6 May 2012
Conquest of Mecca; Fiqh and Belief
Conquest of Mecca; Fiqh and Belief
Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Conquest of Mecca (1): The Armies March to Mecca and stop Fasting
In observance of the rule of surprise attack, the time of departure, the itinerary and the purpose of the expedition were not made known to anyone till orders for marching were given by the Prophet*. Such orders were given on the 10th of Ramadan 8 A.H., although instructions had been issued earlier to the Muslims of Medina and its suburbs to keep themselves alert. On the day the Prophet* left Medina, he appointed a person named Abu Ruhm Ghifari to act as his representative there. When he had covered some distance from Medina he asked for water at a place named Kadid and broke his fast and also ordered all others to do so. Most of them broke the fast, but some persons refrained from doing so under the impression that if they performed jihad while fasting they would become entitled to greater recompense. These simple-minded persons did not realize that the same Prophet* who had given orders regarding fasting during the month of Ramadan had also given orders now for breaking the fast, both of his orders were for the good of the people and there was no discrimination in his orders.
The Prophet* was displeased to learn that some persons had abstained from complying with his orders and said: "These people are sinners and rebels". Seeking of such precedence and lead over the Prophet* is a sort of deviation from truth and shows lack of faith of these people in the Prophet* and in his religion. Hence, the Holy Qur'an has reproached such people and says: O You who believe! Be not forward in the presence of Allah and His Messenger, and be careful of your duty to Allah. (Surah al-Hujurat, 49:1).
Marruz Zahran is a few kilometres away from Mecca. In order that the residents of Mecca might surrender without any resistance, and that big fort and sacred centre should be conquered without bloodshed the Prophet*, in order to create fear in the hearts of the Meccans, ordered that the Muslims should kindle fire at the elevated places. He also ordered, to intimidate the Meccans still more, that every person should kindle a fire independently so that the fire and the flames might make all the adjoining hills and high places glow up.
Abu Sufyan becomes a Muslim
Last week we talked about the arrest/capture of Abu Sufyan. At dawn the call to prayer was made throughout the camp, and Abu Sufyan was greatly shaken by the sound of it. "What are they about?" he said. "The prayer," said Abbas. "And how often do they pray each day and night?" said Abu Sufyan, and when told that the prayers were five said: "By God, it is too much!" Then he saw the men eagerly crowding and jostling each other that they might be splashed with water from the Prophet*'s ablution, or have some drops of what was left from it, and he said: "O Abul-Fadl, I have never seen such sovereignty as this." "Out upon thee!" said Abbas. "Believe!" "Take me to him," said Abu Sufyan, and after the prayer Abbas took him again to the Prophet*. The Muhajirs and the Ansar were then around the Prophet*. When the Prophet*'s eyes fell upon Abu Sufyan he said: "Has the time not yet arrived when you should acknowledge their there is no god but Allah?" Abu Sufyan said in reply: "May my parents be your ransom! How forbearing, generous and kind you are towards your kinsmen! I have now realized that if there had been a god other than Allah he would have done, till now, something for our benefit." When the Prophet* saw that he had acknowledged the Oneness of Allah, he added: "Has not the time yet arrived when you should know that I am Allah's Prophet*." Repeating the former sentence, Abu Sufyan said: "How forbearing, generous, and kind you are towards your kinsmen! At present I am reflecting about your Prophethood". Abbas felt annoyed at Abu Sufyan's expressing doubt (about the Prophethood of Muhammad* and said: "If you don't embrace Islam, your life is in danger. You should, therefore, testify to the Oneness of Allah and to the Prophethood of Muhammad as early as possible". Abu Sufyan followed the advice and joined the ranks of Muslims.
Abu Sufyan embraced Islam on account of fear, and such faith did not at all conform with the aim of Islam, but in this case it was expedient that Abu Sufyan should join the Muslims, in whatever manner it might be, so that the greatest obstacle in the path of the Meccans embracing Islam might be removed, because he and those like him (i.e. Abu Jahl, 'Ikrimah, Safwan bin Umayyah etc.) were the persons who had created fear and terror since long and none could pick up courage to think about Islam or to show inclination towards it. Even if apparent embracement of Islam by Abu Sufyan was not beneficial for him, it was very beneficial and useful for the Prophet* of Islam as well as for those persons who were his kith and kin. Even then the Prophet* did not release Abu Sufyan, because he was not confident about his activities till Mecca was conquered. He, therefore, gave directions to Abbas that, for reasons to be mentioned later, he should keep him confined within a narrow pass of a valley. Abbas turned to the Prophet* and said: "Abu Sufyan is ambitious of social status and now that matters have taken such a turn you had better confer some position on him". Notwithstanding the fact that during a long period of twenty years, Abu Sufyan had done the greatest harm to Islam and the Muslims; the Prophet*, keeping some higher interests in view, conferred a position on him and uttered the following sentence which is indicative of the greatness of his soul: "Abu Sufyan is authorized to assure the people that whoever takes refuge within the precincts of Masjidul Haram or lays down arms on the ground and declares his neutrality or confines himself to his house or takes refuge in the house of Abu Sufyan (and, according to one version, in the house of Abu Sufyan or in the house of Hakim bin Hizam) shall remain safe from molestation by the army of Islam''.
Intimidating the Quraish (and Abu Sufyan)
The grand army of Islam had reached close to Mecca. However, the Prophet* desired that he should conquer the city without any resistance or bloodshed and the enemy should surrender without any conditions. Out of the factors, besides camouflage and surprise, which helped much in achieving this object, one was that Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet*, went to Mecca as a gesture of goodwill to Quraish and brought Abu Sufyan to the Islamic camp and the chiefs of Quraish could not take a final decision in the absence of Abu Sufyan. When Abu Sufyan submitted himself to the unmatched greatness of the Prophet* of Islam and expressed his faith in him, the Prophet* decided to take the maximum advantage from his presence to intimidate the idolaters. He, therefore, asked Abbas to detain him in the narrow pass of the valley so that the units of the newly-formed army of Islam might march past him with all their equipment, and he should observe the military strength of Islam and then on return to Mecca, he might inform Quraish about the strength of the army of Islam and keep them from resistance. Some of the units of the army of Islam were as mentioned below:
1. A strong regiment of one thousand soldiers of the tribe of Bani Salim under the command of Khalid bin Walid which held two standards. One of these standards was being carried by Abbas bin Mirdas and the other by Miqdad.
2. Two battalions of five hundred warriors under the command of Zubayr Awwam who had a black standard in his hand. The majority of the soldiers of these two battalions consisted of the Muhajirs.
3. A strong battalion of three thousand soldiers of the tribe of Bani Ghifar under the command of Abu Dharr Ghifari, who was carrying the standard.
4. A strong battalion of four hundred soldiers of the tribe of Bani Salim under the command of Yazid, son of Khusayb, who was carrying the standard.
5. Two battalions consisting of five hundred men belonging to the tribe of Bani Ka'b under the command of Bushr bin Sufyan, who was also carrying the standard.
6. A one thousand persons strong regiment of Bani Muzaynah which bore three standards. These standards were in the hands of No'man bin Maqran, Bilal bin Harith and Abdullah 'Amr.
7. A regiment consisting of eight hundred persons belonging to Bani Juhaynah, with four standards which were being carried by Ma'bad bin Khalid, Suwayd bin Sakhra, Rafe' bin Makith and Abdullah Badr.
8. Two groups consisting of two hundred persons from the tribes of Banu Kananah, Banu Layth and Hamzah under the command of Abu Waqid Laythi, who was carrying the standard.
9. A battalion consisting of three hundred persons belonging to the tribe of Bani Ashja', which carried two standards. One of these standards was being carried by Ma'qal bin Sanan and the other by Na'im bin Mas'ud.
When these units passed by Abu Sufyan, he immediately enquired about their particulars from Abbas and the latter gave him the reply. The thing which added to the grandeur of this organized army was that when the commanders of the units came before Abbas and Abu Sufyan they pronounced Takbir (Allahu Akbar) thrice with a loud voice and thereafter the soldiers also pronounced it thrice with loud voices by way of the greatest Islamic rite. This Takbir resounded in the valleys of Mecca in such a manner that the friends were greatly impressed with the discipline of Islam and the enemies were filled with extreme fear and terror. Abu Sufyan was waiting impatiently to see the unit in which the Prophet* had taken his place. Hence, every time a unit passed by him he asked Abbas whether Muhammad* was present in it. Abbas continued to reply in the negative till their attention was attracted by a great force consisting of about five thousand soldiers in which two thousand warriors were wearing coats of mail and the company commanders were carrying many standards at specified distances. The name of this unit was Katiba-i Khazra' i.e. the Green Army. Its soldiers were armed to the teeth. Their entire bodies were covered with arms and nothing except their bright eyes could be seen. Swift Arabian horses and red-haired camels could be seen in this unit in abundance. The Prophet* could be seen in the middle of this unit riding his particular camel. Distinguished personalities had encircled him and he was conversing with them. The grandeur of this unit overawed Abu Sufyan. He involuntarily said to Abbas: "No force can resist this army. O Abbas! The kingdom of your nephew has flourished to a great extent". Abbas replied reproachfully: "The source of the strength of my nephew is the Prophethood bestowed upon him by Allah, and it has nothing to do with outward and material power." The Prophet* had given his standard to Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, who led the van; and as he passed the two men at the side of the route he called out: "O Abu Sufyan, this is the day of slaughter! The day when the inviolable shall be violated! The day of God's abasement of Quraish." The Prophet* was in the midst of the troop, mounted on Qaswa', and on either side of him were Abu Bakr and Usayd, with whom he was conversing. "O Messenger of God*," cried Abu Sufyan when he came within earshot, "hast thou commanded the slaying of thy people?" -and he repeated to him what Sa'd had said. "I adjure thee by God," he added, "on behalf of thy people, for thou art of all men the greatest in filial piety, the most merciful, the most beneficent!" "This is the day of mercy," said the Prophet*, "the day on which God hath exalted Quraish." Then 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Awf and 'Uthmari said to him, for they were close at hand: "O Messenger of God, we are not sure of Sa'd, that he will not make a sudden violent attack upon Quraish." So the Prophet* sent word to Sa'd to give the standard to his son Qays, a man of relatively mild temperament, and to let him lead the squadron. To honour the son was to honour the father, and in the hand of Qays the standard would still be with Sa'd.
Capturing the City: Mecca Surrenders Without Bloodshed
Al-Abbas urged Abu Sufyan to hasten into Mecca and warn the Quraishites against any aggressive behaviour towards the Muslims. There in Mecca, he shouted at the top of his voice and warned against any hostilities advising them to seek safety in his house. His wife got indignant and tugged at his moustache cursing him and abusing his cowardly stance. The people within Mecca mocked Abu Sufyan and dispersed in different directions, some into their houses, others into the Holy Sanctuary while some undisciplined reckless ruffians led by 'Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Safwan bin Omaiyah and Suhail bin 'Amr encamped themselves in a place called Khandamah, with a murderous intent in their minds.
The Prophet* peace be upon him, on his part, was quite modestly and calmly drawing the final touches for the military breakthrough awaiting the Muslims, by Allah's Will. He appointed Khalid bin Al-Waleed as a leader of the right flank of the army with Aslam, Sulaim, Ghifar, Muzainah and Juhainah tribes under his command to enter Mecca through its lower avenues. Az-Zubair bin 'Awwam was to lead the left flank and would storm Mecca from the upper side holding up the Messenger's banner. Abu 'Ubaidah took command of the infantry and was to penetrate into the city via a side valley. They were given full and decisive orders not to kill unless in self defence and in that case they would exterminate any aggressive elements and quell any opposition. The Muslim battalions marched out each in its already drawn route to fulfill the missions they were supposed to carry out. Khalid bin Al-Waleed worked his way into the heart of the town quite successively killing twelve of the ruffians and sustaining two martyrs. Az-Zubair set out and reached the fixed destination where he planted the banner at Al-Fath (conquest) Mosque and waited there for the arrival of the Prophet*
Main Topic: Fiqh (2)
Types of Hukm Shara’i Recap:
A. Fard (Compulsory):
If the request to do an action is decisive then it is a Fard or Wajib; both have the same meaning. A person who complies with a Fard will be rewarded, while one who disobeys will be punished.
B. Haram (Prohibited)
If the instruction is connected with a decisive command of refraining from an action then it is Haram. If the Haram is committed, then the person will be punished, but if the Haram action is avoided, the person will be rewarded.
C. Mandub, Mustahab, Sunnah or Nafilah (Recommended)
If the instruction to do an action is not firm, then it is considered Mandub. The one who performs it is praised and rewarded; however, the one who did not perform it is neither blamed nor punished.
D. Makruh (Disliked)
If the instruction of refraining from an action is not firm, then it is considered Makruh. The one who abstains is praised and rewarded while the one who does it is neither punished nor blamed.
E. Mubah (Permissible)
If the choice to do or not to do an action is left up to the person, then the action is called Mubah. One will neither be rewarded nor punished for an action falling under this category.
Some of the Hukm Shar’i such as Fard are divided into sub-categories. For example, Fard is divided into Fard al Ayn and Fard al Kifaya.
The rulings of Allah are derived from certain sources. They are not plucked out of the air! The sources, which are used to make laws, have to be based on something tangible and accessible.
The four definitive sources of Hukm Shar’i are;
- the Qur’an (the Word of Allah),
- the Sunnah (example of the Prophet*),
- Ijma’ as-Sahabah (consensus of the Companions),
- Qiyas (Divine Analogy).
Fiqh
Linguistically, Fiqh implies having knowledge in depth. As a legal term, Fiqh has two meanings:
- Having the knowledge of the rulings of Shariah (Islamic Law) which are extracted from the legislative sources. As an example, a Faqih would know the ruling for the issue of abortion; in addition, he would know how and from where this ruling was extracted.
- All the Islamic laws. This definition is synonymous to the term Shariah.
Usul al-Fiqh is the collection of principles relating to the methodology for the extraction of Fiqh or Islamic Laws: “the principles by which the mujtahid derives the legal rules of conduct from the specific evidences”. The concept of Usul al-Fiqh is comparable to adhering to the methodology when conducting a scientific experiment. Similarly, adhering to the methodology in deriving Fiqh (rulings) is referred to as Usul al-Fiqh. This methodology provides a way for a person to derive Islamic rulings from the legislative sources in Islam. The collections of principles related to Usul al-Fiqh are many.
Legislative Sources Adopting specific sources to derive laws is a major subject in Usul al Fiqh. The Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijma as Sahabah (consensus of the Companions) and Qiyas (analogical deduction) are four sources in Islam which are accepted by almost all of the scholars. However, there are other additional sources such as Maslaha al Mursalah (benefit) or Ijma al Ummah (consensus of the Ummah) which are not widely accepted.
Arabic Language
Within the Arabic language, there are rules for understanding the structure of an Ayah or Hadith. The rules of grammar in the Arabic language define the meaning of the Ayah or Hadith. Therefore, understanding the rules of grammar and their application, is one use of the Arabic language in Usul al Fiqh.
Interpreting the text of Qur’an and Sunnah
Unless the text of the Qur’an and Sunnah is correctly understood, no laws can be deduced from it. The linguistic structure of the text in Qur’an and Sunnah varies from one style to another. Some examples of these linguistic styles are:
- Thanniy (speculative text),
- Qatai (definitive text),
- Amm (general text),
- Khass (specific text),
- Haqiqi (literal text), and
- Majaazi (metaphorical text).
Shariah
The linguistic meaning of the word Shariah is a non-exhaustive source of water with which people satisfy their thirst. Thus, the linguistic significance of Shariah is that the Islamic laws are effectively a source of guidance. As water is the fundamental basis of life, the Islamic laws are an essential source for guiding human life. Shariah is composed of all the laws derived from the legislative sources of Islam. These laws are not just limited to areas covering marriage or divorce; rather, the Islamic laws cover every action performed by an individual or a society. The term Shariah is also a synonym for Fiqh.
Aqeeda and The Qur'an: the need for certainty
How do we get this confidence in Allah and the Qur’an - that is more than
simply blind faith?
It is vitally important that we firmly believe
in Allah more than just having ‘faith’ that Allah exists. We should be
different to the Quraish at the time of the Prophet*, or the people at the time
of Ibrahim – who all said that they will continue with their worships because
they are following their forefathers. How is our belief any different to this?
As Muslims, Allah commands us to ‘KNOW’ that
there is but one Allah. We must be sure individually for ourselves – it is
not good enough to just hope in Allah without certainty. The five pillars of
Islam are built upon the firm foundations of the Aqeeda – a rock solid
belief. How do we get at this belief? Are there any questions that we shouldn’t
ask in Islam and how inquisitive should we be in search for the Truth?
InshaAllah, we will
cover these topics in greater detail in the coming weeks. This is a necessary
step before we talk about The Qur’an and the sources of law (Shariah) – which
is necessary to understand the Fiqh topics that people want answered!Children's feedback:
Don't judge a book by its cover
No time for News Topic
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