After
the Conquest of Khaibar
On way back from Khaibar, one
morning the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
and the entire Muslim army slept past sunrise. It was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) who got up first and
roused the others from their sleep. At a little distance from there, he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his Companions offered
the Fajr prayer. Thus he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
showed the Companions the offering of the prayer when rising late from the
sleep.
The Jews were very wealthy and the
lands of Khaibar under their possession were also very fertile. After the
conquest of Khaibar, the booty and agricultural lands distributed among the
Muslims removed their poverty and hardship. Now the Muhâjirin became owners of
property and became free from the need for help and support of the Ansâr. From
the lands of Khaibar, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) received the property of Fidak, which served the purpose of
caring for the many visiting delegations and his other guests, while the land
from Banu Nadir sustained his relatives, the orphans and the poor.
A very wealthy man from Makkah,
Hajjâj bin Ilât Sulami, left Makkah telling everyone that he was going on a
journey but he actually went to the Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) and he became a Muslim in his presence and joined the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) during the expedition
of Khaibar. He said, "The Makkans are still unaware of my conversion to
Islam. With your permission, may I go to Makkah and bring my wealth, which is
in the possession of my wife and collect the money I have given as loans to the
Makkans?" The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
granted him permission. When Hajjâj (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) went to Makkah, he found that the Makkans desperately wanted
to know about the outcome of the Muslims action in Khaibar. Hajjâj (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) used this event to
deceive the disbelievers. He told them nothing about the consequences of the
battle of Khaibar and utilized their support in collecting his loans, they
considered it a support for a fellow enemy of the Muslims. He then set out from
Makkah with his entire wealth after collecting the whole amount that was
outstanding, he only informed Abbâs bin Abdul-Muttalib about his accepting
Islam and the conquest of Khaibar by the Muslims. The Makkans were angry and
depressed at the success of the Muslim military action in Khaibar and Hajjâj's
escape from Makkah with such a vast amount of wealth.
On his return from Khaibar, the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent detachments to
all those tribes who were still making efforts to inflict harm on the Muslims.
The purpose behind sending those detachments was to send terror into their
hearts so that any conspiracy would be prevented before it was put into action.
Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) along with Salamah
bin Akwa' (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and others were sent
to the Fazârah tribe, while Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) was dispatched to the Hawâzin at the head of thirty horsemen.
Abdullah bin Rawâhah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was sent to arrest Bishr bin Zarâm, the Jew who used to incite the Jews of
Khaibar against the Muslims. Bashir bin Saad Ansâri (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) set out at the head of thirty horsemen to punish Banu Murrah,
while Usâmah bin Zaid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
went to the clan Huraqah (Banu Humais) of Juhainah tribe. Ghâlib bin Abdullah
Laithi (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was sent to Banu
Al-Mulawwih, and Abu Hadrad Aslami (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) was sent to Rifâ'ah bin Qais, the chief of the Jusham bin
Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) clan. Abu Qatâdah
and Muhallim bin Jaththâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
were sent to Idam.
All these military detachments came
back with success. Usâmah bin Zaid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) lifted his sword to kill a person who immediately pronounced
La ilâha illallâh (there is no God to be worshipped except Allâh), despite
this, Usâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
put him to death. When the matter was later reported to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), he asked Usâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to explain his
action. He submitted that he had killed him because he had pronounced the
Shahâdah just to save his life. "Did you split his heart to see if he had
pronounced the Shahâdah out of hypocrisy?" The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) angrily expressed himself. Usâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) expressed his utmost
regret over his behavior and promised not to repeat it again.
In the same way, Abu Qatâdah and
Muhallim bin Jaththâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
were once going somewhere when they came across Âmir bin Adbat, a man from
Ashja' clan who was making a journey with his goods. When Âmir bin Adbat
noticed the Muslim detachment, he said "As-Salamu Alaikum" in the
Islamic manner. But the Muslims doubted his sincerity and Muhallim bin
Jaththâmah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
put him to death. When the expedition returned, the incident was reported to
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم),
he expressed his displeasure and said to Muhallim (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), "Why did you kill him in a state of his being a believer
in Allâh?" Then he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
gave the relatives of Âmir, fifty camels as compensation and they agreed to
free Muhallim (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
from retaliation.
Invitation
Letters to Islam
In this same year, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent letters to the
kings of the Arabs and non-Arabs. His letter to Negus, the King of Abyssinia
has already been mentioned. Negus accepted Islam gracefully. Then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent Dihyah bin
Khalifah Al-Kalbi (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to Heraclius, the king of Rome; Hâtib bin Abu Balta'ah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Muqauqis, the king of Egypt and
Alexandria; Ala bin Al-Hadrami (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to Mundhir bin Sâwa, the king of Bahrain.
Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) was sent to the king of Oman; Salit bin Âmiri (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was sent to Haudhah
bin Ali, the king of Yamâmah; Shuja' bin Wahb (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Hârith bin Shimr Ghassâni, the king of Damascus, and also
to Jabalah bin Aiham. Muhâjir bin Abu Umayyah Makhzumi (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was sent to Hârith bin Abd Kulâl Himyari,
the king of Yemen; and Abdullah bin Hudhaifa Sahmi (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Chosroes, the king of Persia.
Heraclius, the king of Rome did not
embrace Islam fearing the opposition of the Christians and the loss of the
throne, but he paid respect to the letter of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his messenger. The King of Egypt held
the letter and the envoy of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) in high esteem. In reply he wrote a very courteous letter to
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
and sent garments, a donkey and two slave-girls to him. Mundhir bin Sâwa also
showed respect to his letter and the envoy. The king of Oman embraced Islam
when he received his letter. However, Chosroes, the King of Persia, tore the
letter into pieces and behaved rudely with Abdullah bin Hudhaifa (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Informed of this,
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
remarked, "Even so shall Allâh shatter his kingdom to pieces." And it
happened exactly as he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment