In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
The spoils of the Ansar.
Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, ordained the spoils and divided them.
Their shares were four camels and forty sheep for every man.
There is no doubt that this was the greatest amount of spoils the Muslims had acquired in their time.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, gave the people what he gave them.
Yet he left the Ansar, giving them nothing.
The Ansar felt a sense of grievance in their hearts.
They wondered how the Messenger, peace be upon him, could give to these people—
the recent converts of the Conquest, some of the people of Makkah, and some of the Bedouins—
while giving us nothing.
Talk spread among them.
Some of them even said,
"By Allah, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, has met his own people, and we have been forgotten."
Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah entered upon him and said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
this clan of the Ansar
has felt aggrieved by you in their hearts
because of what you did regarding this booty you divided among your people,
and the massive gifts you gave to the tribes of the Arabs,
while the clan of the Ansar received nothing of it."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked,
"And where do you stand on this, O Sa‘d?"
He replied, "O Messenger of Allah,
I am but one of my people."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"Then gather your people for me in this enclosure."
In some narrations, he said,
"And let no one enter upon us except a man from the Ansar."
Sa‘d went out and gathered the Ansar.
Some men from the Muhajirun came and entered,
but he turned them away.
When they had gathered for him,
Sa‘d came to him and said,
"This clan of the Ansar has gathered for you."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to them,
praised Allah, and extolled Him.
This was his custom whenever he intended to speak:
he would praise Allah and extol Him.
Then he said,
"O assembly of the Ansar,
what is this statement that has reached me about you,
and this grievance you have felt against me in your hearts?
Did I not come to you while you were astray, and Allah guided you?
And poor, and Allah enriched you?
And enemies, and Allah brought your hearts together?"
They said, "Indeed,
Allah and His Messenger are more gracious and more generous."
Then he said,
"Will you not answer me, O assembly of the Ansar?"
They said, "How shall we answer you, O Messenger of Allah?
To Allah and His Messenger belong all grace and generosity."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"By Allah, if you wished, you could have said—
and you would have been truthful and believed—
if you had said:
'You came to us belied, and we believed you;
forsaken, and we helped you;
an outcast, and we sheltered you;
poor, and we comforted you.'
If you had said this,
you would have been truthful and believed.
Do you feel aggrieved, O assembly of the Ansar,
over a small portion of this world
with which I sought to reconcile a people so they might embrace Islam,
while I entrusted you to your Islam?
Are you not satisfied, O assembly of the Ansar,
that the people go away with sheep and camels,
while you return with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to your dwellings?
By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad,
were it not for the Hijrah,
I would have been one of the Ansar.
If the people traveled through a valley,
and the Ansar traveled through another,
I would travel through the valley of the Ansar.
O Allah, have mercy on the Ansar,
and the children of the Ansar,
and the children of the children of the Ansar."
The people wept
until they soaked their beards with tears.
They said, "We are satisfied with the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him,
as our portion and share."
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, departed,
and they dispersed.
Thus did the Prophet, peace be upon him, soothe
the hearts of the Ansar,
who had supported him in the hour of hardship.
Treasures of the Seerah.
Loyalty, connection, and kinship.
Among those taken captive by the Prophet, peace be upon him,
was his sister, al-Shayma'.
This al-Shayma' was the daughter of al-Harith ibn ‘Abd al-‘Uzza.
Halimah al-Sa‘diyyah had nursed her along with the Prophet, peace be upon him.
She was among the captives.
She came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and said,
"I am your foster sister."
He asked,
"And what is the sign of that?"
She said,
"A bite mark you gave me on my back
while I was carrying you."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, recognized the sign.
He spread his cloak for her and seated her upon it.
He gave her a choice, saying,
"If you wish to stay, you are beloved and honored with me;
and if you wish that I provide for you and you return to your people, I will do so."
She said,
"Rather, provide for me and return me to my people."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, did so.
She then embraced Islam.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, gave her three slaves and a servant girl,
as well as livestock and sheep.
He named her Hudhafah.
As for al-Shayma',
that is a title for her, may Allah be pleased with her.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The conversion of Hawazin.
A delegation of Hawazin came as Muslims,
numbering fourteen men.
At their head was a man called
Zuhayr ibn Surad.
They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
show us favor regarding our captives and our wealth."
He said,
"I have with me those whom you see,
and the most beloved speech to me is the most truthful.
Are your children and women more beloved to you, or your wealth?"
They replied,
"We would not trade our lineage for anything."
He said,
"When you pray the morning prayer,
stand up and say:
'We seek the intercession of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
with the believers,
and we seek the intercession of the believers
with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
that he may return our captives to us.'"
