BATTLE OF HUNAYN
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After the conquest of Makkah, almost all residents became Muslims and
Islam spread gradually throughout Arabia. Being a religious, political and a trading city,
Makkah had enjoyed central status all over Arabia. Now it also became one of the centres
of Muslim faith and discipline. In the south of Makkah lived a clan known as Hawazin. It had various
branches, which spread over a vast area from the south of Makkah to the borders of Yemen.
The clan of Hawazin and the Quraysh had battled several times against each other. Hawazin
would even attack the Quraysh in the sacred months. Battles that were fought in the sacred
months were called "Eijar". Both tribes had been age-old rivals. KhadijahR.As
father was killed in one such battle. The Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself in his childhood, had participated
along with his uncle in one such battle against the Hawazin. One of the tribes of Hawazin consisting mainly of nomads dwelt in the
area between the Red Sea and the Arabian desert, known as "Hajjaz". Another
tribe of Hawazin, known as "Thaqif", dwelt at Taif. One of the
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
governess, who weaned him, belonged to a Hawazin tribe called "Banu Saad".
After Makkah was conquered, Banu Bakr, Banu Salim, Banu Saad and many other tribes of
Hawazin continued their enmity against Islam. On the third day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sent some
Muslims to the outskirts and surroundings of Makkah to break the idols. Khalid bin Walid
was given the order to strike down idols at Nakhla where the famous idol of Arabia
"Uza" was fixed. The Hawazin tribes could not bear this, therefore they summoned their
men to the battlefield. Soon twenty thousand warriors, accompanied by their women,
children, and cattle left for the battlefield to face the Muslims. They brought their
families and even cattle along so that they would either be victorious or lose everything
they had. On receiving the news that Hawazin were moving towards Makkah, the
Quraysh of Makkah decided to confront them and clean the last signs of resentment against
the Muslims. They unanimously decided to join the Muslims to face their time-old enemy.
Safwan bin Umayyah, the famous Chief of Makkah, presented the Muslim army with one hundred
chain-mails and five thousand Dirhams in cash. He also supplied weapons and money to the
Muslims so that they could be fully armed to face the enemy. To face Hawazin, the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) arranged an army of twelve thousand soldiers,
two thousand of which included the new Muslims of Makkah. The Islamic army reached the
valley of Hunayn on the evening of the 30th of January 631 AD. This valley of
Hunayn, stretched across the land between Makkah and Taif. Some of its portions
consisted of rugged mountains with difficult passes in between. The leader of the Muslim
army erred by not commanding his watchmen to climb the upper mountainous region and check
for the enemy. If he had, the Muslims would have seen the enemy lurking in wait for them. The Hawazin army was being led by Malik bin Auf Nasri. He proved
himself a veteran marshal. He employed his soldiers in such a way on both sides of the
pass that the Islamic vanguard was unaware of their presence. When it was crossing the
pass, Malik bin Auf saw them but did not attack, as he knew it was only an advance-guard
and the rest of the army was following behind. The Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that day was at the end of the army.
He was riding the white mule, called "Sheeba" which had been sent to him as a
present by the king of Abyssinia. A companion of the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace), Harith bin Herth was moving in
front. The Chief of the Hawazin army, Malik bin Auf was very shrewd. He waited
for the whole Muslim army to gather in the pass. When the rear section of the army (which
included the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace)) stepped in the pass, Malik bin Auf beckoned his soldiers to attack.
Within seconds, thousands of soldiers appeared from behind the mountain and showered the
Muslims with arrows and stones. The Muslim army was passing through difficult terrain. They were also
devoid of battle-formations and discipline. They were caught un-aware, so they became
un-nerved. The cavalrymen pulled up the reins and tried to turn back the way they had
come. Seeing this situation of the cavalry, the remaining soldiers also lost courage and
recklessly rushed back. Allah has mentioned this incident in the 9th Surah, in this way: 25. Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) participated in eighty battles that included both major and minor.
In all these battles the only factor contributing to the Muslim victory was the help and
assistance of Allah and not the number of soldiers. At the time of the Battle of Hunayn,
the Muslims had been arrogantly feeling that no one could rout them because of their
numbers. Thus, although this was the largest Muslim army that had gathered for battle,
they were hard pressed for victory in the very early moments of the battle. In the 9th
Surah Tauba, Allah has mentioned His succour for the Muslims in the following words; 26. The Muslims re-grouped and were able to make the Hawazin tribes
retreat. Some of the members of the Hawazin tribes were killed while the rest ran away to
save their lives. Their families, wealth and uncountable cattle were left to the Muslims.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
ordered that all the booty be shifted to "Jakrana", a place situated fifteen
kilometres to the north of Makkah and the prisoners be provided with proper food and
clothing. This advancement of the Muslim army discouraged the Hawazin and they
took refuge in the city of Taif. At this the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) decided to invade Taif. On
seeing the Muslim army advancing, the citizens of Taif shut their gates and prepared
for battle. The Muslims used catapults to break down the gates. At the suggestion of
Salman FarsiR.A, they built up used carriages into
armoured vehicles to reach the walls of the city. These vehicles also protected the
Muslims from arrows and stones of the enemy. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) sent a message to the people of Taif that they would be
granted security if they surrendered. In answer to this invitation, eighty people left
Taif to enter Faith. When Taif remained besieged for forty days without
surrendering, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) handed over the charge of the army to someone else, and left for
Jakrana to distribute war-gains among the Muslims. All gains, including six thousand
prisoners, were distributed among the Muslims. |
Among the prisoners was a lady named "Shima". She went to the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and said that she was his foster-sister. She had been fed by Halimah, the governess who
had also weaned the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace). Shima showed him a mark on her hand and said to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) "Do
you remember when we were children we played together? I was injured during a play the
mark of which is still present". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) replied, "O Shima, would you like to lead a free life by
becoming a Muslim?" She said, "For me freedom means to return to the desert to lead a
nomadic life". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) said, "I cannot set you free, except by a condition that
you come in my share of war-gains". The same happened. She was included in the
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
share Shima regained her freedom. When she had been set free, she went to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said that her
husband was also in custody. According to the laws of battle, he was also the slave of
Muslims. She requested the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) to also set him free. The Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) once again desired that her husband
be included in his share. When it was done, the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also freed her husband. When the other prisoners saw Shima and her husband had been freed, they
also sent some persons to the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) and asserted that his governess belonged to the Hawazin
tribe, thus they were all his foster brothers and sisters, so they should be set free and
allowed to return to their homes for a free life. The Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied that he could not do so as
they all had been distributed among the Muslims. The representatives of the prisoners
said, "Would you like that the people of Halimahs tribe be driven from pillar
to post as slaves?" the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) said, "What I can do is to free the women slaves of
my share, but I can neither take the responsibility of others nor can I force them. It
rests to their will whether they want to free their slaves or not". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) fulfilled his promise and set free all the women slaves of his
share. Abu BakrR.A, and UmarR.A
were also present there, they also announced freedom of prisoners of their respective
shares. AliR.A did the same. When other Muslims observed
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and his most pious followers setting their slaves free, they followed suit. However, they
kept their properties in their possession. On the other hand when the people of Hawazin
observed the Prophets generosity and the obedience of the followers, they all
entered faith. Among the freed prisoners was Malik bin Auf, the Chief of the Hawazin
army. All of his wealth and property was returned as it had come under the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)s
share. Malik bin Auf became Muslim at the very moment. He rendered great services to Islam
later on. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) once again expressed his intention to visit Taif and review the
situation himself. The siege of Taif was unchanged. The Hawazin tribes had now
entered Faith, Taif could not have presented any danger to the Muslims. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) knew if
this siege continued, the city would be compelled to surrender. Leaving a small army under
Abu Sufyans charge to continue the siege, the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) left for Makkah accompanied by other
Muslims. When Muhammad (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) returned to Makkah, the Ansar, expressed their displeasure and
said that the Quraysh had received more share as compared to theirs from the gains of
Hawazin tribe. This complaint was not unfounded as at the time of distribution of
booty, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) had given more shares to the new Muslims of Quraysh. He had not done so
from the share of Ansar. It was the custom, that one-fifth of war-gains was reserved for
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and his family. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) used to grant his own share to others, this time he had divided his
share among new Muslims in Quraysh. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) thought it necessary to treat the Quraysh with relatively more
affection so that they would become devoted to Islam. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) explained to Ansar,
"You should not be dejected or angered that the Quraysh received more share than you,
because the Quraysh will remain in Makkah while I shall accompany you to Madinah, where we
shall live together". "Is it more important to you to have one more camel or a few sheep
than the Prophets company? You do not know how fortunate you are to live with the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
of Allah. Not only will Allahs benevolence be with you but your future generations
will also receive divine beneficence". Listening this, the Ansar were taken over by regret. Choked with
emotion, they said, "O Prophet of Allah, we are sorry for what we said. We are
repentant". After saying this, the Ansar started weeping at their folly. After a few
days when Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) left for Madinah in the company of the Ansar, they were so joyous that
they raised Halhalah and hummed verses, while others were tearful with joy. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) appointed a young man of thirty from Banu Umayyah as the ruler
of Makkah. After handing over the administration of the city to him, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) left for
Madinah. Soon after reaching Madinah, a delegation from Taif arrived to meet the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
Its members told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) that people of Taif were willing to become Muslim, provided
they were allowed to practice, in continuation of past: impropriety, atheism, usury and
drinking. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) did not accept this demand and said that there was absolutely no room
for impropriety, usury and intoxication in Islam. The members of the delegation came back after talking to the people of
Taif and said that the people of Taif were willing to repent (from the above
mentioned evils) but requested the Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) that they be exempted from participating in Jihad,
fasting and giving of Zakat. It should be clear that in the capital of Islam all the Muslim men,
irrespective of status, had always participated in the battlefield. Even today Jihad is
obligatory upon every male Muslim. The only exception is, too weak because of age or
sickness to participate. However, this time the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) accepted their request, at which the
Muslims asked in wonder, "O Prophet of Allah! How have you exempted the people of
Taif from participating in Jihad, fasting and paying of Zakat? Are not these
obligatory in Islam?" the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) replied, "First let them enter Faith, they will soon
become aware of importance and necessity of the Islamic injunctions, and carry them
out". The same happened. After some days, the people of Taif were impressed by
the teachings of Islam. They presented themselves before the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and declared, "O
prophet of Allah! we are ready by our heart and souls to pay Zakat, observe fasting and
participate in Jihad". |