"Wasn't There Anybody That Had Mercy in His Heart to Stop This?"
Recall we discussed Khalid's mistake [see episode 81]. There is another tragedy that took place which we didn't mention, and it was very interesting because it shows the soft spot of the Prophet PBUH. Of the little incidents that took place, one of the prisoners of war executed by Khalid was a young man who begged a sahabi to take him to the women's side, so the sahabi agreed; and there, the young man talked to his betrothed and versified a beautiful love poem for her, as mentioned in Ibn Ishaq. And she in return wailed and gave back a love poem. And as he was executed, she took him, and he died in her arms. (Obviously, again, this was not something the Prophet PBUH commanded. Khalid made ijtihad, and he was criticized — and the compensation was paid.) When the Prophet PBUH heard this story, he became enraged even more, and said, "Wasn't there anybody that had mercy in his heart to stop Khalid from doing this?"
It's interesting that the Prophet PBUH had a soft spot and tenderness for romanticism, for the romantic poetry that was versified between the two.
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Thaqif Wants War
Getting back to Makkah: Recall the Prophet PBUH camped there for 19 days. And in one of those days, news came that a large army was gathering outside of Makkah. Who is now going to attack? The only large city within attacking distance from Makkah is Ta'if. And indeed, it's them. And if you recall, the tribe name of Ta'if is Thaqif; and their idol is al-Lat; and the Thaqif and the Quraysh have been competing for centuries and have a love-hate relationship. So now that the Quraysh have been defeated, the Thaqif come to their aid. They want to now fight the Muslims. Why did they want to fight? Some scholars have said the Thaqif assumed that the Prophet PBUH was going to attack them rather than Makkah. But this opinion seems to be a bit of a stretch — because why would the Prophet PBUH attack the citadel of Ta'if? Rather, what seems to be the case is that the tribe of Thaqif understood that the Conquest of Makkah meant the end of idolatry: "If we don't take Makkah back, idolatry will be gone." Also, they wanted to gain control of the Ka'bah. So they had two intentions:
1) They want to protect paganism. They realize that with Makkah conquered, there is no stopping monotheism from spreading.
2) The Quraysh have been vanquished, so they wanted to become the new custodians of the Ka'bah.
So the tribe of Thaqif began sending out emissaries to every single pagan tribe in the vicinity. And it is amazing that with every battle, the number of the pagan army increases exponentially. Never had the Arabs united the way they united in the last 10 years. We see this constantly: First in Uhud, then in Ahzab, and now in the Battle of Hunayn (which is going to happen right now) — each time, the numbers grow. And the Battle of Hunayn was the largest gathering of pagan Arabs in the history of Arabia.
So Thaqif sent out as many emissaries as they could; and eventually, over 20,000 pagans gathered together under the banner of Thaqif. Thaqif was the largest, and the second largest was the Hawazin. (And there were plenty more tribes, which we will not mention because it will get confusing.) And to be simplistic, the Thaqif comprised of the people living in the city of Ta'if; and the Hawazin were the Bedouins who lived around Ta'if. These were the two largest, and they together formed around 10,000.
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Back-and-Forth Between Abdullah ibn Abi Hadrat and Umar al-Khattab
The Prophet PBUH obviously heard rumors that things were taking place. So he sent a relatively new convert, Abdullah ibn Abi Hadrat (عبد الله بن أبي حضرت), to intermix with the people of Ta'if, pretending that he was walking along with them, and gather information. He comes back and informs that, "Never have I seen this many people"—and he tells the Muslims of their armory/weaponry. Now, as we mentioned before, the people of Ta'if had a natural advantage: They lived on a plateau and were naturally protected. And because of this, generally speaking, they were also, masha'Allah tabarak'Allah, better fed — they had access to rainwater, vegetation, and fruits. And they had also built fortresses around their city. And they were known to be good fighters.
So Abdullah ibn Abi Hadrat informs the Prophet PBUH about what is happening. And what does the Prophet PBUH do? As always, he calls the senior Companions —Abu Bakr, Umar, et al.— and he says, "What should we do?" The senior Companions are shocked and taken aback. They just conquered Makkah —it's a happy time— and suddenly there is war. So there was confusion, silence, and sudden concern.
Umar RA said, "Perhaps Abdullah is wrong." At this, Abdullah became enraged; he said, "Perhaps if you think I am wrong, don't forget you thought someone better than me was wrong too." So he prodded back at Umar RA, saying, "You were once a kafir and you once thought the Prophet PBUH was wrong." So Umar RA became enraged and he complained to the Prophet PBUH — and the Prophet PBUH responded, "Indeed, O Umar, you were misguided, and Allah guided you to Islam."
Umar RA said, "Perhaps Abdullah is wrong." At this, Abdullah became enraged; he said, "Perhaps if you think I am wrong, don't forget you thought someone better than me was wrong too." So he prodded back at Umar RA, saying, "You were once a kafir and you once thought the Prophet PBUH was wrong." So Umar RA became enraged and he complained to the Prophet PBUH — and the Prophet PBUH responded, "Indeed, O Umar, you were misguided, and Allah guided you to Islam."
This small incident shows the humanity of the sahaba. They were not perfect. You will never find any society that doesn't have differences and minor arguments. In Allah's wisdom, He demonstrated for us this reality of human nature and imperfection even within the most perfect generation.
And we also learn the wisdom of the Prophet PBUH. He just calmed the situation down and didn't take sides.
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Muslims' Preparations
The Prophet PBUH realized there would be war, so he asked help from the new Makkan converts. There were around 2,000 men in Makkah in addition to the 10,000 who came from Madinah. Therefore, some of the big names of Makkah —some of whom weren't even Muslim— participated in the Battle of Hunayn. (There is a controversy among scholars as to whether non-Muslims can fight on the side of Muslims in an Islamic war: And this incident suggests yes, they can.) In any case, of those who fought was Safwan ibn Umayyah the son of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Right now he isn't a Muslim [see episode 80]. But he has lots of weapons and armor; so the Prophet PBUH goes to him and asks for the armor, "I need your armor; I'm going to fight in Hunayn." Safwan said, "Are you confiscating it from me, or are you asking me to lend you?" The Prophet PBUH said, "I'm asking you for a loan that I guarantee I will pay back," meaning, "I am going to borrow it, and if anything is damaged or harmed, you will get something equivalent or the price of it back." (This, by the way, shows us the fiqh principle: When you borrow something from somebody, you are responsible for it. If something happens to it in your possession, Islamic law requires that you pay back the damage.) He PBUH also went to Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harb and borrowed armor from him; and also from Hakim ibn Hizam. All of this was borrowed and it was all later paid back.
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Marching to Ta'if
The Prophet PBUH left Makkah on the 6th of Shawwal. As we said, the Prophet PBUH stayed in Makkah for 19 days, as reported in Bukhari — other scholars and sources say 10, some say 2 weeks, etc., but we will stick with 19. For those who said less than 19, they say he PBUH left Makkah on the 28th of Ramadan; but we will stick with Bukhari, so we say he PBUH left on the 6th of Shawwal, and arrived in Hunayn on the 10th. There were around 12,000 people — 10,000 sahaba, and 2,000 from Makkah most of whom are Muslims but not all. They arrived in a valley in Hunayn. Why Hunayn and not Ta'if? Because the people of Ta'if had already camped in that region.
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Clash of the Young With the Old
The people [on the side] of Ta'if numbered around 20,000, and their chieftain was a newly elected young man by the name of Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri (مالك بن عوف النصري) — a 30-year-old. This is his first major battle, and an interesting thing happens, which is very common in all cultures and civilizations, and that is the clash of the young with the old. It's mentioned in the books of seerah that one of the oldest most senior noblemen of Ta'if, Durayd ibn al-Sima (دريد بن الصمة), was brought to the battle for the people to get his blessings. He is an old guard; he has fought in so many battles; so the army wanted the blessings of his presence, and also his wisdom. Note he was blind. So when he was brought to the battlefield, he said, "I can sense there are women and children, and there are animals here — who has commanded all of them to come to the battle?" And he is told, "The new chieftain, Malik ibn Awf." So he says, "Bring Malik ibn Awf to me."
