Mouood Mouood English Edition
The Holy Prophet (S) besieged and fought with them for 25 days. Then he killed all the Jewish men who were able to fight because their betrayal was greater than the other ones and they were irredeemable. The Holy Prophet (S) treated them in such a way.
That is to say, he foiled the attempts of the hostile Jews mainly in the issue of the Banu Qurayza and, before that, in the issue of the Banu Nadir and, later on, in the issue of the Jews involved in the Battle of Khaybar – against the Muslims with his wisdom, strength and persistence while observing his noble and humane principles. In none of these events, the Holy Prophet (S) broke his pledges. Even the enemies of Islam agree that the Holy Prophet (S) did not break his pledges in any of these events. It was them who broke their pledges.
4. The Hypocrites
The fourth enemy was the hypocrites. The hypocrites were among the people. They were the people who did not believe in Islam from the bottom of their heart. They were mean and hostile people who were prepared to cooperate with the enemy. But they were not organized. This was the difference between them and the Jews. The Holy Prophet (S) behaved towards an organized enemy, which was ready to attack and inflict harm, in the same way as he treated the Jews and he did not give them any opportunity. But he tolerated enemies who were not organized, who did not believe in Islam and whose obstinacy, hostility and wickedness were based on individual actions.
Abdullah ibn Abi was one of the chief enemies of the Holy Prophet (S). He was alive almost until the last year of the Holy Prophet’s (S) life. But the Holy Prophet (S) did not treat him badly. Although everybody knew that he was a hypocrite, the Holy Prophet (S) tolerated him and he treated him the way he treated other Muslims. He paid him his share through Beyt al-Mal, provided him with security and treated him with respect. He did so although hypocrites hatched many vicious plots. In Sura al-Baqara, a certain section is about these hypocrites.
When a group of hypocrites, hatched organized plots, the Holy Prophet (S) confronted them. On the issue of Zarar Mosque, they set out to build a center for their activities. They established relations with people outside the world of Islam with a people who resided in the Roman territory such as Abu Amer Rahib and they prepared the ground to send troops from Rome against the Holy Prophet (S). At this time, the Holy Prophet (S) confronted them and he destroyed and burnt the mosque which they had built. He said, “This is not a mosque. This is a place for plotting against mosques, Allah and the people.”
Similarly, when a group of hypocrites revealed that they were unbelievers and moved out of Medina to raise an army, the Holy Prophet (S) fought them. He said, “If they approach us, we will confront them and we will fight them.” Although a group of hypocrites stayed in Mecca, he did not do anything against them. So, the Holy Prophet (S) behaved towards the third enemy in an organized and determined way. But he behaved towards the fourth enemy in a lenient way because they were not organized and their threats centered around individual actions. With his behavior, the Holy Prophet (S) made them feel embarrassed.
5. Internal conflicts, inner human passions and the tendency towards deviation
And the fifth enemy was the enemy that existed in every Muslim and religious person. And this was the most dangerous enemy. This enemy exists within ourselves as well. It is our passions, selfishness and the tendency towards deviation and wrongdoing. We ourselves prepare the ground for them to grow. The Holy Prophet (S) also fought hard with this enemy. But he did not fight this enemy with a sword.
He fought with it through education, promotion of piety and warning. When the people returned from the war after going through a lot of trouble, the Holy Prophet (S) said, “You have carried out the lesser Jihad. Now you should engage in the greater Jihad.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the greater Jihad? We have engaged in such a great and difficult Jihad. Is there a kind of Jihad which is greater than this?” The Holy Prophet (S) said, “Yes, Jihad against your passions.” When the Holy Quran says,
“Those in whose hearts is a disease,” 2
It does not mean hypocrites. Of course, some hypocrites are among “those in whose hearts is a disease”. But anybody “in whose hearts is a disease” is not a hypocrite. Sometimes, these people are believers, but in their hearts, there is a disease. What does this disease mean? It means moral weaknesses, debauchery and a tendency towards different kinds of selfishness.
If you do not restrain these negative qualities and if you do not fight with them, they will take faith away from you and you will be hollow on the inside. When these qualities take faith away from you, your heart will be empty of faith, but you appear to have it. In such conditions, you are in fact a hypocrite. If, God forbid, our hearts become empty of faith while we appear to have it and if we stop being committed to our religious beliefs while our tongues say the same things as in the past, this means hypocrisy. This is also dangerous. The Holy Quran says,
“In the long run evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil, for they rejected the Signs of Allah.” 3
Those who committed evil acts, the worst thing will happen to them. What is this worst thing? It is rejecting “the Signs of Allah”. Elsewhere in the Holy Quran, God says that those who did not carry out this great responsibility making charitable donations in the way of God.
“So He made hypocrisy to follow as a consequence into their hearts till the day when they shall meet Him because they failed to perform towards Allah what they had promised with Him.” 4
Since they did not honor the promises to God, hypocrisy entered their hearts. This is a big danger for the Islamic community. Whenever you read in history that the Islamic community has deviated from its path, this deviation is because of this. It is possible that a foreign enemy comes and oppresses and defeats you and he may bring about a lot of destruction.
But he cannot destroy you because there is faith in you and this faith will show itself somewhere. But when our inner enemies attack us and make us feel empty on the inside, we will deviate from our path. Wherever there is deviation, it originates from this. The Holy Prophet (S) fought with this enemy too.
The Holy Prophet (S) behaved wisely and he was quick to act. He did not waste time on any issue. He was modest and pure and there were no weaknesses in his auspicious life. He was infallible and pure. This is the most important factor in influencing others. We should learn. Many of these things should be said to me too. I should learn. Our government officials should learn. Influencing others through action is much more effective than trying to influence others through words.
The Holy Prophet (S) was decisive and he spoke explicitly. His statements were never vaguely worded. Of course, whenever he confronted the enemy, he carried out effective political actions and he confused the enemy. In many cases, the Holy Prophet (S) surprised the enemy in military or political arenas. But he spoke explicitly and clearly to believers and his own people and he did not treat them like a politician. Wherever necessary, he was lenient with certain people such as Abdullah ibn Abi about whom there are many stories.
The Holy Prophet (S) never broke his promises to the people and the groups with whom he had signed a treaty – even his enemies and the unbelievers of Mecca. He did not break his promise to them. It was them who broke their promises. The Holy Prophet (S) only responded decisively. He never broke his promises to anybody. Therefore, everybody knew that when they signed a treaty with him, they could rely on it.
