MUHAMMADP.B.U.H AS RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL AND MILITARY LEADER

Nine years before the conquest of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was compelled to leave this ancestral land at the hands of the people of his clan. In the company of his trusted friend, Abu BakrR.A, he headed to Madinah and took refuge in the cave of Thawr.

In this journey, the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) head was priced. It was announced that the one who captured him dead or alive would be presented with one hundred camels.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had not only conquered Makkah, but had also made his enemies undaunted soldiers of Islam. Many of them were willing to sacrifice their lives for him. Even Abu Jahal’s son, Ikrimah, who had been in the lead against Islam, became a Muslim and was exalted to the status of Shaheed in battlefield. The renowned Chief Marshal of the Makkan army, Abu Sufyan, who had confronted the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the battles of Uhud and Trench, entered Faith. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) appointed him the ruler of Najran. Another celebrated Chief of Makkah, Khalid bin Walid became the Chief of Islamic army and earned the title of "Saif Ullah" after embracing Islam.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also took control of Arabia by the end of ninth Hijrah. The people were either converted to Islam or accepted the supremacy of the Muslims as their rulers and protectors. From the first Hijrah year to the tenth, we can see that Islam spread on an average of 822 square kilometres per day.

In the beginning, the Muslims were so poor that in the first three battles every soldier had to share camels. In the Battle of Badr, the Muslim army had only two horses. The Muslims had now become so rich and powerful that in the Battle of Hunayn they had one thousand horses. Similarly, in the Battle of Tabuk the Islamic army marched with ten thousand horses.

The first battle of Islam was fought by four Muslims at Nakhla. In the battle of Badr the Muslims were only 313 in number. In the Battle of Uhud the Muslims landed with an army of seven hundred soldiers, but in the Battle of Tabuk, they stepped in the battle field with an army of thirty thousand.

In some battles the Muslims bore slight losses, in others they had to bear heavy losses. Considering the vastness of the Arabian Peninsula, which the Muslims took under their control, their loss was nominal.

In the Ninth Hijrah year, Arabs who had become Muslims believed that Islam consists of five basic principles; Tash Hud Confession and acceptance that there is no god but Allah and that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is His Messenger. This is an article of faith which when accepted and witnessed converts a non-Muslim to Muslim. Namaz (Prayer) Offering prayers at five fixed times daily is obligatory on all well-off Muslims. Sauem Fasting from the crack of the dawn to the sunset in a particular month of the year is also obligatory on Muslims. Zakat It is a tax, which every Muslim must pay from his income and wealth to the Islamic state. This is also obligatory on all Muslims. Hajj The pilgrimage to Holy Ka’bah is obligatory once in the lifetime of a Muslim provided it falls within his means.

Islam continues to this day with these basic pillars of Muslim faith.

After his return from Makkah, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) held successive meetings in Madinah with the ambassadors and delegations from the neighbouring tribes and their representative bodies. In Arabic, Wafd means a representative body or an ambassador, Wafud is its plural. As this was the year of meetings with such deputation’s, it came to be known as Am-ul-Wafud (Year of Deputations).

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was now the religious, political and military leader of the whole of Arabia. In spite of this, whenever delegations or envoys came to meet him, they found the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sitting on a palm-mat.

When a deputation came to meet him, the black skinned BilalR.A welcomed them. He showed them to the room where the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sat. Various delegations on reaching Madinah used to stay at the house of Ramla Bint Harith. This was situated in a valley named Najariyah and reserved for the official guests from outside. Sometimes, the representative groups increased to a number that it became very difficult to accommodate them in a single house. In such situations the outsiders were accommodated by fixing tents adjacent to the Mosque of Madinah at the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) orders.