Life of Muhammad — Page 80
sa 80 ENCOUNTER WITH BAN U MU ST ALIQ After the Battle of U h ud, there was a severe famine at Mecca. Disregarding all enmity which the Meccans bore against him, and disregarding all machinations which they had been employing to spread disaffection against him throughout the country, the Prophet sa raised a fund to help the poor of Mecca in their dire need. The Meccans remained unimpressed even by this expression of goodwill. Their hostility went on unabated. In fact it became worse. Tribes which had so far been sympathetic towards Muslims also became hostile. One such tribe was Ban u Mu st aliq. They had good relations with Muslims. But now they had started preparing for an attack on Medina. When the Prophet sa heard of their preparations he sent men to find out the truth. The men returned and confirmed the reports. The Prophet sa decided to go and meet this new attack. Accordingly, he raised a force and led it to the territory of Ban u Mu st aliq. When the Muslim force met the enemy, the Prophet sa tried to persuade the enemy to withdraw without fighting. They refused. Battle was joined and in a few hours the enemy was defeated. Because the Meccan disbelievers were bent upon mischief and friendly tribes were turning hostile, the hypocrites among Muslims had also ventured on this occasion to take part in the battle on the Muslim side. They probably thought they might have a chance to do some mischief. The encounter with Ban u Mu st aliq was over in a few hours. The hypocrites, therefore, did not have any chance to do any mischief during the battle. The Holy Prophet sa , however, decided to stay in the town of Ban u Mu st aliq for a few days. During his stay a quarrel arose between a Meccan and a Medinite Muslim over drawing water from a well. The Meccan happened to be an ex-slave. He struck the Medinite, who raised an alarm, crying out for fellow-Medinites — known as the An sa r or Helpers. The Meccan also raised an alarm and cried out for fellow-Meccans — known as the Muh a jir i n or