The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 15
I - Commencement of the Second Era of Life in Madīnah 15 wars, 1 therefore, repetition is unnecessary here. However, here it is sufficient to allude to the fact that these caravans of the Quraish were always armed and whilst travelling between Makkah and Syria they passed very closely by Madīnah, and so they were a constant threat. Other than this, as has already been mentioned in the preliminary discussion on this topic, these caravans would provoke the tribes of Arabia against the Muslims wherever they passed. Due to this, a dangerous fire of animosity had been ignited throughout the country against the Muslims, due to which their interception was necessary. In any case, upon receiving news of this caravan, the Holy Prophet sa dispatched Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra to meet it. He moved forward with such intelligence, seizing the opportunity, that he was able to successfully reach ‘Īṣ and intercepted the caravan. ‘Īṣ is the name of a place situated at a distance of four days’ travel from Madīnah, towards the ocean. Since this was a sudden attack, the people of the caravan were unable to combat this assault of the Muslims. They left all their belongings and fled. Zaid ra captured a few prisoners and took hold of the caravan’s load, set off to Madīnah and presented himself before the Holy Prophet sa. 2 Acceptance of Abul-‘Āṣ ra , the Son-in-Law of the Holy Prophet sa Abul-‘Āṣ bin Ar-Rabī‘ ra was also among the prisoners who were captured in the expedition to ‘Īṣ. He was the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet sa and a near relative of the late Ḥaḍrat Khadījah ra from among the Quraish. Prior to this, he was also captured in the Battle of Badr, but the Holy Prophet sa released him on the condition that when he reached Makkah, he would send his daughter - Ḥaḍrat Zainab ra , to Madīnah. Abul-‘Āṣ ra fulfilled his promise but was still personally a polytheist. When Zaid bin Ḥārithah ra captured him and brought him to Madīnah it was night time, but somehow he managed to send word to Ḥaḍrat Zainab ra that, “I have been captured and brought here. If possible, see if you can arrange something for my release. ” So, just as the Holy Prophet sa and his companions were engaged in their morning prayer, Zainab ra announced from her home in a loud voice, “O Ye Muslims! I have granted Abul- ‘Āṣ protection”. When the Holy Prophet sa had completed his Ṣalāt , he turned to his companions and said, “Whatever Zainab has said, you have heard it. By 1 Refer to Sīrat Khātaman-Nabīyyīn, Volume 2 2 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 293, Sariyyatu Zaid-ibni Ḥārithata Ilal- ‘Īṣ, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)