he endured all mental torture calmly and waited
eagerly for the word of His forgiveness. This was the exemplory
behaviour due to which Allah almighty declared the word of forgiveness
in a very pleasant manner. This is the greatest success that Allah
bestows this virtue to whom He wants.
Reality of the Claim of Faith : Claim of faith and Islam devolve
a lot of responsibilities upon a muslims. For explaining it , it was
clearly reminded that the reality of this claim is that "Allah Almighty
has purchased of the believers their person and their goods for their
?(in return) is the garden (of paradise)" (chapter Taubah Ayah-111). If
a believer does not have this explanation of faith in his mind, he will
always show laziness in attending to the religious duties. Allah
Almighty has termed the faith as a covenant which a believer has with
Allah. According to the covenant, a believer in a way sells his person
and goods to Allah and in return accepts the Allah's promises that in
the ever-casting life, after death, he will give him paradise.
In view of this promise, everything that a man has belongs to Allah. He
created every thing and He is the owner of all, so what a slave has that
he can sell to his Master. So, there is no question of buying and
selling, but Allah has bestowed a thing to every slave of His ad left it
to his discretion as to how he uses it and this is the freedom to intend
and choose. It is on the discretion of the slave regard his person and
goods as his possessions or the property of Allah, as is the reality.
Allah has given him the will power to choose what he wants and he is
free to take the path of piety or the path which leads to the mire of
sins. But a true believer always take these things as the bestowal of
Allah's virtue and he uses all his resources to serve the cause of Allah
and his slaves. He keeps in his mind the reality that whatever he has is
to go back to Allah and he is not sovereign about it use.
This little freedom of will and discretion is the grace of Allah
Almighty that He calls it sale and purchase. If a slave uses his powers
for a noble cause and the deposit which has been entrusted to him, he
does not defalcate and uses the deposit as directed by the master then,
his Lord will bestow him in his eternal life, the endless blessings in
the heaven. And the person who accepts this demand of Allah and
determine to serve his whole life in Allah's cause and will be ready to
take heaven in the hereafter, is a true believer. And his such dealing
that Allah termed as sale and purchase is in fact of the recognition of
his faith. And the person who acts contrary to it and uses his person
and goods for the purposes contrery to the will of Allah, in a way he
does not accept the Allah's deal, which amounts to denied of Allah.
At the time of battle of Tabuk, the Holy Prophet ordered all those who
declared them as true believers and in a way all these people were these
who has struck the deal with Allah, described above. But when their
claim was tested, some of them retreated and did not live upto the
expectations. They abstained from the way of Allah. Most of them were
hypocrites and whose claim of faith was false, and they had embraced
Islam die to some compulsion or purpose. But there were some others who
committed this mistake just because of laziness. So, these people were
openly criticized and were told plainly that just acknowledging the Gold
and His oneness, is not faith. Rather faith is the admission that God is
the sole possessor of our souls and our possessions. And if a person
acknowledges the God I such a way and spends his wealth for other
purposes, he infect proves that, he is false in the claim of faith. So,
all the believers should pur forth this reality of their claim of faith
and they should not fight shy of struggling for the cause of Allah.
Believers' Religious Training : In the beginning of Islamic
movement, the people who used to incline to the movement were those who
used to convert to Islam by heart, after pondering over all the aspects.
But when Islam started spreading rapidly, hordes of people started
embracing Islam and it was apparent that among them, only few knew Islam
completely. Most of the people used to accept Islam without learning its
fundamentals. Apparently these mass conversions wee adding power to
Islam. But when a group, does not fulfil the requirements of Islam or
not ready to abide by the sanctions imposed by Islam then, such a group
becomes a cause of weakness for Islamic system. The same thing happened
at the time of battle Tabuk. So, in order to save the Islamic movement
from this inner weakness, a very important instruction was given that
some people from among these neophytes must come to the centres of Islam
i.e, Makkah and Madinah and learn true Islamic spirit and their details.
They must absorb the true islamic spirit into their souls and back home
they must make arrangements for training of other neophytes. So that,
all of them may know these basic rules imposed by Allah and all of them
may develop true Islamic sense in them.
This general awareness move was not just aiming at educating the people
to read and write. Rather its aim was to develop and understanding of
Deen and the sense of discrimination in them to distinqued between
Islamic and unIslamic ways of life. The main purpose was to develop a
proper sense of Deen and education was only a means to an end and was
never an end in itself.
Clear Declaration of Darul Islam's Policy : After the success of
Tabuk, the hopes of those having evil designs on Islam, had shattered.
So, now they were left with no choice but to take shelter in Islam. And
if they do not benefit themselves much at least, their future generation
may develop in true Islam.
At this time, the entire Arab was under Islamic rule and there was no
mighty opponent before them. Now the time had come to clearly announce
the internal policy of Islamic State. So, it was announced in the
following from :-
(A) The polytheism should be erased completely from Arabian peninsula.
The ancient polytheistic system should be abolished completely and
replaced with pure a Islamic Centre. For this purpose, the polytheists
should be avoided and all treaties with them should be abrogated.
So, in the year 9, A.H. at the occasion of Haj the Holy Prophet made it
announced by Hazrat Ali (Rad.) before the general gathering of Haji's
that:
(1) No such person would enter the paradise who refuses to accept Islam.
(2) No polytheist should come to perform Haj, after this year.
(3) No nude person will be allowed to circumambulate the Holy K'aba.
(4) The treeaties of the Holy Prophet with those who did not breach
them, will continue on the same terms and conditions for the duration,
it was originally envisaged.
(5) But those who infringed the treaties and conspired against the
Islamic movement, were informed that only four months were left for
them. During this period either they should decide their fate through a
battle with muslims or leave the country, or they can embrace Islam
conscientionsly and enter the Islamic system.
(6) The administrative affairs of the Holy K'aba will be handed over to
muslims. Polytheists will have no say in it and they will not be allowed
to perform any polytheistic ritual in the Holy K'aba. Rather, the
polytheists would not be allowed to come near the Holy K'aba.
CHAPTER-XII
175. The Last Haj and Demise
176. Departure for Haj
177. Sermon of Haj
178. Indisposition
179. The Last Sermon and Instructions
180. Departure to Allah Almighty
The Last Haj and Demise
Departure for Haj :
In the tenth year of migration, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) intended for Haj. It was announced that the Holy
Prophet is proceeding for Haj. This news spread throughout the Arab. The
whole Arab gushed forth to perform Haj with Prophet Muhammad on
this auspicious occasion. In the end of ZiQa'da , the Holy Prophet
departed from Madinah and on 4th of Zil Hij reached Makkah in the
morning. First of all, he circumambulated the Holy K'aba and then
performed two rak'at prayer at place of Ibrahim. Then he went onto
mountain Safa and from there to Marvah. During this period he kept on
praising Allah and praying. After performing Tawaf (cimcumambulation)
and the Sa'I (effort of climbing Safa and Marvah) of Safa and Marvah, on
Thursday 8th of Zil Hij the Prophet stayed with all muslims in Mina. The
next day on 9th Zil Haj, after performing morning prayer the Holy
Prophet headed for Arafat (vast expanse twelve miles from Makkah, where
major haj rite is performed). Here at Arafat, the Holy Prophet
read out the historidcal sermon of Haj depicting the Islam with all its
grandeur and splendor. The salient features of this sermon are as
follows:
Sermon of Haj : "Listen O' people , all Jahili* customs
are under my feet. Arabs and non-Arabs are equal. All of you are Adam's
offsprings and Adam was created out of clay (soil)."
All of you muslims are brethen for each other "Slaves are your slaves,
give them what you eat and wear yourselves".
All Jahili revenges have been nullified (nobody has right to take
revenge of old murder).
First of all I rescind the revenge of the blood of Rabi'a Bin Alhar's
son"
All jahili usuries have also been revoked (nobody has right to demand
usury) First of all I remit my dyansty's usury of Abbas Bin Abdul
Muttalib.
