The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 89
II - Commencement of Jihād by the Sword & Fundamental Discussion on Jihād 89 than three days. The reason for this was perhaps to ensure that the presence of the Muslim army should not become a source of inconvenience or trouble for the local people. 1 51. In the end, but perhaps most importantly, in Jihād , any other motive except for the safeguarding of religion or to bring an end to mischief was considered unlawful. It was a general declaration of the Holy Prophet sa that an individual who goes forth out of the greed for spoils, or for the exhibition of bravery, or for any other worldly purpose, would be absolutely deprived of the spiritual reward of Jihād. In this regard, a somewhat detailed discussion has been taken up above. At this occasion, it would not be out of place to mention the manner in which fighting took place in Arabia during that time. As such, when armies would line up before one another, selected warriors would come forward for individual battle and call for a duel, and it was after these duels that a full- scale attack was launched. It was a custom to fight both on horseback as well as on foot, but fighting on horseback was preferred. Camels were generally used only as a means of conveyance or to carry provisions. Weapons of war for offense were limited to the sword, spear and the bow and arrow. The shield, coat of mail and helmet were used for defense. In some tribes, a mechanism was utilized to catapult stones upon the enemy, which was referred to as a ‘Manjanīq. ’ The concept for this machine probably came to Arabia from Iran. The Holy Prophet sa made use of this on the occasion of the siege of Ṭā’if. Commencement of Jihād & Precautionary Measures of the Holy Prophet sa It has already been mentioned that the first Qur’ānic verse which allowed Jihād by the sword was revealed on 12 Ṣafar 2 A. H. In other words, the divine indication which was made of defensive war in the migration, was officially announced in Ṣafar 2 A. H. , when the Holy Prophet sa had become discharged of his initial undertakings relevant to his stay at Madīnah, and in this manner, Jihād began. It is discovered through history that the Holy Prophet sa initially employed four strategies in order to protect the Muslims from the evil of the disbelievers. This is conclusive evidence of the expert 1 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād Was-Siyar, Bābu Man Ghalabal-‘Aduwwa Fa-Aqāma ‘Alā ‘Arṣatihim Thalāthan, Ḥadīth No. 3065