The Life of Muhammadﷺ, The Madinan Period, Volume 1
By Imam Anwar Al_Awlaki,
اَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنَّ الشِّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ ۝ بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيْمَ۝
اَلْحَمْدُ لله ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِنَا محمد وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْراَّ
Rasool Allah ﷺ with 400 Sahabah رضي الله عنهم, went out in a battle called Zaat Ar-Riqaah(ذات الرقاع).
Now Riqaah(رقاع) means pieces of cloth, rags.
And the Ghazwah(غزوة) was given this name for the following reason,
Abu Musa Al-Asha'ari رضي الله عنه said;
We went with Rasool Allah ﷺ in a Ghazwa(غزوة),
and I was one of six men, who were sharing the same Camel.
Meaning, if you have six people sharing a camel,
you'll only get to ride, one sixth of the times and the rest of the time you're walking on foot.
So he said;
فَنَقِبَتْ قَدْمَايَ وَسَقِطَتْ اَظْفَارِيْ
The skin of my feet was peeling off and my nails were falling down.
And we would wrap rags, pieces of cloth around our feet.
So, this was pretty tough walking on rocks and hot sand and all of that and
in those days they didn't have pretty good boots.
So, they had to wrap these pieces of cloth around their feet.
So, that was the name of that Ghazwa(غزوة), Zaat Ar-Riqaah(ذات الرقاع).
The enemy fled, they didn't face off, the Muslims,
but the Muslims were careful and alert.
So, when they prayed, they prayed in a form that is called Salah-Tul-Khauf(صلاة الخوف),
the Salah(صلاة) of fear.
And this Salah(صلاة) is prescribed in Qur'an.
It's in verse 102 Surat Tun Nissah(سورة النساء).
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says;
وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ
فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ
فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَىٰ لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ
وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ ۗ
وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَيْلَةً وَاحِدَةً ۚ
وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ كَانَ بِكُمْ أَذًى مِنْ مَطَرٍ أَوْ كُنْتُمْ مَرْضَىٰ أَنْ تَضَعُوا أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ ۖ
وَخُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا ۝
فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِكُمْ ۚ
And when you, i.e. the commander of an army are among them, and lead them in prayer,
let a group of them stand in prayer with you
and let them carry their arms.
So, they're standing in their Salah(صلاة) with their arms.
And when they have prostrated let them be in position behind you
and have the other group come forward, which has not yet prayed and let them pray with you.
Taking precaution and carrying their arms,
those who disbelieve wish that you would neglect your weapons and your baggage,
so they could come down upon you in one single attack.
If you are troubled by rain, or are ill for putting down your arms
but take precaution, indeed Allah has prepared for the disbelievers humiliating punishment.
So, the way this Salah(صلاة) is performed,
there's two opinions.
One is that, one part of the army prays behind the Imam(امام), while the other parts of the army is guarding.
So, this half that is praying with the Imam(امام)
would pray with the Imam(امام) one Rak'ah(ركعة).
And then the Imam(امام) would stand up for the second Rak'ah(ركعة), and would not move.
While they would finish their second Rak'ah(ركعة) and give Salam(سلام),
which means that they prayed with the Imam(امام) one Rak'ah(ركعة),
and the Imam(امام) is now waiting.
The next group, the group that was guarding with them step in
and they would pray with the Imam(امام) second Rak'ah(ركعة)
and then they would finish their second Rak'ah(ركعة) alone.
This one opinion, the other opinion is that
the Imam(امام) leads the first half, in the two Rak'ah(ركعة).
And then they make Salaam(سلام),
and then the next group comes in and pray another two Rak'ah(ركعة) with the Imam(امام).
So, the Imam(امام) would end up praying four Rak'ah(ركعة),
while each half of the army would have prayed two Rak'ah(ركعة).
So these are the two opinions of how Salah-Tul-Khauf(صلاة الخوف) is performed.
The lesson here to mention is the importance of Salaah(صلاة)
that even if you are afraid that the enemy might ambush you, you still have to pray.
So, if this is the case with the ones, who are fighting in the path of Allah,
who are afraid of death, they still have to pray the Salah(صلاة).
What about somebody who has really nothing urgent
and nevertheless they neglect the Salawaat(صلوات).
See in Islam, every Ibadah(عبادة), there are conditions where you don't have to do it, except Salah(صلاة).
So for example the poor, don't have to pay Zakaat(زكواة),
the ill don't have to fast,
the financially incapable doesn't have to make Hajj(حَجْ), and so on.
This could go on with everybody Ibadaah(عبادة), except Salah(صلاة).
You're not excused at all.
No matter what, a Muslim has to pray.
If you can pray standing up you pray sitting down you can sitting down, you lay down,
laying down you move your head, you can't move your head,
you move your you can't move your finger,
you blink with your eye.
The point is, Salah(صلاة) needs to be done.
It must be done, and a Muslim is not excused from not praying.
Rasool Allah ﷺ appointed guards that night
and the two guards were Ammar Bin Yasir(عمار بن ياسر) and Abbad Bin Bishr(عباد بن بشر).
So, they would alternate, Abbad Bin Bishr(عباد بن بشر) would take his turn.
While Ammar(عمار) would sleep and then vice versa.
So, while Ammar(عمار) was sleeping, Abbad(عباد) was, the one guarding.