Have the fear of Allah regarding women's affairs. Both of you have
liabilities towards each other.
Your goods and your blood is respectable for each other till
Doomsday. In the same manner in which this day, month and this city is
sacred.
I am leaving a gift among you, if you follow it firmly you will
not go astray and that gift is the Holy Book of Allah (Qur'an).
After this the Holy Prophet described some fundamental divine laws and
asked, addressing the people"
"What will be your reply before Allah when you will be asked about me?"
The venerable companions (Rad.) said, "we will that, "You conveyed
Allah's message and fulfiled your duty." The Holy Prophet raised his
finger towards the sky and repeated three times, "O' Allah be a
witness." At this very occasion these ayahs were descended :
Today I accomplished the Deen for you
and gave you complete blessing and
approved Islam as a religion for you.
At this time of Haj, the Holy Prophet taught the
believers how to perform rituals for Haj and ordered them, "Learn all
rituals, I do not know whether I will be here next time (of Haj)."
He also told the Muslims on this occasion :
It is must for everyone who is present,
to convey all this (message) to those who are not present here.
Indisposition :
It was 18th or 19th of Safar in the year 11, A.H. that the Holy Prophet
felt some uneasiness. It was Wednesday. Till Monday it took the shape of
serious illness. Holy Prophet continued to lead prayers till he had the
capacity to do it. The last prayer that he had was that maghrib (post
sunset prayer). He had head-ache, came with a handkerchief ties on his
forehead and recited the Sura' "Wal mursalate urfan in the prayer". The
Holy Prophet could not come at the time of Isha' (night prayer) due to
weakness and asked Abu Bakr to perform the duty of Imam (leader) for
next few days.
The Last Sermon and Instructions : One day the Holy Prophet felt
better, he took a bath and came to the mosque and gave a sermon. This
was the last sermon of Prophet's life. The Holy Prophet ordered:
"Allah has bestowed a man, the power to choose earthly blessings or
whatever Allah has (in hereafter). But He chooses the blessings of
hereafter. "Hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr (Rad.) understood that towards
whom, the Holy Prophet is signalling, he broke into tears. The Holy
Prophet kept on saying :
I am most grateful to Abu Bakr for his company and wealth. If I could
make someone my friend among my disciples it could be Abu Bakr. But the
relation of Islam is enough for friendship.
And listen O' people, the nations prior to you, started worshipping the
graves of their messengers and saints. I forbid you from doing this.
Do not attribute lawful and unlawful to me. I differentiated between
lawful and unlawful according to Allah's will.
And during the illness one day the Holy Prophet addressed his family
members and said, "O' the daughter of Allahs' messenger, Fatima and the
aunt of Allah's messenger! Safia do something which benefit you on the
Day of Judgement. I can not save you from Allah.
One day he was feeling severe pain, sometimes he use to cover his face
with sheet and somtimes use to turn it, in this very condition Hazrat
Ai'sha (Rad.) heard him uttering these words, "May God's curse be on
jews and christians. They worshipped the graves of their messengers.
Prophet Muhammad had entrusted some guineas with Hazrat Ai'sha.
At this time of indisposition the Holy Prophet asked, "Ai'sha where are
those guineas? Will Muhammad meet Allah as a distrustful?
Go, and give them as charity in Allah's way.
Departure to Allah Almighty : The indisposition used to get
relieved sometime and sometimes it used to get aggarated. On the day of
demise i.e., Monday, the Holy Prophet was apparently feeling at case,
but as the day advanced the fainting the Holy Prophet was uttering these
words :
With those to whom, Allah bestowed His reward.
Allah is the greatest companion.
Now I need no one but the greatest companion.
While uttering these words, the Holy Prophet's condition started
worsening and the Holy spirit reached the sacred world.
The year of demise is 11 A.H., the month was Rabiul
Avval and the day was Monday. Generally it is known that the date was
12th but there are certain dispute on it. In accordance with the
research of Maulana Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi, it was the first day of
RAbiul Avval.
The next day the obsequies were completed and the holy body was
entrusted to the earth in same room. Where he had expired.
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