MUHAMMAD SAW THE MESSENGER OF ISLAM (515 pages, 26/41)
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d the earth to open in order to swallow Qarun, thus I will cause the earth to open and close over all of them, if you will only permit me.” The fourth angel came and said, “I am the angel in charge of the waters; if you permit, I will drown them in a flood like the flood of Nuh, though this be a waterless country.” And the fifth angel spoke and said, “I am the angel of thunder and lightning. Allow me, and I will strike them with bolts of lightning and destroy them utterly.”
The Holy Prophet then wept, “Oh my Lord, have mercy on my people, for they do not know me. If they knew they would not act as they do.” He refrained from asking the Lord to destroy his enemies, he prayed for His mercy upon them. He said then, “Maybe there are some among them who are Muslims, or some whose children will become Muslim – how should I curse them?” and he did not do so. Despite the fact that they did him such harm and caused him so much hurt, he would not curse them, for all prophets’ curses instantly take effect, but they also decrease the rank and station of that prophet. Therefore the Prophet Muhammad became a Mercy for the Worlds.
Events that Shaped
the Growing Muslim Community
Events of Bir Ma’una
In the fourth year of the Hijra in the month of Safar, Abu Bara’ `Amir bin Malik bin Ja’far, the chief of the tribe of Bani `Amir of the Najd came to Madinah to visit the Holy Prophet . The Prophet invited him to enter Islam, and he was not averse to it, but he said, “Send some Muslims to my tribe to instruct them in this new teaching.” The Holy Prophet said, “I do not trust the people of the Najd. They may do harm to my friends, and my companions are a trust given to me by Allah. I am responsible for their lives. Your nephew `Amir bin Tufayl has spoken such a word against me: ‘Let the deserts be yours, and the cities be ours’. In these words is hidden treachery.”
Abu Bara assured the Holy Prophet repeatedly that he would guarantee the Muslims’ safety and that he would give them a letter of safe passage. Finally the Prophet ordered that a letter be written to `Amir bin Tufayl bin Malik, the nephew of the chief of the Bani `Amir, Abu Bara. It was not known in Madinah that within the tribe there was a dispute about the leadership, and that Abu Bara’s nephew aspired to become the chief in his place. So, a deputation of Muslims was sent forth under Mundhir bin ‘Amr, comprising seventy God- fearing, abstemious men, of the most exemplary among the Muslims in piety and knowledge, who made a living by gathering wood by day and selling it in the evening. Seventy men whose lives were firmly established in the faith were sent out to the Najd.
These noble personages went as far as the watering place called Bir Ma’una where they halted. The Prophet’s letter was given to Haram bin Milhan to deliver to `Amir bin Tufayl, may his name be cursed. Before even looking at the letter he had been handed, this unbeliever rushed to kill the Prophet’s precious friend. Then he tried to incite the rest of the tribe to go out and kill the whole delegation of Muslims, but mostly they refused to violate the promise of security, which Abu Bara had given these men. Therefore, this accursed unbeliever appealed to the tribes of the Bani Sulaym of ‘Usayya and Dhakwan
who had recently had hostilities with Madinah, and gathering a force of men, they rushed on that group of pious men at Bir Ma’una who had come to instruct them in the Unity of Allah and to teach them about resurrection of death. All of them were massacred, but for one man who was left for dead, Ka’b bin Zayd of the Bani Najjar. This man was picked up from among the slain and eventually made his way back to Madinah.
Two men were out pasturing the camels at the time of this massacre, ‘Amr bin Umayya al-Damri and Mundhir bin Muhammad bin ‘Uqba, and thus they survived the slaughter. When they came to the scene of the disaster and saw what had happened, Mundhir ibn Muhammad asked his companion ‘Amr for his opinion on what they should do. ‘Amr said, “We ought to return to Madinah and inform the Holy Prophet of this state of affairs.” But Mundhir bin Muhammad said, “I wish to remain here with my martyred brothers, I too wish to die a martyr and return to Allah forth-with!” With these words he threw himself upon the enemies of God and His Holy Prophet and fought until he fell a martyr. ‘Amr was taken prisoner, but `Amir bin Tufayl set him free after learning his name and lineage, for he said, “My mother has vowed to free a slave. On this account I set you free.” This noble person returned safely to Madinah. When the Beloved of Allah learned of what had befallen at Bir Ma’una, he was greatly aggrieved and distressed, in fact it may be said that no other event affected him as strongly as this. For one whole month, he invoked against the treachery of these unbelievers at the end of each prayer. It was not long before each and every one of them came to grief and was plunged into the pit of eternal damnation.
The Day of Raji’
The same year some men from the lesser tribes of ‘Adal and al-Qara came to the Holy Prophet saying, “We have accepted Islam and are therefore in need of some instruction. Please send us some people who can teach us what we need to know of Islam.” The Holy Prophet sent Asim bin Thabit of Aws back with them, together with fourteen companions. When they had reached a watering place called Raji’ between ‘Asfan and Mecca, the hypocrites of the tribe of Hudhail made plain the treacherous villainy within their hearts, and betrayed them by summoning the other branches of Hudhail for support against them. When the Bani Lihyana of Hudhail received this call, they sent one-hundred archers and two-hundred warriors to lie in wait for the Muslims. The Muslims realized the situation and immediately sought refuge behind a mountain. The unbelievers surrounded the mountain and called out, “If you give yourselves up, you may get away with your lives, otherwise we shall kill you all!” The Muslims
answered, “We are Muslims and we are disciples of Muhammad, the Prophet . We will never accept quarter from an unbeliever!”
Asim raised his hands and prayed to the Lord, his heart burning within him, “Oh Allah, I have only one request, and that is that You should make known to Your Beloved Muhammad the plight of this handful of believers, that is all I would pray for at this moment.” For these great Sahaba it was of the utmost importance that the Beloved of Allah, the Holy Prophet be satisfied and pleased with them, more so even than attaining the everlasting peace and bliss of Paradise. The station of these Sahaba was that of soldiers of Love, and Love means giving pleasure to the Beloved; the Lover desiring the pleasure of his Beloved strives neither for glory nor for abasement. Therefore, Asim prayed to the Lord to make known to the Holy Prophet that they went gladly to receive martyrdom for the cause of Islam. “Through the means of Your Power make it known to him,” he prayed, and his prayer was accepted. As he was dying a martyr, Allah showed to His Holy Prophet through spiritual communication that he had gone to the Presence of the Lord along with his Companions.
Also, he learned that two of the Muslims had been captured, Khubayb of Aws and Zayd of Khazraj. The Prophet informed his Companions of this without having left Madinah.
The unbelievers sent out some men to bring a part of Asim’s dead body, (his skull, as at Uhud he had killed two of the standard-bearers of Quraysh whereupon their mother had sworn she would drink wine from his skull), but as he was dying, Asim had made yet another supplication to his Lord: “Oh Lord, do not let the enemy touch my dead body.” The word of this great Lover of the Divine caused a great swarm of bees to appear on the material plane and set about his body so that the men sent by the idolaters could not approach from the density of that insect army and had to turn back.
As for the two captives, they were bound and brought back to Mecca and sold there. Khubayb was bought by the sons of Harith bin ‘Amr whom he had killed in the Battle of Uhud, who sought to avenge their father’s death. At one point during his imprisonment Khubayb called for a razor with which to clean himself before he was to die. The wife of Harith bin ‘Amr saw him. Then she noticed that the three-year old grandson of Harith bin `Amir was playing close by. The woman began to scream with fright, saying, “Now he will kill that child, he knows you intend to kill him, he will avenge himself on that child.” But Khubayb answered her, “Don’t worry, have no fear, for we are of those who have sat with Muhammad and taken our lessons from the Holy Quran. We are
the followers of him who is a mercy for the worlds. Feelings of revenge have no place with us, nor are we of those who act on the impulse of their egotistic drives, we will raise the sword against a man only in the name of Allah.”
Some days later they took Khubayb outside of the precincts of the Haram to kill him. He asked only for enough time to pray two Rak’ats. The idolaters deliberated whether to grant him his wish or not, and after a long discussion they agreed to let him pray. For they said, “That moment will be more bitter for him than death, he will suffer the greatest suspense then.” Khubayb stood before his Lord to pray, and he prayed his two Rak’ats with the greatest reverence and peace of mind and made supplication to his Lord Almighty. After the accursed unbelievers had discussed among themselves in what way they should kill him, he delivered himself of these verses, just in order to refute their wrong thoughts about him:
“As a Muslim I die; on account of Islam, my noble religion, my life is put to an end. It matters not how I surrender the boon of my soul; I yield it exultantly. Think you that I attach to it any importance? Whatever death I am to suffer, it is for the sake of the Almighty Allah. Even were I to be torn limb from limb, He will restore me, if He likes, to a perfect body in eternal gardens, and to a grant of most bounteous gifts.”
Having recited these verses with dignity and composure, and after thus expressing his love, he added, “Oh my Prophet , be my witness! I die a martyr to the God you have taught me!” and with these words on his lips, he surrendered his soul.
It is said that after the martyrdom of this lofty personality it became the custom for a condemned man to pray two Rak’ats before he is put to death.
The other captive, Zayd bin-al Dathinna of Khazraj was bought by Safwan bin ‘Umayya to avenge on him the death of his father ‘Umayya bin Khalaf. When they were about to put him to death, they invited all the chiefs of Quraysh to the execution. Abu Sufyan came at the head of them all and put the following question to Zayd: “Oh Zayd, now answer me truly, and know that if you give me the answer I wish to hear of you, you can be sure to have saved your life. This then is my question: if Muhammad were in your place and he were the one to be killed, would you not be happier for it?” This great lover of Allah replied, “What are you saying, accursed one, even were I to be cut to pieces and left to die bit by bit, I would not have a single thorn pierce the blessed body of our Holy Prophet !” Then Zayd was put to death by Safwan’s slave Nistas and entered the Presence of the Lord Almighty.
In the fourth year of the Hijra, drinking alcohol was forbidden. The Jews came to the Holy Prophet concerning litigation among themselves; the Holy Prophet proceeded according to the Shari’a of their prophet Moses, which prescribed stoning to death. In this year in the month of Sha’ban the blessed daughter of the Holy Prophet Fatima az-Zahra gave birth to Hussayn. Also in this year the daughter of ‘Umayya bin Mughira, Umm Salama who had been widowed and who was forty-four years of age married the Holy Prophet and became one of the ‘Mothers of the Faithful’. Zaynab the daughter of Khuzayma died that year. Zayd bin Thabit learned Hebrew in that year in a fortnight.
The Expulsion of the Bani Nadir
The unbelievers could not stand the Light of Islam, for when it began to spread its blessings in the city of Madinah, their influence was diminished. Therefore, they resorted to vicious propaganda against the Muslims and hatched the most wicked of plots. They produced as much provocation as they possibly could. They would make a problem of the association with the hypocrites and break the agreements that had been concluded with them. They sought whatever means were necessary to weaken Islam and resort to any base measure. At the same time, they understood very well that the revelation of the noble religion of Islam, which proclaimed the Unity of Allah and the resurrection after death, was a danger to their influence, and that their arbitrary prevalence had finally come to an end. The Ansar tried more and more to break the economic power and preponderance of the unbelievers through the spoils of the wars they had fought. In this way, people who were deeply addicted to usury became ever more restless and uncertain, and the whole ugliness of character that they kept hidden under their wealth was gradually beginning to show. In the Holy Quran their ugly traits are shown up one by one, in these verses:
...and the unbelievers who listen to falsehood, listen to other folk, who have not come to thee, perverting words from their meanings... their hearts God desired not to purify. For them is degradation in this world, and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement; who listen to falsehood and consume the unlawful.
(The Table, 41)
Hearing these verses, the unbelievers grew ever more averse to the Muslims, attempting to hurt the Holy Prophet in every way. At last, the Lord Almighty informed His Beloved that the end of tolerance had come. The Holy Prophet had shown them every possible forbearance, and put up with them for a long
time with patience and gentleness. He had permitted them to maintain their religious institutions and had not interfered in their religious customs; he had even respected their dead in that he would instantly rise to his feet when he saw one of their funeral processions, and order his companions to stand in honor of the deceased. For the heart of the Holy Prophet beat with compassion for all living creatures, his was the complete manifestation of mercy. In those days, the Holy Prophet warned the People of the Book in these words:
Say: ‘People of the Book! Come now to word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God.’ (The House of Imran, 64)
Allah speaks: “Oh My Beloved, make known: Oh People of the Book, come and let us unite in one indisputable word, let us not worship each other or any helpless human being, let us adore no God other than Allah; and should they turn away from your invitation, bear witness and say to them, ‘We are Muslims’.” However it was of no use; the unbelievers did not understand this generous forbearance, but continued to use all manner of fraud and trickery, not shunning the worst sort of deceitful stratagem.
For example, in order to lead people astray, they would accept Islam only to revoke it the following day. The chiefs of Quraysh appealed to the unbelievers to help them find a way to eliminate Muhammad . The great companion of the Holy Prophet , Talha bin Bara, made the following bequest when he was on his deathbed: “Should I die during the night, I beg you not to tell Muhammad of it, for it might be that he wishes to attend my funeral. I am afraid that this might be an occasion for attack by the unbelievers, and it is my wish that the blessed foot of the Holy Prophet be untouched, even by dust.”
Why the Bani Nadir Were Expelled
When ‘Amr bin Tufayl let ‘Amr bin Umayya free after just cutting off his forelock, and refrained from killing him because of his mother’s oath to set free a slave, ‘Amr bin Umayya returned to Madinah. On his way he met two unbelievers of the Bani `Amir, the tribe which had massacred his fellow Muslims at Bir Ma’una. When they had laid themselves down to rest, he killed them, believing this to be just revenge. Then he returned to Madinah and informed the Holy Prophet of what he had done. The Holy Prophet said, “What you have done is an ugly deed, for I had given these men guarantees of safety.” But ‘Amr bin Umayya had known nothing of this. “Oh Rasulullah,” he
said, “the Bani `Amir have slaughtered all my companions, and now they are waiting full of rage for the slightest occasion to wreak their revenge on you. They say that at the first opportunity they will put you and your faithful to the sword. Thinking these men also belonged to that tribe, I killed them.” “Let them speak as they like,” replied Muhammad “Our Protector and Mighty Support is Allah, He is all we could wish for; He suffices us. On us it is now incumbent to pay the blood wit for these two souls unjustly killed.”
The Holy Prophet then went to the Bani Nadir who lived two miles outside the city of Madinah in their well-stocked and fortified houses. He took with him Ali, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, as well as Zubayr and Talha, Sa’d bin Mu’adh, Sa’d bin ‘Ubayd and ‘Usayd bin Khadri. They went to ask help of the Bani Nadir in paying the blood money for the slain men, on the force of the mutual agreement existing between the Bani Nadir and Bani `Amir. The Holy Prophet explained the matter to them. They answered, “Oh Abu Qasim, whatever you wish, we are at your command, we will do as you request. But do stay awhile with us so that we may prepare for you a meal and regale you thereby. Also we will consult with our religious leaders, and if they agree to accept Islam then the whole of the tribe will convert to the new religion.” Then they withdrew for a while among themselves.
There they began to plan an assassination, deliberating on various ways of performing the deed. One of them, Sallam bin Nishkam counseled against this, saying, “Don’t even try to do anything like that, for Muhammad is under Divine supervision and he will be informed by heavenly means. Then our fate will be a grim one, for we will be counted as breakers of the treaty.” But his warnings went unheeded. They decided to roll a great rock off the roof of the house where the Holy Prophet was seated. Allah Almighty informed His Prophet of their intentions and he instantly rose and returned to Madinah forthwith. From there he then sent Muhammad bin Maslama back to the Bani Nadir, telling him the exact words he was to say: “For that you were intending to slay Muhammad the Prophet , you shall be expelled from your homes and houses after a period of ten days.”
The Bani Nadir then renewed their treaty with the unbelievers of the Bani Qurayzah. As they were preparing to leave their houses, the head of the hypocrites, Ibn Ubayy sent word to them, urging them to stay where they were, but to show the Muslims strong opposition. He promised to secure the support of the Bani Qurayzah for them, and also to send two thousand soldiers to their aid. “You need not move from your fortresses at all,” he told them. “This is a unique
opportunity; if you stand firm and we combine our forces, and it will be an easy thing for us to do away with Muhammad and his party.” Allah Almighty tells His Holy Prophet of this situation in these verses of the Holy Quran:
Hast thou not regarded the hypocrites, saying to their brothers of the People of the Book who disbelieve, ‘If you are expelled, we will go forth with you, and we will never obey anyone in regard to you. If you are fought against, we will help you.’ And God bears witness that they are truly liars. (The Mustering, 1 )
Relying on the words of the hypocrite, the Bani Nadir sent word to the Prophet that they would not leave their dwellings, saying, “Do whatever you wish.” Thereupon in the fourth year of the Hijra in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the Holy Prophet mustered an army of his companions, and leaving Ibn Ummi Maktum in charge of the city of Madinah, he placed the banner in Ali’s hands and set out for the settlements of the Bani Nadir to the south of the city. But the help of the Bani Qurayzah and Ghatafan did not come to the Bani Nadir, and when the hypocrite Ibn Ubayy saw that none was forthcoming, he saw himself powerless to do anything for them.
As the Holy Quran recounts:
If those are expelled, they will not go forth with them and if they are fought against, they will not help them. Even if they helped them, they would surely turn their backs, then they would not be helped. Why, you arouse greater fear in their hearts than God; that is because they are a people who understand not.
(The Mustering: 12, 13)
The Holy Prophet besieged the Bani Nadir for fifteen days. At the end of that time, the Bani Nadir asked for safe passage for themselves and their transportable belongings, other than their arms and armor. The Holy Prophet granted them permission, and so they left Madinah. Among their chiefs who went to Khaybar were Sallam bin Abul-Huqayq, Kinana bin Rabi’ and Huyay bin Akhtab. Another group of them emigrated to Sham. Among the confiscated goods were fifty coats of armor and fifty helmets, as well as three hundred and forty swords. Muhammad wished to distribute these spoils of war exclusively among the Muhajirin, the emigrants from Mecca, because the Muhajirin shared their possessions with the Ansar.
The Holy Prophet wished thereby to lighten the burden the Muhajirin imposed
on the Ansar. He therefore addressed the Ansar, “If you wish I will distribute their property among you as was done before. Then you again will have joint possessions with the Muhajirin. But if you agree, I will only distribute it among the Muhajirin this time, and you will have your own property to yourselves.”
The Ansar replied with tenderness, “Oh Rasulullah , all we possess is yours; distribute this property among our brothers of the Muhajirin, and should it please you to give them our property as well, we are satisfied with that. We only ask you not to separate them from us. Our brothers who have left all their houses and possessions behind for the love of Allah Almighty and set out on the Hijra, let them stay in our houses and share with us what we have, our hearts find gladness with them and our houses are filled with the blessings they bring.” Everyone present was filled with emotion. Abu Bakr rose and publicly thanked the Ansar for their generosity. Allah Almighty sent the angel Jibra’il to inform the Ansar of their station. Though the Ansar were also needy, they placed the need of the Muhajirin above their own. By Divine Command the famous sword of the leader of the Bani Nadir Ibn Ukayf was given to Sa’d bin Mu’adh of the Ansar as a gift.
Thereafter news came that the Bani Ghatafan of Najd were preparing a campaign against the Holy Prophet . He put his son-in-law ‘Uthman in charge of the city, mustered an army and set out towards the Najd. They reached a place called Shekh at a distance of two stops from Madinah in the lands of the Ghatafan, but the people all fled into the mountains and no one stood against them, so they returned to their houses without a fight.
Every year at Badr there was a fair, and people came from all over to buy and to sell their wares. Now the Holy Prophet said to his Companions, “We have a tryst with Abu Sufyan to meet again at Badr the following year. The time has now come to go to the meeting place. I will leave the city in charge of Abdullah bin Rawahay, and Ali shall carry the banner of Islam.” They set out from Madinah, five hundred fighting men in all, and eventually arrived at Badr. Abu Sufyan had also set out with a band of pagans. When he heard of the size of the Muslim army, he decided to turn back, thereby losing a lot of the esteem the other tribes held for the Quraysh. The Muslims returned to Madinah after profitable trading and with good gains.
The Story of Zaynab bint Jahsh
When the Holy Prophet married the Crown of all virtuous women, the lady Khadija, she made him the gift of a slave she owned, Zayd by name. Now the Holy Prophet soon grew very fond of Zayd, so much so that he formally
adopted him into his family as a foster son. Zayd was not of Meccan origin; he had been brought there as a captive and sold into slavery. Zayd was a man whose everlasting future was to be very bright, and whose eternal bliss was sheer light.
The merchants who came to Mecca and saw Zayd there returned to their country and reported to Zayd’s father that his son was well and living as a slave in the household of a highly esteemed person in Mecca. As his father and uncle had not the money to pay his ransom, they set to thinking how they could possibly free him. But the merchants who had brought the news said, “Zayd lives in the proximity of a person who is so full of compassion that when he sees how you feel about your son, he will probably let you have him.”
His father and uncle then went to Mecca and came into the presence of the Holy Prophet . “We have come to ask you for something,” they said. “We ask you for our son!” The Holy Prophet asked them, “Who is your son?” The father of Zayd then said, “Our child is Zayd, and he is my only son. He lives in your household as a slave. However, we possess nothing with which we might pay for his manumission. However, if you will be so generous and grant us respite, we will pay our debt to you in time. If you will only let our son go with us now.”
The Holy Prophet replied, “I am in no way interested in your material debt, and I ask nothing of you. I will call for Zayd to come, so that you may speak to him. If he wishes to leave with you, he is free to do so.”
He called for Zayd to come and said to him, “Zayd! These two men have come, saying they are your father and uncle. They have come to take you home with them. The choice is yours, if you so wish, you may go with them.” Zayd then replied, “I have no one in this world but you, oh Rasulullah! You are to me as father and mother; you are all and everything to me. I beg you not to send me away from your presence, or is it that I am burdensome to you?” With these words he began to weep, and his father, his uncle and the Holy Prophet himself wept with him. Finally, the father of Zayd said, “He is your son,” and withdrew from the Prophet’s presence in an attitude of humility and pious reverence.
In return for this display of devotedness to him, the Glory of the Worlds adopted Zayd as his son. It was the custom in those days that an adopted son was considered in all respects just as a natural son.
Oh Traveler on the Way to Truth! Zayd, whom the Prophet loved so much, was one of the first persons to join Islam. As we have already mentioned, he was destined later to reach such an elevated station that he kept the company of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, having been made Commander-in-Chief by the
Prophet himself. Aisha reports: “Whenever the Holy Prophet sent Zayd out on any military mission, he was sure to be sent as the commander of the company.”
The criteria of Islam being the purity of intent and strength of faith, this shows the degree of freedom granted to this slave whose love and devotion were so extraordinary.
Zayd was martyred in the Raid of Mut’a when he was fifty-five years old. He is honored by the plain mention of his name in the Holy Quran. His station was so elevated that the Prophet - one day when he was sitting with his Noble Companions, in order to make known Zayd’s high degree in the Divine Presence
- began asking him these questions, “Kayfa asbahta, ya Zayd? How have you woken this morning, oh Zayd?” Zayd replied to this, “Oh my Prophet , I have awakened as a believer.” “To everything there is a deeper truth; what then is the deeper reality of your faith, oh Zayd?” Zayd began to explain the reality of his faith: he said that he had clearly beheld the reality of the spiritual world and become aware of the secrets of the Divine Dominion. He even went as far as asking the Holy Prophet , “Shall I set forth who of the forebears of the here- assembled Noble Companions shall dwell in Heaven and who shall reside in the fire?” But the Holy Prophet who was sent as a Mercy to the Worlds motioned him to be quiet.
Then he spoke to him, saying, “Oh Zayd, do not put into words whatever knowledge you have that goes beyond what has been said, and do not risk losing these gifts which are the result of your piety and obedience. Know that these are special grants with which you have been favored by the Lord of all created beings!” Thereby he informed all the companions of Zayd’s lofty station in the Divine Presence.
The son of ‘Umar relates: “My father ‘Umar apportioned a greater allowance to Usama the son of Zayd than to me, his own son. When I enquired after the reason for this, he answered me, “The Holy Prophet loved him more than he loved you, and he loved his father more than he loved your father.”
The Prophet married this much-treasured man to his very own cousin, the daughter of his paternal aunt, Zaynab.