He occupied himself with Salah(صلاة), he started praying.
And while he was reciting.
One of the enemy shots an arrow at him.
But he didn't move.
So, he shot another arrow to him,
he still didn't move, he shot the third arrow at him
and then Abbad(عباد) woke up Ammar Bin Yasir(عمار بن ياسر).
So when Ammar(عمار) woke up and saw that Abbad(عباد) has three arrows sticking out of his body.
He told him;
سبحان الله، هَلْ لَا نَبَّهتَنِيْ
Glory be to Allah, why didn't you wake me up.
He said;
كُنْتُ فِيْ سُوْرَةٍ اَقْرَاُهَا فَلَمْ اُحِبْ أنْ اَقْطَعَهَا
فَلَمَّا تَابَعَ الرَّمْيَ رَكَعْتُ فَأُرِيتُكَ، وَأيْمُ اللهِ، لَوْلاَ أَنْ أُضَيِّعَ ثَغْرًا
أَمَرَنِي رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِحِفْظِهِ، لَقَطَعَ نَفْسِي قَبْلَ أَنْ أَقْطَعَهَا أَوْ أُنْفِذَهَا
He said: I was reciting a Surah(سورة),
and I didn't want to stop until, I finish it.
But when he kept on firing arrows at me.
I made the Rukooh(ركوع).
And then I woke you up and In the name of Allah,
if it wasn't for that I would have caused my responsibility.
If I would have been considered to be neglectful of my responsibility,
which was given to me by Rasool Allah ﷺ,
I would have rather died, then stop my Salah(صلاة), or I would have finished it.
Now, this is an impressive story.
You see how much he loved Qur'an, he didn't want to stop,
and you know these arrows are striking at him.
And even though he's suffering all of that pain,
he still has the concentration, and Khushoo(خشوع) in Salah(صلاة)
to carry on reading the Ayat(آيات) of Qur'an and this is truly amazing.
But this shows you the level of Eeman(ايمان) that these Sahabah رضي الله عنهم had.
We also see here that he said;
I didn't want to neglect the responsibility given to me by Rasool Allah ﷺ,
so now he was weighing these two things,
one he wants to carry on with the Salah(صلاة).
Number two, He is responsible for guarding the Muslims
and he doesn't want them, to be attacked from his side.
And this world that he used Thaghar(ثغر),
Thaghar(ثغر) means hole.
So, you can imagine as if there is this hole or this opening, which the enemy can come through.
And he is responsible for that Thaghar(ثغر)
and this word repeats a lot in Arabic,
you know that every Muslim is on a Thaghar(ثغر), every Muslim is at this opening
and you don't want the enemy to approach the Ummah(امة) from your opening.
We need to imagine ourselves as if every one of us is standing next to an opening.
Every one of us is responsible not to let the enemy approach us, from that opening,
whether the enemy is Shaytan(شيطان), or the enemy is kuffar(كفار), whatever the enemy is.
You don't want to be the one, who opens the door for the enemy to come through
and every one of us has a responsibility and we need to take that responsibility seriously
and your responsibility, depends on the gifts that Allahعَزّوجَلّ has given you.
So, if Allahعَزّوجَلّ has gifted you with knowledge,
then you want to make sure that you are responsible.
If Allahعَزّوجَلّ has gifted you with physical strength,
you want to take care of that responsibility.
If Allahعَزّوجَلّ has blessed you with wealth,
you want to make sure that you are responsible
and you don't allow Shaytan(شيطان) to attack us, through your gate and that is by withholding your money.
So, we ask Allahعَزّوجَلّ to make us understand what our responsibilities are
and fulfill them accordingly.
During this Ghazwa(غزوة) an interesting conversation happened between Jabir Bin Abdullah رضي الله عنه
and Rasool Allah ﷺ, we'll go through it.
Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله), was riding a feeble weak camel,
and his comrades were getting ahead of him, so Rasool Allah ﷺ approaches him and said;
What's wrong Jabir(جابر).?
So, he said;
O Messenger of Allah, this camel of mine is slowing me down.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him, make it kneel.
And then Rasool Allah ﷺ also made his camel kneel
and Rasool Allah dismounts and he tells Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله),
Give me that stick of yours or get one for me from a tree.
So, Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله) gives him the stick.
Rasool Allah ﷺ prodded the camel, with that stick.
And then he told Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله) mount up.
Jabir(جابر) mounts the camel and he said;
My weak Camel was now competing with the fast camel of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So this is a miracle of Rasool Allah ﷺ that occurred in this Gazwah(غزوة).
By just placing or prodding the camel with that stick.
Now, it suddenly became vigorous and strong.
And then Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله) was conversing with Rasool Allah ﷺ,
they were talking, so Rasool Allah ﷺ told him;
Would you sell me this Camel of yours, Jabir(جابر).
So, now Rasool Allah ﷺ likes to Camel and he wants to buy it.
Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله) said: I'll just give it to you.
I mean, the reason why it's fast now is because of you.
I'll just give it up, or I'll give it to you.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: No,
I want to buy it, just sell it to me.
Jabir(جابر) said: Make me an offer.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: One Dirham(درهم).
He said: No way messenger of Allah,
تَغْبُنِّيْ
Ghabban(غَبَنْ) Means you would be cheating me, Ya'ani(يعنى)
obviously doesn't literally mean it here
but he was Ya'ani(يعنى) joking with Rasool Allah ﷺ, he said;
You would be cheating me, if that's the deal you're offering me.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said, Then I'll give you two Dirhams(درهم).
