Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 209

Chapter Nine 209 The wording of the Bai‘at of the women included one extra phrase, “We will not wail on deceased people. ” The ones who did not happily take the Bai‘at at this time were not out of favour by any measure. There were many such people who accepted Islam much later. Sir William Muir writes: Although the city had cheerfully accepted his authority, all its inhabitants had not yet embraced the new religion, nor formally acknowledged his prophetic claim. Perhaps he intended to follow the course he had pursued at Madīnah, and leave their conversion to be gradually accomplished without compulsion. 1 Battle of Ḥunain, Shawwāl, 8 A. H. The news of the victory of Makkah, and the acceptance of Islam by most of the Quraish greatly troubled the neighboring tribes. The powerful tribes of Hawāzin and Thaqīf who lived between Makkah and Ṭā’if were considered peers of the Quraish in their strength and power. They prepared a mighty army to fight with the Muslims. When Muḥammad sa learned about their intentions, he immediately started preparation for war. He already had an army of 10,000 with him when he conquered Makkah, but now an additional 2,000 men joined him from Makkah. He reached the valley of Ḥunain with an army of 12,000. The enemy, well-acquainted with the place, prepared an ambush for the Muslim army by obscuring themselves in hideouts on both sides of the passage. The Muslims had barely reached the valley, when they came under a severe barrage of arrows from both sides. At the forefront of the Muslim army was a brigade of 2,000 men from Makkah including some non-Muslims under the command of Khālid bin Walīd. This squad considered itself invincible because of the strength of the army and their abundance of armour. The sudden and unexpected 1 The Life of Moḥammad: From the Original Sources, Sir William Muir and T. H. Weir p. 414, Published at Edinburgh by J. Grant, 1912.