The Sealed Nectar (29 page)

Ibn Mas‘ud then cut off his head and took it to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] who, on seeing it, began to entertain Allâh’s praise:

"Allâh is Great, praise is to Allâh, Who has fulfilled His Promise, assisted His
servant and defeated the confederates alone."

He then set out to have a look at the corpse. There he said:

"This is the Pharaoh of this nation."

Some Significant Instances of Devotion

1. The Prophet [pbuh] advised his companions to preserve the lives of Banu Hashim who had gone out to Badr with the polytheists unwillingly because they had feared the censure of their people. Among them, he named Al-

‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul Muttalib and Abu Bukhtari bin Hisham. He ordered the Muslims to capture, but not to kill them. Abu Hudhaifah bin ‘Utbah showed great surprise and commented saying: "We kill our fathers, children, brothers and members of our clan, and then come to spare Al- ‘Abbas? By Allâh! If I see him I will surely strike him with my sword." On hearing these words, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], addressing ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab, said "Is it fair that the face of the Messenger’s uncle be struck with sword?" ‘Umar got indignant and threatened to kill Abu Hudhaifah; the latter later said that extreme fear had taken firm grip of him and felt that nothing except martyrdom could expiate for his mistake. He was actually killed later on during Al- Yamamah events.

2. Abu Al- Bukhtari bin Hisham had already done his best to restrain his people, the Makkans, from committing any act of folly against the Prophet [pbuh]

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while the latter was still in Makkah. He also neither hurt nor was reported to have uttered anything repugnant with regard to the Prophet [pbuh]. He had as well been among the people who tried to invalidate the boycott alliance taken against Banu Hashim and Banu ‘Abdul Muttalib.

Here, however, in the battle of Badr he insisted on fighting unless his compatriot was spared. Al- Mujdhir bin Ziyad Al- Balwi, with whom he was engaged in combat, replied that the other was not included in the Prophet

[pbuh]’s recommendation. The combat went on to end in Al- Bukhtari’s death.

3. ‘Abdur- Rahman bin ‘Awf and Omaiyah bin Khalaf had been close friends during the pre- Islamic era. When the battle of Badr ended, ‘Abdur- Rahman saw Omaiyah and his son among the captives. He threw away the armour he had as spoils, and walked with them both. Bilal, the Prophet [pbuh]’s caller for prayer, saw Omaiyah and soon all the torture he had been put to at the hand of this man dawned upon him, and swore he would have revenge on Omaiyah. ‘Abdur- Rahman tried to ease the tension and address embarrassing situation amicably but with no success. The Muslims gathered around and struck Omaiyah’s son with swords. At this point, ‘Abdur- Rahman called upon his old friend to run for his life but he was put to swords from different people and lay down dead. ‘Abdur- Rahman, completely helpless and resigned said: May Allâh have mercy on Bilal, for he deprived me of the spoils, and I have been stricken by the death of my two captives.

4. On the moral level, the battle of Badr was an inescapable conflict between the forces of good and those of evil. In this context, ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab did not spare the life of any polytheist even his uncle on the maternal side Al- ‘As bin Hisham bin Al- Mugheerah.

5. Abu Bakr shouted at his son ‘Abdur- Rahman, still a polytheist and fighting with them, "Where is my wealth, you wicked boy?" The son answered that it was gone with the wind.

6. When the battle ended, the Muslims began to hold some polytheists in captivity. The Prophet [pbuh] looked into the face of Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, the Head of the Prophet [pbuh]’s guards, and understood that he was hateful to taking the enemy elements as prisoners. Sa‘d agreed to what the Prophet

[pbuh] said and added that it was the first victory for the Muslims over the forces of polytheism, and he had more liking for slaying them than sparing their lives.

7. On the day of Badr, the sword of ‘Ukashah bin Mihsan Al- Asdi broke down so the Prophet [pbuh] gave him a log of wood which he shook and it immediately turned into a long strong white sword. ‘Ukashah went on using that same sword in most of the Islamic conquests until he died in the process of the apostasy wars.

8. When the war activities had been concluded, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al- ‘Abdari saw his brother, still a polytheist, being handcuffed by a Ansari. Mus‘ab recommended that the Helper tighten the knot for the prisoner’s mother was wealthy enough to ransom her son. ‘Abu ‘Aziz, Mus‘ab’s brother, tried to appeal to his brother through the family ties, but the latter firmly replied that the Helper was more eligible for brotherhood than him.

9. When the Prophet [pbuh] ordered that the corpses of the polytheists be dropped into an empty well, Abu Hudhaifah bin ‘Utbah looked sadly at his dead father, who fought on the side of the polytheists. The Prophet [pbuh]

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noticed that and asked him about it. Hudhaifah said that he had never held the least doubt that his father met his fate deservedly, but added that he wished he had been guided to the path of Islam, and that is why he felt sad.

The Prophet [pbuh] whispered in his ears some comforting words.

The outcome of the battle was as aforementioned an ignominious rout for the polytheists and a manifest victory for the Muslims. Fourteen Muslims were killed, of whom six were from the Emigrants and eight from the Helpers. The polytheists sustained heavy casualties, seventy were killed and a like number taken prisoners.

Many of the principal men of Makkah, and some of Muhammad [pbuh]’s bitterest opponents, were among the slain. Chief of these was Abu Jahl.

On the third day, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] went out to look at the slain polytheists, and said:

"What an evil tribe you were as regards your Prophet, you belied me but the
others have believed; you let me down while the others have supported me;
you expelled me, whereas the others have sheltered me."

He stood over the bodies of twenty- four leaders of Quraish who had been thrown into one of the wells, and started to call them by name and by the names of their fathers, saying: "Would it not have been much better for you if you had obeyed Allâh and His Messenger? Behold, we have found that our Lord’s promise do come true; did you (also) find that the promises of your Lord came true?" Thereupon, ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab said: "O Messenger of Allâh! Why you speak to bodies that have no souls in them?" The Prophet [pbuh] answered: "By Him in Whose hand is Muhammad

[pbuh]’s soul! You do not hear better what I am saying than they do."

Reaction in Makkah

The polytheists having received a large dose of disciplining and heavy defeat, fled away in great disorder in the vales and hillocks heading for Makkah panicked and too ashamed to see their people.

Ibn Ishaq related that the first herald of bad tidings was Al- Haisaman bin ‘Abdullah Al- Khuza‘i. He narrated to them how their notables were killed. People there did not believe him at first and thought that he had gone mad, but soon the news was confirmed and a state of incredible bewilderment overwhelmed the whole Makkan scene. Abu Sufyan bin Al- Harith gave Abu Lahab a full account of the massacre and the disgraceful rout they sustained, with emphasis on the role that the angels played in bringing about their tragic end. Abu Lahab could not contain himself and gave vent to his feelings of resentment in beating, abusing and slapping Abu Rafi‘, a Muslim, but reticent on his conversion, for reiterating the role of the angels. Umm Al- Fadl, another Muslim woman, greatly exasperated by Abu Lahab’s thoughtless behaviour, struck him with a log and cracked his head. Seven days later, he died of an ominous ulcer and was left for three days unburied. His sons, however, for fear of shameful rumours, drove him to a pit and keeping their distance, hurled stones and dust at him.

The defeat was a matter of great shame and grief for the Makkans. In almost every house there were silent tears for the dead and the captives. They were burning with 142

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humiliation and were thirsting for revenge. Wailing, lamenting and crying however were decreed strictly forbidden lest the Muslims should rejoice at their affliction.

Madinah receives the News of Victory

Two heralds, ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah and Zaid bin Harithah were despatched to Madinah, to convey the glad tidings of victory to the Muslims there.

The multi- ethnic and ideological structure of Madinah featured different respective reactions. Rumour- mongers amongst the Jews and hypocrites spread news to the effect that the Prophet [pbuh] had been killed, and tried to impress their false assumption on the fact that Zaid bin Harithah was riding Al- Qaswâ’, the Prophet

[pbuh]’s she- camel. Having reached, the two messengers imparted to the Muslims the happy news of victory, and furnished accurate information about the course of events in order to establish the sense of reassurance deep in the hearts of the anxious, but now, joyous Muslims. They immediately started acclaiming Allâh’s Name and entertaining His praise at the top of their voices. Their chiefs went out of the city to wait and receive the Prophet [pbuh] on the road leading to Badr.

Usamah bin Zaid related that they received the news of the manifest victory shortly after Ruqaiyah, the Prophet [pbuh]’s daughter, and the wife of ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan had been committed to earth. She had been terminally ill and the Prophet [pbuh]

had asked ‘Uthman to stay in Madinah and look after her.

Before leaving the scene of the battle, dispute concerning the spoils of war arose among the Muslim warriors, as the rule relating to their distribution had not yet been legislated. When the difference grew wider, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]

suspended any solution whereof until the Revelation was sent down.

‘Ubadah bin As- Samit said: "We went out with the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and I witnessed Badr with him. The battle started and Allâh, the Exalted, defeated the enemy. Some of the Muslims sought and pursued the enemy, some were intent on collecting the spoils from the enemy camp, and others were guarding the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and were on the alert for any emergency or surprise attack. When night came and the Muslims gathered together, those who had collected the booty said: "We collected it, so no one else has any right to it." Those who had pursued the enemy said: "You do not have more right to it than we do; we held the enemy at bay and then defeated them." As for the men who had been guarding the Prophet

[pbuh], they also made similar claims to the spoils.

At that very time, a Qur’ânic verse was revealed saying:

"They ask you (O Muhammad [pbuh]) about the spoils of war. Say: ‘The
spoils are for Allâh and the Messenger.’ So fear Allâh and adjust all matters
of difference among you, and obey Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad

[pbuh]), if you are believers."
[Al- Qur'an 8:1]

On their way back to Madinah, at a large sand hill, the Prophet [pbuh] divided the spoils equally among the fighters after he had taken
Al- Khums
(one- fifth). When they reached As- Safra’, he ordered that two of the prisoners should be killed. They were An- Nadr bin Al- Harith and ‘Uqbah bin Abi Muait, because they had persecuted 143

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the Muslims in Makkah, and harboured deep hatred towards Allâh and His Messenger

[pbuh]. In a nutshell, they were criminals of war in modern terminology, and their execution was an awesome lesson to oppressors. ‘Uqbah forgot his pride and cried out, "Who will look after my children O Messenger of Allâh?" The Prophet [pbuh]

answered, "The fire (of Hell).[Sunan Abu Da'ud with 'Aun-ul-Ma'bood 3/12]" Did ‘Uqbah not remember the day when he had thrown the entrails of a sheep onto the head of the Prophet [pbuh] while he was prostrating himself in prayer, and Fatimah had come and washed it off him? He had also strangled the Prophet [pbuh] with his cloak if it had not been for Abu Bakr to intervene and release the Prophet [pbuh]. The heads of both criminals were struck off by ‘Ali bin Abi Talib.

At Ar- Rawhâ’, a suburb of Madinah, the Muslim army was received by the joyous Madinese who had come to congratulate the Prophet [pbuh] on the manifest victory that Allâh had granted him. Usaid bin Hudair, acting as a mouthpiece of the other true believers, after entertaining Allâh’s praise, he excused himself for not having joined them on grounds that the Prophet [pbuh]’s intention was presumably, an errand aiming to intercept a caravan of camels only, he added that if it had occurred to him that it would be real war, he would have never tarried. The Prophet [pbuh]

assured Usaid that he had believed him.

The Prophet [pbuh] now entered Madinah as a man to be counted for in a new dimension — the military field. In consequence, a large number of the people of Madinah embraced Islam, which added a lot to the strength, power and moral standing of the true religion.

The Prophet [pbuh] exhorted the Muslims to treat the prisoners so well to such an extent that the captors used to give the captives their bread (the more valued part of the meal) and keep the dates for themselves.

Prisoners of war constituted a problem awaiting resolution because it was a new phenomenon in the history of Islam. The Prophet [pbuh] consulted Abu Bakr and

‘Umar bin Al- Khattab as to what he should do with the prisoners. Abu Bakr suggested that he should ransom them, explaining this by saying: "They are after all our relatives, and this money would give us strength against the disbelievers, moreover, Allâh could guide them to Islam." ‘Umar advised killing them, saying,

"They are the leaders of
Kufr
(disbelief)." The Prophet [pbuh] preferred Abu Bakr’s suggestion to that of ‘Umar’s. The following day, ‘Umar called on the Prophet [pbuh]

and Abu Bakr to see them weeping. He showed extreme astonishment and inquired about the situation so that he might weep if it was worth weeping for, or else he would feign weeping.