Letters to the Kings
Challenge to International Politics and Sovereignty of the Day
Rasūlullāh ﷺ climbed the Mimbar, and after praising Allāh ﷻ he said, “I wish to send some of you forth to foreign kings. Do not dispute among yourselves about me as Banū Isrā'īl did about Jesus son of Mary.” The Muhājirūn said, “O Messenger of Allāh, we will never disagree about you over anything, order us to go forth.” Now, dear listeners, does it strike you here how come Rasūlullāh ﷺ would tell them ‘Do not dispute among yourselves over me’ when he is just sending letters to the foreign kings? This letter affair is a major issue, is a serious affair. This is a challenge to the international politics and sovereignty of the day; Rasūlullāh ﷺ will be sending letters to the kings of the world, telling them to follow him, telling them to hand over the rule of ruling over creation to ruling with the Law of Allāh ﷻ, so it was a major step and an important event, and Rasūlullāh ﷺ wanted to warn the Muslims that this affair should not cause
a dispute among you like Banū Isrā'īl disputed about ‘Īsā son of Mary. You see, because Banū Isrā'īl in the time of ‘Īsā were living under kings, they were not living a semi-autonomous and independent life that the Arabs were living; they were living under tyrants, they were living under strict rules of kings, and Christianity was changed because of kings, and they attempted to kill ‘Īsā because of kings, and the disputes that arose between Banī Isrā'īl and the different sects were because of the interference and the involvement of kings, and now Rasūlullāh ﷺ will be writing to these kings who are not very different than the kings of yesterday. So the Muhājirūn said, “O Rasūlullāh ﷺ, we will never disagree about you over anything, order us to go forth.” And it was a very risky business; it was a risky thing for a Sahābï to go alone, enter into the territory of these kingdoms and deliver a letter to the king telling him to follow Muhammad ﷺ – it is not an easy thing. So Rasūlullāh ﷺ was giving the Sahābah a warning.
Heraclius – Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
Rasūlullāh ﷺ appointed Dihyah Bin Khalīfah Al-Kalbī to carry his letter to the great emperor of the day, Hiraql ‘Azīm Ar-Rūm – Heraclius the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. And by the way, I am using the title Eastern Roman Empire even though you would find that most of the contemporary sources would mention it as the Byzantion Empire – Byzantine, but I am not going to use the word Byzantine because that is not the word that they used to refer to themselves and it is not the title the Muslims used to call them. The Muslims used to call them Rūm and they used to call themselves Romans, so where did this Byzantion thing come from? Apparently it is only a century or two centuries old; the name was not used before that. So I am referring to it as the Eastern Roman Empire. In the beginning it was one empire and then they split into the Western Roman Empire, capital being Rome and Italy, and the Eastern Roman Empire, the capital being Constantinople, present day Istanbul.
Roman Empire on Verge of Defeat
A little background; Heraclius, or Hiraql, was a military commander from Carthage – Carthage is in Tūnis, present day Tunisia – and he became
emperor and supreme military commander of the Roman Empire in year 610 AD. He became emperor at a time when the Roman Empire was going through a very difficult, a very difficult time. A time when the Persian Empire was pounding them, and they were losing bit after bit, city after city, to the Persians; the Persians were rolling and the Romans were suffering defeat after defeat. Heraclius was a strong emperor, a good military commander, however the Empire itself was falling back; in 613 AD Damascus fell, a year later Jerusalem fell, and the Persians took over the True Cross. Now, what is this True Cross? This True Cross is a wooden cross believed by the Christians to be the Cross on which ‘Īsā was crucified. Now, obviously as Muslims we do not believe that to be the case, but the Romans believe it to be the most important relic of Christendom. By the way, in the Seerah of Ibn Kathīr there is a translation by Professor Trevor LeGassick – I sometimes refer to his translation just to check my translation of the material of Ibn Kathīr and it is riddled with mistakes, however I have not brought that up in the past because I am assuming that Trevor LeGassick is not a Muslim so it is expected for someone not coming from a Muslim background to make many mistakes. However it is interesting to find out that he even made a mistake in the translation of the True Cross – Ibn Kathīr mentions it in Arabic as As-Salībil A’zam – The Great Cross, and LeGassick translates it literally as the Great Cross. Now, I do not believe that Christians call it the Great Cross but they call it the True Cross or the Holy Cross, so it is quite interesting here to find that he even makes a mistake in something that is out of his culture, the culture of Christianity, and mistranslates the term here; what we are talking about here is not just a cross, we are talking about the True Cross.
The Rise of Hiraql
So the Persians took over this most important relic of the Christians. In year 621 AD, Heraclius himself would lead the campaign, and this was something that for a very long time Roman emperors would not be involved in, but he led the army himself and started fighting back against the Persians and he took over one city after another until not only he gained back what was taken from him but he invaded Persia in its own land and he started
taking parts of Persia. The Byzantines have been defeated. In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. Within three to nine years. To Allāh belongs the command before and after. Allāh ﷻ talks about this in Qur'ān and I already mentioned this story when we were talking about the Da’wah in Makkah. Qur'ān says that the Romans were defeated but they will win Fī Bid‘i Sinīn; Bid‘i Sinīn is between three and nine years. So even though it seemed impossible that the Romans would win because they were losing one part after another, now the rollback started and Heraclius was defeating the Persians and he was able to win Damascus back and Jerusalem also, and he entered into Persia itself, so the campaign took him a few years.
Hiraql, in year 630 AD, reaching the height of his power, he fulfilled his vow to march barefoot as a pious Christian pilgrim into Jerusalem, because he made a vow that if he is given victory then he will make pilgrimage to Jerusalem barefoot. So in year 630 AD he fulfilled that vow and he marched barefoot as a pious Christian pilgrim into Jerusalem and he restored the True Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He was given a grand reception with people laying out carpets for him to walk on and saluting him with flowers and cheers, and there was a grand celebration organised for the return of the True Cross to its place, and this is when he receives the letter from Rasūlullāh ﷺ. And this would start an interesting series of events, a fall from grace; he would suffer defeat after defeat until he loses Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. Eventually the entire Eastern Roman Empire would fall to the Muslims centuries later; the closing chapter was the fall of Constantinople to Muhammad Al-Fātih in the Ottoman Empire.
Hiraql Receives Letter from Rasūlullāh ﷺ and Questions Abū Sufyān
When Hiraql received the letter from Rasūlullāh ﷺ, the letter was not hand delivered by Dihyah Al-Kalbī. Dihyah Al-Kalbī is one of the Companions of Rasūlullāh ﷺ from the tribe of Kalb and he was described as being a very handsome man, and that is why they say when Jibrīl would
come to Rasūlullāh ﷺ he would come to him in the form of Dihyah AlKalbī; he was very handsome. Did that have something to do with Rasūlullāh ﷺ choosing him as an ambassador? Allāhu A’lam. But anyway, he did not hand deliver it to Hiraql but the letter was given to one of the governors of Hiraql and this governor in turn handed it over to Hiraql. When Hiraql read the letter he told one of his deputies, “Qallib Liyash-Shām Zaharan Li Batn – I want you to turn Syria upside down until you bring me a man from this man’s people.” He wanted someone from the people of Muhammad ﷺ, and he told his deputy that I want you to turn Syria upside down. So the forces of Hiraql were searching in Ash-Shām until they found Abū Sufyān and the merchants who were with him from Quraish in Ghazzah, in Falastīn. So they stormed in and they asked them, “Where are you from?” They said, “We are Arabs.” “Where from?” They gave them their details. They said, “Come with us.” So they were summoned in front of Heraclius, they ended up meeting the Emperor himself.
Abū Sufyān said, and he is now narrating the story, “My companions were told to stand behind me,” because Heraclius asked, “Who is his closest relative from among you?” They said, “Abū Sufyān.” He asked, “What is your relationship to him?” He said, “He is my cousin.” Now, he is not literally the cousin of Abū Sufyān but he was the closest from among the group, because Abū Sufyān’s name is Abū Sufyān Ibn Harb Ibn Umayyah Ibn ‘Abd Shams Ibn ‘Abd Manāf, and Rasūlullāh ﷺ is Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdillāh Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib Ibn Hāshim Ibn ‘Abd Manāf, so they meet in ‘Abd Manāf, so the grandfathers are cousins. Hiraql said, “I want you to stand behind him (behind Abū Sufyān), and if he lies I want you to tell me so, make a sign.” So he did not have them stand next to Abū Sufyān in order not to embarrass them with refuting Abū Sufyān in front of his face, but he said stand behind him and make me a sign, a gesture, if he lies; Hiraql wants to confirm the information. Abū Sufyān says, “I have never met a man Ad'hā – who was more astute and intelligent than this man.” So Hiraql is going to question Abū Sufyān. Now, Abū Sufyān says about this, “I knew that they would not refute me even if I did lie,” – they were loyal to him – “but I was a man of dignity and honour and would have been ashamed to lie.
I also knew that if I did, it was likely that they would report it to others and then people would talk about me in Makkah, so I did not lie to him.” These men even in their Jāhiliyyah had dignity and honour and virtues; he did not want to lie.
Amazing Exchange between Hiraql and Abū Sufyān
It says that Hiraql started with a question, he asked, “Who is Muhammad “?And Abū Sufyān said, “Huwa Sāhirun Kadhdhāb – He is a magician and he is a liar.” What did Hiraql say? He said, “Innī Lā Urīdu Shatmahū Walā Kin Kayfa Nasabah – I am not interested in hearing curses, I want you to tell me about him.” Hiraql wants an objective answer; leave these curses aside, I am not interested in hearing your curses, give me some valid news, give me valid information, do not give me curses. So the questioning began and let us see what questions Hiraql had in mind.
Hiraql: “What sort of family lineage has he among you?”
Abū Sufyān: “His ancestry is a distinguished one.”
“Was any of his forefathers a king?”
“No.”
“Has anyone among you come out with a similar claim before him?”
“No.”
“Do the majority of his followers belong to the aristocracy or are they poor people?”
“They are poor.”
“Do they increase or decrease?”
“They are on the increase.”
“Does any one of them turn away from his religion after having embraced it?”
“No.”
“Have you ever known him to lie before he started to make this claim?” “No.”
“Is he given to treachery?”
“No. We however have an armistice agreement with him for the time being and we do not know what he will do during this period.”
Abū Sufyān said, “This is the only thing I was able to sneak in.” The only thing he was able to say against Muhammad ﷺ without being a liar was this. He said that well, he never committed treachery before, but now we are in a truce and we do not know what he is going to do in the future. Abū Sufyān wants to speak against Muhammad but he is bound by his word not to lie.
Hiraql said, “Have you ever fought him?”
Abū Sufyān: “Yes.”
“How did your fighting go?”
“Sometimes he wins and sometimes we win.”
“What sort of commandments does he give you?”
“He tells us to worship Allāh alone without ascribing divinity to anyone else. He tells us not to follow our fathers. He commands us to Pray and to be truthful and chaste and kind to our fellow human beings.”
Hiraql said, “You have mentioned that he enjoys distinguished ancestry, and this is the case with all Prophets and Messengers. Since you say that no one else among you has made similar claims, I cannot say that he is imitating anyone. You also denied that any of his forefathers was a king, which means that he is not a claimant of a kingdom. You also say that he was not known to tell a lie before he came out with this Message. Well, I know that he would not start by lying to Allāh. You have stated that the poor are his followers, and this is the case with all Messengers from Allāh. The fact that his followers are on the increase again confirms a phenomenon which is always associated with true faith until it is completed. You have also mentioned that no one turns away from his religion after having embraced it; this is a characteristic of faith when its light shines in people’s hearts. You also denied that he is treacherous, and no Messenger of Allāh was a treacherous person. You also said that he calls on you to believe in the Oneness of Allāh and to Pray and to be truthful and chaste. If what you have told me is true, then he will have the supremacy right here where I stand. I knew that his time was due, but I did not think that he would belong to your people. Had it been in my
power, I would certainly have taken the trouble to meet him and to wash his feet.”
In these words of Hiraql, we see the intelligence and we see the understanding of history, and understanding of religion, and understanding of the Laws of Allāh, and understanding the distinguishing traits of truth from falsehood; who is a true Prophet and who is not. And then Hiraql is saying something, and he is telling these words to who? To Abū Sufyān, the man who was leading the war against Muhammad ﷺ. Heraclius, the Roman Emperor himself, is telling Abū Sufyān that if I meet Muhammad I would wash his feet! Now, these words had an effect on Abū Sufyān. Rasūlullāh ﷺ’s Letter to Heraclius The letter was brought and was read: In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Beneficent.
From Muhammad – the Messenger of Allāh, to Heraclius – the Great one of the Romans.
Peace be to those who follow the Guidance.
I call you to believe in Islām. Adopt Islām and you will be safe, and Allāh will give you double the reward. If you decline, you shall bear responsibility of the Arīsiyyīn.
The Arīsiyyīn, as Ibn Hajar says, are the farmers. The Romans were a farming people, so Rasūlullāh ﷺ is telling him that you will bear responsibility for their Disbelief. After the letter was read, Abū Sufyān said, “When he said what he said and he finished reading the letter, the noises became loud, so we were driven out. I then told my companions when we were driven out, ‘This Ibn Abū Kabshah (this is the name that they used to call Muhammad ﷺ with) has got to the point where he even scares the king of those of pale skin.’ Thereafter I was convinced that he would prevail and eventually Allāh drew me into Islām.” Because he saw that the Romans themselves were really worried about Muhammad ﷺ, and these are the
People of the Scripture, these are the people who understood about Prophethood.
The Letter in Detail
Let us look at the letter, and some comments from Ibn Hajar.
What title did Rasūlullāh ﷺ use to refer to Hiraql? He did not say the Roman Emperor, he said ‘Azīm Ar-Rūm. Ibn Hajar says, “He was referred to as ‘the Great one’ among the great one of the Romans. He was not given the title of king or leader because he is discharged according to the rule of Islām.” Islām does not recognise his kingdom and does not recognise his authority and does not recognise the authority of any Disbeliever. Ibn Hajar says, “But he was given a title, a cordial title, of ‘the Great one’ of the Romans.”
And then in the letter it says, “Peace be to those who follow Guidance – AsSalām ‘Alā Min Taba‘al Hudā.” Ibn Hajar says, “Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not give him Salām directly but said ‘Salam on those who follow Guidance,’ and since they do not follow Guidance then Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not give them Salām, and that is because Salām is not given to the Unbelievers.” And also Ibn Hajar mentions that when the letter of Muhammad ﷺ was read to Heraclius, Abū Sufyān said, “I saw sweat falling down his forehead.” That was how heavy the letter of Rasūlullāh ﷺ was. He knew that this was the truth but he did not want to follow it. And there is a story that is mentioned in the books of Seerah that Hiraql called his patriarchs and told them, “We should become Muslim, this is the Prophet whom we were foretold about in our books,” and they all roared and they became angry, and then Hiraql told them, “Calm down, I just wanted to test your faith.” So Hiraql wanted to become Muslim, but when he saw the reaction of his people he told them, ‘I was just testing you.’ And then in another narration it says that he told the one who carried the letter, “If I knew that I would be able to reach to Muhammad ﷺ, I would have done so,” but he feared for his kingdom, and therefore obviously his intentions do not help him because he did not truly become Muslim. This is the story of the letter to Hiraql.
Kisrā – The Persian Emperor
The next letter was sent to Kisrā, the Persian Emperor, and this letter was sent with ‘Abdullāh Ibn Huzāfah according to one narration. The letter was read in front of Kisrā: In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Beneficent.
From Muhammad - the Messenger of Allāh, to Kisrā – the Great one of the Persians.
Peace be upon him who follows right Guidance, believes in Allāh and His Messenger, and declares that there is no deity but Allāh – the only God Who has no partners, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.
I wish to convey to you Allāh’s call, for I am Allāh’s Messenger to all mankind sent with the task of warning all those who are alive that doom will befall the Unbelievers. If you submit to Allāh you will be safe, if you refuse, you shall bear the responsibility for the Magians.
Kisrā was angry, he said, “How dare he write this sort of letter to me when he is my slave?!” And then he ordered his governor of Yemen to send two able-bodied men to arrest Muhammad ﷺ. Look at the arrogance and the pride! And look at how they used to view the Arabs as their slaves since they are not people who have a great kingdom like them. So he sent this letter to Bādhān who was a Persian ruler of Yemen; Yemen at the time was invaded by the Persians. So Bādhān sent two men, one of them his name is Abādhaway and the other one Kharkharah, to arrest Muhammad ﷺ. They did not march forth in an army, they just went alone; the reputation that they had was sufficient, they did not need to show force and to go out with soldiers, just the two of them alone travelled. When they reached to At-Tā'if, they asked, “Where is Muhammad?” They told them, “He is in Madīnah,” and the people of At-Tā'if and Quraish were very happy, they said, “That is it, this is the end of the Muslims.”
These two men came to Madīnah and they delivered their instructions to Muhammad ﷺ. They said, “Khosrow, or Kisrā, the king of kings –
Shāhinshāh, has written to Bādhān, the King of Yemen, commanding him to send us to take you to him. If you comply, Bādhān will write to the king of kings interceding on your behalf; this will spare you a great deal of trouble. If you reject his order, you know how powerful he is; he is sure to destroy you and your people as well as your country.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ answered back and told them, “Who ordered you to shave your beards?” They had their beards shaven and Rasūlullāh ﷺ disliked that, and they had long moustaches, so Rasūlullāh ﷺ asked them, “Who ordered you to shave your beards?” They said, “Our Lord.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “But my Lord has commanded me to wear a beard and to trim my moustache.” And then he told them to wait until the next day. This particular narration here is a narration from Seerah, it is not a narration from Hadīth. Next day when they came, Rasūlullāh ﷺ told them, “Inna Rabbī Qad Qatala Rabbakumul Lailah – My Lord has killed your lord this night.” They said, “Do you realise what you are saying? Your arrest has been ordered for something much more trivial than this. Do you still wish us to write this down and inform King Bādhān of what you have just said?” Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “Yes. Tell him also on my behalf that my religion and my kingdom will replace that of Kisrā and will sweep all before it. Tell him also that if he accepts Islām, I will give him what he has now under his authority and will make him a ruler in the area he now governs.” And then he gave them a gift and ordered them to leave. Whenever a delegation was received, the tradition is that you give them something as a gift.
So like what we saw before, they told Rasūlullāh ﷺ,” What you are saying is very dangerous; to claim that Kisrā has been killed is very dangerous. We have instructions to arrest you for something less, and this crime is very grave; do you know the consequences of what you are saying?” Rasūlullāh ﷺ told them, “Yes, and also go and tell him this, that my kingdom will take over his.” They went back to Bādhān, and Bādhān said, “These words are not the words of a king, these are words of a Prophet, but let us wait and see.” Let us wait until we see if there is any news that will reach about Kisrā. A while later – because it takes a long time for a message to be dispatched – they received information that Kisrā was killed
the same exact night that was told by Rasūlullāh ﷺ. Bādhān became Muslim; he knew that this was a miracle from Allāh and this was Rasūlullāh ﷺ so he became Muslim and that was the beginning of the spread of Islām in Yemen.
The new Kisrā – this Kisrā that is now ruling – he is the one who killed his father. He sent a letter to Bādhān telling him, “I have killed my father because of what he has done to our noblemen, and I want you to stop doing anything regarding the Prophet whom my father sent you a letter to arrest.” When Kisrā the father received the letter of Rasūlullāh ﷺ, what did he do? He tore it apart. Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “Mazzaqallāhu Mulkah – Allāh will tear apart his kingdom,” and that is what happened; the Muslims conquered the entire kingdom of the Persian Empire, the Empire of Kisrā.
Al-Muqawqas – The Ruler of Egypt
The next letter was sent to Al-Muqawqas, the ruler of Egypt, and this letter was sent with Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah. The letter read: In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Beneficent.
From Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdillāh to Al-Muqawqas – the Great of the
Copts
Peace be to those who follow right Guidance.
I wish to convey to you the Message of Islām. Accept Islām and you will be safe. Accept it and Allāh will double your reward. Should you turn your back on it, you will bear the responsibility for the Copts.
"O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allāh and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allāh." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims submitting to Him."
Al-Muqawqas said, “I have questions for you and would like you to help me reach understanding.” Hātib said, “Please ask.” Al-Muqawqas said, “Tell me about your master, is he not a Prophet?” Hātib said, “He is indeed.” AlMuqawqas said, “Then why, if he is so, why did he not pray to have his people destroyed since they evicted him from his country to another?” He said since he is a Prophet why did he not make Du‘ā' to Allāh to destroy the people of Makkah when they had driven him out of Makkah? Hātib said, “Take Jesus, the son of Mary; do you not bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allāh?” Al-Muqawqas said, “Yes, indeed I do.” Hātib said, “Well what about him? When his people took him and wanted to crucify him, could he not have prayed for the destruction of his people when Allāh raised him up to the lower heaven?” Al-Muqawqas said, “You are a wise man who has come from a wise man. These are presents I am dispatching with you to Muhammad ﷺ, and I am sending with you a guard who will conduct you to safe haven.”
So his response was polite but he did not become Muslim. He sent with Hātib – according to some narrations two and according to some narrations three – slave-girls, very valuable and precious slave-girls from among the Copts. One of them was Māriyyah whom Rasūlullāh ﷺ married, and she gave birth to Ibrāhīm, the son of Muhammad ﷺ who died in young age. The other one was given to Hassān Bin Thābit. And he also gave Muhammad ﷺ his Baghlah – mule, her name was Duldul, and he gave Muhammad some other valuable gifts.
These are the letters that were sent. There was also a letter that was sent to An-Najāshī, and another letter sent to the King of Ghassān. These are the letters that Rasūlullāh ﷺ sent to the kings in the surrounding area, and we have seen what the response was, each response was different; the response of Kisrā was the worst and the response of An-Najāshī was the best since he accepted Islām as mentioned in the Makkan Period. And then you have Hiraql and Al-Muqawqas; they were polite but they did not become Muslim.
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 Muhammad could do so. So Banū Bakr entered into an alliance with Quraish and Khuzā‘ah entered into an alliance with Muhammad ﷺ. 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, Muhammad ﷺ, 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 Muhammad ﷺ, even the Disbelievers among them were loyal to Muhammad ﷺ 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 Muhammad ﷺ 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 Muhammad ﷺ between Quraish and Muhammad ﷺ – 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.
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.
News Reaches to Rasūlullāh ﷺ
‘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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ, and he delivered the news to Muhammad ﷺ in lines of poetry, reminding Muhammad with their alliance and reminding him with the alliance that they had with his great grandfather Hāshim. What was the response of Rasūlullāh ﷺ?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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ, Rasūlullāh ﷺ gave him a
clear and direct and decisive answer, he told him, “Nusirta Yā ‘Amr Ibn Sālim.” One word. Rasūlullāh ﷺ told him, “You have 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 – You are helped, it is done, it is over. And then a cloud passed by and Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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-Dailī 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, Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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. Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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.
Sheikh says Ad-Dailī instead of Ad-Du'alī although previously he said Ad-Du'alī.
Rasūlullāh ﷺ Prepares for War
So Rasūlullāh ﷺ, immediately after that, started preparation. Abū Bakr visited his daughter ‘Ā'ishah and he saw her sifting and preparing wheat for the travel of Rasūlullāh ﷺ;it might have been a particular food that Rasūlullāh ﷺ would carry with him when he would travel in a Ghazwah. So when Abū Bakr saw her doing that he knew that Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ came and he asked him and Rasūlullāh ﷺ told him; obviously Abū Bakr is the most prominent advisor of Rasūlullāh ﷺ and he confides his secrets to him. Rasūlullāh ﷺ told Abū Bakr, “I am going to attack Quraish.”
Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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.
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 Muhammad ﷺ will not know about our participation.” They are ignorant to the fact that Rasūlullāh ﷺ is the Messenger of Allāh and that he is receiving Wahī from Allāh ﷻ. The news was delivered to Muhammad ﷺ, and Abū Sufyān now became extremely
worried that Rasūlullāh ﷺ might attack so he immediately travelled to Madīnah to beg – literally beg – Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 AlHudaybiyyah 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ about what happened. So the Kuffār and the Muslims of Khuzā‘ah were going to Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ, 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? – I do 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 Wa Anta Mushrikun Najis. Falam Uhibba An Tajlisa ‘Alā Firāshih – This rug belongs to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and you are a dirty Polythiest (you are a dirty Mushrik). And I do not want you to sit on the rug of Rasūlullāh ﷺ. “This is the loyalty that they had towards Rasūlullāh ﷺ. 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ;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.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ Rejects Abū Sufyān’s Request And then Abū Sufyān went to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and he told him, “I want to renew the pact and increase the time of our truce.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ asked Abū Sufyān, “Did anything happen?” Abū Sufyān said, “No, everything is fine.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ walked away, Rasūlullāh ﷺ ignored him; Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 AlKhattāb, 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. I want 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ, because Rasūlullāh ﷺ ignored him, Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ to renew the pact.” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Ana Ashfa‘u Lakum?! – You want me to intercede on your behalf with Rasūlullāh ﷺ?! Ana Ashfa‘u Lakum 'Inda Rasūlillāh?! Wallāhi Law Lam Ajid Lakum Illadh Dharr Lajāhattukum Bih – You want me to intercede on your behalf with Rasūlullāh ﷺ?! In the name of Allāh, if I find 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.
‘Ali Ibn Abī Tālib Refuses to Help Abū Sufyān
Abū Sufyān left, and then he went to ‘Ali Ibn Abī Tālib. ‘Ali 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, Rasūlullāh ﷺ has made his decision to do something and we cannot talk to him about it.” In other words, when Rasualullah decides in a particular matter, we cannot go to Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 upon Allāh.
Abū Sufyān visited ‘Ali Ibn Abī Tālib in his house, and this was before Hijāb, so Fātimah was there and she was playing with her son Al-Hasan; AlHasan was a child at that time and she was playing with him. When Abū Sufyān spoke to ‘Ali Ibn Abī Tālib and ‘Ali 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? – O daughter 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 Nabï –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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ. “If Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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.” ‘Ali 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? – Do you think that that would do me any good?” ‘Ali Ibn 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 ‘Ali 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 ‘Ali told him that this advice would do you no good, Abū Sufyān still followed the advice of ‘Ali 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 ‘Ali 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 Muhammad ﷺ approve that?” He said, “No.” They said, “Wayhaka, Mā Zādakar Rajul Al-La‘ibabak – Woe to you, ‘Ali 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 ﷺ when Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 ﷺ approved the protection and he said, “Ajarnā Man Ajarti Yā Umm Hānī – We will protect whomever you offered your protection to Umm Hānī.”
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 ﷻ 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 ﷻ says: So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are true Believers.Do not see yourselves in a humiliated state, and do not be sad when you are the highest. Wa Antumul A’lawna In Kuntum Mu'minīn – You will 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.
Isbirū Wa Sābirū – Muslims Need to Outdo Enemy in Patience
Allāh ﷻ says ‘Isbirū Wa Sābirū’: O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allāh that you may be successful. Allāh ﷻ 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 ﷻ orders us to be patient – Isbirū, but the next order is a repetition of patience, however here Allāh ﷻ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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, Rasūlullāh ﷺ was very patient, and he was instructing and training the Sahābah to be patient. When the Companion came to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and Rasūlullāh ﷺ was sitting next to Al-Ka’bah, and he told Rasūlullāh ﷺ,” Alā Tad‘u Lana? Alā Tastansir Lanā? – O Rasūlullāh ﷺ! Are you not going to ask Allāh ﷻ to give us support? Are you not going to ask Allāh ﷻ to give us victory?” Because they had suffered a lot, so the Sahābï is asking Rasūlullāh ﷺ to make Du‘ā' to Allāh that Allāh takes away from us this pain and suffering we are going through. Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not say, “Yes, I will make that Du‘ā',” Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 ﷻ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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. 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 ﷻ has destined things to happen in a certain way, we should not go against the Qadr of Allāh ﷻ;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 ﷻ. Allāh ﷻ says: Atā Amrullāhi Falā Tasta’jilūn – The command of Allāh is coming, so be not impatient for it. 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 ﷻ, what they need is Tawakkul.
Hātib Ibn Abī Balta‘ah and Issue of Apostasy Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ summoned ‘Ali 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 – Go to a place called Rawdat Khākh. You will find a woman and with her is a letter; bring that letter to me.” ‘Ali 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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.” ‘Ali Ibn Abī Tālib told her, “Latukhrijannal Kitāb Aw Lanulqiyannath Thiyāb – You either give us the letter or we will strip you of your clothes.” We will strip search you, because Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ and if Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ. 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ.
When Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 ﷺ, 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 ﷺ said, “Amā Innahū Qad Sadaqakum – He is telling you the truth.”
‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Yā Rasūlullāh ﷺ, Da’nī Adrib ‘Unuqa Hādhal Munāfiq! – O Messenger 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ to allow him to kill Hātib? Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ, the first; it shows you the high status of the people of Badr, the second is that Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not disapprove what ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not say that he does not deserve to be killed; Rasūlullāh ﷺ did not respond to what ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said in regards to Nifāq, but Rasūlullāh ﷺ said that the reason why he should not be killed is because he has witnessed Badr, which could also be an indication that Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 Rasūlullāh ﷺ and even the angels, because Jibrīl came to Muhammad ﷺ and he said, “What do you consider the people of Badr to be among you?” Rasūlullāh ﷺ 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 ﷻ 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.
So to 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.
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 to do 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.