Muhammed Ibn Abdullah
The tribe of Quraish was taken into
consideration as one of the most respectable and honorable one amid the
honorable Arab tribes of Hijaz (The land which is now known as Saudi
Arabia was known as Hijaz before the Saudi dynasty came into existence).
The great grand father of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) known as Kisa Bin Kalab was custodian of the Kaabah (The
Haram of God). Quraish were divided into many different groups and Bani
Hashim was the noblest one out of them.
Hashim was considered to be a noble,
wise and honorable one among the people of Mecca. He helped and assisted
the residents of Mecca and started the trading business in the summer
and winter for the betterment of their lives. Therefore, the people gave
him the title of Syed. This is the very reason why those who are his
successors and out of his and Prophet's race are known as Syeds. The
sons of Hashim following him known as Mutalib and Abdul Mutalib became
the guardians and custodians of Quraish. Abdul Mutalib was a great
personality. This was during his age that Abraha attacked Kaabah, but
the Almighty God destroyed him. This added to the greatness of Abdul
Mutalib. He loved Abdullah very much. Abdullah was married to the noble
girl Amina at the age of twenty-four years.
Two months after the event of Amul-feel
Amina bore a child who was named Mohammad (P.B.U.H.). Before the Birth
of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) his father Abdullah had passed away and after
a short period his mother too breathed her last. The Prophet's
(P.B.U.H.) grandfather Abdul Mutalib took over as his guardian. The son
of Abdullah, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) with the grace and mercy of God grew
up to be such a young man with spiritual purity that the people of Mecca
loved him and used to keep their belongings in his custody. This is the
reason he was called "Amin."
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), with his force
of faith, backed and assisted the poor and oppressed ones, took his
meals along with them, lent ear to their words and solved their
problems.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), when some of
the young ones organized an association known as the "Commitment of
youths", joined them and started backing them because their aim was
supporting the tyrannized ones and waging jihad (holy war) against the
tyrants and cruel ones.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), as his uncle
Abu Talib (A.S.) advised him, joined the trade caravan of Khatija (A.S.)
and due to his correct and right work became the leader of the caravan.
After some time Khatija (A.S.) got
impressed by his virtues and wished his hand in marriage. He accepted
the proposal and the richest lady of Quraish put all her wealth into his
feet (This wealth which was the greatest possible treasure of the Arab
world of those days, was later on used by him for the sake of helping
poor Muslims and spreading Islam) and at his disposal.
Khatija (A.S.) gave birth to Fatima
(A.S.), to whose race belong all the Infallible Imams of Islamic Ummah.
The Sagacity of Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
After ten years of his marriage a
strong flood came to Mecca, which divested and plundered the Khanae
Kaabah. To avoid dispute, the work of reconstruction of Kaabah was
distributed among various tribes but when the building construction was
completed and the time for fixing the Hajar-e-Aswad (a black stone fixed
on a corner of Kaabah) approached, every tribe had the desire to achieve
the honor of fixing it.
They got very close to a war. He gave
the decision that the Hajar-e-Aswad be placed on a sheet of cloth and
all of them should carry it together and erect it.
Commencement of the Prophetic
Mission
At the age of forty years the Mohammad
(P.B.U.H.) was appointed as Prophet.
One day when he was busy offering his
prayers and was worshipping God at the Cave of Hara (The Cave of Hara is
known as Kooh-e-noor is about 6 KM from Mecca towards Mina) angel
Gabriel brought him revelation from God that he was chosen as Prophet.
After the revelation he went to take
rest at his home. Once again, the angel Gabriel descended and reveled
the revelation of God to him for starting the religious propagation.
To start with, Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
secretly propagated and a few men secretly accepted Islam. First of all,
his wife accepted his Prophesy and then Hazrat Ali (A.S.). He leveled
the ground and made the atmosphere for propagation ready for as long as
three years.
God commanded him to invite the people
towards one single God and start a holy war and crusade against the
idols.
This was a dangerous and perilous job
because the chiefs of the tribes had achieved the status of Kings and
Monarchs and had made all the others their slaves. Secondly it appeared
to be difficult to break the idols those, which had been worshipped by
them, for ages.
But there was no alternative except to
tolerate and bear the difficulties for the sake of achievement of the
goal and high aim of monotheism and constitution of Taw hid (One Gad).
After the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had
extended the common invitation, people started their resistance and
enmity.
In the beginning, they tried to stop
him (P.B.U.H.) by offering bribe. But when they did not succeed, they
used power and started teasing, torturing, plundering the assets and
making fun and cracking jokes with his followers but this attempt also
failed to stop the mission of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.).
