ALL FOR STUDENTS

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

After The Sword of Allah came on the market at the beginning of 1970, I have been engaged upon further research in Muslim military history. All my spare time has gone into this effort. My second book: The Muslim Conquest of Persia, came out in early 1976 while my third, The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa, is with the printers.

Many friends, Pakistani and foreign, have asked for copies of the book and many others have urged another printing. Having been translated into Arabic and Urdu, it has been widely read in the Muslim world. The Sword of Allah was my first book and will probably remain my favourite, in spite of ambitious plans for future volumes on the wars of Muslim history. I have therefore decided to have it put on the market once again.

As a result of research in connection with my second book, I have unearthed more material on the earliest part of Muslim history which has a bearing, though not substantial, on The Sword of Allah. In view of this, instead of sending it to the printers in its original form, I have brought it up to date. I have thoroughly revised the book. This edition, therefore, is not a reprint; it is revised edition; and it goes to press with the hope that it will receive the same warm welcome from the reader as was accorded to the first edition.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Muslim history is replete with great military achievements and glorious feats of arms. In the annals of war there are no battles which surpass, in brilliance and decisiveness, the battles of Islam; no commanders who surpass, in courage and skill, the gifted generals of Islam. The sword has always held a place of honour in Muslim culture. And yet very little is known in the world today about the military history of Islam. There is not a single work by a trained military mind, written after proper research and a thorough examination of the ground, describing in detail the famous battles of Islam. In fact there has been no real research. There is a void.

I became conscious of this void in early 1964 when I was Chief Instructor at the Staff College, Quetta. Having always been a keen student of Military History, which subject I used to direct, among others, at the Staff College, I felt that I was perhaps better qualified than many Muslim soldiers to under­take the task of filling this gap in literature. The whole of Mus­lim military history would take several hundred volumes, but at least a beginning could be made; and I decided to accept the challenge. I would start at the beginning; and I would describe the campaigns of Khalid bin Al Waleed (may Allah be pleased with him).

I found that a good deal of material was available on the early battles of Islam, but it was all in Arabic. Not all early Muslim historians have been translated; and where translations

exist, they are often inaccurate and sometimes downright dis­honest. For such research one would have to know the language in which the original accounts were written. So I learned Arabic.

I then prepared a bibliography to include all the early historians, but excluded from it all writers, Muslim or Christian, who lived and wrote after the Tenth Century. Since the latter obtained all their information from the former, I decided to concentrate exclusively on the early sources and thus avoid being influenced in any way by the opinions and conjectures of later writers. The preparation of the bibliography was re­latively easy; the real problem was the procurement of the books, for these were not available in Pakistan and their cost in Arab countries was considerable. In this matter, however, I was helped out by certain friends who very generously donated the books as a contribution to this project. These friends, who have all been my students at Quetta, are: Brigadier Majid Haj Hassan of Jordan, Brigadier H.U. Babar of Pakistan, and Majors Naif Aon Sharaf and Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, both of Saudi Arabia. I thus came to possess an excellent library of early Muslim historical works; and with the acquisition of this material my research began.

One of the most difficult tasks which faces any scholar dealing with such research is the absence of geographical data. Geography forms the physical basis of military strategy and no military history is possible without knowing, with a reason­able degree of accuracy, the geographical conditions prevailing at the time. I was fortunate to acquire two excellent geographical works of the early Muslim period: Al A'laq-un-Nafeesa by Ibn Rusta and Al Buldan by Yaqubi, which explain in consi­derable detail the physical and political geography of the time. From these works I was able to reconstruct the terrain conditions and pinpoint accurately the locations of many places which no longer exist. It took me several weeks of concentrated study to solve this problem and prepare the maps which are included in this book.

In my quest for maps I was also helped by Brigadier Majid Haj Hassan of Jordan and Brigadier H.U. Babar of Pakistan. And the last, though by no means least, of my geogra­phical aids was a historical atlas of Iraq prepared by Dr. Ahmad Sousa of Baghdad —an excellent piece of research which covers

Preface   xi

much more than Iraq in its scope.

Although the giants of historical literature in the first few centuries of the Muslim era were almost all Muslims (as indeed were the giants of most branches of literature), I was anxious to study some early Western authors as well in order to know their version of events, especially with regard to the Muslim conquest of Syria. I was able to discover two Byzantine historians, viz Nicephorus and Theophanes, both of the late Eighth and early Ninth Centuries, but unfortunately could not find any translations of their works in languages which I know. I therefore decided to rely for the Western point of view on the celebrated Edward Gibbon whose work: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, is undoubtedly a monumental contribution to history, his anti-Muslim prejudice notwithstand­ing. It only gives a bird's-eye view but I had to be content with that in the absence of other detailed, reliable Western literature.

While avoiding all books written after the Tenth Century for reasons already stated, I nevertheless studied certain later authors for help in matters of geography, so that I could collect all possible data which would make this book more accurate. I made extensive use of the famous Mu’jam-ul-Buldan by the Twelfth/Thirteenth Century scholar, Yaqut. And of Twentieth Century geographical works, the one of greatest help to me was The Middle Euphrates by Alois Musil, a Czech scholar who travelled extensively in Iraq and Syria in the second decade of this Century and carried out a thorough study of the geography of the region traversed by the Euphrates.

Having completed my study of the books and the pre­paration of a first draft, I took leave of absence from the Army and in early August 1968, set out from Pakistan. I first spent some time in Europe, mainly in London and particularly in the British Museum, looking for works on Muslim campaigns against the Byzantine Empire. I could not find any English translations of early Western writers, but did get some useful references from the Museum's library.

In late August I landed at Beirut, and now began my tour of the battlefields of Khalid bin Al Waleed. I would see the lands over which Khalid marched, the places where Khalid fought his battles, and the sands on which the blood of his

xii    The Sword of Allah

enemies had flowed in rivulets. In Lebanon I had no other work than to locate Abul Quds, a place where Khalid rescued a trap­ped Muslim column; and having located this place, I travelled by road to Syria.

In Syria I stayed at every city which Khalid conquered —Damascus, Emessa, Tadmur, Aleppo — saw every place where Khalid fought his battles, and got the correct location of all the remaining places mentioned in Part IV of this book. In Damas­cus I saw the walls of the fort, traces of which still remain except in its western part, whence it has vanished altogether. I also saw the six gates which are still named as they were in Khalid's time; but the inside of the fort has changed completely. And while in Damascus I took the opportunity of visiting the very imposing National Museum and studying some valuable works of reference which I did not possess in my private library.

In Emessa I carried out the sacred duty of visiting (it was almost a pilgrimage) the Mosque of Khalid bin Al Waleed. It was a poignant moment for me when I stood at the foot of the grave of the master of war — the man I had been thinking about and reading about and writing about for the past four years. I sat in contemplation in the mosque, beside Khalid's tomb, for an hour. Then I stood up and said two rakats of prayer and prayed to God to give to the Muslims of today the victories which He had bestowed upon Khalid, even though they be less deserving.

One of the most interesting days which I spent in Syria was the one on which I searched for and found Qinassareen (the ancient Chalcis), which Khalid had captured, and at which he had held his last command. Many people in Aleppo had heard of Qinassareen and knew that it was somewhere near their city. It was also marked on archaeological maps as a site of ancient ruins. But nobody knew just where it was and how one could get there; for no visitor in living memory had ever come to see Qinassareen. However, I engaged a taxi and by good fortune found a Bedouin in the city (a man whom I took to be a simple peasant) who lived two miles from Qinassareen and had come to Aleppo on a visit. If I would drop him at his village, he would point out to me the rest of the way to Qinassareen. I took him along. We drove on a good road to Zarba, 14 miles south-west of Aleppo, and here, on the Bedouin's instructions, turned

Preface  xiii

off the road on to a small country track which later became so bad that the car lurched along with difficulty. After five miles of this, we reached the Bedouin's village where he alighted from the car and told us to "keep going round the hill" and we would find Qinassareen. The driver and I did keep going round the hill, and not only found Qinassareen, but also that we were back on the very road we had left a few miles back! Qinassareen, or rather the site of it, for there is no Qinassareen left, is actually on this road, and we could have driven straight down to it, but were made to do a wide detour just so the Bedouin could get to his village. Clever Bedouin! But he was a pleasant fellow and did me a service by getting me to within two miles of Qinassareen; for while everybody in the surrounding villages knew the location of Qinassareen nobody in Aleppo did.

The most important of my visits to battlefields in Syria was the visit to Yarmuk. This is a prohibited area because of its nearness to the Cease Fire Line, and foreigners are not allowed to visit it; but thanks to the help of our Ambassador, Mr. A.A. Sheikh, I was given permission by the Syrian Government to visit any part of the area that I wished to see. And not only that — the Syrian Army also provided me with transport for cross-country driving and a conducting officer who knew the area well and proved an indispensable guide. Thus I was able to spend many hours, armed with map and compass, carrying out a thorough examination of the famous battlefield. I drove along the entire length of what had been the battle front, exa­mined the terrain from several vantage points and had a good took at the Yarmuk gorge from the north bank. I could not see the Wadi-ur-Raqqad because it is the Cease Fire Line, but from a village named Shajara, three miles from the ravine, I had a clear view of the area where the last bloody phase of this battle was fought.

After Yarmuk I drove with my conducting officer to Busra, saw the famous fort, examined the terrain outside Busra and then returned to Damascus.

I spent altogether a fortnight in Syria — a country full of beauty and full of history. Here my travels were made easier and more enjoyable with the help and cooperation of our Ambassador and our First Secretary, Mr. Fazal Rahim. On September 13, I travelled by taxi to Amman.

xiv   The Sword of Allah

I arrived in Jordan to find (not entirely to my surprise) that a Pakistani is not an alien in Jordan. In fact, in no country in the world does a Pakistani, when outside his own native land, feel so much at home as in Jordan, where the affection and hospitality shown to Pakistanis is overwhelming and unforgettable. I stayed in Jordan as a guest of the Jordanian Army, and was given every facility to see all that I wanted to see, for which my thanks are due to the Chief of the General Staff, General Amer Khammash. And I am indebted to my old student and friend, Brigadier Majid Haj Hassan, for taking upon his broad shoulders the entire responsibility of organising my programme and for seeing it through to a successful conclusion with the utmost efficiency.

I spent a whole day examining the battlefield of Yarmuk from south of the Yarmuk River. This was supplementary to the reconnaissance which I had carried out earlier from the Syrian side. I visited Fahl and saw the area of the Jordan Valley where the Battle of Fahl was fought. I drove down to Mauta and walked over what is believed to be the site of the battle, in the centre of which a fine new mosque is now being built. Here, strangely enough, several people claim to have seen visions of the Battle of Mauta — the movement of Muslim warriors, the clash of combat — and I myself met two men who said that they had seen such visions. The three Muslim commanders who fell as martyrs in this battle are buried at Mazar, two miles away, and I visited and prayed at the grave of each.

My visit to Jordan ended on September 21, 1968, when I flew to Baghdad, via Beirut, carrying with me memories of an interesting and heart-warming stay in a country small in size but big in spirit.

I arrived at Baghdad to find all the arrangements for my tour of Iraq already made, thanks to the foresight of our Military Attache, Colonel H.M.I. Ameen. The Government of Iraq had responded in a positive and brotherly fashion to my project of writing about the conquests of Islam and the Minister of Culture and Guidance, Mr. Abdullah As-Salum, had already issued instructions that I was to be given every facility to see all that I wished in Iraq. This official help was of inestimable value to me. I was given transport and a conducting officer Dr. Muhammad Baqir Al Hussaini, who proved a welcome guide and companion.

Preface  xv

I first spent a week in Baghdad, studying in the library of the Baghdad Museum and holding discussions with some of the eminent scholars of Iraq — Dr Saleh Ahmad Al'Ali, Dr Ahmad Sousa (whose atlas I have already mentioned) and Mr Fuad Safar. These discussions revolved around historical and geographical themes and were of definite help to me. But my task of locating battlefields in Iraq proved much more difficult than it had been in Syria and Jordan, for the reason that while in those countries Khalid's battles were fought at great cities and on well-known plains which are still there for the visitor to see, his battles in Iraq were fought mainly at small towns which have ceased to exist. Moreover, the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, behaving like unpredictable women, have capriciously changed their course many times, thus altering the geography of the region through which they flow. This makes the task of accurately placing the towns on their banks a matter of considerable difficulty.

Nevertheless, I was able to achieve a good deal, by God's grace. I carried out a tour of several days' duration, based first at Baghdad and then at Kufa, and drove hundreds of miles in the desert and the sown. I located and visited every battlefield of Khalid with the exception of the places where he fought after the capture of Ein-ut-Tamr, for these places do not exist now and their location is not definitely established. I then went on to Basra and saw Mazar (the present Al Azeir) and the sites of Uballa and Hufeir, of neither of which does a trace remain.

This brought to an end my two and a half weeks' stay in Iraq — a stay made more interesting and comfortable by the hospitality of Colonel Ameen. On October 8, 1968, I travelled by road to Kuweit.

I had very little to do in Kuweit. I located and saw Kazima, the scene of Khalid's first battle with the Persians (actually not much remains of Kazima); and two days after my arrival from Iraq I flew back to Pakistan. In a little more than six weeks in the Middle East, I had travelled by road something like 4,000 miles.

For four months I remained at my post, rewriting the account of Khalid's campaigns in Iraq and Syria in the light of knowledge gained in my travels. Then, in early February, 1969, I set out once again for the desert, to complete what remained
xvi   The Sword of Allah

of my tour. I flew to Jedda on February 4, and was received at the airport by our Military Attache, Colonel Nur-ul-Haq, and representatives of the Saudi Arabian Army. Colonel Nur-ul-Haq had informed the Saudi Government of my coming and the purpose of my visit, and with typical Arab hospitality, the Government had invited me to stay as its guest. I happily accepted the invitation and this proved a great boon, for over the vast spaces which comprise Saudi Arabia my extensive travels would not have been possible without official assistance. In fact, as my tour progressed, and as I drove along sandy trails and over barren deserts, I became more and more conscious of my debt to the Saudi Government, and in particular to the Army, because without their help I could never have carried out such a thorough examination of these battlefields.

All my travel arrangements were made by the Army and I was given a conducting officer, Captain Abdur Rahman Al Hammad, an intelligent young man who remained with me as my aide and companion throughout my five weeks' stay in the country.

Soon after my arrival, I did the Umra at Mecca and then flew to Riyadh. I decided to visit the northern part of Arabia first, as here my travels had to cover a much larger region, and I felt that it would be better to get this behind me, so that I would then be left with the easier and relatively better known battles in the region of Mecca and Madina. Thus I would first see the places where Khalid fought his battles against the apostates, the battles described in Part II of this book.

I stayed three days at Riyadh, during which I spent an entire morning examining the battlefield of Yamama, and then tra-velled by road to Bureida. Using this as a base, I drove out to Nibbaj (the present Nabqiyya) and Butah. On February 12, I flew to Hail and was surprised to see how cold it was. Here I spent three days — most of the time driving about the desert and saw several places where Khalid fought the apostates. The difficulties of a reconnaissance such as I had undertaken can be judged by the fact that just to see Sameera and Ghamra, which are close to each other, I had to drive 200 miles in a round trip from Hail, going over desert trails and cross-country, a trip that took me 10 long, dusty hours. And the problem of locating places was further accentuated by the fact that I

Preface   xvii

had to do my map reading with nothing better than a one-million-scale map.

I flew back to Riyadh on February 15, and the following day returned to Jedda. Now began the second phase of my tour — the region of Mecca.

On February 17, I went up to Taif for a night and a day, and saw the mosque where had stood the Muslim camp during the siege of Taif. I found no trace of any ruins which could give an indication of the Taif Fort, but I took the opportunity to visit a number of places connected with the route of the Holy Prophet to Taif. Then I returned to Jedda, and was sorry to leave Taif as it is a very pleasant spot and delightfully cool.

I spent a day over the Battle of Hunein and this proved a long day indeed. The maps show a road to and through the Hunein Valley, and this used to be the main road from Mecca to Taif before the present highway was built, but the road is now in disuse and recent rains have not been kind to it. Thus I was driving very often in sandy and stony wadi beds, and but for the fact that I had a land-rover, I would never have got through the valley. Luckily, I made it and was able to carry out a good examination of the valley in which the battle was fought.

I next spent a day studying Mecca itself, in order to place on the ground the plan of the conquest of Mecca. Mecca has expanded enormously since those early days of Islam, and it is not possible to determine the exact limits of the town as they were in the Prophet's time; yet the places known to exist then still exist, and I saw all these places. I also climbed the Hill of Kuda, about two miles south of the Ka'ba, from which I had a fairly good view of the southern approaches. I even tried to draw a panoramic sketch, but the area is so hilly that the task proved beyond my limited artistic ability and I had to be content with making a map without hills. I have found no large-scale topographical maps to guide me in this, and I confess that of all the maps in this book, this (Map 5) is the one with which I am the least satisfied. Perhaps another writer with cartographical talents superior to mine could improve on this infantryman's effort.

Thus ended Phase Two: the region of Mecca. And it was now time for the Haj; so during the end of February, I did the annual pilgrimage — the dearest wish of every Believer — as a guest of the Saudi Arabian Government. This duty done, I

xviii   The Sword of Allah

drove to Madina, on March 4, for the very last phase of my tour of Muslim battlefields.

At Madina I made a critical examination of the Battles of Uhud and the Ditch, which are recorded in such detail and are so well known that it was quite easy to follow them on the ground. I made panoramic sketches of the various hill features which are shown in the maps of this book; and I visited Abraq about 70 miles from Madina, where Caliph Abu Bakr trounced the apostates in the little-known Battle of Abraq. This part of my tour was organised by Major Muhammad Abdul Hameed Asad, and I had as guide the best of guides: the learned Sheikh Ibrahim bin Ali Al Ayyashi, a scholar and historian of repute, at whose knowledge of early Muslim history and geography I could not but marvel.

After a stay of five days at Madina I returned to Jedda whence, on March 11, 1969, I flew back to Pakistan. I left Saudi Arabia with feelings of deep gratitude for the cooperation and help extended to me by the Government and the Army of this vast desert kingdom and the hospitality of all Saudis with whom I came in contact. I felt particularly indebted to His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Defence, whose kindness in treating me as a State guest had made possible what would otherwise have been an almost impossible task.

Back in Pakistan, once I had got over the fatigue of my Arabian travels, I pondered deeply over the many facets of my tour of Khalid's battlefields. I was more than a little surprised that I had been able to carry out this tour entirely on my own, for it was undoubtedly an ambitious project; and I was deeply thankful to God Almighty for His help in making it successful. I had had to pay a high price in effort and time and money; but looking back upon it, I was glad that I had done it at my own expense and not at the expense of a kind donor (not that there had been any actual offer of help!). This was my service to Islam, my contribution to Muslim literature, my humble act of worship as one of the Faithful.

It took me several months to rewrite the manuscript and in October, 1969, the revised manuscript is being sent to press. It had taken me over five years to carry out the entire project, from the initial collection of material to the final preparations for printing the book.

Preface  xix

This is a book of history, specifically of Muslim military history. It deals with the life and campaigns of one of the most remarkable soldiers the world has ever known — Khalid bin Al Waleed, an all-conquering hero who never knew the meaning of military defeat. Seeking clarity for the layman as well as the professional soldier, I have avoided technical terminology and tried to maintain a simple style.

A good deal of what appears in this book is not generally known to the public; but every incident, every circumstance is historically correct. Every move, every duel, every blow, every quoted statement is taken from the accounts of the early historians. In the interpretation of the facts, I have at times had to rely on judgement, particularly with regard to the description of the battles; but I have tried to be as objective as possible. In my account of the battles and my description of the events which occurred in those early, fateful years of Islam, I have given credit to the enemies of Islam when they deserved it (and this was often); and I have pointed out the mistakes of the Muslims (though these were few).

While all the facts are given in the early accounts, there is a considerable amount of confusion because of the existence of various, and conflicting, versions. The early historians have faithfully recorded each version of a given event, even when these are directly contradictory, and left it to the reader to make his choice, with the remark: "And Allah knows best!" This confusion applies most seriously to the Syrian Campaign, with the result that the reader is left in doubt as to exactly how the campaign was fought and just what was the chronological sequence of events.

I have tried to dispel this confusion by giving one under-standable version which appears to me the most likely and sensible. I have not burdened the book with footnotes explaining differences of opinion among the early chroniclers, but I have given footnotes to show the historical source from which every dialogue or quoted statement is taken. These footnotes are for reference by research scholars rather than for the general reader; the latter may well disregard them, if he is not interested in further study of the subject. Moreover, in the case of important or controversial differences, I have given notes in an appendix at the end of the book, which would be of value to more demanding

xx  The Sword of Allah

readers.

Some of the battles, particularly in the second half of the book, are reconstructions, but my account is based on incidents and clear pointers given by early historians. The difference lies in the fact that the early historians made no effort to analyse strategy and tactics, whereas I have tried to do so as a soldier as well as a historian. The philosophy of the manoeuvre and the analysis are my contribution to the account of each battle. All the facts that I have given belong to history. They are the bright flowers of history. But the thread that holds them is mine; and the arrangement of the flowers is mine.

Part I of the book — the battles fought in the time of the Holy Prophet — may appear to the reader to be more a military biography of Prophet Muhammad than of Khalid. This is unavoidable. Events which occurred in Arabia in the Prophet's time, whether religious, political, economic, cultural or military, were so completely dominated by the Messenger of Allah that no writer can describe these events without reflecting, in his account, the tremendous impact of the personality of Muhammad (on whom be the blessings of Allah) and the new message which he brought as the last Apostle of God. Moreover, a study of the Prophet's battles is essential to the student who wishes to trace the development of the art of war in early Islam from its humble beginnings at Madina to the complex manoeuvres of Khalid at Yarmuk.

I have mentioned in these pages many who have been of assistance to me in carrying out the project. There are others who have helped me in various ways, but space does not permit me to name them all. I would, however, like to acknowledge my debt to my wife for drawing the maps and checking my draft, and my personal assistant, Naib-Subedar Abdul Sattar Shad, for typing the manuscript.

To conclude, the object of this book is to record and make known to the world the life and military achievements of Khalid bin Al Waleed. If the book succeeds in achieving this object, Allah be praised! If it does not, even then Allah be praised!

October, 1969.

Rawalpindi, West Pakistan.                                              A. I. Akram

A NOTE ON ARABIC NAMES

A brief explanation of the system of Arabic names would help the reader in understanding the filial relationship indicated by a name. It would also help him to understand why the same person is known by so many different names.

An Arab (and this custom is still prevalent in some Arab societies) was known by three names. One was his own personal name, say Talha. Another was the name of his father, say Abdullah, and in this case he was known as Ibn or Bin Abdullah, i.e. Son of Abdullah. The third was the name of his son, say Zeid, and in this case he was known as Abu Zeid, i.e. Father of Zeid. Thus he could be called Talha or Ibn Abdullah or Abu Zeid, the last being the most respectful way of addressing a person. In certain grammatical forms Abu is expressed as Abi, and both have been used in this book.

Since the father too would be known by the name of a son, the son would at times have a name like Talha bin Abi Usman i.e. Talha, Son of the Father of Usman (Usman being a brother of Talha). A man could even be known as Talha bin Abi Talha which, translated literally, means: Talha, Son of the Father of Talha. This may sound odd in English, but in Arabic it is normal, and in fact quite charming.

The same rule applied to women. A girl by the name of Asma would be known as Asma bint Abdullah, i.e. Daughter

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of Abdullah. And on becoming a mother she would be known as the mother of her son or daughter, e.g. Umm Zeid, i.e. Mother of Zeid.

In the pronunciation of Arabic names fine differences, as between S and Th or Z and Dh, have been ignored in this book, although to Arabs these differences are very real and the sound quite distinct. To simplify pronunciation, sounds commonly used in Pakistan — S and Z — have been used throughout the book.

CONTENTS

Preface to the Second Edition                                                                 vii

Preface to the First Edition                                                                     ix

A Note on Arabic Names                                                                       xxi

PART I:  In  the Time of the Prophet

1. The Boy                                                                                              3

2. The New Faith                                                                                    9

3. The Battle of Uhud                                                                             20

4. The Batte of the Ditch                                                                        50

5. The Conversion of Khalid                                                                  74

6. Mauta and the Sword of Allah                                                           81

7. The Conquest of Mecca                                                                     87

8. The Battle of Hunein                                                                          101

9. The Siege of Taif                                                                 111

10. Adventure at Daumat-ul-Jandal                                                        117

PART II:  The Campaign of the Apostasy

11. The Gathering Storm                                                                        123

12. Abu Bakr Strikes                                                                              135

13. Tuleiha the Imposter                                                                        147

14. False Lords and Ladies                                                                     162

15. The End of Malik Bin Nuweira                                                        173

16. The Battle of Yamama                                                                      180

17. The Collapse of the Apostasy                                                         203

PART III:  The Invasion of Iraq

18. The Clash with Persia                                                                       215

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19.       The Battle of Chains                                                                   225

20.       The Battle of the River                                                               239

21.       The Hell of Walaja                                                                      243

22.       The River of Blood                                                                     254

23.       The Conquest of Hira                                                                 263

24.       Anbar and Ein-ut-Tamr                                                              274

25.       Daumat-ul-Jandal Again                                                             281

26.       The Last Opposition                                                                  286

PART IV:  The Conquest of Syria

27. The Perilous March                                                                          301

28. Deeper into Syria                                                                              319

29. The Battle of Ajnadein                                                                     329

30. The Conquest of Damascus                                                              345

31. The Unkind Cut                                                                                                380

32. The Battle of Fahl                                                                             388

33. The Conquest of Emessa                                                                  393

34. The Eve of Yarmuk                                                                           403

35. Al Yarmuk                                                                                        422

36. The Completion of the Conquest                                                     454

37. Farewell to Arms                                                                              467

Appendix A : Bibliography                                                                    483

Appendix B : Notes                                                                                                484

Appendix C : Index of Places                                                                 495

Appendix D : Index of Persons                                                              500

MAPS

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PART I

IN THE TIME OF THE PROPHET

1 : THE BOY

Khalid and the tall boy glared at each other. Slowly they began to move in a circle, the gaze of each fixed intently upon the other, each looking for an opening for his attack and each wary of the tricks that the other might use. There was no hostility in their eyes — just a keen rivalry and an unshakeable determination to win. And Khalid found it necessary to be cautious, for the tall boy was left-handed and thus enjoyed the advantage that all left-handers have over their opponents in a fight.

Wrestling was a popular pastime among the boys of Arabia, and they frequently fought each other. There was no malice in these fights. It was a sport, and boys were trained in wrestling as one of the requirements of Arab manhood. But these two boys were the strongest of all and the leaders of boys of their age. This match was, so to speak, a fight for the heavy-weight title. The boys were well matched. Of about the same age, they were in their early teens. Both were tall and lean, and newly formed muscles rippled on their shoulders and arms as their sweating bodies glistened in the sun. The tall boy was perhaps an inch taller than Khalid. And their faces were so alike that one was often mistaken for the other.

Khalid threw the tall boy; but this was no ordinary fall. As the tall boy fell there was a distinct crack, and a moment later

4  The Sword of Allah

the grotesquely twisted shape of his leg showed that the bone had broken. The stricken boy lay motionless on the ground, and Khalid stared in horror at the broken leg of his friend and nephew. (The tall boy's mother, Hantama bint Hisham bin Al Mugheera, was Khalid's first cousin.)

In course of time the injury healed and the leg of the tall boy became whole and strong again. He would wrestle again and be among the best of wrestlers. And the two boys would remain friends. But while they were both intelligent, strong and forceful by nature, neither had patience or tact. They were to continue to compete with each other in almost everything that they did.

The reader should make a mental note of this tall boy for he was to play an important role in the life of Khalid. He was the son of Al Khattab, and his name was Umar.

                                      

*

Soon after his birth Khalid was taken away from his mother, as was the custom among the better families of the Qureish, and sent to a Bedouin tribe in the desert. A foster mother was found for him, who would nurse him and bring him up. In the clear, dry and unpolluted air of the desert, the foundations were laid of the tremendous strength and robust health that Khalid was to enjoy throughout his life. The desert seemed to suit Khalid, and he came to love it and feel at home in it. From babyhood he grew into early childhood among the Arabs of the desert; and when he was five or six years old he returned to his parents' home in Mecca.

Some time in his childhood he had an attack of small pox, but it was a mild attack and caused no damage except to leave a few pock marks on his face. These marks did not, however, spoil his ruggedly handsome face, which was to cause a lot of trouble among the belles of Arabia — and some to himself too.

The child became a boy; and as he reached the age of boyhood he came to realise with a thrill of pride that he was the son of a chief. His father, Al Waleed, was the Chief of the Bani Makhzum — one of the noblest clans of the Qureish — and was also known in Mecca by the title of Al Waheed — the Unique.¹ Khalid's upbringing was now undertaken by the father who did his best (and with excellent success) to instil into Khalid all

¹Isfahani: Vol. 15, p. 11.

The Boy  5

the virtues of Arab manhood—courage, fighting skill, toughness and generosity. Al Waleed took great pride in his family and his ancestors, and told Khalid that he was:

           Khalid

son of Al Waleed

son of Al Mugheera

son of Abdullah

son of Umar

son of Makhzum (after whom the clan was

                                named)

son of Yaqza

son of Murra

son of Kab

son of Luwayy

son of Ghalib

son of Fihr

son of Malik

son of Al Nazr

son of Kinana

son of Khuzeima

son of Mudrika

son of Ilyas

son of Muzar

son of Nizar

son of Ma'add

son of Adnan

son of Udd

son of Muqawwam

son of Nahur

son of Teirah

son of Ya'rub

son of Yashjub

son of Nabit

son of Isma'il (regarded as the father of

                           the Arabians)

son of Abraham (the prophet)

son of Azar

son of Nahur

son of Sarugh (or Asragh)

son of Arghu

6  The Sword of Allah

son of Falakh

son of Eibar

son of Shalakh

son of Arfakhshaz

son of Saam

son of Noah (the prophet)

son of Lamk

son of Mattushalakh

son of Idrees (the prophet)

son of Yard

son of Muhla'il

son of Qeinan

son of Anush

son of Sheis

son of Adam (the father of mankind)

The great tribe of the Qureish that inhabited Mecca had evolved a clear-cut division of privilege and responsibility among its major clans. The three leading clans of the Qureish were the Bani Hashim, the Bani Abduddar (of which the Bani Umayya was an offshoot) and the Bani Makhzum. The Bani Makhzum was responsible for matters of war. This clan bred and trained the horses on which the Qureish rode to war; it made arrangements for the preparation and provisioning of expeditions; and frequently it provided the officers to lead Qureish groups into battle. This role of the Bani Makhzum set the atmosphere in which Khalid was to grow up.

While still a child he was taught to ride. As a Makhzumi he had to be a perfect rider and soon acquired mastery over the art of horsemanship. But it was not enough to be able to handle trained horses; he had to be able to ride any horse. He would be given young, untrained colts and had to break them and train them into perfectly obedient and well-disciplined war horses. The Bani Makhzum were among the best horsemen of Arabia, and Khalid became one of the best horsemen of the Bani Makhzum. Moreover, no Arab could claim to be a good rider if he only knew horses; he had to be just as good on a camel, for both animals were vital for Arab warfare. The horse was used for fighting, and the camel for long marches, in which horses were tagged along unmounted.

Along with riding, Khalid learned the skills of combat.

The Boy  7

He learnt to use all weapons — the spear, the lance, the bow and the sword. He learnt to fight on horseback and on foot. While he became skilful in the use of all weapons, the ones for which he appears to have had a natural gift were the lance, used while charging on horseback, and the sword, for mounted and dismounted duelling. The sword was regarded by the Arabs as the weapon of chivalry, for this brought one nearest to one's adversary; and in sword fighting one's survival depended on strength and skill and not on keeping at a safe distance from the opponent. The sword was the most trusted weapon.

As Khalid grew to manhood, he attained a great height — over six feet. His shoulders widened, his chest expanded and the muscles hardened on his lean and athletic body. His beard appeared full and thick on his face. With his fine physique, his forceful personality, and his skill at riding and the use of weapons, he soon became a popular and much-admired figure in Mecca. As a wrestler, he climbed high on the ladder of achievement, combining consummate skill with enormous strength.

The Arabs had large families, the father often having several wives to increase his offspring. Al Waleed was one of six brothers, (There may have been more, but the names of only six have been recorded.) And the children of Al Waleed that we know of were five sons and two daughters. The sons were Khalid, Waleed (named after the father), Hisham, Ummara and Abd Shams. The daughters were Fakhta and Fatima.

Al Waleed was a wealthy man. Thus Khalid did not have to work for a living and could concentrate on learning the skills of riding and fighting. Because of this wealthy background, Khalid grew up to disregard economy and became known for his lavish spending and his generosity to all who appealed to him for help. This generosity was one day to get him into serious trouble.

Al Waleed was a wealthy man. But the Qureish were a surprisingly democratic people and everybody was required to do some work or the other — either for remuneration or just to be a useful member of society. And Al Waleed, who hired and paid a large number of employees, would work himself. In his spare time he was a blacksmith¹ and butcher², slaughtering animals for the clan. He was also a trader, and along with other

¹Ibn Quteiba: p. 575.           ²Ibn Rusta: p.215.

8  The Sword of Allah

clans would organise and send trade caravans to neighbouring countries. On more than one occasion Khalid accompanied trade caravans to Syria and visited the great trading cities of that fair province of Rome. Here he would meet the Christian Arabs of the Ghassan, Persians from Ctesiphon, Copts from Egypt, and the Romans of the Byzantine Empire.        

Khalid had many friends with whom, as with his brothers he would ride and hunt. When not engaged outdoors they would recite poetry, recount genealogical lines and have bouts of drinking. Some of these friends were to play an important part in Khalid's life and in this story; and the ones deserving special mention besides Umar, were Amr bin Al Aas and Abul Hakam. The latter's personal name was Amr bin Hisham bin al Mugheera, though he was to earn yet another name later: Abu Jahl. He was an elder cousin of Khalid. And there was Abul Hakam's son, Ikrama, Khalid's favourite nephew and bosom friend.

Al Waleed was not only the father and mentor of his sons; he was also their military instructor, and from him Khalid got his first lesson in the art of warfare. He learnt how to move fast across the desert, how to approach a hostile settlement, how to attack it. He learned the importance of catching the enemy unawares, of attacking him at an unexpected moment and pursuing him when he broke and fled. This warfare was essentially tribal, but the Arabs well knew the value of speed, mobility and surprise, and tribal warfare was mainly based on offensive tactics.

On reaching maturity Khalid's main interest became war and this soon reached the proportions of an obsession. Khalid's thoughts were thoughts of battle; his ambitions were ambitions of victory. His urges were violent and his entire psychological make-up was military. He would dream of fighting great battles and winning great victories, himself always the champion — admired and cheered by all. He promised himself battle. He promised himself victory. And he promised himself lots and lots of blood. Unknown to him, destiny had much the same ideas about Khalid, son of Al Waleed.

2 : THE NEW FAITH

A certain Arab would walk the streets of Mecca at night, lost in thought. He was a member, no longer wealthy, of the noble clan of Bani Hashim. A strikingly handsome man of medium height with broad, powerful shoulders, his hair ended in curls just below his ears. His large, dark eyes, fringed with long lashes, seemed pensive and sad.

There was much in the way of life of the Arabs that caused him pain. Everywhere around him he saw signs of decay — in the injustice done to the poor and helpless, in the unnecessary bloodshed, in the treatment of women who were considered as no better than domestic animals. He would be deeply anguished whenever he heard reports of the live burial of unwanted female children.

Certain clans of the Arabs had made a horrible ritual of the killing of infant daughters. The father would let the child grow up normally until she was five or six years old. He would then tell her that he would take her for a walk and dress her up as if for a party. He would take her out of the town or settlement to the site of a grave already dug for her. He would make the child stand on the edge of this grave and the child, quite unaware of her fate and believing that her father had brought her out for a picnic, would look eagerly at him, wondering when the fun would start. The father would then push her

10   The Sword of Allah

into the grave, and as the child cried to her father to help her out, he would hurl large stones at her, crushing the life out of her tender body. When all movement had ceased in the bruised and broken body of his poor victim, he would fill the grave with earth and return home. Sometimes he would brag about what he had done.

This custom was not, of course, very widespread in Arabia. Among the famous families of Mecca — the Bani Hashim, the Bani Umayya and the Bani Makhzum — there is not a single instance on record of a female child being killed. This happened only among some desert tribes, and only in some clans. But even the exceptional occurrence of this revolting practice was sufficient to horrify and sicken the more intelligent and virtuous Arabs of the time.

Then there were the idols of Mecca. The Ka'ba had been built by the Prophet Abraham as the House of God, but had been defiled with gods of wood and stone. The Arabs would propitiate these gods with sacrificial offerings, believing that they would harm a man when angered and be bountiful when pleased. In and around the Ka'ba there were 360 idols, the most worshipped of whom were Hubal, Uzza and Lat. Hubal, the pride of the Arab pantheon, was the largest of these gods and was carved of red agate. When the inhabitants of Mecca had imported this idol from Syria it was without a right hand; so they fashioned a new hand of gold and stuck it on to its arm.

In the religion of the Arabs there was a curious mixture of polytheism and belief in Allah — the true God. They believed that Allah was Lord and Creator, but they also believed in the idols, regarding them as sons and daughters of Allah. The position of the deity in the Arab mind was like that of a divine council, God being the President of the council of which these other gods and goddesses were members, each having supernatural powers, though subservient to the President. The Arabs would swear by Hubal or by another god or goddess. They would also swear by Allah. They would name their sons Abdul Uzza, i.e. the Slave of Uzza. They would also name their sons Abdullah i.e. the Slave of Allah.

It would not be correct to suggest that everything was wrong with the Arab culture of the time. There was much in

The New Faith   11

their way of life which was glorious and chivalrous. There were qualities in the Arab character which would be enviable today —  courage, hospitality and a sense of personal and tribal honour. There was also an element of vindictiveness, in the blood feuds which were passed down from father to son, but this was understandable, and even necessary, in a tribal society where no central authority existed to enforce law and order. Violent tribal and personal retaliation was the only way to keep the peace and prevent lawlessness.

What was wrong with Arab culture lay in the fields of ethics and religion, and in these fields Arab life had hit an all-time low. This period became known in history as the Ignorance. During the Ignorance Arab actions were acts of ignorance; Arab beliefs were beliefs of ignorance. The Ignorance was thus not only an era but an entire way of life.

The Arab mentioned at the beginning of this chapter took to retiring to a cave in a hill not far from Mecca, for one month every year. In this cave he would spend his time in meditation and reflection, and he would wait — not knowing just what he was waiting for. Then one day, while he was meditating in the cave, he suddenly became conscious of a presence. He could see no one and there was no sound of movement, but he could feel that someone was there. Then a voice said, "Read!"

Alarmed by the phenomenon of the disembodied voice, the Arab exclaimed, "What shall I read?" The voice was louder as it repeated, "Read!" Again the Arab asked, "What shall I read?" The voice now seemed terrible as it called sternly, "Read!" Then the voice continued in a more gentle tone:

Read: in the name of your Lord who created,

Created man from a clot.

Read: and it is your Lord the Bountiful

Who taught by the pen;

Taught man that which he knew not.¹

This happened on a Monday in the month of August, 610 A.D. The world would never be the same again, for Muhammad had received his first revelation. A new faith was born.

When Muhammad (on whom be peace) received this revelation, Khalid was 24 years old.

*

¹Quran: 95:1-5.

12   The Sword of Allah

For three years the Prophet remained silent, receiving guidance through the Angel Jibreel. Then he was ordered to start expounding the religion of Allah, and he started with his own family and clan. Most of them, however, scorned his teaching and made fun of the new faith.

One day the Prophet decided to collect his closer relatives and give them a good meal at his house. This would give him an opportunity to get them together and put them in a situation where they would have to listen to him. The meal was duly arranged and heartily eaten by the guests. The Prophet then addressed the assembled guests and said, "O Bani Abdul Muttalib! By Allah, I do not know of any man among the Arabs who has come to you with anything better than I have brought you. I bring you the best of this world and the next. I have been ordered by Allah to call you to Him. Who will help me in this work and be my brother and deputy?"

The response of the entire gathering was silence. No one replied, each watching the others to see if anyone would get up to support this man. And then a thin, under-sized boy with skinny legs, in his early teens, sprang up and piped in a voice which had not yet broken, "I, O Prophet of Allah, will be your helper!"

There was a roar of laughter from the guests at what appeared at the time to be a ridiculous sight — rude and contemptuous laughter — as they stood up and began to walk away. But the boy was impervious to such rudeness, for the next instant he had been clasped by the Prophet in a loving embrace. The Prophet declared, "This is my brother and deputy"¹ The boy was the Prophet's cousin — Ali, son of Abu Talib. He was the first male to accept Islam at the hands of the Prophet.²

Gradually the truth began to spread: and a few individuals, mostly youths or weak, helpless people, accepted the new faith. Their number was small but their courage was high. And the Prophet's sphere of activity widened. In spite of the rebuffs and insults which were hurled at him by the Qureish, he continued to accost people at street corners and in the market place and to warn them of the Fire which awaited the evil-doer. He

¹Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 63; Ibn Sad: Vol. 1, p. 171.

'               ²Ibn Hisham: Vol. 1, p. 245; Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 56; Masudi: Muruj,

Vol. 2, p. 283.

The New Faith  13

would deride their idols of wood and stone and call them to the worship of the true God. As his activities increased, the opposition of the Qureish became harder and more vicious. This opposition was directed mainly by four men: Abu Sufyan (whose personal name was Sakhr bin Harb, and who was the leader of the Bani Umayya), Al Waleed (father of Khalid), Abu Lahab (uncle of the Prophet) and Abul Hakam. Of the first and the last we will hear a lot more in this story.

Abu Sufyan and AI Waleed were men of dignity and self respect. While they directed the opposition against the Prophet, they did not demean themselves by resorting to violence or abuse. Al Waleed's initial reaction was one of ruffled dignity. "Is the prophethood to be bestowed on Muhammad," he exploded, "while I, the greatest of the Qureish and their elder, am to get nothing? And there is Abu Masud, the chief of the Saqeef. Surely he and I are the greatest of the two towns."¹ This grand old man lived in a world of his own where everything depended on nobility of birth and rank. He was, of course, being unfair to the Prophet, for the line of Muhammad joined his own six generations back, and the family of Muhammad was no less noble than his own. In fact, in recent history the Prophet's family had acquired greater prominence than any other family in Mecca. The Prophet's grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, had been the chief of all the Qureish in Mecca.

According to Ibn Hisham, it was in connection with this statement of Al Waleed that the Quranic verse was revealed: And they say: If only this Quran had been revealed to some man from the two great towns! (43:31). The two towns were Mecca and Taif. And another Quranic revelation believed to have referred to Al Waleed who, as we have stated in the preceding chapter, was known by the title of Al Waheed (the Unique), reads: Leave Me (to deal) with him whom I created Waheed; and bestowed upon him ample means; and sons abiding in his presence; and made (life) smooth for him. Yet he desires that I should give more. Nay, for lo, he has been stubborn about Our revelations. On him I shall impose a fearful doom... Then he looked; then he frowned and showed displeasure;  then he turned away in pride and said: This is nothing but magic from of old; this is nothing but the speech of a man. Him shall I fling

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol.1, p. 361.

14   The Sword of Allah

into the fire. (74: 11-17 and 21-26.)

The most bloodthirsty and vindictive of these leaders was Abul Hakam — cousin and friend of Khalid. As a result of his violent opposition to Islam he was given by the Muslims the nickname of Abu Jahl, the Ignorant One, and it is by this name that posterity was to know him. A small, tough and wiry man with a squint, he has been described by a contemporary as: "a man with a face of iron, a look of iron and a tongue of iron."¹ And Abu Jahl could not forget that in their younger days, in a fierce wrestling match, Muhammad had thrown him badly, gashing his knee, the scar of which was to remain until his death.²

These prominent men of the Qureish, and some others, finding it impossible to stop the Prophet by either threat or inducement, decided to approach the aged and venerable Abu Talib, uncle of the Prophet and leader of the Bani Hashim. They would have killed the Prophet but for the strong sense of tribal and family unity which protected the Prophet. His killing would have led to a violent blood feud with the Bani Hashim, who would undoubtedly have taken revenge by killing the killer or a member of the killer's family.

The delegation of the Qureish now approached Abu Talib and said "O Abu Talib. You are our leader and the best among us. You have seen what the son of your brother is doing to our religion. He abuses our gods. He vilifies our faith and the faith of our fathers. You are one of us in our faith. Either stop Muhammad from such activities or permit us to deal with him as we wish."³

Abu Talib spoke gently to them, said that he would look into the matter, and dismissed them with courtesy. But beyond informing the Prophet of what the Qureish had said, he did nothing to stop him from spreading the new faith. Abu Talib was a poet. Whenever anything of this sort happened, he would compose a long poem and pour all his troubles into it.

In the house of Al Waleed, the actions of the Prophet became the most popular topic of conversation. In the evening Al Waleed would sit with his sons and other relatives and recount

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 20; lbn Rusta: p. 223.

²Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 155.

³Ibn Hisham: Vol. 1, p. 265; Ibn Sad: p. 186.

The New Faith  15

the actions of the day and all that the Qureish were doing to counter the movement of Muhammad. Khalid and his brothers heard their father describe the entire proceedings of the first delegation to Abu Talib. Some weeks later, they listened to him tell all about the second delegation to Abu Talib, which had no more effect than the first. The Prophet continued with his mission.

Then Al Waleed took a bold step. He decided to offer his own son, Ummara, to Abu Talib in return for the person of Muhammad. Ummara was a fine, strapping youth in whom men and women saw all the virtues and graces of young manhood. The Qureish delegation approached Abu Talib with Ummara in tow. "O Abu Talib " said the delegates, "Here is Ummara, son of Al Waleed. He is the finest of youths among the Qureish, and the handsomest and noblest of all. Take him as your son. He will help you and be yours as any son could be. In return give us the son of your brother — the one who has turned against your faith and the faith of your fathers and has caused dissension in our tribe. We shall kill him. Is that not fair — a man for a man?"

Abu Talib was shocked by the offer. "I do not think that it is fair at all," he replied. "You give me your son to feed and bring up while you want mine to kill. By Allah, this shall not be."¹ The mission failed. We do not know how Ummara reacted to the failure of the mission — with disappointment or relief!

Now seeing no hope of persuading Abu Talib to stop the Prophet and despairing of persuading him themselves, the Qureish decided to make the life of Muhammad and his followers so wretched that they would be forced to submit to the wishes of the Qureish. They set the vagabonds of Mecca against him. These hooligans would shout and jeer at the Prophet wherever he passed, would throw dust into his face and spread thorns in his path. They would fling filth into his house, and in this activity they were joined by Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl. This ill-treatment was soon to enter a more violent phase.

*

As the persecution of the Muslims gathered momentum, it also increased in variety of method. One man got the bright

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 1, p. 267; Ibn Sad: p. 186.

16   The Sword of Allah

idea that he would hurt Muhammad's cause by challenging him to a wrestling match, and thus belittle and humiliate him in a public contest. This man was an unbelieving uncle of the Prophet by the name of Rukkana bin Abd Yazid, a champion wrestler who was proud of his strength and skill. No one in Mecca had ever thrown him. "0 son of my brother!" he accosted the Prophet. "I believe that you are a man. And I believe that you are not a liar. Come and wrestle with me. If you throw me I shall acknowledge you as a true prophet." The man was delighted with himself at having thought up this unusual way of lowering the stock of Muhammad in the eyes of the Meccans. Muhammad would either decline, and thus look small, or accept and get the thrashing of a lifetime. But that is what he thought. His challenge was accepted, and in the wrestling match that ensued the Prophet threw him three times! But the scoundrel

went back on his word.¹

The Prophet himself was reasonably safe from physical harm, partly because of the protection of his clan and partly because he could give better than he took in a fight. But there were other Muslims who were in a vulnerable position — those who were not connected with powerful families or were physically weak. They included slaves and slave girls. There was one slave girl, the news of whose conversion so infuriated Umar that he beat her. He continued to beat the poor girl until he was too tired to beat her any more. And Umar was a very strong man!

Many of the men and women were tortured by the Qureish. The most famous of these sufferers, of whom history speaks in glowing terms, was Bilal bin Hamama — a tall, gaunt Abyssinian slave who was tortured by his own master, Umayya bin Khalf. In the afternoon, during the intense heat of the Arabian summer, when the sun would dry up and bake everything exposed to it, Bilal would be stretched out on the burning sand with a large rock on his chest and left to the tender mercies of the sun. Every now and then his master would come to him, would look at his suffering, tormented face, his dry lips and his swollen tongue, and would say, "Renounce Muhammad and

¹According to Ibn Hisham (Vol. 1, p. 390) the Prophet himself challenged Rukkana, but I have narrated Ibn-ul-Asir's version (Vol. 2. pp. 27-28), as the event is more likely to have happened this way.

The New Faith   17

return to the worship of Lat and Uzza." But the faith of Bilal remained unshaken. Little did Umayya bin Khalf know, while he was torturing Bilal, that he and his son would one day face his erstwhile slave in the Battle of Badr, and that Bilal would be his executioner and the executioner of his son.

Bilal and several other slaves, all victims of torture, were purchased by Abu Bakr, who was a wealthy man. Whenever Abu Bakr came to know of a Muslim slave being tortured, he would buy and free him. In spite of all this persecution, the Prophet remained gentle and merciful towards his enemies. He would pray: "O Lord! Strengthen me with Umar and Abul Hakam." His prayer was answered in so far as it concerned Umar, who became the fortieth person to embrace Islam;¹ but Abu Jahl remained an unbeliever and died in his unbelief.

In 619, ten years after the first revelation, Abu Talib died.² The Prophet's position now became more delicate. The hostility of the Qureish increased, and so did the danger to the life of Muslims. The Prophet remained surrounded by a few faithful companions to whom he continued to preach, and among these companions were 10 who were especially close to him. These men became known as The Blessed Ten, and were held in especial esteem and affection by the Muslims as long as they lived.³

The Prophet remained in Mecca, bearing up against what became increasingly more unbearable. Then some men of Madina (at the time known as Yasrib) met the Prophet and accepted Islam. Knowing the danger to which the Prophet was exposed, they invited him to migrate to their settlements and make his home with them. With this invitation came God's permission for the Muslims to migrate, and the Prophet sent most of them to Madina.

In September 622, the Qureish finally made up their minds to assassinate Muhammad. On the eve of the planned assassination, during the night, the Prophet left his house and, accompanied by Abu Bakr, a slave and a guide, migrated to

¹This is Ibn Quteiba's placing (p. 180). Tabari, however, places Umar as the 67th Muslim (Vol. 3, p. 270).

²'Ten years reckoning by the lunar year, which is, at an average, 11 days shorter than the solar year.

³For the names of these 10 men, see Note 1 in Appendix B.

18   The Sword of Allah

Yasrib. With his safe arrival at Yasrib, Madina (as the place was now to be called) became the seat and centre of the Muslim faith and the capital of the new Muslim State. The era of persecution was over.

*

Three months after the Prophet's departure from Mecca, Al Waleed called his sons to his death bed. He knew that he was dying. "O my sons!" he said. "There are three tasks that I bequeath you. See that you do not fail in carrying them out. The first is my blood feud with the Khuza'a. See that you take revenge. By Allah, I know that they are not guilty, but I fear that you will be blamed after this day. The second is my money, accruing from interest due to me, with the Saqeef. See that you get it back. Thirdly, I am due compensation or blood from Abu Uzeihar."¹ This man had married the daughter of Al Waleed and then put her away from him without returning her to her father's home.

Having made these bequests, Al Waleed died. He was buried with all the honour due to a great chief, a respected elder and a noble son of the Qureish.

The first of the problems was settled without too much difficulty; the Khuza'a paid blood money, and the matter was closed without violence. The second matter remained pending for many years, and was then shelved as unsettled. As for the third problem, i.e. the feud with the son-in-law of Al Waleed, Khalid's brother, Hisham, decided that he would be content with nothing less than the blood of Abu Uzeihar. He waited more than a year before he got his chance. Then he killed his man. The matter assumed an ugly aspect, and there was danger of further bloodshed between the two families; but Abu Sufyan intervened and made peace. No more blood was shed.

During the years following his father's death, Khalid lived peacefully in Mecca, enjoying the good life which his wealth made possible. He even travelled to Syria with a trade caravan, to a large town called Busra, which he was to approach many years later as a military objective.

We do not know how many wives or children he had at this time, but we know of two sons: the elder was called

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 1, pp. 410-411.

The New Faith   19

Suleiman, the younger, Abdur Rahman. The latter was born about six years before the death of Al Waleed, and was to achieve fame in later decades as a commander in Syria. But according to Arab custom, it was Suleiman by whose name Khalid became known. Thus he was called variously: Khalid, his own name; Ibn Al Waleed, i.e. the son of Al Waleed; and Abu Suleiman, i.e. the father of Suleiman. Most people addressed him as Abu Suleiman.

3 : THE BATTLE OF UHUD

Everybody in Mecca rejoiced at the arrival of the caravan from Palestine. The caravan had been in grave danger during the few days it moved along the coastal road near Madina and very nearly fell into the hands of the Muslims. It was only the skill and leadership of Abu Sufyan, who led the caravan, that saved it from capture. The caravan consisted of 1,000 camels and had taken goods worth 50,000 dinars, on which Abu Sufyan had made a cent per cent profit. Since every family of note in Mecca had invested in this caravan, its return with so much profit was a matter of jubilation for all Mecca. And it was spring in Arabia: the month of March, 624.

Even as the people of Mecca sang and danced, and the merchants rubbed their hands while awaiting their share of the profit, the battered and broken army of the Qureish picked its weary way towards Mecca. This army had rushed out in response to Abu Sufyan's call for help when he had first realized the danger from the Muslims. Before the Qureish army could come into action, however, Abu Sufyan had extricated the caravan and sent word to the Qureish to return to Mecca as the danger had passed. But Abu Jahl, who commanded the army, would have none of this. He had spent the past 15 years of his life in bitter opposition to the Prophet, and he was not going to let this opportunity slip away. Instead of returning, he had precipitated a battle with the Muslims.

Now this proud army was returning home in a state 

The Battle of Uhud   21

of shock and humiliation.

While the Qureish army was still on its way, a messenger from it sped to Mecca on a fast camel. As he entered the outskirts of the town, he tore his shirt and wailed aloud, announcing tragedy. The people of Mecca hastily gathered around him to seek news of the battle. They would ask about their dear ones and he would tell of their fate. Among those present were Abu Sufyan and his wife, Hind.

From this messenger Hind heard of the loss of her dear ones; of the death of her father, Utba, at the hands of Ali and Hamza, uncle of the Prophet; of the death ot her uncle, Sheiba, at the hands of Hamza; of the death of her brother, Waleed, at the hands of Ali; of the death of her son, Hanzala, at the hands of Ali. She cursed Hamza and Ali and swore vengeance.

The Battle of Badr was the first major clash between the Muslims and their enemies. A small force of 313 Muslims had stood like a rock against the onslaught of 1,000 infidels. After an hour or two of severe fighting the Muslims had shattered the Qureish army, and the Qureish had fled in disorder from the battlefield. The finest of the Qureish had fallen in battle or been taken prisoner.

A total of 70 infidels had been killed and another 70 captured by the Muslims, at a cost of only 14 Muslim dead. Among those killed were 17 members of the Bani Makhzum, most of them either cousins or nephews of Khalid. Abu Jahl had been killed. Khalid's brother, Waleed, had been taken prisoner.

As the messenger announced the names of those who had fallen and those who had killed them, the Qureish noted the frequency with which the names of Ali and Hamza were repeated. Ali had killed 18 men by himself and had shared in the killing of four others. Hamza had killed four men and shared with Ali in the killing of another four. The name of Ali thus dominated the proceedings of this sad assembly.

                               

*

Two days later Abu Sufyan held a conference of all the leaders of the Qureish. There was not one amongst them who had not lost a dear one at Badr. Some had lost fathers, some sons, some brothers. The most vociferous at the conference were Sufwan bin Umayya and Ikrama, son of Abu Jahl.

22    The Sword of Allah

Ikrama was the most difficult to restrain. His father had had the distinction of commanding the Qureish army at Badr and had fallen in battle. The son drew some comfort from the fact that his father had killed a Muslim at Badr and that he himself had killed another. Moreover, he had attacked and severed the arm of the Muslim who had mortally wounded his father; but that was not enough to quench his thirst for revenge. He insisted that as noble Qureish they were honour-bound to take revenge.

"And I have lost my son, Hanzala" said Abu Sufyan. "My thirst for revenge is no less than yours. I shall be the first to prepare and launch a powerful expedition against Muhammad."¹

At this conference they all took the pledge of revenge; this time none would stay back. An expedition would be prepared such as had never assembled at Mecca before, and other local tribes would be invited to join the expedition and take part in the annihilation of the Muslims. The entire profit from the caravan, amounting to 50,000 dinars, would be spent on financing the expedition. Abu Sufyan was unanimously elected as the commander of the Qureish army.

Abu Sufyan now gave two decisions, the first of which was more or less universally accepted. This was to the effect that there should be no weeping and no mourning of any kind for those who had fallen at Badr. The idea behind this order was that tears would wash away the bitterness in their hearts, and that this bitterness should be kept alive until they had taken their revenge against the Muslims. However, those whose burden of sorrow was too heavy to carry wept secretly.

The second decision related to the prisoners who were in Muslim hands. Abu Sufyan forbade all efforts to get them released for fear that if these efforts were made immediately, the Muslims might put up the price. This decision, however, was not followed by everyone. Within two days a man left Mecca secretly at night to ransom his father; and when others came to know about this, they took the matter into their own hands and got their dear ones released. Abu Sufyan had no choice but to revoke his decision.

The rate of ransom varied. The top rate was 4,000 dirhams

'                ¹Waqidi: Maghazi, pp. 156-7.

The Battle of Uhud   23

and there was a graduated scale down to 1,000 dirhams for those who could not afford to pay more. A few prisoners who were too poor to pay but were literate, earned their freedom by teaching a certain number of Muslim children to read and write. Some destitute ones were released by the Prophet without ransom on condition that they would never again take up arms against Muslims.                                       

Among those who went to negotiate the release of the prisoners were Ikrama, Khalid (who had missed the battle of Badr on account of his absence from the Hijaz) and Khalid's brother, Hisham. Khalid and Hisham arranged the release of their brother, Waleed. When Hisham heard that the ransom would be 4,000 dirhams, he began to haggle for a lower sum but was rebuked by Khalid. The sum of 4,000 dirhams was duly paid for the release of Waleed, whereafter the three brothers left Madina and camped for the night at a place called Zul Halifa, a few miles away. Here, during the night, Waleed slipped away from the camp, returned to Madina, reported to the Prophet and became a Muslim. He thereafter proved a devout muslim and became very dear to the Prophet; and in spite of his new faith, his relations with Khalid remained as warm and loving as ever.

                                               

*

While at the Qureish conference the main theme of the discussion had been revenge, another factor which drove the Qureish to war with the Muslims was economic survival. The main route of the Qureish caravan to Syria and Palestine lay along the coastal road which now, after the Battle of Badr, was no longer open to them. In November, Sufwan bin Umayya felt the need for more trade, and despatched a caravan towards Syria on another route which he thought might be safe. This caravan left Mecca on the road to Iraq, and after travelling some distance turned north-west towards Syria, bypassing Madina at what Sufwan considered a safe distance. But the Holy Prophet came to know of this caravan and sent Zeid bin Harisa with 100 men to capture it, which Zeid did.

Sufwan then went to Abu Sufyan, and both leaders agreed that since the economic well-being and prosperity of the Qureish depended on their profitable trade with Syria, the sooner the Muslims were crushed the better. Ikrama also was impatient and
24   The Sword of Allah

pressed for speed. Abu Sufyan, however, as a wise old chief, knew that it would take time to prepare the expedition and purchase the camels, the horses and the weapons. He promised to do his best.

The preparations for the expedition now began in right earnest. While they were in progress, an unbeliever of doubtful character approached Abu Sufyan with a proposal. This man was Abu Amir of Madina. He had taken exception to the arrival of the Holy Prophet at Madina and to the speed with which members of his own clan, the Aus, had begun to embrace Islam. Consequently he had left Madina and sworn never to return as long as Muhammad remained in power. At Mecca he took to inciting the Qureish against the Muslims. In the old days Abu Amir had been known as the Monk, but the Holy Prophet had given him the nickname of the Knave! Thus the Muslims knew this man as Abu Amir the Knave.¹

"I have 50 members of my clan with me", he said to Abu Sufyan. "I have much influence with my clan, the Aus. I propose that before the battle begins I be permitted to address the Aus among the Muslims, and I have no doubt that they will all desert Muhammad and come over to my side."² Abu Sufyan gladly accepted the arrangement. The Aus were one of the two major tribes of Madina and would comprise more than a third of the Muslim army.

Parleys were begun with neighbouring tribes, and strong contingents were received from the Kinana and the Saqeef. Early in March 625, the assembly of the expedition began at Mecca. At this time Abbas, uncle of the Prophet, wrote to him from Mecca to inform him of the preparations being made against him.

In the second week of March, the Qureish set out from Mecca with an army of 3,000 men, of whom 700 were armoured. They had 3,000 camels and 200 horses. With the army went 15 Qureish women in litters, whose task it was to remind the Qureish of the comrades who had fallen at Badr and to strengthen their spirits. Among these women was Hind, who acted as their leader, and the role came naturally to her. Others were the wife of Ikrama, the wife of Amr bin Al Aas and the sister of Khalid. One of the women, whom we shall hear of again later, was

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 67.         ²Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 161.

The Battle of Uhud   25

Amra bint Alqama, and there were also some songstresses who carried tambourines and drums.

As the expedition moved towards Madina, one of the leaders of the Qureish, Jubeir bin Mut'im, spoke to his slave, who was known as the Savage —- Wahshi bin Harb. "If you kill Hamza, the uncle of Muhammad, in revenge for the killing of my uncle at Badr, I shall free you."¹ The Savage liked the prospect. He was a huge, black Abyssinian slave who always fought with a javelin from his native Africa. He was an expert with this weapon and had never been known to miss.

After travelling a little further, the Savage saw one of the litter-carrying camels move up beside him. From the litter Hind looked out and spoke to the Savage. "O Father of Blackness!" she addressed him. "Heal, and seek your reward".² She promised him that if he would kill Hamza in revenge for his killing her father, she would give him all the ornaments that she was wearing.

The Savage looked greedily at her ornaments — her necklace, her bracelets, the rings that she wore on her fingers. They all looked very expensive and his eyes glittered at the prospect of acquiring them.

*

The Holy Prophet had been warned by Abbas of the Qureish preparations before they left Mecca. While they were on their way, he continued to receive information of their progress from friendly tribes. On March 20, the Qureish arrived near Madina and camped a few miles away, in a wooded area west of Mount Uhud. On this very day the Prophet sent two scouts to observe the Qureish, and these scouts returned to give their exact strength.

On March 21, the Prophet left Madina with 1,000 men, of whom 100 were armoured. The Muslims had two horses, of which one was the Prophet's. They camped for the night near a small black hillock called Sheikhein, a little over a mile north of Madina.

The following morning, before the march was resumed, the Hypocrites, numbering 300 under the leadership of Abdullah

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 61-2.

²Ibid.

26   The Sword of Allah

bin Ubayy, left the Prophet on the plea that fighting the Qureish outside Madina had no prospect of success, and that they would not take part in an operation which in their view was doomed to failure. The Hypocrites returned to Madina. The Prophet was now left with 700 men; and with this strength he marched from the camp. The Prophet had not actually intended to fight outside Madina. It had been his wish that the Muslims should await the arrival of the Qureish on their home ground and fight the battle in Madina; but most of the Muslims had insisted that they go out to meet the Qureish, and so the Prophet, submitting to their demand, had marched out to give battle to the Qureish outside Madina. But although he was going out to meet his enemy in the open, he would nevertheless fight the battle on ground of his own choice. He moved to the foot of Mount Uhud and deployed for battle.

 Uhud is a massive feature lying four miles north of Madina (the reference point in Madina being the Prophet's Mosque) and rising to a height of about 1,000 feet above the level of the plain. The entire feature is 5 miles long. In the western part of Uhud, a large spur descends steeply to the ground, and to the right of this spur, as seen from the direction of Madina, a valley rises gently and goes up and away as it narrows at a defile about 1,000 yards from the foot of the spur. Beyond this defile it shrinks into nothingness as it meets the main wall of the ridge. At the mouth of this valley, at the foot of this spur, the Prophet placed his army. The valley rose behind him.

He organised the Muslims as a compact formation with a front of 1,000 yards. He placed his right wing at the foot of the spur and his left wing at the foot of a low hill, about 40 feet high and 500 feet long, called Einein. The Muslim right was safe, but their left could be turned from beyond Einein; so, to meet this danger, the Prophet placed 50 archers on Einein, from which they could command the approaches along which the Qureish could manoeuvre into the Muslim rear. These archers, under the command of Abdullah bin Jubeir, were given instructions by the Prophet as follows: "Use your arrows against the enemy cavalry. Keep the cavalry off our backs. As long as you hold your position, our rear is safe. On no account must you leave this position. If you see us winning, do not join us; if you  

The Battle of Uhud   27

see us losing, do not come to help us."¹ The orders to this group of archers were very definite. Since Einein was an important tactical feature and commanded the area immediately around it, it was imperative to ensure that it did not fall into the hands of the Qureish.

Behind the Muslims stood 14 women whose task it was to give water to the thirsty, to carry the wounded out of battle and to dress their wounds. Among these women was Fatima, daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali. The Prophet himself took up his position with the left wing of his army,

The Muslim dispositions were intended to lead to a frontal positional battle and were superbly conceived. They gave the Muslims the benefit of fully exploiting their own sources of strength — courage and fighting skill.  They also saved them from the dangers posed by the Qureish strength in numbers and in cavalry — the mobile manoeuvre arm which the Muslims lacked. It would have suited Abu Sufyan to fight an open battle in which he could manoeuvre against the Muslim flanks and rear with his cavalry and bring his maximum strength to bear against them. But the Prophet neutralised Abu Sufyan's advantages, and forced him to fight on a restricted front where his superior strength and his cavalry would be of limited value. It is also worth noting that the Muslims were actually facing Madina and had their backs to Mount Uhud; the road to Madina was open to the Qureish.

Now the Qureish moved up. They established a battle camp a mile south of the spur, and from here Abu Sufyan led his army forward and formed it in battle array facing the Muslims. He organised it into a main body of infantry in the centre with two mobile wings. On the right was Khalid and on the left Ikrama, each with a cavalry squadron 100 strong. Amr bin Al Aas was appointed in over-all charge of the cavalry, but his task was mainly that of coordination. Abu Sufyan placed 100 archers ahead of his front rank for the initial engagement. The Qureish banner was carried by Talha bin Abi Talha, one of the survivors of Badr, Thus the Qureish deployed with their backs to Madina, facing the Muslims and facing Mount Uhud. In fact they stood between the Muslim army and its base at Madina. (For the dispositions of the two armies see Map 1).

¹Ibid; Vol. 2, pp. 65-66; Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 175.

28   The Sword of Allah

Just behind the Qureish main body stood their women. Before battle was joined, these women, led by Hind, marched back and forth in front of the Qureish, reminding them of those who had fallen at Badr. Thereafter, just before the women withdrew to their position in the rear of the army, the clear, strong voice of Hind rose as she sang:

O you sons of Abduddar!

Defenders of our homes!

We are the daughters of the night;

We move among the cushions.

If you advance we will embrace you.

If you retreat we will forsake you

With a loveless separation.¹

It was the morning of Saturday, March 22, 625 (the 7^th of Shawwal, 3 Hijri) — exactly a year and a week after Badr.² The armies faced each other in orderly ranks, 700 Muslims against 3,000 unbelievers. This was the first time that Abu Sufyan had commanded in the field against the Prophet, but he had able lieutenants and felt certain of victory. The Muslims repeated to themselves the Quranic words: "Sufficient for us is Allah, and what a good protector He is."³ And they awaited the decision of Allah.

                                               

*

The first event, after the forming up of the two armies was the attempt by the Knave to subvert the Aus. This man stepped forward ahead of the front rank of the Qureish, along with his 50 followers and a large number of the slaves of the Qureish. He faced the Aus and called, "O people of the Aus I am Abu Amir. You know me!" The reply from the Aus was unanimous: "No welcome to you, O Knave!" This was followed by a shower of stones hurled with great delight by the Aus at the Knave and his group, under which the group hastily withdrew through the ranks of the Qureish. Observing the look of derision on the faces of the Qureish, the Knave assumed a prophetic posture and observed, "After me my people will suffer."⁴ But the

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 68. Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 176.

²Some historians have placed the date of the Battle of Uhud a week

later, but the earlier date is probably more correct.

³Quran: 3-173.

⁴Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 67; Ibn Sad: p. 543.

MAP 1 : THE BATTLE OF UHUD – I

30   The Sword of Allah

Qureish were not impressed!

After the encounter of the Knave, the archers opened up from both sides. This was a kind of artillery duel between the 100 archers of the Qureish and the Muslim archers, who were either in the group on Einein or dispersed along the front rank of the Muslims. Many salvoes were fired. Under cover of the Qureish archers Khalid advanced with his squadron to attack the left wing of the Muslims, but was forced back by accurate fire from the Muslim archers. As the archers' engagement ended, the song of the Qureish women was again heard on the battlefield: "We are the daughters of the night... "

The next phase was the phase of duels by the champions of the two armies. Talha, the standard bearer of the Qureish, stepped out of the front rank and called "I am Talha, son of Abu Talha. Will anyone duel?"¹ On his challenge, Ali strode out and before Talha could deliver a single blow, Ali struck him with his sword and felled him. Talha was only wounded, and as Ali raised his sword to strike again, Talha begged for mercy. Ali promptly turned away. Later, however, while the general engagement was in progress, the wounded Talha was despatched by the Muslims. On the fall of Talha, another infidel came forward and picked up the Qureish standard. This man was killed by Hamza. As Hamza killed him, he was noticed by the Savage who stood behind the Qureish ranks.  Stealthily the Savage began to move towards the right in order to approach Hamza from a flank. Hamza was easily recognisable by a large ostrich feather which he wore in his turban.

Now the duels became more general. One after the other the relatives of Talha picked up the standard, and one after the other they were killed by the Muslims, the largest number falling before Ali's sword. Abu Sufyan also rode up to duel and was faced by Hanzala bin Abu Amir, who was dismounted. Before Abu Sufyan could use his lance or draw his sword, Hanzala struck at the forelegs of the horse and brought it down. Abu Sufyan shouted for help and was assisted by one of his companions, who engaged and killed Hanzala. Abu Sufyan withdrew hastily to the safety of the Qureish ranks.

Another Qureish warrior who came forward was Abdur Rahman, son of Abu Bakr. He stepped out of the front rank

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 176.

The Battle of Uhud   31

and gave the usual challenge, whereupon his father, Abu Bakr, drew his sword and prepared to move forward from the Muslim position to fight him. But Abu Bakr was restrained by the Holy Prophet, who said to him, "Sheathe your sword."¹ This Abdur Rahman was later to become one of the most valiant warriors of Islam and acquire glory in the Muslim campaigns in Syria.

Soon after the duels, the fighting became general and both armies were locked in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The Muslims were superior in swordsmanship and courage, but these advantages were offset by the numerical superiority of the Qureish. As this general engagement of the main body progressed, Khalid  made another sally towards the left wing of the Muslims, where the Prophet stood, but was again driven back by the Muslim archers on Einein.

The Prophet himself participated in this action by firing arrows into the general mass of the Qureish. Beside him stood Sad bin Abi Waqqas, who was an arrow-maker by profession and was among the best archers of his time. The Prophet would indicate targets to Sad and Sad would invariably score a hit.

Hamza was fighting near the left edge of the Muslim force. By now he had killed two men and found a third one approaching him — a man named Saba bin Abdul Uzza, whom Hamza knew well. "Come to me!" shouted Hamza, "O son of the skin-cutter!"² (The mother of Saba used to perform circumcision operations in Mecca!) The colour rose in Saba's face as he drew his sword and rushed at Hamza.

As the two men began to duel with sword and shield, the Savage, crawling behind rocks and bushes, approached Hamza. At last he got within javelin range and with an experienced eye measured the distance between himself and his victim. Then he stood up and raised his javelin for the throw. Hamza struck a mortal blow on the head of Saba, and Saba fell in a heap at Hamza's feet. At this very moment the Savage hurled his javelin. The cruel weapon, thrown with unerring aim, struck Hamza in the abdomen and went right through his body. Hamza turned in the direction of the Savage and, roaring with anger, took a few steps towards him. The Savage trembled as he waited behind a large rock, but Hamza could only take a few steps before

¹Ibid: p. 200.

²Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 70.

32    The Sword of Allah

he fell.

The Savage waited until all movement had ceased in Hamza's body, and then walked up to the corpse and wrenched out his javelin. He then casually walked away from the scene of fighting. He had done his job. The Savage would fight more battles in his life, but there would be no more battles for the noble Hamza — "Lion of Allah and of His Prophet!"¹

Soon after this, the Qureish army began to waver and the Muslims pressed harder in their assault. When several Qureish standard-bearers had been either killed or wounded, their standard was picked up by a slave who continued to fight with it until he too was killed and the standard fell again. As it fell, the Qureish broke and fled in disorder.

There was now complete panic in the ranks of the Qureish. The Muslims pursued them, but the Qureish outran their pursuers. The Qureish women wailed when they saw what had befallen their men. They also took to their heels; and raising their dresses in order to be able to run faster, gave a fine view of their flashing legs to the delighted Muslims. All the women ran except Amra, who remained where she had stood, close behind the original Qureish battle line.

The Muslims got to the Qureish camp and began to plunder it. There was complete confusion in the camp with women and slaves milling around, hoping not to be killed, while the Muslims rifled everything they could find and shouted with glee. There was now no order, no discipline, no control, for the Muslims felt that the battle was won. The first phase of the battle was indeed over. The casualties had been light, but the Qureish had been clearly defeated. This should have marked the end of the Battle of Uhud, but it did not.

*

As the Qureish fled and the Muslims, following in their footsteps, entered the Qureish camp, the two mobile wings of the Qureish stood firm. Both Khalid and Ikrama moved back a bit from their previous positions but kept their men under complete control, not permitting a single rider to retreat. And Khalid now watched this confused situation, looking now at the fleeing Qureish, now at the plundering Muslims, now at the archers on

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 225.

The Battle of Uhud   33

Einein. He did not quite know what to do; but he was capable of a high degree of patience and waited for an opportunity which would give him a line of action. Soon his patience was rewarded.

When the archers on Einein saw the defeat of the Qureish and the arrival of the Muslims at the Qureish camp, they became impatient to take part in the plunder of the camp. The Qureish camp looked very tempting. They turned to their commander, Abdullah bin Jubeir, and asked for permission to join their comrades, but Abdullah was firm in his refusal. "You know very well the orders of the Messenger of Allah", he said. "We are to remain on this hill until we receive his orders to leave it." "Yes, but that is not what the Messenger of Allah intended," the archers replied. "We were to hold this hill during battle. Now the battle is over, and there is no point in our remaining here." And in spite of the protests of their commander, most of the archers left the hill and ran towards the Qureish camp shouting, "The booty! The booty!"' Abdullah was left with nine archers on the hill. This movement was observed by the keen eyes of Khalid, who waited until the archers had reached the Qureish camp.

Then Khalid struck. He launched a mounted attack against the few archers who remained on the hill, with the intention of capturing this position and creating for himself room for manoeuvre. Ikrama saw the movement of Khalid and galloped across the plain to join Khalid's squadron. As Khalid's squadron reached the top of the hill, Ikrama's squadron was just behind while Ikrama himself came ahead and began to take part in the assault on the Muslim archers.

The faithful archers who had remained on the hill resisted gallantly. Some were killed while the remainder, all wounded, were driven off the hill by the assault of Khalid. Abdullah bin Jubeir, defending to the last the position which the Prophet had entrusted to him, suffered many wounds and was then slain by Ikrama. Now Khalid's squadron, followed by Ikrama's, swept forward and came in behind the line that had been held by the Muslims an hour ago. Here the two squadrons wheeled left and charged at the Muslims from the rear. Ikrama, with a part of his squadron, assaulted the group which stood with the Holy Prophet, while Khalid's squadron and the remainder

¹Ibid: pp. 178-9; Ibn Sad: pp. 545, 551.

34    The Sword of Allah

of lkrama's squadron attacked the Muslims in the Qureish camp.

Khalid drove into the rear of the unsuspecting Muslims, confident that having taken them unawares he would soon tear them to pieces. But the Muslims refused to be torn to pieces. As the Qureish cavalry reached the camp, there was uproar in the ranks of the Muslims, and a few of them lost their heads and fled. Most of them, however, stayed and fought. As long as the Prophet lived, these men were not going to acknowledge defeat. But as the Muslims turned to fight the Qureish cavalry, Amra rushed towards the Qureish standard which lay on the ground. She picked up the standard and waved it above her head in the hope that the main body of the Qureish would see it.

By now Abu Sufyan had regained control over most of the infantry. He saw the movement of the cavalry. He saw the Qureish standard waving in the hands of Amra and he got his men back into action. Knowing that the Muslims had been taken in the rear by the cavalry, the Qureish rushed into battle once again, shouting their war cry: "O for Uzza! O for Hubal!"¹

The Muslims were now caught between two fires, the Qureish cavalry attacking from the rear and the bulk of the Qureish infantry attacking from the front. Abu Sufyan himself charged into battle and killed a Muslim. The situation soon became desperate for the Muslims, who broke up into small groups, each fighting on its own to repel the attacks of the cavalry and infantry. The confusion increased, and in the dust a few of the Muslims even began to fight each other. There was some alarm, but still no panic. Losses began to mount among the Muslims, but they held out — determined to fight to the last. At about this time, Khalid killed his first man — Abu Aseera — with his lance and knocked down another Muslim. Believing him dead, Khalid rode on; but the second man was only wounded and got up to fight again.

The battle was now divided into two separate actions. There was the main body of the Muslims holding out against the main part of the Qureish army, and there was the group with the Holy Prophet holding out against part of Ikrama's squadron and some of the Qureish infantry which had returned to attack him.

Now began the ordeal of the Prophet. (See Map 2.)

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 188; Ibn Sad: p. 545.

MAP 2 : THE BATTLE OF UHUD – II

36   The Sword of Allah

                When the Muslims left their positions in pursuit of the Qureish, the Holy Prophet remained at his battle location. Here he had with him 30 of his Companions who stuck to him and refused to be tempted by the prospect of plunder. Among these 30 were some of the closest of his followers, including, Ali, Abu Bakr, Sad bin Abi Waqqas, Talha bin Ubeidullah, Abu Ubeida, Abdur Rahman bin Auf, Abu Dajana and Mus'ab bin Umeir. With the group were also present two women who had busied themselves with carrying water to the Muslims and had now joined the Prophet.

                As Khalid captured the archers' position and the Qureish cavalry began to wheel round to attack the Muslims in the rear, the Prophet realised the seriousness of the predicament in which the Muslims were placed. He could do nothing to control and direct the actions of the main body, for it was too far away; and he knew that his own group would soon be under attack. His present position was utterly untenable, so he decided to move to the foot of the spur immediately behind him (not the spur at the foot of which the Muslim right wing had been placed), and with this intention he started to move backwards. But he had not gone more than about a quarter of a mile with his 30 Companions when Ikrama with his horsemen moved up and barred his way. The Prophet determined to stand and fight where he stood; and it was not long before a Qureish infantry group also arrived to attack the Prophet.

                   The Prophet's group found itself assailed from front and rear. The Muslims formed a cordon around the Prophet to defend him and the fighting gradually increased in intensity. The Prophet himself used his bow to effect and continued to use it until it broke. Thereafter he used his own arrows to augment those of Sad, whose superb archery gave a great deal of trouble to the Qureish. Every Muslim took on an opposing group of three or four men and either fell himself or drove his opponents back.

                   The first of the Qureish to reach the Prophet's position was Ikrama. As Ikrama led a group of his men forward the Prophet turned to Ali and, pointing at the group, said, "Attack those men." Ali attacked and drove them back, killing one of them. Now another group of horsemen approached the position.
The Battle of Uhud   37

Again the Prophet said to Ali, "Attack those men."¹ Again Ali drove them back and killed another infidel.

As the fighting increased in severity, the Qureish began to shower the Prophet's group with arrows and stones. They would use these missiles from a distance and then charge with swords, either mounted or on foot. To shield the Prophet from the arrows, Abu Dajana stood in front of him, with his back to the Qureish infantry, from which came most of the arrows. After some time the back of Abu Dajana was so studded with arrows that he looked like a porcupine, but he continued passing his own arrows to Sad. Talha also stood beside the Prophet. On one occasion, when an arrow seemed about to hit the Prophet in the face, Talha put his hand in the arrow's line of flight and stopped it with his hand. Talha lost a finger as a result, but saved the Prophet.

Against the main body of the Muslims, Khalid was launching assault after assault with his squadron and doing severe damage. About now he killed his second man — Sabt bin Dahdaha — with his lance. In this battle Khalid relied mainly on his lance, with which he would run down and impale his adversary. Every time he brought a man down, he would shout, "Take that! And I am the Father of Suleiman!"²

*

The first rush of the counter-attack passed, and was followed by a lull in the Prophet's sector, as the Qureish withdrew a short distance to rest before resuming their attacks. During this lull, one of the Muslims noticed that the Prophet was looking cautiously over his shoulder. The man asked the reason for this, and the Prophet replied casually, "I am expecting Ubayy bin Khalf. He may approach me from behind. If you see him coming, let him get near me". He had hardly said this when a man detached himself from Ikrama's squadron and slowly advanced towards the Prophet, mounted on a large, powerful horse. The man shouted, "O Muhammad! I have come! It is either you or me!" At this some of the Companions asked the Prophet for permission to deal with the man, but the Prophet said, "Let him be!"³ The Companions moved aside and left the way open

¹Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 197.

²Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 198.

³Ibid: pp. 195-6; Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 84.

38   The Sword of Allah

for the rider to approach.

At the Battle of Badr, a young man by the name of Abdullah bin Ubayy (not to be confused with the Abdullah bin Ubayy who was the leader of the Hypocrites) was taken prisoner by the Muslims. His father,Ubayy bin Khalf, came to release his son and paid 4,000 dirhams as ransom. Once the ransom had been paid and the young man released, while still in Madina, Ubayy had been insolent to the Prophet. He had said, "O Muhammad! I have a horse which I am strengthening with a lot of fodder, because in the next battle I shall come riding that horse and I shall kill you." The Prophet had then replied, "No, you shall not kill me. But I shall kill you while you are on that horse, if Allah wills it."¹ The man had laughed scornfully as he rode away with his son.

And now Ubayy bin Khalf was approaching the Prophet on his horse. He saw the Companions move out of the way. He saw the Prophet waiting for him, and grudgingly he admired the man he had set out to kill. The Prophet was wearing two coats of mail. He wore a chain helmet, the side-flaps of which covered his cheeks. His sword rested in its sheath, tucked into a leather belt, and in his right hand he held his spear. Ubayy noticed the powerful, broad shoulders of Muhammad; noticed the large, hard hands — hands strong enough to break a spear in two. The Prophet looked a magnificent sight.

It is known to few people today that Prophet Muhammad was one of the strongest Muslims of his time. Add to his great personal strength the fact of divine selection, and one can imagine what a formidable opponent he would prove to anybody. But Ubayy was undaunted. He had just killed a Muslim, and his spirits were high.

The Prophet could easily have told his Companions to slay Ubayy. They would have fallen upon him and torn him to pieces. Or he could have given Ali the simple order, "Kill that man", and that man would be as good as dead, for when Ali set out to kill a man, nothing could save him. But the Prophet had ordered his Companions to stand aside. This time he wanted no help from anyone. This was a matter of personal honour—a matter of chivalry. Muhammad would fight alone as a chivalrous Arab. He would keep his rendezvous with a challenger.

         ¹Ibn Sad: p. 549; Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 84.

The Battle of Uhud   39

As Ubayy reached the Prophet, he pulled up his horse. He was in no hurry. Not for a moment doubting that Muhammad would await his attack, he took his own time over drawing his sword. And then suddenly it was too late, for the Prophet raised his spear and struck at the upper part of Ubayy's chest. Ubayy tried to duck, but was not quick enough. The spear struck him on the right shoulder, near the base of the neck. It was a minor wound, but Ubayy fell off his horse, and in the fall broke a rib. Before the Prophet could strike again, Ubayy had risen and turned tail, running screaming towards his comrades. They stopped him and asked how he had fared, to which Ubayy replied in a trembling voice, "By Allah, Muhammad has killed me."

The Qureish examined his wound, and then told him not to be silly because it was a superficial wound which would soon heal. Ubayy's voice rose higher as he said, "I shall die!" When the Qureish tried to console him further, Ubayy lost all control over himself and in a frantic voice screamed, "I tell you I shall die! Muhammad had said that he would kill me. If Muhammad were to just spit on me, I would die!"¹ Ubayy remained inconsolable.

When the Qureish returned to Mecca, he went with them. While they were camped at a place called Saraf, not far from Mecca, the wretched man died. The cause of his death was certainly not the physical effect of the wound. And Allah knows best!

*

The situation gradually became more desperate as the Muslims held on grimly and showed no sign of breaking up. Abu Sufyan and Khalid both wanted a quick decision, for the battle had gone on long enough. The Qureish therefore decided to press harder and if possible get at the Prophet, as his death would have the probable effect of ending resistance.

A strong group of Qureish infantry consequently advanced against the Prophet. The Muslim defenders continued to fight, and many of them were cut down. Three of the Qureish managed to break through the cordon and got within stone throwing distance of the Prophet. These three men were: Utba bin Abi

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 84.

40   The Sword of Allah

Waqqas, Abdullah bin Shahab and Ibn Qamia. They all began to hurl stones at the Prophet

                   The first (a brother of Sad) landed four stones on the Prophet's face, broke two of the Prophet's lower teeth and cut his lower lip. Abdullah managed to land one stone which gashed the Prophet's forehead, while Ibn Qamia with one stone cut the Phophet's cheek and drove two links of the Prophet's chain helmet into his cheek bone.

                   The Prophet fell to the ground as a result of these blows and was helped up by Talha. At this moment the few Muslims left with the Prophet counter-attacked fiercely and drove the Qureish back. Sad dropped his bow, drew his sword and rushed at his brother; but the latter outran him and took shelter in the Qureish ranks. Sad was later to say that he had never wanted to kill a man so badly as he wanted to kill his brother Utba, for wounding the Prophet.

                   There was again a little respite in which the Prophet wiped the blood from his face. As he did so he said, "How can a people prosper who colour the face of their Prophet with blood, while he calls them to their Lord!"¹ Abu Ubeida, who was a bit of a surgeon, tried to pull out the two links which had dug into the Prophet's cheek bone. Finally he had to use his teeth to pull them out, and in the process lost two of his teeth. He later became known among the Arabs as Al Asram, i.e. the one without the incisors.

                   During this respite the Prophet regained his strength and recovered from the physical shock of his wounds. A negro lady by the name of Umm Eiman, who had once nursed the Prophet in his childhood, stood near him. From the Qureish ranks a man by the name of Haban bin Al Arqa slowly walked up to within bow-range, and fitting an arrow to his bow, shot it in the direction of the lady who was standing with her back to him. The arrow struck Umm Eiman in her backside. Haban found this terribly funny and roared with laughter as he turned and began to walk back towards the Qureish. The Prophet saw what had happened and was deeply angered. He took an arrow from his quiver and gave it to Sad.  "Shoot that man",² he ordered. Sad fitted the Prophet's arrow to his bow and, taking

¹Ibid: Vol. 2, p. 80; Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 191.

²Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 189.

The Battle of Uhud   41

careful aim, fired it at the infidel, hitting him in the neck. This time the Prophet laughed!

*

The Qureish now started their last onslaught with violent assaults against the Prophet from all directions. The cordon formed by the Companions was able to hold the attack at practically all points; but at one place it was breached, and Ibn Qamia broke through again and rushed towards the Prophet. This man was one of those who had struck the Prophet with stones in the previous phase of the attack. Near the Prophet and a bit to his right, stood Mus'ab bin Umeir and a lady by the name of Umm Umara. This lady had given up her task of carrying water to the wounded, and picking up a sword and a bow from one of the dead, had actually taken part in the recent fighting. She had brought down one horse and wounded one unbeliever.

Ibn Qamia mistook Mus'ab for the Prophet and rushed at him. Mus'ab was waiting for him with drawn sword and they began to duel. After a few passes, Ibn Qamia struck Mus'ab bin Umeir and killed him with a deadly blow.

As he fell, Umm Umara rushed at Ibn Qamia and struck him on the shoulder with her sword. Ibn Qamia wore a coat of mail, and since the blow lacked the power of muscle behind it, it did no damage. In return Ibn Qamia struck the lady on her shoulder with his sword, but as it was a hasty blow it did not kill her. It just made a deep gash in her shoulder as a result of which the lady fell and was unable to move for some time.

As soon as Umm Umara fell, the infidel saw the Prophet standing by himself and rushed at him. He raised his sword and struck a savage blow at the Prophet's head. The sword cut a few links in the Prophet's chain helmet but was unable to penetrate it. Deflected by the helmet, the sword continued in its thrust and landed on the Prophet's right shoulder. The violence of the blow was such, and the power of muscle behind it so great, that the Holy Prophet fell into a shallow ditch just behind him. From here he was later lifted up by Ali and Talha.

Seeing the Prophet fall, Ibn Qamia turned and rushed back to the Qureish, shouting at the top of his voice: "I have killed Muhammad! I have killed Muhammad!" This shout

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 78.

42    The Sword of Allah

carried across the battlefield and was heard by Qureish and Muslim alike. It broke the spirit of the Muslims, and most of them turned and fled towards Mount Uhud. A few Muslims, however, decided that if the Messenger of Allah was dead, there was no point in their living on. They rushed at the Qureish cavalry — determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible, but were cut down in no time by Khalid and Ikrama. Here Khalid killed his third man — Rafa'a bin Waqsh.

As the main body of the Muslims fled to the hills, most of the Qureish turned to loot the dead, and the Muslims defending the Holy Prophet now found that none of the Qureish remained near them. The temptation of loot proved as strong for the Qureish as it had proved a little while before for the Muslims. Finding his way clear, the Prophet, surrounded by the survivors of his group, withdrew towards the defile in the valley. In this withdrawal a few of the Qureish followed the Prophet but were beaten off and one or two of them were killed by the Companions. Khalid saw the movement of the Prophet's group towards the mountain pass, but made no attempt to intercept it, for he was busy pursuing the main body of the Muslim infantry. Thus the Prophet had no difficulty in reaching the defile, and the group climbed the steep slope of the spur, where it formed a rocky bluff about 400 feet high, on the east edge of the defile. Here the Prophet stopped in a cleft in the rock, to survey the tragic panorama which stretched before him. (For this last phase see Map 2.)

Of the group of 30 who had fought with the Prophet in the preceding few actions, only 14 remained and most of these were wounded. Sixteen of them had fallen — in defence of the Prophet and in the way of Allah. 

Thus the Muslims abandoned the field of battle. Some fled in panic far away; some returned to Madina; some did not rejoin the Prophet till two days later. But those who intended to seek refuge in the hills moved in small groups, fought their way through the Qureish cavalry and reached the foot of Mount Uhud. Here they dispersed, some taking shelter in the foothills, some climbing up to the ridge, others hiding in the re-entrants. None of them knew what he would do next. The Qureish were in complete command of the battlefield.

On arrival at the defile the Prophet had some time to
The Battle of Uhud  43

see to his wounds. Here his daughter, Fatima, joined him. Ali brought water in his shield from a nearby pool, and Fatima cried softly as she washed the blood from her father's face and dressed his wounds. In the shelter of this difficult pass, where the Qureish could not attack in strength, the Prophet rested his weary body.

Of the Muslims who had taken shelter on Mount Uhud, some were moving about aimlessly, not knowing where to go or what to do. One of them, a man named Kab bin Malik, wandering towards the defile, saw the Prophet and recognised him. This man had a powerful voice. He climbed onto a large rock, and facing the direction where he knew most of the Muslims had taken shelter, he shouted, "Rejoice, O Muslims! The Messenger of Allah is here!"¹ As he shouted, he pointed with his hand towards the Prophet. As a result of this call, which was not heard by the Qureish, many groups of Muslims moved over the hills and joined the Prophet. These included Umar, whose delight at seeing the Prophet again was boundless.

Meanwhile Abu Sufyan was looking for the body of the Prophet. He wandered over the battlefield and looked at each dead face, hoping that he would see the face of his enemy. Every now and then he would ask his men, "Where is Muhammad?" While he was so wandering, he came across Khalid and asked him the question. Khalid told him that he had seen Muhammad, surrounded by his Companions, moving towards the defile. Khalid pointed out the rocky bluff to Abu Sufyan, and the latter asked him to take his horsemen to attack the position.

Khalid looked at the boulder-strewn valley which led to the spur, and then at the steep slope of the spur itself. He had misgivings about the manoeuvre, for he knew that in this sort of terrain his cavalry would be at a serious disadvantage. But he hoped that some opportunity might present itself, as it had done soon after the initial defeat of the Qureish. Khalid was an irrepressible optimist. He began to move his squadron towards the spur.

The Prophet saw this movement and prayed: "O Lord, let not those men get here."² Thereupon Umar took a group of Muslims and moved some distance down the slope to face

¹Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 200; Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 185.

²Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 86.

44   The Sword of Allah

the Qureish cavalry. As Khalid came up with his squadron, he saw Umar and other Muslims waiting for him on higher ground. Khalid realised that the situation was hopeless — that not only was his enemy better placed, but his own cavalry would be unable to manoeuvre in this difficult terrain. He withdrew. And this was the last tactical manoeuvre in the Battle of Uhud.

*

Abu Sufyan and Khalid, among many others, now saw a sight which they would never forget and of which they did not approve. The battlefield where the Muslim martyrs lay was invaded by Hind and the Qureish women. Hind found the body of Hamza and, knife in hand, fell upon it.

Hind was a large, heavily built woman and had no difficulty in mutilating the corpse. She cut open the belly and pulled out Hamza's liver. Slicing off a piece of it, she put it in her mouth; and she swallowed it! She then cut off Hamza's nose and ears, and made the other women do the same to many of the other corpses.

The Savage now approached Hind. She turned to him, took off all her ornaments and gave them to him. "And when we get to Mecca," she said, "I shall give you 10 dinars."¹ Having disposed of her own jewellery, she made a necklace and anklets of the ears and noses of the martyrs who had been mutilated, and she put on these grisly ornaments! Having done so, this extraordinary woman sang:

We have repaid you for the day of Badr —

One bloody day after another.

I could not bear the loss of Utba,

Or of my uncle, my brother, my son.

Now my heart is cooled, my vow fulfilled;

And the Savage has driven the pain from my heart.

The Savage shall I thank as long as I live,

Until my bones turn to nothing in my grave.²

Soon after this gruesome drama had been enacted, Abu Sufyan walked up the valley. He was still hoping that Muhammad might be dead; that Khalid had made a mistake. He climbed on to a large rock some distance from the Prophet's position

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 222.

²IbnHisham: Vol.2, p.91.

The Battle of Uhud   45

and shouted, "Is Muhammad among you ?" The Prophet motioned to his Companions to remain silent. Abu Sufyan repeated the question twice, but there was no reply.

Then thrice Abu Sufyan asked, "Is Abu Bakr among you?" And thrice he asked, "Is Umar among you?" There was nothing but silence from the spur.

Abu Sufyan now turned towards the Qureish, who stood not far from him, and shouted, "These three are dead. They will trouble you no more." At this Umar could no longer restrain himself and roared at Abu Sufyan, "You lie, O Enemy of Allah! Those whom you have counted are alive, and there are enough of us left to punish you severely."

Abu Sufyan's response was loud and contemptuous laughter. He knew that the Muslims were in no condition at the moment to punish anybody. But he called to Umar, "May Allah protect you, O Son of Al Khattab! Is Muhammad really alive?"

"By my Lord, yes. And even now he hears what you say."

"You are more truthful than Ibn Qamia", replied Abu Sufyan.

Then took place a last dialogue between Abu Sufyan and the Prophet. The Prophet did not speak personally to his enemy, but would tell Umar what to say and Umar would shout the reply back at Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan: Glory to Hubal! Glory to Uzza!¹

The Prophet: Glory to Allah, Most High and Mighty!

Abu Sufyan: We have Uzza and Hubal. You have no Uzza and no Hubal.

The Prophet: We have Allah as Lord. You have no Lord.

Abu Sufyan: The deed is done. This was our day for your day of Badr. The destiny of war is not constant. We shall meet at Badr again next year.

The Prophet: At Badr we shall meet. You have our pledge. Abu Sufyan: You will find among your dead some who have been mutilated.  I neither ordered this nor approved of it. Do not blame me for this.²

Having made this last statement, Abu Sufyan turned

¹A god and goddess in the Arab pantheon.

²Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 93-4; Waqidi: Maghazi, pp. 229-30;

Ibn Sad: p. 551.

46   The Sword of Allah

away and walked back to his army.

The Qureish left the battlefield and gathered in their old camp of the day before. As they left, the Holy Prophet sent Ali as a scout to see how the Qureish were mounting — mounting camels or horses. Ali carried out his reconnaissance and returned to the Prophet to report that the Qureish were mounting camels and were leading their horses. The Prophet observed, "That means that they intend to return to Mecca and will not attack Madina. Had they wished to attack Madina, they would have mounted their horses for battle. In that case, by my Lord, I would have gone this very instant to fight them again."¹

The Qureish spent the night in Hamrat-ul-Asad, 10 miles. from Madina.² The Muslims returned to Madina, except for some stragglers who were to turn up the following day and the day after.

*

The next morning the Holy Prophet got up and put on his armour. His face showed clear signs of the damage which it had suffered in the battle. His cheek, forehead and lip that had been badly cut, were still swollen. The loss of his two teeth caused him pain, and his right shoulder hurt badly where the sword of Ibn Qamia had landed. This shoulder was to trouble him for a whole month.

The Prophet sent for Bilal, his Muazzin³ and ordered him to call the Faithful to battle. Only those would be permitted to join this morning's expedition who had taken part in the battle of the day before. The thundering voice of Bilal rang across the streets of Madina and carried the message into every Believer's home.

The Muslims rose from their mats as they heard the Prophet's orders to assemble for battle. Most of them were wounded, some more severely than others. They had spent a sleepless night in pain and suffering. All night long the women had been busy nursing the soldiers, washing and dressing their wounds. Not many of the Muslims were in fit shape for battle; but they got up from their mats. There were no groans or cries of pain.

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 94.

²This place was near the present Bir Ali, on the main road to Mecca.

³The one who calls the Azan — the Muslim call to prayer.

The Battle of Uhud   47

Some limped, others used hastily improvised crutches, yet others put their arms around their comrades to get support as they walked. They came, limping and staggering, towards the Prophet.  They saw the Prophet and they cried Labbeik — Present, Sir! And these tired, wounded Muslims, led by a tired, wounded Prophet, set out to fight the infidel. They numbered about 500.

As the Muslims were assembling for battle, a wild argument was taking place in the Qureish camp. Ikrama, no less aggressive than he had been the day before, was insisting on a return to battle for the reason that the Muslims were in a bad way as a result of the battle and now was the time to seek them again and completely crush them before they recovered from the setback.

"Enough is enough", replied Sufwan bin Umayya. "We have won the battle, and this victory should be sufficient for us. If the Muslims are in a bad way, we too are not in perfect condition. Most of our horses and many of our men are wounded. In the next battle, if we fight it with our present strength, we might not be as lucky as we were yesterday."¹

By now the Qureish leaders had also heard of the defection of the 300 Hypocrites. The fear that troubled them was the possibility of the return of these 300 in a repentant mood to the Prophet, for this would considerably augment the strength of the Muslims with fresh troops. While this argument was in progress, the Qureish soldiers discovered and caught two Muslim scouts who had been sent by the Prophet to seek information of the Qureish. These scouts were promptly killed, but their presence confirmed the fears of Sufwan and Abu Sufyan that the Muslims were in an aggressive mood and sought battle. Abu Sufyan promptly gave orders for the move to Mecca; and the Qureish army rode away.

In the afternoon the Muslims arrived at Hamrat-ul-Asad and found it deserted. They set up camp. After four nights at Hamrat-ul-Asad, they returned to Madina.

The campaign of Uhud was over. A total of 70 Muslims had fallen in battle. Abu Sufyan had killed one. Sufwan bin Umayya, Khalid and Ikrama had each killed three Muslims. On the Qureish side, 22 unbelievers had been killed including

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 104; Waqidi: Maghazi, pp. 231-2, 263.

48   The Sword of Allah

six by Ali and three by Hamza. It was a defeat for the Muslims, but not a decisive one.

*

                   This was the second major battle in the history of Islam. It was the first battle in which Abu Sufyan commanded an army against the Muslims, and the first battle in the life of Khalid. The Holy Prophet lost this battle, and the blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the fickle archers who disobeyed the orders of the Prophet and of their own immediate commander. In fact, in leaving their position these archers momentarily ceased to be Muslims and became tribal Arabs, bent on plunder.

                   Several writers have expressed the opinion that the Arabs of this period were ignorant about regular warfare; that militarily they were nothing better than raiders, and that they knew nothing about regular battles. It has been suggested by many of these writers that the Arabs learnt the art of war from the Romans and the Persians with whom they came into military contact after the Prophet's death.

                   This is just not true. We have already considered the dispositions adopted by the Prophet and the sound military reasons underlying his deployment. It should also be noted that in selecting the battlefield the Prophet left Madina open to assault by the Qureish. Madina was the base of the Muslims, but the route to that base, which ran south of the Muslim position, was open to Abu Sufyan. The Muslims were not in the way of Abu Sufyan had he decided to move to Madina. In this decision, the Prophet guessed rightly that Abu Sufyan would not dare to move to Madina, because in doing so he would expose his flank and rear to attack by the Muslims. And this is just what happened. Abu Sufyan did not move to Madina for fear of the Muslims who stood on the flank of the route. This was a classic example, repeated time and again in military history, of a force defending its base not by sitting on it for a frontal action, but by threatening from a flank any enemy movement towards that base.

                   While Abu Sufyan was forced to fight the battle under conditions not favourable to him, the disposition of his forces was sound, following the normal pattern, as practised by the Romans and the Persians, of having a main body of infantry in the centre and mobile wings for manoeuvre against the enemy's
The Battle of Uhud  49

flanks and rear. So far as the selection of the battlefield and the dispositions are concerned, it is doubtful if any Roman or Persian general commanding these forces could have acted differently and deployed the forces in another manner than done by the Prophet and Abu Sufyan. Certainly no critic has offered us a better solution!

Another important fact which this battle brings out is the military judgement and skill of Khalid. When the main body of the Qureish fled, its smaller parts — the cavalry squadrons — remained firm on the battlefield. Generally when the bulk of an army flees its parts do not remain. In this we see the unusual courage of Khalid (and Ikrama) in keeping their squadrons under control on the battlefield, although reason could suggest no possible advantage in doing so. We see the patience of Khalid and his refusal to accept defeat. It was only the keen eye of Khalid which observed the opening left by the archers when they abandoned their position. He saw the opening and took an immediate decision to exploit the opportunity with a rapid riposte which would get him into the vulnerable rear of the Muslims. It was this brilliant manoeuvre by Khalid which turned the near-complete victory of the Muslims into their near-complete defeat.

We also see the determination and doggedness of Khalid in the relentless pressure which he maintained against the stubborn Muslims until they broke. His killing three men showed the personal courage and fighting skill of the man. Possessing the boldness and dash of youth, and the patience and judgement of age, Khalid showed promise of great military achievements.

This was the first battle of Islam in which a fine manoeuvre was carried out. Henceforth manoeuvres and stratagem would achieve more prominence in Muslim battles. Some of the names that have been mentioned in this account would achieve undying fame within the next two decades as victors and conquerors.....Khalid, Amr bin Al Aas, Abu Ubeida, Sad bin Abi Waqqas.

4 : THE BATTLE OF THE DITCH

For several days after his return to Mecca, the Battle of Uhud occupied the mind of Khalid. He thought time and again of how the opportunity had arisen when the archers abandoned their position, and how quickly and accurately he had grasped the possibilities of manoeuvre. Khalid was to repeat such counter-strokes in later battles of his career. But the one fact that weighed heavily on his mind, and which he found difficult to explain, was the courage and tenacity of the Muslims. It did not seem natural that a small force, so vastly outnumbered and attacked from all directions, should hold out with such rock-like determination and be prepared to fight to the end in defence of its leader and its faith. After all, the Muslims were the same stock as the Qureish and other Arabs. Perhaps there was something that the new faith did to its votaries which other faiths could not do. Perhaps there was something about the personality of Muhammad which other men lacked. Such thoughts would occupy the mind of Khalid, but so far he was not in any way inclined towards the new faith. In fact he looked forward to facing the Muslims again, but without bitterness or rancour. He thought of the next battle as a sportsman might think of his next match.

And Khalid continued to enjoy the good life with the vigour and enthusiasm which were characteristic of the man.

*

For the next two years there was no direct military clash
The Battle of the Ditch  51

between the Muslims and the Qureish. There was, however, an incident known as the Incident of Rajee — a brutal and horrible affair which further embittered relations between Mecca and Madina.

This incident took place in July 625. Some Arabs came to the Prophet as a delegation from their tribe, expressed their desire to embrace Islam and asked him to send some men, well versed in the Quran and the ways of Islam, to explain the faith and its obligations to their tribe. The Prophet nominated six of his Companions for this task, and these men, proud of being selected to spread the true faith, set off with the delegation, entirely unaware of the trap that awaited them. When these men, with their guides, reached a place called Rajee, not far from Usfan, they were ambushed by 100 warriors from the tribe which had invited them.  The Muslims drew their swords, but they never had a chance. Three of them were killed and three captured. The prisoners were led to Mecca, en route to which one of them was able to free himself from his bonds and attacked his captors, but he too was killed. The two captives who eventually got to Mecca were Khubeib bin Adi and Zeid bin al Dasinna. Both of them had killed infidels in battle; and their captors now took them to Mecca and sold them at a high price to the relatives of the dead infidels, who bought them eagerly with the intention of killing them in revenge for those whom they had lost.

For some days no action was taken against the prisoners, as this was the holy month of Safar. As soon as the month ended, the two captives were taken to Tan'eem, a place by the north-western edge of Mecca, where the entire population of the town had gathered, including slaves, women and children. Two wooden stakes had been dug in the ground, and to these the captives were led. They asked to be allowed to say a final prayer and the request was granted. When the prayer was over, the captives were tied to the stakes.

Each of them was now given the option of returning to the idol worship of the Qureish, or death. Both the Muslims chose the option of death. Next Abu Sufyan went up to each captive and said, "Do you not wish that you were safe in your home and Muhammad were here in your place?" Each of them vehemently rejected the suggestion and said that no amount
52   The Sword of Allah

of suffering could put such an idea into his mind. Vexed and angered, Abu Sufyan turned away and remarked to his friends, "I have never seen men love their leader as the men of Muhammad love Muhammad."¹

Zeid was the first to die, and his death was quick and easy. A slave walked up to him and drove a spear through his chest. Next came the turn of Khubeib, and this was to be a show. This is what the people of Mecca had come to watch with joyful anticipation.

At a signal, 40 boys carrying spears rushed to the stake where Khubeib was tied and began to prick him with their spears. Sometimes they would move away and then come rushing at him again with raised spears as if to kill him, but would withhold the blow at the last moment and just prick lightly — sufficient to cut and pierce the skin but not to kill. Some of the boys were clumsy and cut deeper than others, and soon the body of Khubeib was covered with blood that flowed from hundreds of shallow wounds. As each spear pricked him he would wince, but not a sound escaped his lips. And the spectators were thrilled by the spectacle of Khubeib's suffering.

When this had gone on for some time, a man with a spear walked up to Khubeib and dispersed the boys. Perhaps by now the boys had tired of the fun. Perhaps the audience had tired of the game. This man now raised his spear and drove it through the heart of Khubeib, putting an end to his agony. The two bodies were left to rot at the stake.

The man who organised this show and prepared the boys for the part which they had to play was none other than Ikrama, son of Abu jahl. Little did Ikrama know when he arranged this horrible and gory entertainment that he could be forgiven his savage opposition to Islam and the Muslim blood that he had shed at Badr and Uhud, but this he could not be forgiven. On this day Ikrama became a war criminal.

*

It will be remembered that before leaving the battlefield of Uhud, Abu Sufyan had thrown a challenge to meet the Muslims again at Badr in a year's time, and the Prophet had accepted the challenge. This would mean a rendezvous during March

¹IbnHisham: Vol. 2, p. 172.

The Battle of the Ditch  53

626, but as the time of the rendezvous approached, Abu Sufyan felt disinclined to meet the Muslims. The winter rains had been even more scant than usual, and as the winter passed there was a sudden increase in temperature. The weather was hot and dry and the year promised to be an unusually bad one. Abu Sufyan decided to postpone the operation and sent an agent to Madina to spread the rumour that the Qureish were assembling in vast numbers, and would this time come in much greater strength than at Uhud. His intention was to frighten the Muslims into remaining at Madina, but when these reports reached the Prophet, he declared, "I shall keep the rendezvous with the infidel even if I have to go alone."¹

In late March, the Muslims marched from Madina. They numbered 1,500 men, of whom 50 had horses. The army arrived at Badr on April 4, 626 (the 1^st of Zu Qad, 4 Hijri), but there was no sign of the Qureish.

When Abu Sufyan received news of the movement of the Muslims from Madina, he got the Qureish together and rode out of Mecca. The army consisted of 2,000 men and a hundred horses, and stalwarts like Khalid, Ikrama and Sufwan again rode with the army. When the Qureish got to Usfan, however, Abu Sufyan decided that he was not under any circumstances going to fight this campaign. He turned to his subordinates and said, "This is a terrible year in which to engage in warfare. There is drought in the land and we have seldom known such heat. These conditions are not suitable for battle. We shall fight again in a year of abundance."² Having given these reasons for not continuing the movement, he ordered a return to Mecca. Sufwan and Ikrama protested vehemently against this decision but their protests were of no avail. The Meccans returned to Mecca.

The Muslims remained at Badr for eight days. Then, on hearing of Abu Sufyan's return to Mecca, they struck camp and went home to Madina.

*

After the return of the Qureish to Mecca, peace may have prevailed between the Muslims and the Qureish had it not been for the machinations of certain Jews. To understand the reasons

¹Ibn Sad: p. 563.

²Ibid.

54   The Sword of Allah

for this activity, we must go back to the days when the Prophet arrived at Madina after his flight from Mecca.

                When the Prophet got to Madina, in what was later to be numbered as the first year of the Hijra, the Muslims formed into two groups, viz. the Emigrants (Muhajireen) — those who had migrated from Mecca, and the Helpers (Ansar) — the newly converted Muslims of Madina who had invited the Prophet to come and live with them. A third small group among the Muslims became known as the Hypocrites (Munafiqeen), and these were inhabitants of Madina who had accepted the Prophet and his faith in order to conform to the general trend of events but were not Muslims at heart. Their leader was Abdullah bin Ubayy, a man who commanded a position of prestige in Madina and felt that the arrival of the Prophet had somehow reduced him in status and influence. These Hypocrites were the people who had abandoned the Muslim army on the eve of Uhud. They were to continue to create obstacles in the path of the Prophet, and without openly opposing him or his faith, would make every effort to weaken the resolution of the Muslims whenever they had to go to battle.

                   An important element in the population of Madina consisted of Jews, comprising three tribes known as Bani Qainqa, Bani Nazir and Bani Qureiza. When the Prophet arrived at Madina, these Jews accepted him without reservation and could see no possible threat to their position from the new faith. Each of the tribes entered into a pact with the Prophet which could be described as a friendship pact or a non-aggression pact. The pact included a clause under which one party would not in any way assist the enemies of the other party, should the other party be engaged in hostilities.

                   While the Prophet had been in Mecca, the revelations of the Quran had dealt mainly with spiritual and religious matters. Thus the character of Islam then was essentially spiritual and religious, dealing with man's relationship with God. When the Prophet migrated to Madina, Islam took on a more dynamic and vital role in the affairs of men, entering the fields of society, politics and economics. It began to deal with man as a member of society and society as an instrument for the achievement of a more virtuous, more progressive and more prosperous way of life for mankind. This new dynamism which entered the character

The Battle of the Ditch  55

of Islam was bound to bring it into conflict with the older faiths. A clash was inevitable sooner or later; and the nearest of the older religions with which Islam came in conflict was Judaism. The Jews first became conscious of the threat to their position when the Muslims won a resounding victory at the Battle of Badr. Then the Bani Qainqa broke their pact and came out in open opposition to the Muslims. The Prophet besieged this tribe in its strongholds and forced it into submission. As punishment for violating their pledge, the Bani Qainqa were banished from Madina, and they migrated to Syria.

The next Jewish tribe to break its pledge was the Bani Nazir, which happened soon after the Battle of Uhud. This tribe received the same punishment from the Muslims. Some of its members migrated to Syria, while others settled down in the area of Kheibar, north of Madina. In the operations against both these tribes Abdullah bin Ubayy, the chief of the Hypocrites, first sided with the Jews, secretly inciting them to fight the Prophet and promising active help from his followers. Later, when he saw the fortunes of war turning in favour of the Muslims, he abandoned the Jews to their fate.

The third Jewish tribe, the Bani Qureiza, continued to live peacefully in Madina. Its relations with the Muslims were perfectly normal and entirely peaceful, each side respecting and observing the terms of the pact. But the Jews of the Bani Nazir who had settled at Kheibar did not forgive the Muslims the banishment which they had suffered. After Uhud they came to know of the agreement between the Muslims and the Qureish to fight another battle, and they waited patiently, hoping that in that battle the Muslims would be crushed. But when they found a year later that there was not going to be another battle, they decided to take direct action to bring on an attack against the Muslims.

As the summer of 626 came to an end, a delegation of the Jews of Kheibar set out for Mecca. Their leader was Huyayy bin Akhtab, who had been the chief of the Bani Nazir in Madina. On arrival at Mecca this delegation conferred with Abu Sufyan, and set about to organise an expedition against the Prophet. It was necessary for Huyayy to work on the fears and emotions of the Qureish, and he started off by outlining the danger the

56   The Sword of Allah

Qureish faced from the spread of Islam in Arabia. If the Muslims reached Yamama, the Qureish trade routes to Iraq and Bahrein would be blocked.

"Tell me, O Son of Akhtab", asked Abu Sufyan. "You are one of the People of the Book. Is it your opinion that the new religion of Muhammad is better than our religion?" With­out batting an eye Huyayy replied, "As one who knows the Book, I can assure you that your religion is better than Muham­mad's. You are in the right."¹ This pleased the Qureish no end, and they agreed to fight Muhammad if other Arab tribes would join them.

The Jewish delegation then went to the Ghatfan and the Bani Asad with whom it had similar talks and achieved similar results. These and various other tribes all agreed to take part in a massive expedition to fight and destroy the Muslims.

After Uhud the Qureish had accepted the loss of trade with Syria as inevitable. Since the Muslims remained in power at Madina, the coastal route to Syria could not be used by the Meccans. So the Meccans increased their trade with Iraq, Bahrein and the Yemen, and thus more or less made up for the loss which they had suffered in the stoppage of their trade with Syria. As a result of the conference with the Jewish delegation, however, Abu Sufyan became more conscious of the danger to the Meccan trade by the further spread of Islam. If the Muslims reached Yamama, the Qureish trade would have to be confined to the Yemen, for the routes to Iraq and Bahrein would then be in Muslim hands. And this further curtailment of their trade would be an economic blow which the Qureish could never survive. Abu Sufyan had also been needled a great deal by Sufwan bin Umayya for his lack of spirit in the last expedition. Both these factors combined to make Abu Sufyan determined and zealous to take out another expedition to Madina.

Preparations for the expedition were begun. Tribal contin­gents began to concentrate in early February 627. The Qureish provided the largest force, consisting of 4,000 men, 300 horses and 1,500 camels. Next came the Ghatfan with 2,000 men under Uyeina bin Hisn, while the Bani Suleim sent 700 warriors. The Bani Asad contributed a contingent whose strength is not known, under Tuleiha bin Khuweilad. While the Qureish and

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 214.

some lesser tribes assembled at Mecca, the Ghatfan, Bani Asad and Bani Suleim concentrated in their tribal settlements north, north-east and east of Madina respectively, whence they would march direct to Madina. The total strength of the force, including smaller tribes which have not been mentioned, was 10,000, and Abu Sufyan assumed over-all command of the expedition. This became known as the collection of tribes. For want of a better name, we shall call them the Allies.

On Monday, February 24, 627 (the 1st of Shawwal, 5 Hijri), the Allies, converging from their separate tribal regions, arrived near Madina and established their camps. The Qureish camped in the area of the stream junction south of the wood, west of Mount Uhud, where they had camped for the Battle of Uhud. The Ghatfan and other tribes camped at Zanab Naqma, about 2 miles east of Mount Uhud. Having established their camps, the Allies advanced on Madina.

*

Hardly had the concentration of the Allies begun when agents brought word of it to Madina. As more and more tribal contingents gathered, the reports became increasingly alarming. Finally the Prophet received the information that 10,000 warriors bent on destroying the Muslims were marching on Madina. There was alarm and despondency among the Muslims as this unpleasant intelligence was received. The Muslims had, of course, always been numerically inferior to their enemies. The ratio of relative strengths at Badr and Uhud had been one to three and one to four respectively, and although the number of Muslims at Madina had now increased to 3,000 able-bodied men, many hundreds among them were Hypocrites on whom no reliance could be placed. And 10,000 seemed a terribly large figure. Never before in the history of the Hijaz had such a vast army assembled for battle.

Then came light in the form of a suggestion by Salman the Persian. He explained that when the Persian army had to fight a defensive battle against superior odds, it would dig a ditch, too wide and too deep to cross, in the way of the enemy. To the Arabs this was an unfamiliar method of warfare, but they saw its virtue and the proposal was accepted.

The Prophet ordered the digging of the ditch. Many of

the Arabs who could not comprehend such tactics seemed un­willing to get down to the arduous labour of digging, and the Hypocrites as usual went about dissuading the people from taking all this trouble. But the Prophet got down to digging with his own hands, and after this no self-respecting Muslim could keep away from the task. The ditch was sited and its entire length divided among the Muslims at the scale of 40 cubits per group of 10 men. As the Muslims sweated at this back-breaking task, Hassaan bin Sabit walked about reciting his poetry and infusing fresh spirit into the Muslims. Hassaan was a poet, and perhaps the greatest poet of his day. He could ex­temporise verses on any subject and on any occasion, and do it so beautifully that his listeners could hardly believe that the composition was extemporaneous. He could move people to a frenzy of emotion. But if Hassaan was one of the greatest poets of his age, that is where his talents ended. To such manly pursuits as fighting, Hassaan was in no way inclined, as we shall see later.

The ditch ran from Sheikhein to the hill of Zubab, and thence to the Jabal Bani Ubeid. All these hills were included in the area protected by the ditch, and on the west the ditch turned south to cover the left flank of the western of the two hills known as Jabal Bani Ubeid. East of Sheikhein and south-west of Jabal Bani Ubeid stretched vast lava fields — areas of broken, uneven ground covered by, and at times formed of, large black boulders, impassable for major military movement.  A little south of the centre of the ditch stood the prominent hill of Sil'a, about 400 feet high, a mile long and a little less across, running generally north-south but with spurs extending in all directions. In fact the little hill of Zubab lay just off the north-eastern spur of Sil'a, though our map does not show this clearly. (See Map 3.)¹

Once the digging of the ditch was complete, the Muslims established their camp just ahead of the hill of Sil'a. Their total strength was 3,000 which included Hypocrites whose fighting value and reliability were uncertain. The Prophet's plan was to keep the bulk of his army uncommitted to strike at any spot

¹The western end of the ditch is also reported to have ended at Mazad. This too is correct, for the three western hills shown on Map 3 — the two southern ones of Jabal Bani Ubeid and the little one to their north — are also called Mazad.

MAP 3 : THE BATTLE OF THE DITCH
60   The Sword of Allah

where the enemy managed to get a foothold across the ditch. To guard against surprise, the ditch was lightly covered along its entire length by 200 men, most of whom were placed as picquets on the hills commanding the ditch. A mobile force of 500 men was employed to patrol the various settlements of Madina and deal with any infiltrators who might enter unseen, and also give some protection to areas not covered by the ditch. (Madina was not then a city as it is now, but consisted of a group of settlements and forts. The centre of Madina, physical and spiritual, was the Prophet's Mosque.) The women and children were placed in forts and houses away from the main front, which faced north and north-west.

The winter that was now passing had been a severe one. It was also to prove a long winter.

*

When the Qureish saw the ditch they were first dismayed and then moved to indignation. They had come in such strength that victory had seemed certain. Abu Sufyan had joyfully ex­pected to fight a victorious battle; and now here was this blessed ditch in the way!

"By Allah!" Abu Sufyan exploded. "Such stratagems are not the way of the Arab!"¹ In the simple mind of the average Arab there was no room for such tactics. To the chivalrous Arab this was definitely 'not cricket’!

However, the Allies moved up their camp, deployed along the ditch on the north and north-west, and settled down to a siege that was to last 23 days. By day the Allies would come up to the ditch which the Muslims covered lightly from the home side. There would be an exchange of archery which would go on for most of the day, and for the night the Allies would return to their camp. Mostly by day and sometimes by night, Allied patrols would move up and down the ditch trying to find a place at which a crossing could be attempted. They were even­tually to find one such place, but more of that later.

For 10 days the siege continued with no decision and no let-up on either side. The morale of both sides came under considerable strain, but tended to harden rather than weaken.

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 224.

The Battle of the Ditch   61

The Muslims began to feel the pangs of hunger. There were no large stocks of food in Madina, and the Muslims were now on half rations. The Hypocrites became louder and more open in their criticism of the Prophet. While the ditch was being dug, the Prophet had promised the Muslims that within a few years they would destroy the might of Rome and Persia and pos­sess themselves of the wealth of those empires. The Hypocrites now began to say, "Muhammad promises us the treasures of Caesar and Chosroes, but he cannot get us out of this simple predicament!".1 The true Believers, however, remained firm and steadfast, and their faith in their leader remained unshaken.

The situation gradually worsened for the Allies too, so that discontent raised its head in their ranks. The Arabs were not used to long sieges and preferred a quick, lively battle to this form of warfare. The weather had remained unpleasant and began to cause a good deal of distress among the Allies. Food also ran short, as Abu Sufyan had made no arrangements for provisions to tide them over such a long period of time. But since the Allies were not themselves under siege, some measures were hastily taken to gather provisions from outlying areas. The men began to grumble and Abu Sufyan had to think hard to find some way out of this impasse. Finally, he consulted Huyayy the Jew, and between them they hit upon a new plan which showed every promise of success.

On the night of Friday, March 7, Huyayy stole into the set­tlement of the Bani Qureiza. He knocked at the door of their leader, Kab bin Asad; but the latter, guessing that Huyayy had come as a Jew and probably intended to incite his fellow Jews against the Prophet, refused to see him. After some wrangling, however, Huyayy was allowed in, and he gently and cleverly began to work on Kab, pressing him to join the Allies in the war against the Muslims. At first Kab refused. "Muhammad has kept his pact with us, and we have no reason to complain", he said. ''In any case you have no certainty of victory. If we join you and the campaign fails, your idol-worshippers will go back in peace to their homes and we will have to bear the brunt of the wrath of Muhammad."2 But the visitor continued to press,

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 222.

²Ibid: p. 221; Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 292.

62  The Sword of Allah

now threatening, now tempting, now begging, and eventually got Kab to agree to a pact with the Allies. According to the terms of this pact there would be a simultaneous attack by the Allies and the Bani Qureiza. These Jews had their settlement and their forts two miles south-east of Madina, and they would attack from this direction and draw some of the Muslims away from the ditch while the Allies attacked frontally. In case the attack failed, the Allies would leave a strong garrison in the Jewish forts to defend the Jews against the Muslims who were bound to turn against them in revenge. The Bani Qureiza asked for 10 days to prepare themselves before the attack was begun, during which period the Allies could continue minor operations from the north.

Thus the last of the Jews of Madina, following in the foot­steps of their co-religionists, broke their pact with the Muslims. Little did they know how heavily they would pay for their per­fidy!

It was not long before the Prophet came to know about this pact. He got the intelligence through one of his agents who entered the camp of the Allies one night and, unknown to them, overheard certain conversations. Then rumours of the pact also spread, and the report was ultimately confirmed by the incident of 'Safiyya and the Jew'.

Safiyya was an aunt of the Prophet, and along with other women and children had moved to a small fort in the south-­eastern part of Madina. Present in the fort was Hassaan the Poet, and he was the only man there! One day Safiyya, looking down from the fort, saw a fully armed Jew moving stealthily beneath the wall as if seeking a way around the fort. Safiyya at once concluded that he was a scout of the Bani Qureiza who had been sent to reconnoitre a route which the Jews might take in their attack. This Jew would act as a guide, leading his tribe into the unprotected rear of the Muslims.

Safiyya went to the poet and said, "O Hassaan! There is a Jew who is seeking a way by which he can lead the Bani Qureiza to attack our settlements from the rear. You know that the Messenger of Allah and all the men are busy at the front and cannot detach forces to protect us. This man must be killed. Go and kill him at once!" "May Allah bless you, O Daughter of Abdul Muttalib", replied Hassaan, "you know that such work is not

The Battle of the Ditch  63

for me." Throwing a glance of contempt at the poet, Safiyya picked up a club, tied a waist-band around her waist and went down to meet the Jew. The brave lady killed the Jew. Leaving him lying with a crushed skull in a pool of blood, she returned to the fort and said to Hassaan, "I have killed him, 0 Hassaan! Now go and take the booty from his body, for it is not right for a woman to undress a man." "May Allah bless you, 0 Daughter of Abdul Muttalib," replied Hassaan, "I have no need for such booty!"¹

When the news of this incident reached the Muslims, there was no doubt left in their minds about the treachery of the Bani Qureiza. The situation now became more tense, and the Hypocrites became more outspoken. From half rations the Muslims came down to quarter rations. (Later it was to become no rations!) Their resolution was still unshaken; but if the siege continued very much longer, sheer starvation would force the Muslims to submit. And the Muslims could find no direct military solution to the problem.

*

The Prophet now decided to use diplomacy to achieve results which were not attainable by force of arms. He started secret negotiations with Uyeina, the commander of the Ghatfan contingent. (Uyeina was a brave and simple soul. A one-eyed man possessing more brawn than brain, he was to earn from the Prophet the nickname of 'the willing fool'.²) The aim of the negotiations was to create a rift between the two major Allies — the Ghatfan and the Qureish — by drawing the Ghatfan away from the siege. If this were achieved, other tribes might also pull away from the Qureish; but even if they did not, the absence of the powerful Ghatfan contingent of 2,000 warriors would reduce the Allied strength to manageable proportions, where­after military action could be taken to drive the Allies away from Madina.

"If the Ghatfan secede from the alliance and return to their homes, they shall be given one-third of the date produce of Madina", were the terms offered by the Prophet. This offer was accepted by Uyeina who had by now lost all hope of military

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 228.

²Ibn Quteiba: p.303.

64   The Sword of Allah

victory. The pact was drawn up, but before it could be signed and sealed (without which it would not be binding), the Prophet de­cided to mention the matter to some of the Muslim leaders. These Muslims protested vehemently. "Dates!" they exclaimed. "Let the infidels get nothing from us but the sword!"1 This disagreement with the Prophet was so general and so strong that he decided to submit to the wishes of the Muslims, and the negotiations were dropped.

These stout-hearted Believers could not understand the seriousness of the military situation or the intricacies of dip­lomacy as well as the Prophet did. He knew that the only solu­tion to the problem lay in breaking the siege by diplomatic man­oeuvre, and he now began to look about for another opening. Soon an opening presented itself.

Among the Ghatfan was a man by the name of Nueim bin Masud who had become a Muslim but had kept his con­version a secret. A prominent figure in the region, he was well known to all the three major partners in the alliance — the Qureish, the Ghatfan and the Jews of Bani Qureiza. He was also a very capable man.

Nueim left the Ghatfan camp one night and slipped into Madina. He came to the Prophet, explained his position and expressed his desire to be of service to the Muslims. "Send me where you will", he said.2 This was just the opportunity for which the Prophet had prayed. In a conference with Nueim the Prophet went over the entire situation and laid down the course of action which Nueim was to take.

The same night Nueim stole into the settlement of the Bani Qureiza and visited Kab. He outlined the dangers of the situation as they applied to the Jews. "Your situation is not like the situation of the Qureish and the Ghatfan", he explained. "You have your families and your homes here, while their homes and families are at a safe distance from Madina. They have no great stake in this battle. If they do not succeed in defeating Muhammad, they will return to their homes and leave you to face the wrath of the Muslims. You must take no action in col­laboration with them unless they give you hostages from their

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p.223.

²Ibid: Vol. 2, p. 229

The Battle of the Ditch  65

best families. Thus you will have an assurance of their good faith."

Nueim next went to the Qureish and spoke to Abu Sufyan, who knew him well and had respect for his judgement. "You have made a pact", he said, "with a people who are treacherous and unreliable. I have come to know through friends in Madina that the Bani Qureiza have repented and entered into a fresh pact with Muhammad. To prove their loyalty to Muhammad, they are going to ask you for hostages from your best families, whom they will promptly hand over to Muhammad, who will put them to death. The Jews will then openly come out as allies of the Muslims and both will make a joint attack against us. On no account must you give hostages to the Jews!"

He then went to the Ghatfan where he painted the same picture. By the time Nueim had finished, the seeds of doubt and discord had been firmly planted in the minds of the Allies.

The uncertainty began to tell on Abu Sufyan, who had relied unquestioningly on the alliance with the Jews. He decided to hasten the course of battle and put the intentions of the Jews to test. During the night of Friday, March 14, following the visit of Nueim, he sent a delegation headed by Ikrama to the Bani Qureiza. "This is a terrible situation", explained Ikrama. "This cannot be allowed to continue any longer. We attack tomorrow. You have a pact with us against Muhammad. You must join in the attack from the direction of your settlement."

The Jews hummed and hawed for a while and then came out with their terms. "Our position is more delicate than yours. If you have no success you may abandon us, and then we will be left alone to face the wrath of Muhammad. To make sure that this does not happen, you must give us hostages from your best families who will stay with us until the battle has been fought to a satisfactory conclusion. Anyway, tomorrow is Satur­day and Jews are forbidden to fight on the Sabbath. Those who break the Sabbath are turned by God into pigs and mon­keys." Ikrama returned empty-handed. Abu Sufyan then decided to make one more attempt at persuading the Jews to join battle on the morrow, and sent another delegation to Kab; but the stand of the two sides remained the same:

Qureish: No hostages; fight tomorrow!

Jews: No fighting on the Sabbath; anyway, hostages first!

66  The Sword of Allah

All three groups now said, "Nueim was right. How wise he was in his advice to us!"¹ Nueim had done his work well. The Bani Qureiza had been neatly detached from the alliance.

*

The next morning, Saturday, March 15, Khalid and Ikrama, tiring of the delay and seeing no hope of concerted action by the Allies, decided to take matters into their own hands and try to force a decision one way or another. They moved forward with their cavalry squadrons to a place just west of Zubab, where the ditch was not as wide as in other places and where it could be cleared on horseback or by men scrambling across on foot. This place was right in front of the Muslim camp, which nestled at the foot of Sil'a.

Ikrama's squadron moved up first and a small group jumped the ditch, the horses landing neatly on the Muslim side. There were seven men in the group, including Ikrama and an enormous man who urged his enormous horse ahead of the group and began to survey the Muslims, who were surprised by the sudden appearance of the Qureish. The stage was now set for one of the most remarkable duels of history, which, because of its unusual course, is here described in full detail.

This huge man was of a tremendous height and bulk, and while on his feet would tower above his fellow men. Sitting on his great horse, he looked positively unreal. Big, strong and fearless, he had a fierce countenance — an aspect which thrilled his comrades and dismayed his enemies.

This was Amr bin Abd Wud. (We shall call him the Giant!) Horse and rider stood motionless as he let his gaze wander scornfully over the ranks of the Muslims.

Suddenly the Giant raised his head and roared, "I am Amr bin Abd Wud. I am the greatest warrior in Arabia. I am invin­cible. I... I..." He certainly had a high opinion of himself. "Is there anyone among you who has the courage to meet me in personal combat?"

The challenge was received by the Muslims in silence. They looked at one another. They looked at the Holy Prophet. But no one moved, for the Giant was famous for his strength

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 230.231; Ibn Sad: p. 574.

The Battle of the Ditch   67

and skill, and though wounded several times, had never yet lost a duel, nor spared an opponent. It was said that he was equal to 500 horsemen; that he could lift a horse bodily and hurl it to the ground; that he could pick up a calf with his left hand and use it as a shield in combat; that he could... The stories were endless. The vivid Arab imagination had created around this formidable warrior a legend of invincibility.

So the Muslims remained silent, and the Giant laughed with contempt — a laugh in which the Qureish also joined, for they stood quite close to the ditch and could see and hear all that went on.

"So is there none among you who has the courage of a man? And what of your Islam? And your Prophet?" At this blasphemous taunt, Ali left his position in the front rank of the Muslims, approached the Holy Prophet and sought permission to engage the challenger and silence his insolent tongue once and for all. The Prophet replied, "Sit down. This is Amr!" Ali returned to his position.

There was another burst of scornful laughter, more taunts, another challenge. Again Ali went up to the Prophet. Again the Prophet declined permission. More laughter, more taunts. Again the challenge from Amr, and this time more insulting than before. "Where is your paradise", he shouted," of which you say that those who lose in battle will enter it? Can you not send a man to fight me?"

When for the third time Ali moved towards the Prophet, the latter saw in Ali's eyes a look which he knew well; and he knew that Ali could no longer be restrained. He looked at Ali fondly, for Ali was dearer to him than any other man. He took off his turban and wound it around Ali's head. He next took off his sword and girded it at Ali's waist. And he prayed: "O Lord! Help him!"¹

This sword which the Prophet now gave to Ali had once belonged to an infidel by the name of Munabba bin Hajjaj. This man had been killed at the Battle of Badr, and the sword had come to the Muslims as part of the spoils of war. The Pro­phet had taken the sword for himself. Now in Ali's hand this was to become the most famous sword in Islam, killing more

¹Ibn Sad: p. 572.

68   The Sword of Allah

men in fair combat than any sword in history. This was the Zulfiqar.

Ali hastily collected a small group of Muslims and strode out towards the unbelievers. The group stopped at some distance from the Giant, and Ali stepped forward and got to within duelling distance of the challenger. The Giant knew Ali well. He had been a friend of Ali's father, Abu Talib. He now smiled indulgently at Ali as a man might smile at a boy.

"O Amr!" called Ali. "It is believed that if any man of the Qureish offers you two proposals, you always accept at least one of them."

"True."

"Then I have two proposals to offer you. The first is:

accept Allah and His Messenger and Islam."

"I have no need of them."

"Then dismount from your horse and fight me."

"Why, O son of my brother? I have no desire to kill you."

"But I", replied Ali, "Have a great desire to kill you!"¹

The Giant's face flushed with anger. With a cry of rage he sprang off his horse, displaying a degree of agility surprising in so huge a monster. He hamstrung his horse, drew his sword and rushed at Ali. The fight was on.

Amr struck at Ali many times, but Ali remained unharmed. He would parry the blow with his sword or shield or nimbly step aside to let the Giant's sword whistle past him harmlessly. At last the Giant stood back, panting and baffled. He wondered how this could be. Never before had any man survived so long in personal combat against him. And now this boy was looking at him as if he was playing a game!

Then things happened so fast that no one could quite follow the sequence — neither the Muslims nor the Qureish nor the Giant himself. Ali dropped his sword and shield to the ground; his body shot through the air like a missile and his hands grasped the Giant's throat; with a wrestler's kick he knocked the Giant off balance, and the Giant came crashing to the ground — all in a matter of seconds. Now the Giant lay on his back with Ali sitting astride his chest. The two armies gasped and murmured then held their breath.

The bewilderment on the Giant's face changed to fury.

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 225.

The Battle of the Ditch  69

At last he had been thrown, and by this young upstart who was less than half his size! But although he was down, he was not finished. He would still win the battle and re-establish his posi­tion as the greatest warrior in Arabia. He would toss this youngster into the air as a leaf is tossed by the wind.

The Giant's face went purple, the veins stood out on his neck and his huge biceps and forearms trembled as he strai­ned to break Ali's grip. But he could not move it an inch. There was the quality of steel in the muscles of Ali.

"Know, O Amr", said Ali gently, "that victory and defeat depend upon the will of God. Accept Islam! Thus not only will your life be spared, but you will also enjoy the blessings of God in this life and the next." Ali drew a sharp dagger from his waist­band and held it close to Amr's throat.

But this was more than the Giant could take. Was he, whom Arabia considered her greatest champion, to live the rest of his life under the shadow of defeat and disgrace? Was it to be said of him that he saved his life in personal combat by sub­mitting to the conditions of his opponent? No! He, Amr bin Abd Wud, had lived by the sword. He would perish by the sword. A life spent in violence must end with violence. He gathered the spittle in his mouth and spat into the face of Ali!

He knew what would happen. He knew that there would be a sharp intake of breath, that Ali's right arm would shoot into the air and then plunge the dagger into his throat. Amr was a brave man and could face death without flinching. He arched his back and raised his chin — to offer his throat to Ali, for he knew what was to come. At least he thought he knew!

But what happened next left him even more bewildered. Ali rose calmly from Amr's chest, wiped his face, and stood a few paces away, gazing solemnly at his adversary. "Know, O Amr, I only kill in the way of Allah and not for any private motive. Since you spat in my face, my killing you now may be from a desire for personal vengeance. So I spare your life. Rise and return to your people!"

The Giant rose. But there was no question of his returning to his people a loser. He would live a victor, or not at all. Intend­ing to make one last attempt at victory, he picked up his sword and rushed at Ali. Perhaps he would catch Ali unawares.  

Ali had just enough time to pick up his sword and shield

70  The Sword of Allah

and prepare for the fresh assault. The blow which the Giant now delivered in furious desperation was the most savage blow of the encounter. His sword shattered Ali's shield, but in doing so lost its force and impetus, and could then do no more than in­flict a shallow cut on Ali's temple. The wound was too slight to worry Ali. Before the Giant could raise his sword again, the Zulfiqar flashed in the sunlight, and its tip slashed open the Giant's throat. The blood of the Giant gushed forth like a foun­tain.

For a moment the Giant stood motionless. Then his body began to sway as if he was drunk. And then he fell on his face with a crash and lay still.

The earth did not shake with the impact of that colossal body. The earth is too big. But the hill of Sil'a shook with the cry of Allah-o-Akbar that thundered from 2,000 Muslim throats. The triumphant cry echoed through the length and breadth of the valley before it faded away into the stillness of the desert.

The Muslim group now rushed at the six remaining Qureish. In the sword fighting that ensued one more Qureish was killed and one Muslim fell. A few minutes later the Qureish group turned and hastily withdrew across the ditch. Ikrama dropped his spear as he jumped the ditch, on which Hassaan the Poet wrote many a rude verse. A man known as Nofal bin Abdullah, a cousin of Khalid's, was not successful in clearing the ditch and fell into it. Before he could rise, the Muslims were on the bank and hurling stones at him. Nofal wailed, "O Arabs! Surely death is better than this!"¹ Thereupon Ali obliged the man by descending into the ditch and cutting off his head.

The Muslim group now returned to camp, and a strong guard was placed at the crossing.

On the afternoon of the next day, Khalid moved up with a squadron, intending to succeed where Ikrama had failed. He tried to cross the ditch, but this time the Muslim guard at the crossing saw him advance and deployed in sufficient time to prevent his crossing. There was a heavy exchange of archery in which one Muslim and one Qureish were killed, but Khalid was unable to cross.

¹Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 240.

The Battle of the Ditch  71

Since the opposition at the moment appeared too strong to overcome, Khalid decided to resort to stratagem. He moved his squadron back, as if he had given up his intention of crossing the ditch, and placed it at some distance from the ditch. The Muslims took the bait, and believing that Khalid had abandoned his attempt to cross the ditch, withdrew and began to relax, waiting for the peace and quiet of the night. Suddenly Khalid galloped back with his squadron; and before the Muslim guard had time to redeploy, a few of the Qureish, led by Khalid, mana­ged to cross the ditch. But they had not advanced far from the ditch when the Muslims formed up again and held Khalid within the small bridgehead which he had occupied. (See Map 3.) Khalid tried hard to break through, but the Muslim resistance was too strong, and he had no success. There was some hand-to-hand fighting between the Qureish group and the Muslim guard in which Khalid killed one Muslim. The Savage also was there; and with the same javelin that he had used against Hamza at Uhud, he killed a Muslim in this sally across the ditch. Before long, however, seeing the situation as hopeless, Khalid broke contact and wihdrew across the ditch. This was the last major military action in the Battle of the Ditch.

*

For the next two days there was no activity except for a certain amount of sporadic archery which did no damage to either side. The Muslims now ran out of food; but their courage was hardened by desperation and they were determined to starve rather than surrender to the hated infidel. In the Allied camp tempers rose and spirits fell. Everyone knew that the expedition, which had been expected to lead to a glorious victory, had ended in fiasco. There was widespread grumbling, and what made the situation intolerable was the fact that no one could find a way out of the impasse.

Then on Tuesday night, March 18, the area of Madina was struck by a storm. Cold winds lashed at the Allied camp and howled across the valley. The temperature dropped sharply. The Allied camp was more exposed than the Muslim camp and the storm appeared to strike the Allies with a vengeance. It put out fires, knocked down cooking pots, carried away tents. The Allies sat huddled under their blankets and cloaks

72  The Sword of Allah

as the storm raged around them, waiting for an end that would not come.

Abu Sufyan could take no more. He leapt to his feet, and raising his voice against the storm, shouted to his men: "This is no proper abode for us. Men and animals have suffered grievously from exposure. The Bani Qureiza have turned out to be pigs and monkeys and have betrayed us in our hour of need. The storm has ravaged our camp, put out our fires, knocked down our tents. Let us return to Mecca. Lo, l am one who goes!"

Having made this last speech, Abu Sufyan jumped on to his camel and rode out with his men, hoping to get away from the pitiless storm. But the demons of the storm were to pursue him the whole night. The Ghatfan now came to know of the movement of the Qureish and so did the other tribes. Without further delay they mounted their camels and departed for their settlements and pastures. In the rear of the Qureish army rode Khalid and Amr bin Al Aas with their cavalry squadrons — acting as a rear guard in case the Muslims should come out of Madina and attempt to interfere with the Qureish movement. It was a bitter and disillusioned Abu Sufyan who led his army back to Mecca. The burden of failure lay heavy on his heart.

The next morning the Muslims found the Allies gone, and returned to their homes. This was the last attempt by the Qureish to crush the Muslims; henceforth they would remain on the defensive.

The Battle of the Ditch was over. Each side had lost four men. It was a victory for the Muslims in that they achieved their aim of defending themselves and their homes against the Allies, while the Allies failed in their attempt to crush the Mus­lims. In fact the Allies failed to do any damage at all. The siege had lasted 23 days and had imposed a terrible strain on both sides. It had been ended by the storm, but the storm was not the cause of the raising of the siege. It was the last straw. Strictly speaking, this operation was a siege and a confrontation rather than a battle, for the two armies never actually came to grips.

This was the first instance in Muslim history of the use of politics and diplomacy in war, and it shows the interplay of politics and arms in the achievement of the national aim. The use

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 232.

The Battle of the Ditch  73

of armed force is one aspect of war — a violent and destructive aspect — to be used only when political measures fail to achieve the aims of the State. When a shooting war becomes inevit­able, politics, with diplomacy as its principle instrument, prepares the ground for the use of armed force. It sets the stage, weakens the enemy, and reduces his strength to a state where armed force can be employed against him with the maximum prospect of success.

And this is just what the Prophet did. He used the ins­trument of diplomacy to split and weaken the enemy, not only in numbers but also in spirit. Most of the Muslims could not understand this, but they were learning from their leader. The Prophet's words, 'War is stratagem',1 were to be remembered and frequently quoted in later Muslim campaigns.

¹Ibid: Vol. 2, 229; Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 295.

                                                                            

     5: THE CONVERSION OF KHALID

The Truce of Hudeibiya was signed in early April 628 (late Zu Qad, 6 Hijri). The signing of such a truce was not the intention of the Prophet as he set out for Mecca in the middle of March. His intention was to perform the pilgrimage — the off-season pilgrimage known as Umra — and he took with him 1,400 fully armed Muslims and a large number of sacrificial animals.

The Qureish, however, feared that the Muslims were com­ing to fight a battle and subdue the Qureish in their home town, for the initiative had now passed to the Muslims. Consequently, the Qureish moved out of Mecca and concentrated in a camp nearby, from where Khalid was sent forward with 300 horsemen on the road to Madina to intercept the Muslim army. Khalid did not see how he could stop such a large force with only 300 men, but he decided to do whatever was possible to delay the advance of the Muslims.  He arrived at Kura-ul-Ghameem, 15 miles from Usfan, and took up a blocking position in a pass through which the road crossed this hilly region.¹ (See Map 4.)

When the Muslims arrived at Usfan, their advance was

¹This Kura-ul-Ghameem is not the Kura marked on today's maps. The latter lies by an inlet of the Red Sea, while the former was in a hilly region with the hills extending westwards from it to the sea. It was south­-east of Usfan.

The Conversion of Khalid  75

preceded by a detachment of 20 horsemen who had been sent forward as a reconnaissance element. This detachment made contact with Khalid at Kura-ul-Ghameem, and informed the Prophet at Usfan of the position and strength of Khalid's force.

The Prophet decided that he would not waste time in fight­ing an action at this place. He was in any case anxious to avoid bloodshed, as his intention was the pilgrimage and not battle. He ordered his forward detachment to remain in contact with Khalid and draw Khalid's attention to itself; and with Khalid so engaged, the Prophet moved his army from the right, travelling over little used tracks through difficult hilly country, which he crossed not far from the coast through a pass known as Saniyyat-ul-Marar.¹ The march proved a strenuous one, but it was suc­cessfully accomplished and Khalid's position bypassed. It was not till the outflanking movement was well under way that Khalid saw in the distance the dust of the Muslim column, and realis­ing what had happened, hastily withdrew to Mecca. The Mus­lims continued the march until they had got to Hudeibiya, 13 miles west of Mecca, and pitched camp.

At Hudeibiya battle seemed imminent for some time in spite of the Prophet's wish to avoid bloodshed. Some skirmishes took place, but there were no casualties. After a few days, how­ever, the Qureish realised that the Muslims had indeed come for pilgrimage and not for war. Thereafter envoys travelled back and forth between the two armies, and finally a truce was agreed upon, which became known as the Truce of Hudeibiya. It was signed on behalf of the Muslims by the Prophet and on behalf of the Qureish by Suheil bin Amr. Its terms were as follows:

a.        For 10 years there would be no war, no raids, no                 mili­tary action of any sort between the Muslims and                    the Qureish.

b.        The following year the Muslims would be permitted                            to perform the pilgrimage. They would be allowed                three days in Mecca.

a.        Any member of the Qureish who deserted to the Muslims would be returned; any Muslim who deserted to the Qureish would not be returned.

¹This pass was also called Zat-ul-Hanzal (Abu Yusuf: p. 209).

76   The Sword of Allah

c.              Other tribes could join the truce on either side and                          would be bound by the same terms.

Some Muslims were incensed at the third clause, dealing with deserters, especially the hot-headed Umar who protested vehemently against it; but all protests were overruled by the Prophet. The truce actually gave certain distinct long-term and solid advantages to the Muslims, although these were not at the time apparent to everyone. It would be to the Muslims' advantage to be generous in their terms, as this would have a favourable psychological impact on the Arab tribes and would show the confidence that the Muslims enjoyed in their dealings with the infidels. Moreover, if some Muslims were not permitted to leave Mecca, they would act as the eyes and ears of the Mus­lims in the midst of the enemy, and could in certain ways in­fluence the people in Mecca. Their presence within the Qureish camp would in fact be a source of strength to the Muslims. "Anyway", said the Prophet, "when anyone wishes to join us, Allah will devise means for him to do so."¹

As a result of the last clause of the truce, two tribes living in and around Mecca joined the main participants: the Khuza'a as allies of the Muslims and the Bani Bakr as allies of the Qureish. These two tribes were mutually hostile and had been feuding since the Ignorance.

After a stay of over two weeks at Hudeibiya, the Muslims returned to Madina. The following year, in March 629 (Zu Qad, 7 Hijri) the Muslims, led by the Prophet, performed the pil­grimage. The Qureish evacuated Mecca and lived in the surround­ing countryside for three days, and did not return to their homes, until after the Muslims had departed for Madina.

*

For some time a change had been taking place in the mind of Khalid. At first he thought mainly of military matters and military objectives. Conscious of his own ability and military prowess, he felt that he was truly deserving of victory, but some­how victory always eluded him. At the Battle of Uhud, despite his masterly manoeuvre, the Muslims had been able to avoid a major defeat. He admired the Prophet's dispositions and the way the Prophet had forced battle on the Qureish with the odds

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 310.

in his favour. At the Battle of the Ditch again victory had eluded the Qureish. They had gone to battle after such careful pre­parations and in such strength that victory had seemed certain; yet the simple expedient of the ditch had snatched victory from their grasp. The Qureish army had gone forth like a lion and come back like a mouse. In the expedition of Hudeibiya, when he had tried to intercept the Muslims, the Prophet had neatly out-manoeuvred him while his attention was riveted to the small Muslim detachment in front of him. Khalid was looking for the Man, and he could not help admiring Muhammad — his generalship, his character, his personality —qualities which he could find in no one else.

Above all Khalid wanted the clash of battle and the glory of victory. His martial spirit sought military adventure, and with the Qureish there was only misadventure. He could see no hope of fighting successful battles on the side of the Qureish. Perhaps he should join the Prophet, with whom there were unlimited prospects of victory and glory.

There was plenty of military activity at Madina. Every now and then expeditions would be sent out against the un­believing tribes, either to break up hostile concentrations before they became too large, or to capture camels and other live-stock. Between the Battle of Uhud and the pilgrimage, 28 expeditions were taken out by the Muslims, some led by the Prophet in person and others by officers appointed by him. With very few exceptions these expeditions had ended in complete success for the Muslims. The greatest of these had been the Campaign of Kheibar, in which the last resistance of the Jews was crushed. These expeditions had not only enlarged the political boundaries of Islam, but had also resulted in a great increase in wealth. Whenever reports of Muslim military successes arrived at Mecca, Khalid would think wistfully of the ‘fun’ that the Muslims were having. Now and then he would wish that he were in Madina, for that is 'where the action was'!

After the Prophet's pilgrimage serious doubt entered Khalid's mind regarding his religious beliefs.  He had never been deeply religious and was not unduly drawn towards the gods of the Ka'ba. He had always kept an open mind. Now he began to ponder deeply on religious matters, but did not share his thoughts with anyone. And then suddenly it flashed

78   The Sword of Allah

across his mind that Islam was the true faith. This happened about two months after the Prophet's pilgrimage.

Having made up his mind about Islam, Khalid met Ikrama and some others and said, "It is evident to the intelli­gent mind that Muhammad is neither a poet nor a sorcerer, as the Qureish allege. His message is truly divine. It is incumbent on all sensible men to follow him."

Ikrama was stunned by the words of Khalid. "Are you abandoning our faith?" he asked incredulously.

"I have come to believe in the true God."

"It is strange that of all the Qureish you should say so."

"Why?"

"Because the Muslims have killed so many of your dear ones in battle. I for one shall certainly not accept Muhammad, nor shall I ever speak to you again unless you give up this absurd idea. Do you not see that the Qureish seek the blood of Muhammad?"

"That is a matter of Ignorance", replied Khalid.

When Abu Sufyan heard from Ikrama of Khalid's change of heart, he sent for both the stalwarts. "Is it true what I hear?" he asked Khalid.

"And what do you hear?"

"That you wish to join Muhammad."

"Yes. And why not? After all Muhammad is one of us. He is a kinsman."

Abu Sufyan flew into a rage and threatened Khalid with dire consequences, but was restrained by Ikrama.  "Steady, 0 Abu Sufyan!" said Ikrama. "Your anger may well lead me also to join Muhammad. Khalid is free to follow whatever religion he chooses."¹ Ikrama, the nephew and bosom friend, had stood up for Khalid in spite of their religious differences.

That night Khalid took his armour, his weapons and his horse, and set out for Madina. On the way he met two others travelling in the same direction: Amr bin Al Aas and Usman bin Talha (son of the Qureish standard bearer at Uhud) and there was mutual astonishment when they found that each was travell­ing to Madina with the same purpose, for each had regarded the other two as bitter enemies of Islam! The three seekers arrived at Madina on May 31, 629 (the 1st of Safar, 8 Hijri), and went

¹Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 321.

The Conversion of Khalid  79

to the house of the Prophet. Khalid entered first and made his submission. He was followed by Amr and then Usman. All three were warmly welcomed by the Prophet; their past hostility was forgiven, so that they could now start with a clean sheet. Khalid and Amr bin Al Aas were the finest military minds of the time and their entry into Islam would spell victory for Muslim arms in the following decades.

Khalid, now 43 and in the prime of life, was glad to be in Madina. He met old friends and found that he was welcomed by all. The old feuds were forgotten. There was a new spirit in Madina — the spirit of the pioneer. There was activity, antici­pation, enthusiasm, optimism, and this atmosphere entered the heart of Khalid. He breathed the clear air of the new faith and was happy.

He also met Umar and they were friends again. There remained a little of the old rivalry between the two, but this existed as a subconscious undercurrent rather than a deliberate feeling or intention. Khalid now realised that in his rivalry with Umar he was at a disadvantage, for he was a new convert while Umar was an emigrant who had left his home in Mecca. Umar had been the fortieth person to become a Muslim. While the Muslims were at Mecca he could take no great pride in having this position, for then the Muslims were few in number; but now thousands had entered Islam and with this large number, being the fortieth amounted to having a very impor­tant position. Now Khalid was competing not only against a man of equal strength, will and ability, but also against Muslim No. 40!

Khalid took to visiting the Prophet frequently. He would listen for hours to the talks of the Prophet. He would drink at the fountain of wisdom and virtue that was Muhammad, Mes­senger of Allah. One day Khalid and Fazl bin Abbas (cousin of the Prophet) visited him in the house of his wife, Meimuna, who was an aunt of Khalid. Just then a Bedouin friend had sent a cooked dish as a gift to the Prophet, and as was his custom, the Prophet asked the guests to stay and share his meal. A cloth was spread on the ground and around it they all sat —the Pro­phet, his wife, and the two guests.

As the Prophet extended his hand towards the dish, Meimuna asked, "O Messenger of Allah, do you know what this is?"

"No."

"This is roast lizard!"

The Prophet withdrew his hand. "This meat I shall not eat", he said.

"O Messenger of Allah", asked Khalid, "is it forbidden?"

"No."

"Yes, you may do so."

Meimuna also abstained from the food, but Khalid and Fazl ate their fill of the dish. Roast lizard was a favourite among the desert Arabs. Apparently it was a favourite with Khalid too, for he ate heartily!¹

¹This little-known incident is taken from Ibn Sad: p. 381.

Three months after his arrival at Madina, Khalid got his chance to show what he could do as a soldier and a commander for the faith which he had just embraced.

The Prophet had sent an envoy to the Ghassan¹ Chief­tain of Busra, with a letter inviting him to join Islam. While passing through Mauta this envoy was intercepted and killed by a local Ghassan chieftain by the name of Shurahbeel bin Amr. This was a heinous crime among the Arabs, for diplo­matic envoys held traditional immunity from attack no matter how hostile a power they represented. The news of this outrage inflamed Madina.

An expedition was immediately prepared to take punitive action against the Ghassan, and the Prophet appointed Zeid bin Harisa as the commander of the force. If he were killed, the command was to be taken over by Jafar bin Abi Talib. If Jafar were killed, the command would devolve upon Abdullah bin Rawaha. Having appointed these officers in the chain of command, the Prophet said, "If all three of these are killed, let the men select a commander from among themselves."²

The expeditionary force consisted of 3,000 men, one of

¹A large and powerful tribe inhabiting Syria and Jordan.

²Ibn Sad: p. 636.

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whom was Khalid, serving as a soldier in the ranks. The mission the Prophet gave to Zeid was to seek out and kill the person responsible for the murder of the Muslim envoy, and to offer Islam to the people of Mauta. If they accepted Islam, they were not to be harmed. At the time this force was sent out the Muslims had no knowledge of the enemy strength that they would have to deal with.

Spirits were high as the expeditionary force began its march from Madina. When the force arrived at Ma'an, reports were received for the first time that Heraclius, the Eastern Roman Emperor, was in Jordan with "100,000 Romans" and had been joined by "100,000 Christian Arabs"—mainly from the Ghassan. The Muslims remained in Ma'an for two days debating their next move. There was a certain amount of hesitation and nervousness. Some suggested that the Prophet be informed of the large strength of the enemy so that he could give them fresh orders on what course of action they should adopt; but Abdullah bin Rawaha (the third-in-command) did not agree with this suggestion, as it would entail unnecessary delay and would give the impression that the Muslims were afraid. He recited a few verses and made a stirring speech to raise the spirits of the men. He concluded by saying, "Men fight not with numbers or weapons but with faith. By going into battle we have a choice of two glorious alternatives: vic­tory and martyrdom."¹ This speech dispelled all doubt from the minds of the Muslims, and they promptly resumed their march towards Syria.

The Muslims reached a place near the frontier of Balqa —a district in the east of what is now Jordan—where they made contact with a large force of Christian Arabs. Not finding this place suitable for battle, the Muslim commander withdrew his force to Mauta. The Christian Arabs followed the Muslims, and the two forces again met at Mauta. Both sides now decided to fight. It was the second week of September 629 (the third week of Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 8 Hijri).

Zeid deployed his force in the normal pattern of a centre and two wings. The right wing was commanded by Qutba bin Qatada and the left wing by Ubaya bin Malik. Zeid himself

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 375.

Mauta and the Sword of Allah   83

commanded the centre, and in the centre, too, was Khalid. The battlefield lay to the east of, and stretched up to about a mile from, the present village of Mauta. The ground here was even, but had a slight undulation, and the gentle slope of a low ridge rose behind the Muslims as they faced the Christian Arabs to the north.¹

The Christian Arabs, who were commanded by Malik bin Zafila, formed themselves into a deep mass confronting the Muslims.   Some historians have given their strength as 100,000, while others have doubled that figure.  These esti­mates are clearly mistaken. The enemy probably consisted of between 10 and 15 thousand men. In this battle the Muslims failed to gain a victory. If the enemy had been only twice their strength, they would undoubtedly have thrashed him; and an enemy had to be many times their strength to inflict a defeat on them. It is largely on this basis that the above estimate of the enemy's strength is made.

The battle began, and both armies very quickly got to grips with each other. This was essentially a battle of guts and stamina rather than military skill.   The commander himself fought at the head of his men with his standard, and after a short while Zeid was killed. As the standard fell from his hands, the second-in-command, Jafar, picked it up and continued fighting at the head of the army. After his body had been covered with scores of wounds, Jafar also fell; and the standard went down for the second time. This distressed the Muslims, for Jafar was held in great esteem and affection as a cousin of the Prophet. A certain amount of confusion became noticeable among the Muslims, but soon the third-in-command, Abdullah bin Rawaha, picked up the standard and restored order. He continued to fight until he also was killed.

Now there was real disorder in the ranks of the Muslims. A few of them fled from the scene of battle, but stopped not far from the battlefield. Others continued to offer confused re­sistance in twos and threes and larger groups. Fortunately the enemy did not press his advantage, for had he done so the Mus­lims, without a commander, could easily have been routed.

¹A new mosque is being built by the Jordanian Government to mark the site of this battle.

Perhaps the gallantry of the Muslim commanders and the valour with which the Muslims had fought made the enemy over­cautious and discouraged him from taking bold action.

When Abdullah had fallen, the standard was picked up by Sabit bin Arqam, who raised his voice and shouted, "0 Muslims, agree upon a man from among you to be the com­mander." He then spied Khalid, who stood next to him, and offered him the standard. Khalid was conscious of the fact that as a new convert he did not hold a high position among the Muslims, and Sabit bin Arqam was a Muslim of long standing. This consideration was important. He declined the offer of Sabit, saying: "You are more deserving than I." "Not I," replied Sabit, "and none but you!"¹ This was really a windfall for the Muslims, for they knew of the personal courage and military ability of Khalid. They all agreed to his appointment, and Khalid took the standard and assumed command.

The situation now was serious and could easily have taken a turn for the worse, leading rapidly to the total defeat of the Muslims. The commanders before Khalid had shown more valour than judgement in fighting this battle. Khalid re­gained control over his small army and organized it into a neatly deployed fighting force.  He was faced with three choices. The first was to withdraw and save the Muslims from destruction, but this might be regarded as a defeat and he would then be blamed for having brought disgrace to Muslim arms. The second was to stay on the defensive and continue fighting; in this case the superior strength of the enemy would eventually tell and the battle end in defeat. The third was to attack and throw the enemy off balance, thus gaining more time in which to study the situation and plan the best course of action. The last choice was closest to the nature of Khalid, and this is the course that he adopted.

The Muslims attacked fiercely along the entire front. They surged forward with Khalid in the lead. The example of Khalid gave fresh courage to the Muslims, and the battle in­creased in violence. For some time desperate hand-to-hand fighting continued: then Qutba, commanding the Muslim right, dashed forward and killed the Christian commander, Malik, in a duel. This resulted in a setback for the enemy and led to

¹Ibn Sad; p. 638.

Mauta and the Sword of Allah   85

a certain amount of confusion. The Christian Arabs now pulled back, still fighting, with a view to gaining time for reorganiza­tion. At this moment Khalid had his tenth sword in his hand, having broken nine in fierce combat.

As the Christian Arabs stepped back, Khalid restrained the Muslims and broke contact, pulling his force back a short distance. The two armies now faced each other out of bow range, both seeking time to rest and reorganize. This last round of the battle had ended in favour of the Muslims, of whom so far only 12 had been killed. There is no record of enemy casualties but they must have been considerable, for each of the Muslim commanders before Khalid was a brave and skilful fighter and the nine swords that Khalid broke were broken on the bodies of Christian Arabs. The situation, however, offered no further prospect of success. Khalid had averted a shameful and bloody defeat and saved the Muslims from disgrace and disaster; he could do no more. That night Khalid withdrew his army from Mauta and began his return journey to Madina.

The news of the return of the expedition preceded it at Madina, and the Prophet and those Muslims who had remained in Madina set out to meet the returning soldiers. The Muslims were in an ugly temper, for never since the Battle of Uhud had a Muslim force broken contact with the enemy and left him in possession of the battlefield. As the army arrived among the Muslims, they began to throw dust into the faces of the soldiers. "O you who have fled!" they cried. "You have fled from the way of Allah." The Prophet restrained them and said, "They have not fled. They shall return to fight, if Allah wills it."¹ Then the Prophet raised his voice and shouted, "Khalid is the Sword of Allah.”²

Later the resentment against Khalid died down, and the

     Muslims realised the wisdom, judgement and courage which he had shown in the Battle of Mauta. And the name stuck to Khalid. He now became known as Seifullah, i.e. Sword of Allah. When the Prophet gave Khalid this title, he virtually guaranteed his success in future battles.

Some historians have described the battle of Mauta as a victory for the Muslims; others have called it a defeat. As a

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 382.

²Waqidi: Maghazi, P. 322.

matter of fact it was neither. It was a drawn battle; but drawn in favour of the Christians, for the Muslims withdrew from the battlefield and left it in possession of their opponents. It was not a big battle; it was not even a very important one. But it gave Khalid an opportunity to show his skill as an independent com­mander; and it gained him the title of the Sword of Allah.

7 : THE CONQUEST OF MECCA

As stated earlier, two of the tribes of Mecca had entered the Truce of Hudeibiya, the Khuza'a on the side of the Muslims and the Bani Bakr on the side of the Qureish. These two tribes had an old feud dating back to pre-Islamic days which had lain dormant during the past few years, and it might have been expected that now that they had joined the truce, peace would prevail between them. But this was not to be. The Bani Bakr once again took up the thread of the feud. They organized a night raid on the Khuza'a in which they were secretly assisted by the Qureish, who gave them not only weapons but also a few warriors, among whom were Ikrama and Sufwan bin Umayya. In this raid twenty of the Khuza'a were killed.

A delegation of the Khuza'a at once rode to Madina and informed the Prophet of this flagrant breach of the truce. The visitors invoked the alliance between their tribe and the Muslims and asked for help.

Abu Sufyan had not been directly concerned with the assistance given by the Qureish in this raid. He was now seri­ously alarmed as he had not wished to break the truce; and fearing Muslim retaliation, he travelled to Madina to negotiate a fresh truce. On arrival at Madina he first went to see his daugh­ter, Umm Habiba, wife of the Prophet, but she gave him the cold shoulder. He next went to the Prophet and spoke to him, pro-

posing a fresh truce, but the Prophet remained silent and this did more to frighten him and disturb his peace of mind than any threat could have done.

Not knowing just where he stood with the Prophet, Abu Sufyan decided to enlist the aid of the important Companions. He went to Abu Bakr with the request that he talk with the Prophet and urge a fresh truce, but Abu Bakr refused. He next went to Umar who, as warlike as ever, replied, "By Allah, if I had nothing more than an army of ants, I would wage war against you." Abu Sufyan then went to the house of Ali, and there spoke first to Fatima and then to Ali. "Once the Messenger of Allah has made up his mind," explained Ali, "nothing can dissuade him from his purpose."

"Then what do you advise?" asked Abu Sufyan.

"You are a leader of the Qureish, O Abu Sufyan! Keep peace among men."¹

This advice could be interpreted in many ways, but some­how it gave Abu Sufyan more satisfaction than he had got from the others. Not knowing what else to do, he returned to Mecca. He had achieved nothing.

*

Soon after the departure of Abu Sufyan, the Prophet ordered immediate preparations for a large-scale operation. His intention was to assemble and move with such speed, and observe such strict secrecy, that the Qureish would not get knowledge of the coming of the Muslims until the Muslims were virtually knocking at their door. Thus the Qureish would not have time to organise another alliance with neighbouring tribes to face the Muslims. While the assembly of forces way in progress, the Prophet came to know that a woman was on her way to Mecca with a letter warning the Meccans of the preparations being made against them. He sent Ali and Zubeir in haste after her. These two stalwarts caught up with the woman, found the message and brought back message and messenger to Madina.

The move of the Muslim army started from Madina on January 1, 630 (the 10th of Ramazan, 8 Hijri). Many contin­gents from Muslim tribes had joined the Prophet at Madina, and other contingents fell in on the way. Thus the Muslim army

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 396-7.

MAP 4 : THE CONQUEST OF MECCA - I

soon swelled to an all-time high figure of 10,000 warriors. With this force the Prophet arrived at Marr-uz-Zahran, 10 miles north-west of Mecca, without the Qureish having any knowledge of his movement.¹ This was the fastest move the Muslim army had ever accomplished.

Abbas, uncle of the Prophet, had about now made up his mind to join the Muslims and accept the true faith. While the Muslim army was at Juhfa, it met Abbas and his family on their way to Madina. The conversion of Abbas was received joyfully by the Prophet, with whom the relations of Abbas had always been cordial.

When the Muslims got to Marr-uz-Zahran, Abbas be­came deeply concerned about the fate of the Meccans. He was afraid that if the Muslims took Mecca by force, the operation would result in the destruction of the Qureish. He therefore set out on the Prophet's mule, with the Prophet's permission, to warn the Qureish of the serious consequences of resistance and persuade them to send envoys of peace to the Muslims. At about this time Abu Sufyan had come out of Mecca to carry out a personal reconnaissance and see if any Muslims were in sight. Abbas and Abu Sufyan met while the former was half­way to Mecca.

    "What news do you bring, O Father of Fazl?" asked Abu Sufyan.

    "The Messenger of Allah", replied Abbas, "comes with an army of 10,000 men."

             "Then what do you advise us to do?"

   "If the Muslims capture Mecca against resistance, they will certainly cut off your head. Come with me to the Prophet, and I shall ask him to spare your life."

Abu Sufyan mounted the mule behind Abbas and, so mounted, they rode to the Muslim camp, arriving there after nightfall. It so happened that on this night Umar was the officer of the guard and was walking around the camp to see that the sentries were vigilant. He was the first to see and recognise the two visitors and exclaimed: "Ah! Abu Sufyan, enemy of Allah!

¹Marr-uz-Zahran is a small valley which in its lower portion be­comes the Wadi Fatima and crosses the present Jedda-Mecca highway about 20 miles from Mecca.

The Conquest of Mecca   91

Praise be to Allah that you have come into our camp without a safe conduct." Umar then ran to the tent of the Prophet, and Abbas, guessing Umar's purpose, urged his mule forward. The three of them arrived at the Prophet's tent simultaneously, and a heated argument arose between Umar and Abbas. Umar was asking for permission to cut off the head of Enemy Number One, while Abbas was insisting that he had given protection to Abu Sufyan, and so he could not be harmed until he had been heard. The Prophet dismissed all three of them with instructions to come again in the morning. Abbas took Abu Sufyan to his tent where he spent a sleepless night, wondering what his fate would be.

The following morning, as Abbas and Abu Sufyan were going to the Prophet's tent, the latter saw them coming and remarked, "One comes who intends to become a Muslim but is not a Muslim at heart." As they arrived at the tent, the Prophet asked, "O Abu Sufyan! Do you not know that there is no God but Allah?"

"I have now realised it. If other gods in whom I believed had existed, they would certainly have helped me."

"And do you not know that I am the Messenger of Allah?"

This was a terrible moment for Abu Sufyan. He was a proud leader of the Qureish, one of the nobles of the tribe, a descendant of Umayya. He had always regarded himself as second to none, and in this he was right. He was virtually the ruler of Mecca — a man all Meccans held in respect and reverence. Now he stood like a humble supplicant before the very man whom he had persecuted and fought for years, and for whose destruction he had strained every nerve.

"On this point", replied Abu Sufyan, "there is some little doubt in my mind."

Abbas now turned fiercely on Abu Sufyan. "Woe to you, O Abu Sufyan!" he hissed. "Submit, or your head will be cut off!"

"I bear witness", said Abu Sufyan hastily, "that Muham­mad is the Messenger of Allah!"

Abbas now had a word with the Prophet out of Abu Sufyan's hearing. "O Messenger of Allah", he whispered, "Abu Sufyan is a proud man. He has dignity and self-respect. Will

you not be gracious to him and give him some token of special esteem?"

At this the Prophet declared, "Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan shall be safe." The face of Abu Sufyan lit up. He had been especially honoured by Muhammad. The Prophet continued: "Whoever locks his door shall be safe. Whoever re­mains in the mosque shall be safe."

Abu Sufyan now returned to Mecca where the people had gathered, awaiting news of their fate. Abu Sufyan addressed the crowd: "0 Qureish! Muhammad has come with power that you cannot match. Submit to him and be safe. Whoever enters my house shall be safe." This led to an uproar in the crowd. "And how many do you think could fit into your house?" the people asked with sarcasm. Abu Sufyan then added, "Whoever stays in his house and locks his door shall be safe. Whoever remains in the mosque shall be safe."

This appeased the crowd but could not appease his wife, Hind. She sprang at him like a wild cat, slapped his face and caught him by his moustaches. “ Kill the fat old fool!" she screa­med at the crowd. "He has turned away from us." Since Hind was no light-weight, the experience must have been a painful one for Abu Sufyan. However, he managed to shake her off and walked away to his house.¹

*

The Muslims expected that there would be some opposition to their entry into Mecca. They could not assume that it would be an entirely peaceful operation although the Prophet hoped that blood would not be shed. With hardened anti-Muslims like Ikrama and Sufwan you could never tell. The plan of the Prophet was therefore designed to conquer Mecca as a military operation.

Mecca lies in the Valley of Abraham and is surrounded and dominated by black, rugged hills which rise in places to over 1,000 feet above the valley floor. The town was then approached over four routes, each one going through a pass in the hills. These routes came in from the north-west (almost north), the south-west, the south and the north-east. The Prophet divided

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 402-5; Ibn Sad: p. 644; Waqidi: Maghazi,

pp. 327-31.

MAP 5 : THE CONQUEST OF MECCA – II

his army into four columns, one to advance on each route. The main column, which was commanded by Abu Ubeida and with which the Prophet travelled in person, would enter Mecca along the main Madina route from the north-west, via Azakhir. The second column under Zubeir, would enter from the south­west, through a pass west of the Hill of Kuda. The third column under Ali, would enter from the south, via Kudei; and the fourth under Khalid, would enter from the north-east, via Leit and Khandama. (See Map 5.)

The advance consisted of convergent thrusts aimed at a single central objective which would have the effect of chopping up the enemy into small portions and also force dispersion on him, so that he would be unable to concentrate for battle on any one axis of advance. Moreover, even if the enemy succeeded in holding up the advance on some axes, the attackers would have other axes on which to break through and thus enjoy better prospects of success. All approaches were used to meet this requirement of military tactics. This was also done to prevent the escape of the Qureish; but later, when vigilance had been relaxed, some individuals did succeed in getting away.

The Prophet emphasised that there must be no fighting unless there was armed resistance by the Qureish. He also ordered that there would be no killing of the wounded, no pursuit of fugitives and no slaying of captives.

The entry into Mecca took place on January 11, 630 (the 20th of Ramazan, 8 Hijri). It proved a peaceful and blood­less operation except in the sector of Khalid. Ikrama and Sufwan had got together a band of dissidents from the Qureish and other tribes and decided to make the Muslims fight for victory. They met Khalid's column at Khandama, and this was a new and strange experience for Khalid. The two enemy leaders who were now opposing him in battle had been his dearest friends — Ikrama and Sufwan; and the latter was also the husband of Khalid's sister, Fakhta. However, Islam cancelled all relation­ships and friendships of the Ignorance, and no one who was not a Muslim could have a claim on a Muslim for old time's sake.

¹The whole area covered by Map 5 is hilly, but since the hills could not be accurately drawn without the aid of large-scale topographical maps, no hills are shown on the map — just the places and the directions of the advancing columns.

The Conquest of Mecca   95

The Qureish opened up with their bows and drew their swords; and this was all that Khalid was waiting for. He charged the Qureish position, and after a short and sharp clash, the Qureish were driven back. Twelve of the Qureish were killed at a loss of only two Muslims. Ikrama and Sufwan fled from the scene of the encounter.

When the Prophet came to know of this action and the number of infidels killed, he was displeased with Khalid. He had wished to avoid bloodshed; and knowing Khalid's violent nature he feared that Khalid may himself have brought on a military engagement. Khalid was duly sent for and asked to account for his action. His explanation, however, was accepted by the Prophet, who agreed that Khalid had done the right thing. He had, after all, merely hit back. It was in the nature of Khalid that whenever he struck, he struck very hard. There was no moderation in the character of the man.

*

As soon as Mecca was occupied by the Muslims, the Pro­phet went to the Ka'ba and circumambulated the House of God seven times. This was a great moment in the life of Muhammad. It was more than seven years since he had fled as a fugitive from Mecca with the Qureish at his heels, thirsting for his blood. Muhammad was no longer the fugitive. He was no longer a voice crying in the wilderness. Muhammad had returned, and he had returned as master with Mecca at his feet. The Qureish trembled as they waited in the mosque, for they knew the savage nature of Arab vengeance.

The Prophet turned and looked at the Qureish. There was a hushed silence as the assembled populace gazed at him, wondering what their fate would be. "O Qureish!" called the Prophet. "How should I treat you?"

"Kindly, O noble brother, and son of a noble brother!" the crowd replied.

"Then go! You are forgiven."¹

The Prophet now entered the Ka'ba and saw the idols arranged along its walls — idols of all shapes and sizes. In and around the Ka'ba there were 360 idols carved of wood or hewn

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 412.

out of stone, including a statue of Abraham holding divining arrows. The Prophet had a large stick in his hand, and he set about smashing these idols to pieces.  When the task was finished he felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The Ka'ba had been cleansed of the false gods; now only the true God would be worshipped in the House of God. The Prophet's joyous cry (a Quranic verse) rose above the Ka'ba: "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished!"¹

The next few days were spent in consolidation and re­organisation. Most of the people of Mecca accepted Islam and swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah.

Before his entry into Mecca, the Prophet had announced the names of 10 persons — six men and four women — who were to be killed at sight, even if they took shelter within the Ka'ba. These 10 were what we would today call 'war criminals'. They were either apostates or had taken part directly or indirectly in the torture or betrayal of Muslims. At the head of the list was Ikrama, and Hind also was one of them.

When he withdrew from the engagement with Khalid, Ikrama hid in the town, and as the Muslims relaxed their vigi­lance, he slipped out and fled to the Yemen with the intention of taking a boat to Abyssinia. Ikrama's wife, however, became a Muslim and pleaded her husband's case with the Prophet, who agreed to spare his life. This woman travelled in haste to the Yemen, where she found her husband and brought him back. On arrival at Mecca, Ikrama went straight to the Prophet and said, "I am one who has erred and now repents. Forgive!"' The Prophet accepted his submission, and Ikrama joined the brotherhood of Islam.

Sufwan bin Umayya, though not on the war criminals' list, feared for his life and fled to Jadda with the intention of crossing the Red Sea and seeking refuge in Abyssinia. A friend of his, however, asked the Prophet to spare his life and accept his submission. The Prophet had in any case no intention of killing Sufwan and let it be known that he would gladly accept the return of Sufwan, This friend then went to Jadda and brought Sufwan back. The man submitted to the Prophet, but it was a personal and political submission. As for Islam, he asked

¹Ibid: Vol. 2, p. 417; Quran: 17:81. ²Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 332.

The Conquest of Mecca   97

the Prophet to allow him two months in which to make up his mind. The Prophet gave him four months.

Of the war criminals actually only three men and two women were killed. The remainder were pardoned, including Hind, who became a Muslim.

Having destroyed the idols in the Ka'ba, the Prophet sent out small expeditions to the neighbouring settlements where other idols were known to exist in local temples. Khalid was sent to Nakhla to destroy Uzza, the most important of the goddesses. He set out with 30 horsemen.¹

It appears that there were two Uzzas, the real Uzza and a fake. Khalid first located the fake and destroyed it, then re­turned to the Prophet to report completion of duty. "Did you see anything unusual?" asked the Prophet. "No." "Then you have not destroyed Uzza", said the Prophet. "Go again."

Angry at the mistake that he had made, Khalid once again rode to Nakhla, and this time he found the real Uzza. The cus­todian of the temple of Uzza had fled for his life, but before forsaking his goddess he had hung a sword around her neck in the hope that she might be able to defend herself. As Khalid entered the temple, he was faced by a naked black woman who stood in his way and wailed. Khalid did not stop to decide whe­ther she was there to seduce him or to protect the idol, but drew his sword and with one powerful stroke cut the woman in two. He then smashed the idol, and returning to Mecca, gave the Prophet an account of what he had seen and done. "Yes," said the Prophet, "that was Uzza; and never again shall she be worshipped in your land."²

On or about January 20, 630, after the destruction of the idols, occurred the unfortunate incident of the Bani Jazima. The Prophet sent a number of expeditions to the tribes living

¹There was the Nakhla Valley, now known as Wadi-ul-Yamaniyya, through which ran the main route between Mecca and Taif; and there was Nakhla, at which was the goddess Uzza, and this lay north of the Wadi-ul-Yamaniyya. It was about 4 or 5 miles south of the present Bir-ul-Batha.

²Ibn Sad: p. 657.

in the neighbourhood of Mecca to call them to Islam, and ins­tructed the commanders not to fight those who accepted the call. Here again the Prophet's intention was to avoid bloodshed.

The expedition to the area of Tihama, south of Mecca, was commanded by Khalid. It consisted of 350 horsemen from several tribal contingents, the largest number being from the Bani Suleim, and included a few Ansars and Emigres. The objec­tive of this force was Yalamlam, about 50 miles from Mecca. (See Map 4.)

When Khalid reached Al Ghumeisa, about 15 miles from Mecca on the way to Yalamlam, he met the tribe of Bani Jazima. The tribesmen saw the Muslims and took up their wea­pons, at the same time calling, "We have submitted. We have established prayers and built a mosque."

"Then why the weapons?" asked Khalid.

"We have a feud with certain Arab tribes and have to defend ourselves against them."

"Lay down your arms!" ordered Khalid. "All the people have become Muslims and there is no need for you to carry weapons."

One man from the Bani Jazima now shouted to his com­rades: "This is Khalid, son of Al Waleed. Beware of him! After the laying down of arms there will be a binding of hands, and after the binding of hands there will be a severing of heads!"¹

There was an old feud between the clan of Khalid and the Bani Jazima. In pre-Islamic days a small Qureish caravan was returning from the Yemen when it was set upon by the Bani Jazima, who looted the caravan and killed two important indi­viduals — Auf, father of Abdur Rahman bin Auf, and Fakiha, son of Al Mugheera, an uncle of Khalid. Abdur Rahman had later killed the murderer of his father and thus avenged his father's blood, but the death of Fakiha had not been avenged. All this, however, happened during the ignorance.

The people of the Bani Jazima now began to dispute with the man who was warning them against Khalid. "Do you want to have us slaughtered?" they asked him. "All the tribes have laid down their arms and have become Muslims. The war is over!"² After a brief argument the tribe laid down its arms.

¹Ibid: pp. 659-60; Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 429.

²Ibid.

The cause of what happened next is not clear. Perhaps Khalid reverted momentarily to the tribal vindictiveness of the Ignorance. (He had been a Muslim for only a few months.) On the other hand, perhaps there was an excess of Islamic zeal in the heart of Khalid and he doubted the truth of the declara­tion of faith by the tribe. As the tribesmen laid down their arms, Khalid ordered his men to tie their hands behind them. He then ordered that all the captives be put to the sword. Luckily only the Bani Suleim obeyed the order and killed the captives in their hands, whose number is not known. Other tribal con­tingents refused to carry out the order. There was a strong protest from Abdullah, son of Umar, and Abu Qatada, but Khalid rejected the protest. Abu Qatada immediately rode to Mecca and informed the Prophet of what Khalid had done.

The Prophet was horrified. He raised his hands towards heaven and exclaimed: "O Lord! I am not responsible for what Khalid has done."¹ He then sent Ali with a good deal of money to soothe the feelings of the Rani Jazima and pay indemnity for the blood that had been shed. Ali carried out the mission with generosity and did not return until the tribe was fully satisfied.

Khalid was now sent for by the Prophet who demanded an explanation for what he had done. Khalid said that he did not believe that they really were Muslims, that he had the impression that they were deceiving him, and that he believed that he was killing in the way of Allah.

Present with the Prophet was Abdur Rahman bin Auf. When he heard the explanation of Khalid, he said, "You have commilted an act of Ignorance in the days of Islam."

Khalid now thought that he saw a way out of this delicate predicament, and he replied, "But I took revenge for the killing of your father." "You lie!" snapped Abdur Rahman. "I killed the murderer of my father a long time ago and vindicated the honour of my family. You ordered the slaughter of the Bani Jazima in revenge for the death of your uncle, Fakiha."

This led to a heated argument between the two. And this

was a mistake on the part of Khalid, for Abdur Rahman was one of the Blessed Ten and thus had a position which few could chal­lenge. Before the argument could get out of hand, however, the Prophet intervened and said sternly, "Leave my Companions

¹Ibid.

100   The Sword of Allah

alone, O Khalid! If you possessed a mountain of gold and spent it in the way of Allah, you would not achieve the status of my Companions."¹ He was referring, of course, to his early Com­panions, for Khalid too was a Companion.

Thus was Khalid put in his place. He was pardoned; but he learnt the important lesson that he, as a later convert, did not have the same status as the early Companions, especially the Blessed Ten. He was to keep this lesson in mind on many future occasions.

¹Ibn Sad: Vol. 2, p. 431.

8: THE BATTLE OF HUNEIN

Hardly had the people of Mecca sworn allegiance to the Prophet and life returned to normal in the town, when hostile winds began to blow from the east. The powerful tribes of the Hawazin and the Saqeef were on the war path.

The Hawazin lived in the region north-east of Mecca and the Saqeef in the area of Taif. They were neighbouring tribes, who now feared that the Muslims, having conquered Mecca, would attack and catch them dispersed in their tribal settlements. To avoid being taken at a disadvantage, they decided to mount an offensive themselves, hoping to benefit from their initiative. The two tribes concentrated at Autas, near Hunein, where they were joined by contingents from several other tribes. This again was a coalition like the one which had assembled for the Battle of the Ditch. The total strength of the assembled tribes was 12,000 men, and the over-all commander was the fiery, 30 year-old Malik bin Auf. This young general decided to make his men fight in a situation of such serious danger that they would fight with the courage of desperation. He ordered the families and the flocks of the tribes to join the men.

Another leader in the coalition was the venerable Dureid bin As-Simma. Hoary with age, this man had lost the strength and vitality to lead men in battle, but he was a sage with a clear mind who accompanied his men wherever they marched; and

102   The Sword of Allah

since he was an experienced veteran, his advice on matters of war was widely sought. His military wisdom was unchallenged.

At Autas the aged Dureid heard the noises which usually arise wherever families and animals are gathered. He sent for young Malik and asked, "Why do I hear the call of camels, the braying of donkeys, the bleating of goats, the shouting of women and the crying of children?" Malik replied, "I have ordered the families and the flocks to muster with the army. Every man will fight with his family and his property behind him and thus fight with greater courage."

"Men fight with swords and spears, not with women and children", said Dureid. "Put the families and the flocks at a safe distance from the field of battle. If we win, they can join us. If we lose, at least they shall be safe."

Malik took this as a challenge to his judgement and his ability to command the army. "I shall not send them away", he bristled. "You have grown senile and your brain is weak." At this Dureid withdrew from the argument and decided to let Malik have his way. Malik then returned to his officers and said, "When you attack, attack as one man. As our attack be­gins, let all scabbards be broken."¹ This breaking of scabbards was practised by the Arabs to signify an attitude of suicidal desperation.

As it happened only the Hawazin brought their families and their flocks to the camp. Other tribes did not do so.

The Prophet did not want any more bloodshed, but had no choice except to set out to face this new enemy. He had no intention of waiting for another coalition to form against him and attack him as had happened three years before at the Battle of the Ditch. Moreover, if he waited on the defensive in Mecca and the enemy remained poised at Autas, the situation would lead to a stalemate which could last for months; and the Pro­phet could not afford to waste all that time. He had to attend to organisational matters and set about the conversion of the tribes of Arabia while the psychological impact of the fall of Mecca was still fresh in the minds of the Arabs. With a large, hostile concentration at Autas, he would not be able to carry out these

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 438-9.

tasks. In any case, a strong enemy challenge to his authority at this stage would reduce the impact the Muslim conquest of Mecca had made on the Arab mind. This challenge had to be met. This opposition had to be crushed. The Prophet's decision to advance from Mecca created the unusual situation of both sides moving forward to fight an offensive battle.

On January 27, 630 (the 6th of Shawwal, 8 Hijri), the Mus­lims set out from Mecca. The army consisted of the original 10,000 men who had conquered Mecca plus 2,000 new converts from among the Meccans. These new Muslims were of doubtful value as Islam had not really entered their hearts; they had come because they supposed that this was the right thing to do. Among them were Abu Sufyan and Sufwan bin Umayya. The latter had been given four months in which to make up his mind about the new faith, but was now favourably inclined towards the Prophet and had gone so far as to lend the Muslims 100 coats of mail for the forthcoming battle.

The Muslim advance from Mecca was led by a contingent of 700 men from the Bani Suleim, operating under the com­mand of Khalid. During the evening of January 31, the Mus­lims arrived in the Valley of Hunein and established their camp.

Hunein is a valley running from Shara'i-ul-Mujahid (new), which is 11 miles east-north-east of Mecca, to Shara'i Nakha (old) which is 7 miles further east. The valley continues eastwards for another 7 miles and then turns north towards Zeima. (None of these places were then in existence.) Between the Shara'i’s the valley is quite wide, about 2 miles in most places, but beyond the old Shara'i it narrows down to between a quarter and a half-mile, and as it approaches Zeima it gets narrower still. It is this second portion of the Hunein Valley which is a defile, and the defile is narrowest near Zeima. Beyond Zeima the Taif route winds into the Wadi Nakhlat-ul-Yamaniyya. (See Map 6.)

While the Muslims were moving towards Hunein, each side had sent out agents to get information about the other side. Both sides were well informed of opposing strengths, loca­tions and movements. An agent sent by the Prophet mixed with the Hawazin at Autas, got to know the exact strength of the coalition and slipped out unseen to give this informa­tion to the Prophet. When be gave his report, Umar was also

present, and for some reason did not believe the intelligence conveyed by the agent. He called the agent a liar, whereupon the agent replied, "If you call me a liar, you call the truth false­hood. And you had called a liar one who is better than me." The man was alluding to the time when Umar, before his con­version, was a violent enemy of the Prophet.

Umar suddenly turned to the Prophet and said, "Did you hear that?" "Steady, O Umar!" replied the Prophet. "You were once misguided, and Allah showed you the way.'" Umar said no more.

As the Muslims arrived at their new camp in the Hunein Valley, news of their arrival was conveyed to Malik bin Auf by his agents. He guessed that the Muslims would know that his army was at Autas, and would expect to fight him at or near Autas. And he put into effect his plan to outwit the Muslims.

Before dawn on February 1, 630 (the 11th of Shawwal, 8 Hijri) the Muslims formed up in marching order to advance to Autas where they expected to engage the enemy. It was their intention to get through the defile of Hunein before the enemy came to know of their movement. The advance guard again consisted of the Bani Suleim under Khalid, and behind it marched various Muslim units, including the group of 2,000 Meccans. The camp was left standing as the base of the operation.

As the first glow of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, the advance guard entered the defile (about 2 miles short of Zeima.) Eagerly anticipating a lively battle with a surprised enemy at Autas, Khalid increased his pace. And then the storm broke!

Khalid was the first to receive the shock of the ambush. The quiet of the dawn was shattered by a thousand piercing yells, and the arrows came not in tens or twenties but in hundreds. They came like hail stones, whistling and hissing, striking horse and man. The Bani Suleim did not stop to act against the enemy. They did not stop to think or take cover. They turned as one man and bolted. Khalid's shouts to his men to stand fast were lost in the noise and confusion. He himself was badly wounded and was carried away with the tide of fleeing men and horses; but after riding a short distance he fell off his horse and lay still, unable to move because of his wounds.

 ¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 440.

The Battle of Hunein   105

As the Bani Suleim turned in panic and fled, they ran into other units which occupied the narrow track, who now became aware that something terrible had happened. The half-hearted Meccans turned and joined the flight, followed by several other Muslim units. Some of the Muslims fled to the camp, but the majority of them merely dispersed and took cover some distance behind the scene of ambush on either side of the track. No one knew quite what had happened. The confusion increased as camel mounted camel and horses and men ran into each other in a blind urge to get away.

Malik bin Auf had surprised his would-be surprisers. During the night he had moved his army into the defile of Hunein which allowed no room for manoeuvre. His men moved into position on both sides of the track and hid behind boulders and in broken ground which afforded excellent cover. In front were the Hawazin, with a few groups of Saqeef. Then came the Saqeef and behind them were other tribal contingents. Malik had devi­sed a masterly plan. He had delayed his move till after dusk, so that the Muslims would continue to believe that his army was at Autas, and then placed it in ambush in the defile of Hunein with the intention of annihilating the Muslims or driving them back in panic to Mecca and beyond. Behind the site of the am­bush was a narrow pass¹ to which Malik could withdraw in case the battle did not go according to his plan. As long as this pass was secure, the Muslims would not be able to advance to Autas — Malik's base.

Most of the new Meccan converts were delighted at this setback to the Muslims. Abu Sufyan remarked, "This retreat will not stop until they get to the sea!" Present with Sufwan bin Umayya was his half-brother, who said, "Now the sorcery of Muhammad will be exposed." "Silence!" Sufwan snapped at him. "May Allah break your mouth! I would rather see a man of the Qureish ruling over us than a man of the Hawazin!"'

The Prophet was left standing on the track with nine of his Companions, including Ali, Abu Bakr, Umar and Abbas. As the Muslims ran past him, he shouted to them, ''0 Muslims! I am here! I, the Messenger of Allah! I, Muhammad, son of

¹I have not been able to place this pass. It was probably at or near Zeima.

²Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 443-5.

Abdullah!"¹ But his cries were of no avail. The leading elements of the Hawazin got to the place where the Prophet stood, and here Ali brought down the first infidel to fall at Hunein — a man mounted on a red camel, carrying a long lance at the end of which flew a black pennant. This man was chasing the Muslims as they fled. Ali pursued the man, along with a fellow Muslim, and catching up with him cut the tendons of the camel's hind legs with his sword. The infidel fell with the camel, and the other Muslim cut off his head.

The Prophet now moved towards the right with his group and took shelter on a rocky spur. A few men of the Saqeef came towards the Prophet's group, but were driven back by the Com­panions.

Malik bin Auf had done to the Muslims what no one had ever done before. For the Muslims this was the first, and bitter, experience of being ambushed, and many of them lost their heads and fled from the scene of action. In such a situation, however, the bravest are wont to panic.

Malik had struck brilliantly; but unfortunately for him, his men had not performed as expertly as he had hoped. They had not waited until the main body of the Muslims had entered the trap, but had opened up when just the advance guard was in their field of fire. And Malik now made the mistake of being satisfied with what he had achieved so far; beyond advancing a few hundred yards he made no attempt to pursue the Muslims. If he had done so, the story of this battle might have read dif­ferently. Moreover, the archery of the Hawazin was extremely poor. While several Muslims and their mounts were wounded, none were killed in the ambush.

*

The Holy Prophet surveyed the scene before him, and the scene was anything but promising. He decided not to let Malik get away with such an easy victory. He turned to Abbas and ordered him to call the Muslims to rally around him. Abbas was a large man with a powerful voice which, according to some accounts, could be heard miles away. Now he yelled at the top

The Battle of Hunein   107

of his voice: "O Muslims! Come to the Messenger of Allah! O Ansar... O Companions... O..." He called each tribe in turn to report to the Prophet.

The call was heard by most of the Muslims and they at once began to move to where the Prophet stood. As soon as the first 100 men had gathered beside the Prophet, he ordered a counter-attack. These men assailed those of the Hawazin who were nearest to the Prophet and drove them back. Soon the assembling Muslims increased in number until thousands of them had rejoined the Prophet. When the Prophet felt that sufficient strength had been gathered around him, he ordered a general attack against the Hawazin.

This time it was Malik who was surprised. Having been certain that victory was his, he now found that his own army was under attack.  The hand-to-hand fighting became more desperate, and this is just what the Muslims wanted, for in this sort of violent fighting their superiority in swordsmanship put the odds in their favour. In close-quarter battle the Muslims had no equal. Gradually the Hawazin were pressed back, and as the Prophet saw their men fall before the onslaught of the Muslims, he affirmed

In truth, I am the Prophet,

               I, the son of Abdul Muttalib.

He then turned to those who stood next to him and re­marked, "Now the oven heats up!"¹

Malik decided that he was getting the worst of the fighting

and put his withdrawal plan in action. The Saqeef were already in position a short distance behind the Hawazin. Leaving the Saqeef to act as a rearguard, he pulled the Hawazin back to safety. The Muslims moved forward and made contact with the Saqeef, who now began to receive heavy punishment from the Believers. Soon after this contact, the Saqeef turned and took to their heels, followed by other tribal contingents, some of which had taken no part in the fighting. In the mean time Malik had got the Hawazin safely to the pass, and here he deployed them to fight a defensive battle while waiting for stragglers to catch up. As long as he held this pass, the families and the flocks of the Hawazin were safe.

¹Ibn Sad: p.665.

    

The Muslims had not only recovered from the shock of the ambush but had counter-attacked, regained their position and driven the enemy from the battlefield. This was a tactical victory, but more was to come.

While the Muslims were stripping the Saqeef dead of their weapons and clothing, an interesting incident involving two Muslims took place. One was an Ansar from Madina and the other a man by the name of Mugheera bin Shu'ba, who belonged to the tribe of Saqeef. Among the Saqeef dead was a Christian slave who had died beside his master. As the Ansar stripped this slave, he noticed that the dead man was not cir­cumcised. Amazed at this discovery, for circumcision was a universal practice among the Arabs, he called aloud to those who stood around him: "0 Arabs! Did you know that the Saqeef are not circumcised?" Mugheera, who stood next to the Ansar, was horrified to hear this, as the spread of such a report would mean disgrace for the Saqeef. He knew the dead slave and could understand how the misunderstanding had arisen. "Don't say that!" he hissed at the Ansar. "This man was a Christian slave." "No, he was not", insisted the Ansar. "I am sure that he is one of the Saqeef." And he remained unconvinced until Mugheera had undressed several bodies of the Saqeef and pointed out familiar signs!'

*

The Muslim army having fully re-assembled, except for a few who had fled, the Prophet decided to press his advantage. He organised a strong cavalry group and sent it forward to clear the valley before the Hawazin had time to recover and reorganise. This group was formed of several contingents, including the Bani Suleim, over whom Khalid had regained control. Khalid had mis­sed the Muslim counter-attack. He had lain where he fell in the flight of the Bani Suleim until the counter-attack was over. Then the Holy Prophet came to him and blew upon his wounds, whereupon Khalid arose, feeling strengthened and fit for battle again.³ He quickly got the Bani Suleim together.

The entire group was placed under command of Zubeir bin Al Awwam, who now advanced along the valley and con-

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol.2, p.450. ²Isfahani: Vol.I5, p.11.

tacted Malik at the pass. After a short, brisk engagement, Malik was driven off the pass. The whole valley was now in Muslim hands. The Prophet left Zubeir's mounted group at the pass, to hold it as a firm base and guard it against a possible return of the Hawazin, and sent another group under Abu Amir to Autas. This was the camp of the Hawazin, who on being driven off the pass, had taken up positions around the camp to defend their families and flocks. On the arrival of the Muslims, a fierce clash took place at Autas. Abu Amir killed nine men in personal combat and was killed by his tenth adversary, whereupon the command of the Muslim group was taken over by his cousin, Abu Musa, who continued the attack on Autas until the Hawazin broke and fled. The camp of the Hawazin fell into Muslim hands, and here this Muslim group was joined by the cavalry group of Zubeir, with Khalid in the lead.

The enemy coalition had now completely disintegrated.

The Hawazin and other tribes dispersed to their various settle­ments while the Saqeef, led by Malik, hastened to Taif where they decided to resist till the bitter end. The Battle of Hunein was over.

Muslim casualties in this battle were surprisingly few,

thanks to the indifferent archery of the Hawazin. While many Muslims had been wounded, only four lost their lives. The reason for this lay in the superior skill and courage of the Muslims, which enabled their champions lo take on three or four oppo­nents at a time, killing them one by one. Seventy of the unbelie­vers were killed in the valley, at the pass and at Autas, and these included the sage, Dureid, who had given such sound advice but in vain. In the enemy camp at Autas, the Muslims captured 6,000 women, children and slaves and thousands of camels, goats and sheep.¹

This was the first time that the Muslims had been ambushed

in a large-scale operation by their enemies. This was the second

instance in history of the ambush of an entire army by an entire army (the first being the ambush of the Romans by Hannibal at Lake Trasimene in 217 B.C.). Malik had made a brilliant

¹No one today knows the location of Autas: but it must have been in the valley proper, as a camp with 6,000 people (excluding soldiers) and thousands of camels, goats and sheep could not be established on a hillside or in some little wadi. I have placed it a little beyond Zeima, but it could have been elsewhere.

and flawless plan to annihilate the Muslims, but because of the poor performance of his men could not achieve the mission that he had set himself. In spite of this poor performance, however, he would have won a resounding victory had his enemy not been the Muslims. It was the determination of the Prophet not to accept defeat, and the faith of the Muslims in their leader, which turned defeat into victory for them. Unlike Malik, The Prophet was not content with a limited gain and pressed his advantage to rout the enemy and capture the entire enemy camp with all its booty.

This was the first time that Khalid had been taken by sur­prise. He had always known the value of surprise, but this time he had been at the receiving end of it. He saw how his otherwise brave men had panicked at the sudden appearance of the enemy at an unexpected time and an unexpected place. He made up his mind never again to be caught unawares. And he never was.

The Prophet had routed the enemy at Hunein and driven him from Autas. He now decided to give Malik bin Auf no time to recover his breath and organise further resistance. Conse­quently, he sent the captives and the flocks taken at Autas with an escort to Jirana, to be kept under guard until the return of the army, and the very next day he set out for Taif, where major resistance was to be encountered. But he moved cautiously, for after the unpleasant experience of the ambush at Hunein, he had no intention of letting the army walk into another trap. The country now was hilly, consisting of steep ridges rising up to the plateau on which stood Taif; and in this terrain a wily commander like Malik could lay an ambush almost anywhere.

Leaving Autas, the Prophet marched through the Nakhla Valley and then turned south into the Wadi-ul-Muleih. From this valley he crossed into the Wadi-ul-Qarn, and following this wadi, reached the plateau 7 miles north-west of Taif. So far the Muslims had encountered no opposition and scouts had reported no sign of the Saqeef outside Taif; but hoping to sur­prise Malik, the Prophet shifted his axis. Cutting across the difficult terrain north of Taif, he got to the less hilly region lying east of the town, between Nikhb and Sadeira.¹ From here he

¹The Wadi-ul-Muleih runs between the present Taif airport and Seil-ul-Kabeer. The Wadi-ul-Qarn, in its upper reaches, crosses the present Taif-Mecca highway 7 miles from Taif. Sadeira is 25 miles east of Taif on the Turaba road, and Nikhb lies just 3 miles east-south-east of Taif. The Wadi-un-Nikhb was known in ancient times, according to local tradition, as the Wadi-un-NamI — the Valley of Ants—through which Solomon marched towards the Yemen for his encounter with the Queen of Sheba. The story of Solomon is narrated in the Quran (27: 16-44).

112    The Sword of Allah

marched to Taif, coming in from the rear. Throughout this march, Khalid again led the army with the Bani Suleim as advance guard. (See Map 6.)

But Malik bin Auf, in spite of his lack of years, was not a man to be caught unawares. Having suffered grievously in his clash with the Muslims at Hunein and Autas, he was determined not to accept battle with the Muslims again in the open: he would fight them on his own terms. Consequently, he kept his army within the walled city of Taif and speedily stocked it with suffi­cient provisions to withstand along siege. Here the Saqeef, under their brave young general, awaited the arrival of the Muslims.

The Muslims got to Taif on February 5, 630 (the 15th of Shawwal. 8 Hijri), and started a siege which was to last 18 days. On arrival at Taif, the camp was set up too close to the wall of the town and this mistake was punished by the Saqeef archers, who showered the camp with arrows. A few Muslims were killed before the camp was moved away and established in the area where the mosque of Ibn Abbas stands today. Groups of Muslims were now deployed around the fort to prevent entry and escape; and Abu Bakr was made responsible for the siege operations.

Most of the time, fighting between the two armies con­sisted of exchanges of archery. The Muslims would close up to the town and try to pick off the Saqeef archers on the wall, but the Saqeef had the odds in their favour as they had some cover while the Muslims were in the open. So the Muslims got the worst of these engagements and many of them were wounded, including Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, who later died of his wounds.

Thus some days passed. After the fall of Mecca, the Pro­phet had sent two Muslims to Jurash, in the Yemen, to learn all about siege warfare. These two men did not, however, return till after the Siege of Taif and thus could play no part in the siege. But Salman the Persian again came to the help of the Mus­lims as he had done in the Battle of the Ditch. As a Persian he knew something about more sophisticated forms of warfare. Under his instructions, the Muslims constructed a catapult and used it to hurl stones into the town; but the Muslims were ama­teurs at this business and the catapult produced no significant effect.

Salman next decided to use a testudo, (A testudo was a

MAP 6 : HUNEIN AND TAIF

114   The Sword of Allah

large shield, usually made of wood or leather, under which a group of assailants could advance to the gate of the fort, safe from enemy missiles, and either crash through the gate with a battering ram or set fire to it.) Under the instructions of Salman, the Muslims constructed a testudo of cowhide, and a group of them advanced under its protection to set fire to the wooden gate of Taif. As they got to the gate, however, Malik and his men poured red-hot scraps of iron onto the testudo. These pieces burnt the testudo and terrified those under it, so that they hurriedly dropped the unfamiliar equipment and ran back. As they ran, the Saqeef fired a volley of arrows at them and killed one of them.

Two weeks passed and the end was not in sight. The Saqeef would not come out to fight; the Muslims could not get in to fight. Every time they approached the town they were driven back with arrows. One day Abu Sufyan also took part in a sally towards the town and stopped an arrow with his eye. He lived thereafter as a one-eyed man.¹

February can be very cold in the region of Taif, and the weather during the siege was unpleasant. The Muslims tried to force the Saqeef out to give battle by destroying some vine­yards near Taif; but the Saqeef refused to leave the security of their fort. Malik was much too clever a general to risk a battle under conditions which would favour his opponent. Finally the Holy Prophet called a council of war and sought the advice of his officers. One of them said, "When you corner a fox in its hole, if you stay long enough, you catch the fox. But if you leave the fox in its hole it does you no harm." ³ Abu Bakr advised a return to Mecca, and Umar concurred with him.

The Prophet could not wait indefinitely for the fall of Taif as he had more important matters to attend to. He pro­posed that the siege be raised and the army return to Mecca; but some Muslim hot-heads protested against this and insisted that they fight on until victory was gained. "Then you can attack tomorrow,"³ said the Prophet.

The next day a few of these battle-hungry Muslims again approached the fort with a view to capturing it, but were severely

¹According to some sources, Abu Sufyan lost his eye at Yarmuk and not at Taif.

²Ibn Sad: p. 675. 'Ibid.

The Siege ofTaif   115

punished by the Saqeef archers. They returned in a more philo­sophical mood and agreed with the Prophet that it might be best to leave the fox in its hole.

On February 23, 630 (the 4th of Zu Qad, 8 Hijri) the siege was raised. The Muslims had lost 12 men and a large number had been wounded. The Saqeef remained defiant. Ten months later, however, this tribe was to accept Islam and prove staunch in its faith.

The Muslims arrived at Jirana on February 26, and here the Prophet distributed the spoils taken at Autas. To show the newly converted Meccans that there was no discrimination against them for having delayed their acceptance of the new faith, the Prophet also gave them a share of the spoils. But hardly had the women, children and animals been distributed among the Muslims, when a delegation of the Hawazin came to the Pro­phet and declared that the tribe had accepted Islam. "Will you not return to us what you captured from us in battle?" the delegates pleaded. Actually they had no right to demand a return of what they had lost, because they had lost it as infidels and not as Muslims; but the Prophet was generous. "Are your women and children dearer to you or your property?" he asked them. "Re­turn to us our women and children and you can keep the rest", they replied.'

The Prophet now appealed to his army to return the women and children of the Hawazin. Every soldier responded to the Prophet's appeal and returned the captives in his hands, with the exception of Sufwan bin Umayya, who refused to part with a girl who had been given to him as his share of the spoils. She must have been very beautiful!

A few days later Malik slipped out of Taif and came to the Muslim camp. He became a Muslim and was amply re­warded by the Prophet. It is a pity that this brilliant young soldier was given no important role in later Muslim campaigns, for he had the makings of a superb general.

The Holy Prophet and the army of Islam now returned to Madina, arriving there in the latter part of March 630. Thus ended the eighth year of the Hijra. The year that followed was to become known as the Year of Delegations, for during this year most of the tribes of Arabia sent delegations to Madina and

¹Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 489.

116    The Sword of Allah

submitted to the Prophet. Not all the delegates, or the tribal chiefs who sent them, were motivated by a desire for the true religion, as we shall see later. While some were sincere seekers of the truth, others came for political reasons. Some came out of sheer curiosity, and a few were downright scoundrels.

In the ninth year of the Hijra only one major operation was carried out by the Muslims — the expedition to Tabuk, led by the Holy Prophet in person. It turned out to be a peaceful operation; but no matter how peacefully other people went about their tasks, Khalid always managed to find adventure and violence.

During the long, hot summer of 630, reports arrived at Madina that the Romans had concentrated large forces in Syria, and had pushed their forward elements into Jordan. Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, was himself in Emessa.

In the middle of October 630, the Prophet ordered the Muslims to prepare for battle with the Romans. The purpose of the expedition was not just to fight the Romans, for that could have been done later when the weather had improved. The Prophet also wanted to put the faith of the Muslims to test by making them march out in the fierce heat of summer. Under these conditions only true Believers would respond.

And the true Believers did. The vast majority of the Muslims answered the call cheerfully and began preparations for the expedition; but some did take unkindly to the call to arms. The October of this year was an unusually hot month, and the cool shade of the date orchards proved too tempting for these Muslims. Men wanted nothing more than to rest in the

shade until the worst of the heat was over. The Hypocrites, as usual, went about dissuading the Muslims from joining the expedition and gave trouble enough; but on this occasion even a few proven Muslims faltered.

In late October 630 (mid-Rajab, 9 Hijri) the Muslims set out for Tabuk. This was the largest army that had ever assem­bled under the standard of the Prophet. It consisted of men from Madina, from Mecca and from most of the tribes which had accepted Islam. One source had placed the strength of this army at 30,000 warriors, including 10,000 cavalry, but this is probably an exaggeration.

On arrival at Tabuk the Muslims came to know that the Roman elements in Jordan had withdrawn to Damascus. There was no need to go further. But the Prophet decided to subdue the tribes living in this region and bring them under the political control of Islam. The important places in the region were Eila (near the present-day Aqaba), Jarba, Azruh and Maqna — all lying along the Gulf of Aqaba. (See Map at end paper.) Pacts were made with these tribes and they all agreed to pay the Jizya.¹

One important region which the Prophet wished to subdue was a little farther away from Tabuk. This was Daumat-ul-Jandal (the present-day Al Jauf), ruled by Ukeidar bin Abdul Malik, a Christian prince from the tribe of Kinda who was famous for his love of hunting. To subdue this region, the Prophet sent Khalid with 400 horsemen and instructions to capture Ukeidar. "You will probably find him hunting the wild bull", said the Prophet.³

Khalid arrived at the walled town of Daumat-ul-Jandal on a bright, moonlit night in late November, 630 (mid-Shaban, 9 Hijri). Hardly had he deployed his force near the town, when the gates opened and out came Ukeidar with a few friends moun­ted on horses and armed with hunting weapons. Perhaps owing to the heat of the day Ukeidar had decided to hunt in the cool of the night; and the bright moonlight promised good hunting.

Khalid took a few of his men and rushed at the hunting party. While Khalid himself pounced on Ukeidar and brought him down from his horse, his men assailed the other members

¹A tax levied on non-Muslims. In return they were exempt from military service and their safely was guaranteed by the Muslim State. 'Ibn Hisham: Vol.2, p. 526.

Adventure at Daumat-ul-Jandal   119

of the party. Ukeidar's brother, Hassaan, resisted capture and was killed; but the rest galloped back to the fort and, once in­side, locked the gate.

Khalid now returned to Tabuk with his distinguished prisoner. Ukeidar entered into a pact with the Prophet, paid a heavy ransom for himself and agreed to the Jizya.

Soon after this incident the Muslim army left Tabuk to return to Madina. It arrived home in the middle of December 630, by which time the weather had become very pleasant.

After Tabuk there was no major military activity during the lifetime of the Prophet. Delegations came from all the tribes of Arabia, swore allegiance to the Prophet, accepted Islam and agreed to pay certain taxes. For each tribe the Prophet appoin­ted a leader from the converted members of the tribe. The Prophet thus remained busy with affairs of state, consolidating the gains of Islam and raising the edifice of the new state. Seve­ral small expeditions were sent by him to various places in Arabia. The mission given to them was to call the tribes to accept Islam, but in case of armed opposition the tribe concerned was to be fought and subdued.

In July 631 (Rabi-ul-Akhir, 10 Hijri), the Prophet sent a military expedition under the command of Khalid to the tribe of Bani Harisa bin Kab in Najran, which lies to the north of the Yemen. The instructions to Khalid were: "Call the tribe thrice to accept Islam. If they respond favourably, do them no harm. If they refuse, fight them."¹ With Khalid went 400 mounted warriors.

Khalid arrived at Najran and made contact with the Bani Harisa bin Kab. He called upon them to submit to Islam, and they accepted his call. No blood was shed. Khalid remained with the tribe for several months, teaching them the ways of Islam; and when he was satisfied that they had become good Muslims, he wrote to the Prophet and informed him of the progress of his mission. The Prophet sent Khalid an apprecia­tive letter in reply and instructed him to return to Madina and bring a delegation of the Bani Harisa bin Kab with him. Khalid returned with the delegation in January 632 (Shawwal, 10 Hijri). The Prophet received the delegation with the usual courtesy shown to all delegations. The terms of submission were explained

²Ibid: Vol. 2, p. 592.