He said: More.
And he kept on raising the price on Rasool Allah ﷺ,
until Rasool Ullah offered one ounce of gold.
And then he said: Would that be agreeable to you.
He said: Yes,
then Jabir(جابر) said that it's all yours.
And then Rasool Allah ﷺ asks Jabir(جابر), He tells him;
Jabir(جابر), are you married yet.?
So, here Rasool Allah ﷺ in this journey,
he is talking with the Sahabah(صحابه), learning about their private lives, inquiring about them
and by now, the Ummah(أمة) is pretty large.
I mean, in Baiyah Tur Ridhwan(بيعة الرضوان) there were 1400.
So, we're not talking about a small number and Rasool Allah ﷺ is asking about each and everyone,
knowing their condition, knowing their situation, their family life.
He was very caring about his Sahabah رضي الله عنهم.
So he's here asking Jabir(جابر).
Did you get married yet.?
Jabir(جابر) was young, he said: Yes, I am.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him: To a woman previously married or to a virgin.?
He said: I married a woman previously married.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him: Why not a young girl,
who could play with you, and you could play with her?
Why didn't you get married to a young girl.?
تُلَاعِبُهَا وتُلَاعِبُكَ
You would enjoy her and she would enjoy you, you would play with each other.
Jabir Bin Abdullah رضي الله عنه said: My father was killed at the Battle of Uhud(أحَد)
and left seven daughters.
So, I married a mature woman to look after them and bring them up well.
That's the reason, why O Rasool Ullah, I didn't marry a young virgin woman.
That's why I didn't marry a girl, I married an older woman because of this reason.
My father fought alongside you in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد) and he died as a Shaheed(شهيد)
and he left behind seven daughters and I'm responsible for them.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ told him;
You did well, let's hope to Allah.
Then Rasool Allah ﷺ said:
And when we get to Sarar(سرار) we'll slaughter camel, and stay there and she will hear about us coming,
and she will dust off her cushions for us.
Rasool Allah ﷺ before he would enter Madina, he would stay outside of Madina
and let his family know that he's coming in, it wouldn't surprise them.
That's not appropriate he would let them know
so that they would get ready and prepare themselves to meet him.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
We're gonna stay in Sarar(سرار) slaughter camels, eat there,
and then we're going to enter Madina
and your wife is gonna hear about that and she'll dudt off the cushions for you.
Jabir Bin Abdullah(جابر بن عبدالله) said: We don't have cushions.
So, the situation was tough with Jabir Bin Abdullah رضي الله عنه, large family, very poor.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him: You will have some.
and when you get back act wisely.
Now they get back to Madina,
and Rasool Allah ﷺ comes out of the Masjid(مسجد)
and we see this camel tied up, he said: What is this?
They said Jabir(جابر) brought it to you.
This is the camel that Rasool Allah ﷺ bought.
So, Rasool Ullah called Jabir(جابر),
he said: Go and bring me Jabir(جابر),
they brought him Jabir(جابر).
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him; Cousin, lead your camel away, it is yours.
And then he called Bilal(بلال) and told him take Jabir(جابر) away
and give him an ounce of gold.
So, Jabir(جابر) said, I went with Bilal(بلال) and he gave me an ounce and a little more as well.
And by Allah my financial affairs, improved constantly thereafter,
until they suffered recently in what befell us.
So Rasool Allah ﷺ was negotiating that deal with Jabir(جابر) about buying the camel
and he didn't really want to buy it.
He just wanted to give Jabir(جابر) money because of his condition
or probably when Rasool Allah ﷺ knew about the difficult situation of Jabir(جابر),
he decided to give him the price of the camel and the camel as well.
And when he told him that she would dust off the cushions for you
and he said: We don't have any cushions, Rasool Allah said, you will have some.
Yes, Rasool Allah gave Jabir(جابر) money,
and that money was invested and it kept on growing constantly.
Jabir(جابر) says: Until we suffered recently
and what he was referring to in that recent suffering,
was the Youm Al-Harrah(يوم الحرة), which was the worst day on the people of Madina.
Many of them were massacred that was during the Khilafah Al-Amwiyyah(خلافة الاموية).
This was a civil war that occurred in during the Khilafah Al-Amwiyyah(خلافة الاموية)
and it was against the people of Madina and many of them died
and Jabir(جابر) is saying that is when we suffered financially.
Badr Al-Mua'adh(بدر المعد), the Muslim won in the Battle of Badr(بدر)
and the kuffar(كفار) won in the Battle of Uhud(أحَد),
so they agreed that they're going to meet the following year, same time, same place for the third battle,
because they were even.
It was tie one, one, so now they agreed that they're going to meet again.
And that was called Badr(بدر) Al-Mua'ed(بدر الموعد), the appointed Badr(بدر).
the appointed Badr(بدر).
So, Abu Sufiyan(ابو سفيان) and with a 2000 strong army left from Makkah.
But when they left Makkah and traveled for a while.
Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان) said;
Men of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ), it is right for you to make such an expedition,
only in a fruitful year, when you can pass your on trees and drink milk.
This year it is barren, I'm going back, you do the same.
So, Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان) bailed out along with his army,
they were too afraid to meet the Muslims and they walked away,
and the excuse he used is that it's a barren year, its infertile,
and we're going to suffer along the way so let's just go back.
Rasool Allah ﷺ shows up appointed time appointed place.
The kuffar(كفار) of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) don't show up, so he stays there for a few days and then leaves.
While he was there, he met with Mukhshie Bin Aamir Adh-Dhamri(مَخْشِيْ بِن عَامر الضَّمْريْ),
from the tribe of Bannu Dhamrah(بنو ضمرى).
And these men had a peace agreement with Rasool Allah ﷺ or we could call it, an alliance.
So, he comes to Rasool Allah ﷺ and said;
Muhammad(محمد), have you come here to this will, to meet with Quraish(قريش).
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Yes brother from Bannu Dhamrah(بنو ضمرى),
but if you want, we will release you from your agreement with us
and we will battle you, until Allah decides between us.
He said: No, by Allah Muhammad(محمد) there is no need for that.
Rasool Allah ﷺ is telling this man,
that if you want us to end this agreement between us,
we wouldn't have any problem with that, and we're ready to fight you.
And this shows you something about the personality of Rasool Allah ﷺ
and what he projected, to people.
If Rasool Allah ﷺ entered into a truce
or a peace agreement with anyone.
And it's more proper by the way to call it a truce because that's what it really is, or an alliance.
If Rasool Allah ﷺ enters in a truce, or an alliance with any people.
It is because they needed that, not because he needed it.
Not because of a point of weakness,
not because Rasool Allah ﷺ was weak and eager to make a truce.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was strong and he made that very clear to the people.
If you want to end the agreement we'd be happy to do so.
And this is important for Muslims to realize
that as Muslims, our religion is strong and we need to be strong
and when we enter into a truce or an agreement with disbelievers
it has to be from that point of strength and not due to weakness.
Another Ghazwa(غزوة) is Ghazwat-Doumat-Al-Jandal(غزوة دومة الجندل),
Doumat-Al-Jandal(دومة الجندل) is about 450 kilometers north of Madina.
Al-Waqa'die(الواقعدي) states.
He therefore referring to Muhammadﷺ,
he therefore organized his men, and left with a force of 1000 Muslims.
They traveled by night keeping undercover by day,
he had the guide with him from Bannu Udhra(بنو عزرة), named Mazkoor(مزكور),
who was a skilled tracker.
Rasool Allah ﷺ travels, this long distance of 450 kilometers
to go and meet with the people of Doumat-Al-Jandal(دومة الجندل).
Whom he heard, were gathering a force to advance towards Madina and attack him.
So, we can see again and again that Rasool Allah ﷺ doesn't even give them a chance to march towards him,
he would go and meet them on their own territory
and fight with them in their own territory,
he wouldn't even allow them to come close to Madina
and that is again to show the strength of the Muslims.
This happened in the fifth year of Hijrah(هجرة),
and it was against the tribe of Qudha'a(قضاعه),
and they ran away, when they heard that Rasool Allah ﷺ approached,
and because the movement of Rasool Allah ﷺ was stealth,
he was traveling at night and sleeping during the day,
he surprised them, when they were unaware.
He took over some of their cattle and they just ran away from him,
and he stayed there for a few days and none of them showed up, to fight.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ comes back victorious.
And the Ghazawaat(غزوات) served a lot of different objectives.
You know, it was surveillance of new territory,
the Muslims would learn about this new territory, they would travel through it
and learn about the topography and the paths
and the people who are along the way, the different tribes.
It was physical training for them,
these Ghazawaat(غزوات) represented lessons and discipline.
They were also, they served the purpose of bonding of this Ummah(أمة) outside the realm of family and tribe,
I mean that was everything for the Arab, family and tribe.
Now there was this new bond developing between an Ummah(امة)
and such journeys, were an opportunity, for this bonding to develop because they spend more time together.
As we have seen, for example, Rasool Allah ﷺ was talking with Jabir Bin Abdullah رضي الله عنه
having that conversation with him during the Ghazwa(غزوة) of Zaat Ar-Riqaah(ذات الرقاع).
Also, he was establishing political presence,
making agreements with different tribes along the way.
It was an expression of strength.
People would hear about that,
the news would spread all over that Rasool Allah ﷺ traveled this long distance
to go and meet an enemy 450 kilometers away from Madina.
And it's also shows that Rasool Allah ﷺ was very daring and willing to take risk, in these Ghazawaat(غزوات)
but in the same time, they were very well planned and executed,
so there's a difference between being daring and willing to take risk and being rash.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ would plan out very elaborately, these Ghazawaat(غزوات),
and would take the necessary risk.
I mean, he's traveling long distance,
and he's getting away, far away from Madina.
So, if an enemy heard about that they could attack Madina,
but the thing is that Rasool Allah ﷺ planned it out very well, so it was very stealth and quiet,
and even his enemy didn't even hear about it, let alone the other people in Arabia.
Another famous or well known Ghazwa(غزوة), is Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق).
Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق) are tribe from Khuza'a(خزاعه)
and Rasool Allah ﷺ attacked them for the same reason,
they were planning on attacking Madina.
So, he attacks them and it was such a surprise.
It was such a surprise that he attacked them
and he took over their wealth and their women and children as slaves.
And they didn't even have a chance to fight back, it was that fast.
So, he ended up taking their cattle,
all of their livestock and their women and children as slaves.