The polytheists boosted up their
brutalities and violence and ousted the Prophet along with his family
and followers out of Mecca.
Therefore, these people were forced to
live in Shaab-e-Abu Talib for three years, so as to get themselves saved
from the evil activities of the enemy. But the enemies did not content
themselves and restrict their activities to this.
They even besieged the Shaab-e-Abu
Talib so that the food and water does not reach them.
Some people played upon their lives to
get them food in the darkness of the night.
So the time kept on passing till the
polytheist gave way to the strong will and determination of the Muslims
and decided to Kill the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). They planned to select one
young man from each and every tribe and family so that no one should be
able to ask them for blood money. They fixed a particular night to
attack the Prophet's house and martyr him.
Migration to Madinah
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) came to know
about their plan through revelation. Out of his lovers, this was only
Ali (A.S.) who chose to lie down upon his bed and sacrifice his own life
for the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) migrated from Mecca
under the cover of darkness of night. The polytheists gathered on the
specified time on that night to attack the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) but when
they saw Ali (A.S.) on the bed of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) they were
astonished and immediately started the pursuit of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
but they came back without achieving their end.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), after a
tiresome and inconvenient journey reached Quba, a place near Madinah,
where the inhabitants of Madinah greeted and welcomed the Prophet
(P.B.U.H).
After reaching this place the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) planned to construct the Quba Mosque, so that the Muslims may
gather there to offer their prayers and start planning about their
constructional works.
The work of the Mosque construction
proceeded swiftly. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) also helped during the work.
After the work got accomplished the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) offered the first
ever Juma prayer in the same Mosque. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) delivered a
short speech and waited for his representative Ali (A.S.) to come and
join him along with the ladies of Bani Hashim and then they enter the
city together.
Ali (A.S.) remained in Mecca for 3 days
after the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) departure and surrendered all the
deposits which the people had kept with the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) Then Ali
(A.S.) left Mecca for Madinah along with the ladies of Bani Hashim at
midnight and later joined the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) at Quba.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) along with Ali
(A.S.) and the ladies entered the city of Madinah where a warm welcome
of the city inhabitants was awaiting them. Everyone was requesting the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to be his guest. But he (P.B.U.H.) said leave the way
of my camel, I (P.B.U.H.) will become the guest of the person on whose
door the camel shall sit down.
The camel kept moving and crossing the
streets of Madinah till She sat down on the door of Abu Ayub Ansari and
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) became the guest of him.
After reaching Madinah, first of all
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) laid the foundation of the Mosque so as to start
the preaching and propagation of his religion from this great and
glorious base.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) immediately put
and end to the war of Aus and Khizra's tribes, which were going on for a
hundred and twenty years on the provocation of the Jews and made them,
enter a truce.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) created the
"brotherhood" between the Muhajireen (immigrants) and Ansar (aiders) so
that they do not become a burden upon the later and they could live
their lives together.
The Jews of Madinah who had the keys to
the economy of that place felt a danger approaching them, so they
spoiled and deterred their relations with the Muslims. They wanted to
deter and finish the unity of Muslims and kill them. But the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) was fully aware of their activities and thus he would nullify
and counter all their conspiracies.
The Deviation of Qiblah
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) used to offer
his prayers facing Aqsa Mosque of the Jerusalem for a period of thirteen
years in Mecca and one year and five months in Madinah. The Jews
objected to it and said if we are not on the right path then why do you
offer your prayers facing our Qiblah.
After all, one day Jabriel (A.S.)
descended from the heaven along with the revelation at a time when the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was busy offering his prayer he said: God has ordered
you to turn your face towards the Kaabah. Just now.
From that time onwards Masjid-ul Haram
(Kaabah) is the Qiblah of Muslims. The Jews felt bad about it and
objected upon Muslims and said if Kaabah was your Qiblah then why did
you offer your prayers facing Masjid-ul Aqsa (Jerusalem)?
They were unaware of the fact that the
change of Qiblah occurred for the very reason to distinguish the friends
and enemies of Islam. So that those who obey the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) are
distinguished from those who disobey and oppose him.
1. The Battle of Badr
When the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) gathered
fighting force, and army, he first of all made truce pacts with the
tribe living all around Madinah so that the danger of expected attacks
be pacified and nullified. He simultaneously made up his mind to attack
one of the large caravans of Quraish infidels which was to cross by
Madinah and head towards Syria so that the defenders of infidelity and
polytheism be punished and, taken to task and there pride be shattered,
and at the same time they should be given the answer for plundering the
wealth, belonging and winning of the houses of Muhajireen (immigrants)
by them.
