The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 280
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 280 was situated at a distance of only three miles from Madīnah. It is likely that Abū Sufyān was made aware of this through Salām bin Mashkam. When this contingent of the Quraish reached the valley of ‘Arīḍ, fortunately, at the time, the animals belonging to the Muslims were not present. Albeit, a Muslim from among the Anṣār and a companion of his were present at the time. The Quraish apprehended both of them and ruthlessly murdered them. 1 Then, they set ablaze the date palms in the area 2 and set fire to the homes and small huts which were located there, 3 before returning to the camp of Abū Sufyān. Considering this success as being sufficient fulfillment of his vow, Abū Sufyān ordered the army to return. On the other hand, when the Holy Prophet sa was informed of the attack made by Abū Sufyān, he set out with a group of Companions in his pursuit. However, since Abū Sufyān did not fancy throwing the fulfillment of his vow to doubt, he fled so frantically that the Muslim army was unable to apprehend him. Ultimately, after an absence of a few days, the Holy Prophet sa returned to Madīnah. This Ghazwah is known as the Ghazwah of Sawīq because when Abū Sufyān made haste to Makkah, he fled leaving his ration behind, which primarily consisted of ‘Sawīq’ or sacks of barley, partly due to anxiety and also in order to lighten his load. ‘ Īdul-Aḍḥā - Dhul-Hijjah 2 A. H. With reference to ‘ Īdul-Fiṭr , the philosophy of Islāmic festivals has already been discussed. In this very year, during the month of Dhul-Hijjah , the second Islāmic festival, i. e. , ‘ Īdul-Aḍḥā was ordained, which is celebrated on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah throughout the Islāmic world. 4 On this ‘Īd , in addition to Ṣalāt , which is the true ‘Īd of a true Muslim, it is obligatory upon every such Muslim who possesses the means, to sacrifice a four-legged animal and distribute its meat amongst his kith and kin, friends, neighbours, etc. , and to partake of it himself as well. As such, on the day of ‘ Īdul-Aḍḥā , and for two 1 * 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) 2 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 512, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 3 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 264, Ghazwatus-Sawīq, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 51, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thāniyatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Banī Qainuqā‘, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002)