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THE
CONQUEST OF MECCA
The conquest of
Khaybar
As will be
elaborated later, the treaty of
Hudaybiya was a clear victory, a
door opened to new and greater
victories for Islam. The Makkan
threat came to an end and God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, while sending envoys to
neighboring countries to invite
their peoples to Islam on the one
hand, set out to solve the other
problems he faced within Arabia on
the other.
Most of the
Jews belonging to the tribe of
Banu Nadir had settled in Khaybar
after being expelled from Madina.
Together with them, the Jews of
Khaybar did not refrain from
collaborating against Islam,
sometimes with the Quraysh and
sometimes with Banu Ghatafan.1
As a result of the efforts made by
the Jews of Banu Nadir to form an
alliance against God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, the Quraysh had
attacked Madina with a force of
around 20,000 men only to retreat
in humiliation after four weeks of
hopeless siege. It was time for
the Muslims to put an end to the
Jewish conspiracy in Arabia to
secure the future and free
preaching of Islam. The punishment
suffered by the Jews of Banu
Qurayza roused the Jews of Khaybar
to make an alliance with Banu
Ghatafan and attack Madina. They
were making preparations for this
when, after the treaty of
Hudaybiya, God’s Messenger
marched upon Khaybar. He made as
if to attack Banu Ghatafan and
forced them to shelter in their
confines without daring to help
the Jews in Khaybar. Then, he
suddenly turned towards Khaybar.
The farmers of Khaybar had left
their homes in the early morning
with their farm implements, when
they saw the Muslim army
approaching the city. They went
back and sheltered in their
citadels, which were very
formidable.
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, besieged Khaybar for
three weeks. One day towards the
end of the siege, he gathered his
soldiers and told them: Tomorrow
I will hand the standard to him
who loves God and His Messenger
and is loved by God and His
Messenger. God will enable us to
conquer Khaybar through him.2
When the next
day came, almost everyone was
hoping that the standard might be
handed to him. However, God’s
Messenger asked: Where is ‘Ali?
‘He has sore eyes’, they said.
The Messenger sent for him and,
after applying his saliva to ‘Ali’s
sore eyes, he submitted the
standard to him.3 ‘Ali went to
the fortress and, after a fierce
battle, Khaybar was conquered.
Among the
prisoners of war, there was a
noble woman, Safiyya, the daughter
of Huyay ibn Akhtab, who was the
chief of Banu Nadir. By marrying
her, God’s Messenger established
a relationship with the conquered
people.
The Battle of
Mu’ta
In the peaceful
atmosphere brought about by the
treaty of Hudaybiya, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, sent letters to
neighboring kings inviting them to
the fold of Islam. The king of
Busra, Shurahbil, who was a
Christian Arab, killed the envoy
of God’s Messenger, Harith ibn
‘Umayr. This was an unforgivable
act, from the viewpoint of both
international custom and the
prestige of Islam. If it had
remained unresponded to, some
others might also have attempted
to act in the same way.
God’s
Messenger formed an army of 3,000
men, and appointed Zayd ibn
Haritha as the commander.
Additionally, he gave the
instruction: If something happens
to Zayd, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib
should assume the command. If Ja’far
is martyred, let ‘Adbullah ibn
Rawaha take over the command. In
case something happens to ‘Abdullah,
choose one among you as the
commander.
When the Muslim
army reached Mu’ta, it met with
a Byzantine army of 100,000 men.
Obviously, it would be a fierce
battle. The Muslims would fight
one against 33 men. In the
meantime, God’s Messenger was in
the mosque, relating the fighting
to those around him, who were
unable to participate in the
campaign:
Zayd took
the standard. He thrust
himself into the ranks of the
enemy. They martyred him. The
standard was taken by Ja’far
ibn Abi Talib. He also rose up
to Paradise. ‘Adbullah ibn
Rawaha took the standard. He
too was martyred. Now, the
standard was in the hands of a
‘sword’ among the ‘swords
of God’.4
The one God’s
Messenger described as ‘a sword
among the swords of God’ was
Khalid ibn Walid,5 who would,
from then on, be mentioned as ‘the
Sword of God’. When it was at
night, Khalid stationed the troops
at the rear in the front rank, and
changed the wings, positioning
those on the right to the left and
vice versa. Having seen new troops
before them in the morning, the
Byzantine army was demoralized.
When night fell, the sides parted
with each other and retreated.
The Muslim army
returned to Madina with only
twelve losses. Although this was a
victory for the Muslims, they were
ashamed to meet God’s Messenger,
who, however, welcomed them and
consoled them, saying: You did not
flee; you retreated to join me,
and will go against them later.
The
Conquest of Mecca and its
Aftermath
In the fifth
year of Hijra, God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
had had a dream or a vision while
awake that they would enter the
Holy Mosque of Ka’ba in safety
with their heads shaven or trimmed
and without fear. As will be
explained later in this book, they
had not been allowed to enter
Makka and made a treaty with the
Quraysh at Hudaybiya, the
conditions of which had, at first,
appeared unpalatable to the
Muslims. However, the verses
revealed after the treaty
described Hudaybiya as a clear
victory.
The two years
following the Treaty of Hudaybiya
proved that Treaty to really be a
victory. Some leading figures of
the Quraysh such as Khalid ibn
Walid and ‘Amr ibn al-‘As
became Muslims and Islam had the
opportunity to spread across
Arabia. The Jewish conspiracy was
put to an end and through the
letters sent to neighbouring
kings, Islam crossed the borders
of Arabia into other lands in four
directions.
It was two
years after the treaty of
Hudaybiya that Banu Bakr, allied
to the Quraysh, attacked Banu
Khuda’a, allied to the Muslims,
and killed some among them. This
meant the end of the truce between
the Muslims and the Quraysh. No
longer able to resist the Muslims,
Abu Sufyan, the leader of the
Quraysh, came to Madina to renew
the treaty but was not admitted by
God’s Messenger, upon be peace
and blessings.6
God’s
Messenger was making preparations
for war. As always, he was keeping
the affair quite secret and no
one, including his wives and
closest friends such as Abu Bakr
and ‘Umar, knew where the
campaign would be. When Abu Bakr
asked his daughter ‘A’isha,
the wife of God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
where the Messenger intended to
march, ‘A’isha, answered: ‘Father,
I do not know either where he will
go’.7 However, someone from the
Emigrants, named Khatib ibn Abi
Balta‘a, guessed the intention
of God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace, and sent a letter to the
Quraysh, informing them of the
preparations of the Messenger to
come against them. Revelation
about that came to the Messenger,
who ordered ‘Ali and Zubayr to
go and take the letter from the
woman to whom Khatib had entrusted
it. ‘Ali and Zubayr carried out
the Prophet’s order
successfully.8
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, left Madina with 10,000
men. Two years before, he had been
able to gather only 1,600 men when
he had set out for a minor
pilgrimage, which concluded in the
signing of the peace treaty of
Hudaybiya. The peaceful atmosphere
brought about by this treaty
enabled many to re-consider Islam
and accept it.
The Companions
did not know of the destination of
the campaign until they were
ordered to change their direction
toward Makka. When they approached
this holy city, God’s Messenger,
upon him be peace and blessings,
ordered that each member of the
army should light a fire. The
Makkans used, when they camped
somewhere while journeying in the
desert, to light a fire for every
tent,9 so they estimated the
Muslim army to consist of about
30,000 men. They had been left
nothing to do other than
surrender. Abu Sufyan, who had
been invited by God’s Messenger
to see the Muslim army, also
advised the Makkans to surrender
without offering any resistance.
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace, did
not desire any bloodshed. He
divided his army into six columns,
each of which was to enter Makka
through a different route. He
ordered the commanders to avoid
bloodshed unless they were
attacked. In order to prevent
bloodshed and secure a peaceful
conquest, he also made this
announcement: Those who shelter
in the Ka’ba are safe; those who
shelter in the house of Abu Sufyan
are safe, and those who remain
confined to their houses are also
safe.10
Being a Prophet
of absolute mercy, one who came to
secure the happiness of mankind
both in this world and the next,
God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace and blessings, entered Makka,
bowing on the back of his mule, as
a victorious conqueror. He
displayed no hint of self-pride
nor thought of either vengeance or
retaliation. He proceeded toward
the Ka’ba in utmost modesty and
absolute gratitude to God, who had
made him victorious in his sacred
mission. He stopped at the Ka’ba
and asked those who assembled
there: How do you expect me to
treat you? ‘You are a noble man,
the son of a noble man’, they
answered. God’s Messenger
concluded:
This day no
reproach shall be on you. God
will forgive you; He is the
Most Merciful of the Merciful.
You can go away!11
This marked the
end of polytheism in Makka. While
he was toppling down the idols at
the Ka’ba one after the other,
he recited: Say: ‘Truth has come
and falsehood has disappeared.
Indeed falsehood is subject to
disappearance’.12 And, almost
all of the Makkans, who had been
the enemies of Islam until one day
before, acquired the honor of
becoming Companions to God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings.
The Battle of
Hunayn
The Arab tribes
were awaiting the settlement of
the conflict between the Quraysh
and the Muslims, before accepting
Islam, saying: ‘If Muhammad
prevails over his people, he would
indeed be a Prophet.’
Consequently, when that was
accomplished, they began to enter
Islam in throngs. This shocked the
pagan idolaters, who organized a
great gathering near Ta’if to
concert plans for attacking God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings. The Hawazin and the
Thaqif tribes, who were famous for
courage and throwing arrows, took
the lead and prepared a great
expedition for Makka. Informed of
their movements through ‘Adbullah
ibn Hadrad, whom he had sent to
them, God’s Messenger left Makka
with 12,000 Muslims, among whom
there was a confident enthusiasm
due to the new conversions
numbering 2,000. In order to
protect Makka from an attack and
consolidate the belief of new
Muslims by healing their wounded
feelings, God’s Messenger did
not want to meet the enemy within
the confines of Makka.
The battle was
joined at Hunayn, a valley between
Makka and Ta’if. The new
converts in the Muslim ranks had
more enthusiasm than wisdom, more
a spirit of elation than of faith
and confidence in the
righteousness of their cause. The
enemy had the advantage of knowing
the ground thoroughly. They laid
an ambush in which the advance
guard of the Muslim forces was
caught or intentionally pushed by
God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace and blessings, who might
have planned to draw the enemy in
under the guise of retreat.
However, the retreat was in
confusion, under a shower of enemy
arrows. The Prophet, as ever, was
calm in his faith and wisdom in
that hour of danger and spurred
his horse forward. His uncle ‘Abbas
was on his right and Fadl, the son
of ‘Abbas, on his left. While
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was
trying to stop him, he was crying:
Now war has been kindled. I am
the Prophet, that is no lie. I am
the descendant of ‘Abd
al-Muttalib.13
‘Abbas called
out at the top of his voice: ‘Companions
who made the pledge of allegiance
under the acacia tree!’14
Thereupon, from all sides the
Companions responded ‘Labbayk’
(at your service!), and rallied to
the Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings. The enemy, who had
pushed themselves into the center
of the Muslim army, were
surrounded from all sides. The
courage, wisdom and steadfastness
of God’s Messenger changed a
seeming defeat into a decisive
victory. It was by God’s help
that the Muslims won the day. They
completed the victory with an
energetic pursuit of the enemies,
capturing their camps, their
flocks and herds, and their
families, whom they had boastfully
brought with them in expectation
of an easy victory.
The routed
enemy took refuge in Ta’if. The
Muslim victory persuaded the
desert tribes to accept Islam and
shortly thereafter the rebel
tribes and Ta’if also
surrendered and entered Islam.
The Expedition
to Tabuk
The outcome of
the encounter between the Muslims
and Byzantines at Mu’ta had came
as a shock to the whole of Arabia
and the Middle East that the
Romans failed to gain the upper
hand even though they had
outnumbered the Muslims by
thirty-three to one. Ultimately,
thousands of people from the
semi-independent Arab tribes
living in Syria and its adjoining
areas converted to Islam. To
avenge himself for the Battle of
Mu’ta and prevent the advance of
Islam, Caesar (the Emperor of the
Byzantines) ordered military
preparations to invade Arabia. God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, who always kept himself
abreast of all developments which
had any bearing on his mission,
promptly decided to challenge the
Byzantine army on the battlefield.
Any show of weakness on the part
of Muslims might have given a
fresh release to the dying forces
of Arabian Jahiliya which
had received a crushing blow at
Hunayn, and also encouraged the
hypocrites in and around Madina to
cause serious damage to Islam from
within. For the hypocrites were in
touch with the Ghassanid Christian
prince and with Caesar (the
Byzantine Emperor) himself and had
even built a mosque - the Mosque
of Dirar (Dissension) - in the
vicinity of Madina which served as
their operational base.
Realizing the
gravity of the situation, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, publicly appealed to
the Muslims to prepare for war
and, as against his usual
practice, declared that the Romans
were his target.
It was in
mid-summer. The scorching heat of
the season was at its peak, the
harvest season had just arrived,
and there was a shortage of
material resources needed to wage
a war. What was more, the enemy
was one of the two super powers of
the time. Despite all, the
Companions responded ardently to
the Prophet’s call and commenced
their war preparations, each
Muslim contributing much more than
his financial means warranted.
Huge amounts of money were donated
by the wealthy Companions such as
‘Uthman and ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn
al-‘Awf,15 and those who could
not be included in the Muslim army
because of the acute paucity of
cavalry and other war provisions
wept bitterly, and lamented their
exclusion so pathetically that God’s
Messenger was moved and God
praised them in the verse He
revealed (al-Tawbah, 9.92). The
occasion, in fact, served as a
touchstone for distinguishing the
sincere from the insincere, the
true men of faith from the
hypocrites.
In the month of
Rajab 9 A.H./631 C.E. God’s
Messenger, along with 30,000
soldiers, left Madina and marched
as far as Tabuk, quite close to
what was then Byzantine territory
in the province of Syria. The
Roman Emperor, who had indeed
begun amassing a huge army, had to
abandon the idea of an encounter
with God’s Messenger and
withdrew his army because the
Messenger arrived ahead of the
anticipated time and well before
the planned concentration of
troops had been completed.16
The Messenger
stayed in Tabuk for 20 days and
forced several buffer states under
the hegemony of the Byzantine
Empire to pay the poll tax and
live under his rule, and many
Christian tribes chose Islam
willingly.17 This bloodless
victory also enabled the Muslims
to consolidate their position
before launching a prolonged
conflict with the Romans and
altogether shattered the power of
both unbelievers and the
hypocrites in Arabia.
1. I. Hisham, 3.226;
Diyarbakri, Khamis, 1.540.
2. Bukhari, “Maghazi,”
38.
3. Bukhari, 5.77; Muslim,
4.1872.
4. Bukhari, “Maghazi,” 44.
5. I. Hanbal, 5.299; Tabari,
3.110.
6. I.
Hisham, 4.31.
7. I.
Hisham, 4.39.
8. I.
Hisham, 4.41.
9. I. Kathir, al-Bidaya,
4.330; I. Hisham, 6.41-5.
10. I. Kathir, ibid.,
4.331-2.
11. I. Sa‘d, 2.142; I. Hisham,
4.55; Tabari, 3.120; Balazuri, Futuh
al-Buldan, 1.47.
12. Bukhari, 5.93; Muslim,
3.1408; I. Hisham, 4.59; I. Sa‘d,
2.136.
13. Bukhari, “Jihad,” 52;
Muslim, “Jihad,” 78.
14. I. Kathir, 4.373.
15. Bukhari, “Tafsir,” 18;
I. Hisham, 4.161; Tabari, Tarikh,
3.143; “Tafsir,” 10.161.
16. I. Sa‘d, 2.165-8; Tabari, Tarikh, 3.100-11.
17. I. Kathir, al-Bidaya,
5.13.
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