This battle is named the battle of Badr
because it took place near the well-named Badr.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) fought this
battle after consulting the political elements and had taken steps after
getting full information about the exact position of the enemy. His
companions succeeded in the Shade of faith and the polytheists were
defeated.
2. The Battle of Uhad
The victory of Muslims in the Badr
battle had made the polytheists very annoyed and angry. At the height
and peak of anger Abu Sufian announced that nobody should mourn the
death of his Kith and Kin.
On the other hand, the Jews were
greatly terrified and afraid from the success the Muslims had achieved.
That was the very reason why a Jew named Kaab Ibne Ashraf went to Mecca
and recited emotion evoking poems and made the infidels of Quraish weep
over their killed ones and provoked them to take revenge.
As a result, the Quraish held a meeting
at Darun Nadva during which they assessed and estimated the cost of the
next battle around fifty thousand golden Dinars.
Right from that moment, they started
procuring and gathering the war weapons and also took help and aid from
the tribes living in the surroundings of Mecca.
The Method of Departure
The army of polytheists consisting upon
three thousand warriors headed to Madinah.
Abbas lbne Abdul Mutalib, who was then
concealing his being a Muslim, helped the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) by sending
a speedy messenger with a letter informing him about the circumstances.
The well-armed army of polytheists headed by Aim Sufian and another army
(infantry) Commanded by Khalid Ibne Waleed camped near the Uhad
Mountain.
Having received information about the
intentions of the polytheists the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) held a meeting,
wherein the majority decided to meet the enemy outside the city. The
army of Islam moved out of the city on 7th of the Shawwal 3rd Hijrah
after the morning prayers and by the order of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
camped near the enemy army. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) stationed Abdullah
lbne Jabeer along with fifty men equipped with bows and arrows on the
top of a valley, which was strategically, and Marshal important and
dangerous and ordered them "Do not move from here whether we gain
victory or loose the battle." The two armies of monotheism and
polytheists confronted each other. The battle started through Abu Amer a
soldier of Quraish army.
In the beginning, the Islamic forces
fought bravely and made the army of infidel's retreat but very soon the
situation reversed.
The platoon of the bow and arrow men,
who were stationed by the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to cover the valley,
thinking the battle had ended, left their place in greed of looting the
booty.
Khalid bin Waleed the infantry
Commander of the enemy took advantage of the situation and along with
his soldiers went around the mountain and captured the valley and
attacked those Muslim who were busy in plundering the booty from the
rear and killed most of them.
Seventy men out of the total number of
Muslims were slain and the rest of them ran away and the battle ended to
the benefit of the enemy. But the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), by the sacrifice
and heroism of Ali (A.S.) and the cooperation of a few others, followed
and pursued the enemy and killed a number of their soldiers. Thus saving
Madinah from any fresh attack.
3. The Battle of Khandaq (Ahzab)
The Jews who were expelled from Madinah
because of their conspiracies and dishonesty, which they practiced
against Muslims by coordination with enemies, did not sit silent and
peaceful. Their chiefs approached the Quraish leaders of Mecca and
provoked them to fight the Muslims and promised them all kind of help
and assistance.
As a result of this movement various
groups and tribes joined hands and opened a joint front against Islam.
Therefore, this war is known as the war of Ahzabs or groups.
Their common army consisting and
comprising of polytheists, arrogant, Jews, hypocrites and the run away
from Madinah, entered a pact regarding helping each other against Islam,
so that they had ventured to finish Islam.
An army of ten thousand warriors moved
towards Madinah, in the month of Shawwal, the 5th Hijrah, under the
Command of Abu Sufian to attack Madinah.
A few swift-moving horsemen of the
Khazaa tribe reached Madinah and informed the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) about
the situation.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered the army
of Islam to get ready and the Commanders of the army gathered to consult
each other.
As a result of the talk, they accepted
the suggestion of Hazrat Salman and dug a trench all around the city of
Madinah and the Muslims defended themselves from behind the trench.
Three thousand dedicated Muslims worked
tirelessly day and night to dig a trench 5 meters deep, six meters wide
and twelve thousand meters long.
A few passages and bridges were made
over the trenches and watchmen deputed on them. On the back side of the
trench, bunkers were constructed and bow and arrow men were deputed
there to defend the city.
When the army of polytheist arrived
they saw that a trench was dug all around the city, which was not
possible for them to cross over. They were obliged to camp beside the
trench.
Abu Sufian with the motive of
encouraging his forces called Hayee lbne Akhtab the leader of the Jews
of Bani Nazeer tribe and requested him to meet Kaab Bin Asad, the Chief
of Jews of Bani Kariza, residing in Madinah and pursue him to start a
civil war in Madinah with the help of his followers so as to pave the
way for the attack of Polytheist.
He did the needful, but Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) had already taken precautionary measures and deputed five
hundred armed men to patrol the city and keep vigilant, remain alert,
and keep eyes upon those coming or going out of the city so that none of
the conspiracies of the enemy matures.
The danger of internal attack was
finished and the enemy army comprising of a few groups and gangs
remained on the other side of the trench.
One day, Umro bin Abduwad heading five
brave polytheists crossed over to the other side of the trench. Umro bin
Abduwad yelled, "Oh the claimants of paradise where are you? Come here,
so that I may send you to the paradise." No one plucked the courage of
replying him except Hazrat Ali (A.S.).
Hazrat Ali (A.S.) rushed and reached
him like a lightening and after a short conversation killed him by one
stroke of his sword and raised the slogan of Takbir "Allah-hu-Akbar"
from the depth of his heart.
One of the companions of Umro bin
Abduwad ran away and fell into the trench. Hazrat Ali (A.S.) did not
give him any chance and killed him. The rest of the three succeeded in
escaping.
The might of Ali (A.S.) arm and his
speedy action brought the Islamic army a big success and victory. Just
as the Prophet (P.B.U.H) said: This one stroke of Ali's sword is
superior to the prayers of both men and Jins ("Which they have been
performing or will ever perform").
The next day Khalid bin Waleed along
with a few horsemen tried to cross the trench for the sake of
encouraging his army but the Mujahideen warriors of Islamic forces
resisted them. Since, under these circumstances the enemy had lost their
wits, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) deputed Naeem bin Masood to create dispute
and disappointment between the Jews of Bani Kariza and the polytheist so
that they may break their mutual commitments.
He sent Huzaifa Yamani in the darkness
of night towards the polytheist to dishearten them about the war. He did
so by giving them the news of cold chilly wind's blowing and a perilous
and dangerous storm. As a result, the soldiers and army chiefs entered a
dispute. This resulted in Abu Sufian's departure towards Mecca along
with his army in the quiet, dark night.
When the Muslims woke up for their
morning prayers, they saw the enemy had flown away, and no sign of them
left behind. When the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) received the news of the
enemy's flight he ordered his followers to leave the bunkers and return
to the city.
The end of Bani Kariza
After the battle of Ahzab (groups) the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) moved towards the fort of Bani Kariza. They were made
to surrender as a result of 25 days long siege, they surrendered to
Hazrat Ali (A.S.).
After their defeat the Bani Kariza
requested the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to allow them to leave Madinah but the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) turned their request down because, they after getting
freedom would again conspire to break another war just like the Jews of
Bani Keenka who after getting freedom caused the Uhud battle to take
shape and the Jews of Bani Nazeer had flared up the Khandak battle.
Finally, they had to bow their heads to
this decision of Saad Bin Ebada that all those men who had traited and
helped the enemy during the war should be slain and their properties be
confiscated.
The Hudaibiyyah Truce
The defeat of Quraish in the battles
and repeated victory of Muslims, particularly the defeat of Taefa-e-Bani
Mustalek, and accepting Islam at the hand of Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
bewildered the Quraish.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) moved towards
Mecca in the month of Dhul-Qi'dah, 7 Hijrah along with fourteen hundred
Muslims with the intention of performing Hajj.
Besides spiritual and servitude
benefits, another political purpose of this journey was to make it an
errand and movement to give a permanent status to the Muslims in the
Arabian Peninsula.
When the polytheist received the news
of Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) arrival they took oath and sweard by their idols
that they would not let the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and his companions enter
Mecca.
They sent Khalid bin Waleed along with
two hundred horsemen to stop them from entering the city of Mecca.
On the other side, the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) arrived the land of Hudaibia through unknown ways to avoid
any conflict and confrontation.
Firstly, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sent
his representatives to see Quraish and assure them that they had not
come for war & dispute but only to perform the rituals of Hajj. But they
mistreated the representatives, which made evident that they were battle
bourn.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) again made his
Ashab (Companions) undertake swear of allegiance under a tree and they
too assured him of faithfulness and self sacrifice.
When Quraish learnt about it, they
became greatly upset and harassed and sent Sohail as their
representative to negotiate over the truce.
Quraish desired that the Muslims do not
enter Mecca in that year, and return without performing Hajj, and come
unarmed to perform Hajj freely in the next year and during which period
Quraish will bear the responsibility of the safety and security of their
lives and property.
The truce took place on five
conditions. Although a group of Muslims were not happy about it and they
were not attentive to the fact that the truce was the prelude to the
conquest of Mecca.
Their anger reached to such a climax
that they were even objecting upon the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and as per
their immature idea, in that truce laid shame and humility.
Particularly, they were annoyed with this part of the pact that if a
Muslim came from Mecca to Medina he would be repatriated.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) rebuking made
them understand the situation.
Imam Jaffer-e-Sadiq (A.S.) said about
the importance of that truce,
"The most important event of the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.) life is the truce
of Hudaibiyya."
4. The Battle of Khyber
The Prophet of Islam (P.B.U.H.) along
with one thousand and six hundred Muslims, moved from Madinah towards
Khyber in the month of Rabi ul Awwal the 7th Hijrah. The Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) took the enemy by surprise and reached swiftly the land of
Rajee, which is situated between the lands of Khyber and Ghatfan.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), by practicing a
marshal technique, splited the Jews of Khyber and Arabs of Ghatfan so
that they may not help each other.
The Muslims besieged the forts of
Khyber at night time and the Mujahideen, holy worriers of Islam, after
having spotted the proper places hidden in the palm plantations and the
valleys of Khyber waged the war and captured the valleys of Khyber one
after one by their bravery and self sacrifice. But the two important
valleys, which were the bases of Jews from where they attacked and threw
arrows at Muslims, could not be captured.
The soldiers of Islam, by the order of
Prophet (P.B.U.H.), repeatedly attacked those forts under the command of
Abu Bakr, Umar bin Khattab and Saad bin Abada on three consecutive days
but each time they were defeated.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) then said
"Tomorrow I will give this banner of
Islam to the one who will return after conquering this fort."
All waited for the other day to see who
would be that lucky person. But who else could that be except "Ali
(A.S.)."
In the morning, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
gave the banner of Islam to Ali (A.S.) and deputed him to capture the
fort of Khyber, and prayed for his success. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) by
this act wanted to prove the superiority of Ali (A.S.) upon other
chiefs.
When Ali (A.S.) along with the army
came near the gate of the fort the two brave, ferocious brothers Haris
and Marhab attacked the Muslims vigorously so that they ran for their
lives. But Ali (A.S.) by virtue of his bravery and resoluteness slew
both of them. On seeing this rest of the Jews were harassed and
terrified so they entered the fort and shut the gate tightly. When the
Muslims who had run away, saw this they returned back and stood by Ali
(A.S.). Hazrat Ali (A.S.) pounced upon the fort gate like an angry
tiger, pulled apart the door and used it as his shield. Then he jumped
down into the trench along with it and used it as a bridge so that the
Muslims could enter the fort. It was such a heavy door that seven
Muslims together could not move it.
About that astonishing power, Ali
(A.S.) said, "I did not pull apart the gate of Khyber by human power but
that was the help of God and power of faith, by which I did it."
Finally, the army of Islam conquered
all the forts and defeated the Jews. The rest of the Jews requested the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) that they might be allowed to remain in their land
for the cultivation and farming and that they would give half of the
agricultural products to the Muslims.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) acceded to their
appeal and let them go free.
The Fidak Garden
When the news of the fall of Khyber
reached the Jews of Fidak they became very anxious and bewildered. They
sent their representative towards the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) with the
message of making truce and surrendered half of the land of Fidak to
him. He bestowed it upon Fatima (A.S.) so that she may spend its income
upon her own needs and that of the poor people.
After the battle of Khyber the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) moved towards the Wadi-ul Qura (valley of Qura) which was the
center of Jews. He besieged and then conquered it, and handed the lands
back to the owners on similar conditions as that of the Khyber i.e. they
were made bound to surrender half of the agricultural products to the
Muslims.
By means of this agreement the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) boosted up the economy and brought into effect the economical
welfare for the Muslims so that they may face the enemies comfortably.
5. The Battle of Moota
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sent an
ambassador to the King Basri to invite him to embrace Islam. When the
ambassador reached the land of Moota the ruler arrested and killed him.
After this event the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sent sixteen preachers but only
one of those survived, the rest were also killed.
The one, who had survived, escaped him
and having reached Madinah informed the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) about both
the sorrowful and heart aching events. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was much
grieved and this was the very reason of the army's being sent in the
Jamadi al-Thani of 8th Hijrah, when ten thousand Muslims got ready to
lay their lives in the battle.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), before the
departure of the army, said:
"The sequence of the chiefs of the
military will be as such, the first chief will be Jaffar Ibne Abu Talib,
the next Zaid bin Haris and the third Abdullah bin Rawaha."
If after the first being martyred the
next one and even if the second and then the third gets martyred, then
you select some one as your chief, yourselves.
The army of Islam moved towards Moota.
When they reached near main city they received the information that
Harqul the King of Rome have sent an army of one hundred thousand and
another hundred thousand Arabs to besiege the Muslims.
Unequal Battle
The enemy with an army of two hundred
thousand met the Muslim army of ten thousand and started the battle.
Jaffar fought bravely till he was martyred. Thereafter, Zaid bin Haris
took over the command till he was martyred. Following him Abdullah bin
Rawaha too got martyred as a result of a brave fight.
Thereafter, the warriors selected
Khalid Ibne Waleed as their chief. Khalid who was already experienced
and clever thought if the battle continued all the soldiers would get
killed. Therefore, he used a marshal technique and snatched the
battlefield from the enemy's hands.
He ordered the soldiers to retreat at
night and early in the morning move into the battle field from all the
four directions so that the enemy would think that another reinforcement
army has come from Madinah.
Khalid, by this strategy, terrified the
enemy and the battle stopped. He returned to Madinah along with his army
men.
When the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) received
the news of his Kith and Kin being martyred he was much grieved and wept
over it and appreciated the sagacity of Khalid.
Conquest of Mecca
The retreat of the Muslims in the
battle of Moota made the Quraish intrepid and think that the Muslims
were left over with no power, therefore there was no need to be afraid
of them. Inspite of the Hudaibayyah peace and truce pact, they with the
help of their allies Banu Baker attacked the Muslims of Taefa-e-Khazaa
and killed many of them.
Abu Sufian knew that he would most
certainly receive the answer to this mischief. Therefore, he availed of
the first opportunity to see the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) in Madinah and make
excuse and try to keep up the Hudaibayyah pact. But the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) did not give him any positive response and so he went back
unsuccessful to Mecca. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered the forces to get
ready and as a result ten thousand Muslim announced their willingness to
participate in the war.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) deputed guards
all around the city of Madinah so that nobody is able to go and inform
the polytheist of Mecca about this event.
Hatib a senseless, pious traitor with
the pretext that his relative live in Mecca and they are afraid of
Quraish, wrote a letter and tried to send it to a Quraish through a
woman. But very soon his plot was revealed and the letter was recovered
from the woman. Hence, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered the Muslims to
boycott him socially, which was worse than death for him.
On the 10th Ramadan, 8th Hijrah, the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered the army to move and the Muslims swiftly and
without any stoppage reached Mecca within a week's time. They camped
near the city. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) through his sagacity and war
strategy ordered the Muslims to get scattered at the night time and
kindle lights every where so that the enemy thinks that a large army has
arrived from Madinah. As a result, the enemy will get terrified. At
nighttime, the jungle was full of flames of fire lit, the noise and
slogans of Muslims, the Camel's blubbering and the horses neighing. When
Abu Sufain along with a group of the leaders of Quraish came to observe
the situation he was dreaded and terrified and told his companions that
he has never seen such a big size army.
Abu Sufain met Abbas and consulted him.
Abbas gave him quarter and peace and took him along to the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.)
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) in view of the
interest and benefit of Islam said Abu Sufain may assure the Meccans
that whosoever seeks refuge in his house shall also have peace and
quarter. Abu Sufain returned back to Mecca with quarter and frightened
the people of Mecca from the Muslim army and prevented them from
fighting the Muslim resulting, which Mecca was conquered without
bloodshed.
Common Amnesty
A group of Muslims, particularly the
refugees were nursing feelings of taking revenge from the Quraish but
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) announced the common amnesty and said,
"today are the day of mercy and
forgiveness not that of revenge. No one has the right to fight the
people except for a few persons who must be killed where ever they be
found because their crimes are not forgivable."
Then Prophet (P.B.U.H.) named those
persons. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) after a brief rest entered the Kaabah
and cleaned the idols. Bilal recited the Azaan (call for prayer) and the
Prophet offered his prayers along with his Ashab (Companions).
6. The Battle of Hunain
After the fall of the base of
polytheist to the Muslims, those polytheists living all around Mecca
were greatly horrified and harassed. Therefore, they gathered and
decided that all the tribes should unitedly fight against the Muslims.
All of them chose the chief of Taifa Hawazan as their general.
Having received the information about
this aggregation, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sent a person to view and
observe the situation and get information about the battle arrangement
made by those tribes and on his return to Mecca present a report of it.
Departure towards Hunain
The Prophet, on getting information
about the intentions of the enemy moved with a force of one thousand
Mujahid warriors towards the valley of Hunain on the 5th of Shawwal, 8th
Hijrah.
Malik, the chief of the polytheist's
army, sent three of his men for the spying espionage of the Islamic
forces.
They observed the glorious Islamic
forces and reported it to their chief. Malik, thinking he did not have
the power to face them ordered his men to climb the hilltops of the
valley and seek for themselves strong position on those heights and when
the Islamic army arrives then take them by surprise.
In the Narrow Pass of Hunain
The army of Islam arrived the valley of
Hunain on the Tuesday night of the 10th of Shawwal, the 8th Hijrah.
All of them, on the Command of the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) took rest in the night and at dawn time moved into
the valley.
The enemies, who were lying in the
ambush fully prepared, attacked them from all the four directions.
The darkness of the night, chaos
created by the horses and presence of two thousand and nine hundred men
who had newly and lately become Muslims, helped the enemy to a great
extent and Waleed was obliged to retreat.
Only ten men were present around the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) who was defending him. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered
them to call the run away for help. Abbas, with his thundering,
reprimanding voice, called those who were flying away, and the enemy
forces who were achieving victory in the start, were gradually becoming
weak.
Finally, the defense posts of the enemy
too were destroyed and they ran away leaving back all of their war
equipments. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) sent a group to chase the run away so
that they are weakened to the extent that they may not be able to make a
military venture in future.
Those chasing the enemy came back after
accomplishing their errand, and the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) distributed the
booty among his army men.
7. The Battle of Tabuk
In the month of Rajab of the 9th
Hijrah, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) received a report that the Muslims of the
northeastern border of Arabia were being threatened by the Roman empire
and they have made up their mind to attack the Islamic lands.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) after arranging
strong and fit soldiers, contrary to the previous times policy when he
used to conceal his aim, clearly exposed his aim and object to the
people and got their attention diverted to the assault of the enemy and
ordered all of them not to hesitate in extending all kind of help and
assistance to the army of Islam.
People offered every thing needed for
the soldiers of Islam with great fervor and enthusiasm and contributed
to the war expanses.
The Hypocrite's Behavior
The hypocrites, simultaneous along with
the mobilization of the Islamic farces started to poison the people ears
to create anti war spirit and they horrified and harassed the people in
connection with combat and facing the Roman army. They built a Mosque
named "Masjid-e-Zarrar" so as to have a center for their poisonous
propaganda and stop the people from participating in the Jihad. But the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) by strong and concrete attitude arrested their
conspiracies.
By the order of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
the house of the Jew Sewelum, which was the focus and center of meetings
of the Jews was burnt down and all their conspiracies were nullified.
Towards Tabuk
An unprecedented army of thirty
thousand Muslim soldiers got prepared and camped in the suburbs of
Madinah. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) took the Command of the forces in his
own hands, witnessed their march, and spoke to them.
Thereafter, he fixed Ali (A.S.) on his
place in Madinah and himself moved towards Tabuk along with the army
men.
The soldiers of Islamic army reached
the burning desert of Tabuk after having covered a journey of six
hundred kilometers. But they were taken aback and surprised to see that
there was no sign of the Roman army. It seemed as if those (enemies)
having learnt about the movement of the Islamic forces, which were full
of spirit of martyrdom, retreated northwards.
The Islamic army having stayed a clash
free twenty days period over there, by the order of Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
turned back to Madinah.
The Conspiracy of Hypocrites
On the way back from Tabuk, a group of
hypocrites who had participated in the war because of the fear of people
planned to hide in the valley of Tabuk mountains so that they might get
the camel of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) terrified and make him fell down
from it and kill him. But their conspiracy was revealed and all of them
flew away. The soldiers of Islam wanted to kill them but the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) stopped them from doing so. On returning back from Tabuk, the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) ordered the people to demolish the "Zarrar Mosque"
and they did so as per the Command of the Almighty God.
Battle of Tabuk was the expression and
show of might and power of the army of Islam. All the Muslims took part
in that battle. Because of this show people of the neighboring and
polytheist countries witnessed the power and might of Islam and
refrained from conspiring against it.
Acquaintance ex-polytheists
The polytheists used to perform Hajj
rituals according to their own traditions up till the 10th Dhul-Hijjah
the 9th Hijrah. In the same year the chapter of Holy Qur'an named Baraat
or Tauba was revealed. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) entrusted the job of
recitation of these verses before the polytheist of Mecca to Ali (A.S.)
and instructed him to tell them "No polytheist will enter the holy
Kaabah from this year onwards and nobody will perform the
circumambulation around the Kaabah in nude condition.
