Most Read in the Category of The Battle of Uhud and Afterwards

THE BATTLE OF UHUD

(3rd Year of the Migration, 7 Shawwal / AD 625)

The Qurayshi polytheists did not want to forget about the agony of the defeat in Badr, in fact, they could not forget it. They lost most of the notables of the Quraysh there. Their honor was harmed by the blow they received from a handful of Muslims. Their prestige in the eyes of the neighboring tribes were harmed, too. 

Besides, the fact that the trade ways leading to Damascus via the coast were controlled by the Messenger of God affected their trade badly and weakened their military and economic strength. After that, the Qurayshi polytheists started to send their caravans to Damascus through Iraq but the Prophet was informed about it after a while; he sent a sariyyah, which caught their trade caravan and seized their goods, there.   

Naturally, this situation increased the grudge and enmity of the Qurayshi polytheists against Muslims and aroused their feelings of revenge. They were looking forward to taking revenge at the earliest opportunity. Their few small attacks after the Battle of Badr increased their grudge instead of soothing it because they were defeated as a result of those attacks.

The Offer of the Qurayshi Notables

The big trade caravan that had been sent to Damascus under the command of Abu Sufyan beforehand had barely escaped from the Muslim forces under the command of the Messenger of God; they had reached Makkah with difficulty. The break out of the Battle of Badr immediately after it had delayed the distribution of the goods in the caravan. The goods were stored in “Da­ru’n-Nadwa.[1]

Meanwhile, some people especially those who lost their close relatives in the Battle of Badr among whom were Jubayr b. Mut’im, Safwan b. Umayya, Ikrima b. Abu Jahl, who were among notables of the Quraysh, made this offer to Abu Sufyan:

“Muhammad destroyed us by killing our great people. It is time we took revenge from him. Let us give the capital of the goods in the caravan to their owners and use the profit to make preparations for the war.”[2]

The offer was accepted unanimously.

The goods were sold and changed to gold. It was totally one hundred thousand gold coins. Fifty thousand gold coins were given to the shareholders as their capital. They started to make preparations for the war with the profit.[3]

Makkan polytheists, who were intimidated by the Battle of Badr, decided to prepare a big army. They did not suffice with the local volunteer soldiers and even with the soldiers of their constant allies, the tribe of Ahabish[4]. They wanted the other tribes in the Arabian Peninsula to support them. They appointed a special delegate and allocated a special fund to persuade those tribes. Their aim was to hire mercenaries from other tribes.  

While they were making preparations for the war speedily, the propaganda committee, which consisted of many famous people, poets and orators,  and which they appointed, were travelling all over Arabia informing the tribes that they expected to be allies with about the nature and aim of their movement and trying to convince them; they did their best to arouse and provoke people against the Prophet. If we consider that people at that time fought one another and shed blood due to a single word of a poet or a single speech of an orator, it will be understood how effective those poets and orators were in encouraging people to join them.

The Army of the Polytheists is Ready

The army of the polytheists managed to have an army of three thousand people together with the soldiers that joined them from the tribes around and the mercenaries. There were seven hundred armored soldiers, two hundred cavalrymen and three thousand camels.[5]

Some women joined the army in order to give the soldiers moral support, to encourage them to fight and to maintain their excitement. They were going to sing, play the tambourine and give the soldiers moral support!

The commander of the army was Abu Sufyan Sahr b. Harb. The women were under the command of Hind, who was Abu Sufyan’s wife and who had lost her father in the Battle of Badr. This woman, whose heart was full of grudge, made all of the women swear that they were going to take the revenge of their close relatives killed in the Battle of Badr. 

There were three standards of the Qurayshi army. One of them was being carried by Sufyan b. Uwayf, one of them by Talha b. Abi Talha and the third one by a person from the tribe of Ahabish.

Thus, the Qurayshis finished their preparation and set off from Makkah; their expedition was going to take twenty days.

News that Reached Madinah

Some news reached the Prophet in Madinah. The man who was assigned to give the Prophet the news handed the letter to the Prophet with excitement. It was written in the letter that the Qurayshi polytheists finished their preparations and that set out for Madinah.

The signature under the letter belonged to Hazrat Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet. He continued to live in Madinah upon the order of the Prophet in order to help the believers there and to inform the Prophet about what was happening in Makkah. When he told the Prophet that he wanted to migrate to Madinah, the Messenger of God said, “You make jihad better there. It is better for us if you stay in Makkah.”[6]

The Prophet kept the content of the letter a secret at first. Only a few people were aware of it. However, as the saying goes, “Ill news travels fast”, it was soon heard that the Qurayshis were coming toward Madinah. 

The Messenger of God sent some Companions toward Makkah so that they would observe and find out the state of the Qurayshi army. The mujahids saw the Qurayshi army on the way; after finding out about their state, the returned to Makkah to tell him about the state of the Qurayshi army.

The news that the mujahids brought was in compliance with what Abbas had written in his letter.

The Qurayshi Army is in Uhud

The Qurayshi army that left Makkah and moved very fast settled near the Aynayn Hill near Mount Uhud on a Wednesday at the beginning of the month of Shawwal.

The Dream of the Prophet

Meanwhile, the Messenger of God narrated a dream that he had seen to his Companions: “I saw myself in strong armor. I saw a hole open in the blade of my sword, Dhulfiqar. I saw a slaughtered cow and then a ram.”

The Companions asked, “How do you interpret this dream O Messenger of God?”

The Messenger of God answered:

“Wearing strong arm denotes Madinah, staying in Madinah. The hole in the blade of my sword indicates that I will not be harmed. The slaughtered cow indicates that some of my Companions will be martyred. The ram brought after it indicates a military unit; God will kill them inshaallah!”[7]

According to another narration, the Prophet narrated his dream and interpreted it as follows: “I hit the ground with my sword; its blade got broken. It denotes that some believers will be martyred on the day of Uhud. I hit the ground with my sword again; it returned to its previous state. It indicates that a conquest will come from God and that the believers will collect themselves.”[8]

This dream, which the Prophet saw on a Friday night, will affect the consultation he will make with his Companions.

Consultation with the Companions

The Messenger of God called the notables of Ansar and Muhajirs and consulted them regarding the issue.

The view of the Prophet was to defend Madinah from the inside due to the inspiration given by the dream. However, he also wanted to consult the Muslims and find out about their views. 

Most of the notables of the Companions agreed with the view of the Prophet. Ab­dullah b. Ubayy, the leader of the munafiqs, who had never been invited to any meetings before, was invited to that meeting. He also had the view of staying in Madinah. 

However, the heroic young Companions who had not joined the Battle of Badr, had heard about the high ranks the martyrs of Badr reached; therefore, they felt very sorry that they had not joined that battle. Thus, they wanted to confront the enemy outside Madinah and they expressed their wish insistently by saying,

“O Messenger of God! They were not allowed to walk against Madinah even in the period of Jahiliyya. How can we allow them to walk against us during the period of Islam? O Messenger of God! We asked this day from God. Take us out of Madinah. We want to fight the enemy hand to hand!”[9]

Some of them said,

“O Messenger of God! If we do not confront them outside, the enemy will attribute it to our cowardice and weakness and they will get spoiled!”

The notables of the Companions like Hazrat Hamza, Sa’d b. Uba­da, Nu’man b. Malik, who were brave and valiant, agreed with the wishes of those young Companions. Hazrat Hamza, the hero said, “O Messenger of God! I swear by God, who sent down the book to you, I will not eat until I fight the Qurayshi polytheists outside Madinah with this sword!”, expressing his wish and view to go out and to attack the enemy. 

The Speech of Hazrat Haysama

Hazrat Haysama had drawn lots with his son Sa’d in order to join the Battle of Badr. Hazrat Sa’d had won the lots. Sa’d had reached the rank of martyrdom, which he had desired, in the Battle of Badr. Haysama, the father of the martyr Sa’d spoke as follows:

“O Messenger of God! The Qurayshis collected soldiers from Arabs in the desert and from the Ahabish tribe, their allies. They rode their camels and horses and came to our land. They will surround us in our houses and castles and then leave. They will talk against us. It will increase their courage. If we see them but do not confront them and do not expel them from our land, the Arabs around us will set their eyes on us!

It is hoped that God will make us defeat the Qurayshis. If the second one happens – which is martyrdom –, I was deprived of it in Badr. I had desired it so much. My son, who heard that I desired to fight in Badr, drew lots with me. He won the lots. He reached the rank of martyrdom in the end. However, I had desired to become a martyr so much. I saw my son in a very nice state last night. He was walking around the fruits and rivers of Paradise. He said to me, ‘ Join me in the friendship of Paradise! I found the truth that my Lord promised me.’ By God, O Messenger of God, when I opened my eyes in the morning, I started to long for being a friend of my son in Paradise. I got very old. I want to meet my Lord. O Messenger of God! Pray God so that He will give me martyrdom and make me a friend of my son in Paradise!”

The Messenger of God fulfilled the wish of Haysama. He prayed for him.[10]

Malik b. Sinan, the father of Abu Said al-Khudri said, “O Messenger of God! One of the two things will be with us. Either God will make us victorious against them – which is what we want – or He will grant us martyrdom. O Messenger of God! No matter which one we receive, it will be good for us, I think.”

Nu’man b. Malik, who was also a heroic Companion, said, “O Messenger of God! I witness that I am one of the Companions represented by the slaughtered cow you saw in your dream. Do not deprive us of Paradise. I swear by God, except whom there is no God, I should go to Paradise.”

The Messenger of God said, “How?”

Hazrat  Numan said, “I witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of God; I love God and His messenger. When I encounter the enemy, I never run away.”

The Prophet said, “You are right and you have told the truth.”[11]

Decision

When the Messenger of God found out that the majority wanted to confront the enemy outside Madinah, he decided to leave the city and fight the enemy in the open terrain. He addressed his Companions as follows:

“If you show patience and perseverance, God Almighty will send you His help. What we need to do is to be determined and to exert effort!”

After the Final Decision

It was Friday.

After leading the Friday prayer, the Messenger of God mentioned the virtue of jihad and how to prepare for jihad and said, “To hesitate to join jihad and to delay is weakness. If you show patience and perseverance, the help of God will come. Show patience and perseverance! If you show patience and perseverance, the help of God will be with you.”[12]

After leading the afternoon prayer, the Messenger of God went to his house together with Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar. Those two Companions would help prepare the Prophet.

While the Messenger of God was busy with putting on his armor, Sa’d b. Muadh and Usayd b. Khudayr warned the Muslims who were waiting outside by saying, “You insisted although the Prophet did not want to go out of Madinah. In fact, he receives orders from the sky. Let him do whatever he wants and obey him!”

Those words softened the people who wanted to confront the enemy outside Madinah to a certain extent; some of them even regretted it. When they saw the Messenger of God wearing an armor and holding his sword, they said, “O Messenger of God! We do not want the thing that you do not like. If you want to stay in Madinah, let us stay here. We cannot move in contrary to your views!”

The Messenger of God replied:

“It does not fit a prophet to take off his armor without fighting the enemy and before God makes a judgment between him and his enemy.”[13]

After that, he said,

“Do what I have told you to do quickly. Go by mentioning the name of God. As long as you show patience and perseverance, God will help you.”[14]

Islamic Army

The number of the Muslims getting ready for the confrontation was about one thousand.[15]It was about one-third of the Qurayshi army... There were only one hundred armored people.[16]

There were three standards in the army. Mus’ab b. Umayr carried the standard of the Muhajirs; Usayd b. Khudayr carried the standard of the Aws tribe and Hubab b. Mundhir the standard of Khazraj tribe.

The Islamic army was ready to move.

The Prophet mounted his horse, put his bow on his shoulder and held his spear. He left Abdullah b. Umm Mak­tum in Madinah to represent him. Two armored Companions, Sa’d b. Muadh and Sa’d b. Ubada were in front of him; the mujahids were on his right and left.

The Companion that Desired Paradise

It was when the Islamic army was about to set off for Uhud.

Amr b. Jamuh, who was lame, had a great desire to join the expedition. He had four sons, who always joined the Prophet in expeditions. He called his sons and said, “Take me to the expedition!”

His sons said, “The Messenger of God allowed you not to join the expedition. God regards you as excused.”

Amr, who had the love of God and the Messenger of God in his heart, did not heed what they said and shouted at his sons, ”Shame on you! You prevented me from reaching Paradise in the Expedition of Badr. Do you want to prevent me again from the Expedition of Uhud? I cannot stay at home when everybody goes to Paradise!” Then, he went to the presence of the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of God! My sons want to prevent me from the expedition through various excuses. I swear by God that I want to join the expedition and wander in Paradise limping!” Then, he asked, “O Messenger of God! Do you not find it appropriate for me to fight in the way of God, to be martyred and to wander in Paradise with my lame legs?”

The Mount Uhud

The Messenger of God said, “Yes, I find it appropriate but God regards you as excused. You do not have to make jihad!” Then, he said to the sons of Amr, “You do not have to prevent him from joining the expedition. Let him do what he wants. God may grant him martyrdom.”[17]

Thereupon, Amr b. Jamuh armed immediately and turned to the Kaaba, praying, “O God! Grant me martyrdom!”[18]

Rejecting the Help of the Jews

The Islamic army arrived at Thaniyya Hill. At that point, the Prophet looked behind and saw a crowded military unit consisting of archers. He asked, “Who are they?”

The mujahids said, “A group of six hundred people from the allies of Abdullah b. Ubay”.

The Messenger of God asked, “Have they adopted Islam?”

When they said, “No! O Messenger of God!”, he said, “Go and tell them to return. We do not need their help!”[19]

The Prophet Inspects the Army

When the Islamic army arrived at Shaykhayn Hills, the Messenger of God stopped and inspected his army. Meanwhile, he sent back about fifteen children, who were too young. 

However, some of them did not want to leave the ranks of mujahids and wanted to fight against polytheists although they were very young. One of them was Rafi’ b. Khadij. He wanted to seem taller by standing on his toes. A Companion said, “O Messenger of God! Rafi is a good archer” and Rafi did not want to leave the army. Thereupon, the Prophet allowed him to stay in the army.

When Samura b. Jundub, another young Companion, saw that his friend, Rafi, was accepted to the army, he said to his father, “Dad! The Messenger of God allowed Rafi but refused me. However, I can beat him in wrestling!”

His father, Muray b. Sinan, talked to the Messenger of God about it. The Prophet wanted them to wrestle. When he saw that Samura beat Rafi in wrestling, he allowed Samura to join the army, too. Those young Companions, who were only about fifteen years old, wanted to be among the ranks of the mujahids against polytheists enthusiastically.[20]

The Night Spent in Shaykhayn

When the inspection of the Prophet ended, the sun was about to set. Soon, Bilal al-Habashi called the evening adhan. The Messenger of God led the evening prayer. They performed the night prayer in the same way. The Prophet was going to spend the night there. He appointed a patrol group of fifty people to protect the army and to check around.

A Companion Keeps Watch at Night for the Prophet

After leading the night prayer, the Messenger of God said, “Who will keep watch tonight for us?

A voice was heard among the Mujahids, “I will, O Messenger of God!”

The Prophet asked, “Who are you?”

The same voice answered, “I am Zakwan b. Abdi Qays.”

The Messenger of God ordered, “Sit; do not keep watch!”

After a while, the Prophet asked again, “Who will keep watch tonight for us?”

A voice was heard among the Mujahids, “I will, O Messenger of God!”

The Prophet asked, “Who are you?”

The same voice answered, “I am Abu Sab.”

The Messenger of God said to him, “Sit; do not keep watch!”

After a while, the Prophet asked for the third time, “Who will keep watch tonight for us?”

A voice was heard among the Mujahids, “I will, O Messenger of God!”

The Prophet asked, “Who are you?”

The same voice answered, “I am Ibn Qays.”

The Messenger of God ordered, “Sit; do not keep watch!”

After a while, the Messenger of God said to them, “Stand up! Three of you!”

Only one person stood up. He was Zakwan b. Abdi Qays.

The Messenger of God asked him, “Where are your other friends?” He said, “O Messenger of God! It was I who answered your question three times!”

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said to him, “Go and keep watch for us. May God protect you!”

Zakwan put on his armor, took his shield and kept watch all night near the Prophet.[21]

That Companion had introduced himself by using his own name first, his son’s name after that and his father’s name in the end. 

Islamic Army in Uhud

Toward the morning, the Prophet and his army left Shaykhan and headed toward Uhud. At that point, both armies could notice each other.

The enemy seemed over there. Among the ranks of the mujahids, the sound of the adhan of the morning prayer went up to the sky in waves. The Muslims prayed behind the Messenger of God in ranks without taking off their arms before the eyes of the enemy.

Meanwhile, the Prophet put on armor on his armor and a helmet on his cap as a precaution.[22]

Munafiqs Leave the Army

In the end, the two armies faced each other. Both armies were busy with the war order.

Meanwhile, Abdullah b. Ubay b. Salul, who came up to that place hesitantly and in fear, came forward and said, “Muhammad listened to the young people who had no right to express their views but he did not listen to me. O people! I cannot understand it. Why should we die here?”[23]Then, he returned with about three hundreds soldiers from his own tribes and munafiqs (hypocrites).

When munafiqs left, the number of the Islamic army was reduced to seven hundred; which was about one-fourth of the Qurayshi army.

Abdullah b. Ubay not only left the Islamic army with a group of munafiqs, he also tried to affect other Muslims. When Sons of Salima of the Khazraj tribe and Sons of Haritha of the Aws tribe saw that Abdullah b. Ubay was returning, they wanted to return, too. However, God’s help arrived and freed them from hesitation.

The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:

“Remember two of your parties meditated cowardice; but God was their Protector, and in God should the Faithful (ever) put their trust.”[24]

The Verse Sent down about Munafiqs

When the munafiqs left the Islamic army in the battle field and returned to Madinah, the following verses were sent down:

“What ye suffered on the day the two armies met, was with the leave of God, in order that He might test the Believers. And the Hypocrites also. They were told: "Come, fight in the way of God, or (at least) drive (the foe from your city)." They say, "Had we known there would be a fight, we should certainly have followed you. They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts. But God hath full knowledge of all they conceal!”[25]

Mukhayriq Joins the Islamic Army

Mukhayriq was a great Jewish scholar. He had a great wealth in Madinah.

He knew the Messenger of God through his properties in holy books. However, he did not reveal those properties because he was afraid of his nation and because he could not free himself from the effects of his religion. He continued to act like this until the Battle of Uhud.[26]

It was when the Messenger of God set out for the Battle of Uhud with the mujahids.

Mukhayriq, who did not reveal what he knew up to that time, said, “O People of Jews! I swear by God, you know that it is your duty and right to accept that Muhammad is a prophet and that you have to help him!”

The Jews said, “It is Saturday! We will not do anything.”

Thereupon, Mukhayriq took his sword and some money with him. He said to one his relatives, “If I am killed today, all of my possessions will belong to Muhammad! He can do whatever he wants with my property.” Then, he joined the Islamic army. He fought against polytheists until he was martyred.

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said, “Mukhayriq is a good person of the Jewish nation.”[27]

The property of Mukhayriq that was transferred to the Prophet based on the will of Mukhayriq was the seven gardens called Bisab, Safiya, Dalal, Husna, Awaf, Burqa and Mashraba.[28]

Having received the property of Mukhayriq, the Prophet endowed all of them. His foundations in Madinah were mostly of the property of Mukhayriq.[29]

Headquarters of the Islamic Army

It was Saturday.

The Prophet dismounted from his horse and arranged the ranks of the army, whose number was few but whose belief and courage were great,  himself by walking. He arranged the right and left wing. Mount Uhud was behind the Islamic army. The army faced toward Madinah .[30]

The Messenger of God appointed fifty fighters as archers on Aynayn Hill, which was a very important place.

He appointed Abdullah b. Jubayr as their leader. Their duty was to watch the strait between Uhud and Aynayn Hill and not to allow the enemy to surround the Islamic army from behind.[31]

The Messenger of God gave the archers the following order: :

“Even if you see that we have defeated the enemy, do not leave your position unless I inform you or I send you someone. Even if you see that the enemy has defeated us, do not leave your position in order to help us.”[32]

After repeating this order and instruction twice, the Prophet said to the archers, “Even if you see that birds pull our bodies to pieces, do not leave your position unless I send you someone.”[33]

The order and instruction of the Messenger of God were so clear.

Two Armies Confront

Both armies had been deployed and were waiting.

In the Islamic army, Zubayr b. Awwam was the commander of the armored soldiers and Hazrat Ham­za the unarmored soldiers.

The right and left wing commander of the polytheist army was Khalid b. Walid and the left branch commander was Ikrima, son of Abu Jahl. Safwan b. Umayya was the commander of the cavalrymen and Abdullah b. Abi Rabia was the commander of the archers.[34]

There was a lot of noise and entertainment in the ranks of the polytheist army. Their hearts were full of the feeling of vengeance. The women were trying to encourage the polytheists by singing songs and playing the tambourine.

In the ranks of the Islamic army, prayers, supplications, takbirs and amins were heard. People asked help and victory from God. The Messenger of God addressed them and called them to jihad, to fight in the way of God, to show patience and perseverance and hard work despite everything.  The mujahids whose hearts were full of belief and whose eyes sparkled with courage were waiting for the order to assault with excitement. They could not stand waiting; they wanted to be martyrs and go to the presence of God or to eliminate the polytheists.

One on One Fight

Two armies approached each other.

Meanwhile, the standard-bearer of the Qurayshi army, Talha b. Abi Talha came forward and called out confidently and arrogantly, 

“Who will come to fight me?”

Hazrat Ali, nicknamed “Asadullah” (Lion of God) came forward and said, “I swear by God, in whose hand is my existence, I will not let you go unless I send you to Hell with my sword or unless I go to Paradise through your sword!” He hit his opponent severely with his sword. He split the head of his enemy into two down to his chin. When Talha fell down, Hazrat Ali returned. The mujahids asked him, “Why did you not cut off his head?”

Hazrat Ali said, “When he fell down, his private parts were opened. I turned my face away. I know very well that God will not let him live; God will kill him.”

When the standard-bearer of the Quraysh was hit, the Prophet and mujahids became very happy; they showed their happiness by calling out takbirs.

Hazrat Hamza Beats the Second Standard-bearer

When Talha fell down, Osman b. Abi Talha, his brother, took the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists. Hazrat Hamza was his opponent. Hamza hit his shoulder with his sword and cut off his arm.

This time, Abu Sa’d b. Abi Talha from Sons of Abduddar took the standard. The Messenger of God sent Hazrat Ali to fight Abu Sa’d. Hazrat Ali defeated him. Abu Sa’d died as he received the blows of “Asadullah”.

When Sa’d was killed, Musafi’ b. Talha b. Abi Talha took the standard of the Qurayshis. Asim b. Thabit killed him with the arrow he shot. Then, Harith b. Abi Talha took the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists. Asim b. Thabit killed him with an arrow, too.[35]

After Harith, Kilab b. Talha took the standard. Zubayr b. Awwam killed him with one blow.

This time, Julas b. Talha took the standard. Talha b. Ubay­dul­lah killed him.

Seven people, including a father, sons, brothers, and an uncle, from Sons of Abduddar were killed by the heroic mujahids while they were under the standard of the Qurayshi polytheists.

After that, Artat b. Shurahbil, from Sons of Abduddar, took the standard. He was killed by the harsh blows of Hazrat Ali.  Then, Shurayh b. Qariz took the standard. He was killed by one of the Companions.

When the Qurayshi polytheists saw that their standard-bearers were killed one by one, they were frightened and terrified. Nobody dared to approach the standard. In the end, Amra, the daughter of Alqama, picked it up and gave it to the Qurayshis.[36]There was nobody left from Sons of Abduddar to carry the standard; so, Suwab, one of their slaves, carried the standard. Quzman cut off his right hand. Then, Suwab held the standard with his left hand. Quzman cut off his left hand, too. Thereupon, Suwab tried to hold it with his arms but he could not bear it anymore and fell down on his back. 

Both parties could not wait any longer. A clash started suddenly. Clangor of swords, swishing of arrows and bellowing of camels were heard everywhere. The mujahids who looked forward to fighting in the way of God started to fight heroically.

Abu Dujana Receives the Sword of the Prophet

The Messenger of God had a sword in his hand. A couplet meaning, “There is shame in cowardice and honor in courage. Man cannot get rid of his destiny through cowardice” was inscribed on it.

He asked, “Who wants to receive this sword?”

Many Companions came forward. They reached out by saying, “I do. O Messenger of God!”

Then the Messenger of God said, “Who wants to receive this sword and deserve it?”

Many people wanted it enthusiastically. Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Zubayr b. Awwant to give it yet.

Meanwhile a very brave person came forward. It was Abu Dujana. He asked, “What should one do to deserve it, o Messenger of God?”

The Messenger of God said, “You should swing it against the enemy until you fall down!”

Thereupon, Abu Dujana said, “O Messenger of God! I want to receive it and to deserve it!” He took the sword from the Messenger of God.

With the sword of the Prophet in his hand and the red turban on his head, Abu Dujana started to walk toward the polytheists proudly. Thereupon, the Messenger of God said to his Companions, 

“This is such a walk that God never likes except in the battle field!”[37]

Abu Dujana rushed into the ranks of the enemy like lightning; he started to swing his sword to deserve it. He knocked many people down with his blows. He did not notice but he approached the place where the women who encouraged the polytheists to fight were standing. One of them was yelling furiously and encouraging the polytheists to fight. He approached that person. Just as he was going to swing his sword, he heard a scream. It was the scream of Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. Abu Dujana avoided swinging his sword. Hazrat Zubayr, who saw him like that, asked him later why he had not hit her. Abu Dujana said,

“I did not want the sword of the Messenger of God to be polluted with her blood!”[38]

On the other hand, Hazrat Hamza had two swings, one in his right hand and one in his left hand. He swung them and said, “I am the lion of God”, swinging them and attacking the polytheists bravely.

All of the Mujahids fought the enemy bravely and vehemently.

The Enemy is Defeated

The army of the polytheists could not resist the heroic fight of the mujahids any longer. They were terrified. They started to run away. The polytheist women played the tambourine and sang songs, calling the soldiers who panicked and ran away. However, the tambourines, songs and poems were of no use for the hearts that were deprived of belief, which was the source of bravery; the polytheist soldiers left all of their possessions and ran away in order to save their lives.

The first phase of the battle ended in favor of Muslims thanks to the heroic fights of the mujahids and the help of God.

First Martyr of Uhud

The Islamic Army was still superior. Meanwhile, Ab­dullah b. Amr b. Haram was martyred by an arrow shot by a polytheist. He became the first martyr of Uhud.

His son, Hazrat Jabir narrated:

“While my father was getting ready for the expedition of Uhud, he called me at night and said, ‘O my son! God knows; I may be the first martyr in Uhud tomorrow. I advise you to treat your sisters well. I owe some money. Pay my debts!’ It turned out to be as he said. He became the first martyr.”[39]

The Event that Changed the Course of the Battle

When the enemy was divided into two and started to run away from the battlefield, the mujahids started to collect the booty that was left behind. The archers that were placed on Aynayn Hill were watching what was happening in the battlefield of Uhud.

Meanwhile, the archers wanted to leave their place and join the other mujahids. They thought the battle had finished and their duty had ended. Most of the archers wanted to leave but Abdullah b. Jubayr, their commander, reminded them the order they were given: “Did you forget about what the  Messenger of God told you and the order he gave you?” However, all of the archers, except a few of them who stayed with their commander, left Aynayn Hill and joined the mujahids in the battlefield. They started to collect the booty.

Khalid b. Walid Makes Use of the Opportunity

When most of the archers left their place, the back side of the Islamic army remained defenseless. Khalid b. Walid, who was a war genius and the commander of the Qurayshi cavalrymen, was looking for such an opportunity. He had wanted to pass through that pass during the hottest time of the battle but he had been fought off by the archers. 

After martyring the ten Muslims on the hill with his soldiers, Khalid bin Walid attacked the ranks of Muslims. It was a sudden, unexpected attack. Everything changed suddenly. The mujahids were quite easy because they thought the enemy was defeated and left. Some of the mujahids had even left their arms. 

When the Qurayshi forces saw the situation, they returned.

Thus, the mujahids remained between two fires. They were surprised when they were attacked suddenly. They lost their strength when they were surrounded from two directions. 

An unexpected attack at an unexpected time brought about an unexpected result.

The Islamic Army Disperses!

The mujahids who were attacked from the front and the back, and trapped could not pull themselves together and had to disperse. Only 10-15 Companions remained around the Prophet despite everything. That handful of mujahids struggled very hard and resisted the arrows, spears and sword blows of the polytheists; they tried to use their bodies as a shield to protect the Messenger of God. Meanwhile, one of the stones thrown by the army of the polytheists broke one of the teeth in the right lower jaw of the Prophet; another stone injured the Prophet’s forehead and lower lip. The sword stroke of an unbeliever called Abdullah Ibn Kamia injured his cheekbone. Due to the severity of the blow, his helmet was ripped and two links of the helmet pricked his face.[40]

When Abu Ubayda b. Jarrah saw that two links of the helmet pricked the Prophet’s face, he jumped in front of him and said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, who never left the Prophet, “O Abu Bakr! For God’s sake, do not stand between the Prophet and me. Let me remove the links from his face!” He removed the links with his teeth. Meanwhile, two of the teeth of Abu Ubayda were broken.[41]

On the other hand, Malik b. Sinan cleaned the blood on the face of the Prophet with his tongue. Thereupon, the Prophet said, “Hell torture will not touch a person whose blood is mixed with my blood.”[42]

There was a hole dug by a polytheist in order to make Muslims fall into it. When the Islamic army started to disperse, the Messenger of God did not notice it due to the severity of the battle and fell into the hole. The hole was surrounded by the mujahids and the enemy soldiers were not allowed to approach the hole.

The Messenger of God managed to get out of the hole but his face was bleeding. He wiped his hand over the blood on his face and said, “While their Prophet calls them to their Lord, how can a nation that wounds the face of their Prophet be saved?”

It was a complaint.

God Almighty sent down the following verses upon the complaint of His beloved ProphetHis beloved:

“Not for thee, (but for God) is the decision: whether He turn in mercy to them or punish them; for they are indeed wrong-doers.

To God belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth. He forgiveth whom He pleaseth and punisheth whom He pleaseth: but God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”[43]

“No Sword Like Dhul-Fiqar; No Hero Like Ali!”

It was when very few Muslims could resist the polytheists.

The Prophet noticed that a group of polytheists was coming toward him. He ordered Hazrat Ali, who fought heroically without leaving him, “Attack them!”

Hazrat Ali, the Lion of God, walked toward the group of polytheists bravely; he fought them off and knocked one of them down.

Meanwhile, Jibril said, “O Messenger of God! This is a favor and bravery done for you.”

The Prophet said, “He is of me and I am of him.­”

Meanwhile, they heard a voice: “No sword like Dhul-Fiqar; no hero like Ali!”[44]

Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas Hails Arrows on Polytheists

When most of the mujahids left the Messenger of God and scattered around, Hazrat Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas was alone sitting hesitantly and thinking. He said to himself, “I could get rid of neither the desire to be a martyr nor the desire to be saved. 

Meanwhile a mujahid said to him, “O Sa’d! The Messenger of God wants you.”

Hazrat  Sa’d went to the presence of Messenger of God immediately.

Sa’d narrated what happened after that as follows:

“The Messenger of God made me sit in front of him. I started to shoot arrows. At each shot, I said, “O God! This is your arrow. Hit your enemy with it!’ Meanwhile, the Messenger of God (pbuh) said, ‘O God! Accept Sa’d’s prayer! O God! Correct the shooting and arrows of Sa’d! Go on, Sa’d! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Every time I shot an arrow, the Messenger of God (pbuh) repeated the same prayer. 

When my quiver got empty, the Messenger of God (pbuh) gave the arrows in his quiver to me and placed the arrows in my bow one by one. He was more skilled and faster than anybody else in placing the arrows.”

Hazrat Ali said,

“The Messenger of God (pbuh) never said, ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you’ to anybody except Sa’d. On the day of Uhud, he said to Sa’d, “Shoot, O, Sa’d! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Shoot, O short and strong young boy!’ I have never heard the Prophet (pbuh) say so for anybody else.”[45]

The Heroism of Hazrat Talha b. Ubaydullah

It was the most critical and terrifying moment of the battle. The Muslims was climbing up the hills in order to save themselves from the polytheists that were attacking them from the front and back. There were only five or ten mujahids left around the Prophet. Those mujahids and the Prophet fought heroically against the polytheists. One of them was Hazrat Talha b. Ubaydullah.

When the polytheists surrounded the Messenger of God, he tried to fight them off with his sword by turning to the right and left.

Meanwhile, Malik b. Zuhayr, one of the best archers of the polytheists, shot an arrow at the Prophet. When Hazrat Talha noticed that the arrow was going to hit the Messenger of God, he reached his hand out to prevent the arrow. The fast arrow pierced his finger, making him disabled in one hand.[46]

The Prophet said, “If you want to see a person of Paradise on earth, look at Talha b. Ubaydullah!”[47]

One of the veins in the head and body of Hazrat Talha was cut off while he was trying to protect the Messenger of God from the sword blows and arrows of the polytheists. His body was wounded in several places. He fainted due to blood loss. Meanwhile, Hazrat Abu Bakr went over the Prophet. The Messenger of God said to him, “Take care of your cousin.”

When Hazrat Abu Bakr sprinkled some water on his face, Hazrat Talha came round. He did not heed the pain of his wounds. He did not think about himself; he was wondering about the situation of the person for whom he had sacrificed himself. He asked Hazrat Abu Bakr, “What is the Messenger of God doing?”

When Hazrat Abu Bakr said, “He is all right. He sent me to you”, that heroic Companion said, “Thank God! If the Messenger of God is alive, no misfortune is important for us!”[48]

When Hazrat Talha, who was named as “Talha­tu’l­-Khayr (Good Talha)” by the Messenger of God due to his heroism and sacrifice in the way of God, he had seventy-five wounds in his body. His head had been ripped in four places; his femoral artery had been cut wholly. His hand had been disabled.[49]

Hazrat Hamza Becomes a Martyr

When Muslims started to disperse toward the hills, when there was a mess.

Hazrat Hamza was resisting against the polytheists and praying by saying, “O God! I take refuge in you from those states of Muslims and ask forgiveness from you.”

The polytheists could not approach him. They were trying to shoot him from a distance.

There was a slave called “Wahshi” in Makkah. He was very good at throwing spears in the Ethiopian style. He rarely missed the target.

It was just before the Qurayshi army left Makkah. His master, Jubayr b. Mut’im, called his slave, Wahshi, and said to him, “Join the army. If you kill Hamza, Muhammad’s uncle, in return for my uncle, Tuayma b. Adiyy, you will be a free man.”[50]

Abu Sufyan’s wife, Hind, whose father was killed in Badr, promised many rewards to Wahshi for it, too.

Therefore, Wahshi was watching Hazrat Hamza during the battle.

Hazrat Hamza was attacking the polytheists swinging his sword and striking them. Meanwhile, Wahshi was hiding behind a rock, looking for an opportunity.

Hazrat Hamza was attacking the enemy very fast when he slipped and fell down on his back. Wahshi, who was a very good shooter, threw his spear and hit Hamza on his side. Hamza was martyred. Wahshi did not regard it sufficient; In order to please Hind, Abu Sufyan’s wife, Wahshi cut Hamza’s body open and took out his liver; he gave the liver to Hind. Hind gave her valuable things she was wearing to Wahshi due to his achievement and chewed the liver of Hamza to take revenge.[51]However, it was not enough to soothe her feeling of vengeance; she cut his nose, and ears to use them as bracelets and anklets.[52]

Mus’ab b. Umayr is Martyred

Most of the mujahids had dispersed around.

Nevertheless, there were some mujahids who never left the Messenger of God. One of those mujahids was Hazrat Mus’ab b. Umayr, the standard-bearer of the Islamic army.

An unbeliever called Ibn Kamia approached the Messenger of God on horseback. He shouted, “Show me Muhammad! If he remains alive, I won’t.”

Hazrat  Mus’ab, some mujahids and Nasiba (a woman) resisted Ibn Kamia. He hit Nasiba, who was trying to protect the Messenger of God, on her shoulder with his sword. Nasiba hit him bravely several times in return. However, her blows did not affect him because he had two armors on. 

Ibn Kamia cut off the right hand of Hazrat Mus’ab with his sword. Hazrat Mus’ab held the standard, which symbolized the honor of Islam, with his left hand. Ibn Kamia cut off Mus’ab’s left hand, too. This time, Hazrat Mus’ab held the standard with his arms and pressed it on his chest. At that moment, his only aim was to prevent Ibn Kamia from reaching the Prophet and to prevent the standard of Islam from falling down. Ibn Kamia pierced Mus’ab’s body with his spear. Hazrat Mus’ab could no longer resist; he fell down and became a martyr. The standard fell down, too.[53]

When Hazrat Mus’ab was martyred, the Prophet gave the standard to Hazrat Ali. When Hazrat Ali went to fight, Abur-Rum carried the standard until the battle ended.

The Rumor “Muhammad was Killed”

When Mus’ab b. Umayr put on his armor, he resembled the Messenger of God a lot. When Ibn Kamia killed Hazrat Mus’­ab, he thought he killed the Prophet. He immediately went to the polytheists and said, “I killed Mu­hammad!”[54]

When the polytheists heard it, they began to scream joyfully. One of them went up to the mountain and yelled, “Muhammad was killed!”

When the mujahids heard that terrifying yelling, they felt upset. A withdrawal and panic started in the Islamic army. Everybody started to leave the battlefield in different directions. During this tumult, some of them even swung their swords against their Muslim brothers without knowing what they were doing. During this tumult, Husayl b. Jabir was martyred by another Companion by mistake.

Mujahids Look for the Messenger of God

The mujahids who did not want to believe what the polytheists yelled started to look for the Messenger of God. One of them, Hazrat Ali, was swinging his sword against enemy soldiers that he met and was looking for the Prophet. The greatest and unique wish of the mujahids in the battlefield was to find the Messenger of God. 

Meanwhile, a voice that soothed the hearts was heard: “O Muslims! Glad tidings! Here is the Messenger of God!

It was the voice of Ka’b b. Malik. He recognized the Messenger of God from his blessed shining eyes under his helmet in the place called Shi’b. While he was shouting to Muslims, he was pointing to the place where the Messenger of God was.[55]

The Prophet did not want the enemy to know where he was. He hushed Ka’b, who was giving glad tidings to Muslims, with his hand.[56]

Now, the place of the Messenger of God was known and it was understood that the news that spread was a rumor. The mujahids ran toward the place where the Messenger of God was and surrounded him. The only aim of the mujahids was to protect the body of the Messenger of God. They managed it.

The Heroism of Nasiba

Umm Umara Nasiba bint Ka’b...

She joined the Islamic army and came to Uhud with her husband and two sons; her husband and sons were going to fight the polytheists and she was going to help the wounded Muslims and bring them water. 

However, when the Muslims started to disperse in the second phase of the battle, Nasiba saw that very few mujahids remained around the Messenger of God. Therefore, she immediately went to the Prophet and started to fight. She tried to protect the Messenger of God from the polytheists by using a sword and arrows. Meanwhile, she was wounded. When the Prophet looked around, she always saw Nasiba resisting the polytheists. He said,

“O Umm Umara! Not everybody can bear and resist what you bore and resisted!”

When the Prophet saw the wound in her shoulder, he said to her son, Abdullah, “Dress your mother’s wound!”

Then, she said,

“May it be blessed for your family: The rank of your mother is better than the ranks of such and such people! The rank of your father is better than the ranks of such and such people!  Your rank is better than the ranks of such and such people! My God have mercy on your family!”

Meanwhile, Nasiba, who was swinging her sword bravely against the polytheists thanks to her belief, said, “O Messenger of God! Pray God so that we will be your neighbor in Paradise.”

The Messenger of God prayed: “O God! Make them my neighbors and friends in Paradise.”

Thereupon, Nasiba joyfully said, “I will not care no matter what kind of misfortunes hit me in the world; that prayer is enough for me!”[57]Thus, she showed her love and loyalty toward the Messenger of God.

“He is a person of Hell!”

There was someone who fought bravely and attacked the enemy recklessly in the ranks of Muslims. He was also the first one who shot arrows at the enemy.

Strange enough, whenever Quzman’s name was mentioned, the Prophet said, “He is a person of Hell”. The Companions could not understand why the Prophet said so. 

Quzman showed great heroism during the most severe moments of the battle. When the Islamic army started to disperse, he broke the sheath of his sword; he attacked the polytheists saying, “To die is better than to run away. O People of Aws! Fight for honor and fame like me.” After killing seven or eight polytheists, he got wounded and there was blood on his body and clothes.

The Companions had not understood the meaning of the word of the Prophet: “He is a person of Hell.” How could Quzman, who showed so much heroism and bravery in the rank of Muslims be a person of hell?

However, the Messenger of God knew about the real nature of Quzman because God had informed the Prophet about him.

The Companions congratulated Quzman, who was having great pains due to his wounds, and said, “Congratulations O Quzman! You will go to Paradise!”

In his answer, Quzman revealed the real nature of the issue:  “Why do you congratulate me? My aim is not to be a martyr. I did not even think about maintaining the religion. I fought for my tribe; I fought so that the Qurayshis would not damage the date gardens of Madinah.”[58]When his pains got worse, he did not have any hope that he would survive; so, he cut the vein in his arm with an arrow and committed suicide.[59]

Thus, the Companions realized the truth in the words of the Messenger of God. They found out that the heroism of Quzman was not for the sake of God but for the sake of his tribe’s honor and fame, and protecting the date gardens in Madinah.

 When the Messenger of God heard that Quzman committed suicide, he said, “Godu Akbar! Godu Akbar! I witness that I am the Messenger of God!” Then, he added, “Doubtlessly, God strengthens his religion through a sinner if He wishes.”[60]

The criterion for the acceptance of deeds is sincerity; that is, the deed needs to be done for the sake and consent of God.

A word, a deed or an act of heroism that is not said or done sincerely has no value in the eye of God. The incident of Quzman is a clear example of it. 

The Prayer of the Messenger of God for his Tribe

While trying to protect himself from the showers of arrows of the polytheists, the Messenger of God said the following prayer: 

“O God! Forgive my tribe and show them the right path because they do not know what they are doing.”[61]

Sorrowful Result

When the polytheists understood that they would not be able to do anything else, they decided that it would be better to withdraw lest they should be defeated by the mujahids who started to gather strength; and they withdrew conceitedly.

The result was really sorrowful, exemplary and thought provoking.

Seventy mujahids had been martyred during the battle. Among them were distinguished Companions like Hazrat  Hamza, and Mus’ab b. Umayr. People like Abu Dujana and Nasiba received numerous blows while trying to protect the Messenger of God and their bodies were covered with blood.

During the first phase of the battle, the mujahids were winning the battle but when most of the archers left their positions despite the command and instruction of the Messenger of God, the victory was replaced by a defeat. Uhud became red with the blood of the Muslims. Mount Uhud, about which the Prophet said, “It likes us and we like it”, was covered by a cloud of sorrow.

The Prophet Walks up to the Rocks

The Prophet was wounded and tired. He did not have the strength to walk on his own. He walked up to the rocks in Shi’b, where the Muslims had taken refuge, by leaning against Sa’d b. Muadh and Sa’d b. Ubada. He wanted to have a rest and gather strength again there. After walking for a while, he could not proceed any longer. The armor he was wearing was very heavy. Meanwhile, Talha b. Ubay­dul­lah crouched and said, “Sit on my back, O Messenger of God! I am strong; I can carry you.” He carried the Prophet to the rocks.

The Messenger of God washed his face that was covered with blood there and had some water poured on his head.

The Prophet Kills Ubayy b. Khalaf

It was before the Battle of Badr.

While the Messenger of God was walking around the battlefield, he said, “This is where Abu Jahl is going to be killed; this is where Utba and this is where Umayya, this is where such and such person is going to be killed. I am going to kill Ubayy b. Khalaf with my own hands.”

The cave on Uhud in which the Prophet took shelter

As the Prophet informed people in Badr, Abu Jahl, Utba and Umayya b. Khalaf were killed by mujahids in the places that had been shown by the Prophet. Only Ubayy b. Khalaf remained. He was one of the notables of the Quraysh. Whenever he met the Prophet, he said, “O Muhammad! I have a horse. I feed him with sixteen kilos of corn every day. One day I will kill you riding it.”

The Prophet answered this unruly and stupid man as follows:

 “I will kill you inshaGod.”[62]

Ubayy b. Khalaf went to Uhud in order to take the revenge of Umayya, his brother, who had been killed by the mujahids in Badr, and in order to kill the Prophet, by swearing that he would do it.

It was when the Messenger of God was walking up to Shi’b.

Ubayy was seen going toward Shi’b. He was on the horse that he fed sixteen kilos of corn every day. He was approaching the Prophet with looks of revenge in his eyes. When the Companions noticed him, they wanted to confront and kill him. However, the Messenger of God said, “Let him come.” While approaching the prophet, this unruly polytheist said, “O Muhammad! If you survive, I will not survive!”

When the Messenger of God heard what he said, he got very furious. He walked against his opponent with his spear, and with solemn and terrifying steps. Ubayy was astonished. He started to run away when he saw the terrifying walking of the Prophet. The prophet followed him and shouted, “Where are you going? You liar!”

Ubayy could not save himself by running away. The Prophet threw his spear at him. It hit the part of his body between his helmet and armor. Ubay fell off his horse mooing like a cow.

The polytheists took him away; he was wounded. No blood was coming out of his wound. He could not bear the pain. From time to time, he said to his friends, “By God! Mu­hammad killed me!”

His friends did not take what he said seriously; they tried to console him by saying his wound was not very important. However, Ubayy realized that he was not going to survive. He said to his friends, “In Makkah, he said to me, ‘I will kill you.’ I swear by God he will kill me only by spitting on my face.”[63]

Ubayy b. Khalaf died by saying, “I am thirsty; I am thirsty!” Thus, another miracle of the Prophet about the future came true by the permission of God.

Those who had Vowed to Kill the Prophet were all Killed

It was when the Muslims started to disperse.

Four unduly polytheists, Abdullah b. Shihab az-Zuhri, Utba b. Abi Waqqas, Abdullah Ibn Kamia  and Ubayy b. Khalaf, came together and vowed to kill the Prophet.[64]

The Messenger of God prayed God against those polytheists: “O God! Do not let any of them live more than a year.”

Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas said:

“I swear by God none of those who wounded the Prophet lived more than a year.”

Ibn Shihab, one of those four people, was bitten by a white spotted female snake and died.

The Prophet himself killed Ubayy b. Khalaf with his own hands.

Hatib b. Abi Baitah killed Utba b. Abi Waqqas.

Ibn Kamia, who had wounded the Prophet’s face, went to see his sheep to Makkah after Uhud. He found his sheep on the highest hill of the mountain. When he wanted to stop his sheep, a ram attacked him and tore him into pieces by tossing him with its horns repeatedly. [65]

Abu Sufyan Calls out

The army of the polytheists was withdrawing slowly. Abu Sufyan, the commander, walked around the battlefield and approached the mujahids on the rocks. He called out, “Is Muhammad among the Muslims?” He repeated his question three times but the Prophet said to the mujahids, “Do not answer.” Then, Abu Sufyan asked, “Is Abu Bakr among you?” the Messenger of God did not allow them to answer. This time, the leader of the Qurayshis said, “Is Umar not among you?” the Prophet did not want them to answer this question, either. Thereupon, Abu Sufyan turned to his men and said, “All of them were probably killed. If they had been alive, they would have answered me.”

After his last sentence, Hazrat Umar could not put up with it anymore; he stood up and called out, “You are lying, O enemy of God! All of them are alive and here.”

Then, the following conversation took place between Abu Sufyan and Umar:

Abu Sufyan: “May the fame of Hubal be high!”

With the order of the Prophet, Hazrat Umar said, “God is the greatest and highest.”

“We have Uzza but you don’t!”

“Our Master is God. You have no master.”

“We defeated one day and we were defeated one day.”

“We got sorry one day and we laughed one day. We killed Hanzala for Hanzala and such and such a person for such and such a person.”

“We are not the same as you. Those of us who were killed are in Paradise now. Those of you who were killed are in Hell.”

This time, Abu Sufyan got to the point and said to Umar, “O Umar! Tell me for God’s sake! Did we kill Muhammad?”

Hazrat Umar:

“No. By God, you did not kill him. Now he is listening to what you are saying now.

Abu Sufyan, who relied on Hazrat Umar, believed that the Prophet was alive. While he was about to leave, he shouted:

“We promise to confront you and fight you in Badr next year.”

Hazrat Umar looked at the Messenger of God. He waited for the Prophet to express his view. When the Prophet said, “It is all right. InshaGod that place will me our meeting place”, Hazrat Umar answered,

“It is all right!”[66]

The Prophet Walks among the Martyrs

When the enemy left the battlefield and set off to Makkah, the Prophet walked down the rocks with the mujahids.  

He walked among the martyrs whose bodies were on the ground but whose spirits traveled in the high realms.

His heart was full of grief. If he had not had the comfort provided by belief in qadar, the scene could not have been observed. He had lost his most distinguished Companions. The Qurayshi polytheists had treated the martyrs wildly. They had torn most of them into pieces; some of them could not be recognized.   

He stood among them.

He watched the deplorable scene with grief for a while and said, “I will witness on the Day of Judgment that those martyrs sacrificed their lives in the way of God.”

Then, he turned to his Companions and said,

“Wrap and bury them with their blood! Those who fight in the way of God and get wounded, will come to the Gathering Place with their wounds bleeding. The color of their blood will be blood color but the scent of their blood will be the scent of musk.”[67]

The Prophet next to the Body of Hazrat Hamza

Hazrat Hamza, the prophet’s uncle, the heroic Companion, was among the martyrs.

His stomach had been cut open, and his liver had been removed; his nose and ears had been cut off; his dead body was in pieces. It was difficult to recognize him.

When the Messenger of God saw his blessed body, he became so sad and felt so much pain that he started to cry.

He had never been seen so sad. He stood by the body of “Sayyid ash-Shuhada [Master of the Martyrs]” who was a monument of courage.  

He addressed Hamza in tears:

“O Hamza! Nobody has ever suffered and will suffer such a misfortune! There cannot be a bigger misfortune than this one for me!

 “Oh Hamza! The uncle of the Messenger of God! O Hamza who did good deeds! O Hamza who protected the Messenger of God! May God show mercy on you! If it had been necessary to mourn after you, I would have given up being happy and have mourned for you!”[68]

Mount Uhud, Uhud martyrs and Hazrat Hamza’s grave

Meanwhile, they saw someone coming from the direction of Madinah, rising clouds of dust. It was a woman. She was Safiyya, the sister of Hamza. She wanted to find out about the state of her brother. She asked everybody she met where Hamza was and what happened to him. 

When the Messenger of God saw that she was approaching, he said to Zubayr b. Awwam, “Tell your mother to return; do not let her see your brother’s dead body.”

Hazrat Zubayr met his mother and said, “Mum! The Messenger of God ordered you to return.”

Hazrat Safiyya said heroically, “If I am asked to return so as not to see what happened to him, I know that his body has been cut into pieces. We can face worse situations in the way of God. We will expect the reward from God. We will show patience and put up with it.”[69]

When Zubayr told the Prophet what she said, the Prophet let Safiyya see her brother, Hamza.

Hazrat Safiyya went to the dead body of her brother, sat by him and started to weep. The Messenger of God, who was nearby, could not put up with it and started to weep. When Hazrat Fatima joined this distressing and exemplary scene, an emotional, moving and sad atmosphere became dominant. Hazrat Safiyya, who had surrendered to the qadar of God without hesitation, recited the verse, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilay­hi rajiun” (To God we belong and to Him is our return), which is the expression of patience; then, she asked mercy and forgiveness from God for her brother.[70]

Meanwhile, Hazrat Jibril arrived; he said to the Prophet, ‘the Lion of God and the Messenger of God’ was written in the sky. The Messenger of God gave this good news to Safiyya.[71]

What Happened to Abdullah b. Jahsh

On the intense day of the battle, Abdullah b. Jahsh and Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas stood aside and prayed God Almighty. Sa’d said, “O my Lord! Make me confront a great enemy and defeat him; make me victorious!” Abdullah b. Jahsh said, “Amin” for his prayer and then said, “O my Lord! Make me confront a great enemy and be martyrized. Let my nose and ears be cut off. When you ask me on the Day of Judgment, ‘Where were your nose and ears cut off?’, I will say, ‘O my Lord! They were cut off in Your and Your Messenger’s way’.”

Abdullah b. Jahsh were among the martyrs and his nose and ears were cut off just as he had prayed. When Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas saw it, he could not hide his astonishment.

The Prophet near the Dead Body of Mus’ab b. Umayr

Mus’­ab b. Umayr, the standard-bearer of the Islamic army was also among the martyrs. The Messenger of God approached his dead body and recited the following verse: “Among the Believers are men who have been true to their Covenant with God: of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme) and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least.”[72]

They could not find anything as a shroud for Mus’ab. He had his kaftan on him. When they covered the top part of his body with it, his feet remained open; when they covered the bottom part of his body with it, his head remained open. When the Messenger of God saw it, he said, “Cover the top part of his body with his kaftan and cover his feet with izhir (dyer’s madder: a kind of plant with a nice scent).”

To make all kinds of sacrifices in the way of God, His Messenger and Islam, to face all kinds of difficulties and to be a martyr in the end, to be deprived of a shroud to be covered and to be covered by plants! A scene full of lessons to be drawn and full of honor!

Then, the Messenger of God led the janazah prayers of the martyrs. It is also narrated that the janazah prayers of Uhud martyrs were not performed then and that they were performed eight years after they were buried.[73]

Then, the Prophet ordered the weapons and armors of the martyrs to be removed and then to be buried with their blood and bloody clothes. The Companions asked, “Who shall we bury first?” The Messenger of God said, “Bury the one that knew the Quran the most.”[74]

Hazrat Ali is Sent to Scout out

The Messenger of God was worried that the polytheists would walk toward Madinah and kill the women and children. Therefore, he wanted to find out whether the enemy really went to Makkah or not. He called Hazrat Ali and said to him, “Go and follow the polytheists! Find out what they are doing and what they are planning to do? If they travel on their camels and take the horses in tow, it means they want to return to Makkah; if they ride the horses and herd the camels, it means they intend to go to Madinah.” Thus, he sent Hazrat Ali to scout out.

Hazrat Ali went and saw that they were riding the camels and taking the horses in tow. He returned and told the Messenger of God about it.

The Prayer of the Prophet after the Battle

After the Companions that were martyred were buried, the Messenger of God set off to Madinah together with the mujahids. When they reached the place called Harra, the Prophet stopped his army and made the following emotional supplication:

“O God! Praise be to you.

O God! There is no force that can roll what you spread and that can spread what you roll. There is nobody that can guide a person that you deviate and that can deviate a person that you guide. Nobody can give what you do not give and nobody can prevent what you give.

O God! Give and send to us your mercy, abundance, grants and generosity!

O God! I ask your bounties on the day when I am poor and your security on the day when I fear!

 O God! Make us love belief! Decorate our hearts with belief! Make us hate unbelief, rebellion and oppression! Make us one of those people who know what is harmful for our religion and world; make us among those that find the right path!

O God! Make us live as Muslims and die as Muslims! Include us in the group of righteous and good people; they never lose their honor; nor do they abandon from their religion.

O God!  Punish the unbelievers who deny your Prophet, turn away from your way and fight your prophet!”[75]

The mujahids said ‘Amin’ for that moving, sorrowful and thought-provoking supplication.

God Almighty accepted that prayer of His Messenger; He destroyed the enemies of Islam in a short time!

Returning to Madinah and Being Welcomed

The Ansar women were on the streets; they were watching the army that was coming; they wanted to find out whether the Messenger of God returned safely or not and to see him. The Islamic army entered Madinah on the 7^th of the month of Shawwal toward the evening. The women were crying for their husbands that were martyred. When the Messenger of God heard them, he started to cry, too. 

What a Loyalty

A woman approached the Prophet, who was riding a horse. She was Kabsha b. Ubayd, who was the mother of Sa’d b. Muadh, who held the reins of the Prophet’s horse. She was sorrowful due to the pains she felt inside. Her son, Amr b. Muadh, was martyred in Uhud. She approached the Prophet more, looked at his luminous face and said, “Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of God! I see that you are safe. Since you are safe, no misfortune can affect me!”

Those sentences expressed the real belief and the endless loyalty to the Messenger of God. She did not ask about her son, who was martyred, but she felt extremely happy when she found out that the Messenger of God returned safely.

The Messenger of God consoled the heroic Muslim woman for his son that was martyred. He said, “O Sa’d’s mother (Sa’d b. Muadh)! Glad tidings to you and his household; all of their martyrs gathered in Paradise and became close friends. They will intercede for their household.” Then, he said the following prayer due to the wish of Kabsha: 

“O God! Eliminate the sorrow in their hearts; make the living members of this family the best of those who live!”

There was no sacrifice, trouble or hardship that the Companions, whose hearts were in contact with the elixir of prophethood, could not face for God and His Messenger. If they lost their own children, they would show patience and perseverance. They knew very well that the cause of Islam could be elevated only through sacrifice, self-denial and hardship. They were aware of the fact that the sacrifice for the Messenger of God was the most desired sacrifice in the eye of God. Therefore, the Messenger of God stated the following for them:

“God Almighty made my Companions superior to the whole world except the prophets and apostles!”[76]

The Prophet at Home

While the Companions that returned from Uhud were going to their houses with a painful and sorrowful mood due to the defeat, the Prophet went home. She gave his sword, Dhul-Fiqar, to his daughter, Fatima, and said, “Wash its sheath. I swear by God it fulfilled its duty thoroughly today!”[77]

The Messenger of God was hopeful. He was not hopeless due to that defeat. He knew very well that the truth would be superior to the evil and the wrong. What he said to Fatima, his daughter, indicated this truth:  “Polytheists will not defeat us like that until God grants us the conquest (of Makkah).”[78]

The Prophet, who returned to Madinah, was still not safe from the danger of polytheists. It was possible for them to return and to carry an unexpected attack. Therefore, some Muslims kept guard all night at the door of the Prophet’s house.

The Prophet Adopts an Orphan!

Many Muslim women became widows as a result of the Uhud defeat; many mothers lost their children and many children became orphans. All of them went to the Prophet in order to relieve their pains, eliminate their sorrow and console their spirits. He tried to find solutions to their problems. 

A child having a face like an angle called Bujayr went to the Prophet. His father Aqraba had been martyred in Uhud. He went to the presence of the Messenger of God crying due to the agony of being left fatherless; he exhilarated the feelings of compassion and mercy of the Prophet.

The Messenger of God found a cure for the problem of Bujayr. He said to him, “O lovely child! Why do you keep crying? Stop crying! Would you like me to become your father and Aisha your mother?”

When Bujayr, who needed compassion due to his age, heard the offer, his eyes smiled. He forgot his grief and distress; he got rid of the feeling of frustration and showed his joy by saying, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you O Messenger of God! I would definitely like it!”[79]

The Messenger of God caressed the head of the lovely child with his compassionate hands and asked, “What is your name?”

He said, “Bujayr”.

Thereupon, the Prophet changed his name by saying, “No. You are Bashir!”

Bashir, with the name the Prophet gave him, later said,

“On the part of my head that the hand of the Messenger of God touched, the hair remained black, but my hair on the other parts became grey. I used to lisp but after that I got rid of lisping.”[80]

THE EXPEDITION OF HAMRA AL-ASAD

The Prophet, who had returned from Uhud to Madinah, was restless. He always considered the possibility of the Qurayshi polytheists returning and attacking Madinah.  

Besides, the defeat in Uhud caused a negative atmosphere against Muslims both inside and outside. That negative atmosphere had to be eliminated. It was necessary to show that Muslim maintained their previous strength and courage.

The Prophet returned to Madinah from Uhud on Saturday. After leading the morning prayer on Sunday, he called Bilal and told him to address people by saying, “The Messenger of God orders you to follow your enemy. Those who did not fight in Uhud together with us yesterday will not come. Only those who joined the Uhud expedition will come!”[81]

Most of the Companions had returned from Uhud wounded. However, they did not hesitate to accept the call of the Messenger of God to fight in the way of God.

Love of Jihad of Two Wounded Brothers

Abdullah and Rafi’ b. Sahl, who were two brothers from the Sons of Abd al-Ashal, had been seriously wounded. When they heard the call of the Messenger of God, they forgot about the pains of their wounds and started to think, “How can we join this expedition? Will we miss this opportunity of joining the jihad with the Messenger of God?”

When Abdullah said to Rafi’, “Let us go”, Rafi said, “By God, I have no strength to walk.”

Abdullah insisted:

“Come on! If you cannot walk, we will hire an animal.”

In the end, they set off. When Rafi was too weak, Abdullah carried him on his back. Thus, they joined the mujahids.[82]

One of the people that had seriously been wounded was a Companion called Usayd b. Khudayr. He had seven serious wounds. He wanted to take care of those wounds. However, when he heard the command of the Messenger of God, he stopped taking care of his wounds and joined the mujahids.

Leaving Madinah

The Messenger of God himself was wounded, too. There were two wounds of chain on his face; his forehead had been ripped. One of his molar teeth had been broken and his lip had been ripped; his right shoulder had been wounded, too. He was going on an expedition like that. He entered the mosque and performed a prayer of two rak’ahs. Then he put on his armor. Only his eyes could be seen. He led the army like that. He gave the standard to Hazrat Ali. He appointed Abdullah b. Umm Maktum as his deputy and left Madinah.

Vanguard

The Prophet sent a vanguard of three people before the army. One of them was tired and could not proceed. The Qurayshis noticed the other two guards; they captured and martyred them.

The Messenger of God reached the place called Hamra al-Asad and set up his headquarters there. Then, he buried the two guards that had been martyred there. He ordered the mujahids to collect wood to make a fire at night. They made a lot of fires at night. About five hundred fires that had been made were terrifying. The army of the polytheists was not seen around. One polytheist who had fallen asleep was captured. He was Abu Azza, who had been captured by Muslims in Badr and who had promised not to satirize or insult Muslims with his poems and therefore had been freed without any ransom. However, he did not keep his promise. He went to Uhud and encouraged the polytheists against Muslims through his poems.   

