The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 41
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 41 march in the direction of Medina. In the meantime, the Prophet was taking stock of his own position. Permission to take up arms in defense had been accorded in Divine revelation (22:40 - 42). The Prophet assembled a force of about three hundred Muslims from Mecca and Medina, and marched out with them. (The exact number was 313). This heterogeneous body - it scarcely deserved the designation “force” - was united only by the common bond of faith and the determination to die in defense of that faith. Although it included some of the older Meccan Mus lims who were experienced fighters, the greater number were young men, some still in their teens, who had had little, if any, combat experience. Their devotion to their faith and their zeal in its support were their only qualifications. Ill - armed, in poor physical condition because of the privations they had been enduring, and with but two horses and a few camels, they presented a pitiful contrast to the Meccan army, which consisted of at least a thousand tried warriors who were well - armed and well - mounted. Those who accompanied the Prophet as he set forth from Medina knew that they had been called out to take up arms in defense of their faith, but they were not aware of their exact objective. There had been rumors both of the trade caravan with its armed esc ort passing near Medina, and of the Meccan army marching north, but the Prophet had said nothing about them. Some of those with the Prophet hoped that if there were to be a clash it would be with the caravan rather than with the army (8:8). Not till the pa rty was two days’ march out of Medina did the Prophet disclose that they would have to face the strong, well - equipped force advancing from Mecca. On the next day the