04 September 2011

04 September 2011

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Battle of the Trench / Confederates (Coalition) [part3]
Anxious Times
The time for the noon prayer came, but there was no question of any man relaxing his vigilance for a moment. When the time was running out, those who were nearest the Prophet* called to him: "0 Messenger of God, we have not prayed" -an obvious fact but greatly disturbing because such a thing had never happened before since the outset of Islam. His rejoinder reassured them somewhat: "Nor I, by God, I have not prayed." The time for the mid-afternoon prayer came, and went with the setting of the sun. But even so the enemy kept up their attacks, and it was only when the last light had faded from the west that they moved back to their two camps. As soon as they were out of sight the Prophet* withdrew from the trench, leaving Usayd to continue on guard with a detachment of men, while he himself led the remainder in the four prayers which were now incumbent. Khalid suddenly reappeared later that evening with a body of horse in the hope that he would find the trench unguarded, but Usayd and his archers kept them at bay.
The Revelation referred to the strain of those days as the time when eyes could no longer look with steadiness, and when men's hearts rose up into their throats, and ye were thinking strange thoughts about God. There the believers were tested and tried, and their souls were quaked with a mighty quaking:'
 
The Prophet Offers dates to buy off Ghatafan
The Prophet* knew that in many souls amongst his people the powers of endurance were nearing their end. But he knew also that as each day passed the enemy likewise felt the grip of hardship tighten upon them. So he found a way of sending word by night to two of the chiefs of Ghatafan, offering them a third of the date harvest of Medina if they would withdraw from the field. They sent back word: "Give us half the dates of Medina." But he refused to increase his offer of a third, and they agreed to this, whereupon he sent for 'Uthman and told him to draw up a peace treaty between the believers and the clans of Ghatafan, Then he sent for the two Sa'ds and they came to his tent –the chiet of Aws with his wounded arm bound up and he told them of his plan. They said: "O Messenger of God, is this something which thou wouldst have us do, or which God hath commanded and must be done? Or is it something which thou doest for our sakes?" He answered them: "It is something which I do for your sakes, and by God I would not do it but that I see the Arabs have shot at you from one bow and assailed you from every side, and I would break some of the sharpness of their assault against you." But the wounded Sa'd said to him: "O Messenger of God, we and these folk were believers in gods together with God, worshippers of idols, not truly worshipping God nor knowing Him. They then had no hope to eat one date of ours, save as guests or by barter. And now that God hath endowed us with Islam and guided us and strengthened us with thee and with it, shall we give them our goods? By God, we will give them naught but the sword, until He decide between us." "Be it as thou wilt," said the Prophet*, and Sa'd took the pen and the vellum from 'Uthman and struck through what had been written, saying: "Let them do their worst!"!

Nu’aym is told ‘War is Deceit’
These negotiations which now came to nothing had been with the chiefs of the two clans of Fazarah and Murrah. The third Ghatafanite ally of Quraish was the clan of Ashja' to which Nu'ayrn belonged, the man whom Abu Sufyan and Suhayl had bribed to intimidate, if he could, the Muslims from keeping their promise to meet the Meccans at the second Badr. His stay in Medina had profoundly affected him, and it was therefore with mixed feelings that he had now come out with the rest of his clan to support the Meccans on this occasion. His admiration for the men of the new religion had been confirmed and increased by their resistance to an army more than three times their strength. Then came the hour when, as he himself said, "God cast Islam into my heart"; and that night -it was almost immediately after the project of a separate truce with Ghatafan had been abandoned -he made his way into the city and thence to the camp, where he asked to see the Prophet*. "What hath brought thee here, Nu'aym?" he said. "I have come," he answered, "to declare my belief in thy word and testify that thou hast brought the truth. So bid me do what thou wilt, a Messenger of God, for thou hast but to command me, and I will fulfil thy behest. My people and others know naught of my Islam." "To the utmost of thy power," replied the Prophet*, "set them at odds with each other." Nu'aym asked permission to lie and the Prophet* said. "Say what thou wilt to draw them off from us, for war is deception."
Nu'aym went back through the town and made his way to the Bani Qurayzah, who welcomed him as an old friend and offered him food and drink. "I came not for this," he said, "but to warn you of my fears for your safety and to give you my counsel." Then he proceeded to point out to them that if Quraish and Ghatafan failed to inflict a decisive defeat on their enemy they would return home and leave the Jews at the mercy of Muhammad* and his followers. Therefore they should refuse to strike one blow for Quraish until they had been given leading men as hostages, in guarantee that they would not withdraw until the enemy had been overwhelmed. His advice was accepted with enthusiasm by the Bani Qurayzah, who had been increasingly beset by the very fears he had touched on. So they agreed to do whathe had said, and promised not to tell his own people or Quraish that it was he who had given them this counsel.
Then he went to his one-time friend Abu Sufyan and told him and the other chiefs of Quraish who were with him that he had a very serious piece of information to impart, on the condition, which they agreed to, that they would swear to tell no one that he was their informer. "The Jews regret their treatment of Muhammad*," he said, "and they have sent to him saying: 'We regret what we have done, and will it satisfy thee if we take as hostages some of the leading men of Quraish and Ghatafan and give them to thee that thou may cut off their heads? Then will we fight with thee against those that be left.' Muhammad* hath sent them his agreement; so if the Jews ask you for some of your men as hostages, give them not one man of yours." Then he went to his own people and the other clans of Ghatafan and told them the same as he had told Quraish.
After consultation, the leaders of the two invading armies decided to say nothing for the moment to Huyay, but to put to the test what Nu'aym had said. So they sent 'Ikrimah to the Bani Qurayzah with the message: "Make ye ready to fight on the morrow, that once and for all we may rid ourselves of Muhammad*.' They answered: "Tomorrow is the Sabbath; nor in any case will we fight with you against Muhammad* unless ye give us hostages who shall be for us as a security until we have made an end of him. For we fear that ifthe battle go against you ye will withdraw to your own country, leaving us with that man in ours, and we cannot face him alone." When this message reached Quraish and Ghatafan they said: "By God, what Nu'aym told us is indeed the truth." And they sent again to Bani Qurayzah saying that they would not give them a single man, but bidding them fight none the less, which drew from them the answer that they would not strike one blow Until they had received hostages.
Abu Sufyan now went to Huyay and said: "Where is the help thou didst promise us from thy people? They have deserted us, and now they seek to betray us." "By the Torah, nay!" said Huyay. "The Sabbath is here, and we cannot break the Sabbath. But on Sunday they will fight against Muhammad* and his companions like blazing fire." It was only then that Abu Sufyan told him about the demand for hostages. Huyay was visibly taken aback, and interpreting his disconcertedness as a sign of guilt, Abu Sufyan said: "I swear by al-Lat that this is naught but your treachery, theirs and thine, for I account thee as having entered into the treachery of thy people." "Nay," he protested, "by the Torah that was revealed unto Moses on the day of Mount Sinai, I am no traitor." But Abu Sufyan was unconvinced, and fearing for his life, Huyay left the camp and made his way to the fortresses of the Bani Qurayzah.