Oh Traveler on the Road to Truth! Unfortunate
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d the earth to open in order to swallow Qarun, thus I will cause the earth to open and close over all of them, if you will only permit me.” The fourth angel came and said, “I am the angel in charge of the waters; if you permit, I will drown them in a flood like the flood of Nuh, though this be a waterless country.” And the fifth angel spoke and said, “I am the angel of thunder and lightning. Allow me, and I will strike them with bolts of lightning and destroy them utterly.”
The Holy Prophet then wept, “Oh my Lord, have mercy on my people, for they do not know me. If they knew they would not act as they do.” He refrained from asking the Lord to destroy his enemies, he prayed for His mercy upon them. He said then, “Maybe there are some among them who are Muslims, or some whose children will become Muslim – how should I curse them?” and he did not do so. Despite the fact that they did him such harm and caused him so much hurt, he would not curse them, for all prophets’ curses instantly take effect, but they also decrease the rank and station of that prophet. Therefore the Prophet Muhammad became a Mercy for the Worlds.
Events that Shaped
the Growing Muslim Community
Events of Bir Ma’una
In the fourth year of the Hijra in the month of Safar, Abu Bara’ `Amir bin Malik bin Ja’far, the chief of the tribe of Bani `Amir of the Najd came to Madinah to visit the Holy Prophet . The Prophet invited him to enter Islam, and he was not averse to it, but he said, “Send some Muslims to my tribe to instruct them in this new teaching.” The Holy Prophet said, “I do not trust the people of the Najd. They may do harm to my friends, and my companions are a trust given to me by Allah. I am responsible for their lives. Your nephew `Amir bin Tufayl has spoken such a word against me: ‘Let the deserts be yours, and the cities be ours’. In these words is hidden treachery.”
Abu Bara assured the Holy Prophet repeatedly that he would guarantee the Muslims’ safety and that he would give them a letter of safe passage. Finally the Prophet ordered that a letter be written to `Amir bin Tufayl bin Malik, the nephew of the chief of the Bani `Amir, Abu Bara. It was not known in Madinah that within the tribe there was a dispute about the leadership, and that Abu Bara’s nephew aspired to become the chief in his place. So, a deputation of Muslims was sent forth under Mundhir bin ‘Amr, comprising seventy God- fearing, abstemious men, of the most exemplary among the Muslims in piety and knowledge, who made a living by gathering wood by day and selling it in the evening. Seventy men whose lives were firmly established in the faith were sent out to the Najd.
These noble personages went as far as the watering place called Bir Ma’una where they halted. The Prophet’s letter was given to Haram bin Milhan to deliver to `Amir bin Tufayl, may his name be cursed. Before even looking at the letter he had been handed, this unbeliever rushed to kill the Prophet’s precious friend. Then he tried to incite the rest of the tribe to go out and kill the whole delegation of Muslims, but mostly they refused to violate the promise of security, which Abu Bara had given these men. Therefore, this accursed unbeliever appealed to the tribes of the Bani Sulaym of ‘Usayya and Dhakwan
who had recently had hostilities with Madinah, and gathering a force of men, they rushed on that group of pious men at Bir Ma’una who had come to instruct them in the Unity of Allah and to teach them about resurrection of death. All of them were massacred, but for one man who was left for dead, Ka’b bin Zayd of the Bani Najjar. This man was picked up from among the slain and eventually made his way back to Madinah.
Two men were out pasturing the camels at the time of this massacre, ‘Amr bin Umayya al-Damri and Mundhir bin Muhammad bin ‘Uqba, and thus they survived the slaughter. When they came to the scene of the disaster and saw what had happened, Mundhir ibn Muhammad asked his companion ‘Amr for his opinion on what they should do. ‘Amr said, “We ought to return to Madinah and inform the Holy Prophet of this state of affairs.” But Mundhir bin Muhammad said, “I wish to remain here with my martyred brothers, I too wish to die a martyr and return to Allah forth-with!” With these words he threw himself upon the enemies of God and His Holy Prophet and fought until he fell a martyr. ‘Amr was taken prisoner, but `Amir bin Tufayl set him free after learning his name and lineage, for he said, “My mother has vowed to free a slave. On this account I set you free.” This noble person returned safely to Madinah. When the Beloved of Allah learned of what had befallen at Bir Ma’una, he was greatly aggrieved and distressed, in fact it may be said that no other event affected him as strongly as this. For one whole month, he invoked against the treachery of these unbelievers at the end of each prayer. It was not long before each and every one of them came to grief and was plunged into the pit of eternal damnation.
The Day of Raji’
The same year some men from the lesser tribes of ‘Adal and al-Qara came to the Holy Prophet saying, “We have accepted Islam and are therefore in need of some instruction. Please send us some people who can teach us what we need to know of Islam.” The Holy Prophet sent Asim bin Thabit of Aws back with them, together with fourteen companions. When they had reached a watering place called Raji’ between ‘Asfan and Mecca, the hypocrites of the tribe of Hudhail made plain the treacherous villainy within their hearts, and betrayed them by summoning the other branches of Hudhail for support against them. When the Bani Lihyana of Hudhail received this call, they sent one-hundred archers and two-hundred warriors to lie in wait for the Muslims. The Muslims realized the situation and immediately sought refuge behind a mountain. The unbelievers surrounded the mountain and called out, “If you give yourselves up, you may get away with your lives, otherwise we shall kill you all!” The Muslims
answered, “We are Muslims and we are disciples of Muhammad, the Prophet . We will never accept quarter from an unbeliever!”
Asim raised his hands and prayed to the Lord, his heart burning within him, “Oh Allah, I have only one request, and that is that You should make known to Your Beloved Muhammad the plight of this handful of believers, that is all I would pray for at this moment.” For these great Sahaba it was of the utmost importance that the Beloved of Allah, the Holy Prophet be satisfied and pleased with them, more so even than attaining the everlasting peace and bliss of Paradise. The station of these Sahaba was that of soldiers of Love, and Love means giving pleasure to the Beloved; the Lover desiring the pleasure of his Beloved strives neither for glory nor for abasement. Therefore, Asim prayed to the Lord to make known to the Holy Prophet that they went gladly to receive martyrdom for the cause of Islam. “Through the means of Your Power make it known to him,” he prayed, and his prayer was accepted. As he was dying a martyr, Allah showed to His Holy Prophet through spiritual communication that he had gone to the Presence of the Lord along with his Companions.
