Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
On one occasion the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, organized a
scouting party of eight Emigrants drawn from various tribes of Quraish and
appointed Abdullah bin Jahsh as their leader. In order to keep their objective
secret, lest knowledge of it should reach Quraish, he did not disclose it even
to the leader of the party, who was given his directions in a sealed cover, which
he was instructed to open and read after having travelled for two days in the
direction of Mecca. When Abdullah opened the cover in accordance with his
instructions, he found that the Holy Prophet had directed: ‘Proceed to Nakhlah,
between Mecca and Taif, and there keep track of the movements of Quraish and
inform me of them.’ He was also directed that if any of his companions, on
discovering the objective of the party, should be reluctant to continue with
it, he should be permitted to return. Abdullah announced these directions to
his companions and they all expressed their willingness cheerfully to carry out
the directions. The party then proceeded towards Nakhlah. In the course of the
journey the camel that S’ad bin Abi Waqqas and Utba bin Ghazwan had been riding
strayed away and they went in search of it and were thus separated from their
companions and were not able to rejoin them. The party arrived at Nakhlah and
busied themselves as they had been directed. A few days later they encountered
a small caravan of Quraish on its way from Taif to Mecca.
The party consulted
among themselves what course of action they should follow. One element in the
situation was that the time was the end of one of the sacred months and they
were not sure whether the month had ended or whether it was the last day of the
month. If they let the caravan escape, it would soon enter within the boundary
of the sanctuary around Mecca, where no action could be taken against it. In
this situation, they attacked the four persons who were in charge of the
caravan, of whom one, Amr bin Hadhrami, was killed, two were captured and the
fourth escaped. The scouting party took over the merchandise of the caravan and
made haste to return to Medina. When the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, was
given an account of the incident, he was greatly displeased and observed, ‘I
had not directed you to fight in the sacred month,’ and he refused to take his
share of the spoils. Abdullah and his companions were much abashed and
experienced deep remorse over their action. On their side, Quraish raised an
outcry that the Muslims had dishonoured a sacred month. The man who was killed
was a protege of Utba bin Rabi’a, one of the chiefs of Mecca, and his death
greatly provoked Quraish and still further stimulated their hostile designs
against the Muslims. They sent two emissaries to Medina to secure the release
of the two men who had been taken captive, but as S’ad bin Abi Waqqas and his
companion Utba had not yet returned to Medina and the Holy Prophet was apprehensive
that if they fell into the hands of Quraish they would not be spared, he
refused the release of the captives, awaiting the return of S’ad and Utba. They
arrived in Medina within a few days and the two captives were released on
payment of ransom. But one of them, Hakam bin Kayan, had in the meantime
embraced Islam and stayed on in Medina. The other returned to Mecca. A short
while after this event the Holy Prophet received the revelation (2:218):
They inquire from thee about fighting in the Sacred Month. Tell
them: Fighting in it is a great evil; but to hinder people from the way of
Allah and to deny Him, and to profane the Sanctity of the Sacred Mosque, and to
expel its people there-from, is a much greater evil in the estimation of Allah;
and persecution is a worse evil than killing. They will not stop fighting you
until they turn you back from your faith, if they can.
We are now approaching the time when the first pitched battle
between the Muslims and Quraish was fought at Badr. Before entering upon an
account of that famous battle, it might be helpful to set out briefly the
policies, principles and tactics that the Holy Prophet followed in respect of
his military and paramilitary activities, and which he directed the Muslims to
observe:-
1. Where he had a choice, he preferred to set out on a
Thursday, in the morning hours.
2. Before setting out, it was his practice to make suitable
supplications to the Divine, along with the whole of his company.
3. He had established a fairly effective system of intelligence
concerning the movements of the enemy. Those entrusted with this duty were
instructed that they should not report to him when he was among company. If he
received some intelligence, which occasioned anxiety, he did not make it
public, and communicated it to only selected individuals.
4. When he set out on an expedition he did not normally
announce his goal. On some occasions he would proceed for a few miles in a
direction different from the direction of his goal and would then veer round to
the direction of his goal.
5. At a short distance from Medina, he would make a halt and
check up on everything. He set out finally after being satisfied that
everything was in order.
6. On the occasion of important campaigns, the Holy Prophet
called for volunteers and those who were prepared to accompany him arranged
their own equipment and mounts. Anyone who was himself well-off might help
another less favoured one in this respect. The Holy Prophet urged such aid and
assistance and rendered it himself when he was able to do so.
7. Boys below fifteen years of age were not permitted to go to
battle. Those who, out of their eagerness, sometimes slipped into the ranks of
the volunteers were, if detected at the time of checking up, sent back.
8. A number of women generally accompanied the volunteers to
help in arranging for food and to nurse the wounded and to take care of them.
They also distributed water among the fighting men in the course of the battle.
On certain occasions, women are known to have taken part in the fighting also.
9. The Holy Prophet took one or more of his wives with him on
such journeys. They were selected by lot.
10. When the Holy Prophet received intimation that an enemy
tribe was preparing to attack the Muslims, he forestalled their design in order
to frustrate it. On such occasions he so contrived that the Muslim force should
arrive unexpectedly at the enemy encampment or settlement. This method
safeguarded the Muslims to a large degree, and, in many cases, it rendered
fighting unnecessary and thus safeguarded the enemy also.
11. Whenever he dispatched a force on such a campaign, he
directed the commander that when the enemy were encountered, they should be
invited to embrace Islam, and if they agreed they should be urged to migrate to
Medina. If they became Muslims, but could not migrate, they were permitted to
stay at home in peace. If the enemy rejected the invitation to accept Islam,
they were invited to stop fighting the Muslims and to submit to the Islamic
state. If they rejected all these offers, they should be fought.
12. When he dispatched a force on a campaign, he admonished
them: ‘Muslims, go forth in the name of Allah, and fight in the cause of Allah.
Do not defraud in the matter of the spoils, nor cheat the enemy. Do not
mutilate the enemy dead nor kill women or children or monks or priests, nor
those who have arrived at extreme old age. Always try to improve people’s
condition and behave benevolently towards them. Allah loves the benevolent.’ In
his time, Hazrat Abu Bakr used to add: ‘Leave alone those who have dedicated
their lives to the service of God and also that to which they are dedicated; do
not cut down fruit trees, nor ruin an inhabited place.’ All this was designed
towards making war humane and to put an end to the inhuman practices that were
current in Arabia before the advent of Islam.
13. Whenever the Holy Prophet dispatched a party or a force, he
appointed an emir (commander, or leader) over them.
He directed that even if as few as three persons should set out on an errand,
they should appoint one of themselves as their leader. He insisted on the
rendering of full obedience to the emir. He said, ‘Even if a stupid Negro slave
is appointed emir over you, render him full
obedience,’ though he added that if the emir should
require something to be done which was clearly opposed to a divine command or
to a direction of his own, he should not be obeyed in that respect, but his
authority must be upheld at all times.
14. In the course of a journey, when the Holy Prophet and his
Companions had to ascend a height they glorified Allah in the words ‘Allah is
Most Great’ and when they had to descend from a height, they glorified Allah in
the words ‘Holy is Allah’.
15. The Muslims were directed that during the course of a
march, they should not make camp in a manner that might prove inconvenient for
other people, nor should they march in a manner so as to block the way. He said
in the course of a journey: He who does not safeguard the comfort of others in
marching or camping would be deprived of his reward in respect of his jihad.
16. When the Holy Prophet encountered the enemy in the field of
battle, he always supplicated the Divine before the commencement of the
fighting.
17. He preferred fighting during the forenoon, and stopped
fighting during the heat of the day and resumed it in the late afternoon.
18. Before a battle, he himself arranged his forces in battle
order and resented any kind of irregularity or confusion.
19. An Islamic force generally carried two standards, one white
which was rolled around a staff and was called Liwa; the second was generally
black which floated from a staff and was called Raya. In battle, these
standards were committed to the care of selected individuals.
20. The Holy Prophet appointed a password for his forces before
a battle, which helped to distinguish between friend and foe.
21. He disliked noise or confusion among the ranks and called
for silent and diligent performance of duty.
22. Before a battle the Holy Prophet appointed emirs over different groups of his forces who were clearly
instructed in their duties. In selecting these company commanders he kept in
mind the consideration that the person selected for the command should be one
esteemed among his group or company.
23. On special occasions, the Holy Prophet invited his
Companions to take a special oath of allegiance and loyalty, as was done at
Hudaibiyya, of which mention is made in the Holy Quran (48:19).
24. When the Holy Prophet was himself present, battle was not
joined till he gave permission.
25. During the course of battle he issued special directions
from time to time and announced them himself or directed someone with a
powerful voice to go on announcing them.
26. Muslims were not permitted to run away from battle or to
lay down their arms. They were commanded to prevail or to become martyrs. There
was, however, permission to retreat as a manoeuvre (8:16,17). If due to some
weakness anyone contravened this injunction the Holy Prophet was not wroth with
any such, and gave them the benefit of the doubt that they might have retreated
as a manoeuvre and encouraged them to be steadfast in future.
27. Muslims were forbidden to inflict an injury upon anyone’s
face. The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, observed that a Muslim should be most
careful in inflicting an injury.
28. Muslims were under a strict injunction to take no
prisoners, except in the course of regular fighting (8:28).
29. Prisoners of war were either released after the battle as
an act of benevolence, or in return for ransom (47:5). Or else, they could ask
for their ransom to be fixed which they could pay out of their earnings, in
which case they were set at liberty so that they could earn their wages freely.
Indeed, those to whom they were allotted were themselves urged to contribute
towards the payment of their ransom, as an act of benevolence, as is said:
‘Write out a deed of manumission for such of those under your control as desire
it, if you see some good in them, and help them to secure their freedom with a
portion of the wealth of Allah which He has bestowed upon you’ (24:34).
30. Prisoners of war must be dealt with compassionately. Those
taken prisoners in the battle of Badr testified to the extreme kindness with
which their captors treated them.
31. Ransom was not insisted upon to be paid in cash. For
instance, those of the prisoners taken in the battle of Badr who were literate
were told that their ransom would be to teach a certain number of Muslim
children to read and write.
32. Muslims were forbidden to pillage or plunder.
33. If anyone of the enemy declared his acceptance of Islam,
even in the course of fighting, he was to be spared as no danger was
apprehended any longer from him. In the course of fighting on one occasion an
enemy combatant, when confronted with Usama bin Zaid, who was about to kill
him, declared that he embraced Islam, but Usama killed him nevertheless. When
this was reported to the Holy Prophet, he was greatly displeased and inquired
from Usama, ‘Why did you kill him after he had declared his acceptance of
Islam?’ Usama submitted, ‘Messenger of Allah, he merely said so out of fear. He
was not sincere.’ The Holy Prophet retorted, ‘Had you cut open his heart to
make sure whether he was sincere or not?’ The Holy Prophet went on repeating,
‘How will you justify your action before Allah on the Day of Judgment?’ Usama
was so unhappy over the Holy Prophet’s severe displeasure, that in relating the
incident afterwards, he said, ‘I wished that I had not been a Muslim before
this event and had embraced Islam only after it, so that I should not have been
the cause of such severe displeasure on the part of the Holy Prophet.’ On the
other hand, there are also instances in which the Holy Prophet himself did not
accept the declaration of a person’s embracing Islam if he was satisfied that
he was making it only out of fear or temptation. A case is mentioned in Muslim
that in a battle a prisoner was taken who belonged to a tribe who were allies
of Banu Thaqeef. When the Holy Prophet passed near him he sought release by
addressing him in the words, ‘Muhammad, why am I being kept a prisoner? I
accept Islam.’ The Holy Prophet responded to him, ‘Had you embraced Islam
before you were taken captive, God would have accepted it of you and you would
have achieved salvation, but not now.’ In the end, he was exchanged in return
for two Muslims who had been taken prisoners by Banu Thaqeef. There is not a
single instance that any one was converted to Islam by being put in fear of death.
34. Muslims were enjoined strict fulfilment of their covenants
and pledges. The Holy Prophet himself was most particular in this regard. On
the occasion of the battle of Badr, Hudhaifah bin Yaman, having migrated from
Mecca, joined the Holy Prophet and the Muslims just at the time when fighting
was about to start. He submitted to the Holy Prophet that when he was about to
leave Mecca, Quraish had made him promise that he would not take part in
fighting against them. On learning this, the Holy Prophet directed him to
fulfil his promise and to refrain from joining in the battle. This is an
illustration of the extreme strictness of the Holy Prophet in such matters, for
a promise given under coercion would not legally be construed as binding.
Hazrat Umar was so strict in these matters that in his time he announced that
if a Muslim were guilty of cheating the enemy or of failing to carry out his
pledged word to the enemy, he would be executed.
35. The bodies of those Muslims who became martyrs in battle
were neither washed nor wrapped in a shroud. They were buried just as they had
fallen.
36. In case of an emergency a number of martyrs were interred
in a single grave. On such occasions, their bodies were lowered into the grave
in the order of their degree of knowledge of the Holy Quran. Martyrs were
buried on the field of battle.
37. The funeral service for martyrs was either held immediately
after the battle, or if circumstances were not propitious, at some later time.
38. The Holy Prophet generally arranged that the enemy dead
should be given decent burial by the Muslims.
39. In the time of the Holy Prophet, Muslim fighters were paid
no salary.
40. On the occasion of the division of spoils, the commander
first selected some article for himself as a memento, and thereafter, one fifth
of the spoils was set aside as the share of Allah and His Messenger. The rest
was divided equally between the fighters, those who were mounted receiving
three times as much as those on foot. The personal belongings of an enemy who had
been killed went to the Muslim fighter who killed him.
41. The one-filth that was set-aside for Allah and the Holy
Prophet was administered at the discretion of the Holy Prophet. Part of it he
distributed among his family and kindred, but the greater part was devoted
towards fulfilling the collective needs of the community. The Holy Prophet
observed on one occasion, ‘I am forbidden to take even the equivalent of a
single hair of a camel in excess of the one-fifth; the greater part of the
one-fifth is also returned to you.’
42. In the field of battle the order of Salat was modified so
that while the Imam led the service throughout, part of the fighting force
joined in the service and then withdrew to make room for other parts, one after
the other. In this manner, the greater part of the battle force continued to
confront the enemy during the service (4:103).
43. After fasting had been prescribed, some of the Muslims
observed the fast when they were on a journey and some did not. Eventually, the
Holy Prophet forbade the observing of the fast in the course of a journey.
44. By ancient custom among the Arabs, a spy was liable to be
executed. The Holy Prophet maintained the penalty.
45. The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, forbade severely any
interference with the emissary of the enemy or doing him any harm or inflicting
any injury upon him. On one occasion, some emissaries of disbelievers came to
him and spoke very impertinently to him. He was provoked, but observed, ‘You
are emissaries, and I am, therefore, not permitted to make a harsh retort to
you.’ On another occasion, an emissary came to him and after talking to him, he
embraced Islam and submitted that he did not now wish to return to his people.
The Holy Prophet observed, ‘You are an emissary and must return to your people.
I will be no party to any disloyalty. After you return to your people, you can
come back if you so wish.’ So he went back and after some time found the
opportunity of coming back.
46. After the Hedjaz had been purified of all paganism, the
Holy Prophet announced that if a pagan should wish to come to Medina as a
seeker after truth, he would guarantee his security and safe return (9:6).
47. The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, was most particular with
regard to the security and the rights of the pagans who established treaty
relations with the Muslims. He observed, ‘A Muslim who kills any covenanting
pagan will not be permitted to perceive the breeze of paradise.’ He also
directed that a Muslim who should be guilty of killing a covenanting pagan by
mistake must, in addition to paying his blood money to his heirs, also arrange
to procure the freedom of a slave.
48. He also observed, ‘I shall on the Day of Judgment seek
justice on behalf of a covenanting pagan who is wronged or harmed in any way or
is burdened beyond his capacity, or is deprived of something against his will.’
49 When the Holy Prophet went forth to battle, he did not stop
for more than three days at the place of the fighting after he had achieved
victory, so that the presence of the Muslim forces should not become a source
of inconvenience or a burden for the local people.
50. Any motive other than the safeguarding of the faith and
putting down any mischief against it was regarded as inconsistent with the
purpose of jihad The Holy Prophet, peace be on him,
had announced that anyone who went forth to battle for the sake of spoils, or
for the display of his bravery, or for any other worldly motive, disentitled
himself to any spiritual reward.
salam...keep blogging..hehe
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