When they prayed the morning prayer, peace be upon him,
they stood and said that.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
"As for what belongs to me and the children of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, it is yours.
And I will intercede for you with the people."
The Muhajirun and the Ansar said,
"What belongs to us belongs to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
Al-Aqra‘ ibn Habis stood up and said,
"As for me and the Banu Tamim, no."
‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn stood up and said,
"As for me and the Banu Fazarah, no."
Al-‘Abbas ibn Mirdas stood up and said,
"As for me and the Banu Sulaym, no."
But the Banu Sulaym said,
"What belongs to us belongs to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
Al-‘Abbas said,
"You have humiliated me."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
"These people have come as Muslims,
and I had delayed their captives.
I gave them a choice,
and they would not trade their children and women for anything.
So whoever has any of them,
and is willing to return them,
then that is the way.
And whoever wishes to hold onto his right,
let him return them to them,
and he shall have six shares for every one share
from the first spoils Allah grants us."
The people said,
"We willingly give them up for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
He said,
"We do not know who among you is satisfied and who is not.
Return until your leaders report your decision to us."
Meaning, a chief from every tribe or clan should come
and state who is satisfied and who is not.
So they returned their women to them,
and no one held back
except ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn alone.
Then, after a while, he returned them.
When this delegation came,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked them,
"What is the state of Malik ibn ‘Awf?"
They said,
"He is in al-Ta'if with Thaqif."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"Inform him:
if he comes to me as a Muslim,
I will return his family and wealth to him,
and give him one hundred camels."
When that message reached Malik,
he slipped away from Thaqif
until he came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and he embraced Islam, and his Islam was sincere.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, returned
his wealth and family to him,
and gave him one hundred camels.
At that, Malik ibn ‘Awf said,
Never have I seen or heard the likes of him,
Among all people, the likes of Muhammad.
He is the most loyal and the most generous when asked.
Whenever you wish, he tells you of what the morrow holds.
And when the battalion bares its fangs,
With long spears and the strike of every Indian blade,
He is like a lion protecting its cubs,
Crouched in ambush amidst the dust of battle.
Indeed, he saw this with his own eyes:
The people fled,
While the army advanced,
And the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Was not advancing alone to face the army.
What courage this is!
It is the courage of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
The likes of which has never been seen.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
Lessons learned from the Battle of Hunayn.
First: It is from the wisdom of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
That He let the Muslims taste the bitterness of defeat,
Despite their great numbers and strength,
So that He, Glory be to Him, might humble the heads that were held high after the conquest.
Second: Allah clarifies to those who said,
"We shall not be defeated today due to our small numbers,"
That victory comes only from Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He;
There is no helper other than Him, Majestic and Exalted.
Third:
When Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, withheld the spoils of Makkah from the Muslims,
He compensated them with the spoils of Hunayn,
Which were the greatest spoils they ever obtained.
Fourth:
The Prophet's, peace be upon him, reconciliation of the hearts of the disbelievers,
And those new to Islam.
This is done to secure the greater of two interests,
And to avert the greater of two harms.
For if the Messenger, peace be upon him, gives to a leader,
His people follow him,
And this is a great benefit,
Which outweighs the other interest,
That of equality among people in giving,
And it averts a great harm,
For if this man disbelieves, his people will disbelieve.
Therefore, when the leaders embrace Islam, their people embrace Islam.
Thus, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him,
When he embraced Islam, his people embraced Islam,
And likewise Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, may Allah be pleased with him.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
The destruction of the idol of Tayy.
In the ninth year of the Hijrah,
The Prophet, peace be upon him, sent
'Ali ibn Abi Talib to an idol of the tribe of Tayy,
Known as al-Fuls, to destroy it.
He sent him with one hundred and fifty men,
Mounted on one hundred camels and fifty horses,
And with him was a black banner,
And a white standard.
He launched the raid on the settlement of Hatim
At dawn,
And destroyed the idol al-Fuls.
They returned, bringing with them the sister of 'Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i.
'Adi ibn Hatim had fled to al-Sham.
His sister came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
The provider is gone, and the protector is cut off.
I am an old woman,
And I have no capacity for service.
So show me favor, may Allah show you favor."
He asked,
"Who is your provider?"
She replied,
"'Adi ibn Hatim."
In one narration, he said,
"The one who fled from Allah and His Messenger?"
Then he, peace be upon him, departed.
When the next day came,
She said the same thing,
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, showed her favor.
When she returned to her brother in al-Sham,
She met him and said,
"He has done a deed
That your father would not have done.
Go to him, whether you are hoping or fearing."
So 'Adi ibn Hatim came to him.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography.