THE INFALLIBLES SERIES � HUNAIN AND TABUK

By

Yasin T. al-Jibouri

(This Series in its entirety is not copyrighted. If you wish to earn the Almighty's rewards, circulate it to everyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, post it on your web site or use it in any way you deem fit! Plant the good seed and let the Almighty let it grow and grow�)

[Continued�]

THE BATTLE OF HUNAIN (630 A.D.)

On the 6th of Shawwal, 8 A.H./January 30, 630 A.D., a pitched battle was fought at Hunain, about ten miles from Mecca, between the Muslims and the men of Hawazin and Thaqif who had already taken up vantage positions. They almost took the Muslims by surprise, attacking them in the early hours of the morning, fighting in a spirit of desperation. The Muslims first lost ground and their defeat seemed imminent. The Prophet was riding his white mule Duldul (which had been given to him as a gift by the Coptic ruler of Egypt) as he was watching the progress of the battle from the rear of the army.

At that time, a cousin of the Prophet named Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was holding the bridle of the Prophet's mule. The vanguard of the army was made up of the men of Banu Sulaim who were led by Khalid ibn al-Walid. They were leisurely advancing up the steep and narrow pass when suddenly Banu Hawazin attacked them, concentrating their ambush against Khalid's column. Khalid could not withstand the attack and his column staggered under the weight of the onslaught, breaking and falling back. One column after another reacted likewise. All turned to flight. Panic seized the entire army. Those who proved to be firm in the battle of Hunain and who did not flee away included: `Abbas, his oldest son Fazl, Ali ibn Abu Talib, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, his brother Rabi`ah, `Aqil ibn Abu Talib, `Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Zubayr ibn al-`Awwam, and Usamah ibn Zayd. Al-Halabi remarks in Al-Sira al-Halabiyyathat only four persons remained with the Prophet, three of whom were Hashimites, i.e., Ali ibn Abu Talib, `Abbas and Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, and one non-Hashimite, i.e., `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud. Abu al-Fida' makes another point. He says, �When the Muslims fled, the secret malice which the people of Mecca entertained against the Muslims was exposed. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb gleefully cried out, <sup>`</sup>They will not stop until they reach the sea shore! Muhammed's magic spell is now broken!'� Shaybah ibn `Othman ibn Abu Talhah, whose father was killed at Uhud, vowed that he would now slay Muhammed. Chaos and confusion among the Muslims' army were increasing.

As the Prophet was witnessing his fighting men fleeing, he called out to them, �Where are you running off to?!� But nobody was paying him any attention. The Prophet then told his uncle `Abbas to call the Muslims back. `Abbas wondered as to how his voice would reach those fleeing. The Prophet said that Allah would cause his voice to reach them, no matter how far they might have gone. `Abbas called them in these words as the Prophet had instructed him: �O Ansar! O people of the tree of Samrah!⁴⁸ O people of Surat al-Baqarah!�

After the call of `Abbas, at last the deserters returned and ultimately the Hawazin and Thaqif were routed. About a hundred Muslims, all from the Ansar, succeeded in regaining the narrow pass and checking the advance of the enemy's army. The standard bearer of the Banu Hawazin tribe, namely `Othman (or Abu Jarwal), a man of extra-ordinary height, stoutly built, came forward and challenged the Muslims to single combat. Ali stepped forward and engaged him in a duel. In the meantime, the Muslim army gradually rallied around the Prophet, protecting him from the infidels. Ali succeeded in slaying his opponent and both parties closed in on each other; a fist fight broke out, and the conflict, by any standard, was horrifying. The Prophet cast a handful of gravel into the air towards the enemy saying, �Confusion seize their faces!� The reader may remember that the Messenger of Allah had done the same during the Battle of Badr. After a short while, the enemies wavered then fled away as the Muslims were in hot pursuit of them. It is to this battle that these verses of the Holy Qur'an refer:

Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields and on the Day of Hunanin, 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 tranquilty upon His Messenger and upon the believers and sent down hosts (of angels) which you did not see and chastised those who disbelieved, and that is the reward of the unbelievers. Then will Allah after this turn (mercifully) to whomsoever He pleases, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

(Qur'an, 9:25-27)

