Chief of the Prophets — Page 37
Chapter Three 37 Al-Fijār War When Muḥammad sa was 15 years old (according to another tradition he was 20 years old), the combatant-natured people of Banū Hawāzin and Banū Quraish started some skirmishes at the time of the ‘Ukāẓ fair over a trivial matter. Initially, the sensible ones from both sides made peace between them, but the truce did not last long, and gradually the situation deteriorated into war. This war is known by the name of Al-Fijār, which means the unlawful war as it was started in the sacred months in which there was a prohibition of war. In this war, the participation of Muḥammad sa was restricted to handing arrows to his uncles. Ḥilful-Fu ūl Al-Fijār was just another example in a list of many that illustrated that the Arabs would fight and kill even for minor disagreements. It was after the Al-Fijār war that Zubair bin ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib and a few other compassionate people gathered the tribes to pledge to always protect the rights of the oppressed, uphold justice and stop all wrongdoing. This pledge was called Ḥilful-Fuūl. There is disagreement as to the origin of the name. Some traditions say that the name was derived from Fal, the name of a famous person who backed this pledge. Some people say that in Arabic, Fuūl means “rights” (plural of Fal), thus the name Ḥilful-Fuūl. On one occasion during the time of his prophethood, Muḥammad sa said that, “In the house of ‘Abdullāh bin Jad‘ān, I once partook in such an oath that even if I was called to it today, in the age of Islām, I would happily present myself saying, here I am to do thy undertaking. ” Occupation of Trade Muḥammad sa , now old enough to participate in business, formally started assisting his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, in trade. He traveled to Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain on trading trips, and had the opportunity to travel in all directions around Arabia. 1 Everyone who dealt with him 1 Nūrun-Nibrās and Musnad Aḥmad, cited by Sīrat Khātamun-Nabiyyīn.