THE EIGHTH YEAR OF HEGIRA

The Passing Away of Zaynab, the Daughter of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh)

Zaynab (r.ha) never really recovered from the injury she received, when she was pushed off from camelback during her journey to Medina. She ultimately breathed her last on the turn of the eighth year of Hegira. Her corpse was washed by Umm Ayman, an Ansari woman Umm Atiyya and the honorable wives of the Prophet (pbuh) Sawda and Umm Salama. Just before they began the Noble Prophet (pbuh) came next to them and told them to begin washing her, “…from the right hand side and with her limbs of wudu! Wash her in odd numbers with water and sidr;^[1] once, three times, seven times and more, if necessary. Place some camphor in the water before the last run. Inform me when you are done!”

Combing Zaynab’s (r.ha) hair, they parted it into three and tied it into three locks; one each for the sides and another for the hair on the top of her head. As they finished washing her, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) handed them the shroud he had around his waist and told them to, “Use it as an inner shroud for Zaynab!”^[2] (Bukhari, Janaiz, 9, 13, 17; Muslim, Janaiz, 36; Ibn Sad, VIII, 34-36)

After leading her funeral salat, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) descended to her grave, downcast and mournfully. He momentarily remained there, before climbing back up, this time with a smile on his face, saying, “Thinking of Zaynab’s weakness, I prayed Allah to alleviate from her the troubles and heat of the grave…and Allah accepted my prayer.” (Ibn Athir, Usd’ul-Ghabah, VII, 131)

The Battle of Muta: A Legend Written by a Handful of Companions (Jamaziyalawwal, 8 / August-September, 629)

Envoys sent by the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) to various kings and governors, irrespective of the maltreatment and abuse they at times received, in line with the age old principle that forbade ‘shooting the messenger’, were returning to Medina safe and sound. However, the return of Harith ibn Umayr (r.a), who was sent to the Chieftain of Busra, was never to be. Upon arriving at Mutah, Harith (r.a) was intercepted by Shurahbil ibn Amr, a Ghassani chieftain, who asked the Companion where he was headed. Finding out he was the ambassador of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), Shurahbil then did the unthinkable and callously murdered and martyred the Companion.^[3]

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) became deeply upset with the manner in which Harith (r.a) was martyred. The crime was furthermore an out-an-out violation of Islam and a complete disregard of Muslims. A counter action was now imperative to save the honor of the Islamic State and to stop the event from leading to drastic consequences. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) therefore immediately mobilized an army of three-thousand Believers.

Based on the universal will of Islam that destroyed the differences of class belonging to the Age of Ignorance, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) designated Zayd (r.a), his free slave, as the commander of the Muslim army. He then gave the commander the following instructions:

“Should you fall martyr, then let Jafar take the command! And should Jafar, too, fall martyr then let Abdullah ibn Rawaha take the command! And if he, too, falls martyr, then let the Muslims choose a commander from among themselves!”

A Jew, in the meantime, overheard these instructions considered them to be death announcements of those mentioned. He approached Zayd (r.a), and with the intention of casting fear into his heart, told him to “Prepare your will! For if Muhammad is really a prophet then you shall not return to him. The names the Prophets of Israel used to give prior to a battle would never return!”

This only made Zayd (r.a) happier. (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, IV, 238) The Jew had not the least clue that he, like the rest of the Companions, was burning with the desire for martyrdom.

Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a) who completed his preparations for the campaign, came and bode farewell to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), whom he would dearly miss, and said, “Advise me with something, Messenger of Allah, that I can commit to my heart!”

“You will soon reach a land where little sajdah (prostration) to Allah is made. Increase your salat and sajdah there!” recommended the Blessed Prophet (pbuh).

“Advise me some more, Messenger of Allah”, insisted Ibn Rawaha.

“Always remember Allah, for remembrance of Allah will help you attain to what you wish!” (Waqidi, II, 758)

The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) accompanied the Muslim army as far as Saniyyat’ul-Wada and saw them off on their campaign amid abundant prayers. He commanded them to go as far as the point where Harith (r.a) had been martyred, invite the enemy there to Islam and, if they refuse, fight them, expecting aid only from Allah.^[4]

Made aware of the Muslim march, backed by the Byzantines, the grim Shurahbil also prepared a force reportedly of a hundred-thousand in number, bolstered all the more with the enlistment of another hundred-thousand Christian Arabs.^[5]

The Muslim army found out about the enormous size of the enemy only after crossing over into Syria. Faced with a situation they had not expected in the least, they held a discussion. As the balance of power was tremendously out of proportion and of an imbalance perhaps never before seen in history, the majority was of the opinion to inform the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) of the situation and wait for his instructions. They were moments away from reaching an unanimous decision to send the news to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) when Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a) spoke out:

“Isn’t that before which we feel hesitant now the very same thing we have set out in search for? Do we ever fight the enemy with a superiority of number or might? No! We fight with the power of religion Allah has granted us. So what are we waiting for? What awaits us is one of two beautiful ends: Either martyrdom or victory!”

The Companions thus settled on firmly marching ahead.

Zayd ibn Arqam (r.a) recounts:

“I was an orphan in the care of Abdullah ibn Rawaha. When setting out on the Mutah Campaign, he had me seated on the back of his saddle. After traveling some time in the night, I heard him murmur to himself a poem along the lines of, ‘O my camel! Just take me and my load across four stations, ahead of the well near the sands, and I will never ride you to any other campaign. You shall thereafter be free, without an owner! To my family, it looks as if I will not be able to return! To be martyred is what I hope! Muslims have come and left me in the lands of Damascus, wherein I am eager to forever be! No longer do I care for the ripe date trees, watered by rainfall and from beneath!’

After hearing him, I began to cry. Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a) then gently poked me with his whip and said, ‘What harm could there be, kid, for Allah to grant me martyrdom and for you to return on camelback with your load? I will then be relieved from all the troubles and grief of the world!’

Deep in the night, he got off from his camel and offered two rakahs of salat. Afterwards, he said a lengthy prayer, after which he commented, ‘This time, Allah willing, I will be granted martyrdom!’” (Ibn Hisham, III, 431-432; Waqidi, II, 759)

Once they reached the outskirts of the village of Mutah where the enemy had been stationed, without the blink of an eye, the handful of Believers led by Zayd (r.a) launched a courageous onslaught on the enemy ranks. Those who had given their hearts to tawhid were now on the verge of giving their lives in Allah’s way. In a heated and violent moment of the Battle, Zayd (r.a), the beloved of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and among the first eight Muslims in Mecca, came on the receiving end of fatal enemy spears and was martyred.

Compliant with the instructions given by the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), Jafar (r.a) immediately seized the Muslim flag and assumed leadership of the army. He gallantly forced his way through the enemy ranks and in a legendary bout in which he was meted out with numerous strikes of the sword, ended up losing both of his arms and was martyred a short while later.

Time had now come for Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a) to assume leadership of the forces. With like zeal, he grabbed the Muslim flag and waved in amid the streaming enemy ranks.

“Bear witness”, he declared to those around, “that I am leaving all of what I have in Medina to the Treasury!”

He then put up a heroic fight until his body could bear no more of the sword and spear wounds. Following the martyrdom of Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a), it was Khalid ibn Walid (r.a) to take the Muslim flag and continue leading the Believers’ epic onslaught. A handful of Companions were putting up a colossal resistance against an enemy as numerous as a swarm of grasshoppers.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was meanwhile reporting the Battle, moment by moment, to his Companions from the pulpit of the Masjid in Medina. It was as if the battlefield was right in front of their eyes. The Prophet (pbuh) was depicting the martyrings taking place one after another at Mutah, in a sorrowful tone:

“Zayd ibn Harithah has taken the flag. Shaytan has quickly come next to him to make life and the world look dear to him and death, ugly and despicable. But Zayd says, ‘You are trying to endear the world to me at a moment that ought to reinforce the iman in Muslim hearts!’ He has advanced and has been martyred. Pray Allah for his forgiveness and mercy!”

The Noble Prophet (pbuh) then continued:

“He is now running around in Paradise. Jafar has now taken the flag. Shaytan has quickly come next to him, wanting to make life and the world look dear to him and death ugly and despicable. But Jafar responds, ‘Now is the time that ought to reinforce iman in Muslim hearts!’ and advances, where he fights and until being martyred. I testify that he was martyred.”^[6]

“Ask forgiveness and mercy from Allah on your brother’s behalf”, he then added. “He has now entered Paradise as a martyr, flying to wherever his heart pleases with two wings of ruby.”

“Abdullah ibn Rawaha has grabbed the flag after Jafar”, explained the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) before falling into an abrupt silence. The Ansari faces grew pale, thinking Ibn Rawaha had done something the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was not pleased with. In the meantime, in the field of Mutah, while steering his horse towards the enemy, Abdullah ibn Rawaha (r.a) was at the same time battling to bring his own self to its knees:

“I have sworn to crush you into submission” he was calling out to his self. “You either comply of your own accord or I will force you into compliance! I see that you do not like Paradise all that much! But what are you apart from a drop of water in the bottle that is the body? O self! Will you be able to evade death if you survive today? If you chose to follow the two before you and opt for martyrdom, you will have made a right move! But if you are late, you will live to lament!”

Receiving a nasty wound on his finger, which was hanging by a thread to his hand, Ibn Rawahah dismounted from his horce, and placing his wounded finger under his foot, said:

“What are you but a mere finger bleeding in the path of the Almighty?” he said in a poetic tone, before swiftly pulling his hand from under his foot, removing his dangling finger. He then continued to fight. Engaging in a minor jihad against the enemy, he was at the same time caught up in a major jihad against his own self:

“If your worry stems from being separated from your wife, then know that I hereby divorce her! If being deprived of the aid of your slaves is what holds you back, then know that I have set them free! Or if your garden is what you cannot leave behind then take note that I hereby leave them to the disposal of Allah and His Messenger!”

The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) continued keeping the Companions updated with scenes from the Battle:

“Abdullah ibn Rawahah has gathered his courage, has fought the enemy with the flag in his hand and is now martyred. He has entered Paradise with a misgiving. Ask forgiveness and mercy from Allah on your his behalf, too!”

“What was his misgiving, Messenger of Allah?” asked the Ansar, who took it to heart the manner in which Abdullah had entered Paradise.

“He hesitated to fight the enemy after he became wounded. He then condemned himself, gathered his courage and was martyred! He entered Paradise. They have been shown to me, in Paradise, seated on golden thrones. Abdullah’s throne was below those of his friends and crooked. When I asked the reason, I was told, ‘Abdullah had carried some doubts with him prior to fighting!’”

That Abdullah was martyred and was now a dweller of Paradise gave the Ansar a reason for joy.

Still reporting from the battlefield, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) grew in sorrow and pearl like tears began to drop, one after another, from his eyes. He then said, “The flag has now been taken by a sword from among the swords of Allah…and Allah has as a result granted victory to the mujahidun.” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 44; Ahmad, V, 299; III, 113; Ibn Hisham, III, 433-436; Waqidi, II, 762; Ibn Saad, III, 46, 530; Ibn Athir, Usd’ul-Ghabah, III, 237)

Then with teary eyes, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) raised his hands aloft to the gates of Divine Mercy, and prayed, “Allah…Khalid is a sword from among your swords. Grant him your aid!” (Ahmad, V, 299)

Khalid ibn Walid’s Prowess as Commander

Khalid ibn Walid (r.a) managed the war with exceptional skill until sunset when both forces retreated into their camps with the setting dark. In the dark of night, he then completely changed the setup of the Muslim army. He switched the right and left flanks around, placed the soldiers of the forefront at the back, and moved those at the back to the very front line. Come morning, the enemy was dumbfounded; seeing completely fresh faces in front of them, they hesitated, thinking the Muslim army had received reinforcement overnight. Khalid ibn Walid (r.a), the sword of Allah, was sure to pounce on this opportunity of having an undecided enemy in front of him. He launched a massive onslaught and the enemy, not expecting such a forceful offensive, could not endure long against the avalanche of iman that showed ominous signs of sweeping them away. They began showing signs of disarray and, as a safety measure, were ultimately forced to retreat.

Khalid ibn Walid (r.a), who had nine swords broken in his hand that day,^[7] made the most of that opportunity, too, and, without making it obvious to the enemy, commanded the retreat of the Muslim forces. A second testimony of his military genius, this maneuver meant that both forces had withdrawn without being able to claim victory. Khalid (r.a) managed to bring the Muslim army home to Medina without many casualties. The number of martyrs in a battle that spanned across seven days was only fourteen. Enemy casualties, on the other hand, were more. The Muslim army had even managed to bring some spoils with them. (Waqidi, II, 764, 768; Ibn Saad, III, 407)

The Blessed Prophet ordered the Believers in Medina ‘…to gather and welcome their homecoming brothers’, upon which the entire Muslims of Medina, joined by the Noble Prophet (pbuh) riding his mount, braved the heat and gathered to meet the mujahidun. There was a crowd of children following the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). Seeing them, he commanded the Believers to take the children on the front of their saddles and give Jafar’s son Abdullah to him. Abdullah rode on the mount of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), in front of him on the saddle. (Ahmad, V, 299; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah, IV, 244)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) praised Khalid’s success; and to those in Medina who, for having no insight into the matter were accusing the returning soldiers with taking flight from the battlefield, he stated:

“They are not of those who flee from fighting in the way of Allah…rather they are those who retreat and attack, again and again!’ (Ibn Hisham, III, 438; Waqidi, II, 765)

Indeed, the Battle of Muta saw a small unit intimidate a major force of tremendous size, as if to actualize the truth revealed by the Almighty:

كَم مِّن فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

“How often has a small party vanquished a numerous host by Allah’s permission, and Allah is with the patient.” (al-Baqara, 249)

The Battle of Muta, where three-thousand Believers managed to avert a two-hundred-thousand manned force, marks first heated conflict with Christians, the People of the Book.

Asma bint Umays, the wife of Jafar (r.a), recounts:

“The Messenger of Allah came to us when Jafar and his friends were martyred. That day, I had tanned forty pieces of pelt. After having prepared my bread dough, I washed the faces of my children, combed and oiled their hairs.

‘Where are your children, Asma?’ asked the Messenger of Allah. When I called them, the Messenger of Allah affectionately hugged and kissed them, embracing them all. In the meanwhile he had begun to shed tears.

‘May my parents be sacrificed for you, Messenger of Allah; why are you crying? Why are you treating my children the way you treat orphans? Or is it that you received bad news from Jafar and his friends?’ I asked him.

‘Yes’, replied he. ‘They were martyred today…’

‘Oh my…my Jafar’, I exclaimed and begun to wail.

The Messenger of Allah then told his daughter Fatimah to prepare food for ‘…Jafar’s family, for they are preoccupied with what has befallen them today!’

Food was brought to our house for three days; three days throughout which the Messenger of Allah did not visit us to give us sometime on our own. He then came and said to us, ‘Cry over my brother no more! From today onwards, I will look after his children!’”

Abdullah, Jafar’s (r.a) son, says:

“The Messenger of Allah gently took us to his home, like we were baby birds, and then sent for a barber. The barber came and gave us a haircut. The Messenger of Allah then lifted his hands and prayed, ‘O my Lord! Be a successor to Jafar’s family with goodness! Grant Abdullah’s hand prosperity in trade!’ He repeated the prayer three times.

I explained this to my mother when she came. She was overly happy. The Messenger of Allah said to her, ‘Do not worry about the livelihood of these children! I am their benefactor both Here and in the Hereafter!’ (Ahmad, I, 204-205; Abu Dawud, Tarajjul, 13/4192; Ibn Hisham, III, 436; Waqidi, II, 766; Ibn Saad, IV, 37)

Abdullah ibn Jafar (r.a) pleasantly reminisces how affectionate the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was towards them:

“I remember well. As Qusam, Ubaydullah, who are the sons of Abbas (r.a), and I were playing in the street one day, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned up next to us on a mount.

‘Lift him to me’, he said to those around, pointing at me.

‘And him, too’, he then said in a similar tone, this time pointing at Qusam.

Even though Abbas (r.a), the Prophet’s (pbuh) uncle, had a greater fondness towards Ubaydullah than Qusam, the Messenger of Allah felt no qualm in taking Qusam onto his saddle. He then caressed Qusam’s head three times, praying each time:

‘O my Lord! Take care of Jafar’s children!’”^[8] (Ahmad, I, 205; Hakim, III, 655/6411)

The Fath of Mecca: The Truth Has Arrived and Falsehood Perished

The period of peace, according to the Treaty of Hudaybiyah signed between the Muslims of Medina and the idolaters of Mecca, was to last ten years. Feelings of unease were creeping more and more into the idolaters, however, with each passing day, seeing Islam take the entire Arabia in its hold. They hence began feeling an urgent need for violating the terms of the Treaty, and as time passed, they began to show nerve and give an open signal that they would not abide by the terms for much longer. Only seventeen or eighteen months had passed since the Treaty when the Meccans provoked the Banu Bakr tribe, their allies, to attack Huzaa, who were Muslims and therefore untouchable by the terms of the Treaty. Reportedly, some Qurayshis also took active part in this callous attack.^[9]

Huzaa, who had pledged allegiance to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), were offering their salats when the attack took place; some were in sajdah, some in ruqu, while others in qiyam, as the brutal massacre staked a claim to their lives. Some managed to make it to the Haram territory, the inviolable sanctuary where they hoped to save their lives. But enraged, Banu Bakr and the few men of Quraysh carried on their massacre ruthlessly. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) soon found out about the incident.^[10]

Tears were flowing freely from the Noble Prophet’s (pbuh) eyes while listening to Amr ibn Salim (r.a) deliver the news of the heartrending tragedy. He was deeply upset. As words of comfort for Amr ibn Salim, he said, “You shall be helped, Amr!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 12; Waqidi, II, 784-785)

In spite of everything that had taken place, bearing in mind they were still under a Treaty with the idolaters, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) sent an ambassador to Mecca regarding the raid on Huzaa. Accordingly, Quraysh would either have to pay the blood money of the martyred victims of Huzaa or expel Banu Bakr from their protection. Failure to comply with any one of these options would, they were to be aware, altogether nullify the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.

The idolaters, blinded by hatred and desire for blood, agreed on the last option: to call an end to the Treaty.^[11] Little were they aware that they were virtually extending an invitation to the Muslims for the fath of Mecca.

Although the idolaters came to their senses a short time later, it was all too little too late, as the Treaty had officially been cancelled by both sides. In hope of rectifying the situation, the desperate and remorseful Abu Sufyan set out for Medina. Through Divine inspiration, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) informed his Companions, at the instant, that Abu Sufyan had departed from Mecca to renew the peace.^[12] The Believers in Medina, still tense from the recent massacre of Huzaa, had better ideas than to indulge Abu Sufyan upon his arrival; such that even his own daughter Umm Habibah, among the honorable wives of the Noble Messenger (pbuh), pulled a cushion away from him just as he wanted to sit, much to his astonishment.

“Is it that I am unworthy of the cushion or is the cushion unworthy of me?” he asked his daughter.

The honorable Umm Habibah, who had perished in the love of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), replied, “That cushion belongs to the Messenger of Allah; and you, as an unclean idolater, are never worthy of sitting on it!”

Abu Sufyan was petrified. “You have become something else since you left us”, he stammered.

“No”, she responded. “Only Allah has honored me with Islam!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 12-13)

The stance of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and the entire Companions meant that Abu Sufyan had no other choice than to return to Mecca empty-handed. When trying to explain the fact that peace was no longer possible to the anxious idolaters gathered around him wishing to know the outcome of his visit, Abu Sufyan could do little to hide his astonishment:

“I am returning”, he said, “from a people, whose hearts are one. Believe me when I tell you that I spoke to men and women, young and old, and everyone who I thought might be of help…but to no avail!” (Abdurrazzaq, V, 375)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) in the meanwhile ordered the Believers to prepare for a campaign on Mecca. He summoned the nearby Muslim tribes to Medina while telling the distant tribes to remain in their places and join the Muslim army on the way. The intense preparation was conducted in utmost secret. To stop the Meccans from becoming suspicious, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) even sent a small unit towards Syria. All sides were under tight control. With the help of Allah, glory unto Him, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was adamant in his wish to take Mecca without shedding a drop of blood, for which he took numerous strategic measures:

Firstly, even though the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) ordered the Companions to prepare for a campaign, he did not specify the destination, keeping a closed lid on his intention.^[13] Even Abu Bakr (r.a), his closest friend and confidant, did not realize the campaign was to be on Mecca and asked Aisha (r.ha), his daughter and wife of the Prophet (pbuh), of the intended destination. Yet, she knew nothing more than her father.

“I do not know”, she said. “He is perhaps intending on Banu Sulaym or Thaqif or may be even Hawazin!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 14)

To ensure the fath of Mecca was carried out peacefully, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had all the incoming roads to Medina under surveillance, lest the idolaters would find out about the preparations, and becoming suspicious, would begin preparations of their own. Likewise, he took measures against spies carrying news of the preparation to Mecca and prayed:

“O my Lord! Arrest the spies of Quraysh, make then blind and deaf, until we suddenly descend on their land! Blind their eyes so that they suddenly see me in front of them!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 14)

When the Muslim army eventually departed from Medina, again, to confuse the idolaters, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) lead them to the opposite direction, where they stopped over by their allies. Trekking a circular path only placed greater uncertainty on the Prophet’s (pbuh) intended destination. Once they got within a visible distance of Mecca, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had each Muslim soldier light up a separate flame in order to give the impression they were more in number than what Quraysh thought.^[14] In similar fashion, the Muslim army did not enter through Dhulhulayfa, the miqat spot lying on the way to Mecca, by which the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) continued keeping the destination of the journey a secret.^[15]

Once the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) seized power, he did not abuse it by massacring human beings and conquering their lands by force. He much rather used it to open their hearts to the Almighty and steer them to true happiness and guidance. He was after all the Prophet of Compassion sent as a mercy and guidance to the worlds.

Allah, glory unto Him, elaborates the Muslim notion of war and peace in the following ayah:

الَّذِينَ إِن مَّكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَمَرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَلِلّٰهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ

“They are those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong. With Allah rests the end and decision of all affairs.” (al-Hajj, 41)

While all the Companions kept the destination of the Campaign a secret upon finding out, Khatib ibn Baltaa, a veteran of Badr, sent a letter to Mecca, with a certain woman, informing them of the situation. The Noble Prophet (pbuh) was made aware of the incident through Divine inspiration and commanded Ali, Zubayr and Miqdad (r.huma) to seize and bring the woman to him, telling them her exact whereabouts. She was caught at the precise location the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) said she was. The letter read:

“Quraysh…! The Messenger of Allah is coming to you with such a tremendous force, an army, as terrifying as the dark of night that will flow like the flood. By Allah, even if the Messenger of Allah was to come to you on his own, Allah will surely make him victorious and fulfill His promise. Take care of yourselves, from now!” (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah, IV, 278)

In truth, these words were neither contrary to the facts, nor did they suggest a betrayal. But it still meant that a move that was supposed to remain hidden was being disclosed to the enemy. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) therefore immediately called Khatib next to him and asked:

“Why did you do this Khatib?” Khatib explained, remorsefully, “All the Muhajirun, Messenger of Allah, have someone to take care of their families and properties in Mecca. But I have nobody. By writing them a letter, I thought I could gain their appreciation and thereby protect my wife and children there. Otherwise and by Allah, I am not a spy working for them. I could never accept kufr after Islam. By Allah, my iman to Allah and His Messenger is boundless. I have not changed religions…no way!”

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh), an ocean of compassion, thereupon said, “Khatib has defended himself rightly”, before declaring him forgiven. He then reminded Omar (r.a), who wished to execute Khatib for betrayal, of the general amnesty given by the Almighty to the participants of the Battle of Badr, stating, “But he was present at the Battle of Badr. You never know; it just might be that Allah the Almighty, aware of their situation, has declared, ‘Do as you wish; I have forgiven you!’” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 9; Muslim, Fadail’us-Sahabah, 161)

With that said, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) communicated the harm of befriending the enemies of Allah, to the entire Companions, first and foremost Khatib, through the following ayah revealed in the meantime:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاء تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِم بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا جَاءكُم مِّنَ الْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَن تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللّٰهِ رَبِّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ خَرَجْتُمْ جِهَادًا فِي سَبِيلِي وَابْتِغَاء مَرْضَاتِي تُسِرُّونَ إِلَيْهِم بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِمَا أَخْفَيْتُمْ وَمَا أَعْلَنتُمْ وَمَن يَفْعَلْهُ مِنكُمْ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاء السَّبِيلِ

O you who believe! Do not take My enemy and your enemy for friends: would you offer them love while they deny what has come to you of the truth, driving out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah, your Lord? If you go forth struggling hard in My path and seeking My pleasure, would you manifest love to them? And I know what you conceal and what you manifest; and whoever of you does this, he indeed has gone astray from the straight path.

إِن يَثْقَفُوكُمْ يَكُونُوا لَكُمْ أَعْدَاء وَيَبْسُطُوا إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ وَأَلْسِنَتَهُم بِالسُّوءِ وَوَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ. لَن تَنفَعَكُمْ أَرْحَامُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَاللّٰهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

If they find you, they will be your enemies, and will stretch forth towards you their hands and their tongues with evil, and they ardently desire that you may disbelieve. Your relationship would not profit you, nor your children on the day of resurrection; He will decide between you; and Allah sees what you do.” (al-Mumtahinah, 1-3)^[16]

These ayat prohibited Muslims from befriending nonbelievers from family or property related fears. In fact, Nuh’s (a.s) son Kenan perished for remaining amongst the nonbelievers, just like Lut’s (a.s) wife called wickedness onto herself for siding with the wicked and was beset with Divine wrath. In the end, their physical closeness to a prophet did not benefit them in the least.

In the eighth year of Hegira, on the tenth of Ramadan, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) lead his magnificent army of ten-thousand Believers strong out of Medina. Being on a campaign in the way of Allah, he broke his fast on the way and commanded the Believers do the same.^[17]

Near Juhfah, they met Abbas (r.a), who until then, had been keeping his acceptance of Islam hidden from Quraysh and remaining in Mecca, had been providing the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) in Medina with continuous updates of the situation on Mecca. Another reason as to why he remained in Mecca was the chore of supplying water for the pilgrims, a task that had been entrusted with him. Thinking time had finally come, he had departed from Mecca with his family to accomplish his long awaited Hegira.^[18] The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was extremely happy to see him.

“Just like I am the last of the prophets, you are the last of the Muhajirun”, he said. (Ali al-Muttaqi, XI, 699/33387)

The spectacular journey enroute to the fath of Mecca also stood witness to a glorious scene of compassion, a blueprint for entire humankind to follow. It was a sheer expression of seeing the created through the eye of the Creator. The Noble Prophet’s (pbuh) army was marching forth like a surging flood. Tribes streaming from all the four corners of Arabia were joining the Muslim army in masses, adding to the size of a crowd rarely seen before. As the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was leading the charge of his splendid army from Arj to Talub, he noticed a dog, stretched out over her pups, breastfeeding them. He quickly called Juayl ibn Suraqa and commanded him to stand guard over the dog and her pups, instructing him to keep an eye on the dog and her pups and make sure nobody did the slightest thing would frighten them.^[19]

What an incredible scene! One cannot help but wonder whether the history of humankind has ever witnessed a like scene of compassion?^[20]

Even when on the verge of a historically groundbreaking event like the fath of Mecca, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) busied himself with what many would consider to be detail and regarded himself responsible for the wellbeing of a dog and her pups. A lesson to be drawn from this concerns those who are in executive positions; they need to conduct themselves with a consciousness of responsibility in fulfilling every minute detail of their duties and be ready for whatever unexpected might crop up in relation.^[21]

The Meccans, in the meanwhile, had no idea of what was going on. They thus became tongue-tied when they heard that the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had an army encamped at the Valley of Marr’uz-Zahran in nearby Mecca, all the more when they eventually stood witness to the spectacular view provided by the separate fires lit by each Muslim unit with the order of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). Their minds were boggled.

Taking Hakim ibn Hizan and Budayl with him, Abu Sufyan left Mecca to see what exactly was going on. Before too long the three encountered a barrage of separate flames lit by the Muslim soldiers. They at first tried guessing who the encamped soldiers might be, not having the slightest clue that they were actually in fact the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions. As Mecca was virtually surrounded on all sides, Abu Sufyan and his two friends were arrested soon afterwards and brought to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh).^[22]

While Omar (r.a) was urging the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) for the execution of Abu Sufyan, Abbas (r.a), the Prophet’s (pbuh) uncle, was insisting he be forgiven. But instead the Noble Messenger (pbuh), employing his matchless political genius in a psychological tactic, told his uncle Abbas to, “Take Abu Sufyan to where he can see the army of Islam march past and let him gaze at its splendor!”

This move was to ensure the leader of Quraysh became engrossed in a state of mind that would convince him that any preparation undertaken against the Muslims, after this point in time, would be useless. A lack of interest by the idolaters in showing resistance would thereby almost certainly prevent bloodshed.

Compliant with the Prophet’s (pbuh) advice, Abbas (r.a) took Abu Sufyan where he could freely see the Muslim army with his own two eyes. The army had just begun moving and was advancing forth in units. Echoes of Allah’u Akbar bursting forth from hearts of iman had the skies trembling.

Abu Sufyan was dazzled. Just when the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was marching past at the front of his unit, he could not help but give vent to his amazement, exclaiming, “How great a kingdom your nephew has built for himself, Abbas!”

“This is not kingdom”, replied Abbas, “it is prophethood!”

“True, true…” was all Abu Sufyan could say. (Bukhari, Maghazi, 48; Haythami, VI, 164; Ibn Saad, II, 135; Ibn Athir, al-Kamil, II, 242)

The two then returned next to the Noble Messenger (pbuh), who looked at Abu Sufyan and asked, “Has not the time come yet for you to say La ilaha ill-Allah?”

After thinking for a moment, Abu Sufyan repeated the words of tawhid, without, however, adding the part which confirms acceptance of the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). So he asked again:

“Has not the time come for you to say I am the Messenger of Allah?”^[23]

Although Abu Sufyan asked for some time to think, with the pressure of Abbas (r.a), he said the words of shahadah in full. To win his heart over completely and warm it to Islam, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) thereupon referred to Abu Sufyan’s home as among the safe havens, for the locals of Mecca, once the Muslim army stepped foot in the town:

“Whoever enters Masjid’ul-Haram shall be safe. Whoever remains home shall be safe. And whoever seeks refuge in Abu Sufyan’s house shall be safe!” (Abu Dawud, Kharaj, 24-25/3021-3022; Haythami, VI, 164-166; Ibn Hisham, IV, 22)

Just as Abu Sufyan was returning to Mecca after being released, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gave his final order:

“Do not draw your swords unless you come under attack!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 28)

Shortly after, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) commanded the Muslim army, which he had already divided to four corps, to advance. Mecca thereafter began quivering with the sounds of Allah’u Akbar echoing from all four sides.

Eight years after being forced to leave Mecca, in low spirits, in the company of merely two people and a couple of camels, the grace of Allah, glory unto Him, was now seeing the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) return to the sacred turf accompanied by a magnificent army of ten-thousand Muslims. A wrongfully persecuted man of then was today triumphant in his home land. But never letting pride take sway, he was entering Mecca prostrating on camelback, immersed in thanking the Almighty, who had granted him this enormous blessing. So much had he lowered his head in humbleness that his beard was touching his saddle. Meanwhile, he was constantly saying, “Allah…Life is only the life of the Hereafter!”^[24] (Waqidi, II, 824; Bukhari, Riqaq, 1) No different was the mood of the Companions, trained under prophetic morals.

The Muslim army encountered almost no resistance. The tactics applied on Abu Sufyan had worked; upon his return to Mecca, he persuaded Quraysh that there was no point in putting up resistance and as a result nobody dared putting up a fight. There was a minor conflict only at the passage where Khalid ibn Walid (r.a) entered the town but that was quickly taken under control.

Reciting surah al-Fath, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) approached Kaabah with his Companions. Without dismounting from his camel, he circumambulated the Sacred House, and reciting the ayah:

جَاء الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ

“The Truth has arrived and falsehood perished…” (al-Isra, 81), he personally began tipping over and destroying the idols stationed in Kaabah, with the stick in his hand. (Bukhari, Maghazi, 48; Muslim, Jihad, 87; Waqidi, II, 831-832)

Seeing images on the inner walls of Kaabah, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) did not initially enter and commanded them to be wiped out. The Companions executed the order at the instant. Inside, there were images of Ibrahim and Ismail (a.s) tune arrows in their hands. Upon seeing them, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) stated:

“May Allah perish the idolaters who drew these…By Allah, these prophets never sought their fortune with arrows!” (Bukhari, Anbiya, 8; Hajj, 54, Maghazi, 48)

Mawlana Rumi –Allah have mercy on him- explains the degree of gratitude we ought to have for the Noble Prophet (pbuh), who for a life time endured the most unthinkable of hardships to shatter idols and overthrow oppression:

“You, who today enjoys being a Muslim; know that had it not been for the supreme effort of Our One and Only Ahmad, and his resolve in smashing the idols, you too would have been an idolater like your forefathers.”

The day the Believers took over Mecca, they continuously circumambulated Kaabah until morning amid chants of Allah-u Akbar. Watching them from a distance, Abu Sufyan murmured to his wife Hind, “Do you believe this is from Allah?”

“Yes”, replied Hind. “This could only be the work of Allah!”

In the early hours of the following morning, Abu Sufyan visited the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), who recounted to Abu Sufyan the conversation that took place between him and Hind. Abu Sufyan then said:

“I bear witness you are the Messenger of Allah! By Allah, in whose Hand of Might my life resides, nobody heard what I said except for Allah and Hind!” (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah, IV, 296)

The Meccans, in the meantime, were taking their children to the Prophet of Allah (pbuh), who caressing them, was praying for their wellbeing. (Ahmad, IV, 32)

The Festival of Forgiveness

The Meccans had crammed inside the Masjid’ul-Haram, nervously awaiting their verdict. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) gave a short speech, applicable not only to Quraysh but also to the entire humankind:

“There is no god but Allah. There is only He. He has no resemblance, no partner. Allah has fulfilled His promise, helped his servant and dispersed all our enemies. Except for Kaabah’s service and providing the pilgrims with water, all customs and practices of old, feuds of blood and property, today lie under my feet.

Quraysh…!

Allah has rid you of the pride of Ignorance, of boasting with fathers and lineage. All humans are created through Adam and Adam from soil.”

The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) then read out the below ayah:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللّٰهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” (al-Hujurat, 13)” (Ibn Majah, Diyat, 5; Ahmad, II, 11; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 49/3270)

By virtue of a spiritual fath entwined with forgiveness, peace, security and guidance, as promised at Hudaybiyah, Mecca had now opened its heart to her true dwellers, her beloved community. The pain and agony ridden separation from Mecca was now over. Years of grief had now made way for joy. As an expression of gratitude for this tremendous turnaround, moments before declaring the greatest amnesty in history, the Blessed Prophet asked Quraysh:

“What do you suppose I will do with you, Quraysh?”

“We expect you to do what is good and favorable …so we will say you will only do what is good. You are a generous and noble brother and nephew!”

The Noble Messenger (pbuh) thus replied, “Just as Yusuf said to his brothers, so shall I say:

لاَ تَثْرَيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللّٰهُ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

‘There shall be no reproof against you this day; Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful.’ You are all free to leave!”

And in another instance, he said, “Today is the day of mercy. Today is the day in which Allah shall strengthen and elevate Quraysh with Islam.”

Consequently, even those who had the blood of many Muslims on their hands prior to the fath accepted Islam. Allah, glory unto Him, had placed Quraysh in the mercy of His Messenger and made them succumb to him. In turn, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) had forgiven them and allowed their release. The Meccans were thereafter also known as tulaqa, that is to say, those who were set free.^[25]

The Prophet’s (pbuh) greatest desire was for entire humankind to accept Islam, exclusively, without a single person left out. At a time when he was at the peak of his power, despite it being well within his right to take revenge from people who had subjected him and his fellow Companions to the most awful treatment, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) declared an official amnesty, an extraordinary manifestation of his viewing of the created with the merciful sight of the Creator.

Mecca, having witnessed nothing but oppression, mockery and enmity for years on end, was now making the most of the sweet breeze of compassion and mercy, ensured by the great forgiveness gusting throughout. But a Meccan by the name of Fadala, with the intention of casting a grim shadow over this pleasant day, approached the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) with the intention of killing him. Yet, possessing insight to his malicious intention all along, without showing any sign of panic or anger, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) spread his wings of mercy for Fadala and, placing his graceful hands on Fadala’s chest, said:

“Repent, Fadala, from the plot you have contrived in your mind!” The malicious intention disappeared from Fadala’s mind there and then; his heart melted and was thereby filled with the light of iman. In his sight, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) suddenly became the most beloved of all beings. (Ibn Hisham, IV, 37; Ibn Kathir, as-Sirah, III, 583)

Abu Sufyan was sitting by Kaabah, thinking and weighing his options. Gathering men against the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and resuming his fight against him anew crossed his mind at one stage, especially after seeing the Believers walk behind in large numbers behind the Prophet of Allah (pbuh). He was carried away assessing the option, when the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), without him realizing, came and stood beside him; and tapping him on the back, right between his shoulder blades, said, “…That is when Allah will make you despicable and disgraced!”

Lifting his head, Abu Sufyan saw the Noble Prophet (pbuh) standing beside him, upon which he said, “I could not fully comprehend you being a prophet until now; and now, I repent to Allah for the thoughts that passed through my mind and ask for His forgiveness!” (Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah, IV, 296)

Hind, who had plunged her teeth into Hamza’s (r.a) severed liver in the aftermath of the Battle of Uhud, also became Muslim on the Day of Fath, and hence enjoyed her share of the general amnesty. She was forgiven by the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), for the sake of the honor held by the word of tawhid.^[26]

Iqrimah, Abu Jahl’s son, among the most inveterate enemies of Islam, had fled to Yemen immediately after the arrival of the Muslim army in Mecca. Eventually, he was brought to the presence of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), by his wife, as a Muslim. The Prophet of Mercy (pbuh) received him amicably. “Welcome, you wandering cavalier” he said lightheartedly, not holding against him the crimes he had committed against Muslims. (Hakim, III, 271/5059; Waqidi, II, 851-852)

Like Iqrimah, Habbar ibn Aswad was among the most prominent enemies of Islam. With his spear, he had spitefully poked the camel on which Zaynab (r.ha) was astride, bound for her Hegira to Medina, causing the daughter of the Noble Prophet (pbuh) to fall of, consequently leaving her bloody and bruised, and above all, with a miscarriage of the baby she was pregnant with at the time. Most regrettable was the fact that the severe wound eventually ended being the cause of her death a while later. Habbar was the culprit of many vicious crimes alike. He had fled on the Day of the Fath of Mecca, eluding all attempts of being captured. A while later he tentatively appeared in Medina at the presence of the Prophet of Mercy (pbuh), as he was sitting with the Companions. All he did was to announce he had become Muslim. Not only did the Prophet (pbuh) forgive him, he moreover prohibited all others from even abusing Habbar and throwing him insults.^[27] After all, the Holy Quran had stated:

خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ

“Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant.” (al-Araf, 199)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was the Quran come to life. He was the walking display par excellence of Quranic morals. He would forgive all the crimes committed against him without a moment’s hesitation. As for crimes committed against others, however, nobody could calm him until he elevated justice to its deserved place and restored the right of the victim. Indeed, together with declaring a never before seen all inclusive amnesty, for the sake of the benefit of the ummah, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) also ordered an on the spot execution of a very few number of incurable idolaters, whose conditions were beyond rehabilitation.^[28]

No spoils were taken from Mecca.^[29] The Noble Messenger (pbuh) instead borrowed a loan from the wealthy figures of Mecca to cover the hefty yet necessary expenses of the Muslim army, which he later paid back with the spoils of Hawazin, stating, “A loan merits a thanks and repayment.” (Waqidi, II, 863; Abu Dawud, Buyu’, 88/3562; Nikah, 44)

With the Meccans still enjoying the ambiance of mercy they were provided by the amnesty of Blessed Prophet (pbuh), it was now noon. As always, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) signaled for Bilal Habashi (r.a) to call out the adhan for the zuhr salat. Bilal (r.a) remembered the days of his slavery, when he moaned ‘Ahad, Ahad’ under excruciating torture. Oppression had now reached its twilight. He had now come to Mecca free man, as a member of a triumphant army of iman. Thanking Allah, glory unto Him, he climbed on the roof of Kaabah and begun calling out the adhan, in a passionate tone. So emotional and touching was Bilal’s adhan that all the surrounding mountains and the sky were virtually reverberating with its sound. The skies were alight, the ground delighted. The adhan Bilal (r.a) called that day left a lasting memory for all Believers to cherish. Some of the idolaters who stood witness to the scene were heard to remark, “Shame on us…we could not even be like slaves! Look at how high they are at and how low we have remained!” They were only lamenting their past deeds, the fact that they had remained oblivious to the Truth until then.

The Meccan Pledge of Allegiance

Following the zuhr salat, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) ascended the Safa Hill to accept the Meccans’ pledge of allegiance. It was first the Qurayshi men to offer their pledge ‘on Islam and jihad’. The women followed them.^[30] Regarding the pledge of women, Allah, glory unto Him, had already pronounced:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَى أَن لَّا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللّٰهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللّٰهَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“O Prophet! When believing women come to you, giving you a pledge that they will not ascribe nothing as a partner unto Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not produce any lie that they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them from Allah. Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (al-Mumtahinah, 12)

Women offered their pledge by dipping their hands in a small pot of water in which the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had dipped his own hands. There was never a case where the Prophet (pbuh) accepted the pledge of women by shaking their hands.

Umaymah bint Ruqayqah (r.ha) explains:

“When, as a group of Ansari women, we went to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘We give our pledge to you that we will not ascribe nothing as a partner unto Allah, we will not steal, we will not commit fornication, we will not kill our children, we will not forge any lies and we will obey you in your legitimate commands’, he replied, ‘Only in matters within your power and with what you can cope…’

Hearing these considerate words, we thought, ‘Allah and His Messenger are more compassionate towards us than we are towards ourselves…so let’s give our pledge!’

The women wanted to shake his hands but the Messenger of Allah said, ‘I do not shake hands with women. A word I say to a hundred women counts as if I have said to each of them separately.’” (Muwatta’, Bayat, 2; Tirmidhi, Siyar, 37/1597)

Restore Trusts where they are Due!

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) came to Kaabah and sat in a corner opposite to the Sacred House, while the Companions assumed their spots around him. To bring the key to Kaabah, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent Bilal (r.a) to Othman ibn Talha (r.a).

“The Messenger of Allah asks you to bring him the key to Kaabah”, Bilal (r.a) told Othman, who concurred and to get the key, went to his mother Sulafah who keeping an eye over it at the time.

“I have come to ask for the key to Kaabah”, Othman told his mother, “for the Messenger of Allah has commanded me to bring it to him.”

“I seek refuge in Allah from you surrendering with your own two hands something your tribe prides itself on! Once he takes the key from you, he shall never return it!” responded Sulafah. Only after a while was Othman able to persuade her mother and get the keys. Upon bringing it to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), he said:

“I give this temporarily as a trust of Allah!” He was afraid he would never be given the keys back. (Waqidi, II, 833; Haythami, VI, 177)

The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) unlocked the door of Kaabah. Stepping inside, he asked for the door to be closed behind him. He remained in there for a long while, during which he offered two rakat of salat. (Waqidi, II, 835; Ibn Saad, II, 137)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) then made his way out of Kaabah; and after giving a talk on the occasion of the fath, he asked Othman’s whereabouts. Othman, who had been present all along, stood up. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) then recited the ayah:

إِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤدُّواْ الأَمَانَاتِ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُواْ بِالْعَدْلِ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُم بِهِ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا

“Surely Allah commands you to restore Trusts to those to whom they are due; and when you judge between people, that you judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He gives you! For Allah is He Who hears and sees all things.” (an-Nisa, 58)

After that he said, “Sons of Abu Talha! Take the trust of Allah for you to keep permanently, to uphold it with integrity! Nobody shall take it off your hands accept if you begin to oppress! Today is the day of goodness and loyalty!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 31-32; Waqidi, II, 837-838; Ibn Saad, II, 137)

The incident underlines the importance of restoring trusts to those to whom they are due. Giving people what is rightfully their due ensures peace and stability for the individual, the family and the community in general. It is not uncommon for even great empires to collapse when people are denied what they deserve. History bears witness to numerous examples of this nature.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) splendidly reflects the importance of the issue in a hadith:

“Wait for Judgment Day, when trusts are denied from their rightful owners!” (Bukhari, Ilim, 2; Ahmad, II, 361)

In short, the denial of trusts from those to whom they are due is one of the signs of the Final Hour.

Abbas (r.a), who from long before had the privileged duty of supplying water to the pilgrims also asked for the chore of hijabah^[31] from the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) said to his uncle:

“I do not entrust you with a task where you will profit from what people will send to you as cover for Kaabah but with the more troublesome chore where you will spend out of your own pocket to take care of the pilgrims’ need for water and thereby attain rewards.” He then advised his uncle to continue supplying water for the pilgrims.

Abbas (r.a) had a vineyard in Taif. Both before Islam and after, he would carry dried grapes from there, add it to the zamzam water and offer it to pilgrims. His sons and grandchildren continued his practice after him. (Ibn Hisham, IV, 32; Ibn Saad, II, 137; Waqidi, II, 838)

On the second day after zuhr salat, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) stood amid a crowd of people and after sending his praises and thanks to the Almighty, said:

“People…! There is no doubt that Allah has declared Mecca sacred and inviolable the day He created the heavens and earth, the sun and the moon! It shall remain sacred and inviolable until the Final Hour! Without a doubt, Allah did deny the Elephant Army entrance into Mecca but has now made His Messenger and the Believers triumphant in regard. Mecca is permitted to no one after me. Mecca’s game is not to be frightened, its thorns not to be cut, property lost therein is not to be picked up except to search for its owner. If one’s kin is killed, he could demand the better one of two things: blood-money or retribution (qisas).”

Abbas (r.a) then insisted that idhir, a type of weed, be exempted from the other plants and scrubs not to be touched. “For we use it in our graves and houses”, he said.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) thereupon declared, “Except for idhir!”^[32] (Bukhari, Luqata, 7; Maghazi, 53; Ahmad, IV, 31-32; II, 238)

Another incident that took place on the same day displays the profound emotional depths of the Companions’ hearts. As the Noble Prophet (pbuh) was sitting by Kaabah, Abu Bakr (r.a) arrived, with his father Abu Quhafah by his side, whom he had brought to the Prophet’s presence.

“You should not have troubled your aged father all the way here”, said the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) upon seeing the two. “I could have gone to him instead.”

“It is more fitting for him to come to you than you to go to him, Messenger of Allah”, said Abu Bakr (r.a).

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had Abu Quhafah seated in front of him and placing his hand on his heart, said, “Become Muslim Abu Quahafah and find peace!” Abu Quhafah did just that; sincerely repeating the words of shahadah, he became Muslim. (Ibn Saad, V, 451)

An Exceptional Loyalty

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) remained in Mecca for fifteen days following the fath. The extended time of stay had a prominent number of the Ansar agitated, wary that the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) would never return to Medina again. Allah, glory unto Him, had after all made him triumphant in a sacred and hallowed town where he was born and had spent a bulk of his life. Praying on the Hill of Safa at the time, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) sensed the anxiety of the Ansar. After finishing his prayer, he came next to them and asked, “What is it that you are talking about?”

The Ansar then gave full voice to their concerns, upon which the Noble Messenger (pbuh), exhibiting an exemplary display of loyalty, stated:

“I seek refuge in Allah from doing such a thing. I immigrated to your land. My life is your life; and so shall my death be next to you!”

The Ansar breathed an enormous sigh of relief. (Muslim, Jihad, 84, 86; Ahmad, II, 538)

The Blessed Prophet increased his thanks and gratitude to the Almighty following the fath of Mecca; the below dhikr especially in the ruqu and sajdah of his salats:

“I glorify Allah and negate His exalted Essence, at all times, from all the deficiencies improper to His Essence, Attributes, Actions and Names; venerate and thank Him with all the praises He deserves. I ask Allah to forgive me and repent for all my sins.”

When Aisha (r.ha) asked the reason behind this prayer, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) explained, “My Lord had revealed to me that I would see a sign in my ummah, and when I did, to say this prayer a lot. I now see that sign.” (Muslim, Salat, 220)

Indeed, through surah Nasr, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) had been commanded to increase his repentance and glorification of the Almighty when he did ultimately receive Divine help and triumph, and saw people enter Islam in masses. The word nasr, eponymous with the name of the particular surah, has been interpreted with supremacy over all Arabs, and fath with the conquest of Mecca. Proceeding from the meaning of the word fath, which is ‘to open’, Ibn Abbas (r.a) labeled the triumph in Mecca as the fath of all faths, as it meant the ‘opening’ to Islam of a town in which stood the Sacred House, Kaabah. Fath is not a mere conquest of a land previously controlled by the enemy. It is rather the ‘opening’ of the hearts of the people therein to the religion of Allah, glory unto Him, and in turn, the ‘opening’ of the gates of Islam to them, and ultimately, to entire humankind. On that day, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) did not so much conquer a town as ‘open’ the hearts of her dwellers to Islam. The fath of Mecca has therefore been regarded the beginning of Islam’s march in opening the world to Islam. The road to ‘opening’ all of Arabia and from there the entire world to Islam, first began with the ‘opening’ of the door of Kaabah. To be sure, it was an event the remainder of the tribes in Arabia had been waiting for, an episode on which their ultimate acceptance of Islam hinged. They were thinking, “Leave the man to deal first with his own tribe. If he is able to triumph over them that means he is a true prophet!” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 53)

According to a narration from Hasan Basri, when the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) triumphed over Mecca, the Arabs commented, “If Muhammad (pbuh) has been able to become victorious over the Meccans, when the Almighty protected them from the Elephant Army, then there is no way we could harm him!” That is when they begun entering the religion of Allah, glory unto Him, in masses. (Elmalılı, IX, 6236-6238)

The Battle of Hunayn (11 Shawwal, 8 / 1 February, 630)

The Blessed Prophet not only destroyed the idols in and around Kaabah, he also sent units to rid the surrounding towns of these lifeless stones of idolatry. A purification of tawhid had begun.^[33] The tribe of Hawazin of Hunayn and the Banu Thaqif of Taif could not stomach this, however, and they decided to launch an attack against the Believers. Preparing a huge army, they set out, bringing along all their belongings with them, as if they had embarked on a battle of life and death.^[34]

Learning of their preparation to attack, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) responded by preparing the army of Believers, enlisting another two-thousand Meccans who had recently become Muslim. How ironic a Divine manifestation it was that Abu Sufyan, who had fought the Believers for years in the name of idols, causing them much grief and torment in the process, was now also marching along as a Believer in the Muslim army, ready to fight this time for Islam. The army even included around eighty Meccan idolaters.^[35]

In all respects, the Muslim army looked invincible, marching towards Hunayn with a dazzling splendor. Never before had Arabia seen an army so well equipped and organized, people thought. And for a moment, the magnificent scene allowed a dust of pride to creep in to the Companions’ hearts. Supposing ‘such an army could never be defeated’, they began belittling the enemy and thought a victory was certain on their physical power alone. It was this moment of pride and vanity that subjected the Believers to undergo a severe Divine test:

In the dark of the night, still a while before dawn, as the vanguard forces of the Muslim army were advancing with self-confidence along the narrow straits leading to Hunayn, they were suddenly ambushed by the enemy who had been lying in wait. Panic and disarray took over thereafter. The Believers were thwarted by a barrage of arrows shot at them from who knows where and found themselves in a state of hesitancy, leading not long after to an almost irrevocable state confusion and disorder, which soon took equal hold of the rear forces. The Muslims were forced to retreat but Hawazin and Banu Thaqif were eagerly pursuing them, with no intention of halting the chase.

It was only the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) who courageously stood his ground amid the disastrous disarray, constantly advancing his mount deeper into the enemy ranks, virtually throwing himself right in their middle. The Prophet of Allah (pbuh) that day exhibited a matchless spectacle of bravery and valor, in spite of the desperate efforts of both his uncle Abbas and Abu Sufyan (r.huma), clutching the reins of his mount to stop him advancing any further, lest something would happen to him.^[36]

The confusion of the Muslim army was meanwhile continuing, showing no signs of recovery. “The spell has been broken today”, some were heard shouting, while others cried out in despair “only by making it to the sea can we stop this routing!” Even heard from the Meccan ranks were rumors that “the Prophet had been killed and that the Arabs would soon be returning to their religion of old!”

Yet, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was alive and well, standing strong on his mount, adamantly resisting the enemy. His trust placed, as always, in the Almighty, he was calling out to his Companions:

“Ansar…Muhajirun! The servants of Allah! Come here! I am the servant and messenger of Allah!”

He then signaled Abbas (r.a), known for his strong voice, to continue calling out to Muslim soldiers. At the top of his voice, Abbas (r.a) shouted, “Those who pledged at Aqabah…Those who pledged under the tree of Ridvan! Run! The Messenger of Allah is here!”

The Companions, hearing the echoes of the call, ran next to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). Like butterflies, momentarily swung about by a forceful gale, they had regathered around an attracting light. The Believers’ hearts, united once more around the Prophet of Allah (pbuh), were cleansed of their previous fears and reinstated with their former peace. With the grace of Allah, glory unto Him, the entire ranks of the Muslim army regained their momentum. Thereupon, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) lifted his hands aloft and prayed, “O my Lord! Grant me the victory You promised!”

Just as he had done in the Battle of Badr, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) then grabbed a handful of soil and flung it towards the enemy, after which he declared to his Companions:

“Now advance, with honesty and loyalty!” (Muslim, Jihad, 76-31; Ahmad, III, 157, V, 286; Ibn Hisham, IV, 72; Waqidi, III, 897-899)

The Muslim army now launched a fresh offensive on the enemy, as if the battle had only just begun. Facing the wave of a vigorous assault, Hawazin and Banu Thaqif could not hold their ground for long and were, in a short amount of time, defeated. The Believers only had four martyrs, while the coalition ended up leaving around seventy casualties. So decisively were they defeated that they had to leave all of what they had brought along with them on the battlefield. There was no counting the amount of spoils they had to relinquish.^[37]

Doubtless, this was a blessing Allah, glory unto Him, had granted the Believers. Despite being almost down and out as early as the beginning of the Battle, thanks to the courage and perseverance of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) and his heartfelt prayers to the Almighty, they were ultimately able to claim victory. Allah, glory unto Him, depicts this in the Holy Quran in the following:

لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللّٰهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْئًا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُم مُّدْبِرِينَ. ثُمَّ أَنَزلَ اللّٰهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَنزَلَ جُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَعذَّبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَذَلِكَ جَزَاء الْكَافِرِينَ

“Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields and on the day of Hunain, when your great numbers made you vain, but they availed you nothing and the earth became strait to you notwithstanding its spaciousness, then you turned back retreating. Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent down hosts which you did not see, and chastised those who disbelieved, and that is the reward of the unbelievers.” (at-Tawba, 25-26)

In fact, those who accepted Islam after having fought at Hunayn on the side of the enemy, have later testified to seeing soldiers, whom ‘they had never before seen’, attack them, which testifies to the Divine aid the Believers were reinforced with that day.^[38]

A portion of the defeated Hawazin army ended up fleeing to Taif, others to Nakhlah, while some encamped at Awtas.^[39]

Now victorious at Hunayn, The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) ordered the pursuit of the fleeing enemy and had the prisoners and spoils transferred to Jiranah. Afterward, to bring the campaign to completion, he sent a unit commanded by Abu Amir, Abu Musa al-Ashari’s uncle, to Awtas, while he turned the direction of Muslim army towards Taif.

The Battle of Awtas (Shawwal, 8 / February, 630)

In the Battle of Awtas, where the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) was not present owing to his march on Taif, Abu Amir (r.a), the commander of the Muslim forces, was martyred. In turn, the enemy commander was also slain.

Inflicted with a fatal wound and having lost all hope of survival, Abu Amir (r.a) turned to his nephew Abu Musa (r.a) and told him to, “Send my greetings to the Messenger of Allah and ask him to pray for my forgiveness!”

Assuming leadership after the loss of his uncle, Abu Musa (r.a) prevented the Muslim forces for scattering. A perfect line of attack soon enabled to him rout the enemy and wave the flag of Islam victoriously at Awtas. Upon his return next to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), he informed him of his uncle’s will. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) thereupon asked for some water to take wudu, after which he lifted his hands aloft and prayed, “O my Lord! Forgive your servant Abu Amir! On the Day of Judgment, raise him to a rank higher than most of those whom You have created!” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 55)

The Siege of Taif (Shawwal, 8 / February, 630)

Taif, a prominent town in Hijaz worthy of being called a paradise on earth, had a strongly fortified castle set on a hilltop. The siege laid by the Muslim army on Taif therefore proved to be a demanding and severe struggle.

The Siege of Taif was not a revenge for the maltreatment the Blessed Prophet was subjected to years ago by her locals but was rather a continuation and the final curtain of the Battle of Hunayn. A significant amount of the enemy soldiers including their leader Malik ibn Awf, who fled from the passage of Hunayn, had come to Taif, seeking refuge in the castle. There, allying themselves with Banu Thaqif once more, they prepared for a brand new war of defense.

The Siege saw the Muslims put numerous strategies and various new equipments to use. Yet, the walls of the castle were holding strong against the string of attempts by the Believers to pass over. Neither were they able to draw the enemy outside of the castle. When Khalid ibn Walid (r.a) called on them to send a warrior outside for a one-on-one challenge they shouted out, “We do not have anyone that can stand his ground against you!”

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) thereupon remarked, “The enemy has now retreated into its den like a fox. Even if left to their own doing, they will not be able to inflict harm anymore!” They were now debilitated as it was and the Noble Messenger (pbuh), being the prophet of mercy he was, saw no further point in prolonging the siege, as he wished for the guidance of the people of Taif, not their annihilation. Before long, he commanded for the siege to be lifted.

As the siege was coming to an end, the Companions asked for the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) to curse Banu Thaqif, who were inflicting much damage on the Muslims. But the Prophet of Mercy (pbuh) instead prayed for their guidance. “My Lord! Grant guidance to Banu Thaqif! Send them to us!” he implored Allah, glory unto Him, right before his departure from Taif. Before long, Banu Thaqif came to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) of its own accord and became Muslim. (Ibn Hisham, IV, 134; Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 73/3942)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) did not merely avoid cursing a tribe that years ago pelted him with stones, leaving him bloodied and bruised, but he also nurtured a genuine desire for their guidance. Indeed, their arrival a year later to express their wish to become Muslim made the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) so happy that he spared a few days to attend to them.

The most important gain from the Siege of Taif, for the time being, was the acceptance of Islam by the numerous slaves from the other side, who, following the promise of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) that they would become free if they became Muslim, defected from the enemy army and joined the Believers.^[40]

Abu Zuraa (r.a) recounts:

“When the Messenger of Allah asked for his mount as he was leaving Qarn’u Manazil during the Taif Campaign, I prepared his camel Qaswa. I held its reins until he mounted it; then handing the reins over, I sat on the saddle behind him. The Messenger of Allah was gently lashing the camel in the back with his whip to get it moving and being behind him, I was feeling the lash strike me each time. He then looked behind and asked, ‘Is the whip hitting you?’ ‘Yes, Messenger of Allah’, I replied, ‘may both my parents be sacrificed in your way!’

Afterwards we reached Jiranah, where there was some sheep held near a corner. The Messenger of Allah asked something about them to the man in charge of the spoils and the man gave the information demanded of him. Right after their conversation, the Messenger of Allah called out for me. ‘Here I am, Messenger of Allah’, I responded.

‘Take these sheep’, said the Messenger of Allah, ‘in return for the whip lashes you received in the evening!’ I counted the sheep; there were exactly one-hundred and twenty in number. Those were the possessions I benefited the most from.” (Waqidi, III, 939)

The sensitivity shown by the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) here towards the rights of others would suffice to shed a guiding light over all times and places.

The Distribution of the Spoils

After lifting the siege on Taif, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) lead the Muslim army to Jiranah, where the captives and spoils were held. Arriving around the same time with his forces was Abu Musa al-Ashari (r.a), returning victorious from the Battle of Awtas. The Believers had scattered all their enemies and time had now come to distribute the spoils. The sum of spoils seized from all the recent battles amounted to twenty-four thousand camels, forty-thousand sheep and four-thousand uqiyyah worth of silver, not to mention six-thousand captives.^[41]

Before beginning to distribute the spoils, the Noble Prophet (pbuh) declared, “Let those who have anything of the spoils with them, even if it be a needle or a string, return it! Know that treachery with regard to spoils brings shame and fire for its culprit in the Hereafter!” (Muwatta, Jihad, 22’ Ahmad, V, 316)

The Noble Messenger (pbuh) was meanwhile informed that Shayma (r.ha), his foster sister, was also among the captives. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) immediately had her brought next to him. He took of his rida and laying it on the ground for her to sit, welcomed her with kindness and compassion. Seeing Shayma (r.ha) made the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) reminisce their childhood days. His eyes welled up. He asked her about her parents, who, as it turned out, had passed away a number of years ago. After asking her about her relatives, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) then said:

“If you wish, you can remain with me where you will be treated with much love and respect. But if you wish, I can also give some possessions and see you off to your tribe. I can do that too!”

Shayma (r.a) chose to return to her tribe and after that became Muslim. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) gave both her and her living family members quite a number of camels and sheep. He also presented her with two slaves, one male and the other female who were later married to each other by Shayma (r.ha). (Ibn Hisham, IV, 91-92; Waqidi, III, 913)

The Noble Messenger (pbuh) then delayed for a little while longer distributing the spoils. Those with weaknesses in their hearts, who could not see the underlying wisdom of this delay, were disgruntled. The Bedouin Arabs, especially, demanded the distribution immediately. They even cornered the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) astride his camel beneath a samurrah tree, to the point where his coat got caught up in one of its branches. He halted his camel and stated, “Give me my coat! If I had spoils as many as these trees, I still would have distributed them amongst you in their entirety; and then you would have seen that I am neither a miser, nor a liar, nor a coward!” (Bukhari, Jihad, 24)

Later, even when the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) actually begun distributing the spoils, the crowd piled up around him was causing him so much discomfort that, finally, referring to a bygone prophet, he remarked, “Allah had sent one of his servants to a tribe, who beat him up and split his head open. But that servant, while wiping the blood running down from his head with his hand, was simply praying, ‘Forgive my tribe, my Lord, for they do not know what they are doing!’” (Ahmad, I, 456; Muslim, Jihad, 105)

The reason behind the delay came to light only on the tenth day of their arrival at Jiranah. On that day an envoy from the defeated Hawazin came to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) announcing their acceptance of Islam and asking therefore for the return of their captives and seized possessions. Speaking on their behalf, a man from the Saad Clan rose and said, “Those waiting under the shade now, Messenger of Allah, are your foster aunts, maternal and paternal, and women who milkfed you and looked after you as a child! Had we been the ones to have milkfed and looked after, say, the King of Syria or Iraq, and having fallen in a like situation asked for their compassion and benevolence, they would not have denied us! Yet you are the best anyone can care for and look after!”

“I delayed the distribution of the spoils until today”, then said the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), “but you have arrived quite late. Now chose between your captives or your belongings!”

The envoy opted for their captives. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) then said, “I return to you the captives that fell to my lot and to the sons of Abdulmuttalib. Come to me tomorrow after zuhr salat for the others!”

The next day, the Noble Prophet (pbuh) gathered his Companions and explained them the situation. Informing them that he had returned the slaves that fell to his lot, he said, “Whoever wishes to free their captives willingly and thereby make their brothers happy, let him do so. And whoever wishes not to give that which has fallen to his lot free of charge then we shall compensate him with the first spoils Allah will grant us. Those who wish so can opt for that!”

That the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) consulted the Companions over the issue is because of the fact that they had a free right of exercise over the captives.

The Companions, seeing the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) set his own captives free, without further ado, gladly set their own captives free, too, enthusiastic to reap their own share of the rewards awaiting them in return. “And we, too,” they said, “hereby return our captives to the Messenger of Allah!” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 54; Ibn Hisham, IV, 134-135)

Thus, thousands of captives were handed over to Hawazin that day, free of ransom. Such a scene was never before seen in history. But now, history was made to behold the spectacle of thousands of captives being set free without any worldly return, all thanks to the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), who had vitalized his ummah with Islamic morals.

It was a profound display of loyalty shown by the Noble Messenger (pbuh) to a people, for the sake of a woman to have breastfed him as a toddler, who had hailed among them. It is an exceptional lesson of virtue for those who are blinded to the very notion; especially when one thinks that human beings, on the whole, tend to completely erase the bleak memories of favors received from others, rather than to bring them up. Loyalty is thereby turned into a word merely found in dictionaries.

Moved by this immense act of loyalty, the entire Hawazin tribe accepted Islam. Even their leader, Malik ibn Awf, who was at Taif at the time, was so utterly yet pleasantly astonished to hear the news, that it only took a small invitation by the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) for him to enter the folds of Islam. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) granted him a hundred camels and reinstated him as the leader of his tribe.^[42]

The greatest lesson to be drawn from all this is that the best mode of tabligh is through good morals. It also points to the fact that while a prudent diplomatic approach is a means for greater goodness, a senseless approach is sure to engender damage of a greater scale.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) distributed the spoils, justly, in the best possible manner. Of the five shares the spoils were divided into, four were distributed among the soldiers, while one was allocated to the Bayt’ul-Mal, or the Treasury. Although the Treasury was at the Blessed Prophet’s (pbuh) disposal, he did not utilize it for personal use, as he indicated to his Companions, before beginning the distribution, by plucking a hair from the camel in front of him and saying:

“I have not the least to do with your spoils; not even its hair, let alone a camel…Why are you impatient? Even if the spoils are as many as the stones and trees of this valley, I will hand them out to you. If I spare a fifth of these, it is only to spend on the poor among you!” (Muwatta’, Jihad, 22; Ahmad, V, 316)

In line with the Divine command given him, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) handed out an extra share from that fifth to the muallafat’ul-qulub, that is those whose hearts were to be endeared to Islam. Among them was Hakim ibn Hizam, who explains:

“I wanted the Messenger of Allah to give me some of the spoils. He gave me a hundred camels. I asked for more and he gave me another hundred. I asked yet again and he gave me yet another hundred. He then said, ‘Surely possessions, Hakim, are alluring and sweet. Whoever takes them free of greed shall reap abundance from them. Whoever sets his eyes on them and seizes them with greed shall find no abundance in them. Such people are like those who eat and eat without ever getting full. The hand that gives is better than the hand that receives.’

Thereupon, I said, ‘By Allah who has sent you with the true religion, Messenger of Allah, so long as I am alive, I will never accept anything from anyone else but you.’”

Hakim (r.a) then took only the first hundred camels he was given by the Prophet of Allah (pbuh), forfeiting the rest. Years later a day came when Caliph Abu Bakr (r.a) called him to hand out his share of the spoils but he refused. Later on, Caliph Omar (r.a) summoned him to give him something of the spoils, only to have Hakim refuse once again. Realizing there was no way he could convince Hakim (r.a) to take what he was offering, Omar (r.a) felt obliged to say to those who were present:

“Bear witness Muslims that I am giving his share of the spoils allocated to him by Allah but he is not taking it!” Hakim (r.a) kept true to his word not to take anything from anyone so long as he remained alive. (Bukhari, Wasaya, 9; Waqidi, III, 945)

Still not a Muslim, the Qurayshi notable Safwan ibn Umayya had, regardless, not left the side of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) at both Hunayn and Taif. Safwan was also there with the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) as he was walking amid the spoils at Jiranah inspecting them. The astonished Safwan was admiringly gazing at the valley full of camels, sheep and shepherds keeping an eye on them. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh), watching Safwan with the corner of his eye, asked:

“Do you like what you see of the valley?”

“Yes”, replied Safwan.

“You can have it both…the valley and what’s on it!”

Unable to contain himself, Safwan remarked, “Only the heart of a prophet could be so generous!” immediately after which he pronounced the word of shahadah and became Muslim. (Waqidi, II, 854-855)

Safwan (r.a) later returned to Quraysh, exclaiming, “Become Muslim my people. By Allah, Muhammad is giving away in plentitude, without the least fear of poverty!” (Muslim, Fadail, 57-58)

Around forty muallafa’tul-qulub, including Abu Sufyan, Aqra ibn Habis, Uyaynah ibn Hisn, Abbas ibn Mirdas and Malik ibn Awf, were handed a dazzling amount of possessions.^[43]

A poet by the name of Abbas ibn Mirdas, unsatisfied with the amount given to him, recited a bitter poem about the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). When he found out, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) called him and said:

“I will cut your tongue off!” Prior to that, however, the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) had told Bilal Habashi (r.a) to, “…give him a pair of clothes when I order you to cut his tongue off!”

When the time came, the Prophet (pbuh) signaled Bilal to “…go and cut his tongue off!” As Bilal took hold of him by the arm, Abbas began to scream, “Is the Messenger of Allah going to cut my tongue off? Muhajirun! He is going to cut my tongue off! Ansar! He is going to cut my tongue off!” Bilal (r.a) continued escorting him away, his hands firmly clutching his arms. But when Abbas raised his screams to a higher pitch, Bilal (r.a) said, “Be quiet! The Messenger of Allah commanded me to silence you with a pair of clothes!” Bilal (r.a) then gave an extra pair to Abbas, who by then had calmed down. Ultimately though, he was given a further one-hundred camels by the Prophet of Mercy (pbuh). (Ibn Saad, IV, 273; Muslim, Zakat, 137)

During the distribution of the spoils, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (r.a) commented, “Messenger of Allah, you left a poor man like Juayl ibn Suraqa and gave notables like Uyaynah and Aqra a hundred camels each!” To that the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) replied, “By Allah, in whose Hand of Might my life resides, even if the earth was to abound with people like Uyaynah and Aqra, Juayl would still be better than all of them put together! But I am looking after these people to warm them to Islam and to refer Juayl to Islam, to which he is firmly attached, and to the superior rewards prepared for him in the Hereafter!” (Ibn Hisham, IV, 143; Ibn Saad, IV, 246)

That the muallafat’ul-qulub were given plenty of spoils was misunderstood by many and it caused some discomfort among the Companions. Someone by the name of Dhu’l-Huwaysirah, from the Tamim Clan, even crossed the line and remonstrated disrespectfully, exclaiming, “Be just, Messenger of Allah!” Much grieved by this reaction, the Blessed Prophet said, “Is that so? And who is going to be just, if I myself am not?” (Muslim, Zakat, 148)

It was not much long before a Revelation arrived:

وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُواْ مِنْهَا رَضُواْ وَإِن لَّمْ يُعْطَوْاْ مِنهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ. وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ رَضُوْاْ مَا
آتَاهُمُ اللّٰهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّٰهُ سَيُؤْتِينَا اللّٰهُ
مِن فَضْلِهِ وَرَسُولُهُ إِنَّا إِلَى اللّٰهِ رَاغِبُونَ

“And of them there are those who blame you with respect to the alms; so if they are given from it they are pleased, and if they are not given from it, lo! they are full of rage. And if they were content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and had said: Allah is sufficient for us; Allah will soon give us (more) out of His grace and His Messenger too; surely to Allah do we make our petition.” (at-Tawbah, 58-59)

The ayah brings to light that despite being dealt out by the Prophet (pbuh), the distribution of spoils was in fact a Divine act. It also emphasizes the difference between the ignorant and the contended of heart.

Most of the reaction, in fact, came from the way of Ansar. But it was not from the general share, that is the four-fifths of the spoils, that the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) handed out this generous portion. It was rather from what was called fay, the one-fifth of the spoils over which the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) exercised exclusive control. Yet even that seemed to provoke the reaction of some young Ansari men.^[44] To settle the objections that were coming in regard, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) gathered the Ansar, before the situation got out of hand. In a gathering to which nobody except for the Ansar was admitted, to make them understand the core of the matter, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) addressed them in the following manner, reminding them of the favors they had received from the Almighty:

‘Ansar…! I hear of the complaints about me that run through your hearts. But tell me…Were you not shown the right path by Allah, through me, when you were astray? Did you not become rich after I came to you, when before that you were poor? Were your hearts not united by Allah with my arrival, when spite and enmity were eating you away?”

To all those questions, the Ansar replied, “All gratitude is for and blessings are from Allah and His Messenger!”

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) continued his moving speech. “If you were to tell me, Ansar”, he declared, “You came to us when your people had denied you and we affirmed you! We aided you when your people deserted you! Your people drove you out and we embraced you! You were poor and we made you partner to our wealth’, I would have then affirmed you, too, and said ‘you are speaking the truth!’ Ansar…! Is it true that you have said certain things because I gave some worldly goods to certain people? Were you upset over me giving some worthless goods of the world to some just to warm their hearts to Islam and deprived you of them, trusting the strength and maturity of your iman…is that what distresses you? Ansar…Would not you want to return home with your Prophet while everybody else returns with their possessions?”

The tears that had already welled up in the eyes of the Ansar now began to spill over and freely flow over the touching words of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). They were weeping as they said, “We want to return home with you, Messenger of Allah”. Their undying love for him was suddenly rejuvenated. The Blessed Prophet (pbuh), too, was crying with them. To comfort them and in appreciation of the devotion they expressed, the Noble Prophet (pbuh) then said, “Ansar…Had there not been the honor and virtue of Hegira, I surely would have wanted to be from the Ansar. Ansar…If every person was to take a path, I will still be sure to follow the path of Ansar!”

Following this emotional meeting, the former complaints made way for feelings of contentedness with “Allah and His Messenger”, which became the only sentiments reverberating from Ansari ranks thereafter. A wound caused by a misunderstanding was hence permanently healed by the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). (Bukhari, Maghazi, 56; Muslim, Zakat, 135; Haythami, X, 31)

There are many lessons for us to take from the above exemplary conduct of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh). By nature, human beings have a soft spot for kindness and being on the receiving end of generosity. An enemy treated generously is an enemy no more; and if already a friend, the friendship will only become more intimate.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) entered ihram for umrah and left Jiranah following a thirteen day stay there.^[45] It has therefore been considered to be of greater merit for those who stay in and around the vicinity of Mecca to enter ihram at Jiranah.

The Punishment for Killing a Muslim

Before setting out from Medina, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) had sent a small unit under Abu Qatadah towards Najd, as a maneuver to conceal the ultimate destination of the Muslim army. When the unit reached Izam, they were met with by a man by the name of Amir ibn Adbat, who greeting the Muslim unit and saying the word of shahadah, informed them he had become Muslim. But owing to a past dispute he had with Amir, Muhallim ibn Jassamah, from the Muslim cavalry unit, claimed that Amir was only a pretender and killed him, seizing his belongings as spoils in the process.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) had just completed his zuhr salat in the Hunayn Valley and was sitting under a tree amid his Companions when Abu Qatadah and his unit eventually returned from Najd. The incident was made known to him, sparking at the instant the below ayah:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّٰهِ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ لِمَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلاَمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ اللّٰهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ اللّٰهُ
عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا

“O you who believe! When you go to war in Allah’s way, make investigation, and do not say to any one who offers you peace: You are not a believer. Do you seek goods of this world’s life! But with Allah there are abundant gains; you too were such before, then Allah conferred a benefit on you; therefore make investigation; surely Allah is aware of what you do.” (an-Nisa, 94)

Shortly thereafter, Amir’s family arrived to charge Muhallim with murder. After a lengthy trial, with the approval of Amir’s family, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) sentenced Muhallim to a payment of blood-money to the victim’s family.

“So you killed Amir even though he told you he was a Muslim…” then reproved the Blessed Prophet (pbuh).

Muhallim could only say, “Pray for my forgiveness, Messenger of Allah!” which was practically an admission that he had committed the crime, knowingly. Having taken the life of an innocent person in spite of him being a Muslim, Muhallim’s crime was not of a kind that could be easily forgiven. The slightest show of tolerance in this regard would have made it impossible to curb future crimes of the kind. The Prophet of Mercy (pbuh) therefore refused Muhallim’s request for a prayer of forgiveness and even stated, “May Allah not forgive you!”^[46]

Afflicted with the anger of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), Muhallim went home where he remined in hiding. He eventually died from excess grief a week later. When his family tried burying him, the ground pushed his corpse back out. No matter how many times they tried, the same happened each time. Helpless and astounded, they came to the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) and explained him their dilemma.

“The earth has accepted many others worse than him in her bosom”, said the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), “but Allah wishes to teach you a lesson and the value of La ilaha ill-Allah!” He then advised them to bury Muhallim once again by this time placing stones on his grave. (Ahmad, V, 112; Ibn Majah, Fitan, 1; Ibn Hisham, IV, 302; Waqidi, III, 919)

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) acted this way in order to stress the severity of violating the right and honor of La ilaha ill-Allah and of another Muslim, to show how terrible a sin it is to kill a fellow Muslim for the mere sake of worldly goods and to thereby emphatically deter others from committing like crimes.

The incident proves that all people who profess the word of tawhid are to be regarded as Muslim. Unless a person blatantly shows his disbelief, it is impermissible to doubt his iman.

The incident again shows just how important it is for Muslims to look at the external facts of the matter when passing judgment on it. Considering there is always an element of deception even when passing judgment based on external facts, had humans been given the privilege of basing their verdicts on inner motives, the exact determining of which is a sheer impossibility, they would not have been able to steer clear from committing many an injustice owing to their subjective interpretations.

Another reason behind the obligation to pass judgment based on external facts is to prevent certain people, from clinging onto excuses like ‘look at my heart, not my deeds’ to justify their flawed deeds and shortcomings. This tactic frequently resorted to in this day and age is instantly annulled by the above principle instated by Islam and by the practice of the Prophet of Allah (pbuh). Passing judgment according to external facts may seem to provide a temporary loop hole for hypocrites by giving them an opportunity to conceal their inner hypocrisy with outward deeds; still, it provides a barrier against trying to implement justice with evidence based on guesswork, rather than conviction.

The Assigning of a Governor and a Teacher for Mecca

Before leaving Mecca, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) assigned Attab ibn Asid (r.a) as governor, to administer the town as well as to regulate affairs related to pilgrimage. Prior to that, the Noble Prophet (pbuh) had already left Attab (r.a) as deputy in Mecca when setting out to the Battle of Hunayn. (Ibn Hisham, IV, 69, 148) Attab (r.a) was around twenty years of age at the time.^[47] Despite there being Companions of greater experience and virtue, it was Attab (r.a) who was entrusted with governorship. This shows that posts and duties ought to be given to people of ability, who exert knowledge and virtue, and who are known for their piousness and integrity.

Indeed, the Companions who lent the most paramount service in conveying Islam to future generations were, more often than not, youths like Attab ibn Asid (r.a). For instance, Abdullah ibn Omar and Ibn Abbas (r.huma), among those to have narrated the most number of ahadith, were merely thirteen years old at the time of the passing away of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh), while Anas, Ibn Masud and Aisha (r.huma) were eighteen. Again, most of the Companions present in the Pledge of Aqabah were young; so were a majority of the teachers of the Quran martyred by the Maunah Well. This shows just how vital it is to attend to the education of youth, who will potentially assume important duties that will shape the future of Islam.

The Blessed Prophet (pbuh) always wanted for new Muslims to learn the Quran and Sunnah without wasting any time. He would therefore subject those who came to him as Muslims to an intense training next to his Companions, even it if be for a few days. At fajr salat, he would check to see what they had learnt and if their knowledge was still inadequate, he would send them to other Companions and ensure they learnt their instructions properly.

Consequent upon this sensitivity towards the teaching of Islam, the Blessed Prophet (pbuh) left Muadh ibn Jabal^[48] and Abu Musa al-Ashari^[49] (r.huma) in Mecca to teach the locals the Quran and fiqh, that is the rulings of Islam. This provides categorical evidence for the importance we ought to ascribe to the teaching of Islam.

^[1].      A sidr is a type of cherry tree found in Arabia, known for its dense and pleasant shade. Its leaves are used to wash the corpse the deceased. (Âsım Efendi, Kâmus, II, 385)

^[2].      The shroud that is sunnah for a male consists of three parts: an izar to cover the entire body, a shirt and a wrap. For a female, it consists of five parts: an izar, a hijab over her head, a wrap, a cloth tied around her breasts and abdomen and a shirt.

^[3].      Waqidi, II, 755; Ibn Qayyim, III, 381.

^[4].      Ibn Saad, II, 128.

^[5].      Ibn Hisham, III, 429

^[6].      Ibn Omar t states, “We searched for Jafar and found him among the martyrs. We counted around ninety sword and arrow wounds on the front part of his body. None of these wounds were on his back.” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 44) Jafar t was thirty-three when he was martyred. (Ibn Hisham, III, 434) That means he was merely a seventeen year old teenager when he migrated to Abyssinia and addressed the Negus with such marvelous knowledge, wisdom and courage.

^[7].      Khalid ibn Walid t avows, “By Allah, nine swords broke in my hand on the Day of Muta. Only a Yemen made, wide-edged sword endured.” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 44)

^[8].      One of the narrators of the hadith says, “I asked Abdullah ibn Jafar ‘What happened to Qusam later?’ ‘He was martyred’, he said. I thereupon said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best’. ‘Indeed’, replied he.” (Hakim, III, 655/6411)

^[9].      Ibn Hisham, IV, 4; Beyhakî, Delâil, V, 6.

^[10].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 11; Waqidi, II, 783.

^[11].     Waqidi, II, 787.

^[12].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 12.

^[13].     Ibn Saad, II, 134.

^[14].     Hamîdullâh, I, 264-265.

^[15].     Nebî Bozkurt, DİA, “Mekke” entry. XXVIII, 557.

^[16].     Bukhari, Tafsir, 60.

^[17].     Bukhari, Maghazi, 47.

^[18].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 18.

^[19].     Waqidi, II, 804.

^[20].     Still, adversaries of Islam give joint mention to it with terror, a contemporary tragedy of humanity. Terror and anarchy are built upon heartlessness, without the least qualm for morality. Ever since its birth, Islam, on the other hand, has taken a stance against terror and anarchy and has made it a priority to uphold the rights of all beings, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, even of non-living entities. The twenty-three year prophethood of the Noble Messenger r has virtually been a struggle against terror.

^[21].     Poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy gives elegant voice to Omar’s t legendary sense of administrative responsibility:

If a wolf was to snatch a sheep by the Tigris,

It would be Omar called to account by Divine Justice,

An old woman left alone …Omar is to blame!

Her orphans swept away by woe…Omar is to blame!

A nest of poverty neglected to crumble,

It is Omar again, nobody else, left under its rubble

When, with betrayal, one sheds a drop of blood,

That one drop rises to drown Omar in its flood,

Omar is heard from every break of heart,

From every mourning, it is Omar driven out,

When Omar is Caliph, who else is there to blame?

What can Omar do, o Lord, when man is tyrant and lame,

Demanded from Omar is what from Muhammad was expected,

Omar, Omar…how was this load, on your shoulders, rested?

^[22].     Bukhari, Maghazi, 48.

^[23].     Clearly understood from the declaration of Allah, glory unto Him, in the Quran:

قُلْ اَط۪يعُوا اللّٰهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِر۪ينَ

         “Say: Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the nonbelievers” (Al-i Imran, 32) is the fact that iman in the Almighty and obeying Him alone are not enough. Those who have iman in and obey only Allah excluding His Messenger, or vice-versa for that matter, are classified by the ayah as unbelievers whom Allah, glory unto Him, dislikes. The important thing is for one to regulate his iman in accordance with the Divine Will and Command, not with his inadequate understanding.

         In that respect, when the Almighty has granted His Messenger this status and has specified recognizing and obeying His Messenger as a fundamental pillar of faith, how ignorant and even treacherous must it be to claim, like many ignorant do today, the Holy Quran to be sufficient, and on such a pretext based on their shallow understanding, to reject the Sunnah of the Blessed Prophet (pbuh).

^[24].     During his lifetime, the Blessed Prophet ris known to have frequently repeated this prayer, which draws attention to the weight of the Hereafter compared to the life of the world. Narrated among the occasions in which he made this prayer are during the construction of Masjid’un-Nabawi, during the digging of the trenches prior to Handak, when entering Mecca on the Day of Fath and during the farewell pilgrimage upon seeing the enormous number of Believers in front of him. (See, Bukhari, Jihad 33, 110, Manaqib’ul-Ansar 9, Maghazi 29; Muslim, Jihad, 126, 129; Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 55; Ibn Majah, Masajid, 3)

^[25].     See, Ibn Hisham, IV, 32; Waqidi, II, 835; Ibn Saad, II, 142-143.

^[26].     Waqidi, II, 850.

^[27].     Waqidi, II, 857-858.

^[28].     Abu Dawud, Jihad, 117/2683; Nasai, Tahrîm’ud-Dam, 14.

^[29].     Abu Dawud, Kharaj, 24-25/3023.

^[30].     Ahmad, III, 415; Bukhari, Maghazi, 53.

^[31].     For hijabah, see, volume 1, pg. ???

^[32].     A plant with large leaves and a sweet fragrance, the idhir is native to Mecca. As well as providing food for animals, it is also used inside houses and graves. Plants, whose cutting has been prohibited within the vicinity of the Haram, are specified as ‘those which grow on their own’. Together with a degree of controversy regarding the cutting of plants sowed by humans, an overwhelming majority of scholars agree to its permissibility. Cutting from the miswaq tree, for instance, as well as pulling out a leaf or a fruit of a tree is also considered permissible, provided no harm is done to the tree itself. (See, İbrâhim Cânan, Hadîs Ansiklopedisi, XII, 525-526)

         The cutting of green trees and weed in the Haram area of Medina, when need be, is considered permissible. Because Medina is an area that thrives on agriculture, the Blessed Prophet r was asked permission in regard, and as a consequence, the town was given a greater concession than Mecca concerning the use of plants. Hunting outside of Medina was given a like concession. (See, Hamdi Döndüren, Şâmil İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Harem” entry)

^[33].     Waqidi, III, 873. When Khalid ibn Walid t returned to Mecca after destroying the idol Uzza with a unit of three-hundred-and-fifty Believers, the Blessed Prophet r sent him to the Banu Jazimah tribe to invite them to iman in Allah, glory unto Him. Resulting from a misunderstanding, Khalid t killed around thirty people from the tribe. Once the news reached the Noble Prophet r, he lifted his hands aloft and prayed, twice, ‘Allah…I submit to You that I am distant from what Khalid has done!’ and sought refuge in the Almighty. He then sent Ali t with a hefty amount of money to Banu Jazimah and had him compensate for the incident by paying blood-money to the victims’ families. Ali t compensated for all their property seized as spoils, even the damaged water troughs for dogs. He then left the money left over with Banu Jazimah, so that they could cover the additional damages they would in all likelihood become aware of later on. When Ali t returned to the Prophet of Mercy r and explained to him the course of action he took, the Blessed Prophet r said, “You have done well; just the right thing!” (Bukhari, Maghazi, 58, Ahkâm 35; Nasai, Âdâbu’l-Kudât, 16; Ibn Hisham, IV, 53-57; Waqidi, III, 875-884)

         The incident shows the enormity of compassion and mercy the Blessed Prophet rnurtured and how he observed the created from the perspective of the Creator. The compensations of even the damaged water troughs for dogs provides an exemplary standard for observing the rights of animals.

^[34].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 65; Ibn Saad, II, 150.

^[35].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 68; Waqidi, III, 890.

^[36].     Muslim, Jihad, 76.

^[37].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 79.

^[38].     Ahmad, V, 286; Haythami, VI, 182-183; Ibn Hisham, IV, 79.

^[39].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 84.

^[40].     Bukhari, Maghazi, 56.

^[41].     Ibn Saad, II, 152.

^[42].     Ibn Hisham, IV, 137-138.

^[43].     Waqidi, III, 944-947.

^[44].     Kâmil Mîras, Tecrîd Tercemesi, X, 341.

^[45].     Bukhari, Umrah, 3; Tirmidhi, Hajj, 92/935.

^[46].     The Companion who has narrated the hadith says, “Amongst ourselves, we used to say that ‘the Messenger of Allah prayed for his forgiveness but acted that way to express the gravity of what Muhallim had done and to prevent people from killing each other.’” (Ahmad, V, 112; Ibn Hisham, IV, 304)

^[47].     Hâkim, III, 303/5181.

^[48].     Waqidi, III, 959.

^[49].     Ibn Saad, II, 160.