The men of Thaqif took refuge in the city of Taif but the families of the Hawazin, with all their flocks and herds, fell into the hands of the Muslims. Taif was besieged. Expecting this siege, the tribesmen of Hawazin and their allies had already undertaken defensive measures. The siege was prolonged for over twenty days without producing any result. On account of a dream he saw, the Propeht concluded that the military operations would not be successful and decided to lift the siege, but his army, upon receiving orders to withdraw, began to murmur in frustration. The idea of retreating did not appeal to them. The Prophet, coming to know about their attitude, permitted them to make a general assault the next day. The assault was undertaken but was repulsed, and the Muslim army suffered losses. `Abdullah, son of later caliph Abu Bakr, received a wound that day which eventually led to his martyrdom a few years later. May Allah reward `Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr with the best of His rewards for his services to the cause of Islam. Has there been enough room in this already too big a book, the feats and merits of this great sahabi would have filled many pages. May Allah forgive our shortcomings, Allahomma ameen. Abu Sufyan, the Meccan chief, lost one of his eyes to an arrow. At last, the Muslim army marched back to Je`rana where the booty was kept pending distribution.

The men of Hawazin approached the Prophet and beseeched him to restore their families to them. The Prophet answered them that he could not compel his army to forego all the fruits of victory and that if they wanted their families back, they would have to forego their worldly goods. To this, the Hawazin consented. On the next day, acting on the advice of the Prophet, they approached the Prophet and repeated their request. The Prophet replied, �My own share of the captives, and that of the children of `Abdul-Muttalib, I give back to you at once.� The army followed suit, and six thousand captives were set free. The Hawazin were so overwhelmed by this generosity that many of them accepted Islam there and then.

The spoils of the war, which consisted of 24,000 camels, 40,000 goats, and a considerable quantity of silver, were distributed among the army. In making the distribution, the newly converted Muslims as well as many non-Muslims of Mecca (known in history as �al-mu�allafatu qulubuhum� (those who were helped in order to win their hearts) were given disproportionately larger shares. Some Ansar considered this as an act of partiality, and their discontent was reported to the Prophet. It was also reported that the Ansar feared that now that Mecca was conquered, the Prophet would return to it and migrate from Medina. The Prophet delivered a lecture to them wherein he said to them:

�O Ansar! I have learned about your discourse. When I came to you, you were wandering in the dark, and the Lord gave you the right direction. You were suffering, and He made you happy. You were enemies of one another, and He filled your hearts with brotherly love and concord. Was it not so, tell me?�

�Indeed, it is even as you say,� was the reply: �to the Lord and to His Prophet belong the benevolence and the grace.�

�Nay, by the Lord,� continued the Prophet, �but you might have answered, and answered truly, for I would have testified to its truth myself: ^`You came to us rejected as an impostor, and we believed in you; you came as a helpless fugitive and we assisted you; you were poor and outcast, and we gave you asylum, comfortless and we solaced you.' O Ansar! Why do you disturb your hearts because of the things of this life? Are you not satisfied that others should return with the flocks and the camels, while you go back to your homes with me in your midst? By Him Who holds my life in His hands, I shall never abandon you. If all mankind went one way and the Ansar went another, surely I would join the Ansar. The Lord be favorable to them, and bless them, and their children, and their children's children!�

At these words, say the chroniclers, they all wept till tears ran down their beards. They all cried with one voice, �Yes, O Prophet of Allah! We are well satisfied with our share� (meaning the presence of the Prophet in Medina). They, thereupon, felt happy and contented and went back home. Muhammed soon thereafter returned to Medina.

ISLAM SPREADS

The fall of Mecca was the signal for an unprecedented rush to accept Islam. `Amr ibn Salamah, a companion of the Prophet, has stated, �The Arabs were waiting for Quraish to accept Islam. They used to say: `Muhammed must be left to his people. If he emerges victorious over them, he is undoubtedly a true prophet." When Mecca was conquered, all the tribes hastened to accept Islam.

Zakat collectors were sent into the territories under the Muslims' control. These officials not only demonstrated great fairness in collecting the zakat andjizya, but also preached effectively to the people, for most of them were pious and God-fearing people. After the fall of Mecca, teachers were sent in all directions to bring people to God's way, and they met with so much success that hordes upon hordes flocked to the Prophet. It is about such mass conversions that the Qur'an has stated:

When there comes assistance from Allah and victory, and you see men entering the religion of Allah in groups.....

(Qur'an, 110:1-2)

After an order was issued prohibiting the polytheists from entering the Sacred Mosque of the Ka`ba, the entire Hijaz was Muslim.

By the 10th of Hijra/632 A.D., Islam's influence had reached Yemen, Bahrain, Yamama, Iraq, and Syria. The Chief of the Daws, a tribe in Yemen, had accepted Islam even before the migration. In 8 A.H./630 A.D., Khalid ibn al-Walid was sent to Yemen to preach Islam but did not have much success. Then Ali went there and read the epistle of the Prophet; the entire tribe of Hamdan accepted Islam. In 10 A.H./632 A.D., Wabr was deputed to contact the leaders of the Persians residing in Yemen. Firoz al-Daylami, Markabood and Wahb ibn Munabbih accepted Islam through him. Ma`ath ibn Jabal and Abu Musa al-Ash`ari were also sent to Yemen with the following instructions: �Be polite, not harsh; give glad tidings to the people and condemn them not. Work together. When you meet people who already follow some (other) religion, preach to them about the Oneness of God and (my) Messengership; if they accept, tell them that God has enjoined prayers five times day and night. If they agree to do so, tell them that zakat is also obligatory upon those who can afford it in order to help the poor. If they give zakat, do not pick out only items of a better quality. Beware of the curse and the supplication of victims, for they reach straight to God.� Their efforts met with considerable success. Meanwhile, Khalid was inviting people to the faith in Najran and the tribe of `Abdul-Madan came forward to accept it.

In 8 A.H./630 A.D., Munqir ibn Haban of the tribe of `Abdul-Qais of Bahrain visited Medina and accepted Islam. Through his efforts and those of his father, their tribe entered the Islamic fold and sent a deputation of fourteen persons to the Prophet. In the same year, `Ala al-Hadrami was sent to Bahrain to preach to the people. He succeeded in converting its governor, Munthir ibn Sawa, and the public followed suit.

Similarly, Abu Zayd al-Ansari and `Amr ibn al-`as were sent to `Oman in the same year (8 A.H./630 A.D.) with letters from the Prophet to its chieftains `Obayd and Jaifar as stated above. When the chieftains accepted Islam, the whole tribe of Azd responded favorably to the invitation.

THE INFALLIBLES SERIES � MUSLIMS BATTLE THE PAGANS AND JEWS IN MEDINA

By

Yasin T. al-Jibouri

(This Series in its entirety is not copyrighted. If you wish to earn the Almighty's rewards, circulate it to everyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, post it on your web site or use it in any way you deem fit! Plant the good seed and let the Almighty let it grow and grow�)

[Continued�]

BATTLE OF THE KHANDAQ (627 A.D.)

Upon settling down at Khaibar, Banu Nadir decided to seek revenge against the Muslims. They contacted the Meccans, and 20 leaders from the Jews and 50 from Quraish made a covenant in the Ka`ba that as long as they lived, they would fight Muhammed. Then the Jews and Quraish contacted their allies and sent emissaries to a number of tribes. Banu Ghatfan, Banu Asad, Banu Aslam, Banu Ashja`, Banu Kinanah and Banu Fizarah readily responded. The Meccans, four thousand strong, including thre hundred cavaliers and fifteen hundred camels, were joined by six thousand allies from among the Jews and the bedouin tribes. The three armies set out, ten thousand strong, under the command of Abu Sufyan in the beginning of the month of Shawwal, 5 A.H. (the end of February 627 A.D.) to attack Medina.

When news of these preparations reached Medina, the Prophet consulted his companions, as he always did during such situations. There was hardly sufficient time to make preparations for the war. He decided this time to remain within the city and fight back. The stone houses of the city were built adjacent to one another so as to make a high and continuous strong wall for a long distance except in the north-west where a wide open space could afford the enemy an easy entry. At this place, with the suggestion of Salman al-Farisi, who was familiar with the mode of defending cities in other countries such as his (Persia), a trench, fifteen feet in width and fifteen feet in depth, was dug. Muslims were divided into parties of 10 each, and each party was allotted 10 yards to dig. The Prophet himself participated in this task, carrying the excavated earth away. The khandaq (moat) was completed in nick of time: just 3 days before the host of the enemies reached Medina. The houses outside the city were evacuated, and the women and children were accommodated for safety on the tops of the double-storied houses at the entrenchment. Muslims could muster only three thousand men to face this huge army, and they immediately took cover behind the ditch. The Prophet camped in the center of the entrenchment in a tent of red leather on a space shaped like a crescent. The camp had the rising ground of Sila` on its rear and the trench in the front.

Huyaiy ibn Akhtab, head of Banu Nadir, met secretly with Ka`b ibn Asad, head of Banu Quraizah, a Jewish tribe which was still in Medina. Huyaiy was the most antagonistic Jew towards the Prophet (P). Banu Quraizah, on his instigation, tore down the treaty which they had concluded with the Muslims. The Jews decided that they would assist the pagan Quraishites after ten days' preparations and would attack the rear of Muhammed's army from the north-western side of the city which was located on the south-east side of their fortress and which was easily accessible to them.

Rumours reached the Prophet about the Jews' schemes, so he sent two chiefs, one from the Aws and one from the Khazraj: These were Sa`d ibn Mu`ath and Sa`d ibn `Abadah¹³ respectively to ascertain the truth. Both men proceeded to meet the Jews. Having made searching inquiries and some scouting of their own, they returned to report to the Prophet that the temper of the Jews was even worse than it had been feared. This news alarmed the Prophet. It was then necessary to take precautions against any surprise attack or treachery from the side of those Jews. The north-western part of the city, which was located on the side of the Jewish stronghold, was the weakest of all defenses. In order to prtoect the families of his followers throughout the city, the Prophet, as a meager measure of safeguard, had no choice except to send a considerable number of his men from his already small army of three thousand to afford them such a protection. His men's supplies were hardly adequate due to the length of the entrenchment that formed his defense line. Still, he had no choice except to detach two parties, one of three hundred men under the command of Zayd ibn Harithah, his freed slave and adopted son, and another of two hundred men under the command of a chieftain from Medina. Their job was to patrol the streets and the alleys of the city night and day.

This treachery and danger from inside Medina, when Muslims were surrounded by the combined armies of pagans and Jews of all of Arabia on the outside, had a telling effect on the Muslims. The enemy was astonished to see the moat because it was a novel military tactic for the Arabs. They camped on the outside for 27 (or 24) days. Their number increased day by day, and many Muslims were extremely terrified, as the Qur'an portrays for us. Surat al-Ahzab describes various aspects of this siege. For example, read the following verses:

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, you began to think diverse thoughts about Allah. There, the believers were tried, and they wee shaken a tremendous shaking.

(Qur'an, 33:10-11)

At that time, many hypocrites, and even some Muslims, asked permission to leave the ranks of the Muslims and to go home:

And when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib! There is no place for you to stand, and a party of them asked permission of the Prophet saying: Verily our houses are exposed, and they were not exposed; they only described to flee away.

(Qur'an, 33:13)

The bulk of the army, however, steadfastly withstood the hardship of inclement weather and rapidly depleting provisions. The coalition's army hurled arrows and stones at the Muslims.

Finally, a few of Quraish's more valiant warriors, `Amr ibn `Abdwadd, Nawfal ibn `Abdullah ibn Mughirah, Dhirar ibn Khattab, Hubairah ibn Abu Wahab, `Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl and Mirdas al-Fahri, succeeded in crossing the moat.

`Amr called for battle; nobody responded; he was considered equal to one thousand warriors. History accounts state that all the Muslims were as though birds were sitting on their heads: they were too afraid to raise their heads.

Three times did the Prophet exhort the Muslims to battle `Amr. Three times it was only Ali who stood up. In the third time, the Prophet allowed Ali to go. When Ali was going to the battlefield, the Prophet said: �The whole faith is going to fight the whole infidelity; the embodiment of the former bounds is to crush the entirety of the latter.� The Prophet put his own turban on Ali's head, his own coat of mail over Ali's body, and he armed Ali with his own sword, Thul-Fiqar, then he sent him to meet his opponent. Then the Prophet raised his hands to supplicate thus: �O Allah! `Obaydah, my cousin, was taken away from me in the Battle of Badr, Hamzah, my uncle, in Uhud. Be Merciful, O Lord, not to leave me alone and undefended. Spare Ali to defend me. You are the best of defenders.�

Ali invited `Amr to accept Islam or to return to Mecca, or to come down from his horse since Ali had no horse and was on foot.

�Nephew,� said `Amr to Ali, being a friend of Ali's father Abu Talib, �By God I do not like to kill you.� Ali replied, �By God, I am here to kill you!� `Amr, now enraged at this reply, alighted from his horse. Having hamstrung his horse, a token of his resolve never to run away from the battlefield but either to conquer or to perish, he advanced towards Ali. They were immediately engaged in a duel, turning the ground underneath them into a cloud of dust, so much so that for a good while, only the strokes of their swords could be heard while they themselves could not be seen. `Amr succeeded once in inflicting a serious cut on Ali's head. At last, Ali's voice was heard shouting, �Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!� That was his cry of victory. It always is Muslims' cry of victory. Seeing how the most brave among them has been killed by Ali, the other pagans who crossed the moat now took to their heels with the exception of Nawfal whose horse failed to leap; it fell into the moat. As the Muslims showered him with a hail of stones, he cried out thus: �I rather die by the sword than by the stones!� Hearing this, Ali leaped into the moat and fulfilled his last wish, dispatching him to hell!

Ali, contrary to the Arab custom then, did not, however, strip either men from their armor or clothes. When `Amr's sister came to her brother's corpse, she was struck with admiration at the noble behavior of her slain brother's adversary and, finding out who he was, she felt proud of her brother having met his fate at the hands of the person who was known as the unique champion of spotless character. She said, as recorded in Tarikh al-Khamis, �Had his conqueror been someone else other than the one who killed him, I would have mourned `Amr for the rest of my life. But his opponent was the unique spotless champion.�

Ali, the �Lion of God,� thus distinguished himself as on previous occasions: in the battles of Badr and of Uhud. About this battle, the Prophet said:

Verily, one attack of Ali in the Battle of Khandaq is better than the worship of all human beings and jinns up to the Day of Resurrection.

No further activity was attempted by the enemy that day, but great preparations were undertaken during the night. Khalid ibn al-Walid, with a party of cavaliers, attempted during the night to clear the ditch for crossing the next day. The next morning, the Muslims found the entire enemy force arrayed in fighting formations along their line of entrenchment. The enemies tried to overrun the Muslim side of the trench but were repelled at every point. The ditch served its purpose; it could not be crossed. During the entire military campaign, by the way, only five Muslims were martyred. The Muslims' vigilance paralyzed the enemies despite the latter�s numeric superiority. Numeric superiority is not always a prerequisite for victory, let the majority of the Muslims of the world in general and the Salafi fanatics in particular keep this in mind. The Almighty grants victory to whosoever He pleases.

But the Muslims were running out of provisions. The Prophet had to tie a stone on his stomach in order to minimize the pangs of hunger. Abu Sa`eed al-Khudri said: �Our hearts had reached our throats in fear and in desperation.� On the other hand, the besieging army was getting restive, too; it could not put up any further with the rain and cold; its horses were perishing daily and provisions nearing depletion. The Prophet went to the place where the Mosque of Victory (Masjidul-Fath) now stands and prayed to Allah. Said the Prophet, �O Lord! Revealer of the Sacred Book, the One Who is swift in taking account, turn the confederate host away! Turn them to flight, O Lord, and make the earth underneath them quake!�

A fierce storm raged, uprooting the tents of the enemies; their pots and belongings went flying in all directions; it blew dust in their faces, extinguished their fires, and their horses were running around as though they were possessed. An unbearable terror was cast in their hearts. In the fourth night, after having finished his prayers, Muhammed asked Abu Bakr if he would go to the enemy's camp to discern and report their activities. He replied saying, �I ask pardon of Allah and of His Messenger.� The Prophet promised Paradise to be the reward of anyone who would venture out for that purpose, then asked `Omer ibn al-Khattab if he would do it. `Omer's answer was similar to that of Abu Bakr. The Prophet's request is actually an order, a divine one, since it is coming from one who does not say anything or do anything without the Will of the Almighty. These facts are recorded in Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, Al-Sira al-Muhammediyya, Al-Sira al-Halabiyya, Tarikh al-Khamis, and Rawdat al-Ahbab for all to review. The third person the Prophet asked was Huthayfah al-Yemani who readily responded to the request and proceeded to the enemy camp in the darkness of the night where he saw the devestation wrought by the storm. He saw Abu Sufyan looking very depressed. When he came back to his camp and reported in detail to the Prophet what he had seen, the Prophet was delighted to find out that his plea to Allah was answered.

Either feeling the pain of the severity of the weather or struck with terror at that storm which was interpreted as a manifestation of the Divine Wrath, Abu Sufyan decided to lift the siege and to march back at once. Summoning the chiefs of his allies, he announced his decision to them, issuing orders to dismantle the camp. He and all the Meccans with him, as well as the pagan tribes that allied themselves under his command, fled away. The first to flee was Abu Sufyan himself who was so upset that he tried to ride his camel without first untying its rope. Khalid ibn al-Walid guarded the rear of the armies with two hundred cavaliers against a pursuit. The Ghatfan tribesmen and the bedouin allies returned to their deserts; not a single person remained on the battlefield in the morning. It was with great joy that in the morning the Muslims discovered the sudden disappearance of the enemy, finding themselves unexpectedly relieved. The siege lasted for twenty-four long days ending in March of 627 A.D.

This episode is referred to in the Qur'an in this ayat:

O ye who believe! Remember the bounty of Allah unto you when came upon you the hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that ye saw not, and Allah sees all what you do.

(Qur'an, 33:9)

And also in ayat 25 which says:

And God turned back the unbelievers in their rage; they did not achieve any advantage, and Allah sufficed for the believers in fighting, and Allah is Strong, Mighty.

(Qur'an, 33:25)

`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud was interpreting this thus: �And God sufficed the believers (through Ali ibn Abu Talib) in their fight,� as we read in Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur.

As a direct result of this defeat of the infidels' combined forces in the Battle of Khandaq (moat, or the Battle of Ahzab, coalitions), Quraish's influence waned, and those tribes who were till then hesitating to accept Islam out of fear of Quraish began to send deputations to the Prophet. The first deputation came from the tribe of Mazinah, and it consisted of four hundred persons. They not only accepted Islam but were ready to settle down in Medina. The Prophet, however, advised them to return to their homes.

Likewise, a deputation of a hundred persons came from the Ashja` and embraced Islam. The tribe of Juhainah lived near them, so they were influenced by their conversion. One thousand of the latter's men came to Medina to join the fraternity.

BANU QURAIZAH DEFEATED (627 A.D.)

According to the terms of the treaty which Banu Quraizah had contracted with the Muslims, they were bound to assist the Muslims against outside aggression. But, not to speak of assisting the Muslims or even remaining neutral, they had sided with the Meccans and joined the besieging foe. What was worse, they had tried to attack the fortress where Muslim women and children had been lodged for safety. Living in such a close proximity to Medina, they had become a serious menace.

Having put aside his armor after his return from the site of the Battle of Khandaq, the Prophet, on the same day when the battle had come to a close, was washing his hands and face at the house of his beloved daughter Fatima whom he used to visit before proceeding to his own house and whenever he returned from an expedition or an expedition. It was then and there that arch-angel Gabriel brought him the divine command to proceed immediately against the Jews of Quraizah. He instantly sent Ali with his standard, then he followed in person with his army and laid the siege of their fortress, a siege which the enemy had not expected, thinking that the Muslims were already worn out following one of their most exhausting battles.

First, Quraizah Jews resisted, but the siege of twenty-five days sufficed to bring them to their knees and prepare them to pay for their treachery. They ultimately opened the gates of their fortresses on the condition that their fate should be decided by Sa`d ibn Mu`ath, chief of the Aws, a long time friend and ally of the Jews. Sa`d had been wounded during the battle of the moat and was still under treatment when he was brought to decide the fate of Banu Qurayzah. He came riding a mule and looking quite weak. He could not walk, so he was supported by some of his friends. He was surrounded by men of his tribe who were all urging him to be lenient towards Jewish prisoners, reminding him of their services to the Aws when the war of Bu`ath was raging. Basing his judgement upon the verses of the Old Testament itself, Sa`d ruled that the fighting men, six hundred in number according to some accounts, should be killed, the women and children be taken captive, and their possessions be confiscated and divided among the besieging troops. The sentence was carried out.

Ibn `Abbas narrates the following with reference to the Prophet's conquest over Banu Qurayzah:

THE BATTLE OF KHAYBAR (628 A.D.)

Banishing the Jewish tribes of Banu Nadir and Qinaqa` from Medina intensified the Jews' animosity towards the Muslims. These tribes were instigating other tribes, Jewish and pagan, to join them in a conclusive assault upon the Muslims. Two years ago, they instigated a number of powerful bedouin tribes, with whom they entered into alliances, as well as the Quraishites of Mecca, to raid and besiege Medina, but their attempts failed. Their chief, Ibn Abul-Haqiq, who enjoyed security at the fort of Qamus, instigated the tribe of Banu Fizarah and other bedouins to raid Medina. In fact, the Battle of Ahzab, or of Khandaq (moat), was the first attempt in which the Jews had actually participated in besieging the Muslims. Ibn Abul-Haqiq in particular had played an active role in that siege.

These Jewish tribes had settled down in Khaybar at a distance of about 80 miles (or 96 Arabian miles or 8 stages) north-east of Medina. �Khai-Bar� means: �fortified place�. The valley of Khaybar was studded with fortresses strongly situated on rocky hills numbering ten. The more fortified ones were seven: Naim, Qamus (on a hill of the same name), Katiba, Shiqu, Natat, Watih and Sulalim, of which Qamus (where Ibn Abul-Haqiq resided) was the most fortified. It was the one that proved to be a formidable challenge to the Muslims.

Past reverses they suffered did not deter them. Usir ibn Razam, another prominent Jew of Khaybar, rallied behind him all the Jewish tribes then solicited the aid of Ghatfan for a final showdown. To demonstrate their strength, Ghatfan sent a posse headed by none other than `Oyaynah, chief of the tribe of Banu Fizarah, that captured twenty camels belonging to the Prophet after killing their herdsman and capturing his wife. This incident took place in Rabi` I of that year 7 A.H./July 628 A.D.. In the next month (Rabi II), the Banu Ghatfan tribe, an ally of the Jews, with the instigation of the latter, made a similar attempt, sending Muhammed ibn Maslamah with ten men. All those ten men were killed by the Muslims, and the leader of the scheme was seriously wounded. He was mistaken as having been killed, so his body was put together with the corpses of the other ten men. Finding an opportunity, however, he fled. In the same year, OIb died and was succeeded by `Osayr ibn Zarim who renewed his attempts to hatch plots against the Muslims with the tribe of Banu Ghatfan. News reached the Prophet of their schemes.

The news of the preparation of the Jews was reaching the Prophet in Medina frequently. At last, the Prophet decided to crush them once and for all before they could destroy the Muslims. It was the �near victory� foretold in the Sura of �Victory� revealed just after the truce of Hudaybiya:

Indeed God was well-pleased with the Believers when they swore allegiance to thee under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory.

(Qur'an, 48:18)

By mid-Muharram, 7 A.H./May 28, 628 A.D., the Prophet marched on Khaybar with 1,400 (or 1600 according to some accounts) strong. In order to surprise the enemy, the Prophet's troops marched during the night and halted during the day. A road guide had to be hired to show the army the way. The Jews had made a maze of roads surrounding their fortresses.

In about seven days, six of the Jewish fortresses were overrun by the Muslims. Then Qamus was besieged. As the Muslims were busy for one month attacking less fortified fortresses, the Jews were equally busy laying waste the country surrounding them with the intention to starve the Muslims. They destroyed even their own date trees growing around their fortresses. They successfully repulsed every attempt of the Muslims to advance.

Abul-Fida' says the following in his Tarikh, book of history:

In those days, the Prophet sometimes used to suffer from partial headaches. As a matter of chance, on the day he reached Khaybar, he suffered from the same. Abu Bakr, therefore, took the standard and went out to fight but returned unsuccessful. Then `Omer took the standard and fought hard, more than his predecessor, but returned equally unsuccessful. When the Prophet came to know of these reversals, he said, �By Allah, tomorrow I will give the standard to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger and whom Allah and His Messenger love, one who is constant in onslaught and does not flee, one who will stand firm and will not return till victory is achieved.� Having heard this, both the Immigrants and the Helpers aspired for the flag. When the day dawned, having said the morning prayer, the Prophet came and stood among his companions. Then he called for the standard. At that moment, every companion was engrossed in the hope and desire of getting the flag, while the Prophet called for Ali who was suffering from sore eyes. The Prophet took some of his own saliva on his finger and applied it to Ali's eyes. The eyes were at once cured and the Prophet handed over the standard to him.

Madarijun-Nubuwwah proceeds to state the following: �Then Ali started with the flag in his hand and, reaching under the fort of Qamus, planted the standard on a rock. A rabbi who was watching from the fort asked, ^{`</sup>O standard-bearer! Who are you?' Ali replied, <sup>`}I am Ali son of Abu Talib.' The rabbi called unto his people, <sup>`</sup>By the Torah, you will be defeated! This man will not go back without winning the battle.'� Shaikh `Abdul-Haqq, the Dehlavimuhaddith (traditionist), author of Madarijun-Nubuwwah, states the following: �Perhaps that Jew was well informed of Ali's valour and had seen his praises in the Torah.�

He further states the following in his afore-mentioned book:

Al-Harith, brother of Marhab (the most courageous Jewish warrior), first sallied forth from the fort with a huge spear whose point weighed about 3 mounds²⁶. In his immediate attack, he killed a number of Muslim veterans. Then Ali proceeded towards him and killed him in one stroke. When Marhab was informed of his brother's plight, he rushed out of the fort accompanied by some of the bravest soldiers from the Khaybar garrison to avenge his brother's death. It is said that Marhab was the strongest, tallest, and the most fierce among the warriors of Khaybar and that none equalled him in his might. That day, he was armed twice over, wearing double armour with two swords dangling by his sides. He was also wearing two turbans with a helmet over and above. He marched ahead in the battlefield singing about his own valour. Nobody among the Muslims dared to fight him in the battlefield. Ali, therefore, darted out, reciting about his own valiance in response to Marhab's. Taking the initiative, Marhab attacked Ali with his sword. But Ali avoided the blow and rendered with Thul-Fiqar such a forceful blow on Marhab's head that it cut through the latter's helmet, the double turban, the head, till it reached the man's throat. According to some narratives, Marhab was cut up to his thigh, in others that it tore him into two parts upon the saddle. Marhab took his way to the hereafter in two pieces. Then the Muslims under the command of Ali began fighting the Jews. Ali himself killed seven generals of the Jewish forces everyone of whom was considered to be most valiant. After these had been killed, the remnants of the Jewish troops ran helter-skelter towards their fort. Ali followed them in hot pursuit. In this rush, one Jew delivered a blow to Ali's hand wherein he carried his shield. The shield fell down. Another Jew picked it up and made good with his booty. This infuriated Ali and who was now strengthened with such a spiritual force and divine strength that he jumped across the moat and came straight to the door of the iron gate. He dislodged it from its hinges, held it up as a shield and resumed fighting.

According to Ibn Hisham's Sirat, and according to Al-Tarikh al-Kamil and Abul-Fida's Tarikh, Abu Rafi` is cited saying, �When the Prophet gave the flag to Ali and bade him fight the forces of Khaybar, we, too, accompanied him. When Ali was a short distance from the fort, fighting all along, a Jew struck a blow on his hand with such a force that the shield Ali was holding fell down. Ali at once pulled out a part of the gate of Khaybar, held it up as a shield and fought till Allah granted him a clear victory. Once the fighting was over, he threw it away. It was so heavy that eight men from among us could hardly turn it over from one side to the other.�

An agreement was reached with the Jews of Khaybar. Their lands and movable property were left in their hands. They were allowed to practice their religion freely. In return for the protection they would receive, they were required to pay the Muslims half the produce of their lands. The Prophet maintained the right to turn them out of their lands whenever he so decided. The battle of Khaybar is important as it put an end to the Jewish resistance and, for the first time, a non-Muslim people were made �Protected Persons� of the Muslim commonwealth.

On the same day, Ja`fer ibn Abu Talib returned from Ethiopia. The Prophet said: �I do not know on which blessing of Allah I should thank Him more: on the victory of Khaybar or on the return of Ja`fer?!�

SAFIYYA THE JEWESS

Safiyya daughter of Huyay ibn al-Akhtab, the Jewish arch-enemy of the Prophet of Islam, was the wife of Kinanah ibn al-Rabee` ibn Abul-Haqiq, a Jewish chief. She embraced Islam during those days. She had seen in a vision the moon falling from the heavens into her lap. Her husband, having listened to her narrate her vision, violently slapped her, hurting her eye. He taunted her of having desired the domain of Hijaz under Muhammed's control. When she fell in captivity, she managed to reach the Prophet. She was wearing the mark of a bruise on her eyelid caused by Kinanah striking her only on account of narrating that dream to her. Muhammed welcomed her into the folds of his nation and offered to marry her. She welcomed his offer and the marriage was soon solemnized.

JEWESS TRIES TO POISON MUHAMMED

While the Prophet was still in Khayber, a Jewess presented him with a dressed and grilled lamb just when he was about to be served his dinner. Expressing his gratitude for the present, the Prophet took the shoulder, his favourite part, to eat, giving the man sitting next to him, namely Bishr ibn Ma`rur, a Khazrajite Ansar who had courageously participated in the battles at Badr and Uhud, another piece and passing pieces to other sahaba who were present there and then as was always his habit. As soon as the Prophet tasted the lamb, he realized that it did not taste right. Rather than swallowing it, he spat it out. Meanwhile, Bishr had already swallowed some of the meat. He collapsed and died instantly. Conducting an intensive inquiry, the companions of the Prophet came to know that that lamb had been prepared by a Jewish captive who was summoned and interrogated. She defended herself by saying that that was her revenge for the loss of her father, brother, husband and other relatives, for the devestation wrought by the Muslims on her people and �country.� She added saying that if Muhammed were a true Prophet, he would discover the mischief before any harm afflicted him; but if he were a pretender, he would fall a victim to her scheme and the Jews would be saved from his tyranny.

There are two different stories as to what happened to that Jewess. One says that she was put to death there and then. Another tells quite a different story. Following is the narration of the same incident by a grandson of the Prophet, namely Imam Ali ibn Muhammed, peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon him and all the Progeny of Prophet Muhammed: