The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 279
VII - Commencement of War with the Tribes of Najd and the Jews, the Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Fāṭimah and Ḥafṣah, and a Few Miscellaneous Incidents 279 freed him as an act of benevolence, 1 he still did not leave the service of the Holy Prophet sa until his last breath. 2 Ghazwah of Sawīq - Dhul-Hijjah 2 A. H. The mourning which rippled through Makkah as a result of the Battle of Badr has already been described. Almost all the chieftains of the Quraish had been slain, and now the rule of Madīnah had come to the lot of Abū Sufyān bin Ḥarb. After Badr he vowed that until he had sought revenge for those who had fallen at Badr, he would abstain from having relations with his wife 3 and applying oil to his hair. 4 As such, a few months after Badr, in the month of Dhul-Hijjah , Abū Sufyān set out from Makkah with a force of two- hundred armed men from the Quraish and reached a place close to Madīnah via the route of Najd. Upon reaching there, he left his army at some distance from Madīnah and in the veil of the darkness of night, reached the abode of Ḥuyayy bin Akhṭab, who was chief of the Jewish tribe, the Banū Naḍīr, and sought his aid. However, since Ḥuyayy still somewhat remembered his treaty and agreement, he refused. Then, in the same manner, Abū Sufyān secretly went to the home of another chief of the Banū Naḍīr named Salām bin Mashkam, and sought his support against the Muslims. This wretched man, however, very audaciously ignored all of his treaties and agreements and warmly welcomed Abū Sufyān as a guest for the night, and transmitted secret intelligence to him pertaining to the Muslims. 5 Before dawn, Abū Sufyān took leave and upon reaching his army, dispatched a contingent of the Quraish to raid a valley named ‘Arīḍ, which was located close to Madīnah. 6 This was a valley where the animals belonging to the Muslims would graze, and which 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 265, Ghazwatu Qarqaratil-Kudr, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Usdul-Ghābah Fī Ma‘rifatiṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By ‘Izzuddīn Ibnul-Athīr Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad, Volume 4, p. 713, Yasār Ar-Rā‘ī, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon (2003) 3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 512, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 4 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 264, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 5 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 512, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 264, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 6 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 512, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)