Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 138
138 determined to die. I have seen not men but death mounted on camels. " 155 The Bedouin chief was right—those who are prepared to die do not easily die. A Great Prophecy Fulfilled The time of the battle drew near. The Prophet came out of the little hut in which he had been praying, and announced: The hosts will certainly be routed and will show their backs. These were the words revealed to the Prophet some time before in Mecca. Evidently they related to this battle. When Meccan cruelty had reached its extreme limit, and Muslims were migrating to places where they could have peace, the Prophet had the following verses revealed to him by God: And surely to the people of Pharaoh also came Warners. They rejected all Our Signs. So We seized them as the seizing of One Who is Mighty and Omnipotent. Are your disbelievers better than those? Or have you an exemption in the Scrip- tures? The hosts will certainly be routed and will show their backs. Nay, the Hour is their appointed time; and the Hour will be most calamitous and most bitter. Surely the offenders will be in bewilderment and flaming fire. On the day when they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces and it will be said to them, "Taste ye the touch of burning. " 156 These verses are part of Surah al-Qamar and this Surah, according to all reports, was revealed in Mecca. Muslim authorities place the date of its revelation somewhere between the fifth and tenth year of the Prophet’s Call, that is, at least three years before the Hijrah (i. e. the year of the Prophet’s migration from Mecca to Medina). More likely, it was revealed eight years before. European authorities have the same view. According to Noldeke, the whole of this Chapter was revealed after the fifth year of the Prophet’s Call. Wherry thinks this date a little too early. According to him, the Chapter belongs to the sixth or seventh year before the Hijrah, or after the Prophet’s Call. In short, both Muslim and non-Muslim authorities agree that this Chapter was revealed years before the Prophet and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina. The prophetic value of the Meccan verses is beyond dispute. There is in these verses a clear hint of what was in store for the Meccans in the battlefield of Badr. The fate they were going to meet is clearly foretold. When the Prophet came out of his hut, he reiterated the prophetic description contained in the Meccan Chapter. He must have been put in mind of the Meccan verses, during his prayers in the hut. By reciting one of the verses he reminded his followers that the Hour pro- mised in the Meccan revelation had come. And the Hour had really come. The Prophet Isaiah (21:13-17) had foretold this very hour. The battle began, even though Muslims were not ready for it and non- Muslims had been advised against taking part in it. Three hundred and thirteen Muslims, most of them inexperienced and unused to warfare, and nearly all of them