Holy Prophet of Islam - Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa — Page 203
The Holy Prophet of Islam, Hadrat Muḥammad Mustafa sa 14. Battles of Hunain and Auṭās. Battles of Hunain. At the time of the conquest of Mecca, many Arab tribes had accepted Islām. However, there were several tribes who due to being proud of their bravery and heritage were opposed to Islām. Specially, the. Banu Hawazin the tribe of Ta'if and their branch, the Banu Thaqif who were strong and experienced fighters and also were extremely proud of their strength and bravery. Most of the tribes around Mecca came to know of the conquest of Mecca much after its happening. With the conquest of. Mecca by the Muslims the tribes around Mecca felt threatened. To face this challenge they started to prepare their forces and appointed Malik bin 'Auf Nasry as leader of their forces. The Banu Sa‘d, Banū Bakr, Jatham, and Nasr branches of the Banū Hawazin joined the Banū Thaqif in their expedition. However, the Banū Kalab and Banu Ka'b did not join them. . When the people of Hawazin and Thaqif marched to attack Mecca, their leader Mālik bin 'Auf ordered them to take their family and cattle along with them. He thought that due to the company of their family and cattle his fighters would not run back. They encamped at Auṭās which was a valley close to Hunain between Mecca and Ta'if. The place was most suitable for fighting as the attacking army had to pass through a particular pathway and they could be ambushed by the opposing fighters. The. Muslim army of 12,000 strong included 10, 000 fighters who took part in the conquest of Mecca and 2,000 Meccans who willingly had joined the. Muslim Army. Some of them were new converts and a few were non-Muslims. . The enemy had hidden their archers on the narrow passage through 203