The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 144
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 144 This was the passionate sincerity of Sa‘d ra , which is worthy of praise in any case; but can it be fathomed that the Messenger of Allāh would ever flee from the field of battle? As such, in the field of Ḥunain, an army of 12,000 turned their backs, but this centre of Divine Unity did not shake an inch. In any case, the tent was prepared, and Sa‘d ra along with a few other Anṣār , surrounded it and stood guard. The Holy Prophet sa retired to this tent along with Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra. All night long, weeping and wailing, the Holy Prophet sa supplicated before Allāh. It is written that in the entire army, it was only the Holy Prophet sa who remained awake all night. The rest were able to take some rest in turns. After all, sleep is also a sign of satisfaction. Allāh the Almighty has mentioned this occurrence in the Holy Qur’ān. Then, another Grace of God was that there was some rainfall during the night as well, by which the Muslims found the opportunity to gather water in the form of reservoirs. Another benefit of this was that the sand hardened, which prevented their feet from sinking. Conversely, towards the side of the Quraish, it became muddy and their water also became dirty. The Holy Qur’ān has alluded to this occurrence as well. 1 It was Friday the 17 th of Ramaḍān 2 A. H. 2 or the 14 th of March 623 A. D. 3 , according to the Christian calendar system. In the morning, Ṣalāt was first offered and then these worshippers of Divine Unity fell in to prostration before the One God, in an open field. After this, the Holy Prophet sa delivered an address on Jihād. When light began to appear, the Holy Prophet sa began to arrange the Muslim ranks with the indication of an arrow. A Companion by the name of Sawād ra was standing somewhat ahead of his row. The Holy Prophet sa used his arrow to indicate that he should move back in line. It so happened however, that the wooden part of the arrow belonging to the Holy Prophet sa touched his chest, whereupon he boldly protested, “O Messenger of Allāh! God has sent you with the truth and justice, but you have unjustly poked me with your arrow. By God, I insist upon retribution. ” The Companions were shocked, as to what had gotten into Sawād ra. However, the Holy Prophet sa stated with extreme 1 Refer to Al-Anfāl (8:12) of the Holy Qur’ān for both these occurrences. 2 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, pp. 415/427, Ṣarful- Qiblati Ilal-Ka‘bah, Dhikru Ru’yā ‘Ātikata binti ‘Abdil-Muṭṭalib / Iltiqā’ul-Farīqain, Dārul-Kutubil- ‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 254, 259, Ghazwatu Badr, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 At-Taufīqātul-Ilhāmiyyatu Fī Muqāranatit-Tawārīkhil-Hijriyyah, By Muḥammad Mukhtār Pāshā, p. 34, Sanatu 2 Hijriyyah, Mu’assasatul-‘Arabiyyah, First Edition (1980)