Life of Muhammad — Page 97
sa 97 contagious. They all started packing and withdrawing from the field. It is said that Ab u S ufy a n ra was asleep in his tent. News of the sudden withdrawal of the pagan divisions reached his ears. He got up agitated and, in excitement, mounted a tethered camel. He spurred the animal, but the animal would not move. His friends pointed to what he was doing, untied the animal, and Ab u Sufy a n ra with his friends was able to leave the field. Two-thirds of the night had passed. The battle-field had cleared already. An army of between twenty and twenty-five thousand soldiers and followers disappeared, leaving a complete wilderness behind. Just at that time the Prophet sa had a revelation that the enemy had fled as the result of an act of God. To find out what had happened the Prophet sa wanted to send one of his followers to scan the battlefield and make a report. The weather was icy cold. Little wonder, the ill-clad Muslims were freezing. Some heard the Prophet's sa voice when he called out in the night. They wanted to reply, but could not. The cold was forbidding. Only H udhaifa ra was able to say aloud, "Yes, Prophet sa of God, what do you want us to do?" The Prophet sa called out again. Again nobody could answer because of the cold. Only H udhaifa ra answered again. The Prophet sa asked H udhaifa ra to go and survey the battle-field, for God had informed him that the enemy had fled. H udhaifa ra went near the ditch, and from there saw that the enemy had vacated the field. There were no soldiers and no men. H udhaifa ra returned to the Prophet sa , recited the Kalima and said the enemy had fled. On the morrow Muslims also unpegged their tents and started packing for the city. A severe trial lasting for about twenty days had ended. BAN U QURAI Z A PUNISHED Muslims were able to breathe again in peace. But they still had the Ban u Qurai z a to settle with. The Ban u