Now, the his army constituted of 700 Muslims,
a lot of things happen during this Ghazwah(غزوة), and we'll talk about them.
And there are also many lessons to learn.
The first lesson.
It is allowed to attack a people without advance notice,
if Da'wah(دعوة) has already reached them.
So they don't have to tell them, give them a chance to become Muslim.
Usually the Muslim armies would give the enemy three days.
And they will give them three choices.
If they are people of the book and two choices if they're not,
the three choices of the People of the Book is to become Muslim,
that's number one.
If you refuse, then you pay Jizya(جزية),
if you'll refuse than we'll fight.
if they are Mushrikeen(مشركين) then.
Number one, you become Muslim,
if you refuse than we'll fight.
And they're given three days to make up their mind,
not giving years and years of continuous Da'wah(دعوة),
and it's only three days that is the Sunnah(سنة) of Rasool Allah ﷺ
and that was the way of the Khulafaa(خلفآء) after him.
But here they weren't even given a moment to think about it.
Why? Because Da'wah(دعوة) has already reached them.
They live in the Arabia, they already know about Islam,
they heard about Rasool Allah ﷺ too, so it's not something new.
So, they were ambushed.
Abdullah Bin Umar(عبد الله بن عمر) said and this is in Bukhari(البخاري)
فَأَغَارَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَهُمْ غَارُّونَ، وَأَنْعَامُهُمْ تُسْقَى عَلَى المَاءِ
فَقَتَلَ مُقَاتِلَتَهُمْ ، وَسَبَى ذَرَارِيَّهُمْ ، وَأَصَابَ يَوْمَئِذٍ جُوَيْرِيَةَ بِنْتِ حَارِثْ
He attacked them, while they were unaware,
while their livestock were drinking water,
so he killed some of their men and he has taken their families as slaves,
this is in Bukhari(بخاريْ).
They would use the battle cries.
So, in this battle, their battle cry was,
يا منصورامت امت
which means, O conquer Kill, kill.
That was their battle cry.
Also, alot of Fiqh(فقه) was learned during the Ghazawaat(غزوات).
So, this is another objective that was served by traveling with Rasool Allah ﷺ,
they learned the Fiqh(فقه) from him.
So, during the Ghazwa(غزوة) of Bannu Mustallaq(بنو مصطلق),
the ruling of Tayammum(تيمم) was revealed in Qur'an.
And the Fiqh(فقه) of it was learned from Rasool Allah ﷺ, right then and there.
Also another, for example, show you how they would learn Fiqh(فقه) in this Ghazwa(غزوة),
in Bukhari(بخاري) Abu Saeed Al-Khudri(ابوسعيد الخدري) said;
We went forth with the Messenger of Allah, on the expedition to Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق),
we took many of the Bedouin captive.
And we desired the women because celibacy was very hard on us.
We like the practice of Azal(عزل),
Azal(عزل) is the interruption of sexual intercourse by the male withdrawal before ejaculation,
so we can say that it's a form of contraceptive.
So, he says: We liked the practice of Azal(عزل)
but wondered whether we should do this without asking the Messenger of Allah.
So, we asked them about it, he said;
There is no difference in you doing that, for any soul that is going to exist till Judgment Day, will so exist.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ said that it wouldn't make a difference.
If you do that or not because Allah has already made Qadar(قدر),
has already ordained every soul that will be created.
Now some Ulema(علماء), use this Hadith(حديث) as evidence that contraceptives are allowed.
Now I'm not going to get into the Fiqh(فقه) of it.
I mean, for example the among our classical scholars
there's a difference of opinion on whether it is Mubah(مباح) or Makrooh(مكروه) or Haram(حرام).
And then it was also, there's a difference of opinion
on whether this is relating to a free woman, a wife, or a slave girl.
Now the reason, why they want to practice Azal(عزل) here
is because, if a man owns a slave woman, and she becomes pregnant, and has a child from him.
Then he cannot sell her.
So, she remains with him, now because of the children,
and she is called Ummo Walad(ام ولد),
a mother of children and she's becomes almost like his wife.
However, if they are practicing Azal(عزل).
Then, they would have sexual relations with these women
but then they can sell them, so that's why they were asking Rasool Allah ﷺ, about it.
Let me narrate here, what Ayeshaرضي الله عنها said about an event that happened
during the Ghazwa(غزوة), of Bannu Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق).
This is by Ibn Is'haaq(ابن اسحاق)
but it's also narrated by Al-Hakim(الحاكم) and it is Jayyid(جيد) Sanad(سند), with good, chain of narrators.
Ayesha رضي الله عنها said;
When the Messenger of Allah, distributed the captives taken from Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق),
Jawairiyyah(جويريه), daughter of Al-Haris(الحارث) was awarded to Thabit Bin Qais Bin Shammas(ثابت بن قيس بن شماس),
there was one woman, who was taken captive and she's the daughter of the head of the tribe, her name is Jawairiyyah(جويريه),
and she wrote Mukataba(مكاتبه).
Ayesha(عائشه) said;
She made the Mukataba(مكاتبه) with Thabit Bin Qais(ثابت بن قيس بن شماس).
Now Mukataba(مكاتبه) is a contract between the master and the slave,
which would allow the slave to be emancipated, to be freed by paying a certain amount of money.
So, Islam does not make slavery, a perpetual thing on a person it's not permanent.
A person who desires to be free, does have that right and can be free.
By the way, and whenever we talk about slavery in Islam.
It's a completely different thing, compared to the slavery that existed in Europe or America.
So, one should not compare the two or consider them equal, it's different.
Slavery in Islam is different, slaves had rights, they were treated well,
that they were respected, they became scholars, they became kings.
For example, many of this these slaves became scholars among the Tabieen(تابعين),
and some of them even ruled and became kings.
Like with Dulatel Mumalik(دولةالمماليك), this was an entire dynasty
that was called the dynasty of the slaves.
These were slaves, who became kings.
That's something unimaginable, in the western institution of slavery.
Plus slavery among Muslims, had nothing to do with ethnicity.
Unlike in the west for example in America
slavery was only blacks can be slaves,
and only whites can be the owners of the slaves.
That's not the case in Islam,
a slave could be white, could be black, could be Arab,
over here Rasool Allah ﷺ enslaved the people who are Arab.
And we know that in the wars between the Muslims and the Roman Empire's,
their prisoners of war were taken as slaves and these are European.
And you also had African slaves, such as Bilal(بلال)
and Salman Farisi(سلمان فارسي), he was a Persian slave.
So it had nothing to do with ethnicity,
it's unlike the western system of slavery, which is nothing more than racism.
So, anyway she made a Mukataba(مكاتبه)
and this is something that shows you that if a slave isn't pleased with that profession
because that was really what it was, in Islam, it was a profession.
Then they have the right to change it.
And that is what Jawairiyyah(جويريه) wanted to do,
she made the Mukataba(مكاتبه) between her and her master.
Ayesha(عائشه) said: She was a very sweet and attractive woman.
Every man who saw her, fell for her.
She came to the messenger of Allah, to ask him help, in preparing the document,
and I swear, as soon as I saw her at the door of my room,
I disliked her and recognize that he would see in her, what I did.
Ayesha(عائشه) was saying that she felt jealous
because Jawairiyyah(جويريه) was beautiful
and Ayesha(عائشه) was worried if Rasool Allah ﷺ sees her, he might want to get married to her.
When she went into him, she said;
Messenger of Allah, I am Jawairiyyah(جويريه), a daughter of Al-Haris Bin Abu Zarar(الحارث بن ابو ضرار), the leader of his people.
You can see what my plight is now,
I have fallen to the lot of Thabit Bin Qais Bin Shammas(ثابت بن قيس بن شماس),
and I've prepared the deed, awarding myself to him.
I've come to ask your help in writing it.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Would you prefer better.
She said: What is it, O Messenger of Allah?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: I will take responsibility for your deed myself and marry you.
She replied; Yes, Messenger of Allah, I agree.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ married Jawairiyyah(جويريه),
and he paid her ransom.
Now the news spread that Rasool Allah ﷺ had married Jawairiyyah(جويريه) and the people said;
Then they, meaning our captives are relatives of Rasool Allah ﷺ, so they released the captives.
Why.? Because Jawairiyyah(جويريه) is now the wife of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
they didn't want her relatives to be slaves, so they freed them.
Ayeshaرضي الله عنها said: And so by his marriage to her,
he released 100 of her relatives from Bannu Mustallaq(بنومصطلق),
I know, no woman who brought greater blessings to her people than she.
So, Jawairiyyah(جويريه) was a blessing on her people, they were freed, because of her.
Umar Bin Khattab(عمر بن خطاب) had a servant,
and his servant was Mohajer(مهاجر), and they were next to this well, fetching water.
And this servant of Umar(عمر), got into a fight with one on of Al-Ansaar(الانصار)
because of the crowding at this well.
They got in each other's way and, you know, one word, next word, and then they had a dispute and a fight.
So, the Ansaari(انصاري) said;
يا لِلْأنْصَارْ
He was calling the Ansaar(انصار) to come and gang up, against this Mohajeri(مهاجري)
and the Mohajeri(مهاجري) did the same.
So, a fight was almost going to break out between the two parties, of Muslims, Al-Muhajiroon(المهاجرون) and Al-Ansaar(الانصار),
until Rasool Allah ﷺ came in and mediated between them.
Rasool Allah ﷺ would not allow such things to happen,
he would immediately be on the spot, come in and stop such fittan(فتن)
and when they're in the bud, he will not allow them to grow.
That's an important aspect of leadership,
not to be unaware, and neglectful of Fittan(فتن) that could end up, breaking up the Jama'ah(جماعة).
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ steps in immediately and he stops it early,
before it gets out of control.
Now the news reaches to Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبدالله بن اُبَي), the head of Al-Munafiqoon(المنافقون).
And he said: Did they really cause this.?
They challenge us, and outnumber us, in our own land.
I swear by Allah, the old Maxim well applies to us on these Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) ruffians,
fatten your dog, and you, it will eat.
Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبدالله بن اُبَي) is saying we brought in these Mohajiroon(مهاجرون) into our land
and look at what he said about them.
It's like, we fatten them and then they eat us.
I mean, he using this maxim, fatten your dog and it will eat you.
I swear, when we return to Madina, the stronger will drive out the weaker
and in Arabic, It is; Al-Azz(العز), the more honorable or the stronger.
Both are correct meaning translations to the word Al-Azz(العز),
the stronger or the more honorable will drive out the weaker or the humble.
See what you have done to yourselves,
you let them settle among you and shared your property with them.
I swear if you had kept what you owned from them,
they would have gone somewhere else.
This Nifaaq(نفاق) is coming out of his mouth,
a young Sahabi(صحابي), his name is Zaid Bin Arqam(زيد بن ارقم),
he heard what Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبدالله بن اُبَي) said.
So he goes and conveys the news to Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Some men from Al-Ansaar(الانصار), who were present told Rasool Allah ﷺ
perhaps the lad mistook what was said or did not memorize it correctly.
So, they were defending Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي)
they said probably this young boy didn't hear it right.
Umar(عمر) said: Let me go and execute this Munafiq(منافق).
Umar(عمر) doesn't play around, Let me go and execute him.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: How would it be Umar(عمر), to have people say,
that Muhammad(محمد) kills his own companions.
No, give orders to leave instead.
And we're going to come back to the statement by Rasool Allah ﷺ because there's Hikmah(حكمة)
that we can learn from this statement.
Usaid رضي الله عنه Bin Khuzair(بن خضير), one of Al-Ansaar(الانصار), is from the people of Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي).
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him: Didn't you hear what your friend said. He said;
which friend.?
He said: Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي), what did he say.?
Rasool Allah ﷺ told him: What he said.
Usaid رضي الله عنه said;
Well, I swear by Allah, messenger of Allah you will drive him out, if you wish.
He is certainly the weak one and you are the strong.
And then he said, Be kind to him, O messenger of Allah,
I swear Allah brought you to us, while his people were stringing pearls, with which to make a crown for him.
And so he considers that you have robbed him his kingdom.
And this is a problem with the people of authority and the people who have money.
When they feel that Islam would threaten their authority or their wealth,
they become Munafiqeen(منافقين).
So it's very important for anybody who is in such situation to be careful
and not fall into the traps of Nifaaq(نفاق).
Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي) became a Munafiq(منافق) because he felt that his authority was threatened,
because he felt that Islam robbed him something.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ says about this incident,
هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ لَا تُنْفِقُوا عَلَىٰ مَنْ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ حَتَّىٰ يَنْفَضُّوا ۗ
وَلِلَّهِ خَزَائِنُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ۝
يَقُولُونَ لَئِنْ رَجَعْنَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْأَذَلَّ ۚ
وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَلَٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ۝
They are the ones, who say,
Do not spend on those, who are with the Messenger of Allah, until they disband
and to Allah belongs the depositories of the heavens and the earth,
but the hypocrites do not understand.
They say, if we return to Madina,
the more honored will surely expel there from the more humble
and to Allah belongs all honor, and to His messenger and to the believers,
but the hypocrites, do not know.
So, honor belongs to Allahعَزّوجَلّ,
it belongs to the Messenger of Allah and it belongs to Al-Mumineen(المؤمنين).
Lessons from this event,
Rasool Allah ﷺ told the army to leave
the wisdom in this action is.
If you don't keep people preoccupied with good,
they're going to preoccupy themselves with evil.
Now since this fitna(فتنه) was causing a lot of talk, and rumors,
Rasool Allah ﷺ told the army to pack up and leave.
And they march for the entire day.
And then they marched throughout the night,
and then they marched in the morning.
So, when Rasool Allah ﷺ told them to stop, they fell asleep immediately,
as their heads hit the ground.
As soon as they touched the ground, they were asleep because they were so exhausted.
Rasool Allah ﷺ exhausted them out,
so that they would forget about talking about this incident.
And this shows you how Rasool Allah ﷺ solved this problem.
Number two, it's important to protect the reputation of the Muslim community,
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: No Umar(عمر) I'm not gonna kill him
because then people are going to say that Muhammad(محمد) kills his companions.
I don't want to give people this impression.
We want to bring people closer to Islam,
we don't want them to think that if they become Muslim they're going to be killed by their leader,
that they're going to be oppressed or wronged,
that Muslims are going to rip them off or take advantage of them or trick them or fool them, No.
You want the non Muslim to feel that
by becoming Muslim, they're going to be with their brothers and their leader will be their brother.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ doesn't want the enemies of Allah or the non Muslims to hear about
that the Muhammad(محمد) is killing his companions
and even though Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي) wasn't the companion of Rasool Allah ﷺ, he was a Munafiq(منافق).
But he's counted as a Muslim, among the non Muslims,
I mean, he's part of the community of Madina and people think that he's Muslim
because that is what he says, that is what he claims to be.
He professes to being a Muslim,
even if that's not true, but people don't know that.
Also in this statement, Rasool Allah ﷺ is thinking long term.
Umar(عمر) said, Let me kill him.
What did Rasool Allah ﷺ say.?
No, I don't want people to say that I'm killing my followers.
And then Ibn Is'haaq(ابن اسحاق) said;
There after if anything bad happened, Abdullah(عبدالله)'s people would blame and reproach him.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ having been informed that they were treating him, this way,
he said he asked Umar(عمر).
Well, Umar(عمر), what do you think now.
I swear if I had killed him, the day you suggested it,
there would have been much resentment.
And probably a better translation than the word resentment would be,
because in Arabic it said,
اِذْ تَرَبْلَهُ اُنُفْ
Many people would fight for him, out of pride and out of nationalism
because he's one of them, they would fight for him
and they would not be happy with, what Rasool Allah ﷺ did, why.?