Also, he learned that two of the Muslims had been captured, Khubayb of Aws and Zayd of Khazraj. The Prophet informed his Companions of this without having left Madinah.
The unbelievers sent out some men to bring a part of Asim’s dead body, (his skull, as at Uhud he had killed two of the standard-bearers of Quraysh whereupon their mother had sworn she would drink wine from his skull), but as he was dying, Asim had made yet another supplication to his Lord: “Oh Lord, do not let the enemy touch my dead body.” The word of this great Lover of the Divine caused a great swarm of bees to appear on the material plane and set about his body so that the men sent by the idolaters could not approach from the density of that insect army and had to turn back.
As for the two captives, they were bound and brought back to Mecca and sold there. Khubayb was bought by the sons of Harith bin ‘Amr whom he had killed in the Battle of Uhud, who sought to avenge their father’s death. At one point during his imprisonment Khubayb called for a razor with which to clean himself before he was to die. The wife of Harith bin ‘Amr saw him. Then she noticed that the three-year old grandson of Harith bin `Amir was playing close by. The woman began to scream with fright, saying, “Now he will kill that child, he knows you intend to kill him, he will avenge himself on that child.” But Khubayb answered her, “Don’t worry, have no fear, for we are of those who have sat with Muhammad and taken our lessons from the Holy Quran. We are
the followers of him who is a mercy for the worlds. Feelings of revenge have no place with us, nor are we of those who act on the impulse of their egotistic drives, we will raise the sword against a man only in the name of Allah.”
Some days later they took Khubayb outside of the precincts of the Haram to kill him. He asked only for enough time to pray two Rak’ats. The idolaters deliberated whether to grant him his wish or not, and after a long discussion they agreed to let him pray. For they said, “That moment will be more bitter for him than death, he will suffer the greatest suspense then.” Khubayb stood before his Lord to pray, and he prayed his two Rak’ats with the greatest reverence and peace of mind and made supplication to his Lord Almighty. After the accursed unbelievers had discussed among themselves in what way they should kill him, he delivered himself of these verses, just in order to refute their wrong thoughts about him:
“As a Muslim I die; on account of Islam, my noble religion, my life is put to an end. It matters not how I surrender the boon of my soul; I yield it exultantly. Think you that I attach to it any importance? Whatever death I am to suffer, it is for the sake of the Almighty Allah. Even were I to be torn limb from limb, He will restore me, if He likes, to a perfect body in eternal gardens, and to a grant of most bounteous gifts.”
Having recited these verses with dignity and composure, and after thus expressing his love, he added, “Oh my Prophet , be my witness! I die a martyr to the God you have taught me!” and with these words on his lips, he surrendered his soul.
It is said that after the martyrdom of this lofty personality it became the custom for a condemned man to pray two Rak’ats before he is put to death.
The other captive, Zayd bin-al Dathinna of Khazraj was bought by Safwan bin ‘Umayya to avenge on him the death of his father ‘Umayya bin Khalaf. When they were about to put him to death, they invited all the chiefs of Quraysh to the execution. Abu Sufyan came at the head of them all and put the following question to Zayd: “Oh Zayd, now answer me truly, and know that if you give me the answer I wish to hear of you, you can be sure to have saved your life. This then is my question: if Muhammad were in your place and he were the one to be killed, would you not be happier for it?” This great lover of Allah replied, “What are you saying, accursed one, even were I to be cut to pieces and left to die bit by bit, I would not have a single thorn pierce the blessed body of our Holy Prophet !” Then Zayd was put to death by Safwan’s slave Nistas and entered the Presence of the Lord Almighty.
In the fourth year of the Hijra, drinking alcohol was forbidden. The Jews came to the Holy Prophet concerning litigation among themselves; the Holy Prophet proceeded according to the Shari’a of their prophet Moses, which prescribed stoning to death. In this year in the month of Sha’ban the blessed daughter of the Holy Prophet Fatima az-Zahra gave birth to Hussayn. Also in this year the daughter of ‘Umayya bin Mughira, Umm Salama who had been widowed and who was forty-four years of age married the Holy Prophet and became one of the ‘Mothers of the Faithful’. Zaynab the daughter of Khuzayma died that year. Zayd bin Thabit learned Hebrew in that year in a fortnight.
The Expulsion of the Bani Nadir
The unbelievers could not stand the Light of Islam, for when it began to spread its blessings in the city of Madinah, their influence was diminished. Therefore, they resorted to vicious propaganda against the Muslims and hatched the most wicked of plots. They produced as much provocation as they possibly could. They would make a problem of the association with the hypocrites and break the agreements that had been concluded with them. They sought whatever means were necessary to weaken Islam and resort to any base measure. At the same time, they understood very well that the revelation of the noble religion of Islam, which proclaimed the Unity of Allah and the resurrection after death, was a danger to their influence, and that their arbitrary prevalence had finally come to an end. The Ansar tried more and more to break the economic power and preponderance of the unbelievers through the spoils of the wars they had fought. In this way, people who were deeply addicted to usury became ever more restless and uncertain, and the whole ugliness of character that they kept hidden under their wealth was gradually beginning to show. In the Holy Quran their ugly traits are shown up one by one, in these verses:
...and the unbelievers who listen to falsehood, listen to other folk, who have not come to thee, perverting words from their meanings... their hearts God desired not to purify. For them is degradation in this world, and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement; who listen to falsehood and consume the unlawful.
(The Table, 41)
Hearing these verses, the unbelievers grew ever more averse to the Muslims, attempting to hurt the Holy Prophet in every way. At last, the Lord Almighty informed His Beloved that the end of tolerance had come. The Holy Prophet had shown them every possible forbearance, and put up with them for a long
time with patience and gentleness. He had permitted them to maintain their religious institutions and had not interfered in their religious customs; he had even respected their dead in that he would instantly rise to his feet when he saw one of their funeral processions, and order his companions to stand in honor of the deceased. For the heart of the Holy Prophet beat with compassion for all living creatures, his was the complete manifestation of mercy. In those days, the Holy Prophet warned the People of the Book in these words:
Say: ‘People of the Book! Come now to word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God.’ (The House of Imran, 64)
Allah speaks: “Oh My Beloved, make known: Oh People of the Book, come and let us unite in one indisputable word, let us not worship each other or any helpless human being, let us adore no God other than Allah; and should they turn away from your invitation, bear witness and say to them, ‘We are Muslims’.” However it was of no use; the unbelievers did not understand this generous forbearance, but continued to use all manner of fraud and trickery, not shunning the worst sort of deceitful stratagem.
For example, in order to lead people astray, they would accept Islam only to revoke it the following day. The chiefs of Quraysh appealed to the unbelievers to help them find a way to eliminate Muhammad . The great companion of the Holy Prophet , Talha bin Bara, made the following bequest when he was on his deathbed: “Should I die during the night, I beg you not to tell Muhammad of it, for it might be that he wishes to attend my funeral. I am afraid that this might be an occasion for attack by the unbelievers, and it is my wish that the blessed foot of the Holy Prophet be untouched, even by dust.”
Why the Bani Nadir Were Expelled
When ‘Amr bin Tufayl let ‘Amr bin Umayya free after just cutting off his forelock, and refrained from killing him because of his mother’s oath to set free a slave, ‘Amr bin Umayya returned to Madinah. On his way he met two unbelievers of the Bani `Amir, the tribe which had massacred his fellow Muslims at Bir Ma’una. When they had laid themselves down to rest, he killed them, believing this to be just revenge. Then he returned to Madinah and informed the Holy Prophet of what he had done. The Holy Prophet said, “What you have done is an ugly deed, for I had given these men guarantees of safety.” But ‘Amr bin Umayya had known nothing of this. “Oh Rasulullah,” he
said, “the Bani `Amir have slaughtered all my companions, and now they are waiting full of rage for the slightest occasion to wreak their revenge on you. They say that at the first opportunity they will put you and your faithful to the sword. Thinking these men also belonged to that tribe, I killed them.” “Let them speak as they like,” replied Muhammad “Our Protector and Mighty Support is Allah, He is all we could wish for; He suffices us. On us it is now incumbent to pay the blood wit for these two souls unjustly killed.”
The Holy Prophet then went to the Bani Nadir who lived two miles outside the city of Madinah in their well-stocked and fortified houses. He took with him Ali, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, as well as Zubayr and Talha, Sa’d bin Mu’adh, Sa’d bin ‘Ubayd and ‘Usayd bin Khadri. They went to ask help of the Bani Nadir in paying the blood money for the slain men, on the force of the mutual agreement existing between the Bani Nadir and Bani `Amir. The Holy Prophet explained the matter to them. They answered, “Oh Abu Qasim, whatever you wish, we are at your command, we will do as you request. But do stay awhile with us so that we may prepare for you a meal and regale you thereby. Also we will consult with our religious leaders, and if they agree to accept Islam then the whole of the tribe will convert to the new religion.” Then they withdrew for a while among themselves.
There they began to plan an assassination, deliberating on various ways of performing the deed. One of them, Sallam bin Nishkam counseled against this, saying, “Don’t even try to do anything like that, for Muhammad is under Divine supervision and he will be informed by heavenly means. Then our fate will be a grim one, for we will be counted as breakers of the treaty.” But his warnings went unheeded. They decided to roll a great rock off the roof of the house where the Holy Prophet was seated. Allah Almighty informed His Prophet of their intentions and he instantly rose and returned to Madinah forthwith. From there he then sent Muhammad bin Maslama back to the Bani Nadir, telling him the exact words he was to say: “For that you were intending to slay Muhammad the Prophet , you shall be expelled from your homes and houses after a period of ten days.”
The Bani Nadir then renewed their treaty with the unbelievers of the Bani Qurayzah. As they were preparing to leave their houses, the head of the hypocrites, Ibn Ubayy sent word to them, urging them to stay where they were, but to show the Muslims strong opposition. He promised to secure the support of the Bani Qurayzah for them, and also to send two thousand soldiers to their aid. “You need not move from your fortresses at all,” he told them. “This is a unique
opportunity; if you stand firm and we combine our forces, and it will be an easy thing for us to do away with Muhammad and his party.” Allah Almighty tells His Holy Prophet of this situation in these verses of the Holy Quran:
Hast thou not regarded the hypocrites, saying to their brothers of the People of the Book who disbelieve, ‘If you are expelled, we will go forth with you, and we will never obey anyone in regard to you. If you are fought against, we will help you.’ And God bears witness that they are truly liars. (The Mustering, 1 )
Relying on the words of the hypocrite, the Bani Nadir sent word to the Prophet that they would not leave their dwellings, saying, “Do whatever you wish.” Thereupon in the fourth year of the Hijra in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the Holy Prophet mustered an army of his companions, and leaving Ibn Ummi Maktum in charge of the city of Madinah, he placed the banner in Ali’s hands and set out for the settlements of the Bani Nadir to the south of the city. But the help of the Bani Qurayzah and Ghatafan did not come to the Bani Nadir, and when the hypocrite Ibn Ubayy saw that none was forthcoming, he saw himself powerless to do anything for them.
As the Holy Quran recounts:
If those are expelled, they will not go forth with them and if they are fought against, they will not help them. Even if they helped them, they would surely turn their backs, then they would not be helped. Why, you arouse greater fear in their hearts than God; that is because they are a people who understand not.
(The Mustering: 12, 13)
The Holy Prophet besieged the Bani Nadir for fifteen days. At the end of that time, the Bani Nadir asked for safe passage for themselves and their transportable belongings, other than their arms and armor. The Holy Prophet granted them permission, and so they left Madinah. Among their chiefs who went to Khaybar were Sallam bin Abul-Huqayq, Kinana bin Rabi’ and Huyay bin Akhtab. Another group of them emigrated to Sham. Among the confiscated goods were fifty coats of armor and fifty helmets, as well as three hundred and forty swords. Muhammad wished to distribute these spoils of war exclusively among the Muhajirin, the emigrants from Mecca, because the Muhajirin shared their possessions with the Ansar.
The Holy Prophet wished thereby to lighten the burden the Muhajirin imposed
on the Ansar. He therefore addressed the Ansar, “If you wish I will distribute their property among you as was done before. Then you again will have joint possessions with the Muhajirin. But if you agree, I will only distribute it among the Muhajirin this time, and you will have your own property to yourselves.”
The Ansar replied with tenderness, “Oh Rasulullah , all we possess is yours; distribute this property among our brothers of the Muhajirin, and should it please you to give them our property as well, we are satisfied with that. We only ask you not to separate them from us. Our brothers who have left all their houses and possessions behind for the love of Allah Almighty and set out on the Hijra, let them stay in our houses and share with us what we have, our hearts find gladness with them and our houses are filled with the blessings they bring.” Everyone present was filled with emotion. Abu Bakr rose and publicly thanked the Ansar for their generosity. Allah Almighty sent the angel Jibra’il to inform the Ansar of their station. Though the Ansar were also needy, they placed the need of the Muhajirin above their own. By Divine Command the famous sword of the leader of the Bani Nadir Ibn Ukayf was given to Sa’d bin Mu’adh of the Ansar as a gift.
Thereafter news came that the Bani Ghatafan of Najd were preparing a campaign against the Holy Prophet . He put his son-in-law ‘Uthman in charge of the city, mustered an army and set out towards the Najd. They reached a place called Shekh at a distance of two stops from Madinah in the lands of the Ghatafan, but the people all fled into the mountains and no one stood against them, so they returned to their houses without a fight.
Every year at Badr there was a fair, and people came from all over to buy and to sell their wares. Now the Holy Prophet said to his Companions, “We have a tryst with Abu Sufyan to meet again at Badr the following year. The time has now come to go to the meeting place. I will leave the city in charge of Abdullah bin Rawahay, and Ali shall carry the banner of Islam.” They set out from Madinah, five hundred fighting men in all, and eventually arrived at Badr. Abu Sufyan had also set out with a band of pagans. When he heard of the size of the Muslim army, he decided to turn back, thereby losing a lot of the esteem the other tribes held for the Quraysh. The Muslims returned to Madinah after profitable trading and with good gains.
The Story of Zaynab bint Jahsh
When the Holy Prophet married the Crown of all virtuous women, the lady Khadija, she made him the gift of a slave she owned, Zayd by name. Now the Holy Prophet soon grew very fond of Zayd, so much so that he formally
adopted him into his family as a foster son. Zayd was not of Meccan origin; he had been brought there as a captive and sold into slavery. Zayd was a man whose everlasting future was to be very bright, and whose eternal bliss was sheer light.
The merchants who came to Mecca and saw Zayd there returned to their country and reported to Zayd’s father that his son was well and living as a slave in the household of a highly esteemed person in Mecca. As his father and uncle had not the money to pay his ransom, they set to thinking how they could possibly free him. But the merchants who had brought the news said, “Zayd lives in the proximity of a person who is so full of compassion that when he sees how you feel about your son, he will probably let you have him.”
His father and uncle then went to Mecca and came into the presence of the Holy Prophet . “We have come to ask you for something,” they said. “We ask you for our son!” The Holy Prophet asked them, “Who is your son?” The father of Zayd then said, “Our child is Zayd, and he is my only son. He lives in your household as a slave. However, we possess nothing with which we might pay for his manumission. However, if you will be so generous and grant us respite, we will pay our debt to you in time. If you will only let our son go with us now.”
The Holy Prophet replied, “I am in no way interested in your material debt, and I ask nothing of you. I will call for Zayd to come, so that you may speak to him. If he wishes to leave with you, he is free to do so.”
He called for Zayd to come and said to him, “Zayd! These two men have come, saying they are your father and uncle. They have come to take you home with them. The choice is yours, if you so wish, you may go with them.” Zayd then replied, “I have no one in this world but you, oh Rasulullah! You are to me as father and mother; you are all and everything to me. I beg you not to send me away from your presence, or is it that I am burdensome to you?” With these words he began to weep, and his father, his uncle and the Holy Prophet himself wept with him. Finally, the father of Zayd said, “He is your son,” and withdrew from the Prophet’s presence in an attitude of humility and pious reverence.
In return for this display of devotedness to him, the Glory of the Worlds adopted Zayd as his son. It was the custom in those days that an adopted son was considered in all respects just as a natural son.
Oh Traveler on the Way to Truth! Zayd, whom the Prophet loved so much, was one of the first persons to join Islam. As we have already mentioned, he was destined later to reach such an elevated station that he kept the company of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, having been made Commander-in-Chief by the
Prophet himself. Aisha reports: “Whenever the Holy Prophet sent Zayd out on any military mission, he was sure to be sent as the commander of the company.”
The criteria of Islam being the purity of intent and strength of faith, this shows the degree of freedom granted to this slave whose love and devotion were so extraordinary.
Zayd was martyred in the Raid of Mut’a when he was fifty-five years old. He is honored by the plain mention of his name in the Holy Quran. His station was so elevated that the Prophet - one day when he was sitting with his Noble Companions, in order to make known Zayd’s high degree in the Divine Presence
- began asking him these questions, “Kayfa asbahta, ya Zayd? How have you woken this morning, oh Zayd?” Zayd replied to this, “Oh my Prophet , I have awakened as a believer.” “To everything there is a deeper truth; what then is the deeper reality of your faith, oh Zayd?” Zayd began to explain the reality of his faith: he said that he had clearly beheld the reality of the spiritual world and become aware of the secrets of the Divine Dominion. He even went as far as asking the Holy Prophet , “Shall I set forth who of the forebears of the here- assembled Noble Companions shall dwell in Heaven and who shall reside in the fire?” But the Holy Prophet who was sent as a Mercy to the Worlds motioned him to be quiet.
Then he spoke to him, saying, “Oh Zayd, do not put into words whatever knowledge you have that goes beyond what has been said, and do not risk losing these gifts which are the result of your piety and obedience. Know that these are special grants with which you have been favored by the Lord of all created beings!” Thereby he informed all the companions of Zayd’s lofty station in the Divine Presence.
The son of ‘Umar relates: “My father ‘Umar apportioned a greater allowance to Usama the son of Zayd than to me, his own son. When I enquired after the reason for this, he answered me, “The Holy Prophet loved him more than he loved you, and he loved his father more than he loved your father.”
The Prophet married this much-treasured man to his very own cousin, the daughter of his paternal aunt, Zaynab.
Oh Traveler on the Road to Truth! Unfortunate
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