Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 197
197 "Khalid, you annoy one who has been serving Islam from the time of Badr. I say to you that even if you give away gold of the weight of Uhud in the service of Islam, you will not become as deserving of divine reward as ‘Abdur-Rahman. " "But they taunt me," said Khalid, "and I have to reply. " Upon this the Prophet turned to others and said, "You must not taunt Khalid. He is a sword among the swords of God which remains drawn against disbelievers. " The Prophet’s description came to literal fulfilment a few years later. On Khalid’s return with the Muslim army, some Muslims of Medina described the returning soldiers as defeatist and lacking in spirit. The general criticism was that they should all have died fighting. The Prophet chid the critics. Khalid and his soldiers were not defeatist or lacking in spirit, he said. They were soldiers who returned again and again to attack. The words meant more than appeared on the surface. They foretold battles which Muslims were to fight with Syria. The Prophet Marches on Mecca with Ten Thousand Followers In the eighth year of the Hijrah in the month of Ramadan (December 629 A. D. ) the Prophet set out on that last expedition which definitely established Islam in Arabia. At Hudaybiyyah it was agreed between Muslims and disbelievers that Arab tribes should be allowed to join the disbelievers as well as the Prophet. It was also agreed that for ten years the parties would not go to war against each other unless one party should violate the pact by attacking the other. Under this agreement, the Banu Bakr joined the Meccans, while the Khuza‘ah entered into an alliance with Muslims. The Arab disbelievers had scant regard for treaties, especially for treaties with Muslims. It so happened that the Banu Bakr and the Khuza‘ah had some outstanding differences. The Banu Bakr consulted the Meccans about settling their old scores with the Khuza‘ah. They argued that the Hudaybiyyah treaty had been signed. The Khuza’ah felt secure because of their pact with the Prophet. Now, therefore, was the time for them to attack the Khuza‘ah. The Meccans agreed. They and the Banu Bakr, accordingly, joined in a night attack on the Khuza‘ah and put to death many of their men. The Khuza‘ah sent forty of their men mounted on fleet camels to Medina to report this breach of agreement to the Prophet. They said it was up to Muslims now to march on Mecca to avenge this attack. The delegation met the Prophet and the Prophet told them unambiguously that he regarded their misfortunes as his own. He pointed to a rising cloud in the sky and said, "Like the raindrops which you see yonder, Muslim soldiers will drop down to your aid. " The Meccans were perturbed over the news of the Khuza‘ah delegation to Medina. They sent Abu Sufyan post-haste to Medina to restrain Muslims from the attack. Abu Sufyan reached Medina and began to urge that as he was not present at Hudaybiyyah, a new peace will have to be signed by Muslims. The Prophet thought it unwise to answer this plea. Abu Sufyan became excited, went to the mosque and announced: