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A GENERAL
EVALUATION OF THE MILITARY
ACHIEVEMENTS OF GOD’S MESSENGER
One of the
significant points to be noted
concerning the personality of God’s
Messenger is that he was the most
eminent commander in human
history. In order to understand
this dimension of his sacred
mission, it is worthwhile to make
a general evaluation of his
military triumphs:
There
is not another Prophet who carried
his mission to decisive victory in
all aspects of life. When the
Prophet Moses, upon him be peace,
who resembles God’s Messenger
more than the other Prophets in
many aspects of his mission, died,
his people were still in the
desert, not yet able to conquer
‘Palestine’ after several
decades of his preaching. Jesus’
mission was mainly aimed at
infusing a spiritual and moral
revival into the life of the Jews
who had drowned in the bog of
materialism. After his elevation
to heaven, his disciples succeeded
in conveying his Message as far as
the center of the Roman Empire
despite severe persecutions but,
unfortunately, at the cost of the
degeneration or corruption of his
original creed.
When the
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be
peace and blessings, said farewell
to the world, he left behind the
whole of Arabia converted to
Islam, and an ‘army’ of
dedicated Companions, who were
ready to convey his Message as far
as the remotest corners of the
world. He achieved this end with a
handful of self-sacrificing men,
who had neither heard of belief or
Scripture before, nor been
acquainted with anything
concerning a civilized social life
and world politics or good morals
and self-discipline. He made a
handful of desert men engaged in
civil wars, unending feuds, into
an ‘army’ of holy warriors
who, equipped with belief,
sincerity, knowledge, good morals,
love of humanity and compassion,
and imbued with activism,
dedicated themselves to a Divine
Cause to, in the words of Rabi‘
ibn Amir, the Muslim envoy to the
Iranian commander during the
Qadisiyyah War, ‘elevate men
from the dark pits of worldly life
to the high, boundless realm of
the spirit, from the humiliation
of worshipping false and man-made
divinities to the honor and
dignity of worshipping One God,
the only Creator and Sustainer of
the universe, and to free them
from the oppression and depression
brought about by false religions
and man-made systems to the
luminous and peaceful climate of
Islam.’
The
aim of God’s Messenger, upon him
be peace and blessings, was never
to build a worldly kingdom; he was
sent to guide humanity to
salvation in both worlds, physical
and spiritual; he aimed at
reviving people, not killing them.
It is to this end that he was
obliged to arrange military
expeditions and sometimes to
command armies. He sent out many
expeditions and himself commanded
forces 28 times. Fighting took
place in almost half of all the
military campaigns he organized
during his mission, which number
about 1, and only around 1,000
people lost their lives in all on
both sides. Around 250 Muslims
were martyred and 750 non-Muslims
were killed. This means that God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, established his Message
and brought absolute security to
the whole of the Arabian peninsula
for the first time in its history,
and opened the way to global
security, at the cost of only
1,000 lives. This is, as so many
of his achievements are,
unequalled in world history.
God’s
Messenger established a system of
rules governing international
relations among sovereign states.
In other words, he was the first
to legislate an international law.
Although the concept was not
unknown before Islam,
international law was very limited
- for example, there were no
recognized rules for the treatment
of prisoners of war. Again, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace,
established a set of rules to
bring a ‘discipline’ to
fighting. For example, the
following is the order given by
him and his true successors to
come until the present day to
armies dispatched for fighting, an
order which had been strictly
obeyed by Muslims in their wars as
Muslims:
Always keep
fear of God in your mind. Remember
that you cannot afford to do
anything without His grace. Do not
forget that Islam is a mission of
peace and love. Do not destroy
fruit-trees nor fertile fields in
your paths. Be just, and spare the
feelings of the vanquished.
Respect all religious persons who
live in hermitages or convents and
spare their edifices. Do not kill
civilians. Do not outrage the
chastity of women and the honor of
the conquered. Do not harm old
people and children. Do not accept
any gifts from the civil
population of any place. Do not
billet your soldiers or officers
in the houses of civilians.1
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, never neglected to take
preliminary precautions, and he
left nothing to chance. He always
acted with the utmost care,
insight and forethought and
therefore never met with any
setbacks. He did not have the
slightest part in the reverse
suffered at Uhud. Also, he was
extraordinarily successful in
getting information from the
enemy, without ever resorting to
force or torture. Once an enemy
soldier was captured by the
vanguard of the Muslim army, who
tried to force him to give
information about the enemy’s
numbers and equipment. God’s
Messenger ordered his release and
asked him how many camels the
approaching army slaughtered every
day to eat. Calculating how many
camels are eaten by how many
people in a day, he tried to work
out the numbers of the enemy army.2
God’s
Messenger founded a military
intelligence service and succeeded
in getting all the necessary
information about the enemy, but
he never allowed any news about
his movements to leak out to the
opposite side. Before setting out
to conquer Makka, Khatib ibn Abi
Balta‘a secretly sent a letter
with a woman to his relatives in
Makka about the preparations of
God’s Messenger. However, the
Prophet was informed of this, and
sent ‘Ali and Zubayr to catch up
with the woman and intercept the
letter, which they did.
Also, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, kept secret his
military preparations and did not
reveal to his Companions where he
would march. He tended to take a
different direction from that of
his real destination and only
after some while did he turn to
his target. He made much use of
tactics securing victory such as
speed, surprise attack and
flexibility of movement. In most
of his campaigns, major or minor,
he caught the enemy unprepared and
overcame them relatively easily.
For example, in the Battle of
Khaybar, the Jews got news of his
coming upon them only through
their farmers going to their
fields and so had time only to
shelter in their citadels. In the
same way, the Quraysh were left
nothing to do other than surrender
during the conquest of Makka.
Being
a Prophet who brought a universal
religion from God, God’s
Messenger educated his Companions
in the aims of that religion so
effectively that they were ever
ready to sacrifice themselves in
the way of God. This was one of
the main factors lying behind the
victories of God’s Messenger.
His Companions placed utmost
reliance on and had perfect
confidence in him. Therefore, he
inculcated fear in the hearts of
his enemies, as he himself said: I
am supported by God through
implanting fear in the hearts of
my enemies from a distance of a
month’s walk.3 Besides, in
order to demoralize his enemies he
resorted to psychology. Poets like
Hassan ibn Thabit and ‘Adbullah
ibn Rawaha wrote or recited verses
to demoralize the enemy. In the
minor pilgrimage they performed
one year after the treaty of
Hudaybiya, he ordered his
Companions to run around the Ka’ba
so as to demonstrate their
strength to the Makkans watching
them from the neighboring hills.
While running, ‘Adbullah ibn
Rawaha recited:
I start with
the name of God,
Apart from Whom
there is no other god,
And Muhammad is
the Messenger of God.
O unbelievers,
and sons of unbelievers, clear out
of his way.
The Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
was pleased with his recitation,
commenting: His words are more
penetrating to the Quraysh than
arrows.4
God’s
Messenger was unequalled in
introducing new strategies and
disuniting the allied enemy
tribes. During the Battle of the
Trench, the Jewish tribe of Banu
Qurayza broke their treaty with
the Muslims at a most critical
moment of the battle and joined
the Quraysh, besieging Madina.
Left between two hostile camps,
God’s Messenger offered a peace
treaty to Banu Ghatafan, who were
in alliance with the Quraysh in
the war. This discouraged Banu
Ghatafan from continuing the war.
He also succeeded, with a skilful
maneuver, in bringing about a
disagreement and mutual mistrust
between the Quraysh and Banu
Qurayza. Also, during the campaign
of Khaybar, he first gave the
impression that he was marching
upon Banu Ghatafan, who were than
allied with the Jews of Khaybar.
This caused Banu Ghatafan to
remain inactive during the
campaign, unable to help the Jews.
God’s
Messenger did what he had to do at
each step of his life, and never
showed any hesitation or
irresolution in executing his
plans or intentions. Also, he
never retreated during any
fighting, nor did he faint and
lose heart. He stood steadfast,
without moving an inch backward,
during the critical moments of
both the Battle of Uhud and Hunayn.
He called to those of his
Companions scattering from around
him; Do not scatter! I am
Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
That is no lie!
All the Jewish
tribes in and around Madina broke
their agreements with God’s
Messenger one after the other.
When they did not heed his call to
them to remain faithful to their
agreement, God’s Messenger, upon
him be peace and blessings, showed
no hesitation in marching upon
them - as against the Banu Qurayza
after the Battle of the Trench,
without taking off his coat of
mail; or against the Quraysh army
one day after the set-back at the
Battle of Uhud - such incidents
are very significant in showing
his resolution and invincibility.
Almost
in all of his campaigns, major or
minor, God’s Messenger always
kept in hand the initiative to
attack and direct the war. Even in
set battles, like those of Badr,
Uhud and the Trench, in which he
was made the target of the attack,
he did not lose the initiative
and, by surprise strategies and
effective tactics, he was able to
defeat the enemy. He also
succeeded in using time and any
opportunities that arose in his
favor.
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, usually changed the
tactics and strategies he used in
battles. For example, in the
Battle of Badr, he made an
over-all attack upon the enemy
after demoralizing them in single
combats. In the first stage of the
Battle of Uhud, he kept the enemy
cavalry inactive through the
archers he stationed in the
mountain-pass of Aynayn and,
hurling his eminent warriors such
as Hamza, ‘Ali, Abu Dujana and
Zubayr, upon the enemy, he won the
victory. As for the Battle of
Trench, he faced the enemy with a
long, deep trench they dug round
Madina and, remaining within the
confines of the city, forced the
enemy to retreat after four weeks
of siege.
The
Messenger was never short of
necessary reinforcement and always
kept his lines of communication
active. Equally, he never suffered
from insufficient logistics.
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, brought up, along with
statesmen of extraordinary
capability such as Abu Bakr and
‘Umar and men of profound
scholarship and spirituality,
great soldiers and invincible
commanders. His education was
based on three basic elements:
Continuous
bodily training. He usually urged
his Companions to train themselves
in archery, wrestling, swimming
and riding horses. He sometimes
arranged competitions and even
running races, in which he himself
occasionally participated. Also,
he attached great importance to
preserving one’s health and
maintaining strength.
Good
morals and being well-mannered.
Devotion
to God with unshakable belief,
submission and reliance, and
obedience to God, to himself and
others in authority.
The Muslim army
conveyed peace and security to the
lands it conquered. Each soldier
of that army was absolutely
dedicated to the cause of Islam.
The only criterion for them to
judge between people was belief in
God. They did not feel true love
for anybody who opposed God and
His Messenger, even if they were
their fathers, children or
brothers (See, al-Mujadila,
58.22). Because of this, it
sometimes happened that children
and fathers or brothers met in
opposing armies on the
battlefield.
Belief and
submission made the Muslim
soldiers so powerful and fearless
that neither the strength of enemy
forces outnumbering them nor fear
of death could prevent them from
conveying the Divine Message. ‘Adbullah
ibn Hudafa al-Sahmi was captured
in a war against the Byzantines. A
priest in the Byzantine army
offered him Christianity so that
his life could be spared, and gave
him three minutes of respite. ‘Adbullah
responded to him:
Thank you,
father! You have given me three
minutes to communicate to you my
religion.
1. Andrew Miller,
Church
History, 285; Bukhari, “Manaqib,”
9.
2. I. Hisham, 2.269.
3. Bukhari, “Tayammum,” 1,
“Salat,” 56.
4. Nasa’i,
Sunan,
5.212; I. Hisham, 4.13; I. Sa‘d,
2.121.
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