Because Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبد الله بن ابي) wasn't exposed yet.
But since Rasool Allah ﷺ dealt with it, with such Hikmah(حكمة).
Now his own people, the same people who would have fought for him then.
These people are now against him.
And they are the ones were reproaching him, why.?
Because over time, the character of Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبد الله بن ابي) was showing up.
He was showing his true colors.
So now, people were realizing that he was a Munafiq(منافق)
see, don't think that everybody then knew that he was a Munafiq(منافق) like we know now,
this is something that grew over time.
Now we know that Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبد الله بن ابي) was a Munafiq(منافق),
so we're assuming that everybody knows that, that's not the case.
His people would think otherwise,
but since Rasool Allah ﷺ left him alone, ignored him
now his own people were turning against him.
Previously, whenever Rasool Allah ﷺ would walk towards the pulpit to give Khutba Tul Jum'ah(خطبةالجمعه) towards a Al-Mimbar(الممبر),
Abdullah Bin Obaeye(عبد الله بن ابئي) would stand up
and he would say this is the Messenger of Allah support him and help him,
you know, he wants to stand up and speak and he wants to give himself authority that,
as if I'm the one telling you, to support Rasool Allah ﷺ.
But after his Nifaaq(نفاق) was showing up,
when he would stand up.
His people would pull him down and say, you sit down, because they know that he's lying.
So, this is the Hikmah(حكمة) of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: But if I were to order his death today, they would all kill him.
Umar Bin Khattab(عمر بن خطاب) said: Yes Rasool Ullah, I realized that your decision is better than mine.
Also, thinking long term and the benefit of leniency,
Rifq(رفق), being lenient with your followers is important,
and Allahعَزّوجَلّ said that, if the heart of Rasool Allah ﷺ was harsh and if he was dealing with his people in a rough way,
they wouldn't have followed him.
But because Allahعَزّوجَلّ made his heart soft
and his dealing with others lenient.
That is how he established his Ummah صلى الله عليه وسلم.
The next lesson, fighting nationalism,
nationalism is an enemy of Islam and the Muslims need to stand against it, this Assbiyyah(عصبية).
Al-Muhajiroon(المهاجرون) are going to fight with Al-Ansaar(الانصار).
Al-Aos(الأوس) were going to fight with Al-Khazraj(الخزرج),
but Rasool Allah ﷺ steps in and stops that.
So, this is an enemy that Shaytan(شيطان) is using against us,
to sow the seeds of discord among the Ummah(امة).
So, we need to be very aware, be very careful, from this thing of Arabs and Pakistanis
and British Muslim or American Muslim versus, they make immigrants,
see all of these titles are labeled tags that Shaytan(شيطان) can use to bring disunity among the Ummah(امة).
We are Muslim, we are one.
And these different nationalities that we belong to or different countries that we belong to
because, see, I don't want to use the word nation because that's a nation could be a political thing
that is completely not recognized by Islam, altogether.
But Islam does recognize that we belong to tribes.
وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ
See with this thing of current nations,
you know these nations were many of them were drawn up by some drunk British and French men,
who met after world war one and World War Two and divided the Middle East,
and made it in such a way.
And if you look at the map of the Muslim
world you can see some straight lines in there, that were drawn by a ruler.
I mean that's not a natural border.
But we do have tribes, we do belong to tribes.
وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ
The reason We created into tribes is for us, to know each other
because imagine if we are all carbon copies of one another.
Imagine that everyone is equal to the in the way you look,
and from where you belong to.
Then how would we recognize one another.
But see, we look different.
And we have different names,
and that is so that every one of us will have an individual personality.
And that is how we can know one another.
Otherwise, who would, how would we know one another, if we're all exactly the same.
Number one, number two, number three, would be numbered and that's it.
Nobody will have this individual personality that we have everyone is unique.
Allah has created everyone unique.
And there are different tribes and every tribe is unique
and different ethnic groups and these ethnic groups are unique.
Then the example of the son of Abdullah Bin Obaey(عبد الله بن ابي), and his name is also Abdullah(عبدالله).
Abdullah(عبدالله) when he heard that Rasool Allah ﷺ might kill his father because of what he said.
Abdullah(عبدالله) went to Rasool Allah ﷺ and told him;
I heard that you want to kill my father,
if you plan to do so, then let me kill him.
Now the people of Khazraj(خزرج) know that I am the most obedient towards my father,
and I am the best among them, in obedience and fulfilling the rights of my father.
And I don't want someone else to kill my father
and then after that I see this man walking safely.
And Shaytan(شيطان) comes to me and caused me to kill him.
And then I would have killed a believer, for the sake of a disbelievers.
So, if you want to kill him, then order me to do so and I'll do it.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said, he told him: No, we will not kill him.
And we will accompany him in this life with good company.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ made for Dua(دعا) for Abdullah(عبدالله), the son رضي الله عنه.
Now Abdullah(عبدالله) gives us the example of true, Eeman(ايمان),
where your loyalty goes to, to Allah and His Messenger,
someone willing to kill his own father,
for the sake of Islam.
But Rasool Allah ﷺ told him, don't do that,
we'll be kind towards him.
And this shows you the heart of Rasool Allahﷺ, he had a great heart, صلى الله عليه وسلم.
صَلَّى الله عَلى سَيَّدِنَا محمد وَعَلى اَلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْرًا