Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 96

Chapter Six 96 intelligence mission, they were concerned about the Quraish escaping and informing others of the Muslims’ whereabouts. Another predicament was that some Muslims thought that it was perhaps the last day of Rajab; i. e. , a sacred month in which fighting was prohibited as per the ancient Arabian custom. Others thought that Rajab had passed and the month of Sha‘bān had started. Nevertheless the Muslims decided to attack the party of the Quraish. This resulted in the death of a person of the Quraish, ‘Amr bin Ḥaramī, and the capture of two people. However, the fourth escaped and thus the objective to keep the mission secret was compromised. Muḥammad sa was very displeased with this incident and said, “I did not permit you to fight in the sacred month. ” 1 It also annoyed the other Companions as the party had clearly overstepped the instructions. ” 2 The Quraish of Makkah had long been making preparations for a war and this incident provided another excuse to fan the flame of hostility, thus bringing a new fervour to their preparation. The Battle of Badr, which will be discussed later, was mainly the result of this zeal of the Quraish. Change of Qiblah 3 , Sha‘bān, 2 A. H. Though a large part of the time of Muslims was spent in wars, the work of the laying of the foundation and the completion of religion did not stop. The five daily prayers had already been ordained in Makkah; however, the Muslims continued to face Baitul-Muqaddas 4 while praying until the 16 th or 17 th month after the Migration. But now the injunction came from God to declare a new Qiblah 5 which 1 Aṭ-Ṭabarī and Ibni Hishām. 2 Aṭ-Ṭabarī. 3 The direction faced by Muslims while offering Ṣalāt. [Publisher] 4 Arabic name used for Jerusalem. [Publisher] 5 Baqarah 2:143–146.