The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 144
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 144 in which, according to ancient custom, fighting was forbidden. This war was fought with such vigour and violent fervour that it possesses distinct fame among the wars of the Jāhiliyyah. The Banū Kinānah paired with the Quraish and on the other side was the Qais ‘Ailān allied with the Hawāzin. The most dangerous battle of this war was the last one, which is referred to as the fourth battle of the Ḥarb-e-Fijār. The state of passion in this last fight was to such extent that some commanders had themselves tied to the battleground with ropes thus leaving no means of retreat even if it was so desired. During the initial portion of the day the Qais ‘Ailān lead in battle, however, towards the end of the day, the Banū Kinānah overcame their opponent’s edge. After the defeat of the Qais ‘Ailān, both parties were reconciled in a concord of friendship. Young Muḥammad sa also participated in this war. However, from various narrations it is found that Muḥammad sa did not actively engage himself in battle. Instead, his participation was merely limited to the fact that he was a part of the army and would hand over arrows to his paternal uncle. At that time, Muḥammad sa was approximately twenty years old. In this battle, every tribe had its own commander. Therefore, the Banū Hāshim was under the command of Zubair bin ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib; however, the commander-in-chief of the entire army of the Banū Kinānah was Ḥarb bin Umaiyyah who was the father of Abū Sufyān and the paternal grandfather of Amīr Mu‘āwiyah. 1 Ḥilful-Fuḍūl During the ancient age, various noble-hearted individuals of Arabia thought to establish a mutual agreement. This agreement stated that the rights of the oppressed would be protected and that the oppressor would be restrained from injustice. In the Arabic language, the word faḍl also refers to one’s ‘right’, which transforms into fuḍūl when expressed in plural. This is why the agreement was named the Ḥilful-Fuḍūl. 2 In accordance to other narrations, it is also said that since the names of the proponents of this confederacy contained the word faḍl , this agreement was named Ḥilful-Fuḍūl. 3 In any case, after the infamous Ḥarb-e-Fijār , Zubair bin ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, a paternal uncle of 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, pp. 146-148, Bābu Ḥarbil- Fijār, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Confederacy of Rights (Publishers) 3 Ar-Rauḍul-Anf, By Imām Abul-Qāsim ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Suhailī , Volume 1, p. 242, Bābu Ḥilfil-Fuḍūl, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)