According to the Command of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.), Ali (A.S.) went to Mecca and recited the chapter of Qur'an "Tauba"
before the polytheists and informed them about the order that the
Prophet (P.B.U.H.) had given.
Mubahalah (Cursing each other)
Since the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was
sending letters to the rulers of the world, he sent a letter to the
bishop of Najran and invited the Christians of that place to embrace
Islam.
In this letter the bishop was asked
either to accept Islam or pay Jazia tax as a backing to the Islamic
Government.
The bishop had already read in the holy
books about the coming of a Prophet after the Christ (A.S.). So he sent
a number of delegates to Madinah to find the facts. Having arrived
Madinah, they started a discussion with the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and
were not contented with that till such time the angel Jabriel descended
with the revelation and message from Almighty God that the wise men of
Najran may go to the desert of Najran and offer prayer up to a specified
time. There after, every body should curse the liar.
When the time of Mubahalah approached
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) brought along with him only four persons out of
the total lot of the Muslims and his associates. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
was carrying Imam Husayn (A.S.) in his arms, Imam Hasan (A.S.) was being
guided by the finger, Fatimah (A.S.) and Ali (A.S.) beside him.
When the Christians sighted them, their
chief said: "By God I am seeing such faces that if they do curse the
desert will turn into hell and the effects of this torment and
chastisement will reach the land of Najran and there is a risk of all
the Christians being killed."
As a result they accepted to pay the
tax levied on Kharaj non-Muslims.
It was decided that the Christians
would give two thousand Hullas (robes, cloaks) and thirty rows to the
Muslims, thereafter.
The Final or Farewell Hajj
On the 25th of Dhul-Qi'dah the 10th
Hijrah, the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) announced that he (P.B.U.H.) had the
intention to perform Hajj that year and anyone wishing to accompany him
(P.B.U.H.) might do so.
This news created the zest and fervor
of keenness among the people and thousands of Muslims announced their
readiness to accompany the Prophet (P.B.U.H).
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) appointed Abu
Dajana as his deputy in Madinah and moved along with his Companions.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) entered the
state of performing Hajj (putting on the pilgrim garb) at Zulhaleefa and
called out Labbayk and moved on towards Mecca.
After ten days he reached Mecca and
entered the Masjid-ul-Haram and performed Hajj rituals. The next day he
made a speech at Mina and giving out a sermon said, "Stability is needed
and required in the affairs of religion."
The Ghadeer-e-Khum
On Thursday the 17th of Dhul Hijjah,
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) reached near the pond at Juhfa. The angel
descended with the revelation from God, "Appoint Ali as your successor".
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) gathered the Muslims by calling them for the
announcement of an important message.
Thousands of pilgrims gathered in that
perching, and scorching heat to listen to the words of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.).
After offering prayers the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) climbed a height made up with the help of camel saddles and
said "Praise is specified for Almighty God only. We ask help only from
Him and have faith, reliance on Him. I give evidence that there is no
God except God. Mohammad is his servant and Prophet. Yes, oh people,
very soon I am departing from you and am leaving two weighty and most
valuable things among you the holy Qur'an and my Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) [The
family members of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) including his cousin and
son-in-law Ali (A.S.). His daughter Fatimah (A.S.) and two grand sons
Hasan (A.S.) and Husayn (A.S.)].
These will never be separated from each
other till the time they reach me on the bank of the Kauser stream (on
the day of justice). Therefore, you remain resort and bonded with them
and never abandon them. If you abandon them, you will get annihilated.
Then he took Ali (A.S.) by the hand and
raised his hand up and said "Oh people I am the master of whosoever. Ali
too is the master of him. Oh God! Be the friend of the one who loves Ali
and be the enemy of the one who has enmity with him. Help the helpers of
Ali and humble and surpass all those who want to humble him."
After his speech was over an angel
descended from the heaven and gave the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) the good news
and glad tiding that with the Wilayat (guardianship) spiritual office of
Ali (A.S.) the religion of Islam became accomplished and completed. The
boon and blessing of God finalized.
Death of Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
After his returning back from the
journey the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) fell ill. A group took the advantage from
this chance and claimed Prophet-hood but by the Prophet's (P.B.U.H.)
order all of them were killed.
One day when the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) was
very ill and unwell, he (P.B.U.H.) with the help and support of Ali
(A.S.) visited the graves of his friends in the graveyard of Baqi. Then
he (P.B.U.H.) returned home.
Day by day, the ailment of the Prophet
(P.B.U.H.) went on increasing till at last the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
breathed his last in the lap of Ali (A.S.) on Monday 28th of Safar 11th
Hijrah, turning the whole of the Islamic World mournful and grieved. |