Mouood Mouood English Edition
In this manner he opened the way for his men to rush into the fort. All castles were opened and many of the Jews were captured. The godly men and the great leaders treated the powerless and defeated enemy kindly and dispensed them with vengeance.
The Prophet of Islam acceded the Jews’ request when they asked him to let them remain in the place, provided that they became disarmed, and not to assist the idolaters of Mecca and to pay the half of their production to the Muslims.
There was a productive area near Khaybar called Fadak, about 140 km. far from Medina, where the Jews made a good living by farming. They were in ease and comfort.
The Prophet, intending to frustrate any scheme against Islam, sent a word to the dean of the area to be put under the protection of Islam against the invaders. On condition that he would not make any plot against the Muslims and that he would pay the half of the income of their fields to the Islamic government, the Prophet would guarantee the security of the area.
As the religious laws provided, the regions, which were conquered by military forces belonged to the Muslims in general as public purse, but the lands which were taken without expedition and bloodshed belonged to the Prophet himself and then to his rightful successors.
The Prophet might donate his properties to everyone he liked.
Some of the Muslim interpreters9 mentioned that when the verse:
“And give to the near of kin his due and to the needy and the wayfarer and do not squander wastefully”10
Was revealed, the Prophet called for his daughter Fatima and gave her Fadak.
At a later period, she was dispossessed from it at the day of the first caliph Abu-Bakr for certain reasons of political purpose.11
Of course the object of the author’s intent is not historiography, since this book is about a man of a high rank in Islam, whose deeds and words were governed by the Islamic principles and Qur’an and he also was attendant with the Prophet step by step since childhood, therefore I have to give the readers some passages of the Islamic history to depict his personality as far as possible.
The Battle of Thaat As-Salasil
In the eighth year A.H., a force of twelve thousand men united in a league to attack Medina at night. Their decision was only to kill the Prophet and his minister ‘Ali. Some of the Muslim scholars were under impression that the Prophet was acquainted with the situation by revelation but in the meanwhile the plot was reported to him by some spies, who lived about Mecca.
The Prophet put the matter before the crowd in the mosque for discussion and then Abu-Bakr was ordered to fight against them with an army of four thousand strong warriors.
Abu-Bakr advanced with his men slowly until they came into view of the enemy. Now two hundred horsemen came before Abu-Bakr and said: “We have prepared for this war just to kill Muhammad or his cousin ‘Ali. What do you mean by bringing this army?”
Abu-Bakr said: “I have been ordered to propose Islam to you and if you refuse it I will fight you.”
They reviewed their army with its high power and ability and hereby Abu-Bakr was frightened and decided to go back to Medina.
The return of the army, in that bad state, depressed the Prophet deeply. Then ‘Umar was appointed as commander. He also succeeded in nothing and came back in the same state as Abu-Bakr did.
At last ‘Ali ibn Abu-Talib was called upon and after a short discussion with the Prophet he was ordered to face the enemy.
‘Ali (as), on the contrary to the two previous commanders, carried his men through a short cut with all speed to go unexpectedly upon them. He used to move at night until he came into sight of the enemy.
Again two hundred knights came and asked him:
“Who are you?”
He replied: “My name is ‘Ali, the son of Abu-Talib. I invite you to resign yourselves to Islam.”
They said: “You are our aim. We will kill you and your men by all means. The fixed time for meeting will be tomorrow at noon.”
‘Ali (as) said: “What ails you, woe be to you. You threaten me with killing. I will fight you tomorrow at the time.”
In the same evening, according to ‘Ali’s command, the Muslims fed their horses and prepared their defensive position to fight the obstinate enemy. When daybreak appeared, the Muslims offered the prayer with the leadership of ‘Ali (as) and then they made a sudden attack upon the enemy while it was still dark.
The rear guards had not yet entered into the field when a great number of the enemy was killed by the vanguard and many of them were bound with ropes and chains.
The captives with their cattle were carried to Medina. The Prophet, accompanied by the believers, went out of the city to meet ‘Ali (as) and his honored army.
‘Ali (as) arrived at Medina, amid acclamation of the crowd, with a great deal of spoils of war. The above tradition was quoted from the reliable sources of the Shia. It was somehow different from what the Sunni scholars had mentioned.
The residential quarters of the enemy were stony places that there were sparks arising when the horses’ hooves hit the stones. The horses were gasping too.
This self-sacrifice was so worthy of praise that a surah was revealed from the Heaven about this feat and other devoted soldiers. The Holy Qur’an says:
“I swear by the runners breathing pan tingly, then those that produce fire striking, then those that make raids at morn, then thereby raise dust, then rush thereby upon an assembly. Most surely man is ungrateful to his Lord”. (100:1-6).
Most of the commentators believed that this surah was revealed to praise ‘Ali (as) .
The Battle of Mu’tah
There was somewhat a peaceful time all over Arabia at the beginning of the eighth year of Hijrah. Neither the Jews in the north nor the idolaters of Mecca caused any threat to the Muslims.
At the same time something happened that made the Prophet (S) dispatch a force towards the frontier countries of Syria.
The Prophet had sent to Damascus a man for preaching but before getting there he was killed by a frontier official. At the same time sixteen persons, who had gone there for the same purpose, were killed in that area. The place where they were killed in was called Mu’tah.
A host of three thousand men set out to Mu’tah to avenge the murder of the killed persons under the command of Ja’far the full brother of ‘Ali (as).
The Prophet delivered a short speech in the camp. He said: “You are going to the same place where your brothers have been killed. You go ahead and invite them to believe in God. If they do not refuse you should dispense with the revenge, otherwise you fight them for the sake of Allah to punish God’s enemies. But remember that you are not to disturb the monks and nuns, who live away from the social life in monasteries. You are not to kill children, women and old men. Be careful not to ruin houses and farms”.
The Syrian government was well-informed of the Muslim’s bravery and self-sacrifice and also their success in the war against the Arab tribes.
In spite of the fact that these two armies (the Romans and the Muslims) were incomparable in equipment’s and persons but the Muslims showed an extra sacrifice and took toll from the enemy.
Now some groups of Muslims left the battlefield for a farther place at midnight and decided to call out with the motto of “la ilaha illa (A)llah”(there is no any God but Allah).They hereby made the enemy think that an auxiliary force would come to help the Muslims and consequently the Syrians stopped attacking the Muslims for two days. This wise tactic helped them to seize the opportunity and to leave the field for Medina.
Although the Muslims did not get a good result in this battle, but the fame and reputation of Islam was trumpeted abroad and it opened a way for next publicities.
