The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 387
IX - Repeated Treachery of the Jews, Compilation and Sequence of the Holy Qur ’ā n, Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab ra , the Great Calumny and Mischief of the Hypocrites 387 bent upon the destruction of Islām, he wished not to confront the Muslims until he could gather a larger force. As such, he was still in Makkah, when he dispatched a man by the name of Na‘īm, who belonged to a neutral tribe, towards Madīnah and emphatically instructed him that in any way possible, he should intimidate and threaten the Muslims, and craft fabricated stories to hold them back from setting out for war. Hence, this individual came to Madīnah and crafting false stories of the preparation, strength, zeal and fury of the Quraish, created a state of unrest in Madīnah. This was carried out to such an extent that various people of weaker dispositions began to harbour fear in taking part in the Ghazwah. However, the Holy Prophet sa encouraged the Muslims to go forth and in his address he stated: “We have already accepted the challenge of the Quraish and we have promised to set out on this occasion, therefore, we cannot turn back. Even if I am required to go alone, I shall go and stand firm in the face of the enemy. ” As a result, the fear of the people was dispelled and they became prepared to set out in the company of the Holy Prophet sa with great zeal and sincerity. 1 In any case, the Holy Prophet sa set out from Madina with 1,500 Companions and on the opposing end Abū Sufyān set out from Makkah with his 2,000 warriors. However, the power of God was such that the Muslims reached Badr according to their promise, but the army of the Quraish came out to some distance and then retreated to Makkah. The account is that when Abū Sufyān learnt of the failure of Na‘īm, he became fearful in his heart and after having travelled some distance, he retreated with his army admonishing them: “This year the famine is very severe, and people are facing financial difficulty. Therefore it is not wise to fight at this time. We shall attack Madīnah with greater preparation when a time of affluence is at hand. ” 2 The Muslim army stayed at Badr for eight days, and since a carnival 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 279, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Badril- Mau‘id, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 618, Ghazwatu Badril- Ākhirah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, pp. 535-536, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Badril- Mau‘id, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 279, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Banin- Naḍīr, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)