The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 512
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 512 Attention of the Holy Prophet sa towards Military Exercise In the same year, due to engagement in war, the Holy Prophet sa arranged for a few horse races. 1 Even generally, the Holy Prophet sa would encourage his Companions to keep horses and master the art of riding. Keping Jihād in view as the primary purpose for this, the Holy Prophet sa considered such training to be a source of great spiritual blessing. 2 As such, those Companions who possessed the means, keenly kept horses with great interest. In one narration, there is also an indication that the Companions would also practice jumping techniques on horseback as well. 3 Similarly, the Holy Prophet sa would also arrange for camel races as well. The Holy Prophet sa himself also owned a she-camel which generally maintained its position ahead of the rest. 4 In actuality, it was a common practice of the Holy Prophet sa to emphatically encourage his Companions to exercise and develop military skills and in order to develop a keen interest, at times, he would even participate himself. On certain occasions, the Holy Prophet sa arranged for and spectated competitions in archery and swordsmanship as well. 5 The Holy Prophet sa would also exhort that Muslims should remain active and walk briskly, 6 so that the enemy would remain in awe of their strength and activeness, and so that Muslims also felt alert themselves. For the purpose of war, some of the Companions would even practice sprinting. In this respect, a Companion named Salamah bin Akwa‘ was so outstanding that certain narrations relate that he could even outstrip a horse at times. 7 Once or twice, even the Holy Prophet sa himself raced Hadrat ‘Ā’ishah ra. 8 Even though this be in the form of leisure, this demonstrates the lively and active spirit of the Holy Prophet sa and his Companions, of which even the ladies were not bereft. 1 * Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 1, p. 502, Musābaqatul-Khail, Mu’assisatu Sha‘bān, Beirut * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Ghāyatis-Sabqi Lil-Khailil-Muḍammarah, Ḥadīth No. 2870 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Maniḥtabasa Farsan Fī Sabīlillāh, Ḥadīth No. 2853 3 Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 1, p. 502, Suqūtu Ṣallallāhu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallama ‘An Farsihī, Mu’assisatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 4 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Nāqatin-Nabiyyi sa , Ḥadīth No. 2872 5 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābut-Taḥrīs ‘Alar-Ramyi, Ḥadīth No. 2899 6 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu ‘Umratil-Qaḍa, Ḥadīth No. 4256 7 Al-Iṣābah Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 3, p. 127, Salamatubnu ‘Amribnil-Akwa‘, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) 8 Sunanu Abī Dāwūd, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Fis-Sabqi ‘Alar-Rijli, Ḥadīth No. 2578