Week 3

BATTLE OF HUNAIN (8AH):

When the news of the conquest of Makkah reached the leaders of Hawazin and Saqeef tribe, two very strong and warring tribes of Taif, they became enraged. They could not allow the Muslims to control the Kabah, the house of their idols. They decided to make a last effort against Islam. When the Prophet received the news of the declaration of a war against the Muslims, he raised an army of 12000 men and set out to meet the enemy. When the Muslims were marching through a steep and narrow valley the enemy suddenly sprang upon them. This unexpected attack broke the Muslims’ formation and many of them turned back and fled in panic.
The Prophet with a handful of companions stuck to his place and shouted at the Muslims to come back. They soon came back and rallied around the Prophet and fighting was renewed with vigour. The enemy fled and most of them took refuge in Taif. The initial reason for the Muslims’ defeat was that some of them were over confident because of their strength and number forgetting that victory came only from Allah. The Quran talks about this battle in the following verses: ‘’ assuredly Allah did help you in many battlefields even on the day of Hunain. You were well pleased with your large numbers, but they were of no use to you. The earth seemed to close in on you despite its spaciousness and you turned tail and fled. Then God sent His calm down to His messenger and the believers and sent down invisible forces. He punished the disbelievers—this is what disbelievers deserve.’’ (9:25, 26)
Consequences of the battle: This was an important battle fought by the Prophet. The Hawazin was mainly a nomadic tribe which was war like and stubborn. No other tribe posed such a threat to the Prophet as the Hawazin. Their defeat convinced the other nomadic tribes that the Prophet was invincible. Thus the supremacy of Islam and sovereignty of Medina was established all over Arabia.

SIEGE OF TAIF (8AH): Read from the book.

TABUK EXPEDITION (9AH):
Causes
The relations between the Muslims and Christians were strained since the Battle of Ma’uta. The byzantine Christians could not view with equanimity the growing unity of Arabia and the spread of Islam. The Emperor Heraclius collected a large force to attack Madinah. When the Holy Prophet (pbuh) learned about it he gave a call for Jihad.

Events
The time of expedition was unfavourable as there was draught and famine in Arabia. The summer was exceptionally hot. The date crop was ready to be harvested. The Arab tribes were reluctant to combat the Byzantinians whom they regarded with awe, particularly after the battle of Ma’uta. It was a long journey through arid desert towards a formidable enemy army. Moreover, the hypocrites under the leadership of ‘Abdullah bin Ubay’ were busy spreading discontentment and fear. They made various excuses not to accompany the Messenger of Allah and said that they feared the enemy and the intense heat. Allah said of them, “Those who were left behind were happy to stay behind when God’s Messenger set out; they hated the thought of striving in God’s way with their possessions and their persons. They said to one another, ‘Do not go (to war) in this heat.’ Say ‘Hellfire is hotter.’ If only they understood!” (9:81)
The Prophet (pbuh) asked the Muslims for contributions for the preparation of the expedition. The Muslims contributed a large number of equipment; Abu Bakr gave all his possessions while Umar gave half of his. Usman gave 300 camels and 1000 dinars, women donated their ornaments.
The Prophet (pbuh) collected an army of 30,000 and marched out of Madinah. The hypocrites joined the Muslim army in the beginning but soon afterwards, they excused and returned.
After seven days of journey, the Muslims reached Tabuk, but the enemy had already dispersed when they heard about the advance of such a huge army. The Prophet (pbuh) sent small expeditions against various Christian and Jewish princes in the neighbourhood. Many Christian tribes entered into alliance with the Muslims and came under their protection and agreed to pay Jizyah. In return The Prophet (pbuh) guaranteed their protection of their borders and territories, their caravans and their ships travelling by land and sea. Agreements to this effect were delivered to all parties.
Then came the news that the Romans had withdrawn from their border towns. They had decided not to encroach on the Muslim land. The Prophet (pbuh) could see no reason to pursue them into their territory as his goal had already been achieved. After staying in Tabuk for twenty days the Prophet (pbuh) returned to Madinah.

Significance of Expedition of Tabuk
• The Tabuk expedition did not achieve any military objectives, it nevertheless indicated the direction, from which Islam would face the greatest danger.
• One indirect result of the expedition of Tabuk was the final extinction of the hypocrites of Abullah bin Ubbay. They always plotted against the Muslims and helped the enemies during the battle. They even built a mosque at Quba. The Prophet (pbuh) on his return from the expedition of Tabuk ordered it to be demolished, as it had become a gathering place for disaffected elements in Madinah. After two months of the return from Tabuk Abdullah bin Ubay died and with his death, the hypocrites ceased to exist.
The expedition to Tabuk in Rajab 9 A.H. was the last campaign of the Prophet. In all, the Muslims had fought in twenty-seven and taken part in sixty forays and expeditions. No conqueror had ever achieved such success with so little loss of life. Throughout all the campaigns, a total of only one thousand and eighteen people from both sides had been killed. Eventually Arabia was so safe that a woman pilgrim could travel all the way from Hirah to Makkah without anyone fearing anyone except Allah.

REVIEW OF THE BATTLES FOUGHT BY THE PROPHET: Read from the book

YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS (10AH): Read from the book

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JAN WEEK 4 ( CONQUEST OF MAKKAH)
CONQUEST OF MAKKAH (8AH):

Causes:

The defeat of the Muslims at Mu’tah encouraged the Quraish to adopt a hostile attitude towards the Muslims. In the treaty of Hudaibiya, it was laid down that anyone who wanted to enter into a treaty with the Prophet (PBUH) or the Quraish could do so. The Banu Bakr entered into an alliance with the Quraish while the Banu Khuza’ah made a pact with the Prophet (PBUH).
Two years after the treaty of Hudaibiya, Banu Bakr attacked and killed the men of Banu Khuza’ah. A deputation of the Banu Khuza’ah came to the Holy Prophet and asked for his aid and protection. The Holy Prophet promised to help them. He sent a messenger to the Quraish offering them three alternatives:
1. To pay compensation or blood money for the men of Banu Khuza’ah.
2. To dissolve their alliance with Banu Bakr.
3. To declare that the treaty of Hudaibiya stood dissolved.
The Quraish opted for the third alternative but soon realized that they were no match for the Muslims and sent Abu Sufyan to settle the affair as best as he could. Abu Sufyan went to Medina and first went to see his daughter Umme Habiba, one of the wives of the Prophet but she refused to help him. Then he went to Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali, but they all expressed their inability to intercede on his behalf. Then he went to the mosque of the Prophet and shouted that the Quraish would guarantee peace and protection to all, but the Prophet rejected the offer.

Events:
The Prophet prepared an army of 10000 men; he maintained complete secrecy to prevent Quraish from organizing an alliance with their neighbouring tribes. The Holy Prophet set out to Makkah on the 10th of Ramazan 8AH. The Muslims camped outside Makkah. The Quraish were taken by complete surprise. They came to know of it when they saw 10000 fires lit on the hills outside Makkah. The Prophet had ordered his followers to light up these torches so that the Makkans should know what they were up against. The sight of so many fires magnified the size of the Muslim army in the eyes of the Quraish and they were demoralized, over awed and completely unnerved. Abu Sufyan came to spy for the Quraish and was completely taken aback. The guards of Allah’s apostle caught him and brought him to the Prophet. At that point Abu Sufyan embraced Islam.
Before entering Makkah the Prophet proclaimed that whosoever remained in his own house would be safe, whoever was in Kabah would be safe and those who entered the house of Abu Sufyan would be safe. Thus safety was guaranteed to virtually everyone. The Prophet told his army not use arms against anyone when they entered Makkah unless they met with resistance or were attacked. He ordered them to avoid bloodshed; they were to resort to arms if absolutely unavoidable. He ordered that the old, the women and the children should not be harmed. He divided his army into four columns; each column was assigned a specific part of Makkah to capture. They entered peacefully. The column of Khalid bin Waleed was showered with arrows and he had to fight back 13 men from the Quraish. In the skirmish two Muslims were martyred. The Prophet went to the Kabah and performed Tawaaf. He went inside and prayed, then he purified it. There were about 360 idols in the Kabah, while destroying the idols he recited the following verse: ‘’ and say the truth has come and falsehood has passed away, falsehood is bound to pass away’’ (17:81). The Messenger of Allah opened the door of the Kabah. The Quraish had filled the mosque and were waiting to see what he would do. Before the Zuhr prayer the Prophet directed Bilal to ascend the roof of the Kabah and announce the azaan. After the prayers the Holy Prophet proceeded to the Safa Hill and people came in crowds to embrace Islam. He then delivered a sermon on the unity of God, abolition of the customs of the ignorance and practices of the Quraish and laid emphasis on the duty of man to God and Mankind.
At the end of the sermon he asked them ‘’ what do you think I am going to do to you?’’ They said ‘’ you are a noble brother and a son of a noble brother.’’ The Prophet said ‘’ no blame on you be this day. Go, you are free.’’ The Quraish were dumbfounded, they never expected to escape so lightly. The mercy of the Prophet captivated their hearts. Even the bitterest enemy amongst them was convinced of the supreme moral virtues of Islam. The truth of Islam penetrated deep into their hearts. The prophet stayed in Makkah for about 20 days during which he made final arrangements for the administration of the city. He defined the boundaries of Haram of Makkah by erecting pillars of stones at proper places. Most of the offices and the privileges of the Quraish were abolished. The Quran says regarding the conquest of Makkah: : ‘’When God’s help comes and he open up your way [Prophet], when you see people embracing God’s faith in crowds, celebrate the praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness...’’ (110:1-3).

Significance:
The conquest of Makkah was not only due to the superb leadership of the prophet but also due to his magnificent character, his tact, diplomacy, administrative skill and statesmanship that he exhibited as the head of the new Islamic state of Medina as well as his deep faith in his mission and profound trust in Allah. The conquest of Makkah produced the following results:
• The Muslims recovered their native homeland.
• The Kaabah was purified of idols.
• The Muslims conquered the economic, cultural, political, spiritual, social and international centre of Arabia.
• The Holy Prophet pardoned everyone and showed that he was sent as a mercy for the whole world.
• Many people accepted Islam in groups including Abu Sufyan who was a bitter enemy of Islam.
• The Holy Prophet, for the first time appointed someone as the governor of Makkah, and went back to Medina.
• The whole Arabia came under the control of the Muslims.
Allah’s promise proved true that after the Battle of Trench, the Makkans would not attack the Muslims and with the conquest of Makkah their chances of attacking Medina vanished forever.
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JAN WEEK 4 ( KHYBER, UMRAH, MAUTAH)
KHYBER EXPEDITION (7AH):

The Bani Nazir and other Jewish tribes after being exiled from Medina had settled at Khyber where they were always plotting against the Muslims. They had the support of the Ghatafan tribe and the hypocrites of Medina. When they came to know of the terms of Hudaibiya, they took it as a sign of weakness or almost a defeat of the Muslims and began to make preparations for attacking Medina. Khyber was a group of strongly fortified fortresses in the northeast of Medina, the principal of which was called Al Qamas. The Holy Prophet came to know of these developments and marched with an army of 1600 men against the Jews of Khyber. The hypocrites of Medina warned the Jews who at once dispatched the message to the Ghatafan tribe, promising half of the produce of their fruit crop, if they could beat the Muslim expedition. The Muslim army headed by the Holy Prophet marched to Isra Mountain and encamped in a valley called Al-Raji to prevent the mingling of the Ghatafan with the Jews of Khyber.
The Prophet did not want a long siege, so he ordered an attack. The Muslims captured all fortresses without much difficulty, but when they reached the fort of Qamas, the fight prolonged for 20 days. Each day they had to return without success, until one day, the Prophet sent Hazrat Ali as commander of the troops for the day’s fight. Hazrat Ali pledged to fight until the enemy would embrace Islam. Seeing the Muslims under the command of Hazrat Ali, Mahrab, the famous warrior of the Jews came out of the fort to fight. Hazrat Ali killed him in the first attack. Then a fierce battle started in which the Jews were forced to surrender and the Muslims captured the fort. The Jews requested the Holy Prophet to grant them peace and so the Prophet allowed them to stay in Khyber on the condition that they would live in peace and give half of the produce of their land to the Muslims.


UMRAH (7AH):

According to the treaty of Hudaibiya, signed in 6AH, Muslims could perform Umrah the next year. They were also entitled to stay for three days in Makkah. So 2000 men with some women and children having 60 camels for sacrifice advanced towards Makkah. When they were 8 miles away, the Holy Prophet appointed 200 men with weapons there and the remaining Muslims entered Makkah with sheathed swords. The Quraish shifted to their camps on a mountain from where they were watching the caravans of the Muslims. All the rituals were performed with full dignity and freedom by the Muslims. The Quraish were tongue tied for three days. After that as per the treaty, they asked the Muslims to leave Makkah. After Umrah, the next phase of the Islamic revolution started and the glory of Islam increased.

BATTLE OF MU’TAH (8AH):

The Holy Prophet sent a letter to the Roman Emperor who was a Christian, inviting him to Islam. The messenger was killed at Mu’tah, a place in Syria. The Holy Prophet therefore sent an army of 3000 Muslims under the leadership of Zaid bin Haris. The Muslims had not fought such a huge army before. Zaid bin Haris fought bravely but fell due to injuries and Hazrat Jaffar took the flag. His right hand was cut and he seized the flag in his left hand but that too was cut and he seized the flag with both arms until a soldier cut him in two. Then Abdullah bin Rawahah (RA) proceeded reciting the verses of the Holy Qur’an enthusiastically until he was also martyred. The Muslims chose Khalid bin Waleed as the flag bearer and he planned a strategy to terrify the enemy. The enemy was misled because they assumed that a fresh army had joined the Muslims. They believed that they were being entrapped. They stopped pursuing the Muslim army and the Muslims safely retreated to Medina. The number of martyrs was 12 while the casualties of the Byzantines were large in number. Although the Muslims were not satisfied with the result of the war but their reputation in warfare intimidated the non-Muslims when they came to know that only 3000 men with simple equipment had fought so bravely against such a large army.

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JAN WEEK 4 (HUDAIBIYA)
TREATY OF HUDAIBIYA (6AH):
In 6 A.H., the Holy Prophet (pbuh) had a dream that he had entered the Sacred Mosque. Therefore, he decided to go to Makkah for performing Umrah, or the minor pilgrimage. The Quran says: “Allah indeed fulfilled the vision for His Messenger with truth. You shall certainly enter the Sacred Mosque if Allah pleases in security.” (Al-Fath 48:27)
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) washed his clothes, mounted his camel Qaswa and marched towards Makkah in the company of 1400 companions including his wife Umm-e-Salma. When the Quraish heard of the approach of the Muslims they were prepared to resist their entry by force of arm, they sent a force under the command of Khalid bin Waleed and Ikramah bin Abu Jahl. As the Prophet (pbuh) had no intention to fight, he left the main road and led the Muslims towards the less frequented road. They camped at a place called Hudaibiya, which was some miles from Makkah, the Quraish resolved to fight rather than allow Muslims to enter Makkah. The Prophet (pbuh) sent a Messenger to Makkah who was ill-treated by the Quraish. Then, he sent Uthman ibn Affan (RA) who had a powerful clan to protect him in Makkah. Since Uthman ibn Affan (RA) was detained for a long time, a rumour broke out in the Muslim camp that he had been killed by the Quraish.
The Prophet (pbuh) called his companions to take a pledge to fight and avenge the blood of Uthman (RA). This pledge was taken on the hand of Prophet (pbuh) while he stood under a tree, hence it became known as Bayt Al Ridwan, the pledge of tree or the Pledge of God’s Pleasure. Allah says, “Allah indeed was pleased with the believers, when they swore allegiance to you under the tree and He knew what was in their hearts, so he sent down peace on them and rewarded them with clear victory.” (48:18)
The arrogant Quraish now realized that the Muslims were strong enough to defend their faith and evil tactics could not frighten them. So they decided to conclude a treaty of reconciliation and peace with the Muslims. Sohail bin Amir was sent to write a treaty. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) started dictating the treaty with the words “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem.” At this Sohail insisted upon the customary words “Bismika Allahuma.” The Muslims felt uneasy at these words, but the Holy Prophet (pbuh) agreed to Sohail’s wish. Then he went on to dictate, “This is what Muhammad as the Messenger of Allah, has agreed to with Sohail bin Amr.” Upon that Sohail bin Amr again protested that the Makkans had not acknowledged Muhammad as the Messenger of Allah. He should write his own name and the name of his father. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) himself erased the words and instead dictated “Muhammad the son of Abdullah.” The clauses of the treaty go as follows:
1) The Muslims shall return this year and come back next year, but they shall not stay in Makkah for more than three days. They must be unarmed but can bring with them swords only which should be sheathed and these shall be kept in bags.
2) War activities shall be suspended for ten years, during which both parties will live in full security and neither will raise sword against the other.
3) If a tribe wishes to join the Holy Prophet (pbuh) or enter into a treaty with him, they should have the liberty to do so; and likewise whosoever wishes to join the Quraish or enter in a treaty with them should be allowed to do so.
4) If anyone from the Quraish goes to Muhammad (pbuh) without his guardian’s permission, meaning fugitive, he should be sent back to the Quraish, but should any of Muhammad’s (pbuh) followers return to the Quraish he shall not be sent back.

Many of the Muslims including Hazrat Umar were not happy over the terms of the treaty which were very harsh and against the interest of Muslims. Yet the Holy Prophet (pbuh) accepted them with the command of Allah Who Himself, declared this treaty to be a manifest victory for the believers by saying: “Truly, We have opened up a path to clear triumph for you.” (48:1).


Importance/ effects of Hudaibiya:
• By entering into ten years truce with the Quraish, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) reaped several political and strategic advantages. Firstly, Medina started to be reckoned as an equal power with Makkah in the eyes of the whole of Arabia. Secondly, the Quraish became neutral in the struggle between the Holy Prophet (pbuh) on one side and the Jews and Bedouin on the other. Thirdly, Medina became a centre around which all the tribes were united under the banner of Islam.
• In the two that followed, more people accepted Islam than in the preceding six years. The great Muslim Khalid bin Waleed and Amr bin Aas accepted Islam during this period.
• The Quraish had imposed an unjust term of repatriation (send someone back to their own country), which laid down that the converts from Makkah could not go to Medina. These converts instead of going to Medina fled and settled on a hilly track on road to Syria from where they posed a threat to the trade caravans of the Quraish. The Quraish were forced to beg the Muslim to cancel this clause from the Treaty.
After the Treaty, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) sent messages of Islam to kings and emperors some of whom embraced Islam. The Treaty of Hudaibiya was a turning point in the great struggle of Islamic revolution which laid the foundation of later successes. It ultimately paved the ground for the peaceful and bloodless conquest of Makkah.