Abu Azza asked the Prophet to free him again. However, this time, he received a harsh and definite answer: “A believer is not bitten through the same snake hole twice. By God, I will not free you in case you say in Makkah, ‘I deceived Muhammad twice; I made fun of him’”. Upon the order of the Prophet, he was killed.[83]

The Conversation between Mabad of Khuzaa and the Prophet

When the Messenger of God was still in Hamra al-Asad, Mabad b. Abi Mabad of the Khuzaa tribe, who lived in Tihama region, came to talk to the Messenger of God. Both The Muslims and polytheists of the Khuzaa tribe were loyal to the Prophet; they never concealed anything from him.

Mabad had not become a Muslim yet but he was loyal to the Messenger of God.

Trying to console the Prophet, he said, “O Muhammad! The misfortune in Uhud offended us, too.  We wish that God will give you health and strength against them.” 

After talking to the Prophet, Mabad continued his journey. He saw that the polytheists had gathered in a place called Rawha. They had organized the meeting in order to attack the Muslims. They said,

“We killed the Companions of Muhammad; we killed his most honorable and courageous men; however, we could not eliminate them all. How shall we return to Makkah like this? We should return and kill the others that survived!”

As it could be seen, things were taking place as the Prophet had thought. The polytheists were thinking about returning and attacking Madinah. 

The Conversation between Mabad and Abu Sufyan

When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraysh, met Abu Sufyan, he asked, “O Mabad! What is the news in the place where you are coming from?”

Mabad said, “Muhammad and his Companions collected an unprecedented amount of soldiers and started to come after you.”

Abu Sufyan was surprised: “O my God! Really?”

Mabad spoke calmly, “By God, you will see their horses before you leave here.” Abu Sufyan talked furiously, “By God we gathered in order to attack them. We will eliminate those who survived.”

Ignoring the fury of Abu Sufyan, Mabad said, “I advise you not to attempt such a dangerous thing. By God, when I saw that crowd, I could not help saying some couplets.”

The fury of Abu Sufyan was transformed to curiosity. He said, “What did you say?” Mabad started his poem:

“My animal almost fell down due to their multitude and terrifying noise!

It looked as if there was a flood of men and horses. It looked as if unarmed, short and glorious lions without spears and shields were running about.

I thought the earth would collapse due to their weight!

I left them in a hurry.

They elevated with their leader, who was not alone and who was not unaided.

When they confront you, the valley of Batha will be shaken together with its inhabitants.

I said, ‘Too bad for Abu Sufyan b. Harb!’

I am a warner for Makkans who are scorched under the sun and for any of them who thinks, telling them that the result will be terrifying.

The army I am trying to describe is the army of Ahmad; it does not consist of ordinary people.

My description and warnings are not meaningless words.”[84]

Abu Sufyan and his friends, who liked Mabad’s poem and praised it, started to feel scared. They gave up the idea of walking against Muslims and set off to Makkah. Mabad, who did Muslims a great favor, sent someone from his tribe to tell the Prophet about the situation. 

The Messenger of God stayed in Hamra al-Asad for three nights; there was no movement from the enemy; so, he returned to Madinah. 

This expedition is called the expedition of Hamra al-Asad due to the name of the place. The following is stated in the verses sent down due to this expedition:

“Of those who answered the call of God and the Messenger even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward.― Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you, so fear them": but it (only) increased their Faith. They said: ‘For us God sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs.’”[85]

SOME WISDOMS BEHIND THE DEFEAT OF UHUD

There are some wisdoms behind the fact that Muslims were defeated in the Battle of Uhud, that some of them were wounded and some of them were martyred:

1)It was understood clearly through this misfortune that the slightest opposition to the commands of God and His Messenger could inflict great troubles on them. The Prophet had ordered the archers he placed on Aynayn Hill and not to leave that place but they left their place and acted contrary to his command, thinking that Muslims won the battle. As a result of their leaving their place, the bright victory that the Muslims had obtained was followed by a sad defeat. 

2)It was taught that even the prophets could not be free from the troubles and hardships of the world because they were sent as guides to people in every aspect. The Prophet was sent as an absolute guide and imam for human beings so that they would learn the principles relating to their personal and social lives from him. If he had always received divine help and trusted on extraordinary states and miracles, he would not have been an absolute imam and the greatest guide for human beings.  

Therefore, the Prophet sometimes showed miracles only in order to prove his cause and to overcome the denial of the polytheists; he acted in accordance with the laws of God that He imposed on the universe at other times. He ordered people to wear armor against the enemy and to take shelter in trenches. He was sometimes wounded as it happened in Uhud and suffered hardships. If he had always received divine help and showed miracles, the mind would have been forced to believe. It would have been contrary to the mystery of testing in the world. In that case, Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab would have also believed willy nilly and would have been in the same rank as Hazrat  Abu Bakr. It would have been impossible to discriminate between real Muslims and munafiqs.

Especially, during the battles, when the divine help sometimes delayed, the munafiqs who had not believed heartily revealed themselves through their words and actions. Thus, it became possible to recognize them.

3)Among the polytheists, there were many people who would be equal to  some great companions in the future like Hazrat Khalid b. Walid and, Amr b. As. It can be said that the divine wisdom let those people who would serve among the Companions in the future and who would be famous and honorable in the future have a victory so as not to harm their honor and in order to give them a kind of advance payment.  

“That is to say, the Companions of the past were defeated by the Companions of the future, so that the future Companions would enter Islam, not through fear of the flashing sword, but through zeal for the flash of the truth, and lest they and their natural valor should be brought low!”[86]

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[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 37.
[2]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 64; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 37.
[3]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 64; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 37
[4]Sons of Mustaliq and Sons of Hawn b. Huzayma made an agreement with the polytheists that they would gather in the foot of the Mount Hubsha below Makkah and that they would act together against their enemies; therefore, those tribes were named as Ahabish due to the place where they had gathered.
[5]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 37; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 12.
[6]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 4. p. 31.
[7]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 66-67; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 37-38.
[8]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 27; Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 22.
[9]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 45; Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 24.
[10]Ibn Qayyim, Zadu’l-Maad, Vol. 1. p. 353.
[11]Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 24.
[12]Balazuri, Ansab, Vol. 1, p. 315.
[13]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 68; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 38.
[14]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[15]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 63; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[16]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 63; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[17]Ibn Athir, Usdu’l-Ghaba, Vol. 2, p. 349; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, Vol. 2, p. 206; Bayhaqi, Sunan, Vol. 9, p. 24.
[18]Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, Vol. 3, p. 1168.
[19]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 48; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 232.
[20]Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 12-13.
[21]Waqidi, Maghazi, p. 169-170.
[22]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[23]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 68; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[24]Aal-i Imran, 122.
[25]Aal-i Imran, 166-167.
[26]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 164-165.
[27]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 165.
[28]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 1, p. 502-503.
[29]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 165.
[30]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 69; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 39.
[31]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70.
[32]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 40.
[33]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 40.
[34]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 70-71; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2. p. 40.
[35]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 41.
[36]Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 17.
[37]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 71.
[38]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 73; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 15.
[39]Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 87; Ibn Athir, Usdu’l-Ghaba, Vol. 3, p. 232.
[40]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. p. 84; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 410.
[41]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 85; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 410.
[42]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 85.
[43]Aal-i Imran, 128-129.
[44]Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 17.
[45]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 141; Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 22-23, Ibn Athir, Usdu’l-Ghaba, Vol. 2, p. 290.
[46]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 217.
[47]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 85; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 644.
[48]Waqidi, Maghazi, p. 199.
[49]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 218.
[50]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3. p. 76.
[51]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 76.
[52]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 275.
[53]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 42.
[54]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 77.
[55]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 46.
[56]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 88.
[57]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 84-86; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 413-415.
[58]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 171-172; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3. p. 26.
[59]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 172; Tabari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 26.
[60]Tabari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 26.
[61]Ibn Sayyid, Uyun al-Athar, Vol. 2, p. 24.
[62]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 89.
[63]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 89.
[64]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 125.
[65]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 89; Balazuri, Ansab, Vol. 1, p. 324; Ibn Sayyid, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 13.
[66]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 99-100; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 48; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 24.
[67]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 103-104; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 13-14.
[68]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 101-102; Ibn- Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 13-14; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 360.
[69]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 103.
[70]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 101-102.
[71]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 103-104; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p.13-14.
[72]Ahzab, 23.
[73]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 2, p. 26.
[74]Abu Dawud, Sunan, Vol. 2, p. 174; Nasai, Sunan, Vol. 4, p. 83.
[75]Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 3, p. 424.
[76]Qadi Iyad, ash-Shifa, Vol. 2, p. 119.
[77]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 106.
[78]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 106.
[79]Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, Vol. 1, p. 176.
[80]Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, Vol. 1, p. 154.
[81]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 49.
[82]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 107.
[83]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 110-111; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 43.
[84]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 108-109.
[85]Aal-i Imran, 172-173.
[86]Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Lem’alar, p. 26.

The group of munafiqs who seemingly believed in God but did not actually believe always looked for an opportunity to disturb the Messenger of God and his Companions. They resorted to all kinds of methods to attain their aims. They even slandered the privacy of the Messenger of God and acted arrogantly and meanly.

The Incident of Ifk is the slander by Abdullah b. Ubay, the leader of the munafiqs, against Hazrat Aisha. The incident took place as follows:

According to what we learnt from Hazrat Aisha, when the Messenger of God went on an expedition, he drew lots among the names of his wives and took that wife with him.[1]On the expedition of Sons of Mustaliq, Aisha’s name was drawn.[2]

Hazrat Aisha related the incident as follows:

“I was on an expedition with the Messenger of God. This expedition took place after the verse of hijab was sent down. Therefore, I was carried in a kind of chair and when we stopped for a break, I was put down in the chair. We travelled like that.  

The Messenger of God (pbuh) was returning from the expedition of Sons of Mustaliq. When we approached Madinah, we stopped somewhere for a break. We spent some part of the night there. Then, the Prophet ordered to set out.

When the order to move was given, I left the army alone to answer the call of the nature. After that, I went near the camel that I had ridden. When I checked my chest, I noticed that my necklace made of Yemen beads was lost. (That necklace had been given to her by her mother, Umm Ru­man.) I went back to look for my necklace. However, while I was looking for my necklace, I missed the army. I thought those who had joined the expedition would never leave before I was in my chair. However, those who served me had put my chair on the camel and made the camel move. They thought I was in the chair; the women at that time were very light; they were not large or heavy. They ate little. Therefore, when the servants lifted the chair to put it on the camel, they did not notice that I was not in the chair.  I was a small and weak woman. They moved the camel.

I found my necklace after the army left. I returned to the place where the army had stopped for a break. However, I could not find anybody there. Then, I went to the place where I had been. I wrapped myself in my sheet and lay down. I thought they would return and look for me when they found out that I was not in the chair. Meanwhile I fell asleep.  

Safwan b. Muattal always stayed behind the army and checked if there was anything left behind and then took those things to the army.

Safwan came to the place where I was toward the morning. When he noticed a sleeping person, he stopped and recognized me. He had seen me before the verse of hijab was sent down.

When Safwan saw me, he said in surprise, ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun = To God we belong and to Him is our return’.

I woke up when I heard his voice. I covered my face with my sheet.

I did not talk to him and I did not hear anything but [“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun”].

Then, Safwan made his camel sit. He stepped on the front foot of the camel so that I would mount the camel. He said, ‘Mount’ and went back.

I mounted the camel. He held the halter of the camel and started to walk quickly to catch up with the army.

We could not catch up with the soldiers for a long time.

Finally, when the army stopped for a break, Safwan took the camel there”[3]

The Leader of the Munafiqs Makes Use of the Situation

While Safwan b. Muattal was bringing Hazrat Aisha on the camel, Abdullah b. Ubay, the leader of the munafiqs, saw them and asked, “Who is that person?”

They said, “It is Aisha.”

Abdullah b. Ubay, who had been discredited among his tribe and who was regarded as a negative person, wanted to make use of this simple incident. He expressed his evil intention there:

“By God! Neither Aisha nor that man will be acquitted of this incident!”

He uttered many other mean sentences.[4]

The rumor that Abdullah b. Ubay, the leader of the munafiqs, caused spread among the soldiers of the army.  

Hazrat Aisha said,

“The slanderers uttered many words against me  and everybody was talking about me. By God, I was not aware of any of them!”[5]

Evil Slander

As it is seen, the incident happened without any blemish. Hazrat Aisha was left behind due to a reasonable and legitimate excuse. After a while, Safwan b. Muattal, who was appointed to check for the things that the army left and return them to their owners, who was a very simple-hearted man and who turned out to be infertile, found her and took her to the place where the army was.

According to the Quran, the prophets are more valuable to the believers than themselves. The wives of the Prophet are like the mothers of the believers. It was definitely forbidden to marry any of the wives of the Prophet even after the death of the Prophet.[6]

Therefore, under the light of such definite and clear signs, it was impossible for a real Muslim who believed in God and His Messenger to say bad things or even to think of bad things about any of the wives of the Prophet both when the Prophet was alive or after he died.  

What could have been more natural and necessary for a real believer and Muslim who believed in God and His Messenger and who obeyed their orders and prohibitions to make the wife of the Prophet, whom he loved more than his own self, mount the camel with respect and lead her to the place where the army had stopped?

Safwan b. Muattal, who was a real believer and Muslim, and who was deprived of masculine characteristics, fulfilled that religious duty.

However, the munafiqs, who had illnesses in their hearts, who said, ‘we believed in God’ but who did not believe heartily and who always tried to set believers against one another, and especially Abdullah b. Ubay b. Salul, made use of this opportunity and slandered Hazrat Aisha. His aim was to be freed from the negative looks that were directed at him, to disturb the kind heart of the Messenger of God, to set Muslims against one another and to shake their faith to one another.

Hazrat Aisha is Unaware of the Rumor for a Long Time

For a long time, Hazrat Aisha was not aware of the incident of slander that was started by the leader of the munafiqs, Abdullah b. Ubay and that was spread by Hassan b. Thabit, Mistah b. Uthatha, Hamna bint Jahsh and some gullible Muslims that were deceived by the munafiqs. Hazrat Aisha narrates the incident as follows:  

“When we arrived in Madinah, I fell ill with a fever for a whole month. The inhabitants of Madinah were all talking about the slander, but I did not know anything about it. The Messenger of God and my parents had also heard about it but they did not say anything to me about it.

However, I was doubtful due to the fact that I did not see the tenderness I used to see from the Prophet (pbuh) while I was sick. He would enter upon us and ask, “How is the patient?” Then, he would leave. I did not know anything about what the slanderers had uttered.”[7]

Although the Messenger of God, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Aisha’s mother heard the rumors, they did not say anything to Aisha. However, Aisha was worried about the attitude of the Messenger of God. Nevertheless, she did not know the reason.

How and from Whom did Hazrat Aisha Learn about the Slander?

Hazrat Aisha narrates from whom and how she learnt about the slander as follows:

“More than twenty nights had passed after my illness. I had got over the illness and I was in the period of recuperation.

We did not have toilets next to our houses like non-Arabs did due to the stink. We went outside the city of Madinah to answer the call of the nature. Women went there every night to relieve themselves.

One night, I went out with the mother of Mistah b. Uthatha to Manasi to relieve ourselves. When she tripped by stepping on her covering, she said, ‘May Mistah fall,’ or ‘Damn Mistah!’ I said,

‘O Umm Mistah! Why do you curse your son?’ She kept silent. She did not answer me.

She tripped for the second time. She said, ‘‘May Mistah fall,’ or ‘Damn Mistah!’

I said,

‘O Umm Mistah! Why do you curse your son?’ She kept silent again.

She tripped for the third time and cursed, ‘May Mistah fall,’

I said, ‘O Umm Mistah! Why do you curse your son? How can you curse a person who was present in the Battle of Badr? She replied,

‘I curse him due to what he said against you.’

I asked, ‘What did he say about me?’

Thereupon, Umm Mistah told me what the slanderers had said. I became extremely ill. I could not even relieve myself and returned home. I cried so much that I thought my lungs would break into pieces.”[8]

Hazrat Aisha is in her Mother’s Home

When Hazrat Aisha was ill, Umm Ruman, her mother, looked after her.

One day, the Messenger of God entered the house, greeted them and asked, “How is your patient?” without mentioning Aisha’s name. He did not say anything else.

Hazrat Aisha said,

“(Thereupon) I could not help saying, ‘O Messenger of God! I have been suffering so much. Will you let me go to my Mother’s house? I can be looked after there.’

The Messenger of God said, ‘You may go!’

I wanted to go to my parents and find out about the news against me.

The Messenger of God sent me to my father’s house with a servant. 

My mum asked, ‘O my daughter! Why did you come?’

I said, ‘Mum! People have been talking against me but you did not mention anything to me.’

Mum said, ‘My daughter, take it easy. By God, it hardly occurs that a wife is so beloved to her husband, and she has co-wives at the same time, except that they talk about her!’

I asked, ‘Does my father know about it?’ She said,

‘Yes, he does.’

I asked, ‘Does the Messenger of God know about it?’ She said,

‘Yes, he does.’

I could not help crying.

My father was reading the Quran upstairs. When he heard my voice, he came downstairs. He asked Mum, ‘What is wrong with her?’

Mum said, ‘She heard about the rumors against him.’

My father started to cry too.

I cried and cried until the morning came.”[9]

The Prophet Consults his Companions

The Messenger of God spent most of his time at home and did not go out very often during the days when the slander against Hazrat Aisha was prevalent.

When revelation regarding the issue was delayed, he talked to his Companions and asked them about their views.

Hazrat Umar’s View

Hazrat Umar said, “O Messenger of God! This is a big slander. I definitely know that it is a lie of the munafiqs. God protects you even from flies. Is it possible that God, who protects your body from flies that land on dirt and keeps them away from your body, will not protect your family from such disgrace?”

Hazrat Uthman’s View

Hazrat Uthman expressed his view as follows:

“O Messenger of God!  God protects your shadow from being on the ground so that people will not step on it or dirt will not land on it. Is it possible that God, who does not let anybody step on your shadow, will let anybody blemish the honor of your family?”

Hazrat Ali’s View

Hazrat Ali said, “O Messenger of God! Once, you were leading the prayer. You took off your shoes. We took off our shoes following you. When you finished the prayer, you asked us why we had taken off our shoes. We said we had taken them off to follow you. Thereupon, you said, ‘Gabriel ordered me to take them off because they were not clean.’ Is it possible that you were informed about the dirt that polluted your shoes and you were ordered to take them off but you would not be ordered to remove something that blemished your honor?”[10]

The View of Hazrat Aisha’s Maid

Meanwhile, the Messenger of God called Aisha’s maid servant, Barira, and asked her view.

Barira said, “O Messenger of God! I swear by God, who has sent you as the true prophet that I have not seen anything from her but goodness.  I can only say one thing that can be regarded as a fault about her:  one thing.  She was a young girl. She sometimes used to fall asleep when she was kneading the dough; and when she fell asleep, the lamb would come and eat the dough.”[11]

Hazrat Zaynab’s View

Hazrat Zaynab regarded herself equal to Hazrat Aisha among the wives of the Prophet in terms of her beauty and position; she always competed with her. However, she did not have any negative thoughts about Hazrat Aisha. When the Messenger of God asked her about her view, she said,  

“O Messenger of God! I protect my ears from saying, ‘I heard’ what I did not hear and my eyes from saying, ‘I saw’ what I did not see. I do not know anything but goodness about her.”[12]

The Prophet’s Speech

In fact, the Messenger of God knew very well that Aisha, his wife, was free from such slander; however, he was depressed that such treacherous, sly and planned slander spread among people. It made him change his attitude toward her. As a matter of fact, the speech that he made in the mosque expressed it clearly:  

“Oh gathering of Muslims! Who will help me against a person who has hurt me with slander about my wife? By God, I only know good about my wife. And they have mentioned a man with her concerning whom I only know good of as well.”[13]

The Prophet Talks to Hazrat Aisha

Although about a month passed after the slander against Hazrat Aisha, no revelation was sent down to the Messenger of God.

A few days after his speech in the mosque, the Prophet went to Hazrat Abu Bakr’s house. After greeting them, he sat next to Aisha and said, “O Aisha! I have heard such and such things about you. If you are free and away from those accusations, God will state that you are free and away from them. If you have committed such a sin, ask forgiveness from God and repent to Him. When a slave confesses his/her sin and repents, God treats him/her with mercy.”

Hazrat Aisha narrates her mood at that time as follows:

“When the Messenger of God (pbuh) ended his words, my tears dried. There was not even one drop coming out of my eyes.

I turned to my father and said to him, ’Answer the Messenger of God on behalf of me.’

My father said, ‘O my daughter! By God, I do not know what to say the Messenger of God (pbuh).’

Then, I turned to my mother and said to her, ’Answer the Messenger of God on behalf of me.’

She said, ‘By God, I do not know what to say the Messenger of God (pbuh), either’.”[14]

Hazrat Aisha’s Answer

Hazrat Aisha’s father and mother did not answer the Messenger of God; so she had to speak. After uttering kalima ash-shahada and praising God Almighty, she said, “By God, I know that you have heard these rumors, and you look as if you have believed them. So, if I were to tell you that I am not guilty, – God knows that I am not – you would not believe me. And if I were to tell you I did something bad, – God knows that I did not – you would readily believe me! So, all I can say to you for my and your situation is the story of Jacob (pbuh) with his sons. At that time, he said, ‘(For me) patience is most fitting: against that which ye assert, it is God (alone) whose help can be sought.’[15]”[16]

Revelation is Sent down to the Prophet

The Messenger of God had not stood up yet. Nobody from the household had gone out. Revelation was sent down to the Prophet there. Hazrat Aisha narrated the incident as follows:

“The Messenger of God showed the signs of receiving revelation like sweating due to the difficulty and intensity of the revelation. As a matter of fact, he would have beads of sweat like pearls during revelation even on a winter day. They covered the body of the Messenger of God (pbuh) and put a pillow under his head. I was neither afraid nor worried. I knew that I was innocent and that God would not treat me unjustly. My parents were very scared because they were worried that the rumors would be confirmed by God.”[17]

When the state of revelation ended, the Messenger of God was smiling happily. He said to Aisha, “Glad tidings O Aisha! God acquitted you and stated that you were free and away from that slander.”[18]

Hazrat Abu Bakr became very happy. He stood up and kissed her daughter’s head. 

The Verses that were Sent down

God Almighty stated the following in the verses that He sent to His Messenger regarding the issue:

“Those who brought forward the lie are a body among yourselves: think it not to be an evil to you: on the contrary it is good for you: to every man among them (will come the punishment) of the sin that he earned and to him who took on himself the lead among them will be a Penalty grievous.

Why did not Believers, men and women when ye heard of the affair― put the best construction on it in their own minds and say "This (charge) is an obvious lie"?

Why did they not bring four witnesses, to prove it? When they have not brought the witnesses such men in the sight of God, (stand forth) themselves as liars!

Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, in this world and the Hereafter, a grievous penalty would have seized you in that ye rushed glibly into this affair.

Behold ye received it on your tongues and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God.

And why did ye not when ye heard it say? "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Thee (our Lord)! this is a most serious slander!"

God doth admonish you, that ye may never repeat such (conduct) if ye are (true) Believers.

And God makes the Signs plain to you: for God is full of knowledge and wisdom.

Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers, will have a grievous Penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: God knows and ye know not.

Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, and that God is full of kindness and mercy, (ye would be ruined indeed).”[19]

Thus, God Almighty told His Messenger that what was said about Hazrat Aisha was nothing but slander, relieving the clean soul and conscience of His Messenger of the distress and preventing the personality of Hazrat Abu Bakr from being humiliated; so, the mischief and disturbance that emerged among Muslims was prevented from being spread.   

The Best Acquittal

Once Hazrat Abdullah b. Abbas was asked about the interpretation of the verses related to Hazrat Aisha. He explained them as follows:

“God acquitted four people of four things and freed them from the slanders:

1) He acquitted Hazrat Yusuf through the tongue of a witness from the family of Zulaykha.

2) He acquitted Hazrat Moses of the rumors of the Jews through the stone that took his clothes.

3) He acquitted Hazrat Maryam by making the baby on her lap say, ‘I am a slave of God’.

4) He acquitted Hazrat Aisha through the magnificent verses of the glorious Quran, which will be preserved until the Doomsday; this last acquittal has had no match. Look and see the difference between this acquittal and the others.

God did it only to show the highness of the degree of His Messenger.”[20]

The Slanderers are Punished

After the revelation regarding the issue was sent down, the Messenger of God recited a sermon and then the read the verses to the people.

After that, he ordered Mistah b. Uthatha, Hassan b. Thabit and Hamna bint Jahsh, who worked hard with their tongues to spread the rumor, to be punished. The slanderers were whipped 80 lashes.[21]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 154.

[2]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 154.

[3]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 310-311; Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 8, p. 113-114.

[4]Tabari, Tafsir, Vol. 18, p. 89.

[5]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 311.

[6]al-Ahzab, 6, 53.

[7]Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 8, p. 114.

[8]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 311-312; Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8. p. 114; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 332-333.

[9]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 311-312; Muslim, ibid, Vol. 7, p. 115; Tirmidhi, ibid, Vol. 5, p. 333.

[10]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 624-625.

[11]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 313-314; Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 115.

[12]Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 118.

[13]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 312; Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 115; Tirmidhi, ibid, Vol. 5, p. 332

[14]Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 116; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 197.

[15]Yusuf, 18.

[16]Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 116.

[17]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 315; Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 117.

[18]Muslim, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 117; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 197.

[19]an-Nur, 11-20.

[20]Nasafi, Tafsir, Vol. 3, p. 138.

[21]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 315; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 35.

(The month of Dhulqada in the 5^th Year of the Migration)

Hazrat Zaynab bint Jahsh was the daughter of Umayma bint Ab­dul­mut­talib, the aunt of the Prophet. She had married Hazrat Zayd b. Haritha, the adopted child of the Prophet. The Messenger of God himself wanted her to marry Zayd.[1]

Zaynab and her family did not want that marriage but they gave consent to it when the Prophet insisted.[2]

Zayd Divorces Zaynab

Zayd did not regard his wife Zaynab, who was dignified, equal to him spiritually. This caused lack of harmony in their marriage. As a matter of fact, Zayd went to the Prophet at the end of the first year of their marriage and said to him “O Messenger of God! I want to divorce my wife.”

The Messenger of God said to him, “Live with your wife; do not divorce her! Fear God!”[3]

However, Zayd felt through his foresight that Zaynab had a high ethics and that she had a nature that could be a wife of the Prophet. He did not regard himself equal to her in nature to be her husband; therefore, he divorced her. 

The Prophet Marries Zaynab upon the Command of God

The Prophet became very sad due to the end of the marriage between Zayd and Zaynab because of “spiritual lack of harmony”. For he had wanted this marriage to take place. It was necessary to do something and to soften Zaynab’s relatives, who got sad due to this divorce.  

The iddah (the period a woman has to wait after divorce) of Zaynab ended. She was 35 years old.

One day, the Messenger of God was sitting together with Aisha and talking to her. Meanwhile, he received some revelation. God Almighty stated the following in the verses He sent down: 

“Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them: and God's command must be fulfilled.

There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what God has indicated to him as a duty. It was the practice (approved) of God amongst those of old that have passed away, and the command of God is a decree determined.”[4]

When the revelation ended, the Prophet smiled and said, “Who will go and give Zaynab the glad tidings that God married her off to me in the sky?”

As it is clearly understood from the verses, God Almighty ordered the Prophet to marry Zaynab. The Prophet married Zaynab as a result of this order. The statement, “We joined her in marriage to thee” in the verse indicates clearly that it was a heavenly marriage. That is, this marriage took place beyond the traditional and apparent acts and as a result of the decree of qadar; the Messenger of God obeyed the decree of qadar. It has nothing to do with bodily desires.

An Important Reason of This Marriage

The marriage established between the Prophet and Zaynab contains an important aspect of Islamic law and an aspect that interests all believers and is beneficial for them. It is stated in the following part of the verse: “in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons”. When a person adopted a child during the Era of Jahiliyya, people called him/her as if he was the real child of that person; and that child had the right to be an inheritor to that person. Naturally, that person could not marry a woman that his child divorced; it was forbidden.

Thus, the Prophet married Zaynab based on the command of God, showing that this belief and custom of the Era of Jahiliyya was wrong. It is stated by the verse that it would not be a sin for believers to do so.[5]

The Gossips of the Munafiqs

When the Prophet married Zaynab, the munafiqs, who were eagerly waiting for opportunities to plot mischief and cause sedition among Muslims, started to talk against it a lot. According to the belief of Jahiliyya, it was haram for a man to marry a woman that his adopted son divorced; thus, they used it as means of gossiping against the Messenger of God, saying, “Muhammad rendered it haram fo a person to marry his son’s wife but he himself married the woman that his son Zayd divorced.”[6]The verse that was sent down settled the issue: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of God, and the Seal of the Prophets: and God has full knowledge of all things.”[7]

Prophets look at and address their ummah like a father due to their duty of prophethood not due to their human personalities. Therefore, it cannot be mentioned that it is inappropriate for them to marry their daughters. The Quran spiritually states the following in order to eliminate the questions that could come to the mind:

“On account of Divine mercy the Prophet has compassion for you, he deals with you in fatherly fashion, and in the name of prophethood you are like his children. But in regard to his human personality he is not your father so that it should be inappropriate for him to take a wife from among you! And if he calls you “Son,” in respect of the rulings of the Shari’a, you cannot be his children!”[8]

The believers who have foresight and prudence will definitely notice, through our explanation, that the people who want to blame this pure and decent marriage, which has many wisdoms and lead to good things, in order to cast a shadow upon the high personality of the Messenger of God, act with bad intentions and deliberately.

Wedding Feast and a Miracle

It was a custom of the Messenger of God to give a feast to his Companions when he married. This custom has been going on as sunnah among Muslims.

When the Messenger of God married Zaynab, Umm Sulaym, the mother of Anas b. Malik, sent him some fried Madinah dates. The dates she sent were in a small bowl and they were barely sufficient for the Prophet and Hazrat Zaynab.  

Anas b. Malik, who is well-known as “Khadim an-Nabawi” (the Servant of the Prophet) narrates the incident as follows:

“The Prophet (pbuh) accepted what I brought and said, ‘Call Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (may God be pleased with them)’; he also mentioned the names of several people. I was surprised because the Messenger of God ordered me to call many people for a small amount of food. However, I could not act contrary to the command of the Prophet. I called all of them.

Then, he said to me, ‘Go to the mosque and invite all of the people in the mosque.’ I did so. I said to the people praying in the mosque, ‘the Messenger of God invites you to his wedding feast.’ They all came.

Eventually, the hall was full.

The Prophet said to me, ‘Is there anybody left in the mosque?’

I said, ‘No.’

He said, ‘Go outside and invite whomever you see.’

I called them. The rooms were full, too.

He asked, ‘Is there anybody left?’

I said, ‘No, O Messenger of God!’

He said, ‘Bring me the bowl.’

I brought the bowl to him.

He put his hand on the bowl and prayed for abundance. Then, he said, ‘Let everybody sit in circles of tens and eat what is in front of them.’

The guests sat and ate as they were ordered. Thus, all of the guests came in groups, ate and left. 

I was looking at the oil and dates in the bowl. The people in the hall and the rooms ate from the bowl until they were full. What was left in the bowl was as much as I had brought.

The Messenger of God said to me, ‘O Anas! Put it away.’

I took the bowl and went to my mother. I told him all about the incident.

My mother said to me, ‘No need to wonder! If God had wished all of the people of Madinah to eat from it, all of them would have eaten and been full’.”[9]

Since the religion, call and prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad was universal, he was given all kinds of miracles. He showed many miracles regarding the increase of food. We quoted this miracle here due to its relevance to the issue. We pray as follows:

“O Lord! Give abundance to the material and spiritual sustenance that you grant us for the sake of the Messenger of God (pbuh)!”

The Verse of Hijab is Sent Down

The guests that had joined the wedding feast of Hazrat  Zaynab had all left; only three people had remained. They kept talking. The Prophet was not pleased with the situation. He left and went to Hazrat Aisha’s room. Then, he visited the rooms of his other wives one by one. He returned hoping that those three people had left. However, when he returned, they were still talking.  The Messenger of God could not say anything to them. He walked toward the room of Hazrat Aisha again. This time, they stood up and left. When, the Prophet was informed about it, he returned. He entered his room.

Hazrat Umar had once said, “O Messenger of God! Would it not be better if you kept your wives behind a screen? All kinds of people come to visit you.” However, the Messenger of God did not say anything to Umar because there was not a command from God Almighty about it. Once, he saw Hazrat Sawda, one of the wives of the Prophet outside, and said to her, “O Sawda! We recognized you!”[10]He said so because he desired a divine command to be sent regarding tasattur.

When the incident we have mentioned above took place in the wedding feast of Hazrat Zaynab, the verse about tasattur was sent down:

“O ye who believe! enter not the Prophet's houses― until leave is given― you for a meal (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation: but when ye are invited, enter; and when ye have taken your meal, disperse, without seeking familiar talk. Such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet: he is ashamed to dismiss you, but God is not ashamed (to tell you) the truth. And when ye ask (his ladies) for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs. Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy God's Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in God's sight an enormity.”[11]

The Prophet went out and recited the verse that was sent down to the people. Thereupon, his wives went behind a screen.[12]

After that, the wives of the Prophet talked to the people except the ones that were their close relatives, servants and slaves behind a screen when it was necessary to talk.[13]

Once, the Prophet was near Umm Salama and Maymuna. Meanwhile, Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum, who was blind, entered the room. The Prophet said to his wives, “Go behind the screen.”

They said, “O Messenger of God! Is he not blind? He does not see or recognize us.”

The Prophet said, “Are you blind? Do you not see him?”[14]

Muslim Women are Ordered to Cover Their Bodies

Some ill-mannered munafiqs harassed female slaves. They sometimes disturbed other women thinking that they were slaves.

They sometimes disturbed Muslim women, too. When they were asked why they behaved like that, they said, “We thought they were slaves.”

Thereupon, the following verse that ordered Muslim women to cover their bodies was sent down:

“O prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested.”[15]

---------------------------------------------------------------

[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 8, p. 101.

[2]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 101; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 354; Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, Vol. 3, p. 491.

[3]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 101; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 354; Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, Vol. 3, p. 491.

[4]al-Ahzab, 37-38.

[5]The custom of the Era of Jahiliyya regarding adopting children was abolished by the following verses of the Quran: 

“Nor has Allah made your adopted sons your sons. Such is (only) your (manner of) speech by your mouths. But Allah tells (you) the Truth, and He shows the (right) Way.

Call them by (the names) of their fathers: that is juster in the sight of Allah but if ye know not their father's (names, call them), your Brothers in faith, or your Mawlas. But there is no blame on you if ye make a mistake therein: (what counts is) the intention of your hearts: and Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful..” (al-Ahzab, 4-5).

[6]Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5, p. 352.

[7]al-Ahzab, 40.

[8]Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektûbat, p. 28-29.

[9]Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 2, p. 1051.

[10]Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 4. p. 151.

[11]al-Ahzab, 53.

[12]Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 4, p. 151.

[13]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 8, p. 177.

[14]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 178.

[15]al-Ahzab, 59.

The Tragic Event of Bir al-Mauna

It was the month of Safar in the 4^th year of the Migration

Abu Bara Amir b. Malik, who was the leader of Sons of Amir tribe, came to Madinah to visit the Prophet. Abu Bara was a sincere person and a friend of the Messenger of God and Muslims. He brought two horses and two camels as present to the Messenger of God. However, the Prophet said to him, “I do not accept the presents of polytheists. If you want your present to be accepted, be a Muslim.” The Prophet did not accept his present and asked him to be a Muslim.

Abu Bara did not become a Muslim at that time but he did not lose interest in Islam. He said to the Prophet, “O Muhammad! The religion that you ask me to accept is very nice and honorable. My tribe will obey what I say. If you send some of your Companions to them in order to teach the Quran and the sunnah, I hope they will accept your call!”[1]

The Messenger of God did not rely on the people of Najd very much. He was worried that they could betray and kill his Companions. He expressed his concern by saying, “I fear the people of Najd regarding the people I will send.”

However, Abu Bara gave a guarantee and said, “The people of Najd cannot dare to touch them if I take them under protection.”

The worry of the Prophet was eliminated because Abu Bara was a trustable man. Then, he decided to send a group of forty or seventy people of guides and teachers. Six of them were from muhajirs and the others were from Ansar. All of them were the people of Suffa. Mundhir b. Amr was appointed as their leader.[2]

In addition, the Prophet sent a letter with the group to the people of Najd and the leaders of Sons of Amir.

The group of guides and teachers reached a place called Bir Maunah. It was a water well belonging to Sons of Sulaym in the east of Madinah between the lands of Sons of Sulaym and Sons of Amir.  Haram b. Milhan undertook the duty of taking the letter of the Messenger of God to Amir b. Tufayl. He delivered the letter to Amir. However, Amir did not even bother to read the letter and killed Haram b. Milhan.[3]The last words of the martyr when he was killed were:

“Allahu Akbar! I swear by the Lord of the Kaaba that I have succeeded!”[4]

Amir b. Tufayl did not find it to sufficient to kill that innocent Companion; he called Sons of Amir to help him kill the other Companions. However, Sons of Amir had promised Abu Bara not to do anything to the group of teachers and guides; so they did not help him.

When Sons of Amir refused to help Amir, he asked the help of some tribes of Sons of Sulayman, who were full of hatred and they agreed. They set off to kill the innocent Companions waiting near Mauna well without being aware of what had happened.

Meanwhile, when the other Companions noticed that the Companion who went to deliver the letter was late, they left Mauna well and started to go toward Najd. 

Just then, they saw a large group of armed polytheists.

The Companions drew their swords and said to the people who surrounded them, “We swear by God that we have nothing to do with you. We are on our way to fulfill the duty given to us by the Prophet!”[5]

However, the blood-thirsty polytheists did not heed their words. Their decision was final: they were going to kill those Companions, who had set off with the intention of teaching Islam and belief, one by one.

 The Companions, who realized what would happen to them, opened their hands and prayed their Merciful Lord, “O Lord! There is nobody that can inform Your Messenger about our situation here. Send our greetings to him. O God! Inform our tribe through our Prophet that we have attained our Lord. Our Lord is pleased with us and we are pleased with our Lord”[6]

Meanwhile, Gabriel informed the Prophet about the greetings and the situation of those heroic Companions. The Messenger of God answered their greetings by saying, “Alayhimussalam” (Peace be upon them); he turned to his Companions and said that the polytheists were about to martyr their self-sacrificing brothers; he asked them to ask forgiveness for them.  

When the Prophet informed his Companions about their situation, almost all of those Companions had been killed through the spears of the enemy. Two of the Companions that had gone to herd the camels were saved; one Companion was left among the martyrs because they had thought he was dead. When the two Companions that had gone to herd the camels returned to Bir Mauna, they shivered due to the terrifying scene. They shed tears when they saw the deplorable scene. One of them could not bear it and started to follow the polytheists and fought them until he was killed. The other one was taken captive but he was released later. Ka’b b. Zayd, who had been left among martyrs went to Madinah after the polytheists left.[7]

The Prophet’s Prayer against the Polytheists

The Messenger of God became extremely sad when those distinguished Companions were killed traitorously.

Anas b. Malik said, “I had never seen the Messenger of God feel so sad when he was informed that his Companions had been martyred in Bir Mauna.”[8]

The deep sadness that the Prophet felt caused him to pray against the polytheists that had killed them. He was informed about their situation at night; the following day, in the second rak’ah of the morning prayer after bowing down and standing, he uttered the following prayer against them:

“O God!  Destroy the tribes of Mudar!

O God!  Make their years years of famine like the time of the Prophet Joseph; make life unbearable for them!

O God!  I refer Sons of Lihyan, and the tribes of Adal, Qara, Zi’b, Ri’l, Dhak­van and Usayya to your punishment because they opposed God and His Messenger!”[9]

The Prophet kept saying this prayer for a month after each daily prayer. The Companions said ‘Amin’ when he prayed like that.[10]

The prayer of the Messenger of God was accepted. After a while, there was famine and drought in that region. Rains stopped and no water was left there.

On the other hand, Abu Bara could not bear it any longer when the Messenger of God said, “This incident was caused by Abu Bara” because his nephew Amir b Tufayl broke his promise; he got very ill due to grief and distress; he died after a short time.

About eighty distinguished Companions died in the tragedies of Raji and Bir Mauna, which took place one after the other.

The Prophet Remains Loyal to the Treaty

Amr b. Umayya, who had been saved from the tragedy by saying he was from Mudar, set off for Madinah. He met two people on the way. He thought they were from the tribe that killed the Companions in Bir Mauna and killed them.

When he returned to Madinah, he told the Messenger of God about it. The Prophet said, “You did something bad!”

In fact, those two people were from Sons of Amir. They had come to Madinah and talked to the Prophet. When they left Madinah, the Prophet gave them a document stating that they would not be harmed. The people that Amr killed were those people. 

Only the Prophet and those two people who had been killed know about the document. However, the Messenger of God paid ransom for those two people who had been killed by a Companion, who was not aware of the promise of the Prophet. Thus, he showed that he was loyal to his promise and treaties.

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[1]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 193-194; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 3, p. 514; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 34.

[2]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 194; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 52; Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 28.

[3]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 52; Bukhari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 29.

[4]Bukhari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 29.

[5]Bukhari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 28.

[6]Bukhari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 29; Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 6, p. 45.

[7]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 194; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 52.

[8]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 54.

[9]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 53.

[10]Abu Dawud, Sunan, Vol. 2, p. 68.

(4^th Year of the Migration, the Month of Safar)

After the Battle of Uhud, some Arab tribes thought that Muslims became weak due to their defeat in the battle ; they started to have some movements and acts against Madinah, the center of Islam. One of those who started to prepare was Khalid b. Sufyan. When he completed the preparations to walk against Madinah, the Prophet heard about it. He sent Abdullah b. Unays in order to find out about news. Abdullah b. Unays, who learned that it was true from Khalid b. Sufyan, who was the planner of act, killed him with his sword.[1]

This event caused the other tribes around to be inactive for a while but they were fostering their feelings of vengeance and attack against Muslims.

When the sly enemy found out that they would not cope with Muslims openly, they tried to find other ways to satisfy their feeling of vengeance. A delegate of six people from the tribes of Adal and Qara disguised as innocent people came to Madinah. They said that they were Muslims and went to the presence of the Prophet. 

They said, “O Messenger of God! Islam has spread among our tribe. Please send some of your Companions to explain us the decrees of Islam and to teach the Quran!”[2]

The Messenger of God did what they wanted because their demand seemed innocent and reasonable and it would serve Islam. He sent ten Companions under the command of Marsad b. Abi Marsad with them. Seven of the ten Companions whose names were known were as follows:

Marsad b. Abi Marsad, Khalid b. Abi Bukayr, Abdullah b. Tarıq, Asim b. Thabit, Hubayb b. Adiyy, Zayd b. Dasinna and Muattib b. Ubayd.[3]

When the Companions came to the well belonging to the tribe of Huzay called Raji, they understood that they faced a mean and villainous betrayal. They were exposed to the attack of about a hundred archers all of a sudden. The people who had said, “We embraced Islam; send us a delegate to teach us” left them under the attack of the archers of the tribe of Lihyan. 

The Muslims drew their swords and took shelter on the mountain. They tried to defend themselves with their swords but they could not resist for a long time. The traitors surrounded the mountain they had sheltered.

They said, “If you surrender and come down, we will not kill you!” The Muslim teachers did not rely on what the polytheists said and refused to surrender. One of them, Asim b. Thabit said, “I have sworn that I will never accept the protection of polytheists. I will never surrender to those unbelievers” Then, he prayed, “O God! Inform your Messenger about us.” Meanwhile, he was throwing arrows at the polytheists. While throwing arrows, he said, “Why should I not fight? I am strong enough; my arrows are with me; the string of my arrow is thick; arrows flow thanks to my bow.

“Death is bound to come; the world is ephemeral.

What is predetermined is to be suffered!

People will return to God sooner or later!

If I do not fight you, let my mother lose her son.”[4]

When that heroic Companion ran out of arrows, he started to use his spear. When his spear broke, he drew his sword. After killing many polytheists, his last prayer was,  

“O God!  I tried to protect your religion; protect my dead body from the polytheists.”

The other Companions fought heroically, too. However, what could ten people do against one hundred people. Eventually, seven Companions, including Asim b. Thabit, were martyred by the arrows of the polytheists. When the remaining three Companions were promised by the polytheists that they would not be killed, they surrendered. The polytheists tied them fast with the strings of their bows. Then, they set out for Makkah. Their aim was to sell them to the polytheists of the Quraysh, whose hearts were full of grudge and hatred against them. 

On the way to Makkah, Abdullah b. Tariq ran away. However, he was martyred by the stones thrown by the polytheists. Two Companions were left:  Zayd b. Dasinna and Hubayb b. Adiyy. The polytheists sold them in Makkah.

Asim b. Thabit had killed two sons of Sulafa, a ferocious polytheist woman,  in the Battle of Uhud. That evil woman had sworn that she would drink wine out of Asim’s skull if she captured him. The Sons of Lihya knew about it. Therefore, they wanted to take the head of Asim b. Thabit to that woman in Makkah. However, God did not let them do it. God Almighty accepted Asim b. Thabit’s prayer, “O God! I sacrificed my soul in order to protect your sublime religion beginning from the day I became a Muslim. Today is my last day. Protect my dead body from the polytheists!”[5], which he said just before he was martyred. When the polytheists wanted to approach his dead body, a swarm of bees appeared next to his dead body and did not let them approach it. Therefore, they left that place and decided to take the dead body the next morning. However, when they arrived there in the morning, his dead body was not there. The polytheists were surprised because God Almighty sent rain during the night and the flood drifted the dead body, protecting it from the filthy hands of the polytheists.    

Hazrat Hubayb and Hazrat Zayd are Martyred

Hazrat Hu­bayb b. Adiyy and Zayd b. Dasinna, who were taken to Makkah by the Sons of Lihya, were bought by some people whose relatives had been killed in Badr and were imprisoned. The decision of the Quraysh was to kill those two Companions. After inflicting torture on them for a while, they took them to the place called Tanim one day. Those two heroic Companions hugged each other and advised patience to each other.   

Tanim was full of people: young and old male and female. They had gone there to watch the wild torture that those two Companions would suffer. They went there to cheer the murderers who trampled on freedom and humanity. They knew that they could not take the revenge of Badr in Uhud with their unfinished victory; therefore, they wanted to take their revenge on those two innocent, defenseless and unarmed Companions by hanging them.  

Hazrat Hubayb is Martyred

They had dug a hole and set up the gallows tree.

They took Hubayb toward the gallows. Hubayb, whose heart was full of the love of God and His Messenger, was calm and unhesitant. He regarded being martyred for the religion of God as the greatest honor. He wanted permission to perform a two-rak’ah prayer. When they let him, he turned to his Lord with all his sincerity. After performing the prayer, he turned to the polytheists and said, “I swear by God that I would prolong the prayer if I did not fear that you would say, ‘Hubayb feared death and prolonged the prayer!’”[6]

Thus, Hazrat Hubayb became the first person to start the practice of performing a two-rak’ah prayer before being executed.[7]

The polytheists said to him, “If you give up Muhammad’s religion and return to your ancestors’ religion, we will forgive you!”

The heroic Companion said, “By God, no! I will never give up Islam. Even if you gave me the whole world, I would not give up Islam!”

This time, the polytheists said, “Tell us the truth; you would be pleased if Muhammad was here instead of you and killed instead of you, wouldn’t you?”

The answer of the Companion, who was yearning for the love of the Messenger of God, astonished the polytheists: “I swear by God that I would rather lose my house, life and family than hear that a thorn prick the foot of the Prophet!”

The polytheists just laughed at the answers of Hubayb because they had never seen such sacrifice and they had not experienced the happiness of loyalty to God and His Messenger.

When the Companion looked around, he could not see even one luminous face. All of the faces were sullen; the ugliness of the polytheism was manifest on their faces. There was nobody that could send his greetings to the Prophet among the crowd. He had nothing to do but send his greetings on the gallows tree. He invoked:

“O God!  I can see nothing but the faces of the enemy now!

“O God!  There is nobody that can give my regards to Your Messenger here! Please give my regards to him!

“O God!  You informed us about the prophethood of Your Messenger. Inform him about what happened to use in the morning.”[8]

While he was praying, the Messenger of God received the greetings of Hubayb in Madinah saying, “Peace be on you!” Then, he turned to his Companions and said, “The Qurayshis martyred Hubayb.”

Hazrat Hubayb was tied to the tree. There were forty young people whose fathers had been killed standing against him with their spears. When they received the order, they started to hit him with the spears. They wanted Hubayb to die under torture. For a moment, Hubayb turned his face toward the Kaaba and thanked God for it: ”Praise be to God, who turned my face  to the qiblah that God, His Messenger and believers are pleased with.”

The Qurayshi polytheists could not put up with it anymore and turned his face away from the Kaaba. However, the self-sacrificing Companion wanted to be martyred facing the Kaaba. He prayed his Merciful Lord, “O God! If I am a good person in the eye of You, turn my face toward the qiblah.”

The polytheists could not turn Hubayb’s face, which had been turned to the qiblah, away from the qiblah.[9]

There was very little time left for Hubayb to be martyred. He prayed against those who inflicted that torture on him due to his belief in and love of God and His Messenger by saying, “O God! Destroy the Qurayshi polytheists; eliminate them. Kill them all! Do not leave any one of them alive!”[10]

This loud prayer echoed in Tanim, terrifying the unbelievers’ hearts. Some of them lay face down. Some of them plugged their ears. This fear continued long after Hubayb was martyred.

With spears stuck in his chest, Hubayb shouted at the faces of the polytheists the existence and oneness of God, and the prophethood of His Messenger. Then, he died as a martyr. Thus, he became the first Muslim to die on the gallows tree in the way of God.  

It is Hazrat Zayd’s Turn

The martyrdom of Hazrat Hubayb was to be followed by the martyrdom of Hazrat Zayd.

The polytheists took him to Tanim, too, and tied on the gallows tree. 

They offered him the same things that they had offered to Hazrat Hubayb. However, he gave the same answers as Hubayb recklessly.

Abu Sufyan could not hide his astonishment and appreciation. He said,  “I have never seen anyone loved as much as Muhammad by his friends!”[11]

When the offers of the polytheists were rejected by Zayd, they started to shoot arrows at him and martyred him. The body of the great Companion was tied there but God knows in what high realm his spirit was travelling.

Both of those Companions died without hesitating even for a moment about their belief in and loyalty to God and His Messenger. 

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[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 51.

[2]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 178; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 55.

[3]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 178; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2. p. 55.

[4]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 179; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 2, p. 294.

[5]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 463; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 3, p. 189.

[6]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 28.

[7]Bukhari, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 28.

[8]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 182; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 3. p. 190.

[9]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 3, p. 191.

[10]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 182.

[11]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 181; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2. p. 56.

Hazrat Umm Salama, whose real name was “Hind”, was the daughter of Umayya b. Mughira, from the tribe of Sons of Mahzum. When her husband Abdullah b. Ab­du’l-Asad was exposed to the harassment and torture of the polytheists because he embraced Islam, they migrated to Abyssinia. When they heard the rumor that many Qurayshis embraced Islam, they returned to Makkah but when they found out that it was not true, they migrated to Madinah with great difficulty.  

Umm Salama migrated together with her husband in both migrations to Abyssinia.

Her husband was wounded in the Battle of Uhud and died toward the end of the month of Jumada al-Awwal in the fourth year of the Migration; she was left with four children when her husband died.

They want to Promise Each Other

Once Umm Salama said to her husband, who was ill, “I have heard that a woman who deserves to go to Paradise will marry her husband in Paradise if her husband goes to Paradise and if the woman does not marry anybody else after her husband dies. Similarly, a man who deserves to go to Paradise will marry his wife in Paradise if his wife goes to Paradise and if the man does not marry anybody else after his wife dies.”  Then, she made the following offer:

“Let us promise each other. I will not marry anybody after you and you will not marry anybody after me.”

However, Abu Salama did not accept this offer and said to her, “Obey what I tell you: Marry after I die.” Then, he prayed as follows:

“O God! Give Umm Salama a better husband than me, a husband that will not despise her and that will not hurt her.”[1]

The Prophet Talks to Umm Salama

Umm Salama had refused the marriage proposals of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar. After that, the Prophet sent somebody to her to ask her hand in marriage. Umm Salama asked him to excuse her and said, “I am an old woman and I am very jealous; I have several children. There is nobody from my guardians to be a witness for me.”

Upon this answer, the Prophet himself went to Umm Salama and repeated his proposal. He said,

“You say that you are an old woman. However, it is not reprehensible for a woman to marry a man older than her. You said you had children. Know it very well that their sustenance belongs to God and His Messenger. You say you are a jealous woman. I will pray God to eliminate that characteristic from you. You say there is nobody from your guardians here. None of your guardians whether they are here or not will oppose to your marriage with me.”

Thereupon, Umm Salama said to her son, who was near her, “Stand up, O Umar! Marry me off to the Messenger of God.”[2]

Thus, God Almighty accepted the prayer of Abu Salama he uttered before his death: “O God! Give Umm Salama a better husband than me, a husband that will not despise her and that will not hurt her.”[3] Thus, Umm Salama married the best person.

Umm Salama, who was 44 years old when she married the Prophet, died at the age of 84 in the 59^th year of the Migration. Abu Hurayra led her janazah prayer. She was buried in the cemetery of Baqi.[4]

Umm Salama, who could read but not write, was one of those who knew fiqh well. The number of hadiths she reported from the Messenger of God is 378.

-------------------------------------------------------

[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 8, p. 88.

[2]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 89-90.

[3]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 88.

[4]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 96.

Hazrat Juwayriyah was the daughter of Harith b. Abi Dirar, the leader of the Sons of Mustaliq tribe. She was one of the captives of the Expedition of Muraysi. Her husband, Musafi b. Safwan, was one of the most ferocious enemies of the Prophet. When he was killed during the battle, Juwayriyah was widowed.

When the captives were distributed among the mujahids, Juwayriyah was given to Thabit b. Qays and his cousin.[1]

Juwayriyah made an agreement with Thabit b. Qays to be left free.[2] If she paid the ransom that was determined, she would be released. However, she could not afford it. Therefore, she applied to the Prophet and asked his help to pay for her ransom.

The Messenger of God said to her, “Is there not anything better than that for you?”

Juwayriyah, who was asked such an unexpected question, was surprised. What could be better than having her freedom and returning to her parents and country?

After a momentary hesitation, she said, “O Messenger of God! What is better than my freedom?”

The Prophet said, “Freeing you by paying your ransom and accepting you as my wife.”

Juwayriyah was astonished. She would be released and would attain such a great honor. For a moment, she began to think. She remembered her dream a few days before they came to the land of the Prophet. The moon had entered her dress by virtually walking from Madinah.[3] After a momentary surprise, she became very happy. She answered the offer of the Prophet as follows:

“O Messenger of God! If you grant me this honor, there cannot be anything better than it.”[4]

Harith b. Abi Dirar Becomes a Muslim

Harith b. Abi Dirar, Juwayriyah’s father, had set off toward Madinah with camels in order to save his daughter. When he reached the valley of Aqiq, he looked at his camels. He could not want to give two of them; so he hid them in a secluded place in the valley between two mountains. Then, he went to the presence of the Prophet. He said,

“O Muhammad! You held my daughter captive. These camels are her ransom.”

The Messenger of God said, “Why did you not bring the two camels you hid in Aqiq between two mountains?”

Harith was astonished. Nobody knew that he had hid his camels there. It was senseless to wait any longer. He immediately said, “I witness that there is no god but Allah; you are definitely the Messenger of God! I swear by God that nobody but God knew what I had done.” He embraced Islam together with his two sons and the people of his tribe that were together with him there.[5]

The Prophet Pays the Ransom for Juwayriyah

The Messenger of God sent somebody to Thabit b. Qays and explained him the situation. He wanted Juwayriyah from him. Thabit b. Qays said, without hesitation, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you O Messenger of God! I gave her to you”

The Messenger of God paid the ransom for Juwayriyah and surrendered her to her father. 

Juwayriyah Marries the Prophet

The Prophet asked Juwayriyah’s father, Harith b. Dirar, to give Juwayriyah, who became a Muslim, to him as his wife. Harith agreed. 

The Prophet gave four hundred dirhams as mahr and married Juwayriyah.[6]

When the Companions saw that the Prophet married Juwayriyah, they freed all of the slaves by saying, “The relatives of the wife of the Prophet should not be kept as slaves.” There were one hundred women among those captives.

Therefore, Hazrat Aisha said,

“I have never known any woman better and holier than Juwayriyah for her tribe.”[7]

Indeed, Juwayriyah was a very fortunate woman. She was a captive but in one day, she became the wife of the Prophet and saved the captives of her tribe.

Many people from Sons of Mustaliq who heard that the Prophet accepted Juwayriyah as his wife were very impressed by his courage and generosity; they went to Madinah and embraced Islam.

There were many reasons behind the marriages of the Prophet. In this marriage, there was a social reason. It was to make hearts love him and Islam, to bring tribes together as relatives and to make them help him and Islam. As it is known, when a person marries someone from a tribe, a relationship between that person and that tribe occurs; naturally, this makes them help that person.  

Thus, that was the aim of the Messenger of God in marrying Juwayriyah. As it is seen, he succeeded in it. 

The Real Name of Juwayriyah

The real name of Juwayriyah was “Barra”. The Messenger of God did not like that name and changed it with Juwayriyah, which means a small woman.[8]

Juwayriyah had endless taqwa (fear of God). He treated the poor and the needy compassionately and mercifully. She did not eat or drink but fed others.

Once the Messenger of God went to her room and asked, “Is there anything to eat?”

Juwayriyah said, “No O Messenger of God! There is nothing to eat with me. There was only a sheep bone; I gave it to our woman slave.”[9]

Juwayriyah died in the 57^th year of the Migration. She was buried in the Cemetery of Baqi.

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[1]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 307; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 8, p. 116.

[2]The agreement between a slave and his/her owner by paying a certain amount of money to be released.

[3]Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 303.

[4]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 307; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 117.

[5]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 308.

[6]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 308.

[7]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 308; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 177.

[8]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 118.

[9]Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 6, p. 430.

THE BATTLE OF SONS OF MUSTALIQ

(The month of Shaban in the 5th Year of the Migration)

Harith b. Abi Dirar, the leader of Sons of Mustaliq clan of the Khuzaa tribe, gathered a few Arab tribes and prepared to walk against Muslims in Madinah.[1]

That news reached Madinah. The Prophet wanted to find out whether it was true or not. Therefore, the Prophet appointed Burayda b. Husayb, a Companion, to go to the land of Sons of Mustaliq and find out about the situation.  

Before leaving Madinah, Burayda asked the Prophet if he could tell lies so as not to make them suspicious and so as to protect himself. The Messenger of God allowed him to do so when it was necessary.

Burayda went to the land of Sons of Mustaliq. He acted as if he was one of them. He said, “I am together with you. I hear that you gathered against the Prophet. I want to join you with the people who follow me from my tribe. I want to cooperate with you until we eliminate all of them!”

Harith b. Abi Dirar, the leader of the Sons of Mustaliq said, “We are getting ready for it. Hurry up to join us!”

Burayda said, “I will mount my horse now and come back with a lot of people from my tribe.” Then, he left their land.[2]

Burayda went to Madinah at once and told the Messenger of God about the situation.

The Islamic Army Moves

It was the second Monday of the month of Shaban.

The Messenger of God appointed Zayd bin Haritha as his deputy and set off from Madinah with seven hundred people. Besides, Hazrat Aisha and Umm Salama, two of the wives of the Prophet joined the army, too.[3]

It was strange that the munafiqs were not as interested in any other expeditions as they were in this one. Most of them joined the Islamic army.[4]Their aim was to benefit from the booty and to cause mischief among Muslims by watching for an opportunity. 

The End of Sons of Mustaliq

While moving toward the Muraysi Water, the Islamic army captured one of the spies of the enemy. When he rejected to be a Muslim, he was killed.[5]

When Sons of Mustaliq heard about it, they were very scared; many people that they had gathered left them.

The Messenger of God reached the Muraysi Water with his army. He set up a tent made of leather. Then, he arranged his army to fight. He gave the standard of the muhajirs to Hazrat Abu Bakr and the standard of the Ansar to  Sa’d b. Ubada. He told Hazrat Umar to call out to them as,  “Say, ‘La ilaha illallah!’ and save your lives and property.”

Sons of Mustaliq did not accept the offer; besides, they started the battle by shooting arrows at the mujahids.[6]

Thereupon, the mujahids started to shoot arrows at them. Then, the Prophet ordered his army to attack them suddenly. As a result of the attack, ten people from Sons of Mustaliq were killed and the others were held captives.[7]

Only one mujahid from the Islamic army was killed by mistake by a Muslim who thought that he was an enemy soldier.[8]

There were about two hundred captives from Sons of Mustaliq. Many camels, cattle and sheep were captured as booty. The booty was brought together and distributed in due form. The captives were distributed among the mujahids.

This battle was called the Battle of Muraysi because it took place near Muraysi Water.[9]

A Plot of Munafiqs

After the Victory of Muraysi, the Prophet found it appropriate to stay and rest there for a few days. As we have mentioned before, many munafiqs had joined this expedition.[10]According to some resources, munafiqs had never shown so much interest in any other expedition. Their interest in the expedition was not without any reason. On the one hand, they wanted to have some of the bounties; on the other hand, they wanted to set Muslims, who were increasing in number and gaining strength, against one another by making use of the slightest opportunity...

During their stay there, a quarrel took place between Sinan b. Wabar al-Juhani, who was the ally of Sons of Amr from the tribe of Khazraj and Jahjah, the stableman that Hazrat Umar hired from Sons of Ghifar, because they mistook their buckets near the well. Jahjah hit Sinan’s face with slaps and fists; Sinan’s face was in blood. Sinan yelled, “O Ansar! Where are you? Help!”

Meanwhile, Jahjah shouted, “O Muhajirs! Where are you?”[11]

When Muhajirs and Ansar heard them, they rushed to the well. They drew their swords. They nearly fought. Some of the notables of Muhajirs and Ansar intervened and soothed them.  

Meanwhile, the Messenger of God arrived and said, “Is the cause of the people of Jahiliyya pursued here? Why are you screaming and yelling? What is the matter?”

When the Companions said that a muhajir had slapped a person from Ansar, the Prophet said, “Give up the customs of Jahiliyya; it is a filth and evil. A person who pursues the customs of Jahiliyya throws himself into Hell.”[12]

Thereupon, Sinan gave up seeking his right from Jahjah.

Abdullah b. Ubay Aggravates the Situation

Meanwhile, Abdullah b. Ubay b. Sa­lul, the leader of the munafiqs, came forward because it was an unmissable opportunity for him. He wanted to sow discord among Muslims. He called out, “O Ansar! Those muhajirs gained strength and fame thanks to you; now they are insulting us.”

Then, he turned to his tribe in a devilish manner and added, “You brought them to your city; you gave them goods and you went into partnership with them. You yourselves caused this contempt. When we return to Madinah, the honored and strong ones (he meant himself and his tribe) will expel the mean and weak ones (he meant the Prophet and the muhajirs) from the city.”[13]Then, he talked a lot of nonsense.

Hazrat Zayd b. Arqam, a young Companion who was present, opposed Abdullah b. Ubay and said, “I swear by God that you are the mean and cursed one in your tribe. Muhammad (pbuh) was made honorable by God.”

When the leader of the munafiqs heard it, he changed his attitude and said, “O my brother’s son! Keep quiet! I swear by God that I was joking!”[14]Thus, he showed his hypocrisy.

Zayd b. Arqam did not keep quiet. He told the Prophet whatever he heard from Abdullah b. Ubay. The color of the face of the Prophet changed. There were people like Hazrat Abu Bakr, Uthman, Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas, Muhammad b. Mas­lama from Muhajirs and Ansar near the Prophet. However, he wanted to investigate the issue. He said to Zayd, “I hope you do not say so because of your hatred and enmity against Ibn Ubay.”

Zayd said, “No! I swear by God that I heard them from him.”

The Messenger of God asked again, “You may have misheard.”

Zayd swore by God for the second time that he heard those words exactly from the leader of the munafiqs.

It was heard by the people in the army that Abdullah b. Ubay uttered those words. Some of the Ansar condemned Zayd b. Arqam by saying to him, “You uttered unjust words about the leader of your tribe.”

Zayd said to them, “I swear by God that I heard them from him! If I heard those from my own father, I would never hesitate to tell the Messenger of God about it. I hope that God will send revelation to his Prophet and tell him who is lying and that the Messenger of God will confirm what I say.”

Then he prayed, “O God! Send Your Messenger Your revelation that will confirm what I say!”[15]

Meanwhile, Hazrat Umar said, “O Messenger of God! Allow me to kill that munafiq. If you do not find it appropriate for one of the muhajirs to kill him, order Sa’d b. Muadh or Muhammad b. Maslama to kill him!”[16]

The Messenger of God did not like that offer and he gave the following answer: “If I allow him to be killed, many notables of Madinah will feel scared and worried. Besides, those who do not know the inside story will start to say, ‘Muhammad is killing his friends’. Then, what will happen?”[17]

The Messenger of God ordered the mujahids to set off to Madinah though it was the hottest hour of the day. In fact, he had never set off during the hottest hour of the day before.[18]

Abdullah b. Ubay Denies What He Has Said

The Messenger of God summoned Abdullah b. Ubay and asked him,

“Did you utter the words that I heard?”

The leader of the munafiqs denied what he had said: “No! I swear by God, who sent down the Book to you that I did not utter any of those words. Zayd is definitely a liar!”

They Ask the Prophet Why They Set Off When it is Very Hot

Muslims were very surprised when the Prophet decided to set off during the hottest hour of the day.

Usayd b. Khudayr, who was one of the notables of Ansar, said, “O Messenger of God! It is not appropriate to set off at this hour. You never used to set off at this hour.”

The Messenger of God said, “Did you not hear what your man said?”

Usayd b. Khudayr said, “What man, O Messenger of God?”

The Prophet said, “Abdullah b. Ubay...”

Usayd b. Khudayr said, “What did he say?”

The Prophet said,“He said, ‘When we return to Madinah, the honored and strong ones will expel the mean and weak ones from the city’.”

Usayd b. Khudayr said, “O Messenger of God! If you want, you can expel him from Madinah! I swear by God that he is the one that is mean and weak and you are the one that is honored and strong! O Messenger of God! Treat him leniently and compassionately! I swear by God that when God sent you to us, his tribe was preparing to crown him. He thinks you removed his sultanate!”[19]

The Prophet did not want the mujahids to be kept busy with what Abdullah b. Ubay said. Therefore, they went on travelling until the next morning. The mujahids got very tired. When the sun started to affect them, they stopped. Since they were very tired, they immediately slept.

Thus, the Prophet did not let the rumor prevail in the army.

What the Strong Storm Meant

When the Messenger of God was about to leave from the place called Baqa with his army, a strong storm broke. The mujahids felt scared. They were worried that Uyayna b. Hisn, the leader of the Ghatafan tribe would attack Madinah. The treaty they had signed with him had ended.

The Messenger of God said, “Uyayna b. Hisn will not harm you. Do not feel scared. This storm is blowing due to the death of a big unbeliever!”

What the Messenger of God said was right. When they arrived in Madinah, they found out that Rufa’a b. Zayd b. Ta­but, one of the notables of the Jews who supported the munafiqs, had died.[20]He was one of the ferocious enemies of the Prophet and Islam.

The Offer of Abdullah

It was the irony of the fate... Abdullah b. Ubay was the leader of the munafiqs whereas his son Abdullah was a sincere Muslim who practiced Islam seriously and piously. When he heard what his fathers had said, he went to the presence of the Prophet.

He said, “O Messenger of God! I heard the incidence between you and my father. I heard that you wanted to kill him. If you really want to do it, order me to do it and I will bring his head to you. All of the people of Khazraj know that I love my father a lot. If you let somebody else kill him, I might be an enemy of that person and might kill that believer in return for an unbeliever and go to Hell!”

The belief of the Companions was strong; a Companion wanted to cut off the head of his father, who had insulted the Messenger of God and Muslims!

The Messenger of God consoled him with the answer he gave: “O Ab­dullah! I did not want to kill your father; I did not appoint anybody to kill him. We will treat him well as long as he lives with us!”[21]

Abdullah Confronts his Father

The Islamic army was approaching Madinah.

Abdullah dismounted his horse in the valley called Aqiq. He stood in front of his father. He made his camel sit. Then he said to his father, “I will not let you go unless you say majesty and power belong to God and His messenger!”

The leader of the munafiqs was astonished. The one that uttered those words was Abdullah, his son. Ubay, who pretended to believe in God, could not know what belief could make man do. He said to his son, “You say you will not let me go to Madinah among so many people here. Is that right?”

Abdullah said, “Yes. I will not let you go today until I teach you who is mean and who is honorable among the people here. If you do not say and accept that majesty and honor belong to God and His Messenger here, I will kill you!”

When the leader of the munafiqs saw that Abdullah was serious and determined, he had to say, “I witness that majesty and power belong to God, His messenger and believers.”

When the Messenger of God was informed about the incident, he said to Abdullah, “May God reward you due to His Messenger and believers” and ordered him to release his father.[22]

Returning to Madinah

The Messenger of God returned to Madinah with his army after twenty-eight days, when the crescent of Ramadan was seen.[23]

A Separate Chapter is Sent down about the Munafiqs

After those incidents, a separate chapter was sent down about Abdullah b. Ubay b. Salul, the leader of the munafiqs and the other munafiqs. The following was stated about the characteristics of the munafiqs in the chapter:

“When the Hypocrites come to thee, they say "We bear witness that thou art indeed the Messenger of God." Yea, God knoweth that thou art indeed His Messenger, and God beareth witness that the Hypocrites are indeed liars.

They have made their oaths a screen (for their misdeeds): thus they obstruct (men) from the Path of God: truly evil are their deeds.

That is because they believed, then they rejected Faith: so a seal was set on their hearts: therefore they understand not.

When thou lookest at them, their exteriors please thee; and when they speak, thou listenest to their words. They are as (worthless as hollow) pieces of timber propped up, (unable to stand on their own). They think that every cry is against them. They are the enemies; so beware of them. The curse of God be on them! How are they deluded (away from the Truth)!”[24]

In the verses that followed, what Abdullah b. Ubay had uttered was mentioned and the following was added:

“They are the ones who say, "Spend nothing on those who are with God's Messenger, to the end that they may disperse (and quit Madinah). But to God belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth; but the Hypocrites understand not.

They say, "If we return to Madinah, surely the more honourable (element) will expel there from the meaner." But honour belongs to God and His Messenger, and to the Believers; but the Hypocrites know not.”[25]

God Confirmed What Zayd Had Said

When those verses were sent down and when it was stated that the munafiqs were liars, the Messenger of God called Zayd, held his ear and said, “Here is the young man who fulfilled his duty in the way of God through his ear!” Then, he said, “O Zayd! God confirmed what you had said!”[26]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 63.

[2]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 584.

[3]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 63.

[4]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 63.

[5]Waqidi, Maghazi, Vol. 1, p. 406.

[6]Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 298.

[7]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 64.

[8]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 302; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 64.

[9]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 302.

[10]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 63.

[11]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 303.

[12]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 4. p. 160.

[13]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 303.

[14]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 597.

[15]Waqidi, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 417.

[16]Tabari, Tafsir, Vol. 28, p. 114.

[17]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 303.

[18]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 303.

[19]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 304.

[20]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 304.

[21]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

[22]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2. p. 65.

[23]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 65.

[24]al-Munafiqun, 1-4.

[25]al-Munafiqun, 7-8.

[26]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 305.

Alcoholic Drinks are Rendered Haram

Alcohol was rendered haram in the 4^th year of the Migration while Sons of Nadr Jews were being expelled.

Alcohol was rendered haram in three phases.

When the Messenger of God arrived in Madinah, Muslims used to drink alcohol and gamble.

When the Prophet arrived, they asked him about the judgment regarding alcohol and gambling. Meanwhile, Hazrat Umar prayed as follows: “O my Lord! Make a clear statement about alcohol.”

After a while, the following verse was sent down: “Say: ‘In them is great sin, and some profit for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.’”[1]

Thereupon, some Muslims gave up drinking but others continued drinking.

However, some unpleasant incidents took place among those who drank alcohol. Furthermore, one of the Companions mispronounced some words in verses while leading the prayer in such a way that the verse had a completely different and wrong meaning. 

Hazrat Umar prayed again, “O God!  Make a clear statement about alcohol.”

After a short while, the following verse was sent down: “O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say, nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body if ye are ill, or on a journey!”[2]

This verse stated the second phase of the prohibition.

Thereupon, some Muslims said, “O Messenger of God! We will not drink when the time for prayer is near!”

The Prophet kept silent; he did not answer them. 

The number of drinkers among Muslims naturally decreased.

When it was time to pray, upon the command of the Messenger of God, somebody called out, “No drunkard can perform prayers!”

However, a Muslim drank alcohol and went to the mosque to pray one evening.

Hazrat Umar prayed again, “O God!  Make a clear statement about alcohol.”

Thereupon, the following verse was sent down:

“O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination― of Satan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.

Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?”[3]

Thereupon, the Muslims said, “O Lord! We gave up drinking alcohol and gambling from now on!”

It was the third phase of the prohibition. Thus, alcohol was rendered haram for all Muslims.

When those verses were sent down, the Messenger of God ordered somebody to call out loudly in the streets of Madinah: “Know it very well that drinking alcohol was rendered haram.”

The Muslims who heard this order poured all of the alcoholic drinks in their houses. The alcoholic drinks flowed in the streets of Madinah like a flood.

Some of the hadiths regarding the issue:

“Doubtlessly, God curses those who produce alcohol, the place where it is produced, those who make others drink, those who carry, make others carry, sell, buy alcohol and those who spend the money earned through alcohol.”[4]

“Every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is forbidden. He who drinks wine in this world and dies while he is addicted to it, not having repented, will not be given a drink in the hereafter!”[5]

“Keep away from alcohol because it is the key to all evil.”[6]

“Alcohol is the mother of all evil.”[7]

“If a big amount of something intoxicates, a small amount of it is forbidden, too.”[8]

Death of Zaynab bint Huzayma

Hazrat Zaynab, the wife of the Prophet, was known and mentioned as “Umm al-Masakin” (Mother of the Poor) because she showed mercy on the poor and always gave them food during the period before Islam. She married the Messenger of God in the month of Ramadan in the 3rd year of the Migration. She died at the end of the month of Rabiulakhir in the 4^th year of the Migration when she was thirty years old.

After leading her janazah prayer, the Prophet buried her in the cemetery of Baqi. Only two of the wives of the Prophet, namely Khadijah al-Kubra and Zaynab, died before the Prophet. 

Fatima, the Mother of Hazrat Ali Dies

Fatima bint Asad was the wife of Abu Talib, who was the uncle of the Prophet. She was one of the first Muslims and had migrated to Madinah. She took care of the Prophet when he was a child. She loved him and looked after him more than her own children. The Prophet always showed respect to her, visited her and enquired about her health. 

This woman of high ethics died in the 4^th year of the Migration in Madinah. The Messenger of God said, “My mother died today” due to his love and respect to her.

Hz. Ali (may God be pleased with him) said, “When Fatima, my mother, died, the Messenger of God (pbuh) took off his own shirt and used it as a shroud and wrapped it around her; then, he led her janazah prayer.

The Messenger of God entered the grave of this blessed and respectable woman; he lay in the grave for a while. Then, she got out of the grave. His eyes were full of tears. The Muslims around said, “O Messenger of God! We have never seen you act like that for anybody else.”

The Messenger of God answered,

“There is nobody who helped me as much as this woman except Abu Talib. I clothed her in my shirt as a shroud so that she would be clothed in the clothes of Paradise. I lay in her grave so that it would be easy for her.”[9]

After that, the Prophet prayed as follows:

“May God show mercy on you and reward you with good things!

May God show mercy on you, O my mother! You were my mother after my mother. You went hungry but fed me. You did not buy clothes for you but you bought clothes for me. You refrained from eating nice things but gave them to me to eat. You did so in order to attain the pleasure of God and the hereafter.

God revives and kills. He is al-Hayy and al-Qayyum.

O God! Forgive Fatima bint Asad, my mother; tell her about your proof; enlarge her grave.  

O God, who is the most merciful of the merciful ones! Accept my prayer for my sake and for the sake of other prophets before me!”

Birth of Hazrat Husayn, the Grandson of the Prophet

Hazrat Husayn, the second son of Hazrat Ali and Fatima and the grandson of the Messenger of God was born in the month of Shaban in the 4^th year of the Migration. 

The Prophet slaughtered two rams on the seventh day of his birth for his grandson, recited adhan into his ear and cut his hair.

Hazrat Husayn looked like the Prophet just like his brother, Hazrat Hasan. The Prophet prayed for his grandsons as follows: “O God! I love them; please love them...”[10]

Once, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may God be pleased with him) saw Hazrat Hasan and Hazrat Husayn playing in front of the Messenger of God. He asked,

“O Messenger of God! Do you love them a lot?” The Prophet answered,  

“Of course, I do. They are two basils that I smell in this world.”[11]

Zayd b. Thabit Learns Arabic, Hebrew and Assyrian Writing

Zayd b. Thabit (may God be pleased with him) was left an orphan when his father died during the fight on the day of Buath between the tribes of Aws and Khazraj before the Migration. He was six years old then.

The Messenger of God had declared that if the captives taken during the Battle of Badr did not have enough money to pay ransom, they would be set free if they taught ten Ansar children to read and write. Zayd b. Thabit was one of those children who learned to read and write then.  

Zayd b. Thabit was very clever.

In the 4^th year of the Migration, the Messenger of God ordered him to learn Hebrew and said, “I cannot be sure whether they would change my writings or not.”[12]

Thereupon, Hazrat Zayd learned Hebrew in fifteen days; he had a good command of Hebrew. When the Prophet wanted to write something to Jews, he called Zayd and dictated it to him. When he received a writing from Jews, he made Zayd read it.[13]

Once, the Messenger of God asked Zayd, “Can you read and write Assyrian? I receive writings in Assyrian.”

Zayd said, “I cannot read or write it well.” Thereupon, the Prophet said, “Then, learn it very well.”

Upon the order of the Prophet Zayd b. Thabit learned Assyrian in seventeen days.[14]

Death of Abdullah, the Son of Hazrat Uthman

Hazrat Uthman had migrated to Abyssinina with his wife, Ruqiyya. They had a child there; they called him Abdullah.

When Abdullah was six years old, a rooster pecked at his face. His face was swollen. He got very ill. He died of this disease in the month of Jumadal-Awwal in the 4^th year of the Migration.  

The Prophet led the janazah prayer of his grandson himself. Hazrat Uthman, his father, placed him in the grave.[15]

The Messenger of God, who placed the gravestone, started to cry. He said,

“God shows mercy on His slaves that are merciful and soft-hearted.”[16]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1]al-Baqara, 219.

[2]an-Nisa, 43.

[3]Al-Maida, 90-91.

[4]Abu Dawud, Sunan, Vol. 2, p. 292.

[5]Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 6, p. 100.

[6]Hakim, al-Mustadrak, Vol. 4, p. 145.

[7]Dara Qutni, Sunan, Vol. 4, p. 247.

[8]Abu Dawud, Sunan, Vol. 2, p. 294.

[9]Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, Vol. 4. p. 1891.

[10]Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5. p. 661.

[11]Tirmidhi, ibid, Vol. 5. p. 657.

[12]Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 42; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 5. p. 186.

[13]Abu Dawud, Sunan, Vol. 2, p. 286; Tirmidhi, Sunan, Vol. 5. p. 67-68.

[14]Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 5. p. 182.

[15]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 3, p. 53-54.

[16]Balazuri, Ansab, Vol. 1, p. 401.

THE EXPEDITION OF SONS OF NADR

(4th Year of the Migration, the month of Rabiulawwal / 625)

Sons of Nadr were a rich and strong Jewish tribe that descended from the lineage of Hazrat Harun (Aaron) (pbuh). They lived in strong castles two hours away from Madinah. They had signed a treaty with the Messenger of God stating that they would not take part in any activities against Muslims, that they would not help any enemies of Muslims and that they would contribute to the ransoms to be paid.[1]However, they did not give up cooperating with the Qurayshi polytheists and Madinah munafiqs secretly. They increased their relationship with the polytheists and munafiqs especially after the Battle of Uhud.

As we have mentioned above, Amr b. Umayya had killed two people from the tribe of Amir by mistake. According to the treaty signed by Sons of Nadr Jews, they had to contribute to the ransom to be paid for those two people.

The Prophet (pbuh) went to the place of Sons of Nadr with Hazrat Abu Ba­kr, Umar, Ali, Zubayr b. Awwam, Talha b. Ubaydullah, Sa’d b. Muadh and Usayd b. Khu­dayr (may God be pleased with them) to demand a contribution to be paid as blood money and to find out how loyal they were to the treaty.

They welcomed the Prophet nicely and said that they were glad that the Prophet and his friends came to see them; they stated clearly that they would fulfill their duty.[2]

The Prophet sat near the wall of a house with his Companions.

The Jews, who welcomed the Prophet seemingly nicely, started to whisper among them:

 “Never would you get such a golden chance. If one of us drops a rock on him from the top of the house, we shall get rid of him.” Then they asked, “Who will do it?”

Amr b. Jihhash came to the front and said, “I will do it!”[3]

Meanwhile, Sallam b. Mishkam, one of the notables said, “O my tribesmen! Obey me this time; then, oppose me after that whenever you want.”

He added, “I swear by God that if you try to do something like that, he will be informed about it by revelation. It will be very bad for us. It will be regarded as violating the treaty between us and him. Please give up that decision. If you try to do it, it will mean the end of Jews and the elevation of Islam till the Day of Judgment!”[4]

Jews, who were famous for betraying prophets, did not give up this decision. Meanwhile, Amr b. Jihhash, who undertook the duty of dropping rocks on him, went up to the roof. 

Gabriel Informs the Prophet about the Situation

Just then, Gabriel arrived and told the Prophet about the assassination attempt and the betrayal. The Messenger of God stood up and pretended as if he was going to go to the toilet and set off for Madinah. The Companions waited there for some time for him to return. When they realized that he would not come, they left the place.

A Jewish Person Warns his Tribe

Kinana b. Suriya, one of the Jews asked his tribesmen, “Do you know why Muhammad left?”

They said, “No. if you know, tell us about it.”

Kinana started to speak:

“I swear by the Torah that I know that Muhammad was informed about the assassination you planned! Do not deceive yourselves in vain. I swear by God that he is the Messenger of God and the last Prophet! He left because he was informed about the assassination you planned. You expected him to come from the descent of the Prophet Aaron. We wrote clearly in the Torah: ‘The birthplace of the last Prophet to come is Makkah; the place he will migrate to is Yathrib (Madinah)’. The properties of the last Prophet comply with that definition. There is nothing contrary to his properties in our book. There will be nobody to fight you before him. I imagine seeing you loading your possessions on camels and migrate, hearing the screams of your children and seeing you leaving your property behind and leave! Obey me in two things and know that the third is no good for you!”

The Jews asked, “What are they?”

Kinana said, “Embrace Islam and join the Companions of Muhammad! Only in this way can you secure your children and possessions, reach salvation and avoid being expelled from your land and home!”

However, the Jews said, “We shall not leave the Torah and the oath of Moses.”[5]

The Prophet Sends a Messenger to Sons of Nadr Telling them“To Leave their Land”

The assassination attempt planned by the Jews of Sons of Nadr showed clearly that they were not friends of Islam and Muslims and that they did not remain loyal to the treaty they made with the Prophet. Therefore, the Prophet assumed a very definite attitude against them.

He called Muhammad b. Maslama and said to him,

“Go to the Jews of Sons of Nadr! Tell them, ‘the Messenger of God sent me to tell you to leave this land and not to live in the same place as him because you planned an assassination to kill him. You have ten days. If any of you is seen here after ten days, they will be killed’”[6]

Muhammad b. Maslama went to the land of the Sons of Nadr. Before telling them about the order of the Prophet, he said,

“Tell me the truth for the sake of God, who sent the Torah to Moses: Before Muhammad was sent as a prophet and when the Torah was in front of you, I came to you and you offered me to embrace Judaism; I said to you, ‘I will never embrace Judaism’. You said to me, “What prevents you from embracing our religion? There is no religion other than Judaism. It is the same religion as the religion of Hanif that you are seeking and you have heard. The Prophet that will come to you has a shariah and he is a warrior. There is a slight red mark in his eye. He will come from the direction of Yemen; he will ride a camel, wear an ihram (cloak), find it sufficient to have a bone with little meat, have his sword hanging on from his neck and speak wisely.’ Did you not say so?”

Sons of Nadr Jews said, “Yes, we said so but he is not the Prophet that we told you about!”

Then, Muhammad b. Maslama told them about the order of the Prophet.

Sons of Nadr realized that the assassination attempt cost them dearly but it was too late now. They had nothing else to do but act in accordance with the Prophet’s order. They said to Muhammad b. Mas­lama, “We will migrate” and started to make preparations.  

The Message Sent by the Leader of Munafiqs

Meanwhile they received a message from Abdullah b. Ubay. The message was as follows: 

“Do not leave your property by migrating from your land! Stay in your castle. I will send two thousand people from my tribe and other Arab tribes to help you. They will fight together with you until they die. Besides, the Jews of Sons of Qurayza will help you!”[7]

Sons of Nadr Jews Challenge Arrogantly

Upon the message sent by Abdullah b. Ubay, the leader of munafiqs, Sons of Nadr gave up migrating. They sent a message to the Prophet: “We shall not leave our land. Do whatever you can!”[8]

It was a clear and arrogant challenge.

When the Prophet received their message, he called out, “Allahu Akbar!” The Muslims called out together with him.  

Sallam b. Mishkam Warns Huyay b. Ahtab

One of the most effective people who led Sons of Nadr Jews to such a dangerous adventure was Huyay b. Ahtab. He said the following to console his tribe:

“We will stock many goods and take shelter in our castle. We will guard the big gates and streets. We will carry stones to our castle. We have enough food that will last for a year. We have enough water, too!”

Another prominent figure of Jews was Sallam b. Mishkam. He opposed the idea. He said, “O Huyay! Your soul deceives you through useless things and makes you feel conceited. Stop it. We all know it that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. His attributes are written in our books. We do not obey him because we are jealous of him and because we expected the last Prophet to appear among the sons of Aaron. Let us accept the pardon given to us and leave our land. If Muhammad walks against us, he will besiege us in one day in this castle”

Huyay, who was a conceited person, would not give up his thought. He said to Sallam, “Muhammad cannot besiege us! He will not be able to beat us; he will return. Ab­dul­lah b. Ubay promised me many things.”

Sallam knew that what they were going to do was dangerous; he repeated his warning: “What Ab­dullah b. Ubay says is not valid. He wants to drag you to the precipice of destruction and to make us fight Muhammad. After making us fight, he will return home and sit!”

Huyay b. Ahtab did not heed his warning; he insisted on his conceit, which would make him repent.[9]

Sons of Nadr are Besieged

It was the 4^th year of the Migration, the month of Rabi’ul‐Awwal.

The Messenger of God appointed Abdullah b. Umm Maktum as his deputy in Madinah and set off to the land of Sons of Nadr. Hazrat Ali was carrying the standard. 

The Messenger of God performed the afternoon prayer among the vineyards and gardens of Sons of Nadr. He besieged them. Sons of Nadr took refuge in their strong castles.

The Prophet repeated his order again: “Leave Madinah!”

Sons of Nadr did not accept this offer. They said, “Death is easier for us than what you offer. We will risk death but will not accept your offer!”, challenging the Prophet.  

There was nothing left to do but to fight them. However, they had taken refuge in their strong castles and they did not face leaving their castles and fighting; so the fight would be very difficult. Therefore, the Messenger of God did not find it appropriate to fight; he applied a war plan by the permission of God. He ordered his soldiers to demolish the nearest Jewish houses and castles, and to burn and cut the palm trees. He aimed to force the Jews to leave the castle and fight against them.

When the Jews saw that their houses were being demolished, they shouted, “O Muhammad! You used to forbid mischief; why do you get palm trees cut off and burned?”[10]

Those who spent all of their lives with mischief started to say that cutting of trees was a mischief. Their shouting caused some Muslims to hesitate. Thereupon, the verse that was sent down clarified the issue: “Whether ye cut down (o ye Muslims!) the tender palm-trees, or ye left them standing on their roots, it was by leave of God, and in order that He might cover with shame the rebellious transgressors.”[11]

When the verse was sent down, the hesitations and worries of the Muslims were eliminated.

Acting upon this event and the verse, the scholars stated that all kinds of green trees could be cut down as a necessity of the war.[12]

Munafiqs Send a Message to Jews: “Resist!”

The besiege was going on.

Meanwhile, the munafiqs and especially Abdullah b. Ubay, their leader, sent a message to Sons of Nadr Jews:  “if you resist Muslims and fight against them, we will not surrender you to them. If you are expelled from your land, we will go out with you.”

Sons of Nadr Jews believed the words of munafiqs and resisted for a while.

The Explanation of the Quran

Those acts of the munafiqs, who always caused mischief, were described as follows in the Quran:

“Hast thou not observed the Hypocrites say to their misbelieving brethren among the People of the Book?― "If ye are expelled, We too will go out with you and we will never hearken to anyone in your affair; and if ye are attacked (in fight), we will help you." But God is witness that they are indeed liars.

If they are expelled never will they go out with them; and if they are attacked (in fight), they will never help them; and if they do help them, they will turn their backs; so they will receive no help.”[13]

They Deem it Obligatory to Surrender and Ask for Pardon

It was the 15^th day of the siege.

When Sons of Nadr Jews saw that the help promised by Abdullah b. Ubay and others did not come, they decided to surrender and ask for pardon.

The Prophet pardoned them and did not punish any of them. He let them go by allowing them to load as much of their possessions as they could, except their arms, on their camels and then leave.

Acting upon the permission of the Prophet, they loaded their goods on six hundred camels as much as they could. They demolished their own houses that were sound so that Muslims would not live there. Their women put on their best clothes and their jewels to show that they did not feel depressed due to this event. They left Madinah by playing their tambourines and blowing their whistles. Some of them went to the direction of Damascus, some to Khaybar and some to Yemen.

The Possessions They Left

When Sons of Nadr Jews left Madinah, they left behind many date groves, crops, property, sheep, cattle and horses and other animals. They also left fifty armors, three hundred and forty swords.[14]

All of those things belonged to the Prophet as the head of the state because they had been obtained without fighting, without riding horses or camels. They are called “fay”. Fay is the property that was obtained from the enemy through banishment or imposing tax without fighting and  that God allocated to the Prophet. The Prophet was free to use that property as he wished.

This issue is stated in the Quran as follows:

“What God has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from them― for this ye made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry: but God gives power to His messengers over any He pleases: and God has power over all things..”[15]

The Ansar, who were the natives of Madinah, had undertaken the sustenance of the muhajirs; they had shared their possessions with them. Therefore, the sustenance of the muhajirs was regarded as a burden on them.

The Messenger of God wanted to divide the fay among the muhajirs in order to relieve the burden of the Ansar. Therefore, he called them and said to them, “I can divide the goods of Sons of Nadr Jews that God gave me among you and the muhajirs if you want. In this case, the muhajirs will go on living in your houses and sharing your things. Or, I can divide those goods among the muhajirs only; in that case, they will leave your houses and you will not have to share your things with them.”

The Muslims of Madinah heartily said, “O Messenger of God! Divide the goods of Sons of Nadr among the muhajirs but let them live with us in our houses. You can also give from our goods to them as much as you want!”[16]

Hazrat Abu Bakr stood up. After thanking his Ansar brothers, he said, “May God reward you. I swear by God that there are no people like you and us in the world.”

The Prophet prayed for the Ansar as follows: “O God! Protect the Ansar and their children; show mercy on them!”[17]

Due to that noble and chivalrous act of Madinah Muslims, the following verse was sent down: 

“And those who before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith― show their affection to such as came to them for refuge, and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but give them preference over themselves even though poverty was their (own lot).[18] And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity.”[19]

The Ansar, who were the natives of Madinah, attained the consent of both the Messenger of God and God Almighty due to their behavior.

Thereupon, the Prophet divided the goods of Sons of Nadr among the mujahids only as God Almighty advised in the verse[20]. Thus, he enabled them to stand on their own feet without needing the help of the Ansar.

Apart from the muhajirs, the Prophet also gave some goods to Abu Dujana and Suhayl b. Hunayf from the Ansar because they were very poor.[21]

THE EXPEDITION OF DHAT AR-RIQA

(4th Year of the Migration, the month of Jumadalawwal / 625)

It was two months after the expulsion of Sons of Nadr Jews from Madinah.

It was heard in Madinah that the tribes of Anmar and Sons of Salaba gathered in order to fight Muslims.

The Prophet immediately made preparations and left Madinah with four hundred (or seven hundred) mujahids. He proceeded to the place called Dhat ar-Riqa and set up the headquarters there.

The polytheists could not face fighting the mujahids; so, they went up to the mountain. There was only a woman left; she was held captive.

The Messenger of God waited there for a while. When the time for noon prayer started, they performed the noon prayer in the form of salat al-khawf (prayer of fear). How to perform salat al-khawf is described in verses 101-102 of the chapter of an-Nisa.  

The fact that the Messenger of God performed prayers in congregation even in the most dangerous moments shows us how important it is to perform prayers in congregation and that it must not be ignored.

A Miracle

It was during the expedition of Dhat ar-Riqa.

Ulba b. Zayd, a Companion, found three ostrich eggs and brought them to the Prophet.

The Messenger of God said, “O Jabir; cook them.”

Hazrat  Jabir cooked the eggs in a bowl and brought them.

The Prophet and the mujahids ate from that bowl until they were full but they saw that the eggs remained the same in the bowl.[22]

Mercy of God upon Believers

It was during the same expedition.

One of the Companions found a young bird. The bird’s mother or father darted into the hands of the Companion who was holding the young bird as if it was sacrificing itself. The Companions were amazed by the acts of the bird. The Messenger of God said to them: 

“Are you amazed and surprise by the act of the bird to save its young? By God, the mercy and compassion of your Lord toward you is more than the mercy and compassion of this bird toward its young!”[23]

The Complaint of the Camel

The Prophet had left Dhat ar-Riqa together with the mujahids and was heading toward Madinah. When they arrived at a place called Harra, they saw that a camel ran toward the Prophet and sat before him with respect; it moved its neck forward and talked to the Prophet.

While the mujahids were looking at them in astonishment, the Prophet said, “Do you know what this camel says? He is complaining about the oppression of its owner. It says its owner made it work for many years and now he wants to slaughter it.” Then, the Prophet told Jabir b. Abdullah to bring the owner of the camel.

When Jabir said, “O Messenger of God! I do not know the owner of the camel”, the Messenger of God said,

“The camel will take you to its owner!”

Indeed, the Prophet took Jabir to its owner as if it was ordered by the Prophet.

Hazrat Jabir said,

“I took the owner of the camel to the Prophet. The Messenger of God talked to him about the camel and said, ‘Is what the camel said true?’ The owner of the camel said, ‘Yes, o Messenger of God!...’.”[24]

The Name of the Expedition

It is stated in the resources that all of the people that took part in this expedition were infantry, that their bare feet were torn by stones and thorns, that their nails fell off and that they wrapped their feet with pieces of cloth; therefore it was given the name Dhat ar-Riqa. Riqa is the plural of “ruqa”, which means a piece of cloth sewn on a garment to cover the torn part; that is, patch.

Abu Musa al-Ash’ari says the following regarding the issue:

“We went on an expedition with the Messenger of God (pbuh). We had only one camel. We rode the camel in turns. Our feet had been pierced. Both of my feet had been pierced and my nails had fallen off. Therefore, we wrapped our feet with pieces of cloth. That expedition was called Dhat ar-Riqa since we wrapped our feet with pieces of cloth.[25]

God’s Messenger’s Miracle of Abundance

Abdullah b. Amr b. Haram, the father of Hazrat Jabir, from the Ansar, had been martyred in Uhud. He had six daughters and a lot of debt.

His creditors were Jews.

Abdullah b. Amr had two orchards with various palm trees with dates; however, their crops were not enough to pay his debt. He owed forty loads of camels of dates to only one Jew.  

When the season of dates started, the Jews started to ask for their money and urge him. Hazrat Jabir offered to give them the whole yield of his dates but they did not accept it.

Thereupon, Jabir went to the presence of the Messenger of God and said, “O Messenger of God! You know that my father was martyred on the day of Uhud. He had a lot of debt. I offered to give the whole yield of my dates to his creditors but they did not accept it.” He asked the Messenger of God to help him.

The Messenger of God talked to the creditors of Abdullah b. Amr b. Haram and offered them to give the whole yield of his date groves in return for his debt by they did not accept it. The creditors did not accept the following offer the Messenger of God, either: “Accept some of the debt this year and the rest next year.”

Thereupon, the Prophet said to Jabir, “Go now; I will come to you tomorrow before noon.”

The next day, the Prophet went to the date grove of Jabir together with Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar. He said to Jabir, “Go and collect your dates. Gather the good ones in one group and the rest in another group. Then, inform me about it!”

Hazrat Jabir fulfilled the order and went to the Messenger of God to inform him. Hazrat Jabir summoned his creditors, too. When they saw the Prophet, they repeated their demands.

The Messenger of God walked round the biggest dates pile three times and prayed; then, he said to Jabir, “Bring your creditors next to me.”

The creditors came. They were given dates from the dates piles in return for their credits. All of the debt was paid. 

Hazrat Jabir narrated what he had seen as follows:

“I had only wished God to pay my debt; I would be pleased to go to my sisters with only a single date after my debt was paid. However, the Messenger of God gave lots of dates to my creditors but not even one date decreased!”[26]

The Jewish creditors were astonished by what they had seen.

It was an obvious miracle of the Messenger of God!

THE EXPEDITION OF BADR AL-MAW’ID

(4th Year of the Migration, the month of Shaban / 625)

As it had been mentioned before, While Abu Sufyan was returning from Uhud, he said to Muslims, “Let us meet you in Badr next year.” Hazrat Umar had said, acting upon the order of the Messenger of God, “All right! I hope it will be the place of fighting between you and us.”[27]

One year had passed after the Battle of Uhud.

The Messenger of God started to make preparations in order to keep his promise.

On the other hand, Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Qurayshis, was continuing his preparations for the war. However, there was a big drought and famine in Makkah that year. Therefore, Abu Sufyan did not intend to fight that year though he encouraged people to do so.

The Tactic Employed by Abu Sufyan

Abu Sufyan, who wanted to give up the decision of going to Badr, wanted to prevent the Prophet and Muslims from going there; he was looking for ways of doing it. 

He met Nuaym b. Mas’­ud, who had not been a Muslim yet, in Makkah. Nuaym had come to Makkah for umrah. 

Abu Sufyan said, “O Nuaym! I had promised Muhammad and his friend to fight in Badr. Now, the time for the fight has arrived. However, there is drought and famine in Makkah now. It is not appropriate for us to fight now. Therefore, we do not want to fight Muhammad this year. If we confront him, it will increase his courage.” Thus, he expressed his intention and worry; and he made Nuaym the following offer:

“Return to Madinah at once! Tell them that I have gathered a force that cannot be resisted; dissuade them from fighting against us in Badr! If you do it, we will give you seventy grown-up camels.”[28]

Nuaym returned to Madinah at once. He started an intense propaganda in favor of the polytheists in order to obtain the prize. He kept on saying that the Qurayshis had gathered an army that cannot be resisted. When the munafiqs also supported him, the Muslims started to lax. Jews and munafiqs were delighted by the situation. They showed their joy insolently by saying,   “Muhammad cannot make anybody fight against the polytheists!”

The Final Decision of the Prophet

Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar informed the Prophet about the situation at once.

The decision of the Messenger of God was definite. He said, “I swear by God in whose powerful hand is my existence that I will go to Badr alone if nobody from Madinah comes with me!”[29]

Those resolute and courageous words struck like lightning in the heart of the Muslims and eliminated the fear and hesitation in their hearts by the permission of God at once.

The Messenger of God appointed Abdullah b. Rawaha as his deputy and left Madinah with one thousand and five hundred mujahids. Hazrat Ali was the standard-bearer. There were only ten cavalrymen in the army.

Mujahids also had their merchandise with them because there was a fair in the place where they were heading toward every year. The expedition coincided with the fair. If the enemy came, they would fight. If they did not come, they would do business.

The Prophet arrived in Badr with his army and started to wait. However, the enemy forces did not appear.

The army of the polytheists commanded by Abu Sufyan had two thousand soldiers; they made preparations and left Makkah but they were able to reach a place called Majinnah only. They did not have the courage to move one step further; although they outnumbered the Muslim army, they could not dare to fight Muslims. Consequently, they returned to Makkah. 

The Messenger of God stayed in Badr for eight nights.

The Arab tribes that came to visit the fair saw that the Muslims maintained their power and that they did not lose their courage and hope. The Qurayshis lost their prestige in the eye of other Arab tribes. 

When the mujahids saw that the enemy would not appear, they bought and sold things, making a lot of profit. 

After staying there for eight nights, the Prophet returned to Madinah with the mujahids happily and joyfully.

This expedition was also called the Minor Badr.

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[1]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 199.
[2]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 199; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2. p. 57.
[3]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 199; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 57; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 560.
[4]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 57.
[5]Waqidi, Maghazi, p. 284-285.
[6]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 57.
[7]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 57.
[8]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 57.
[9]Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 38.
[10]Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 200.
[11]al-Hashr, 5.
[12]seeTajrid Translation, Vol. 12, p. 167.
[13]al-Hashr, 11-12.
[14]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 58.
[15]al-Hashr, 6.
[16]Ibn Sayyid, Uyun al-Athar, Vol. 2, p. 50-51.
[17]Ibn Sayyid, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 50-51.
[18]This characteristic is called isar (altruism). It means to help one's Muslim brother preferring to meet his brother's needs instead of his own needs. In other words, it means to prefer his brother to himself in terms of honor, rank, favor and things that the soul desires like material interests. The Islamic history is full of wonderful examples of altruism.
[19]al-Hashr, 9.
[20]al-Hashr, 8.
[21]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 201-202.
[22]Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, Vol. 2, p. 289.
[23]Ibn Kathir, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 165.
[24]Halabi, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 289.
[25]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 35.
[26]Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 84, 199; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 3, p. 373, 393; Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektûbat, p. 120-121.
[27]Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 3, p. 99-100; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 58.
[28]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 59; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 41.
[29]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 59.

(5th Year of the Migration, the month of Rabiulawwal / AD 626)

A few Arab tribes started to gather in a place called Dumatul-Jandal, which was fifteen nights away from Madinah and which was a town of Damascus, and disturb the travelers by harassing them. Besides, they were making preparations to attack Madinah, the capital city of the Islamic state.[1]

The Prophet was informed about the situation. He set off with an army of one thousand people. The Prophet generally preferred walking against the enemy and attack them in the place where they settled. When the army arrived at the place called Dumatul-Jandal, there was nobody around. When the enemy heard that the Islamic army was walking against them, they ran away. They saw only one person; he embraced Islam when he was asked to be a Muslim.[2]

The Messenger of God stayed for a few nights there and waited for the enemy. Then, he returned to Madinah.

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[1]Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 62.

[2]Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 62.