SOME AFTERMATH'S OF BADR
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In the constitution of Madinah, a clause was laid that the Jews of
Madinah would not ally with the Makkans against the Muslims. The Jews violated this clause
and some of their poets reached Makkah to provoke the Quraysh against the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the
Muslims. One such Jew poet was Kab bin Ashraf. The poets reached Makkah at a time when they were burning in the flames
of revenge against the Muslims. The chiefs of Makkah had raised a slogan, "Lament not
the dead, avenge them!" By the dead was meant the victims of Badr. They had
announced if any man or woman was found weeping, he or she would be cast out of the city
and their tribe. Such an expulsion into the desert meant death. There was no chance of
their survival without communal help. That was the reason mothers, sisters and wives of
the dead dared not mourn the death of their loved ones. One night, a mother heard a woman
weeping. She followed the voice and reached a house where she found an old lady mourning. She asked, "Mother, has the constraint on weeping been
withdrawn?" Quite terrified, the old lady said, "Why do you ask?" The woman said, "My heart is also bursting with grief and I want
to weep over the death of my son but I am afraid of being banished from the tribe. If the
restriction on weeping has been withdrawn then let us shed tears together for our
children!". The old woman could dare not tell that she wept for her son, instead
she said the tears and lamenting was for the loss of a camel. This incident indicates to
what extent the citizens of Makkah were intimidated and influenced by the Quraysh elders. After Abu Jahals death in Badr, a council of three people was
formed which included the heralds of Quraysh. One member of the council was Abu Lahab, the
second was Abu Sufyan and the third Safwan bin Umayyah. The three of them vowed not to
rest unless they eliminated the Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) and put Islam to an end. Abu Lahab had not participated in the Battle of Badr, though it had
been extremely important for him to do so considering the ancient custom. When the Battle
started he contracted a disease and therefore sent another person named "As bin
Hashim" to the battlefield in his place. He paid him four thousand Dirhams for his
replacement in the Battle. When the "Mushreqeen-e-Makkah" suffered the humiliation of
defeat at Badr and paid Fidyah for the release of prisoners, Abu Lahab contrived to
assassinate the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) in revenge. He secretly hired a person and after instructing, sent him
to Madinah. In addition, Abu Lahab accepted the responsibility to meet the expenditure of
the journey as well as the expenses of the assassins family till his return. It would not be difficult to launch an attack on the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as he did
not keep a troop of guards. He had his doors open for everyone. Anyone who wished entered
his house. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) would be found repairing his shoes or arranging his clothes or helping
the family in domestic chores like any common Muslim. Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) had a servant but not for his protection. He was to receive and
arrange meetings with the people who came to the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) for their problems. The servant would
also watch the Prophets (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) shoes when he went to the mosque. This was not for fear of
them being stolen. When people came out of the mosque after prayer to put on their shoes,
there was a chance of them getting mixed up with the shoes of others, and thus the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) may have
difficulty in finding them which wasted his time. When his servant looked after his shoes,
such a confusion did not arise and the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) used to go towards his house without any
botheration. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) led a very simple life in Madinah. His way of life was not
different from that of the common Muslims. Hence anyone intending to attack the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) could have
carried out his plans at any time. The person selected by Abi Lahab to attack the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was Umair
bin Wahab. The excuse Umair bin Wahab gave for entering Madinah was that he was going to
have his son released by paying Fidyah. Umair on reaching Madinah, asked for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He was told that the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
was in his house. Umair entered the Prophets (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) house and saw that he was busy in washing
his "Rawa", a kind of sheet. Seeing him enter the house, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) lifted his
head and inquired what his business was. Umair answered, "O Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), I am
seeing that you are busy in washing the sheet, and to see this being done by a person who
claims to be a Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) is quite astonishing!" The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) smiled and asked, "What is so strange about it?" Umair said, "For a person who claims to be a prophet should not
have to wash his clothes but leave them washed by his slaves". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) answered, "I do not have an army of slaves. I do all my
task with my own hands. I assure you that it does not demean the Prophethood of a prophet
if he washes his clothes himself". Then changing the topic of conversation, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed Umair and
said, "What business you have with me?" Umair replied, "I have come to ask
how much I have to pay as Fidyah for my sons release?" When the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) heard this, he said, "O Umair you are telling a lie!
You have come not to pay Fidyah for your prisoner but to murder me". Umair was taken aback. He threw down the dagger hidden in his clothes
and said, "By God! No one, except I and three others were aware that I had come to
murder you. I am sure that these three have not disclosed it to you. As you have come to
know of it, you are no doubt the true Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) of Allah. I enter the Faith and I seek penitence
from you". It is stated that Umair after entering the Faith announced that he had
denied the reality of Islam before but from now on he would work for the promotion of
Islam. After this incident Umair left for Makkah. On entering the city, he heard that Abu
Lahab had died. |
There was a round plain in Makkah called "Marbad". The
caravans from outside used to encamp there. The travellers used to sit at this place and
discuss their experiences. One day while Abu Lahab was passing by, he saw an Arab Bedouin
surrounded by people attentively listening to him. Abu Lahab also joined them and soon
found out that he was discussing the Battle of Badr. He was quoting the Muslims saying
that five thousand angels had descended to help them leading to the defeat of the Makkan
Quraysh. To further impress his listeners, the Arab Bedouin added that he himself had seen
some of those angels descending down. The listeners were spell-bound and enchanted by his eloquence. It
appeared that his sermon was influencing the gathering. When Abu Lahab observed their deep
involvement, he was stricken by rage. Rebuking the man he said, "You are telling a
lie! Angels did not descend from heavens to help the Muslims". The person addressed pointed towards Abu Lahab and replied in a cold
manner, "O People! As I see this man standing before me, I saw angels descending from
the skies. They were clad in coloured robes and their helmets were also
coloured.....". Abu Lahab interrupted him again angrily. "You tell a lie! and
intend to infuse fear of the Muslims among Makkans by inventing tales!". One person
from the audience said he told the truth. If it were not for the angels, how could the
Quraysh be humiliated before three hundred and thirteen unarmed men? The other party
defended Abu Lahab. The disagreement irritated them to an open scuffle during which Abu
Lahab was injured. People carried him to his home and laid him on a bed, but he did not
recover and died after seven days. An Arab historian "Eisah" writes; "When
wounded Abu Lahab took to bed, he was struck by Bubonic plague and died of it. His
relatives buried him quite far from the city. They feared the spread of an epidemic of
plague from his dead body". After Abu Lahab, Abu Sufyan took over the leadership of the adversaries
of Islam, and his wife "Hind" exhibited more malice against Islam than her
husband. It is noteworthy that the word Hind is feminine of Hin, which means an
unimportant and useless thing. As the Arabs gave no importance to their daughters,
therefore some people used to name their daughters "Hind" meaning an
insignificant thing! Ten weeks after the Battle of Badr, the Makkan chiefs sent an army led
by Abu Sufyan to punish the Muslims in Madinah. Abu Sufyan was considered the
foster-brother of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) as both had been breast-fed by the same governess. Abu
Sufyans real profession was trade, but he used to say verses also. Accompanied by four hundred soldiers, Abu Sufyan left Makkah in the
month of Haram, when war was forbidden. He ordered his soldiers to stay at
"Koh-e-Nayb". He entered Madinah along with few of his soldiers. The Quraysh of Makkah and the Jews of Madinah had made a deal in secret
that whenever the Makkans intended to attack the Muslims, the Jews of Madinah would help
them. Abu Sufyan was confident to have the Jews with him, therefore he made straight to
the house of "Salam bin Meesham" - an eminent Jew. Salam bin Meesham arranged a feast for his guests and entertained them
by good food and drinks. After the feast, Abu Sufyan told the purpose of his visit and
said, "We have come here counting on your support, so that we can wipe out the
Muslims tonight". Salam bin Meesham replied, "We honour our promise, and would stand
by you against the Muslims, but it never occurred to us that you would be so hasty to
reach Madinah. At present we have not prepared ourselves for the duel, therefore we cannot
participate tonight, nor the night after, or for a further few nights". Abu Sufyan who had come with the intention of attacking the Muslims the
same night, became perplexed. His plans were falling apart. He decided to leave Madinah,
but he set fire to the Muslim houses in the Jewish quarters, killing two Muslims and
looting their property that included some sacks of barley. The quarters he looted were
situated in the North of Madinah and were called the quarters of "Areeq" (or
"Areedh"). When the Muslims came to know about the incident, they started off in
pursuit of Abu Sufyan. To escape the Muslims, Abu Sufyan ran faster and his soldiers began
dropping off the loads of barley from their horses and camels. Afterwards barley were
secured by the Muslims. For this reason the incident is recalled as the "stealing of
barley". This incident is mentioned as "Ghazwa-e-Saweq" in Islamic
history, as barley is called Saweq in Arabic. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) had ordered to intercept any Makkan caravan passing through
the territories of Madinah. One day the Muslims received news of a passing caravan led by
Abu Sufyan and Safwan bin Umayyah. It was going from Khaybar to Makkah and its goods
comprised of silver utensils and ornaments. Khaybar was a city in the North of Madinah. Most of its inhabitants
were Jews who earned their livelihood by trading in gold. They were experts in making
silver utensils, gold ornaments and such other precious things. Not only did they sell
silver utensils and ornaments, but also rented them out. When the rich of Madinah held
sumptuous feasts or conducted marriages, they arranged for such precious items and
crockery on rent from the Jews of Khaybar. Many years before the Prophets
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) migration, an eminent man of Makkah
rented some precious crockery items to celebrate a festival. Perchance some of the things
got lost, more probably, they were stolen. The Jews of Khaybar demanded their return and
in compensation received ten thousand gold coins. The Jews of Khaybar checked the credibility of the persons of other
cities before renting out their things. They had to be rich enough to compensate any loss.
They would not rent otherwise. The Makkans caravan had lot of silver utensils and
ornaments. When the Muslims saw the Makkan caravan camped near the stream of
"Alqaradah" near Madinah, they launched an immediate attack. Abu Sufyan and
Safwan bin Umayyah fled leaving all the goods of the caravan that were confiscated by the
Muslims. The Muslims gained booty worth about one hundred thousand Dirhams. This
was the first Makkan caravan that fell in the hands of the Muslims in the true sense. By
confiscating this wealth they compensated for Abu Sufyans attack on Madinah. When this news reached Makkah, the Makkan infidels were extremely
irritated and they began preparations for another battle. |