17. Events Leads to Conquest of Makkah

17. Events Leads to Conquest of Makkah

17.1 Banū Bakr Seek Revenge against Khuzā‘ah

During the time of Jāhiliyyah, [there was] a man from Banū Al-Hadramī who was an ally of Banū Bakr. Sometimes you had men who did not belong to a tribe and they would move and live with a certain tribe and then they would become their allies, and what is meant by allies is that the tribe would protect this person and would take care of them, and they would treat such a person as a member of the tribe in terms of protection that is offered by the tribe to its members. So this man from Banū Al-Hadramī was travelling in Hijāz and when he was deep in the land of Khuzā‘ah, Khuzā‘ah killed him and stole his money, so Khuzā‘ah had committed this crime against this man and they killed him to take away his money. So the people of Banū Bakr took revenge by killing a member of Khuzā‘ah.

Khuzā‘ah then targeted three from the family of Banū Al-Aswad Ad-Du’alī, and Banū Al-Aswad belonged to the tribe of Banū Bakr, but they considered themselves to be above everyone else and they considered themselves to be the noblest, and they were considered to be the noblest among them, in fact they used to charge double the Diyah – blood-money, so everybody else from Banū Bakr would take one Diyah while the children of Al-Aswad would take double the blood-money. Khuzā‘ah killed three of them. And then Islām came and you would recall from Sulh Al-Hudaybiyyah that we said one of the terms of the agreements was that whoever wanted to enter into an alliance with Quraish could do so, and whoever wanted to enter into an alliance with Muhammadﷺ could do so. So Banū Bakr entered into an alliance with Quraish and Khuzā‘ah entered into an alliance with Muhammadﷺ. Khuzā‘ah were allies of Banū Hāshim in the time of Jāhiliyyah and now they became allies of the son and the leader of Banū Hāshim, Muhammadﷺ, even though many of them were Mushrik at that time; some of Khuzā‘ah were Muslim and some of them were Disbelievers, nevertheless they were all loyal to Muhammadﷺ, even the Disbelievers among them were loyal to Muhammadﷺ because of tribal tradition, not because of religion. They were the allies of Banū Hāshim before Jāhiliyyah and now they considered themselves to be allies of Muhammadﷺ even though they were Kuffār.

Now, Banū Bakr wanted to seek revenge for the three of them that were killed, and we are not talking about any three, we are talking about some noble men among them. One of the leaders of Banū Bakr, his name is Mu‘āwiyah Bin Naufal Ad-Du’alī; he was one of their leaders, [but] he was not the only leader. In tribal societies you find that every small clan from the tribe has a Sheikh or an ‘Arīf or a leader; chief of the clan. So Mu‘āwiyah Bin Naufal Ad-Du’alī, who is from the branch of Banū Bakr that lost the three men, he attacked some people from Khuzā‘ah, and I am saying people and not men because in one narration it says that they were elderly and children and women. And these were, as it says in the narration, Bijuwār Ansāb ‘Arafāt –the Haram had stone marks to indicate where the land of Haram is, so these were very close to those stone marks but they were outside Al-Haram. Mu‘āwaiyah Bin Naufal told his men, “Let us attack,” and rest of the tribe of Banū Bakr refused and some of their chiefs refused; it was only Mu‘āwiyah Bin Naufal and his followers who did this, not all Banū Bakr. It is important to keep this in mind because of the implications of it in when can war be waged against an enemy. So here it is clearly stated that not all of Banū Bakr were involved in this betrayal, because it is a betrayal; there was a peace treaty with Muhammadﷺ between Quraish and Muhammadﷺ – Sulh Al-Hudaybiyyah – and Banū Bakr and Khuzā‘ah are part of that treaty because they are both in alliance with the two parties of the agreement. So what Mu‘āwiyah is doing is a breach of this agreement, it is a breach of the truce of Al-Hudaybiyyah, therefore many of his tribe refused to join in, and as I also mentioned, the other chiefs of the tribe also did not participate in this.

17.2 Mu‘āwiyah Bin Naufal Transgresses Boundaries of Al-Haram

So they killed some of the people of Khuzā‘ah. Khuzā‘ah fled and entered into Al-Haram, so now they were within the sacred bounds, and the Haram is recognised by the people of Jāhiliyyah; they used to consider it to be a grave sin to kill anybody inside Al-Haram or to kill anybody during the Holy Months. There were four months of the year when no killing should happen, and there is the boundary surrounding Makkah where no one should be killed, and that is all throughout the year, while within the four months, all over Arabia no killing should happen. So now the people of Khuzā‘ah are already within Al-Haram, so the people of Banū Bakr who were killing the people of Khuzā‘ah with Mu‘āwiyah told Mu‘āwiyah, “ Yā Mu‘āwiyah, Ilāhak! Ilāhak! Al-Haram! Al-Haram!” They were warning Mu‘āwiyah and they were in fact amazed at what Mu‘āwiyah was doing, they said, “Inna Qad Dakhalnal Haram! Ilāhaka Ilāhaka Yā Naufal! –We have entered into Al-Harām! Your God! Your God Mu‘āwiyah!” They were reminding him. What did Mu‘āwiyah say? And look at the answer that he gave them, he said, “Lā Ilāhal Yawmi Yā Banī Bakr. Asību Tha’rakum Fali ‘Amrī. Innakum Latasriqūna Fil Haram. Afalā Tusībūna Fīhi Tha’rakum? –There is no God today O Banī Bakr. Seek your revenge! In the name of Allāh, you are stealing from people inside Al-Haram. Would you not seek your revenge therein?” Mu‘āwiyah is justifying what he is doing and telling them [that] you already steal inside Al-Haram, how come now you are complaining that we are inside Al-Haram? Now we have a point of killing and that is [that] we are seeking our revenge. And the people of Khuzā‘ah fled from Mu‘āwiyah and his men until they entered into Makkah itself and they sought refuge in the house of Badīl Bin Warqā’ Al-Khuzā‘ī; this is a man from Khuzā‘ah who used to live inside Makkah, so they went to him and sought refuge in him from this crime that was committed against them.

17.3 News Reaches to Rasūlullāhﷺ

‘Amr Bin Sālim Al-Khuzā‘ī, one of the men of Khuzā‘ah, immediately went to Madīnah to convey the news of what happened to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and he delivered the news to Muhammadﷺ in lines of poetry, reminding Muhammadﷺ with their alliance and reminding him with the alliance that they had with his great grandfather Hāshim. What was the response of Rasūlullāhﷺ? If such a situation was brought to the leaders of today, they would probably say, ‘Let us take it to the United Nations,’ or ‘Let us see what the Security Council will say,’ or ‘Let us consult with international community,’ or other ways of getting out of their responsibility. When ‘Amr Bin Sālim presented this to Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāhﷺ gave him a clear and direct and decisive answer, he told him, “Nusirta Yā ‘Amr Ibn Sālim.” One word. Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Youhave been helped ‘Amr Ibn Sālim.” That is it, you will get the help. He did not tell him how, he did not give him the details, he gave him this promise; Nusirta Yā ‘Amr Ibn Sālim – Youare helped, it is done, it is over. And then a cloud passed by and Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “This cloud is giving me the glad-tidings of support and help to Banī Ka’b.” Banī Ka’b are the people of Khuzā‘ah.

Covenant of Security is in Breach Even if Only Part of Government Takes Official Stance of Attacking Muslims: Back to something that I mentioned; you see, [in] the statement of Ibn Is’hāq he said, “Mu‘āwiyah Bin Naufal Ad- Dailī390 went out with his people and he was their leader, but not all of Banū Bakr followed him.” Even though not all of Banū Bakr followed Mu‘āwiyah, Rasūlullāhﷺ considered what happened to be sufficient enough for the covenant to be ended and for war to be announced against the people of Makkah, and he also did not announce to the people of Makkah his intentions of attacking them, in fact it was done secretly, it was a clandestine operation. Rasūlullāhﷺ made Du‘ā’ to Allāh, “O Allāh, conceal the news and blind their eyes from seeing us or knowing about our advance.” And that is what happened; the people of Quraish only knew about the advance of the Muslim army when they were in the outskirts of Makkah. Therefore, not all of the population need to be supportive of what the government does for it to be considered a breach of covenant between them and the Muslims. For example, if people come out in demonstrations against war, or if some of the government is against war, as long as part of the government has taken the official stance of attacking the Muslims, the leader of the Muslims has the right to announce war and fight against this particular nation.

17.4 Rasūlullāhﷺ Prepares for War

So Rasūlullāhﷺ, immediately after that, started preparation. Abū Bakr  visited his daughter ‘Ā’ishah and he saw her sifting and preparing wheat for the travel of Rasūlullāhﷺ; it might have been a particular food that Rasūlullāhﷺ would carry with him when he would travel in a Ghazwah. So when Abū Bakr saw her doing that he knew that Rasūlullāhﷺ was intending on fighting someone but he did not know who. In one narration it says that he asked ‘Ā’ishah and he said, “Is Rasūlullāhﷺ planning on a conquest?” So ‘Ā’ishah said, “Yes.” Abū Bakr asked her, “Is it the Romans?” She did not answer. Then he asked her, “Is it such and such?” She did not answer, so she was keeping it secret. In another narration he asked her and she did not know, and then Abū Bakr waited until Rasūlullāhﷺ came and he asked him and Rasūlullāhﷺ told him; obviously Abū Bakr is the most prominent advisor of Rasūlullāhﷺ and he confides his secrets to him. Rasūlullāhﷺ told Abū Bakr, “I am going to attack Quraish.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Ka’annī Bi Abū Sufyān – [It is] as if I can see Abū Sufyān coming to you to ask for a renewal of our pact.” And Subhān’Allāh, that is exactly what happened; Abū Sufyān, after what happened, started his travel towards Madīnah.

17.5 Abū Sufyān’s Desperation

Abū Sufyān Travels to Madīnah to Renew Pact of Al-Hudaybiyyah: When Banū Bakr were killing Khuzā‘ah, it says that they [Quraish] provided, under the cover of darkness, support to the people of Banū Bakr, and they provided them with arms, and in fact it says that some of them participated in the killing, and they said, “It is night and no one will see what happened and therefore Muhammadﷺ will not know about our participation.” They are ignorant to the fact that Rasūlullāhﷺ is the Messenger of Allāh and that he is receiving Wahī from Allāh . The news was delivered to Muhammadﷺ, and Abū Sufyān now became extremely worried that Rasūlullāhﷺ might attack so he immediately travelled to Madīnah to beg – literally beg – Rasūlullāhﷺ to renew the pact and to increase in its time limit. The timeframe that we are talking about now; we are 17 or 18 months after the signing of Sulh Al-Hudaybiyyah, and Sulh Al-Hudaybiyyah was for 10 years, and now within a little over a year, they had already committed a breach to the agreement. So this is what the Kuffār had done and now they wanted to apologise for what happened, as if an apology would do.

On the way, Abū Sufayn met with Badīl Bin Warqā’. Who is Badīl? Remember we said he is the man in Makkah in whose house the people of Khuzā‘ah sought refuge in. So Abū Sufyān asked him, “Where did you come from?” He said, “I just visited some people of Khuzā‘ah on the coast.” Badīl Bin Warqā’ actually just came back from Madīnah, he also went there to tell Rasūlullāhﷺ about what happened. So the Kuffār and the Muslims of Khuzā‘ah were going to Rasūlullāhﷺ seeking his assistance and help. Abū Sufyān was not sure of what Badīl was telling him and he had suspicions about it, so he waited until Badīl left and then he went to the place where Badīl’s camel was and he took some of the droppings of the camel and he crushed it in his hands and he found in it crushed date-seeds, and this was something that is fed to the camels in Madīnah, because Madīnah is where the date palms are grown; they do not grow in other parts of Al-Hijāz such as Makkah or in the land of Khuzā‘ah, because Badīl Bin Warqā’ said [that] I just came back from visiting the people of Khuzā‘ah. So when Abū Sufyān saw the crushed pieces of date- seeds in the droppings of the camel, he said, “Badīl has just come back from Madīnah.”

Umm Al-Mu’minīn Umm Habībah Calls Father Abū Sufyān a Dirty Polythiest: So Abū Sufyān went to Madīnah. Where would he go? He would obviously go to the house of his daughter Umm Habībah who was the wife of Rasūlullāhﷺ, Umm Al-Mu’minīn. When he entered into the house, there was a rug on the floor. He wanted to sit on that rug; Umm Habībah pulled it away from him and wrapped it. Abū Sufyān told his daughter, “Mā Adrī, Araghabtī Bī ‘An Hādhal Firāsh Am Raghabti Bihī ‘Annī? – Ido not know; did you take away and wrap this rug because you see it not befitting for me or you see me not befitting for the rug?” Umm Habībah said, “Huwa Firāsh Wa Rasūlillāhi ﷺWa Anta Mushrikun Najis. Falam Uhibba An Tajlisa ‘Alā Firāshih –This rug belongs to Rasūlullāh and you are a dirty Polythiest (you are a dirty Mushrik). And I do not want you to sit on the rug of Rasūlullāhﷺ.” This is the loyalty that they had towards Rasūlullāhﷺ. Umm Habībah is speaking to her father, her own father, but she did not even want him – and he is her father – to sit on the rug that belongs to Rasūlullāhﷺ; why? Because she understands that Kufr is Najāsah; this is the Walā’ and Barā’ that the Muslim should have. And Umm Habībah is not dealing with a commoner from Quraish, she is dealing with the leader, the chief of the tribe of Quraish, and these were her words to him. Abū Sufyān was shocked and he said, “Yā Bunaiyyah, Wallāhi Laqad Asābaki Ba’di Sharr – O my daughter, in the name of Allāh, evil has befallen you since.”

Rasūlullāhﷺ Rejects Abū Sufyān’s Request: And then Abū Sufyān went to Rasūlullāhﷺ and he told him, “I want to renew the pact and increase the time of our truce.” Rasūlullāhﷺ asked him, “Did something happen from your end?” We already have an agreement and it is for 10 years, what is the point coming now after 17 or 18 months asking for it to be renewed? The agreement is already there so what is the point of coming here? So Rasūlullāhﷺ asked Abū Sufyān, “Did anything happen?” Abū Sufyān said, “No, everything is fine.” Rasūlullāh walked away, Rasūlullāhﷺ ignored him; Rasūlullāhﷺ walked away from Abū Sufyān and did not respond back to him.

Abū Bakr Refuses to Help Abū Sufyān: Abū Sufyān then went to Abū Bakr and he told him, “I want you to intercede on my behalf and speak to Rasūlullāhﷺ and ask him to renew the pact.” Abū Bakr told him, “Mā Ana Bi Fā‘il – I would not do that.”

‘Umar Humiliates Abū Sufyān: And then Abū Sufyān went to ‘Umar. Now, they all know who ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb is, they know the nature and the character of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb, but I want you to think about the state of humiliation and humbleness, and when I say humbleness [I say so] because the people of Quraish used to deal with the Muslims with such pride and arrogance, and now Abū Sufyān [was in this situation of begging]. We should not even use the word humbleness, it is humiliation; he came in a humiliated state, begging,begging the Muslims to renew the pact. Iwant you to think about this for a moment and compare [it] to the situation of the leaders of Quraish when the Muslims were in Makkah and see how low they had become a few years later. Now Abū Sufyān himself, who was a leader who used to see himself higher than the level of speaking to the Muslims, now he is going from house to house begging them to go to Rasūlullāhﷺ, because Rasūlullāhﷺ ignored him, Rasūlullāhﷺ just walked away. So now Abū Sufyān goes to ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb and he tells him, “I want you to intercede on our behalf and to ask Rasūlullāhﷺ to renew the pact.” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Ana Ashfa‘u Lakum?! – You want me to intercede on your behalf with Rasūlullāh?! Ana Ashfa‘u Lakum ‘Inda Rasūlillāh?! Wallāhi Law Lam Ajid Lakum Illadh Dharr Lajāhattukum Bih – Youwant me to intercede on your behalf with Rasūlullāh?! In the name of Allāh, if Ifind nothing but ants to fight you with I would fight you!” If I have no men to fight you and I have to fight you with ants, then I would do so.

‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib Refuses to Help Abū Sufyān: Abū Sufyān left, and then he went to ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib. ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib told Abū Sufyān, “Wayhaka Abā Sufyān! Wallāhi Laqad ‘Azama Rasūlullāhi ‘Alā Amrin Mā Nastatī‘u Annu Kalimahū Fīh –Woe to you Abū Sufyān! In the name of Allāh, Rasūlullāhﷺ has made his decision to do something and we cannot talk to him about it.” In other words, when Rasualullahﷺ decides in a particular matter, we cannot go to Rasūlullāh and ask him to change his mind; it is over with. Shūrā is before the decision is made; after the decision is made, it is done. Fa’idhā ‘Azamta Fatawakkal ‘Alallāh – And when you have decided, then rely uponAllāh. Āl-‘Imrān: 159

Abū Sufyān visited ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib in his house, and this was before Hijāb, so Fātimah was there and she was playing with her son Al -Hasan; Al-Hasan was a child at that time and she was playing with him. When Abū Sufyān spoke to ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib and ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib told him that it is done, look at what Abū Sufyān did; he spoke to Fātimah and he said, “Yā Binta Muhammad, Hallaki An Ta’murī Bunayyaki Hādhā Fayujīru Baynan Nāsi Fayakūna Sayyidul ‘Arabi Ilā Ākhirid Dahr? – Odaughter of Muhammad, would you ask this son of yours to give protection between people and that would make him the leader of the Arabs until the end of time?” Abū Sufyān is talking to Fātimah to ask this child, Al-Hasan, who is playing, to give protection. She said, “Wallāhi Mā Balagha Bunayya Dhālik Ayyujīra Baynan Nāsi Wamā Yajīru Ahadun ‘Alan Nabïﷺ –In the name of Allāh, my son is too young to do that,” and then she told him, “and no one can give protection in the presence of Rasūlullāhﷺ.” If Rasūlullāhﷺ decides to fight, we cannot give protection contrary to his decision. Abū Sufyān is in a state of desperation; you can see [this] from his actions. Abū Sufyān is a wise, strong leader, but he is now acting in a way that [as if he] is confused. For Abū Sufyān to ask such a foolish request shows you the state of despair that Abū Sufyān and the people of Quraish reached. He said, “Yā Abal Hasan, Innī Aral Umūr Qadishtaddat ‘Alayya Fansahnī – O Abul Hasan, I see that things are becoming tough, things are becoming tight; give me your advice.” ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib did not have anything to advise him [with] but he told him, “Wallāhi Mā A’lamu Shay’an Yughnī ‘Ank – In the name of Allāh, I know nothing that would do you any good. Walā Kinnaka Sayyidu Banī Kinānah, Faqum Fa’ajir Baynan Nāsi Thummal Haqq Bi Ardik – But you are the leader of the children of Kinānah, so go to the Masjid and give protection among the people and then go back to your land.” What did Abū Sufyān respond back? He said, “Awa Tarā Dhālika Mughni ‘Annī Shay’an? – Doyou think that that would do me any good?” ‘AlïIbn Abī Tālib told him, “No, Wallāhi Mā Azunn – I do not think that would do you any good, Walā Killā Ajidu Laka Ghaira Dhālik – but I find nothing else to tell you.” [It is] as if ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib is telling him [that] I have no advice to give you, and this advice that I gave you would not really do you any good; he was trying to get rid of him. Even though ‘Alï  told him that this advice would do you no good, Abū Sufyān still followed the advice of ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib and he went to the Masjid and he stood in there and he said, “Innī Qad Ajartu Baynan Nās.”

Now, just a little bit of background on this issue of Ijārah – offering protection. In the time of Jāhiliyyah, men who were leaders among their people would give their word in front of the people and say that I protect so and so. Because of the honour of this person, and because of his position, and because of his strength or the strength of his tribe, the people would accept that protection and they would not go against it, they would honour his word. So Abū Sufyān went to the Masjid and he did that in the Masjid of Al-Madīnah, in Al-Masjid An- Nabawī. But who is Abū Sufyān in Madīnah? Who cares about Abū Sufyān? Yes, Abū Sufyān is the leader of Kinānah but that does not mean anything in Madīnah. In Madīnah, the leader is Muhammad ﷺ, Abū Sufyān does not carry any weight. So people were just passing by, ignoring Abū Sufyān completely.

Abū Sufyān Returns to Makkah in Humiliation: Abū Sufyān left, went back to Makkah, and he met with the people of Makkah and told them, “I went to Muhammad and I spoke to him, he did not give me any answer. Then I went to Abū Bakr and I did not find any good with him. And then I went to ‘Umar and I found him [to be] the worst enemy. And then I went to ‘Alï and I found him the softest among the people I met, and he gave me advice to do something and I did it, and I followed his advice and I do not know whether it is going to do me any good or not.” They asked him, “What did he tell you to do?” He said, “He told me to offer protection and I did.” The people of Quraish asked him, “Hal Ajāza Dhālika Muhammad? –Did Muhammadﷺ approve that?” He said, “No.” They said, “Wayhaka, Mā Zādakar Rajul Al-La‘ibabak – Woe to you, ‘Alï did nothing but make a fool out of you.” He turned you into a toy, he played with you, he gave you an advice that would do you no good, in fact it added to your humiliation. Abū Sufyān probably knew that but he had nothing else to do.

Issue of Offering Protection: As-Suhailī comments here on the issue of offering protection because Fātimah said that no one can offer protection in the presence of Rasūlullāh when Rasūlullāhﷺ has made a decision, while there is another Hadīth that says, “Wa Yujīru ‘Alaihim Adnāhum – Protection can be offered by the weakest of them.” And we have the story of Umm Hānī, when she gave protection and Rasūlullāh ﷺ approved that protection. As-Suhailī says, “Protection is approved and passed when it is a protection of one individual or a small group.” But here we are talking about offering protection to an entire people, we are talking about Quraish, and that is why no one can offer that protection, however the protection can be offered for one person or a small number of people, and we will talk about the situation of Umm Hānī; she offered protection to two and Rasūlullāh approved [the protection] and he said, “Ajarnā Man Ajarti Yā Umm Hānī –We will protect whomever you offered your protection to Umm Hānī.”

17.6 Muslims Today Need to Get Over Belief that we are Weak

Again, we revisit the desperation of Abū Sufyān, and since we have now travelled through the years of Seerah An-Nabawiyyah beginning from the initial days of Da’wah, and we talked about the oppression that the Muslims went through in those difficult days in Makkah and the arrogance and the pride of the people of Quraish, and the way they used to belittle the Muslims and treat them as insignificant subjects, and now you see Abū Sufyān going from house to house begging for the Muslims to offer him protection.

Dear brothers and sisters, if the Muslims today would get over the belief of we are weak and we can do nothing, the ones who are bombing the Muslims today would become like Abū Sufyān and come begging the Muslims for peace. But the Muslims need to get over the belief that they are weak and they are incapable of defending themselves, and this is not proper, because Allāh says in Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān, and this Āyah was revealed after the Ghazwah of Uhud, and we talked about this Āyah when we talked about the Ghazwah of Uhud, Allāh says: So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] Believers. Āl-‘Imrān: 139

Donot see yourselves in a humiliated state, and do not be sad when you are the highest. Wa Antumul A’lawna In Kuntum Mu’minīn – Youwill be the highest if you are Believers. But if you are Disbelievers or you do not follow the conditions of Īmān, then yes, you could be in a state of humiliation, but a Believer is always strong, and remember that this Āyah was not revealed after a victory, it was revealed after a defeat – the defeat of the Battle of Uhud.

17.7 Isbirū Wa Sābirū – Muslims Need to Outdo Enemy in Patience

Allāh says ‘Isbirū Wa Sābirū’: O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allāh that you may be successful. Āl-‘Imrān: 200

Allāh is ordering the Believers to have Sabr –Isbirū. Isbirū means Sabr, it is a command, an order, it is in the form of F’il ‘Amr – a verb of command; Isbirū – Be patient. And then Wa Sābirū. Sābirū is also derived from the root word of Sabr, but it is in the form of what is called Mufā‘alah. Mufā‘alah is when the verb is between two parties, so for example you have – and all of these words that I am going to give you are in the form of Mufā‘alah – you have Musāra‘ah; wrestling in Arabic is called Musāra‘ah, because it is between two parties. Mulākamah; boxing is called Mulākamah, it is in the form of Mufā‘alah because it is between two parties. Mu‘āmalah; when you have a financial transaction, because it is between two parties, you call it Mu‘āmalah or Mutājirah. So on and so forth. So here we have Wa Sābirū; in other words, we need to outdo the enemy in patience, because the enemy is patient; not only the Muslim is patient but also the enemy is patient. So even though Allāh orders us to be patient – Isbirū, but the next order is a repetition of patience, however here Allāh is telling us [that] it is not enough to be patient only but you need to be more patient than the enemy, you need to outdo the enemy in patience – Wa Sābirū, and that is exactly what Rasūlullāhﷺ did.

The people of Quraish were patient and persistent, because the word Sabr in Arabic not only means patience but it also means persistence. The people of Quraish, for example Abū Jahl, was a very persistent individual. Abū Lahb was very persistent. Many of these leaders of Quraish who were fighting the Muslims were very persistent and committed to fighting Muslims; they had this commitment and zeal and persistence and patience in fighting the Religion of Allāh. But on the other hand, Rasūlullāhﷺ was very patient, and he was instructing and training the Sahābah to be patient. When the Companion came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and Rasūlullāhﷺ was sitting next to Al-Ka’bah, and he told Rasūlullāh ﷺ,  “Alā Tad‘u Lana? Alā Tastansir Lanā? – ORasūlullāh! Are you not going to ask Allāh to give us support? Are you not going to ask Allāh to give us victory?” Because they had suffered a lot, so the Sahābï is asking Rasūlullāhﷺ to make Du‘ā’ to Allāh that Allāh takes away from us this pain and suffering we are going through. Rasūlullāhﷺ did not say, “Yes, I will make that Du‘ā’,” Rasūlullāhﷺ sat up and he was angry and you could see anger in his face, and he said, “They would bring a man from the nations before you and they would place the saw (or the knife) on top of his head and he would be split in half, Falā Yarudduhū Dhālika ‘An Dīnih – and that would not make him give up his religion. And they would bring a man from the nations before you, Fayumshat Bi Amshātil Hadīd – and he would be combed with combs of steel, Mā Bayna Lahmihī Wa ‘Azmihī Wa ‘Asabih – that would comb away his nerves and his flesh from the bones, Falā Yarudduhū Dhālika ‘An Dīnih –and that would not make him give up his religion. And Allāh  will give victory to this Religion of His until the traveller would travel from San‘ā’ to Hadramaut fearing no one but Allāh and the wolves on his sheep.”

So Rasūlullāhﷺ is training the Sahābah to be patient; eventually Allāh will give you victory; Wal ‘Āqibatu Lil Muttaqīn – And the (blessed) end is for the Muttaqūn [pious]. Al-A’rāf: 128

The end will belong to the Believers, but you have to patient, and you have to give destiny its time; do not be in a hurry. Allāh has destined things to happen in a certain way, we should not go against the Qadr of Allāh; let everything take its time, eventually the Muslims will win. We should not be in a hurry, we should not hasten things to happen, they will happen with the Qadr of Allāh. Allāh says: Atā Amrullāhi Falā Tasta’jilūn – The command of Allāh is coming, so benot impatient for it. An-Nahl: 1

Whatever Allāh has destined will come, do not hasten it. And the patience of the Muslims is now bearing its fruits; now Abū Sufyān is coming alone into Madīnah begging the Muslims to give him peace and the Muslims are ignoring him.

So when the Muslims of today keep on feeding the Ummah that we are in a state of weakness, that we are incapable, that the enemy is strong, that we cannot do anything, that we are living [like] in the era of Makkah, and all of these concepts that instil in the Muslim mind fear and instil in the Muslim mind a feeling of inferiority and weakness and humiliation that programmes the Muslims to be weak and to accept oppression, how can we state that when we are one fifth of the population of the world? When the Muslims are over one billion? When the Muslims sit on the most valuable resources on the planet? The oil of the world lives under the Muslims, it is like a living being that travels under the earth and goes and parks under the Muslim land. When the Muslims control some of the most important water-waves and important parts of the world? When the Muslim land spans all over the planet? How [then] can the Muslims state that we are in a state of weakness and a state of humiliation? Muslims need to break out of this way of thinking and realise the strength that they have and realise that they are not needy in terms of financial resources or numbers or land, but what they need is Īmān, what they need is trust in Allāh, what they need is Tawakkul.

17.8 Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah and Issue of Apostasy

Rasūlullāhﷺ was initially planning in secret to attack Makkah, but then he had to announce this to the Muslims to get prepared and ready, and the Muslims knew that they were not supposed to speak about this, that they were supposed to keep this as a secret. One day Rasūlullāhﷺ summoned ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib and Az-Zubair Bin Al-‘Awwām and Al-Maqdād Bin Aswad, and he told them, “Intaliqū Hattā Ta’tū Rawdata Khākh. Fa Innā Bihā Da‘īnah Ma‘ahā Kitābun, Fakhudhū Minhā – Goto a place called Rawdat Khākh. You will find a woman and with her is a letter; bring that letter to me.” ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib and the two men with him, Az-Zubair and Al-Maqdād, were on horseback and they [rushed and] reached to the place where Rasūlullāhﷺ  told them they would find the woman, so they went up to this woman and they told her, “Give us the letter that you have.” She said, “I do not have any letter.” ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib told her, “Latukhrijannal Kitāb Aw Lanulqiyannath Thiyāb – Youeither give us the letter or we will strip you of your clothes.” We will strip search you, because Rasūlullāhﷺ told us that you have a letter, that means you have a letter. She was lying, but they told her that this is something that was told to us by Rasūlullāhﷺ and if Rasūlullāhﷺ said it [then] it is the truth, so you either give us that letter otherwise we will take off your clothes and search for that letter. So when she saw that the matter was serious she told them, “A’ridū – Turn away,” and then she pulled out the letter from her hair – it was hidden in her hair – so she pulled out the letter and the letter was from Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah, one of the Sahābah; he wrote a letter to Quraish informing them of the plans of Rasūlullāhﷺ. So this thing that Hātib did, acting as an agent for the Kuffār among the Muslims, is a very dangerous thing; he is telling the people of Quraish about secret plans of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

When Rasūlullāhﷺ saw the letter and he read it, he summoned Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah and he asked him, “Mā Hādhā? – What is this?” Hātib said, and this Hadīth is in Bukhārī, he said, “O Rasūlullāh, do not hurry in making a decision about me. I was a man who did not belong to Quraish, [and] your Companions have families in Makkah who would take care of their relatives.” Because they belonged to clans in Makkah, they would have people who would take care of their families and take care of their wealth. [Hātib said,] “But I do not have any relatives in Makkah to take care of my family and my wealth, so I wanted to do Quraish a favour so that they would not harm my family.” And in another narration it says his mother was the one who was living in Makkah and he was worried about her condition. I will read to you the translation of his words, Hātib said, “O Allāh’s Apostle, do not make a hasty decision about me. I was a person not belonging to Quraish but I was an ally to them from outside and had no blood relation with them, and all the immigrants who were with you have got their kinsmen in Makkah who can protect their families and properties. So I liked to do them a favour so that they might protect my relatives as I have no blood relation with them. I did not do this to renegate from my religion, nor did I do it to choose Heathenism after Islām.” So Hātib is making it clear that I did not do this as Nifāq or apostasy, in fact he used the exact word Irtidādan which is Riddah; Irtidādan ‘An Dīnī means I did not become an apostate.

Now, there is a difference of opinion among the ‘Ulamā’ whether such an act is an act of Kufr or an act of Fisq, however you can see here from what Hātib said that he considers this act to be an act of apostasy and that is why he is saying [that] I did not commit apostasy. If he did not consider this act to be an act of Kufr, why would he say that? Because he is saying that I did not commit Kufr, I did not disbelieve. So the fact that he was defending himself against apostasy shows that he considered the act itself to be an act of apostasy, however his intentions were not intentions of Kufr. Rasūlullāh said, “Amā Innahū Qad Sadaqakum – He is telling you the truth.” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Yā Rasūlullāh, Da’nī Adrib ‘Unuqa Hādhal Munāfiq! – OMessenger of Allāh, allow me to cut off the head of this Munāfiq! (Hypocrite)” Again, ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb considered this act to be an act of Nifāq, an act of Kufr, and therefore he wanted to kill Hātib. If he did not consider it to be an act of Riddah, why would he ask Rasūlullāhﷺ to allow him to kill Hātib? Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Innahū Qad Shahida Badran, Wamā Yudrik? La‘allallāhattal‘a ‘Alā Man Shahida Badran Faqāla’milul Mā Shi’tum Faqad Ghafartu Lakum –He has witnessed the Battle of Badr, and what could tell you, perhaps Allāh looked at those who witnessed Badr and said, ‘O the People of Badr, do what you like, for I have forgiven you.’” There are two things from this statement of Rasūlullāhﷺ, the first; it shows you the high status of the people of Badr, the second is that Rasūlullāhﷺ did not disapprove what ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, Rasūlullāhﷺ did not say that he does not deserve to be killed; Rasūlullāh did not respond to what ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said in regards to Nifāq, but Rasūlullāhﷺ said [that] the reason why he should not be killed is because he has witnessed Badr, which could also be an indication that Rasūlullāhﷺ approved the understanding of ‘Umar in accusing a person who commits such an act of being a Munāfiq, but because Hātib witnessed the Battle of Badr, he should not be punished for it. Again, this shows us the high status of the people of Badr and the great level that they have in the eyes of Rasūlullāhﷺ and even the angels, because Jibrīl came to Muhammadﷺ and he said, “What do you consider the people of Badr to be among you?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “We consider them to be among the best.” Jibrīl said, “And that is also with the angels who attended Badr.” So not only are the people who attended Badr the best, but also the angels who attended Badr are the best; it is a battle that was witnessed by the creations of the heavens and the earth.

And then the Āyāt of Sūrah Al-Mumtahanah were revealed. These Āyāt are talking about this particular incident of Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah, and again, this is in Bukhārī. Allāh says: O you who have believed, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies, extending to them affection while they have disbelieved in what came to you of the truth, having driven out the Prophet and yourselves [only] because you believe in Allāh, your Lord. If you have come out for Jihād in My cause and seeking means to My approval, [take them not as friends]. You confide to them affection, but I am most knowing of what you have concealed and what you have declared. And whoever does it among you has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way. Al-Mumtahanah: 1

Soto all those Muslims who allowed themselves to work as agents with the Kuffār, spying on the Muslims, conveying information about the Muslims to the Disbelievers, they have committed an act of apostasy, they are Munāfiqīn; it is a very dangerous sin, it is a very dangerous thing to spy for the Disbelievers against the Muslims. And one of the ironies of our age is that in some Masājid – in some Masājid – intelligence agencies were given a booth to recruit from the Musallīn to work as spies against the Muslim. It is one of the most amazing things that happened in our age and time. These are Masājid of Dirār, and we will talk about the Masjid of Dirār when we talk about the Battle of Tabūk.

17.9 Hukm on Al-Jāsūs – The Spy

Regarding the Hukm of Al-Jāsūs – the spy who spies against the Muslims, the Fuqahā’ – the scholars of Islām, have a consensus that the Disbelieving spy is killed. Then there is a difference of opinion regarding the Dhimmī; the Dhimmī is the Christian or the Jew who is paying Jizyah. According to the Ahnāf, their opinion is Yūja’ Wa Yuhbas Walā Yuqtal – that he should be physically harmed, ya’nī painful harm, and he should be imprisoned, but he should not be killed; this is the opinion of Al-Ahnāf. The Shāfi‘iyyah have a difference of opinion, while Mālik and Al-Awzā‘ī say that this is a breach of their covenant with the Muslims and therefore they should be killed. Regarding the Muslim, the Hanafiyyah and Shāfi‘iyyah and Hanābilah say that he should be punished but not killed, while Al-Mālikiyyah say Yajtahid Fīhil Imām Walahū Qatluhū –that the Imām has the right todo with such a person whatever he sees the Maslahah – whatever he sees as better, and he can kill him if he wants to, and this is also the opinion of Ibn Al-Qayyim.