The Sealed Nectar (44 page)

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had never wanted him to ask for that.[Ibn Hisham 2/105] He, moreover, conducted clandestine contacts with Bani Nadir, another tribe of Jews, encouraging them to make alliance with him and promising support for them; all of this in his ceaseless efforts in a long process of conspiracy and intrigue hatched against the Muslims.

Allâh’s Words as regards his treacherous acts and awe- inspiring attempts during the Trench Battle came to testify quite clearly to this mode of hypocrisy:

"And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease (of
doubts) said: ‘Allâh and His Messenger ([pbuh]) promised us nothing but
delusions!"
[Al- Qur'an 33:12]

The verses go on in the same context to describe the hypocrite as a coward and a defeatist. He is a liar and has no regard for pledges solemnly made. He is treacherous, disloyal and perfidious. He is niggardly and greedy. In short, he is the complete antithesis of a true believer:

"They think that
Al- Ahzab
(the Confederates) have not yet withdrawn, and
if
Al- Ahzab
(the Confederates) should come (again), they would wish they
were in the deserts (wandering) among the bedouins, seeking news about
you (from a far place); and if they (happen) to be among you, they would
not fight but little."
[Al- Qur'an 33:20]

All enemies of Islam from the Jews, hypocrites and polytheists did acknowledge that Islam had the upper hand not because of material superiority, multitudes of troops or much equipment; but it was rather due to the noble values, refined ethics and high attributes that imbued the Muslim community and whoever was attached to it.

The enemies of Islam were already aware of that flood of light derived wholly from the person of the Prophet [pbuh] , who always stood as an excellent exemplar for men to copy and follow.

The enemies of Islam, after steering the course of futile warfare against the new religion for five years, came to realize fully that exterminating Islam is not accessible in the battlefields, so they resorted to other tactics. They, being reputed gossip-mongers, decided to launch a widespread propaganda campaign aiming at slandering the person of the Prophet [pbuh] in a most sensitive area of the Arabian life, namely ethics and traditions. Following the battle of the Confederates, the Prophet [pbuh]

married Zainab bint Jahsh after her marriage with Zaid bin Haritha, his adopted son, had broken up. They seized this opportunity and began to circulate idle talk against the Prophet [pbuh] in Arabia depending on a tradition among the desert Arabs that prohibits contracting a marriage with an adopted son’s divorcee. They alleged that his marriage would be considered a heinous sin. They also based their malicious propaganda on the fact that Zainab was his fifth wife whereas the number was strictly limited to a maximum of four in the Noble Qur’ân, hence the validity of this marriage was in doubt, according to them.

These rumours and gossips had a negative impact on the morale of some weak-hearted Muslims until the decisive verses were revealed acquitting the Prophet

[pbuh] and invalidating all those ill designs and obnoxious schemes:

"O Prophet (Muhammad [pbuh])! Keep your duty to Allâh, and obey not the
disbelievers and the hypocrites (i.e. do not follow their advices). Verily!

Allâh is Ever All- Knower, All- Wise."
[Al- Qur'an 33:1]

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The wicked Role they played in the course of the Ghazwah of Bani Al-Mustaliq
During this
Ghazwah
, the hypocrites almost managed to create a sort of discord among the Muslims themselves, coupled with a serious and ugly slander against the Prophet [pbuh] himself. In short, their behaviour was an authentic translation of Allâh’s Words:

"Had they marched out with you, they would have added to you nothing
except disorder, and they would have hurried about in your midst
(spreading corruption) and sowing sedition among you …"
[Al- Qur'an 9:47]

A quarrel was about to break out between the Emigrants and the Helpers on account of plots and evil intentions designed by the hypocrites. The Prophet [pbuh] told them off describing their misbehaviour as something smacking of pre- Islamic practices.

They, hypocrites with ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ubai at their head, were furious for the challenge which the Muslims showed towards the hostile plans and vicious intrigues woven behind closed doors, and swore "the most honourable will expel the meanest out of Madinah," and added: "They (the Muslims) have outnumbered and shared us our land. If you fatten your dog, it will eat you." When that talk was reported to the Prophet [pbuh], ‘Umar, a venerable Companion, asked for permission to have Ibn

‘Ubai killed. The Prophet [pbuh] naturally turned down his proposal on the grounds that it did not become of a Prophet [pbuh] to be accused of killing his people. He, on the contrary in an unexpected move, asked ‘Umar to announce departure. He marched with his men for two days until the sun grew too hot. They stopped and fell asleep, a clever attempt at diverting his people’s attention from the previous event.

‘Abdullah’s son heard of that vile of his father and as the party reached Madinah, he drew his sword and barred his father’s entry into the town until he had confessed and declared that he himself was the meanest of the citizens of Madinah and the Prophet [pbuh] the most honourable of them. Thus the boast recoiled on his head. It was also reported that the son was ready to kill his father if the Prophet [pbuh] had wanted him to.

The Slander Affair

This extremely painful incident took place on the Prophet’s return from the expedition against Bani Mustaliq. The Muslim army had to halt for a night at a place, a short distance from Madinah. In this expedition, the Prophet [pbuh] was accompanied by his noble and talented wife, ‘Aishah [R]. As it so happened, ‘Aishah

[R] went out some distance from the camp to attend to the call of nature. When she returned, she discovered that she had dropped her necklace somewhere. The necklace itself was of no great value, but as it was a loan from a friend, ‘Aishah [R]

went out again to search for it. On her return, to her great grief and mortification, the army had already marched away with the camel she was riding, her attendants thinking that she was in the litter as she was then thin, very young and light of weight. In her helplessness she sat down and cried till sleep overpowered her.

Safwan bin Mu‘attal, an Emigrant, who was coming in the rear recognized her as he had seen her before the verse enjoining the veil was revealed, and brought her on his camel to Madinah without saying a single word to her, himself walking behind the animal. The hypocrites of Madinah led by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ubai bin Salul, sought to make capital out of this incident and spread a malicious scandal against ‘Aishah [R]

and unfortunately some of the Muslims also became involved in it. On arrival in Madinah, the Prophet [pbuh] held counsel with his Companions, who pronounced 209

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different opinions ranging from divorce to retention. The incident almost roused a fight between two rival factions, Al- Aws and Al- Khazraj, but the Prophet’s intervention silenced both parties on the sport. ‘Aishah [R], unaware of the rumours being circulated, fell ill and was confined to bed for a month. On recovering, she heard of the slander and took permission to go and see her parents seeking authentic news. She then burst into tears and stayed for two days and one sleepless night ceaselessly weeping to such an extent that she felt her liver was about to rip open. The Prophet [pbuh] visited her in that situation, and after testifying to the Oneness of Allâh he told her, "If you are innocent, Allâh will acquit you, otherwise, you have to beg for His forgiveness and pardon." She stopped weeping and asked her parents to speak for her, but they had nothing to say, so she herself took the initiative and said "Should I tell you I am innocent, and Allâh knows that I am surely innocent, you will not believe me; and if I were to admit something of which, Allâh knows, I am innocent, you will believe me, then I will have nothing to make recourse to except the words of the father of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph):

"So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allâh (Alone) Whose Help can
be sought against that which you assert."
[Al- Qur'an 12:18]

She then turned away and lay down for some rest. At that decisive moment the Revelation came acquitting ‘Aishah [R] of all the slanderous talk fabricated in this concern. ‘Aishah [R], of course, was wholeheartedly joyful and praised Allâh thankfully. Allâh’s Words in this regard went as follows:

"Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against ‘Aishah [R] — the
wife of the Prophet [pbuh]) are a group among you."
[Al- Qur'an 24:11]

The principal elements involved in the slander affair, Mistah bin Athatha, Hassan bin Thabit and Hamnah bint Jahsh, were flogged with eighty stripes.

As for the man who took the principal part, ‘Abdullah bin Ubai, he was not flogged, either because the corporal punishment commutes the chastisement in store for him in the Hereafter, and he does not deserve this merit, or for the same public interest for which he was not killed previously. He, moreover, became the butt of reproach and humiliation amongst his people after his real intentions had been unequivocally exposed to all the public. [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/364,2/696-698; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/113-115; Ibn Hisham 2/297-307]

Almost a month later, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab were engaged in the following talk: "Don’t you see ‘Umar if I had had him (Abdullah bin Ubai) killed, a large number of dignitaries would have furiously hastened to fight for him. Now, on the contrary, if I ask them to kill him, they will do so out of their own free will." ‘Umar replied "I swear by Allâh that the Prophet’s judgement is much more sound than mine." [Ibn Hisham 2/293]

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Delegations and Expeditions following Al-Muraisi‘ Ghazwah
1. A military expedition led by ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Auf was despatched to the habitation of Bani Kalb in Doumat Al- Jandal in Sha‘ban 6 Hijri. Before setting out, the Prophet [pbuh] summoned ‘Abdur Rahman, and placed his hand on the latter’s hand invoking Allâh’s blessings and giving him commandments to act magnanimously during the war. He told him to marry the king’s daughter if they obeyed him. ‘Abdur Rahman stayed among those people for three days, invited them to Islam and they responded positively. He then did marry the king’s daughter Tamadur bint Al- Asbagh.

2. In the same month and year, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib was despatched at the head of a platoon to the habitation of Bani Sa‘d bin Bakr in a place called Fadk.

Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] had been reported that those had rallied ranks to support the Jews. The Muslim fighters used to march in the day and lurk at night. On their way, they captured an enemy scout who admitted being sent to Khaibar tribe, to offer them support in return for their dates. ‘Ali and his companions raided their encampment, captured five hundred camels and two thousand goats, but Banu Sa‘d, with their chieftain Wabr bin ‘Aleem had fled away.

3. An expedition led by Abu Bakr As- Siddiq or Zaid bin Haritha was despatched to Wadi Al- Qura in Ramadan 6 Hijri after Fazara sept had made an attempt at the Prophet’s life. Following the morning prayer, the detachment was given orders to raid the enemy. Some of them were killed and others captured.

Amongst the captives, were Umm Qirfa and her beautiful daughter, who was sent to Makkah as a ransom for the release of some Muslim prisoners there.[]

Umm Qirfa’s attempts at the Prophet’s life recoiled on her, and the thirty horsemen she had gathered and sustained to implement her evil scheme were all killed.

4. Anas bin Malik reported that some people belonging to tribe of ‘Uraina came to Allâh’s Messenger [pbuh] and made pretensions to Islam. They stayed in Madinah but found its climate uncongenial, so they were asked to pitch their tents in the pastures nearby. They did so and were all right. They then fell on the Prophet’s shepherd and killed him, turned apostates from Islam and drove off the camels. This news reached the Prophet [pbuh] , who sent a group of twenty Muslims led by Karz bin Jabir Al- Fihri on their track. They were brought and handed over to him. He had their hands and feet cut off, their eyes gouged out in recompense for their behaviour, and then they were thrown on the stony ground until they died. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/122]

Biographers also reported ‘Amr bin Omaiya Ad- Damari and Salamah bin Abi Salamah to have been sent on an errand to kill Abu Sufyan, the chief of Quraish, who had already sent a bedouin to kill the Prophet [pbuh]. The two-men mission failed except for three polytheists killed on the way. It is noteworthy that all the foregone invasions did not imply real bitter fighting, they were rather skirmishes or punitive military manoeuvres carried out to deter some enemies still unsubdued. Deep meditation on the development of war circumstances reveal the continuous collapse of the morale among the enemies of Islam, who had come to understand that they were no longer in a position to contain the Islamic call or weaken its active drive. This state of affairs reached its climax in Al- Hudaibiyah Treaty when the two belligerent parties, believers and disbelievers, entered into a truce agreement that 211

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pointed markedly to the ever- growing power of Islam, and recorded unequivocally the perpetuity of this heavenly religion in pan- Arabia.

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Al-Hudaibiyah Treaty

(Dhul Qa‘dah 6 A.H.)

When Arabia began to witness the large impressive sweep in favour of the Muslims, the forerunners of the great conquest and success of the Islamic Call started gradually to loom on the demographic horizon, and the true believers restored their undisputed right to observe worship in the sacred sanctuary.