Chief of the Prophets — Page 141
Chapter Seven 141 instructors with me to Najd. ” Muḥammad sa was concerned about the safety of instructors, but Abū Barā’ assured him that he would take full responsibility for their safety. Therefore, Muḥammad sa sent 70 missionaries with him. When they reached the place of Bi‘r Ma‘ῡnah, they found a mighty army of Banū Sulaim, Banū A‘lā, and Banū Dhakwān waiting to attack them. One by one, they martyred all the missionaries and only Ka‘b bin Zaid ra survived, as the disbelievers took him for dead and left him. 1 Besides Ka‘b ra , two other missionaries, ‘Amr bin Umayyah famrī and Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr ra also survived as they were grazing their camels at the time of the attack. When they saw flocks of birds hovering over the camp site, they realized that something terrible had happened. They consulted each other and one of them suggested to immediately return to Madīnah to inform Muḥammad sa. But the other person in his passion refused to flee the place where their leader Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr was martyred. He decided to fight and was martyred. The first person was also captured, but somehow he escaped and reached Muḥammad sa. Muḥammad sa was so grieved over this incident that for the next 30 days, every morning he cried before the Lord in the morning Prayers with extreme agony and humility and supplicated naming the tribes of A‘lā, Dhakwān, ‘Uṣayyah and Liḥyān in the following words: O our Master! Have mercy upon us and hold back the hands of the enemies of Islām who are so mercilessly and ruthlessly spilling the blood of innocent Muslims with the intention that Your religion may be expunged. 2 Exile of Banī Na*īr, Rabī‘ul-Awwal, 4 A. H. In spite of the fact that Banī Naīr entered into a treaty with Muḥammad sa , they constantly schemed with the Quraish of Makkah against the Muslims. As an example, once Muḥammad sa and a few 1 Ibni Hishām. 2 Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī (Book of Expeditions led by Muḥammad sa ).