9 September 2012

Summary:
Seerah: Between Hunain and Tabuk
The Prophet* dispatched a number of smaller armies to consolidate the surrounding tribes and areas, and to demolish the last remnants of idolatry
If the Prophet* leads the army it is known as a Ghazwah, and a Sirayah if lead by the Sahabae
One tribe was fought as they refused to pay the Jizyah
This tribe then had a poetry and speech contest with the Muslims in the mosque precinct
Adi bin Hatim’s sister was captured and released by the Prophet*, who knew more about his religion than Adi
The Prophet* prophesised the conquering of Persia, the immense wealth of the early Muslims and the security provided to the Ummah by the early Khulafah (Caliphs)

Main Topic: Naveed's Belief Pathway
Answering the 3 fundamental questions makes us think and ponder - which if done sincerely leads us to realise that the Creator exists and He created us. Then we look for our purpose in life to define our relationship with the Creator and come across Islam - after realising that the Creator would send us messages on how to live and where to get these answers from. We then study and realise that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah and tells us how to live our life - forming the Actions we do based on the fact that only Allah has the right to make laws for us. These laws are authentically preserved in Islam and by following them, every action being linked to Allah's Word with the right intention, we will please Allah and seek the afterlife which answers the 3 fundamental questions!

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Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an


Events Between Hunain & Tabuk: Missions and Platoons After The Conquest
Upon returning from this long successful travel, the Prophet* stayed in Medina where he received delegates and dispatched agents and appointed preachers and callers to Islam everywhere. Those whose hearts were still full of prejudice against Islam and therefore were too proud to embrace Allah’s religion, were decisively muffled on their non-acquiescence in the status quo prevalent then in Arabia. Here is a mini-image about the believed ones. We have already stated that the Messenger’s arrival in Medina was by the last days of the eighth year of Al-Hijra. No sooner the crescent of Muharram of the ninth year turned up than the Prophet* dispatched the believed ones, to the tribes as shown in the list below:
1. ‘Uyaina bin Hisn to Bani Tamim.
2. Yazeed bin Husain to Aslam and Ghifar.
3. ‘Abbad bin Bishr Al-Ashhali to Sulaim and Muzainah.
4. Rafi‘ bin Mukaith to Juhainah.
5. ‘Amr bin Al-‘As to Bani Fazarah.
6. Ad-Dahhak bin Sufyan to Bani Kilab.
7. Basheer bin Sufyan to Bani Ka‘b.
8. Ibn Al-Lutabiyah Al-Azdi to Bani Dhubyan.
9. Al-Muhajir bin Abi Omaiyah to Sana‘a’ (Al-Aswad Al-‘Ansi called at him when he was in it).
10. Ziyad bin Labid to Hadramout.
11. ‘Adi bin Hatim to Tai’ and Bani Asad.
12. Malik bin Nuwairah to Bani Hanzalah.
13. Az-Zabraqan bin Badr to Bani Sa‘d (a portion of them).
14. Qais bin ‘Asim to Bani Sa‘d (a portion of them).
15. Al-‘Ala’ bin Al-Hadrami to Al-Bahrain.
16. ‘Ali bin Abi Talib to Najran (to collect Sadaqa & Jizya).
 
Some of these agents were despatched in Muharram, 7 A.H., others were sent later until the tribes they were heading for had completely converted into Islam. Such a move clearly demonstrates the great success that the Islamic Da‘wah (Call) enjoyed after Al-Hudaibiyah Treaty. However, shortly after the conquest of Mecca, people began to embrace Islam in large hosts.
 
The Platoons:
In the same way that the believed ones were dispatched to the tribes, we understand that dispatching some more platoons to all regions of Arabia is a necessity for the prevalence and domination of security on all lands of Arabia. Here is a list of those platoons:
1.     ‘Uyaina bin Hisn Al-Fazari’s platoon in Al-Muharram, the ninth year of Al-Hijra to Bani Tamim. It consisted of fifty horsemen, none of them was an Emigrant or a Helper. This expedition was dispatched due to the fact that Bani Tamim had already urged other tribes not to pay tribute (Al-Jizya) and eventually stopped them from paying it. Therefore, ‘Uyaina bin Hisn set out to fight them. All the way long he marched by night and lurked by day. He went on that way till he overtook them and attacked them in the desert. They fled back for their lives. Eleven men, twenty-one women and thirty boys were captured then. He drove them back to Medina and were housed in Ramlah bint Al-Harith’s residence. Ten of their leaders, who came to the Prophet’s door, called out unto him saying: “O Muhammad come out and face us.” When he went out they held him and started talking. He exchanged talk with them for a while then left them and went to perform the noon prayer.
After prayer he sat in the mosque-patio. They proclaimed a desire to show boasting and self-pride. For this purpose they introduced their orator ‘Utarid bin Hajib who delivered his speech. The Prophet* asked Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas — the Muslim orator — to respond. He did that. In return, they brought forth their poet Az- Zabraqan bin Badr who recited some boastful poetry. Hassan bin Thabit, the poet of Islam, promptly replied back. When talks and poet came to an end, Al-Aqra‘ bin Habis said: “Their orator is more eloquent than ours, and their poet is more poetically learned than ours. Their voices and sayings excel ours, as well.” Eventually they announced their embracing Islam. Consequently, the Prophet* acknowledged their Islamisation, awarded them well, and rendered them back their women and children.
2.     A platoon headed by Qutbah bin ‘Amir to a spot called Khath‘am in Tabalah, a plot of land not far from Turbah. That was in Safar, 9 A.H. Accompanied by twenty men and only ten camels to mount alternatively on, Qutbah raided them and fought so fiercely that a great number of both parties were wounded and some others were killed. The Muslims drove back with them camels, women and sheep to Medina.
3.     The mission of Dahhak bin Sufyan Al-Kilabi to Bani Kilab in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal in the year 9 A.H. This mission was sent to Bani Kilab to call them to embrace Islam. Refusing to embrace Islam, they started to fight against the Muslims, but were defeated and sustained one man killed.
4.     The three hundred men expedition of ‘Alqamah bin Mujazziz Al-Mudlaji to Jeddah shores in Rabi‘ Al-Akhir. This expedition was dispatched to fight against some men from (Al-Habasha) Abyssinia (Ethiopia), who gathered together near the shores of Jeddah and exercised acts of piracy against the Meccans. Therefore he crossed the sea till he got to an island. But as soon as the pirates had learned of Muslims’ arrival, they fled.
5.     The task of the platoon of ‘Ali bin Abi Talib was to demolish Al-Qullus, which was an idol that belonged to Tai’ tribe. That was in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal in the year 9 A.H. ‘Ali was dispatched by the Prophet* with o ne hundred fifty men. A hundred of them were on camels. The other fifty were on horseback. He held a black flag and a white banner. • At dawn they raided Mahallat Hatim, demolished the idol and filled their hands with spoils, camels and sheep booties, whereas ‘Adi fled to Ash-Sham. The sister of ‘Adi bin Hatim was one of the captives. Inside Al-Qullus safe, Muslims found three swords and three armours. On the way they distributed the spoils and put aside the best things to the Prophet*. They did not share the Hatims.
Upon arrival in Medina, the sister of ‘Adi bin Hatim begged the Prophet* to have mercy on her and said: “O Messenger of Allah, my brother is absent and father is dead, and I am too old to render any service. Be beneficent to me so that Allah may be bountiful to you.” He said: “Who is your brother?” She said: “It is ‘Adi bin Hatim.” “Is he not the one who fled from Allah and his Messenger?” Said the Prophet* then went away from her. Next day she reiterated the same thing as the day before and received the same answer. A day later she uttered similar words, this time he made benefaction to her. The man who was beside the Prophet, and whom she thought to be ‘Ali, said to her: “Ask for an animal from him to ride on.” And she was granted her request.
She returned to Ash-Sham where she met her brother and said to him: “The Messenger of Allah* has done me such noble deed that your father would never have done it. Therefore, willy-nilly, frightened or secure, you should go and see him.” Unsecure neither protected by someone, not even recommended by a letter as a means of protection, ‘Adi came and met the Prophet. The Prophet* took him home with him. As soon as he sat before him, the Prophet* thanked Allah and praised him, then said: “What makes you flee? Do you flee lest you should say there is no god but Allah? Do you know any other god but Allah?” “No” he said, then talked for a while. The Prophet went on saying: “Certainly you flee so that you may not hear the statement saying ‘Allah is the Greatest.’ Do you know anyone who is greater than Allah?” “No” he said. “The Jews are those whose portion is wrath, and the Christians are those who have gone astray,” the Prophet retorted. “I am a Muslim and I believe in one God (Allah).” ‘Adi finally proclaimed with a joyous face. The Prophet ordered him a residence with one of the Helpers. From that time he started calling at the Prophet* in the mornings and in the evenings.
On the authority of Ibn Ishaq, when the Prophet* made him sit down in front of him in his house, the Prophet said, “O ‘Adi, were you not cast in disbelief?” “Yes”. ‘Adi said. “Did you not share one quarter of your people’s gains?” “Yes”. Said ‘Adi. The Prophet* said: “It is sinful in your religion to do such a thing, and you should not allow yourself to do it.” “Yes, by Allah, that is true”, said ‘Adi. “Thus I worked out that he was a Prophet inspired by Allah, and sent to people. He knows what is unknown.”
In another version, the Prophet* said: “‘Adi, embrace Islam and you shall be secure.” “But I am a man of religion.” Said ‘Adi. “I know your religion better than you.” Said the Prophet. “Do you know my religion better than me?” ‘Adi asked. The Prophet replied, “Yes”. He said: “Are you not cast in disbelief because you appropriate to yourself the fourth of your people’s gains?” “Yes”. Said ‘Adi. “It is unlawful in your religion to do such a thing.” The Prophet said, and ‘‘Adi added: “He did not need to say it again for I immediately acquiesced it.”
Al-Bukhari narrates that ‘Adi said: While we were with the Prophet*, a man came in and complained to him about poverty. Then another man came in and complained about highway robbery. The Prophet* then said: “O ‘Adi, have you ever been to Al-Hirah? If you were doomed to live long life, you would be able to see a riding camel woman travel from Hirah till it circumambulates Al-Ka‘bah fearing none but Allah; and if you were to live long enough you would open the treasures of Kisra. And if you were to live long you would be able to see man offering a handful of gold or silver to others but none accepts to take it.” At the end of this Hadith ‘Adi later on says: “I have seen a riding camel woman travel from Al-Hirah till it circumambulates the Ka‘bah fearing none but Allah, I have also been one of those who opened the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuz. If you were to live long life you would witness what the Prophet, Abul Qasim,* had already said about ‘offering a handful of …’ i.e. the Prophet’s prophecies did really come true.”

Main Topic: Naveed's Belief Pathway

We talked through the Belief Pathway (see below). This is to help the children (and their parents) understand the processes that we’ve been going through over the past few months. We talked through the Belief Pathway (see below). This is to help the children (and their parents) understand the processes that we’ve been going through over the past few months. This is to show that we have not been doing things in a random fashion but trying to tie together two strands of fundamental understanding of Islam.  These two strands are linked in the pathway shown below, and these two strands are aspects of belief and aspects of actions (through Shariah and Fiqh).
The Belief Pathway demonstrates how all the fundamental questions and issues that we've been discussing after the Seerah section tie together with how we should live our life and where we get these answers from.
Briefly, we started off by talking about the three fundamental questions that every human being thinks about (why am I here, where did I come from, where am I going).  By answering these fundamental questions human beings will set out their plan for life and how they want to live their life.  These answers don't come automatically but every individual needs to go through a certain process.  Some people are told what to believe and do and they leave it there. If people are sincere in trying to answer these questions for themselves they will necessarily stop to think and ponder about themselves and their reality.  The way the body interacts with the reality is through the senses and this is the surface of our reality.  By thinking and pondering people will necessarily come to the conclusion that they could not come into existence by themselves and needed to be created and that is the next step in the realisation of a Creator.
This rational conclusion would then lead them on to trying to find out their relationship with the Creator (as in the three fundamental relationships for every human being = his relationship with himself, his relationship with others, and his relationship with the Creator).  Every sincere individual would then earnestly search for the purpose of life and exhaust themselves in trying to find this.  Hence they would search out everybody or everything that claims to hold the truth.  It is only right that the Creator tells us how to live by communicating with us - through Messengers & Prophets. Even a superficial analysis of many these answers would allow any individual to discredit them and the answers provided by Islam and its holy book (the Qur'an) would be self evidently correct - or at least worth further study (not a superficial analysis as was undertaken by the recent Channel 4 programme!).
Detailed analysis of the Qur'an would demonstrate that this is indeed a miracle and the inimitable Word of God. We defined a miracle as something which is impossible happening as opposed to a rare event.
Having established that the Qur'an is direct from Allah we now have to accept everything that is in there and follow whatever it tells us to do because this is direct communication from our Creator. Hence we find that Allah defines what we should believe in (Aqeeda) and how we should live our life through our actions.  This is non-negotiable!  These latter sections of belief will be tackled in the coming study circles (InshaAllah).
The second strand of what we have been doing in the study Circle is looking at these actions in greater detail.  These actions which form the basis of our law are derived from Allah through establishing the authenticity of the Qur'an and the Hadith - the system of preservation through the oral tradition.  Hence, we have agreed that sovereignty (the right to make the laws) belongs only to Allah and we get these from the Qur'an, Sunnah (Hadith), Ijma-as-Sahabah (Consensus of Companions) and Qiyas (Divine Analogy).
These are the only sources of law for us to learn how to live our life and we have been trying to dissect some of the terminology involved in this process.  Other important aspects of our actions are the fact that every action we do needs to be based on what we are told to do by Allah - which means every action needs an evidence from Islam (Qur'an & Sunnah) and needs to be done for the right intention (Niyah).  If we do this we will be pleasing our Creator which is the reason we live our life - with the desire to get to a pleasant afterlife (rather than the unpleasant place!). Hence the Belief Pathway brings us back to where we started in trying to answer the three fundamental questions - we now have the answer! This process can also be used to talk to or to discuss with other Muslims and non-Muslims about our belief and why we do what we do. In fact, it should be one major way in which we try and do Dawah to the non-Muslims -- all though not exclusively the only way.
As stated, InshaAllah our fight to go through the remaining parts of the pathway over the coming weeks.


No feedback or News topic

Homework:
- Seerah ~ Why did the Prophet* announce publically who he was going to attack when preparing for the Battle of Tabuk. Normally he* would keep it a secret – come up with some reasons why he* may have done this…
[For the older kids to ponder:]
- Belief ~ Whilst talking about ‘thinking’ and realising the Creator’s existence we talked about the mythical child brought up by wolves or in a jungle – why is this child incapable of proper thought??

22 July 2012

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the peace blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him

TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Battle of Hunain - the tide turns as the Muslims Return to the Battle Field and to the Fierceness of the Fight

Except for a few core group of Sahabae, all the Muslim fighters ran away from the battlefield. Those who remained with The Prophet* were some Muhajirs, a few Ansars and the nearest of his family members like: Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, al-Abbas and his son al-Fadl, Abu Sufyan b.al-Harith and Usamah b. Zayd b. Haritha. When the stampede of the Muslims became quite uncontrollable, Abu Sufyan b. Harb remarked, “Their stampede will not stop until they reach the ocean!” Safwan b. Umayyah b.Khalaf said he preferred to be ruled by a man from the Quraysh than by the Hawazin. A rumour also spread that The Prophet* had been killed, creating more panic and terror among the Muslims.

When the Prophet* found that his call for support was in vain, he summoned his uncle al-Abbas (who had a very thunderous voice), to cry out very loudly for the Muslims to return and resume fighting. The Prophet* ordered his uncle Al-‘Abbas — who was a sonorous voiced man — to call out on the followers. As loudly as he could, Al-‘Abbas shouted: “Where are the lancers?” “By Allah,” Al-‘Abbas said, “Upon hearing my voice calling them back, they turned round to the battlefield as if they had been oryxes (wild cows) tending towards their calves.” "O Companions of the Tree! O Companions of the Acacia!" Immediately the summons was answered from all sides -Labbayk!, "Here at thy service" -as Helpers and Emigrants rallied to him. “Here we are, at your service. Here we are. ” They said. There you see them trying to stop their camels and reverse to the battle. He who was unable to force his camel to turn back, would take his armour, fling it round his neck, and hastily dismount his camel with his weapon in his hand letting his camel move freely and run towards the voice source. Voices would grow louder and louder till a hundred of them gathered round the Prophet* and resumed the fight. Those who were called out upon next were Al-Ansar, the Helpers, “O, folks of Al-Ansar! Folks of Al- Ansar!”

The last group to be called out upon were Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj. Muslims battalions poured successively into the battlefield in the same manner that they had left it. The stamina of both parties was superb. Both of them stoodfast and fought fiercely. They started to fight the enemy with new vigour and The Prophet* watched the fighting standing on his stirrup. The Prophet* was so eagerly and furiously watching the battle that he said: “Now the fight has grown fierce.” The enemy were preparing a fresh onslaught, and he prayed: "O God, I ask of Thee Thy promise!" Then he told his foster-brother to give him some pebbles, and taking them in his hand he flung them in the face of the enemy as he had done at Badr. Picking up a handful of earth, he hurled it at their faces while saying: “May your faces be shameful.” Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter confusion. The tide of the battle suddenly turned for no apparent reason -or rather, it was not apparent to the believers, but it was apparent to the enemy, as it had been previously to their scouts; and afterwards there came the Revelation that Allah helped them.

Reverse Of Fortunes And The Enemy's Utter Defeat:

Few hours had elapsed since the earth-handful was hurled at the enemy’s faces, when they were shatteringly defeated. It was later mentioned by one of those who fought the Prophet* that it felt like stones in a tin shield or metal pan grating inside him when the dust was thrown.

Then it is described that a black striped garment descended from the sky; it looked like a mass of black ants from a distance. These were the angels descended from heaven to help the Muslims, the Prophet* said. With the help of those angels the Muslims finally defeated the B. Hawazin. About seventy men of Thaqif alone were killed, and the Muslims plundered all their riding camels, weapons and cattle. Allah, Glory is to Him, alluded to this sudden change in the Qur’an when He said: “…and on the Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great number but it availed you naught and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you, then you turned back in flight. Then Allah did send down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, and reassurance, etc.) on the Messenger [The Prophet* ] and on the believers, and sent down forces (angels) which you saw not, and punished the disbelievers. Such is the recompense of disbelievers.” [9:25,26]

Individual stories from the battle

The Muslims had lost many men at the outset of the battle, in particular the Bani Sulaym who had borne the brunt of the initial ambush. But after the first onslaught relatively few had been killed. One of these few was Ayman, Usamah's elder brother, who was struck down at the side of the Prophet.

A group of Muslims headed by Abu ‘Amir Al-Ash’ari, were despatched to chase the enemy, some skirmishes took place during which Abu ‘Amir was killed. Abu Amir was shot at his knee with an arrow which a man from Jushm had shot and fixed into his knee. I went to him and said, "O Uncle! Who shot you?" He pointed me out (his killer) saying, "That is my killer who shot me (with an arrow)." So I headed towards him and overtook him, and when he saw me, he fled, and I followed him and started saying to him, "Won't you be ashamed? Won't you stop?" So that person stopped, and we exchanged two hits with the swords and I killed him. Then I said to Abu 'Amir. "Allah has killed your killer." He said, "Take out this arrow" So I removed it, and water oozed out of the wound. He then said, "O son of my brother! Convey my compliments to the Prophet and request him to ask Allah's Forgiveness for me." Abu Amir made me his successor in commanding the people (i.e. troops). He survived for a short while and then died. (Later) I returned and entered upon the Prophet at his house, and found him lying in a bed made of stalks of date-palm leaves knitted with ropes, and on it there was bedding. The strings of the bed had their traces over his back and sides. Then I told the Prophet about our and Abu Amir's news and how he had said "Tell him to ask for Allah's Forgiveness for me." The Prophet asked for water, performed ablution and then raised hands, saying, "O Allah's Forgive 'Ubaid, Abu Amir." At that time I saw the whiteness of the Prophet's armpits. The Prophet then said, "O Allah, make him (i.e. Abu Amir) on the Day of Resurrection, superior to many of Your human creatures." I said, "Will you ask Allah's Forgiveness for me?" (On that) the Prophet said, "O Allah, forgive the sins of 'Abdullah bin Qais and admit him to a nice entrance (i.e. paradise) on the Day of Resurrection." Abu Burda said, "One of the prayers was for Abu 'Amir and the other was for Abu Musa (i.e. 'Abdullah bin Qais).

While this was going on, Ali b. Abi Talib attacked a leading man from Hawazin, who was fighting fiercely with his lance. Ali hamstrung this man’s camel. The Muslims jumped over him and cut off his foot and half of his shank. This Hawazin man still kept on fighting and finally died.

Khalid b. Walid, killed some women and children of the polytheists. The Prophet* reprimanded Khalid for resorting to such act and said that no-fighting women and children should not be harmed on the battlefield.

During this time, the Prophet* met a pregnant woman, Umm Sulaym bt Milhan the wife of Abu Talhah. She advised the Prophet* to kill those Jihdists who flee the battlefield just in the same manner as the Prophet* kills his enemy combatants. But the Prophet* was not very enthusiastic over this and said that Allah was enough for him. On that day she and her husband had come fully armed to kill as many polytheists as they could and to take their booty. Her husband, Abu Talhah, took the spoils of twenty men he had killed himself.

The Prophet* had said, 'Whoever kills someone can have his effects’, and so the Sahaba soldiers then took the armours, coats of mail, and personal valuables from the enemy soldiers that they had killed with their own hands. One Sahaba (Abu Qatada) said that he had killed an enemy and was claiming his armour but no-one could vouch for him. Then a Quraishi man claimed it was he who killed the person; to which Abu Bakr said that it was not right to gives what belongs to a lion from the lions of Allah to a hyena! Later, Abu Qatada said that with that wealth he bought his first real estate from the proceeds of such booty.

Chasing the fleeing enemy

The rout was tremendous: Malik fought with bravery, but finally retreated with the men of Thaqif to their walled city of Ta'if. The main part of Hawazin was pursued with much slaughter as far as Nakhlah. From there they returned to their camp at Awtas; but the Prophet* sent a force to dislodge them, and they took to the hills.

The Awtas group then took shelter in their camp. Later, they were eventually defeated in a severe fight. A similar battalion of horsemen pursued the idolaters who threaded the track to Nakhlah and caught up with Duraid bin As-Simmah, the old wise warrior who was sitting in a howdage (palindrome) on a camel hiding there as a woman – or being infirm. He was then caught and told to get down from the camel. When Duraid asked the young Sahaba, Rabiah b. Rufai, what he intended to do with an old man like him, Rabiah said that he wanted to kill him. When Rabiah struck his sword on Duraid it did not kill him. Duraid laughed at the poor mastery of weapon by the young Sahaba. He gave his own sword to Rabiah and instructed him how to perform a slaughter. When he died Rabiah noticed that he had thighs like leather (from riding his animals bareback). Then Duraid told Rabiah that after killing him he should go back to his mother (Rabiah) and inform her about the slaying; for he (Duraid) had previously saved many of their women. After slaying Duraid, Rabiah returned to his mother and told her about what he had done. His mother said, “By God, he set free three mothers of yours.”

The Prophet's 'sister'

Among the divisions of Hawazin was a contingent from the Bani Sa'd ibn Bakr, the clan with whom the Prophet* had spent his infancy and early childhood; and one of the older captives rebuked her captors saying: "By God, lam the sister of your chief." They did not believe her, but none the less brought her to the Prophet. "O The Prophet*, I am thy sister," she said. The Prophet* gazed at her wonderingly: she was an old woman, of seventy or more. "Hast thou any sign of that?" he said, and she at once showed him the mark of a bite. "Thou didst bite me," she said, "when I was carrying thee in the valley of Sarar. We were there with the shepherds. Thy father was my father, and thy mother was my mother." The Prophet* saw that she was speaking the truth: it was indeed Shayma', one of his foster-sisters; and spreading out his rug for her, he bade her be seated. His eyes filled with tears as he asked her for news of Halimah and Harith, his foster-parents, and she told him that they had both died in the fullness of years. After they had talked he offered her the possibility of staying with him or returning to the Bani Sa'd. She said she wished to enter Islam, but chose to return to her clan. The Prophet* gave her a rich present, and intending to give her more he told her to remain with those of her people who were in the camp, saying that he would see her again on his return. He then set off with the army for Ta'if.

Huge Spoils

The Hawazin women and children who had been behind the lines were all made captive. The booty was six thousand captives, twenty four thousand camels; over forty thousand sheep and four thousand silver ounces. The Prophet* gave orders that booty should be confined at Al-J‘iranah and ordained Mas‘ud bin ‘Amr Al-Ghifari to be in charge of it about ten miles from Mecca.

After collecting the booty, the Prophet* left for Ta’if to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters.

Fiqh:

Asking for questions related to the Fiqh of Fasting / Ramadhan. Some questions raised (that we will talk through next week (I/A), included:

-       Can we use toothpaste

-       Does biting nails break the fast

-       Can we use inhalers

Main Topic:
We have intellectually brought a convincing argument for the existence of God. We must also examine if this agrees with mans nature. Man has certain instincts and organic needs, the satisfaction of which he constantly strives for.
The organic needs are for:

• food and drink,
• sleeping,
• breathing,
• going to the toilet

These needs are essential without which man will die.
Instincts can be categorised as three:

• Survival or self-preservation,
• Procreation or sexual/family, and
• Religiousness/worship.

Lack of fulfilling instinct won’t kill a person but will affect how they function.
We can see clearly certain manifestations or traits in man reflecting his desire to satisfy these instincts. Thus man acquires goods and nice objects, likes to own property, wants a job and income, can be greedy, and may save for the future, in attempting to satisfy his instinct for survival. Similarly compassion, affection, love, marriage, and sexual tendencies are expressions of the procreational instinct in man. The desire to worship, sanctify, revere or approach something of greater power or influence are part of man's instinct of religiousness.
Before talking about how these different needs and instincts are met and satisfied and who is the right to decide on these we spent a few minutes talking about where laws tend to come from.  Certainly, in western countries it is accepted that people make the laws.  In England traditionally it was the Royal family who have the right to make the laws and so they are considered to be sovereign over the people.  Constitutionally, the current situation is that the head of the Royal family (the monarch/the Queen) as passed the right to legislate (make the laws) to Parliament -- but the Queen still has to rubber stamp every enacted law.  Modern democratic countries may vary the process of how the laws on made but the principal remains that it is the people who have the right to make the laws.  This is very different to the situation in Islam where it is universally accepted that only Allah has the right to make the laws and that Allah is sovereign over the Muslim people.
This important difference will be expanded upon in future study circles.  Furthermore, we will explore how all these elements of belief link with the Qur'an and Shariah over the coming weeks, InshaAllah.

Feedback:
Children's Charity Update
Ramadhan

Homework:
Seerah ~ What weapons were used in the seige of Taif?
Fiqh ~ questions related to the Fiqh of Fasting
Main topic ~ bring examples of how the instincts of personal survival and worship may have changed (or are the same) over the ages

20 February 2011

20 February 2011

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the Peace, Blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him

TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

The Quraish Preparing for Battle

In the wake of Badr event, Quraish was in common consent and started fresh preparations to launch an overall war against the Muslims in order to restore their blemished prestige and wounded pride. The most enthusiastic polytheists desiring to go into a new battle were ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Safwan bin Omaiyah, Abu Sufyan bin Harb, and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabi‘a. They were determined to crush the commonwealth of Islam once and for all. Emissaries were sent to all the tribes to make common cause against the rising Faith. As a consequence of this, they managed to enlist the support of two well-known tribes Kinana and Tihamah besides some desert bedouins Ahabish. It was also decided that the profits of the escaped caravan headed by Abu Sufyan, which amounted to 1000 camels and 50 thousand Dinars, should be devoted for providing equipment to the army. The Noble Qur’ân has alluded to this decision of theirs in the following words: "Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed." [8:36]

They also devised other ways of recruitment including hiring poets to entice the tribes into fighting the Muslims. Safwan bin Umaiyah allured Abu ‘Azza, the poet to work in this context in return for riches after the war or supporting his daughters if killed. Incidentally, this poet was prisoner of war (in the context of the Badr events) in the hands of the Muslims and the Prophet* was gracious enough to release him unransomed provided he would not engage in fight against him. The general leader was Abu Sufyan bin Harb, the cavalry under the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Waleed assisted by ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, and Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar were entrusted with the flag.

The Prophet Responds.

Ascending the pulpit at the Friday congregational prayer, the Prophet [pbuh] urged the people in his sermon to fight courageously. "If you remain steadfast," he said "you will be helped by the Power of the All- Mighty." Then he commanded his men to make ready for the battle. Most of them rejoiced greatly.

He led the afternoon prayer with crowds of people. Then he entered his house accompanied by his two friends Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. They helped him dress and wear his headcloth. He armed himself and wore two armours one over the other. He wore his sword and went out to meet people. People were waiting for him impatiently. Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh and Usaid bin Hudair blamed people for pressing on the Prophet*. They said: "You have forced the Messenger of Allah* to fight the enemy outside Madinah." Therefore they were determined to leave the whole matter to the Prophet*, and blamed themselves for what they had already done. When the Prophet* came out, they said: "O Messenger of Allah, we should have not disagreed with you. So, you are free to do what you desire. If you prefer to stay inside Madinah we will stay with you. Upon this the Messenger of Allah [pbuh] remarked: "It does not become a Prophet that once he had put on armour, he should take it off, until Allah has decided between him and the enemy."

The Prophet* divided his army into three battalions:

1. Al-Muhajireen battalion, under the command of Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al- ‘Abdari.

2. Al-Ansari-Aws battalion was commanded by Usaid bin Hudair.

3. Al-Ansari-Khazraj battalion with Al-Hubab bin Al- Mundhir to lead it.

The army consisted of a thousand fighters; a hundred of them armoured; another fifty horsemen. He appointed Ibn Umm Maktum to lead the people in prayer in Madinah. Departure was announced and the army moved northwards with the two Sa‘ds, who were armoured, running in front of the army. Upon passing along Al-Wada‘ mountain trail he saw a well-armed battalion, which were detached from the main body of the army. The Prophet* inquired who they were and he was told that they were Jews and were allies of Al-Khazraj. They told him that they wanted to contribute to the fight against the idolaters. "Have they embraced Islam?" The Prophet* asked. "No," they said. So he refused admitting them and said that he would not seek the assistance of disbelievers against the idolaters.

Hanzalah and Jamilah get married
After the friday prayer two men waited behind to speak to the Prophet, each having an urgent decision to make, One of them was Hanzalah - it was Hanzalah's wedding day -a day which had been chosen some weeks in advance. He was betrothed to his cousin Jamilah, the daughter of Ibn Ubai, and he didn’t want to postpone the marriage, yet determined to fight. The Prophet* told him to celebrate his marriage and spend the night in Medina. There could be no fighting before sunrise, and Hanzalah would have ample time to join him on the battlefield early the next morning. He could find out by inquiry which way the army had passed. In Medina that night Hanzalah and Jamilah had consummated their marriage; and in her sleep, during the small hours, Jarnilah had a dream in which she saw her husband standing at the outside of Heaven; and a door opened for him and he entered through it, whereupon it closed behind him. When she woke, she said to herself: "This is martyrdom." They performed their ablutions and prayed the dawn prayer together, after which he bade her farewell. But she clung to him, and would not let him go, and again he lay with her. Then he tore himself from her embrace, and not even staying to repeat his ablution, he put on his coat of mail, seized his weapons, and hastened from the house.

Parading the Army

As soon as he reached a location called Ash-Shaikhan, he paraded his army. He dismissed those whom he considered to be disabled or too young to stand the fight. Among them were ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab. Usama bin Zaid; Usaid bin Zaheer, Zaid bin Thabit, Zaid bin Arqam. ‘Araba bin Aws, ‘Amr bin Hazm, Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri, Zaid bin Haritha Al-Ansari, Sa‘d bin Habba and Al- Barâ’ bin ‘Azib, Sahih Al- Bukhari pointed out that he had shared in the fight that day. The Messenger of Allah* allowed both Rafi‘ bin Khadaij and Samura bin Jundub to join the army — though they were too young. The former proved to be skillful at shooting arrows; the latter wrestled the former and beat him. The admission of Rafi‘ made Samura say: "I am stronger than him, I can overcome him." When the Prophet* heard this saying he ordered them to wrestle. They did. Samura won so he was also admitted.

Passing the Night between Uhud and Madinah

As night fell upon them there, they performed both the sunset and the evening prayers and spent the night there as well. Fifty people were chosen to guard the camp and go round it. Muhammad bin Maslama Al-Ansari, the hero of the brigade of Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, was in charge of the guards. Whereas Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Qais undertook the responsibility of guarding the Prophet*, in particular.

The Rebellion of ‘Abdullah bin Ubai and his Followers

At the end of the night and just before it was daybreak, the Prophet* moved and when he got to Ash-Shawt he observed the dawn prayer. There he was close enough to the enemy that they could see one another. It was there that ‘Abdullah bin Ubai — the hypocrite — rebelled against the Muslims. One-third of the army withdrew with him — that is to say three hundred fighters. He said, "We do not know why we shall kill ourselves." He claimed that his withdrawal was no more than showing protest against the Messenger of Allah* who had already refused his opinion and accepted that of the others.

Undoubtedly that was not the real cause of his detachment. If it had been the refusal of his opinion — as the hypocrite claimed — there would have no sense whatsoever for his joining the Prophetic army. If it had been so, he would have refused to go out with the army from the very beginning of the march. As a matter of fact the real purpose of this rebellion, withdrawal and detachment — at this delicate and awkward position and time — was to produce bewilderment, confusion of mind, and disorder in the Muslims army who were within the sight and hear range of the enemy who were also looking forward to seeing more and more dissension on the side of the Muslims, like themselves. They also aimed at breaking the high morale of the believers. That would accelerate — in their opinion — the breakdown and consequently the death of Muhammad, his faithful Companions and Islam as a whole. The way would then be clear for the reclaim of presidency, which that hypocrite had lost on the advent of Islam into Madinah.

Short of Allah’s Care, the hypocrite’s plot would have been successful. Banu Haritha of Al-Aws and Banu Salama of Al-Khazraj were partially impressed by the hypocrite’s behaviour. Both of them were overwhelmed by confusion and they had almost started to withdraw, but Allah’s Care saved them from that disgrace. About their incident Allah says: "When two parties from among you were about to lose their heart, but Allah was their Wali (Supporter and Protector). And in Allah should the believers put their trust." [3:122]

‘Abdullah bin Haram — the father of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah — attempted to stop their withdrawal. He reminded the hypocrites of their duty at this delicate and awkward condition, but in vain. He followed them, reproached them and urged them to go back saying: "Come and fight in the way of Allah or at least be defenders." They said: "If we had known that you would really fight we would have not gone back." Having despaired of them, he addressed them saying: "May Allah cast you away, you enemies of Allah. Allah will certainly suffice His Prophet." Allah says about those hypocrites: "And that He might test the hypocrites, it was said to them: ‘Come, fight in the way of Allah or (at least) defend yourselves.’ They said: ‘Had we known that fighting will take place, we would certainly have followed you.’ They were that day, nearer to disbelief than to Faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allah has full knowledge of what they conceal." [3:167]

Hadith

Hadith 21 of Nawawi's 40 Hadith:

On the authority of Abu 'Amr, though others call him Abu 'Amrah Sufyan bin 'Abdullah who said: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam which I could not ask anyone about save you." He answered: "Say: 'I believe in Allah', and then stand firm and steadfast." [Muslim]

The literal meaning of "Istiqamah": to go straight into the right direction, acting rightly, allowing no deviation. It is derived from the stem "Qiyyam", which implies the continuity of doing something, following up with it and making sure that it is done in the right way and there is neither deviation nor swerving.

The term has been used by the Qur'an in many verses. Allah the Almighty says: "Therefore, stand firm (on the straight path) as you are commanded and those who turn in repentance with you. And do not transgress, for He (Allah) sees well all that you do." [11:112]

Ibnu Abbas said that this verse was the hardest and most difficult verse of the Qur'an on the Prophet*. Indeed it is a difficult task to achieve Istiqamah, hence, the Prophet* said; "Be straight on the path or be close to it." In another verse, Allah the Almighty says: "So unto this (religion) invite (the people). Stand steadfast as you are commanded and do not follow their desires....." [42:15] Based on these two verses, it can be inferred that Istiqamah is to stand firm and steadfast to what we have been commanded by Allah, i.e. to fulfill obligations and to avoid prohibitions. Also, we should not allow ourselves to follow or be mislead by desires (whether it is our desires or the desires of others) as it will cause deviation and lead us astray.
There are five conditions to achieve Istiqamah in performing required deeds:

• The act should be done for the sake of Allah alone (ikhlas).
• It should be done on the basis of knowledge ('ilm).
• Performing ibadah should be in the same manner that they have been commanded.
• To do it in the best way possible.
• Restricting oneself to what is lawful while performing those deeds.

According to other scholars of suluk, i.e. behavior, there are certain steps to be followed in order to achieve Istiqamah :
Always being aware of the final destination, i.e. the Day of Judgment (Akhirah). And to use this awareness in a positive way as a motive to do good deeds. One way to do it is through remembering that a person's journey towards Akhirah starts the minute he / she passes away and leaves this world. One of the Salafs said: "If you live until the morning do not wait for the evening and if you live until the evening do not wait for the morning."
Commitment (Musharatah). One has to make a commitment that he/she will be steadfast and will do things in the right way and in the best way possible, and to adhere to conjunctions of Islam. Unfortunately many Muslims are being lenient in making such a commitment.
To make continuous efforts (Mujahadah) to bring that commitment to reality. Some Muslims dare to make the commitment, but dare not to make the effort to make the commitment a reality.
Continuous checking and reviewing of one's deeds (Muraqabah). Being honest with oneself so as not to give false excuses for failing to fulfill a commitment.
Self accountability (Muhasabah). This should be done twice: Firstly, before we start doing something, ensuring that it pleases Allah, that we do it for His sake only, realizing the right way it should be done. Secondly, after the action has been done, to check whether we have achieved what we aimed for, and to check for defects and shortcomings, and that we still could have done it better by not being satisfied with our action.
Blaming oneself for not doing it perfectly after it has been done. Self blaming here is a positive one by using it as a motive, and by aiming for improvement and having the intention of doing things better next time. This leads to making another commitment and continual commitments to improve our performance.
Striving for improvement (Tahsin). We have to make improvements in all that we do (daily activities, work, actions, good deeds, ibadah, etc.) as one of our objectives.
To be humble towards Allah, realizing that no one is perfect except Him, seeking His forgiveness, guidance and support.
It should be emphasized that these steps/conditions apply to worldly matters as well as ibadah and good religious deeds.

News Topics
Egypt, Bahrain and other people power movements
There has been continued unrest throughout many countries in the Muslim world (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq and Iran) with many people demonstrated in the streets.  In many of the countries the demonstrators tend to be younger people.
It is a shame that despite all the wealth that these countries have, it is kept by a small corrupt ruling elite who are actively supported by Western governments.  As part of this support the leaders of these countries are actively encouraged not to invest in the wealth they have for the benefit of their own population -- in terms of building infrastructure and industry that will give jobs to the population and empower them.  Much of the wealth flows out of the country for investment in western economies.  Part of the frustration behind the demonstrations is the lack of opportunities for young people in these countries.
There are also political reasons as people are fed up of being oppressed (and tortured) by their own governments and not having any meaningful say in how the country is run.  The leaders of these countries are unlikely viewed as puppets of Western governments.  In western countries the people have sovereignty -- which means they have the right to make the laws by which they live.  Muslims believe that only Allah has the right to make laws and so only Allah is sovereign.  It is not allowed for Muslims to make their own law when we have the Quran & Sunnah. Authority rests with the people.  This means that it is a right of people to decide how they are governed.  In Western countries this authority is exercised through representative government where the people elect persons from among themselves to rule over them as long as they rule by democratic values.  The structure could be presidential or prime ministerial.  In Islam, the authority also rests with the people and they give their pledge of allegiance to the rulers who will apply Islam on them.

Homework from 20 February 2011:

1. Seerah: We all know that the archers deserted their post during Uhud. What lessons can we learn from this event? 
2. What do you understand from the next (number 22) of Nawawi's 40 Hadith: Abu ‘Abdullah Jabir bin ‘Abdullah al-Ansari reported that a man questioned the Messenger of Allah* saying: "Do you see, if I pray the prescribed (prayers), fast during Ramadhan, treat the lawful as permissible and treat the forbidden as prohibited, but do nothing more than that, shall I enter Paradise?” He*(the Prophet) answered: “Yes.” [Muslim]  

3. News Topics from this week: Any interesting news articles from the week that relate to Islam or the Muslims? Bring a clipping or print out if you can...