The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 297
VII - Commencement of War with the Tribes of Najd and the Jews, the Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Fāṭimah and Ḥafṣah, and a Few Miscellaneous Incidents 297 at night, or perform any other act of mischief. Then, in order to weaken the Quraish and push them so that they may be inclined to seek reconciliation, it was necessary to intercept their caravans on this route as well. Hence, as soon as the Holy Prophet sa received word, he dispatched a detachment of his Companions under the leadership of his freed slave, Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra. Chieftains such as Abū Sufyān bin Ḥarb 1 and Ṣafwān bin Umayyah 2 also accompanied this trade caravan of the Quraish. Zaid ra performed his duty with remarkable speed and intelligence, and subdued these enemies of Islām at a place known as Qaradah, situated in Najd. Flustered by this sudden attack, the people of the Quraish fled, leaving the goods and valuables of the caravan behind. Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra and his companions returned to Madīnah with success and triumph, with a large value of spoils. Some historians have written that the guide of this caravan of the Quraish was a man named Furāt, who was taken captive at the hands of the Muslims, and then set free upon his acceptance of Islām. 3 However, it is ascertained from other narrations that he was an idolator commissioned to spy upon the Muslims. However, later on, after becoming a Muslim, he migrated to Madīnah. 4 Execution of Ka‘b bin Ashraf - Jamādiyul-Ākhirah 3 A. H. The manner in which the Battle of Badr brought forth the heart-felt enmity of the Jews of Madīnah has already been mentioned in the account of the Ghazwah of Banū Qainuqā‘. However, it is unfortunate that even the exile of the Banū Qainuqā‘ was unable to sway the other Jews towards reconciliation, and they continued to grow in their mischief and disturbances. As such, the incident of the execution of Ka‘b bin Ashraf is also a link in this very chain. Although Ka‘b was a Jew by religion, he was not actually Jewish by descent; rather, he was an Arab. His father, Ashraf, was a very clever and cunning man of the Banū Nibhān, who came to Madīnah and developed relations with the 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 513, Sariyyatu Zaid bin Ḥārithah Ilal-Qaradah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 267, Sariyyatu Zaid bin Ḥārithah, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 267, Sariyyatu Zaid bin Ḥārithah, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 * Al-Iṣābah Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 5, pp. 272-273, Furāt bin Ḥayyān, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) * Al-Istī‘ābu Fī Ma‘rifatil-Aṣḥāb, By Abū ‘Umar Yūsuf bin ‘Abdillāh bin Muḥammad, Volume 3, p. 324, Furāt bin Ḥayyān Al-‘Ijliyyi, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2002)