The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 132
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 132 especially held shares in this caravan. As a matter of fact, it is written that on this occasion, any item or sum, which could be invested in this venture, was put on stake. 1 This demonstrates that the Quraish had perhaps decided that they would spend the profit of this trade venture, on expenditures of war against the Muslims. Therefore, the interception of caravans was an excellent means of bringing the barbaric Quraish to their senses and stopping them from their dangerous designs. Secondly, their passing by Madīnah from so close, also posed many dangerous risks for the Muslims. Then, the specific characteristics of this caravan were such that if it had escaped safely, this could have been thought of as a precursor to the destruction of the Muslims. For this reason, upon receiving news, the Holy Prophet sa dispatched two Muhājirīn named Ṭalḥah bin ‘Ubaidullāh ra and Sa‘īd bin Zaid ra , to obtain information. Furthermore, the Holy Prophet sa also informed the other Companions that they should remain prepared to set out for the interception of the caravan. However, it so happened, that Abū Sufyān also received word of this intention of the Holy Prophet sa , or perhaps he apprehended this possibility himself. In any case, he dispatched a rider named Ḍamḍam towards Makkah, and emphatically instructed him to reach Makkah as soon as possible, and bring forth the army of the Quraish in order to protect the caravan and strike fear into the hearts of the Muslims. Moreover, as a precautionary measure, Abū Sufyān diverted from his actual route and moved towards the coast of the sea; and stealthily but quickly, began to proceed towards Makkah. When this emissary of Abū Sufyān reached Makkah, according to the Arab custom, he made himself appear extremely terrified and began to scream loudly saying, “O ye people of Makkah! Muḥammad sa and his Companions have set out to attack your caravan. Go forth and save it!” 2 Upon hearing this news, the people became frightened and gathered around the Ka‘batullāh. Then, on this occasion, the chieftains of the Quraish capitalised on this opportunity, and delivered extremely provocative speeches against Islām and the Muslims. As a result, the hearts of the people became inflamed with a fervour of enmity towards Islām and they became firmly determined to attack the Muslims and utterly destroy them. At that time, the state of the Quraish’s fervour was such that they unanimously decided to set out with a very large army against the Muslims. It was decided that every such 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 255, Ghazwatu Badr, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 This was a complete lie because until now, the Holy Prophet sa was still in Madīnah