WEEK 2

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE SOCIETY SET UP BY THE PROPHET (PBUH):
Islam aims at establishing a happy and contented society. Great stress has been laid on man’s ethical behaviour and conduct in life. Before Islam lawlessness, kufr, shirk, blood feuds, gambling, drinking, superstitions prevailed in the society. The Prophet brought changes through the teachings of Islam and set up a society which is unparallel in the history of Islam. The most important quality of Islamic society is to believe in the unity of Allah with all His names and attributes that He is the Creator, The Sustainer, The Majestic and the Supreme Authority. The Prophet (PBUH) taught through his preaching that every believer should have firm belief that there is no god but Allah and He is the sole authority of our accountability and no one can be there like Him.
Another feature of an ideal society is brotherhood. Before Islam blood feuds, enmity and hatred were very common in the society. But the teachings of Islam made them brothers. The prophet said: Muslims are like one man if his eye suffers, the whole body suffers. The Prophet showed a practical example when he gave the hand of each Muhajir into the hand of one Ansar and made them brothers.
People remembered their creator all the time and that kept them away from an unpardonable sin shirk. They loved Allah and His Messenger. The Holy Quran says: “Those who have attained faith love Allah more than anything else” (2:105).
The Prophet gave the footing of such a society where people had fear of Allah and they did not commit evil not for the fear of punishment, but having great love for Allah. Justice was another important feature of that society. Before Islam, ‘might is right’ was the order of the day. But Allah ordained that Muslims must be just in words and deeds without any racial, social, tribal and linguistic consideration. The Prophet (pbuh) said: if Muhammad (pbuh)’s daughter Fatima committed the crime she would have borne the punishment.
Islam taught the lesson of equality to the people of different tribes and different nations. In the construction of the mosque of the prophet and digging the ditch for the battle, the Prophet (pbuh) worked with the Muslims like an ordinary man.
Self sacrifice is the act of seeking the welfare of others at the cost of one’s own self. Quran says, “You shall never achieve piety till you give away from what you love” Hazrat Ayesha was fasting when a beggar asked for food she gave away the only piece of bread she was keeping for herself to break the fast.
It is the duty of every Muslim to guide the other person to the right path. According to Surah Al Imaran “ And let there be among you a body of men who should invite to goodness and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and it is they who shall prosper”
According to a Hadith “If any one sees an abomination he should change it with his hand if he cannot he should do it with his tongue if he cannot he should do it in his heart, that being the weakest form of faith.”
Another feature of society was peace. Before the advent of Islam corruption, immorality, chaos, disintegration, bloodshed prevailed in the society but because of the teachings of Islam, each person’s life and property became safe and sacred for everyone. Tolerance for other faiths was exercised in that society. The success of the Muslim society depended to a great extent on honesty and trust worthiness manifested by the members of the society both collectively and individually. It not only gave power and glory to the Islamic society but it also enhanced the prestige of the nation. In the age of ignorance, confusion, mistrust and apprehensions had engulfed the society and had ruined it but Islam attached great importance to fulfilment of pledges. Last but not the least is that Islam encouraged people to earn by lawful means. It emphasised on lawful and legal trade and it considered hoarding, games of chance and gambling as illegal.
These were the distinctive qualities of a society that Prophet (pbuh) had given to us and all the Muslims of this world are trying their level best to implement these golden rules among their societies.


CHANGE OF QIBLAH:
The Prophet (PBUH) as well as the Muslims had been facing towards Jerusalem while worshipping. Such practice was followed for one year and four months after migrating to Madinah. It was the wish of the Prophet (PBUH) and the other Arab converts, that the K'abah be made the Qiblah for prayers, for they had been holding the sanctuary at Makkah in a respectful regard since the time of Prophet Ibrahim (RA). To them, the house of worship built by Ibrahim and Ismail was the holiest of the holy ones, incomparable in sanctity to any other sanctum or shrine. They were put to a severe test by being asked to face Jerusalem instead of K’abah and they withstood this trial by dutifully obeying the divine command. Such was their devotion to the Prophet (PBUH) that they always replied, whether they found anything to their linking or not: "...We hear, and we obey..." [24:51] and "We believe in it, it is all from our Lord..." [3:7]. Thus, after the faith of the earliest Muslims had been brought to a test and they had passed it successfully, the Qiblah for prayer was changed to the K'abah. "We have made you (believers) into a just community, so that you may bear witness (to the truth) before others and so that the Messenger may bear witness (to it) before you. We only made the direction the one you used to face (Prophet) in order to distinguish those who follow the Messenger from those who turn on their heels.... “[Qur'an 2:143]. The Muslims changed their direction promptly in prayer, in compliance with divine command, towards the K'abah which was henceforth selected as the Qiblah for all the believers, living in any part of the World, for all



The battle of Badr was the first battle fought between the Muslims and the pagans. It happened on the 17th of Ramazan 2AH.
Causes:
1. The people of Makkah were very furious because they had failed to kill the Holy Prophet (PBUH) before the migration.
2. The Quraish were greatly displeased with the people of Medina for giving shelter to the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims. They asked the Medinites to hand over the Prophet (PBUH) and the Emigrants to them, which they refused. Hence they contacted the Jews and the hypocrites and sought their help.
3. There were some skirmishes between the Muslims and the people of Makkah: The Quraish’s cavalry would occasionally reach the borders of Medina and attack the grazing areas used by the Muslims’ animals and carry off some of the camels and cattle of the Muslims. The Prophet (PBUH) also started sending parties to patrol the out skirts of Medina. Once during patrolling a skirmish took place in which some member of Quraish was killed though the Prophet (PBUH) never gave the patrol party such permission, this is known as the incident of Nakhala. This increased the level of hostility in the Quraish who were now eager to avenge the blood of the slain member.
4. Some Jews and hypocrites invited the people of Makkah to attack the Muslims.
5. Trade caravans of the Quraish used to pass through Medina. The Prophet (PBUH) decided to threaten the caravans, which would hurt the Quraish economically. The Prophet (PBUH) started sending parties to watch the caravans. He also made alliance with some of the Bedouin tribes to deny the Quraish safe route to their caravans.
6. Abu Sufyan was returning from Syria with caravan carrying merchandise. He asked the Quraish to send an armed expedition to escort him home safely. The Quraish despatched an army to join Abu Sufyan in Syria. When Abu Sufyan reached Makkah safely he asked the army to return but they refused to do so. Some of the leaders, like Abu Jahal, insisted on advancing towards Medina. In the month of Safar 2 AH, Allah had already given permission to fight against the unbelievers. ‘’Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you.’’ (2:190)
Events:
When the Holy Prophet (PBUH) learnt that the Quraish were advancing towards Medina with the intension to attack, he immediately called the Muslims to take necessary steps. The Muhajirin and the Ansar got together to defend themselves. They were 313 men in all with only 2 horses and a few camels.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) advanced to the valley of Badr, where he occupied the water sources and rendered others useless except the one nearest to Makkah. It was the first strategic supremacy which the Prophet (PBUH) showed. All night he prayed for Divine help for the Muslims which was granted. A few Muslim soldiers were stationed on firm ground on the slope of a hill. In the morning the sun was on the back of the Muslims. The rainfall at night refreshed the tired Muslim army. Sound sleep at night also made them fresh and ready to fight. The Qur’an describes the scene: ‘’Remember when He gave you sleep as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water from the sky to cleanse you, to remove Satan’s pollution from you, to make your hearts strong and your feet firm ’’ (8:11). As Allah never breaks His promise, divine help which was promised, came to the aid of the Muslims and He sent 1000 angels to assist them in their fight. Allah says in the Qur’an: ‘’you have already seen a sign in the two armies that met in a battle, one fighting for God’s cause and the other made up of disbelievers. With their own eyes [the Muslims] saw [the pagans] to be twice their number, but God helps whoever he will....’’ (3:13)
The great expedition of Badr took place on the 17th of Ramazan 2AH. Allah called this battle the ‘Day of the decision’. Allah says: ‘’....if you believe in Allah and the revelation We sent down Our servant on the day of the decision, the day when the two forces met in battle....’’ (8:41). The Makkans were 1000 in number and armed to the teeth, with several horses and a large number of weapons. All the nobles except Abu Lahab had joined the army.
Before the battle as per the custom of Arabia, Utbah bin Rabiah, his brother Shaibah and his son Waleed stepped forward from the Quraish side and asked the Muslims to send forward their warriors for individual combat. When three youths from the Ansar went out to meet them, they refused to fight with them saying that they wanted to contest with their equals from their own tribe. So the Holy Prophet (PBUH) sent Ubaidah bin Al-Harith (RA), Hamza (RA) and Ali (RA) to fight them. Hamza (RA) killed Shaibah, Ali (RA) killed Waleed while Ubaidah (RA) was seriously injured but before he fell, Hamza (RA) cut the throat of Utbah. Ali (RA) and Hamza (RA) carried Ubaidah (RA) back to their camp. After this some other duels were also fought in which the Quraish were badly beaten which greatly set them back. The Muslims first shot arrows at the attacking Makkans, then threw stones upon them and lastly fought with swords. A total of 70 Makkans including Abu Jahal, Umayyah bin Khalf and other prominent leaders were killed. Also a total of 70 pagans became prisoners including Abbas (Prophet’s uncle) and a son of Abu Sufyan. On the other hand 14 Muslims were martyred. The Muslims got 115 camels, 14 horses and a rich store of clothes and carpets and equipment of war as booty. When the news of this defeat reached Makkah the whole town was struck with grief. Pledges were taken to avenge the blood of their kinsmen. In Medina the captives were dealt with very mercifully. All those captives who could pay were freed after the payment of ransom. Those who could read and write were charged with the duty of teaching 10 Muslims each to get their freedom after a fixed period of teaching.
Results:
1. It was the most important and decisive victory in the history of the Islamic world. It determined the destiny of Islam.
2. It was the first fight between the Muslims and the Makkans which was declared as a fight between truth and falsehood.
3. The victory of this battle encouraged the Muslims and made them strong believers.
4. The victory also strengthened Islam. The Bedouin tribes around Medina were watching the events closely. Seeing the outcome of the battle, they formed alliances with the Muslims and also signed treaties.
5. The hypocrites under the leadership of Abdullah bin Ubay also became more careful.
6. All the prominent leaders of the Quraish were killed in the battle and the leadership passed to Abu Sufyan.
7. The people of Makkah became more furious and grieved because they were not expecting such a result.
8. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) showed his great skill as a military commander.