The Tide Turns Against the Coalition (Hudhayfah’s Mission)
As to the relations between Quraish and the tribes of Najd, there was little need for any action on the part of Nu'aym. Nearly two weeks had passed and nothing had been achieved. The provisions of both their armies were running out, while more and more of their horses were dying every day, of hunger or of arrow wounds or of both. Some camels had also died. Nor could Quraish fail to perceive that Ghatafan and the other Bedouin were at the best reluctant allies. They had taken part in the campaign far more in hopes of plunder than out of hostility to the new religion; and those hopes by which they had been lured to the Yathrib oasis had proved totally vain. Recriminations were on many tongues, and mutual distrust spread throughout the two invading armies. The expedition had virtually failed; and now the final seal of failure was placed upon it by Heaven.
For three days, after the ritual prayer, the Prophet* had uttered the supplication: "O God, Revealer of the Book, Swift Caller to account, turn the confederates to flight, turn them to flight and cause them to quake."!
And when all was over this verse was revealed: ‘O ye who believe, remember God's favour unto you when hosts came at you and We sent against them a wind and hosts ye saw not’. For days the weather had been exceptionally cold and wet; and now a piercing wind came from the east with torrents of rain which forced every man to take shelter. The night fell, and a tempest raged over the plain. The wind rose to hurricane force and what the wind did not accomplish was done by unseen hands. Throughout the two camps of the invaders there was soon not one tent left standing nor any fire left burning, and the men crouched shivering on the ground, huddled together for warmth.
The Muslims' camp was somewhat sheltered from the wind, which blew down none of their tents. But its bitterness filled the air, and together with the accumulated strain of the siege it reduced the believers to a weakness of soul that they would not have thought possible. The Prophet* prayed late into the night; then he went among the men who happened to be nearest to his tent, and one of them, Hudhayfah the son of Yaman, told afterwards how they had heard him say: "Which of you will rise and go to see what the enemy are about and then return, and I will ask of God that he shall be my Companion in Paradise?" But there was no response. "We were so unnerved," said Hudhayfah, "so cold and so hungry that not one man rose to his feet." When it became clear that no one was intending to offer himself, the Prophet* called to Hudhayfah, who rose and went to him, spurred into action by being singled out from the rest. "I could not but rise," he said, "when I heard my name upon his lips." "Go thou," said the Prophet*, "and enter in amongst the men and see what they are about; but do naught else until thou hast returned unto us." "So I went," said Hudhayfah, "and entered amongst the people while the wind and the hosts of God were doing their work against them." He told how he made his way amongst the crouching figures of Quraish –for it was to their camp that he had gone -until he came near to where their commander was seated. They spent the night benumbed with cold, and then towards dawn, when the wind began to abate, Abu Sufyan cried out in a loud voice: "Men of Quraish, our horses and our camels are dying; the Bani Qurayzah have failed us, and we have been informed that they seek to betray us; and now we have suffered from the wind what your eyes behold. Therefore begone from this place, for I am going." With these words he went to his camel and mounted it, so eager to set off that he forgot to untie its hobble, which he did only after he had forced it to rise on three legs. But 'lkrimah said to him: "Thou art the head of the people and their leader. Wilt thou be clear of us so hastily, and leave the men behind?" whereupon Abu Sufyan was ashamed, and making his camel kneel once more, he dismounted. The army broke camp and moved off, and he waited until most of them were on the homeward march. Then he set off himself, having agreed with Khalid and 'Amr that they should bring up the rear with a detachment of two hundred horse. While they were waiting, Khalid said: "Every man of sense now knoweth that Muhammad* hath not lied," but Abu Sufyan cut him short saying: "Thou hast more right not to say so than any man else." "Wherefore?" said Khalid. And he answered: "Because Muhammad* belittled the honour of thy father, and slew the chief of thy clan, Abu jahl."
As soon as Hudhayfah had heard the order to march he made his way to the camp of Ghatafan, but found the place deserted, for the wind had broken their resistance also and they were already on their way to Najd, So he returned to the Prophet*, who was standing in prayer, cloaked against the cold in a wrapper belonging to one of his wives. "When he saw me," said Hudhayfah, "he motioned me to sit beside him at his feet, and threw the end of the wrapper over me. Then, with me still in it, he made the bowing and the prostrations. When he had uttered the final greeting of peace, I told him the news."?
Bilal made the call to the dawn prayer; and when they had prayed it, the half-light of the approaching day revealed the total emptiness of the plain beyond the trench. The Prophet* gave out that every man had permission to return home, whereupon most of them set off at great speed for the town. Then, fearing that the confederates might have left some spies, or that Bani Qurayzah might be on the watch and that they might try to persuade the enemy to return, telling them that the trench was no longer guarded, he sent Jabir and 'Umar's son 'Abd Allah in the wake of their departed comrades to call them-back. They both went after them, shouting as hard as they could, but not one man so much as turned his head. Jabir followed the Bani Harithah all the way, and stood for a while shouting outside their houses, but no one came out to him. When he and 'Abd Allah finally returned to the Prophet* to tell him of their complete failure, he laughed and set out for the town himself with those of his Companions who had waited to escort him.

Selected verses from Surah Al-Ahzab [33]
9. O you who believe! Remember Allah's Favour to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not [i.e. troops of angels during the battle of Al-Ahzab (the Confederates)]. And Allah is Ever All-Seer of what you do.
10. When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.
11. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking.
12. And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease (of doubts) said: "Allah and His Messenger (*) promised us nothing but delusions!"
13. And when a party of them said: "O people of Yathrib (Al-Madinah)! There is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!" And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet (*) saying: "Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy)." And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.
14. And if the enemy had entered from all sides (of the city), and they had been exhorted to Al-Fitnah (i.e. to renegade from Islam to polytheism) they would surely have committed it and would have hesitated thereupon but little.
15. And indeed they had already made a covenant with Allah not to turn their backs, and a covenant with Allah must be answered for.
16. Say (O Muhammad *to these hypocrites who ask your permission to run away from you): "Flight will not avail you if you flee from death or killing, and then you will enjoy no more than a little while!"
17. Say: "Who is he who can protect you from Allah if He intends to harm you, or intends mercy on you?" And they will not find, besides Allah, for themselves any Wali (protector, supporter, etc.) or any helper.
18. Allah already knows those among you who keep back (men) from fighting in Allah's Cause, and those who say to their brethren "Come here towards us," while they (themselves) come not to the battle except a little.
19. Being miserly towards you (as regards help and aid in Allah's Cause). Then when fear comes, you will see them looking to you, their eyes revolving like (those of) one over whom hovers death, but when the fear departs, they will smite you with sharp tongues, miserly towards (spending anything in any) good (and only covetous of booty and wealth). Such have not believed. Therefore Allah makes their deeds fruitless, and that is ever easy for Allah.
20. 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.
21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad*) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.
22. And when the believers saw Al-Ahzab (the Confederates), they said: "This is what Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad*) had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad*) had spoken the truth, and it only added to their faith and to their submissiveness (to Allah).
23. Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah [i.e. they have gone out for Jihad (holy fighting), and showed not their backs to the disbelievers], of them some have fulfilled their obligations (i.e. have been martyred), and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed [i.e.they never proved treacherous to their covenant which they concluded with Allah] in the least.
24. That Allah may reward the men of truth for their truth (i.e. for their patience at the accomplishment of that which they covenanted with Allah), and punish the hypocrites if He will or accept their repentance by turning to them in Mercy. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
25. And Allah drove back those who disbelieved in their rage, they gained no advantage (booty, etc.). Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting (by sending against the disbelievers a severe wind and troops of angels). And Allah is Ever All-Strong, All-Mighty.
26. And those of the people of the Scripture who backed them (the disbelievers) Allah brought them down from their forts and cast terror into their hearts, (so that) a group (of them) you killed, and a group (of them) you made captives.
27. And He caused you to inherit their lands, and their houses, and their riches, and a land which you had not trodden (before). And Allah is Able to do all things.

News:
Turkey and Israel clash over the Flotilla deaths last year and ambassadors are withdrawn.
We talked about the seige of the people in Gaza, and the recent UN report on the flotilla deaths. Also, we examined how important it is to refer all matters to Qur'an and Sunnah, and not consider the UN (United Nations) as a legitimate source of law for Muslims.

Post-Ramadhan Tips
The children came up with these top tips to maintain their worships...
- Be sure to read the Sunnah (desirable) prayers after the Fard
- Fast the 6 days of Shawwal to gain the reward for a whole year of fasting
- Read the Qur'an more
- Read the stories of the Prophet
- Read about the stories of all the Prophets
- Learn a new Surah every couple of weeks
- Read Surah Yasin every night (no. 36)
- Attend talks and Conferences about Islam
- Visit the masjid / mosque more often
- Give more and regualr charity
- Read Surah al-Mulk every day (no. 67)

Feedback Section:
The importance of knowledge in Islam.
The story of the young boy in Baghdad convincing the non-Muslim about Islam through simple answers to his questions.

Quiz next week (InshaAllah) on the topics we have been discussing over the last 2 months (see homework section)...