And he tells Malik, "Why is it that I can hear the babies crying, the goats bleating, and the mules braying? Why have you brought the entire civilization of Thaqif here?" Malik says, "I have brought them because I want every man to have his family and property behind him so that he fights the best fight possible." But Durayd severely rebuked him and told him it was a foolish move, "Your women, children, and goats won't help you win the war — a man who will lose is not going to win merely because his family is behind him. Rather, winning requires men with swords." Durayd then asked for particular subtribes that were known for warfare and intelligence. But he was told that all of those subtribes he named, they didn't show up. So he realized those tribes knew that what Malik was doing was unwise. So he said, "They have done the right thing. Had this truly been a day of honor and glory, these people would never have abandoned this plain that you are in. And I advise you as well to go back, O Malik, rather than fight. And if you are not going to listen to me, at least take the precious eggs of Thaqif (meaning the women, children, etc.), and bring them back to the fortress, for their presence in this battle will not help you. If you win, you will go back and enjoy their company; if you lose, at least they will be safe back home." This is a very sensible suggestion; and the people of Thaqif began contemplating, "This is a very wise decision. Maybe we should listen to him." But Malik mocks Durayd and says, "You have lost the plot. You don't understand what's going on. Just go back to your old people's home and leave the battle to us." And when Malik saw the people were still not fully sure whose side to take, he said to his people, "Wallahi, if you don't listen to me, in front of you I will take my sword and kill myself!" So with this emotional blackmail, the people of Thaqif were quieted down, and they kept their families and flocks on the battlefield.
And he tells Malik, "Why is it that I can hear the babies crying, the goats bleating, and the mules braying? Why have you brought the entire civilization of Thaqif here?" Malik says, "I have brought them because I want every man to have his family and property behind him so that he fights the best fight possible." But Durayd severely rebuked him and told him it was a foolish move, "Your women, children, and goats won't help you win the war — a man who will lose is not going to win merely because his family is behind him. Rather, winning requires men with swords." Durayd then asked for particular subtribes that were known for warfare and intelligence. But he was told that all of those subtribes he named, they didn't show up. So he realized those tribes knew that what Malik was doing was unwise. So he said, "They have done the right thing. Had this truly been a day of honor and glory, these people would never have abandoned this plain that you are in. And I advise you as well to go back, O Malik, rather than fight. And if you are not going to listen to me, at least take the precious eggs of Thaqif (meaning the women, children, etc.), and bring them back to the fortress, for their presence in this battle will not help you. If you win, you will go back and enjoy their company; if you lose, at least they will be safe back home." This is a very sensible suggestion; and the people of Thaqif began contemplating, "This is a very wise decision. Maybe we should listen to him." But Malik mocks Durayd and says, "You have lost the plot. You don't understand what's going on. Just go back to your old people's home and leave the battle to us." And when Malik saw the people were still not fully sure whose side to take, he said to his people, "Wallahi, if you don't listen to me, in front of you I will take my sword and kill myself!" So with this emotional blackmail, the people of Thaqif were quieted down, and they kept their families and flocks on the battlefield.
Truly, this is the age-old problem between youthful ignorance & zeal vs. elderly wisdom & maturity. Every society faces this issue.
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The Danger of Pride/Overconfidence
In any case, the Muslims exited Makkah. And note, never up until this time the Muslim army numbered 12,000. It's a massive amount. Now the pagans were 20,000 of course, but the Muslims had so much weaponry and artillery, and never had they had the number of horses and camels that one of them remarked, "How can we possibly be destroyed when we are 12,000?" The news reached the Prophet PBUH that, "There is a Muslim boasting," so the Prophet PBUH immediately responded back, "Do not say this, for verily, there was a prophet from amongst the prophets who looked at his army and got puffed up — and as he was looking [at the army], Allah SWT sent a disease/pestilence (some type of calamity), and right then and there the army was destroyed without meeting the enemy on the battlefield." Of course, the Prophet PBUH is trying to show us the problem of pride and arrogance. Never assume you are the best, or that you are undefeatable. Look at how the Prophet PBUH entered Makkah [see episode 79] — his head was bowed down all the way to the camel's back.
So the Prophet PBUH became worried that this arrogance was spreading. Allah talks about this in Surah al-Tawba [9:25]:
وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْئًا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ
"On the Day of Hunayn, when your quantity deceived you (i.e., you felt arrogant), all of your quantity was not able to help you. And the earth, despite the fact that it is so vast, felt very narrow and constrained for you" [see Quran, 9:25]. [We will discuss what the verse means later — see the next episode.] (Side note: Subhan'Allah, Hunayn is mentioned explicitly in the Quran. Only two battles are mentioned by name in the Quran: Badr and Hunayn. [The word Ahzab also occurs, but it refers to the confederates; and not to the name of the battle.])So the Prophet PBUH rebuked them and said, "You should not feel arrogant walking into the battlefield."
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The Hadith of the Hanging Tree
One of the reasons some Muslims were feeling arrogant was because they were brand new Muslims who had just accepted Islam. This is shown in a long, interesting hadith that happens on their way to Hunayn, as narrated in Tirmidhi, Musnad Imam Ahmad, and Ibn Ishaq. It's the famous hadith of Abu Waqid al-Laythi (أبو واقد الليثي). He is a brand new convert who has just converted one week ago. And Abu Waqid narrated this hadith, and it's called "the Hadith of the Hanging Tree." Abu Waqid says, "When we were on our way to Hunayn, we passed by a tree called Dhat Anwat (ذات أنواط - the Hanging Tree). This tree was magnificent, lush, and green, so the Quraysh would make a festival around this tree. And every year, they would go to it, sacrifice animals (they made the tree into an idol), and they would hang their weapons on this tree for good luck to help them in battle."
So the Muslims passed by this tree, and Abu Waqid al-Laythi said, "O Messenger of Allah! Why don't you make for us a hanging tree just as they have the Hanging Tree?"—he wants a good luck charm. Our Prophet PBUH said, "Subhan'Allah! I swear by the One in whose Hands is my soul, you have said exactly like the Children of Israel said to Moses when they said..."
We all know the story where Allah saved the Children of Israel at the Red Sea. And when Allah brought them across the sea, they came upon a nation that was worshiping idols. So they said to Musa, "Make for us an idol like they have idols." And Musa AS became angry with them. Of course, this is in the Quran.
يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ
"O Moses, make for us a god just as they have gods" [Quran, 7:138].We all know the story where Allah saved the Children of Israel at the Red Sea. And when Allah brought them across the sea, they came upon a nation that was worshiping idols. So they said to Musa, "Make for us an idol like they have idols." And Musa AS became angry with them. Of course, this is in the Quran.
So the Prophet PBUH said, "Subhan'Allah! You are asking me exactly what the Bani Israel asked from Musa AS," and he PBUH quotes the Quran, and quotes what Musa AS said, that, "You are an ignorant people." And he says, "Wallahi, this is the custom (this is decreed) that you will follow the pathways of those before you."
This is the famous Incident of Dhat Anwat, and it has many theological benefits:
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Theological Benefits From the Incident of the Hanging Tree
This incident has many theological benefits. Of them:
1) The issue of good luck charms: The prohibition of wearing something that you think is blessed or holy, or doing something that you think will bring about good or save you from evil. Obviously, any Muslim who understands "la ilaha illaLlah" will understand that only Allah has the power to help, and only Allah has the power to protect. That is the whole point of "la ilaha illaLlah (there is no god besides Allah)," and "la hawla wa la quwwata illa biLlah (nothing can change, and there is no power, except by the will of Allah)." To ascribe such power to other than Allah is to ascribe another god besides Allah. If you say, "I have a good luck charm," "I have a good luck tree," "I have a special ring that I wear," "I have a gemstone that will protect me," etc., you are ascribing to another entity the power to help or preserve or protect or cure or give you good luck. So in Islam, we don't believe in any such superstitious rituals or paganistic customs, e.g., black cats crossing, Friday the 13th, knocking on wood, or upside down horseshoes. But unfortunately, some Muslims have their own symbols as well, such as ta'wiz with weird symbols, the panjtan pak, the turquoise eye that they believe would protect them from al-ayn (العين - the evil eye), etc. — these are all a type of paganism. It's in essence a type of idol — you are giving your hope, servitude, and tawakkul in that thing besides Allah, and if something happens to that thing, you get worried, "Who will protect us?"—it becomes a bad omen now.
Therefore, this hadith demonstrates clearly that believing in superstitions and evil omens is no joke — they are shirk. The Prophet PBUH swore by Allah that Abu Waqid said exactly what the Children of Israel said, even though Abu Waqid didn't explicitly ask for another "god" like the Children of Israel did — the words are different, but the essence and meaning is the same; so the Prophet PBUH is swearing by Allah they are the same.
(Point of note: The Quran cannot be equated with a ta'wiz. Why? Because the Quran is the Uncreated Speech of Allah. It's an attribute of Allah. It's not separate from Allah. We can seek protection through the Quran. So when we are scared, we recite the Quran and expect it to benefit us. When we are in trouble, we recite the Quran. Therefore, to have a physical copy/verse of the Quran in your house/somewhere, it can never be shirk. But some scholars have said it is not befitting the dignity of the Quran to be used as a talisman/amulet physically; and it should be used/said verbally. It's not shirk and can never be, but the issue is showing respect to the Quran. If you for example have the Quran in the glove compartment in the car, it cannot be shirk; but is it dignified to throw the Quran into the glove compartment with some spare pencils and loose change? Not really. The Quran is a mighty Book [Quran, 41:41] — so some scholars have said it's not befitting to treat it in this regard. And others have said if it's done properly with the right intention, then it is halal. Note the controversy is over is it showing respect to the Quran or not, and it's not over is it halal or haram. Similarly, if someone writes Ayat al-Kursi and folds it into a small pouch and makes it a ta'wiz, the question isn't "is it haram/shirk?" rather, the question is "is it befitting to have the Quran dangling from your neck?" What will you do when you have to go to the bathroom? Is it befitting? What will you do if you have relations with your spouse? So the question is, is it showing dignity to the Quran? So we should be careful because the Quran must be treated as a holy Book. And we put it high on the shelf and we show respect to it. If you put it on the wall for barakah, we say the same thing — it's not wrong as long as you are showing proper respect.)
2) Another thing we learn is that at times of amazement, we should say an Islamic phrase — being vulgar is not of the etiquette of Islam, and it should be avoided. When the Prophet PBUH heard something astonishing to him, when he heard essentially "Let's do shirk," did he utter a curse word? No. He said, "Subhan'Allah." So phrases like "subhan'Allah," "Allahu'akbar," "alhamdulillah," should be incorporated into our vocabulary. Here we have the Prophet PBUH teaching us the best of manners.
3) Abu Waqid al-Laythi asked for blatant shirk, but was he considered a mushrik? No. Our Prophet PBUH pronounced a verdict on his saying, and not on him. This is a very important distinction the average Muslim needs to learn to make. A person committing shirk doesn't necessarily become a mushrik. A person committing kufr doesn't necessarily become a kafir. A person committing bid'ah (بدعة - [religious] innovation) doesn't necessarily become a mubtadi' (مبتدع - innovator in religion/heretic). There are conditions that have to be met and excuses that have to be removed — and this is the job of the scholars; not the laymen. It's not the lay Muslim's job to start pronouncing kafir, mushrik, mubtadi'. A Muslim might commit an action of kufr but not be a kafir. And this is proven by the hadith of Abu Waqid. Abu Waqid is literally asking for shirk as defined by the Prophet PBUH, but he was not pronounced mushrik. Why? Because of ignorance — he doesn't understand Islam right now. He thinks, "Okay, I've left paganism, I can't worship that tree we used to revere as pagans, but maybe Islam can give me another special tree." So the Prophet PBUH gives him the excuse of ignorance. And this clearly shows us a person might commit an act of kufr/shirk and not necessarily be considered a kafir/mushrik. And this is especially true in our day and age. Muslims are so ignorant of their own religion that they will do the most bizarre things in the name of Islam. So we need to teach them with wisdom; not pronounce verdicts on them.
4) This incident demonstrates the manifestation of the prophecy of our Prophet PBUH. As we know, our Prophet PBUH prophesied that we (i.e., the ummah) will follow the ways of the people before us. As he PBUH said in a hadith: "You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and cubit by cubit (i.e., inch by inch), so much so that even if they entered a hole of a mastigure, you would follow them." And the sahaba asked, "O Messenger of Allah! [Do you mean] the Jews and the Christians?" He PBUH said, "Whom else?" (Side note: What is prohibited is to abandon our theology and rituals, and to take theology and rituals from other religions. Whereas to take culture and science from others is not prohibited.)
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Muslims Camp at Hunayn
So the Muslims reached the camps at night, and they prayed Salat al-Isha — this is outside of Hunayn. One of the Companions volunteered to guard the camps overnight, and the Prophet PBUH gave him the good news of Jannah. Another group came back reporting the large quantity of camels and sheep of the enemy, and they said even their women, children, and property were there too. This worried some of the Muslims because when you have all the property, animals, etc., this shows immense confidence — and this is what the young Thaqafi chieftain wanted. But the Prophet PBUH smiled and said, "Tomorrow, this will be the ghanima that we will take, insha'Allahu ta'ala." This shows us two things: (i) Optimism — it's a part of Islam to always be optimistic and to think the best of what will happen, and (ii) whenever you say something about the future, you must say "insha'Allah."
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Thaqif & Hawazin's Devious Tactics
Now, what happened? Hunayn was of course Thaqif's territory, so they knew it inside out. And what they had done was that they planned devious and intelligent tactics. They selected a valley that the people of Makkah would have to cross to get to the other side, and they stationed at the end of that valley a small contingent from Hawazin that was fully battle-prepared so that the Muslims would think, "This is where we must attack"; however, the tribes of Thaqif and Hawazin stationed groups of archers in the mountains on top to the left and right — they stationed multiple groups of archers throughout the entire length of the mountains. So the goal is that the Muslims be lured into the valley, and once they are inside, the contingent of Hawazin will pretend to be defeated, causing more Muslims to rush in, and when all the Muslims are in between the mountains, the real attack will be launched which is twofold:
1) Archers from the top — hundreds of archers showering volley after volley onto the entire Muslim army and they cannot do anything;
2) The actual army of 20,000 would charge forward into the valley to kill the Muslims.
And this was exactly what happened as they planned it down to the dot:
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The Battle of Hunayn
The Muslims rushed forward, the initial Hawazin contingent pretended to be defeated and scattered away, this made the Muslims happy, so they rushed all forward, and then when the bulk of the Muslim army was between the pass, the signal was given — there was a loud noise; and instantly, volleys of arrows start coming in from everywhere. And the main Hawazin and Thaqif army charged in, and the Muslims panicked. And this is exactly what Allah mentions in the Quran:
So the Muslims turned and fled en masse. Hundreds just running for their lives with no care for anyone else. This was compounded by many things:
1) Many of these were brand new Muslims — some of them were not even Muslim;
2) The attack was such a surprise they had no idea it was coming;
3) The problem with arrows is that they just come out of nowhere, and by the time you see it, it's too late to deflect it; especially when you have people firing from the top, it's almost impossible to deflect;
وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُم مُّدْبِرِينَ
"The earth became narrow for you despite its vastness, and all of you turned and fled" [see Quran, 9:25].So the Muslims turned and fled en masse. Hundreds just running for their lives with no care for anyone else. This was compounded by many things:
1) Many of these were brand new Muslims — some of them were not even Muslim;
2) The attack was such a surprise they had no idea it was coming;
3) The problem with arrows is that they just come out of nowhere, and by the time you see it, it's too late to deflect it; especially when you have people firing from the top, it's almost impossible to deflect;
4) Because of the sheer quantity of the Muslims (12,000), the bulk of them did not have the proper helmets and armor to defend themselves against the arrows.
So everybody started to panic, and people began to rush helter-skelter to find any type of shade or covering to protect them from the onslaught of the arrows. And the Prophet PBUH was almost left unguarded. Of course, he did not flee; he was on his mule — and it was as if everyone was fleeing around him. So the Prophet PBUH stood up on his mount and began to call out loudly, "Come to me! I am the Messenger of Allah! I am Muhammad the son of Abdullah!" With him PBUH were Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, and some of the Quraysh, e.g., Abbas —and Abbas was known to be a man with a loud voice— so he PBUH said to Abbas, "O uncle, call out to so-and-so"—and he mentioned name after name after name. "Call out to the people of Ridwan (the people of Hudaybiyyah)!"—they were the first on the list, showing their status and level of Iman [see episode 65]. Then he PBUH said, "Call out to the Ansar!"—and he mentioned tribe after tribe, "O Banu Sulaym!" "O so-and-so!" And Ibn Ishaq mentions that as each tribe was mentioned, it's as if they awoke from a slumber and realized, "What are we doing fleeing like this?!" so they all began going back to the Prophet PBUH, and they responded by saying, "Here we respond to your call, O Messenger of Allah!" And the Prophet PBUH himself kept on raising his voice and said those famous lines, "أنا النبي لا كذب، أنا ابن عبد المطلب (I am the Prophet, there is no lie about this! I am the son [grandson] of Abdul Muttalib!)" This is very interesting; he PBUH combines between religion and tribalism.
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Tangent: Is Nationalism Halal?
The Prophet PBUH said, "I am the Prophet, there is no lie about this. I am the son [grandson] of Abdul Muttalib." This clearly shows he PBUH is invoking both Islamic loyalties and tribal loyalties. Because, who are the people around him? They are new Muslims from the Quraysh (and some aren't even Muslims yet at the time, e.g., Safwan ibn Umayyah), and they will most likely respond to the Prophet PBUH being the grandson of Abdul Muttalib rather than him being the Messenger of Allah. In our times, tribalism is almost gone and is replaced with nationalism. And this incident shows us that nationalism (the equivalent of tribalism) can be used for good purposes if used properly. Some people in our time have gone to an extreme and say nationalism is haram or whatnot. But no. Not all types of nationalism are haram. Rather, if used properly, any type of sentiment can be used for good. And this is demonstrated here in the incident of Hunayn. The Prophet PBUH is invoking, 'Who am I? My grandfather was Abdul Muttalib.' Now, we all know that in Islam, it doesn't matter who your father or grandfather is — we all know that on the Day of Judgment, it's not going to help you. But in this world, it might. Invoking it for a legitimate cause is fine.
This also shows us there is nothing haram in having a generic pride in your heritage or ancestry as long as that pride is within the pride of Islam (i.e., it should never be more than the pride of Islam). After all, who is Abdul Muttalib? The greatest Arab who ever lived in Jahiliyyah. The most prestigious and beloved man — every single Arab knows and loves him for all that he did [see episode 5]. And who is the Prophet PBUH? The son of the most beloved son of Abdul Muttalib. And the Prophet PBUH himself was the most beloved grandson to Abdul Muttalib. So now he brings back that lineage, and there is nothing wrong with this.
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Iman of the New Converts
And of those who didn't flee and remained along with the immediate sahaba like Abu Bakr, Umar, et al., was the Prophet's PBUH first cousin, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith ibn Abdul Muttalib. It's narrated that the Prophet PBUH looked around trying to see who was around him, and there was a man in armor holding onto the stirrup of the mule. So he PBUH said, "Who is this?" Abu Sufyan said, "Ya Rasulullah, I am the son of your mother (i.e., grandmother)." — As we mentioned, he begged the Prophet PBUH to forgive him [see episode 78], and this incident now proves his Iman. And he was of those who called the people and the Quraysh back to the places.
Contrastingly, we see the weakness of faith of some of the people who have newly embraced Islam (and recall not every Qureshi is a Muslim at this point in time). Of those was the brother of Safwan ibn Umayyah, and also Safwan ibn Umayyah himself — the two sons of Umayyah. When the Muslims began to flee, the brother of Safwan said, "Good. Today, the magic spell will be broken," meaning the Prophet PBUH, whom they accused of being a magician, would lose in battle. To this, Safwan replied, "Shut up! May Allah destroy all of your teeth (may you never speak again)! For by Allah, I would rather be ruled by a Qureshi than by a Hawazini!" Meaning what? Pure tribalism. Nothing to do with Islam or him PBUH being the Messenger of Allah. Now we see why the Prophet PBUH said, "I am the son of Abdul Muttalib." This is the mindset he PBUH is dealing with. And even the other main Abu Sufyan (ibn Harb) seems to have expressed some satisfaction at what is happening. This clearly demonstrates that not all of the new converts had fully converted.
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Interesting Arabic Phrases
We learn of an interesting phrase here that Safwan said to his brother, "فض الله فاك (May God destroy all of your teeth)," i.e., "May you never speak again." However, the very common opposite expression in our days is a play on this, which is, "لا فض فوك (May God never destroy your teeth)," i.e., "May you always speak eloquently."
Another phrase from this incident —which is common in the Arabic language, the first people to ever say it was the Prophet PBUH, and people use it to this day— is, "الآن حمي الوطيس (Now the real fight begins)," i.e., when the fight is getting to the main serious part. The Prophet PBUH is the first Arab to ever say this expression. When did he say it? When the sahaba came around him and fought back. He said, "Now the battle will begin!" From that time up until now, it's a common saying the Arabs use. (Side note: "الوطيس [al-Watis]" is one of the things they would call the tribe of Thaqif and Hawazin. This is one of the nicknames of that tribe.)
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When the sahaba came running back, this roused up the army, and the Prophet PBUH stood up again and took a symbolic handful of dust, threw it toward [the direction of] the tribe of Thaqif, and said, "شاهت الوجوه (May the faces be disfigured)," i.e., "May you all be vanquished." And it is said this was a miracle as well (just like in Badr), and it blinded the enemy, and the entire group of archers could not fire after this. And the Prophet PBUH began praying and making du'a, and the Muslims surged forward, and that was when the tide changed.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, July 2022]
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, July 2022]
