Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (182) | The Battle of Taif

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

0:04 Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

0:13 *Al-Mukhtasar fi al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah* (The Abridged Prophetic Biography),

0:18 Authored by Shaykh Musa ibn Rashid al-'Azimi,

0:22 May Allah preserve him.

0:24 The Expedition of al-Ta'if.

0:34 Imam al-Bukhari said in his *Sahih*:

0:37 "Chapter: The Expedition of al-Ta'if,

0:39 in Shawwal of the eighth year [of the Hijrah]."

0:42 This was stated by Musa ibn 'Uqbah.

0:44 Al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] said in *Fath al-Bari*:

0:46 "Thus he mentioned it in *Al-Maghazi*,

0:49 and it is the view of the majority of the scholars of military expeditions."

0:54 The reason for the expedition:

0:57 Ibn Ishaq said:

0:59 When Thaqif arrived in al-Ta'if,

1:02 they locked the gates of their city against them

1:05 and prepared fortresses and equipment for battle.

1:08 The Prophet's march to al-Ta'if:

1:17 The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) marched to al-Ta'if

1:21 as soon as he concluded the Battle of Hunayn,

1:23 and he laid siege to them.

1:25 Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*

1:28 on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

1:32 "Then we departed for al-Ta'if

1:35 and besieged them for forty nights."

1:38 Yet Allah, Glorified and Exalted, did not grant His Messenger (peace be upon him) permission to conquer al-Ta'if at that time,

1:44 and that was after several attempts by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to conquer it.

1:50 The two Shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim] recorded in their *Sahih*s

1:53 on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:

1:57 "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) besieged the people of al-Ta'if,

2:02 but he did not achieve anything against them.

2:04 So he said:

2:06 'We are returning, if Allah wills.'

2:09 That is, turning back.

2:11 His Companions said, 'Shall we return without having conquered it?'

2:15 So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to them:

2:19 'Go out to fight in the morning.'

2:21 They went out to fight in the morning and suffered many wounds.

2:24 So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to them:

2:29 'We are returning tomorrow.'

2:31 That pleased them,

2:33 and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) smiled."

2:37 Al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] said in *Fath al-Bari*:

2:40 "The upshot of the report is

2:42 that when he first informed them of returning without conquest, they were displeased.

2:47 When he saw that, he commanded them to fight.

2:51 Yet victory was not granted to them,

2:53 and they suffered wounds

2:55 because the enemy shot at them from atop the fortress wall;

2:58 they struck them with their arrows,

3:01 while the Muslims' arrows could not reach those on top of the wall.

3:04 When they saw that,

3:06 the wisdom of returning became evident to them.

3:09 So when he reiterated the decision to return,

3:13 it pleased them then.

3:15 For this reason, the narrator said:

3:16 'He smiled.'"

3:18 Praying for the guidance of the people of al-Ta'if:

3:24 When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) intended

3:29 to withdraw from al-Ta'if,

3:31 he prayed for its people to be guided.

3:34 Imam Ahmad recorded in his *Musnad* with an authentic chain of narration

3:38 on the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:

3:42 "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

3:46 'O Allah, guide Thaqif!'"

3:49 In another wording in *Jami' al-Tirmidhi*,

3:52 on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

3:55 "They said, 'O Messenger of Allah,

3:57 the arrows of Thaqif have burnt us,

4:00 so pray to Allah against them.'

4:02 But the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

4:06 'O Allah, guide Thaqif!'"

4:09 The Prophet's return

4:15 and the distribution of the spoils of Hunayn:

4:19 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) returned

4:24 to al-Ji'ranah, waiting for Thaqif,

4:27 hoping that they might accept Islam

4:29 and thereby recover the captive women and offspring taken from them.

4:33 When their arrival was delayed,

4:36 he proceeded to distribute the spoils of Hunayn among the Muslims.

4:40 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began

4:43 with those whose hearts were to be reconciled,

4:46 who were prominent chieftains of the Arabs,

4:48 reconciling their hearts toward Islam through these gifts.

4:52 Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*

4:55 on the authority of Rafi' ibn Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

4:59 "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave

5:02 Abu Sufyan ibn Harb,

5:04 Safwan ibn Umayyah,

5:06 'Uyaynah ibn Hisn,

5:08 and al-Aqra' ibn Habis,

5:10 each one of them one hundred camels."

5:14 Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*,

5:17 as well as Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi,

5:19 on the authority of Safwan ibn Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

5:23 "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave to me on the day of Hunayn,

5:28 while he was the most hated of creation to me.

5:31 Yet he kept giving to me

5:33 until he became the most beloved of creation to me."

5:36 And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave

5:40 Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) one hundred camels.

5:44 The two Shaykhs recorded in their *Sahih*s

5:47 on the authority of Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

5:51 "I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) [for wealth], and he gave me;

5:56 I asked him again, and he gave me;

5:59 then I asked him again, and he gave me.

6:02 Then he said:

6:03 'O Hakim, this wealth is indeed green and sweet.

6:08 Whoever takes it with generosity of soul will be blessed in it,

6:12 but whoever takes it with an eager, covetous soul will not be blessed in it,

6:17 and he will be like the one who eats and is never satisfied.

6:20 And the upper hand is better than the lower hand.'

6:24 Hakim said: 'I said, "O Messenger of Allah,

6:27 by the One Who sent you with the truth,

6:30 I shall never take anything from anyone after you until I depart this world!"'

6:35 Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to

6:38 invite Hakim to take his stipends,

6:41 but he would refuse to accept anything from him.

6:43 Then 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) invited him to give him his share,

6:47 but he refused to accept anything from him.

6:50 Thereupon 'Umar said:

6:51 'I call you to witness, O assembly of Muslims, regarding Hakim,

6:55 that I offer him his rightful share of this state revenue (*fay'*),

6:59 but he refuses to take it.'

7:01 Thus Hakim never accepted anything from anyone after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

7:08 until he passed away."

7:10 Al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar] said in *Fath al-Bari*:

7:12 "Hakim only refrained from taking the stipend,

7:15 despite it being his rightful due,

7:17 because he feared accepting something from anyone and thereby becoming accustomed to it,

7:22 leading his soul beyond what he desired;

7:26 so he weaned his soul from it

7:28 and left that which brought doubt for that which did not."

7:32 And there crowded around the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

7:37 those weak in faith from among the new Muslims of the Conquest and others.

7:41 Imam Ahmad recorded in his *Musnad* with a good chain of narration

7:45 on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

7:49 "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) distributed

7:53 the spoils of Hunayn at al-Ji'ranah,

7:56 and the people crowded around him.

7:58 So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

8:01 'Indeed, a servant from among the servants of Allah

8:04 was sent by Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to his people,

8:07 but they rejected him and wounded his head.

8:10 He began wiping the blood from his forehead, saying:

8:13 "O Lord, forgive my people,

8:16 for they know not."'

8:18 'Abdullah said:

8:20 'It is as though I am still looking at the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

8:24 wiping his forehead,

8:26 demonstrating the Prophet's actions.'"

8:28 Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*

8:31 on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

8:35 "A man asked the Prophet (peace be upon him)

8:39 for a flock of sheep filling the valley between two mountains,

8:41 and he gave it to him.

8:43 The man returned to his people and said:

8:45 'O my people, embrace Islam!

8:47 For by Allah, Muhammad

8:49 gives gifts like one who does not fear poverty!'

8:53 Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

8:56 'A man might accept Islam seeking nothing but worldly gain,

9:00 yet no sooner had he embraced Islam than it became dearer to him than the world and all that is in it.'"

9:06 Imam al-Nawawi said:

9:09 "What is meant is that he initially displayed Islam for worldly gain,

9:13 without a sincere intention in his heart;

9:16 then, through the blessing of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the light of Islam,

9:21 it was not long before his heart expanded with true faith,

9:27 which firmly established itself within him,

9:29 making Islam then dearer to him than the world and everything in it."

9:34 *Al-Mukhtasar fi al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah* (The Abridged Prophetic Biography).

9:40 Though all the world's longing for one another may endure,

9:47 longing for you exceeds all bounds and measure.

9:54 May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,

10:00 and lips move with remembrance of the Everlasting.

Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (182) | The Battle of Taif

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