The battle of Hunayn
8 (A.H.)
The formidable Bedouin tribes, the
Hawaazin, the Saqif and various others pastured their flocks on the
territories bordering Mecca. Some of them possessed strongly fortified
towns like Tayef, and were unwilling to render obedience to the Muslims
without resistance. They formed a league with the intention of
overwhelming Prophet Muhammad (SAW) before he could make preparations to
repulse their attack.
It was the usual practice with the
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that whenever he conquered a region, he
personally looked after its political problems and the religious matters
of its inhabitants, so long as he stayed there, and as and when he left
that place he appointed there suitable persons on different posts. Its
reason was that the people of these regions, who were acquainted with
the old and wound-up systems, did not possess information about the
system, which had replaced it. Islam is a social, moral, political and
religious system, its laws emanate from revelation, and acquainting
people with these laws and their enforcement amongst them needs
distinguished, mature and learned persons, who should teach them correct
principles of Islam intelligently and should also enforce Islamic system
amongst them.
When the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) decided
to leave Makkah for the territories of Hawazin and Saqif, he appointed
Mu'az bin Jabal as a guide to educate and instruct the people and
entrusted the government and administration of the city and imamate
(leading prayers) in the mosque to Atab bin Usayd, who was a capable
person. The threatening information compelled the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
to cut short his stay in Makkah. After staying in Makkah for fifteen
days the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) proceeded to the land of Hawazin tribe.
An unmatched army
On that day the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
had twelve thousand armed soldiers under his standard, out of them ten
thousand were those, who had accompanied him from Madina and had taken
part in the conquest of Makkah, and the other two thousand were from
amongst Quraysh, who had embraced Islam recently. The command of this
group rested with Abu Sufyan. Imam Ali as usual, held the Sacred
Standard of the Prophet Muhammad.
In those days such an army was hardly
found anywhere and this numerical strength of theirs became the cause of
their initial defeat. It was because, contrary to the past, they prided
themselves on the large number of their soldiers and ignored the
military tactics and principles of war. When Abu Bakr's eyes fell on the
large number of men he said: "We should not at all be defeated, because
our soldiers far outnumber those of the enemy". He did not, however, pay
attention to this reality that numerical superiority is not the only
factor for victory and in fact this factor is of little importance.
The Holy Qur'an itself mentions this
fact and says: Allah has helped you on many occasions including the day
of Hunayn. When you were happy with the number of your men who proved to
be of no help to you and the whole vast earth seemed to have no place to
hide you (from your enemies) and you turned back in retreat. (Surah al-Tawbah,
9:25)
Acquisition of Information
After the conquest of Makkah great
excitement and enthusiasm could been seen in the areas inhabited by the
tribes of Hawazin and Saqif. Special contacts existed between them. The
connecting link between them was a war like person named Malik bin Awf
Nasri. The result of their mutual contacts was that before the Islamic
army could pay attention to them they themselves came up to encounter
it, so that, before the Muslims moved, they themselves should strike
them hard by military tactics. They also selected from amongst them a
thirty-year-old brave and courageous man to act as their commander.
Besides the aforesaid two tribes, the
tribes of Bani Hilal, Nasr and Jasham also participated in this battle
and all of them came up as a single striking force.
As ordered by the chief commander, all
those, who participated in the battle, stationed their women and
retinue, behind the rear of the army. When he was asked about the reason
for this decision he said: "These men will remain steadfast in their
fighting to protect their women and property and will not at all think
of flight or retreat".
When Durayd bin Sammah, an old man and
an experienced warrior, heard the wailing's of the women and the
children, he quarreled with Malik, and, considering this act of his to
be wrong from the point of view of principles of war, said to him: "The
result of this action will be that if you are defeated you will be
surrendering all your women and property to the army of Islam
gratuitously". Malik did not pay heed to the words of this experienced
soldier and said: "You have grown old and have lost your wisdom and
knowledge of military tactics". However, the later events proved that
the old man was right and the presence of women and children in a sphere
of operation in which one has to strike and run proved to be of no use,
except that the soldiers got involved in difficulties and their
activities were hindered.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) sent
Abdullah Aslami Ibn Abi Hadrad to collect information about the
equipment, intentions and itinerary of the enemy. He roamed about in the
entire army of the enemy, collected the necessary information and placed
it at the disposal of the Prophet Muhammad. Malik, too, sent three spies
towards the Muslims in a special manner so that they might bring the
requisite information for him. They, however, returned to Malik with
their hearts full of awe and fear.
The commander of the enemy army decided
to make amends for the numerical inferiority and weak morale of his
soldiers by means of a military trick i.e. by making a surprise attack,
create confusion among the army of Islam so that the discipline of their
units might be disrupted and the schemes of their high command might be
frustrated.
To achieve this end, he encamped at the
end of the pass, which led to the region of Hunayn. He then ordered all
the soldiers to hide themselves behind the stones, the rocks and gaps of
the mountains and at elevated places around the pass, and as soon as the
army of Islam arrived in this deep and lengthy pass, all of them should
come out of their places hiding and attack the units of Islam with
arrows and stones. Thereafter a special group should descend from the
mountains in an orderly manner and put the Muslims to sword under the
cover of their archers.
Equipment of the Muslims
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was aware of
the strength and the obstinacy of the enemy. Before leaving Makkah
therefore, he called Safwan bin Umayyah and borrowed one hundred suits
of armor from him and guaranteed its return. He personally put on two
suit of armor, put a helmet on his head, and mounted a white mule, which
had been presented to him, and moved on behind the army of Islam.
In the dead of night the army reached
the Hunayn valley, which lies about midway between Mecca and Tayef. In
order to reach the fertile valley of Tayef, they had to pass through a
narrow defile called Hunayn. This was the key point or the enemy's
defense. It was a narrow and dismal place leaving little room for an
army to pass through, except in single file, nor could camels and horses
be maneuvered within its narrow walls. The army of Islam rested at night
at the mouth of the Hunayn and the day had not yet dawned fully when the
tribe of Bani Salim arrived in the passage of Hunayn under the command
of Khalid bin Walid. When a major part of the army of Islam was still in
the pass. Concealing themselves under the precipitous side of the rocky
valley, the tribesmen, from the heights, showered avalanches of rocks
and arrows on the Muslims, and prevented all attempts by the Muslim
cavalry to organize a charge. Panic began to spread amongst the Muslim
troops and defeat seemed very probable.
This sudden attack terrified the
Muslims so much that they began to flee and created, more than the enemy
itself, disorder and disruption among their ranks. According to
Habib-us-Siyar and Rouzath-ul-Ahbab, Khalid Bin Walid was the first to
leave the field. These developments were a source of great joy for the
hypocrites present in the army of Islam, so much so that Abu Sufyan
said: "Muslims will run up to the coast of the sea". Another hypocrite
said: "The magic has been counteracted". A third from amongst them
determined to do away with Islam in that confused state of affairs by
killing the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and thus destroy the belief of the
Oneness of Allah and the Prophet Hood of Islam lock, stock, and barrel.
The steadfastness of the Prophet
Muhammad (SAW) and of a group of self-sacrificing persons
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was
disturbed immensely by the flight of his friends which was the main
cause of all the alarm and disorder, and felt that if matters were
allowed to take their own course, even for a moment longer, the pivot of
history would be different, humanity would change its course and the
forces of polytheism would beat down the army of monotheism. While
riding his mule, therefore, he said loudly: "O supporters of Allah and
His Prophet! I am the servant of Allah and His Prophet". He uttered this
sentence and then turned his mule towards the battlefield, which was
occupied by Malik's men, who had already killed some Muslims and were
busy killing others. A group of self-sacrificing persons like Imam Ali,
the Commander of the Faithful, Abbas, Fazal bin Abbas, Usamah and Abi
Sufyan bin Hirith, who had not left him alone and unprotected ever since
the battle started, also proceeded along with him.
At this critical moment Imam Ali
rallied the disorganized forces around him inspiring them to fight with
fresh valor. At the same time the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) asked his uncle
Abbas, who held his mule, who had a very loud voice, to call back the
Muslims in this manner: "O Ansar, who helped the Prophet! O you who took
the oath of allegiance to the Prophet under the tree of Paradise! Where
are you going? The Prophet is here!" The words of Abbas reached the ears
of the Muslims and stimulated their religious zeal and fervor. All of
them responded immediately by saying, Labayk! Labayk! (Here am I! Here
am I!) And returned bravely towards the Prophet Muhammad.
The repeated call by Abbas, which gave
the good tidings of the Prophet's safety, made the fleeing men return to
the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) with a peculiar regret and remorse and made
them reorganize their rows. About a hundred men, all Ansars (Abul Fida;
Ibn Hisham), gaining the narrow Pass, checked the advance of the enemy.
The standard bearer of the enemy, a man of extraordinarily tall stature
and stout built, came forward and challenged the Muslims to single
combat, As usual, Imam Ali stepped forward and engaged him and within a
short time put an end to him. In compliance with the orders of the
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and also to obliterate the shameful stain of
desertion, the Muslims launched a general attack and compelled the
enemies, in a very short time, to retreat or flee. The Prophet Muhammad,
who was watching the struggle from an eminence, taking a handful of
gravel, cast it towards the enemy saying, "May these faces be
disgraced!" The enemy became panicky within a short time and finally
took to flight, chased by the Muslims, and many of them were killed. In
order to encourage the Muslims the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was saying: "I
am the Prophet of Allah and never tell a lie and Allah has promised me
victory". This war tactics made the warriors of Hawazin and Saqif run
away to the region of Autas and Nakhlah and to the forts of Ta'if
leaving behind their women and retinue and a number of those killed in
the battle. The battle was won by Muslims.
War Booty
In this battle the casualties of the
Muslims were large, but the biographers have not mentioned the number of
those killed. The enemy lost seventy of their bravest, of whom forty
fell under the sword of Imam Ali.
As a result of this victory, enormous
booty fell into the hands of the Muslims. The Muslims, however, stood to
gain and the enemies fled leaving behind six thousand captives, twenty
four thousand camels, forty thousand sheep and four thousand Waqih (It
is equal to 213 grams approximately) of silver. The Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) ordered that all the men and the entire property should be taken
to Ji'ranah. He also appointed some men to keep a watch. The captives
were kept in a particular house and the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ordered
that the entire booty should remain there as it was, till he returned
from Ta'if.
The battle of Hunayn, is one of the
most famous events in the history of Islam. It was notable for the
strategy of Imam Ali regrouping the Muslim army, turning defeat into
victory. It also showed the clemency with which the prisoners were
treated. Six hundred of the enemies were freed without having to pay
ransom. |