Treasures of biography | Sheikh Othman Al-Khamis | Episode (37)

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

0:03 Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.

0:06 The Expedition of Dhat as-Salasil.

0:11 In the eighth year of the Migration.

0:14 The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished to discipline certain Arab tribes

0:22 who had joined the Romans in fighting the Muslims.

0:26 So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) tied a white banner for Amr ibn al-Aas,

0:32 gave him a black flag,

0:35 and dispatched him at the head of three hundred prominent Emigrants and Ansar,

0:40 accompanied by thirty horses.

0:42 He commanded him to seek reinforcement from whichever tribes he passed by, such as Bali, Udhrah, and Balqayn—

0:49 which were Arab tribes along the route.

0:52 So he marched by night and lay in ambush by day.

0:55 When he drew near the enemy,

0:57 news reached him that they had assembled a vast host.

1:00 He therefore sent Rafi' ibn Makith to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to request reinforcements.

1:06 So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Abu Ubaydah to him with two hundred men,

1:12 tied a banner for him,

1:14 and sent Abu Bakr and Umar along with him.

1:17 He ordered them to join Amr ibn al-Aas

1:20 and to act in unison and not disagree.

1:23 When Abu Ubaydah joined Amr ibn al-Aas,

1:27 they disagreed over who should lead the prayer and command.

1:30 Amr said,

1:31 "I am the commander,

1:33 and you have merely come as reinforcement."

1:35 Abu Ubaydah replied,

1:37 "It shall be as you say.

1:38 Even if you disobey me, I will yield to you."

1:41 Thus, Amr ibn al-Aas assumed overall command.

1:44 Amr then entered the territory of Quda'ah,

1:47 subduing it until he reached the furthest reaches of their lands.

1:51 He encountered a host of the enemy,

1:53 confronted them with arms,

1:54 and they dispersed,

1:56 retreating without further fighting.

1:58 Thus, they instilled a measure of dread into the hearts of the disbelievers.

2:11 Amr related:

2:14 "I had a wet dream on a cold night

2:17 during the Expedition of Dhat as-Salasil,

2:19 and I feared that if I performed a full ritual bath (ghusl), I would perish.

2:22 So I performed dry ablution (tayammum)

2:24 and led my companions in the Dawn prayer.

2:26 They later mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

2:31 who said,

2:32 'O Amr,

2:33 did you lead your companions in prayer while in a state of major ritual impurity?'

2:36 I said,

2:37 'I informed him of what had prevented me from bathing,

2:41 and that I had heard Allah Almighty say:

2:44 ﴿And do not kill yourselves.﴾"

2:47 “O ye who believe! Squander not your wealth among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual consent, and kill not one another. Lo! Allah is ever Merciful unto you.” (4:29)

2:50 The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) smiled

2:54 and said nothing.

3:03 Al-Harith ibn Hassan al-Bakri came as an envoy to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

3:10 Al-Harith said:

3:12 "I set out to complain about Ibn al-Hadrami,

3:15 the governor of Basra,

3:16 to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

3:20 I passed by Al-Rabadhah,

3:22 and there was an old woman from Banu Tamim

3:24 stranded without means.

3:26 She said, 'O servant of Allah,

3:28 I have a need with the Messenger of Allah;

3:32 will you convey me to him?'

3:35 So I carried her with me

3:37 and reached Medina.

3:39 The mosque was crowded with people,

3:42 a black flag was fluttering,

3:45 and Bilal was standing before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), girt with a sword.

3:51 I asked, 'What is the matter with the people?'

3:54 They replied,

3:55 'He intends to dispatch Amr ibn al-Aas on a mission.'

3:58 I sat down,

4:00 and then the Prophet entered his house—

4:02 or his quarters.

4:04 I sought permission to enter upon him,

4:06 and he granted me leave.

4:07 I entered, greeted him with peace,

4:09 and he said,

4:10 'Was there any conflict between you and Tamim?'

4:14 I said, 'Yes,

4:15 and the defeat was theirs.

4:18 I passed by an old woman from Banu Tamim who was stranded,

4:22 and she asked me to carry her to you,

4:25 and here she is at the door.'

4:27 He gave her leave, and she entered.

4:29 I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,

4:31 if you see fit to set a boundary between us and Tamim,

4:35 then appoint Al-Dahna as the border.'

4:37 And in another narration:

4:39 'And grant Al-Dahna exclusively to us.'

4:41 Thereupon, the old woman became defensive,

4:43 stood up alarmed,

4:44 and said, 'O Messenger of Allah,

4:46 where then will your own people of Mudar be driven?'

4:48 Meaning: 'You are from Mudar,

4:50 Tamim is from Mudar,

4:52 while this man is a Bakri from Rabiah—

4:55 so how can you side with him against Mudar?'

4:58 The Bakri man said,

5:00 'My situation and hers is like the ancient saying:

5:04 "A goat that carried its own death."

5:06 I carried this woman

5:08 without realizing she would become my opponent!'

5:11 He continued:

5:13 'I seek refuge in Allah and His Messenger from being like the envoy of Ad.'

5:17 The Prophet asked,

5:18 'And what of the envoy of Ad?'

5:20 He replied,

5:22 'When Ad suffered a severe drought,

5:24 they sent an envoy named Qayl.

5:27 He passed by Mu'awiyah ibn Bakr

5:30 and stayed with him for a month, during which Mu'awiyah plied him with wine

5:33 and two singing girls entertained him.

5:36 When the month passed,

5:38 he went out to the mountains of Mahrah

5:40 and prayed,

5:42 "O Allah, You know I did not come to heal a sick person

5:46 nor to ransom a captive.

5:49 O Allah, provide Ad with whatever water You used to give them."

5:53 Dark clouds passed over him,

5:56 and a voice called out from them,

5:58 "Choose!"

5:59 So he pointed to a dark cloud among them,

6:02 whereupon a voice called out from it,

6:04 "Take it as ashes, reducing all to dust,

6:07 leaving not a single soul of Ad alive!"'

6:10 He added,

6:11 'And I was informed that the destructive wind sent against them

6:15 was no larger than the opening of this ring of mine,

6:18 until they were utterly destroyed.'

6:20 That is to say, this man—

6:22 instead of asking for rain for his people—

6:25 unwittingly requested their doom

6:27 without realizing it."

6:29 Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.

6:35 The Conquest of Mecca.

6:37 In the eighth year of the Migration.

6:42 Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the Conquest of Mecca:

6:45 "It is the supreme conquest

6:47 by which Allah exalted His religion, His Messenger,

6:51 His host, and His trustworthy party,

6:54 and by which He rescued His sacred city and His House—

6:57 which He made a guidance for all worlds—

7:00 from the hands of the disbelieving polytheists.

7:03 It is the conquest over which the inhabitants of heaven rejoiced,

7:07 whose mighty influence reached the highest heavens,

7:11 by which people entered the religion of Allah in crowds,

7:15 and through which the face of the earth shone with radiance and joy."

7:20 This was the Conquest of Mecca

7:22 in the eighth year of the Migration.

7:26 The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

7:29 had previously concluded the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah with the disbelievers of Mecca.

7:33 Among the terms of that treaty was

7:36 that whichever Arab tribe wished

7:39 to enter into an alliance and pact with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

7:43 could do so,

7:44 and whichever tribe wished to enter into an alliance and pact with Quraysh

7:48 could do so.

7:49 Thus, Banu Bakr entered into a pact with Quraysh,

7:53 while Khuza'ah entered into a pact with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

7:58 Now, there was a blood feud between Khuza'ah and Banu Bakr dating back to the pre-Islamic era,

8:03 before they entered into these alliances.

8:06 The story behind it was

8:07 that a man named Malik ibn Abbad,

8:11 who was an ally of the family of Al-Aswad ibn Razin from Banu Bakr,

8:16 set out, and when he reached the middle of Khuza'ah territory,

8:19 the people of Khuza'ah attacked and killed him,

8:22 seizing his property.

8:24 This occurred some time before Islam.

8:27 In retaliation, Banu Bakr attacked a man from Khuza'ah and killed him.

8:32 Khuza'ah then rose up and attacked three men from Banu Bakr, killing them.

8:38 When Islam came, it imposed a barrier between the two factions,

8:42 and they became preoccupied with the faith rather than their old feud.

8:45 However, Banu Bakr still harbored a desire for revenge against Khuza'ah.

8:50 So when the peace treaty was established and Khuza'ah entered into the protection of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

8:56 while Banu Bakr entered into the protection of Quraysh,

8:59 Banu Bakr seized the opportunity when Khuza'ah felt secure from them

9:04 and decided to exact their old revenge.

9:07 Nawfal ibn Mu'awiyah al-Dili set out

9:10 with a group from Banu Bakr

9:13 in the month of Sha'ban in the eighth year of the Migration.

9:17 They launched a night raid on Khuza'ah

9:20 while Khuza'ah were gathered at a watering place called Al-Watir.

9:24 They killed several of their men,

9:26 and skirmishing and heavy fighting ensued.

9:29 Quraysh then stepped in and aided Banu Bakr with weapons,

9:33 and men from Quraysh even fought alongside Banu Bakr against Khuza'ah under the cover of night,

9:39 until they forced Khuza'ah to retreat into the Sacred Sanctuary of Mecca.

9:43 This was because Khuza'ah was completely unprepared for war.

9:48 When they reached the Sacred Sanctuary,

9:51 Banu Bakr said to their leader,

9:54 "O Nawfal, we have entered the Sacred Sanctuary!

9:57 Mind your Lord! Mind your Lord!"—

9:59 meaning that fighting them within the Sanctuary was strictly forbidden.

10:03 But Nawfal—may Allah vilify him—replied,

10:05 "There is no Lord to be heeded today, O Banu Bakr!

10:08 Exact your revenge!

10:10 "By my life! You are stealing even within the Sanctuary,

10:13 so will you not exact your vengeance in it?"

10:16 Thus, the tribe of Khuza'ah entered Mecca

10:19 and sought refuge in the house of Budayl Ibn Warqa' al-Khuza'i,

10:23 as well as in the house of a freed slave of theirs named Rafi'.

10:28 Thereupon, 'Amr Ibn Salim al-Khuza'i hurried

10:31 to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

10:34 When he entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the mosque,

10:39 he recited: "O Lord! I am reminding Muhammad of

10:43 the ancient alliance between our father and his father.

10:47 You were once children and we were parents,

10:50 then we embraced Islam and never withdrew our hand.

10:53 So grant us victory—may Allah guide you—with a decisive triumph,

10:57 and call upon the servants of Allah to come as reinforcements,

11:00 among whom is the Messenger of Allah, ready for battle,

11:04 noble and white as the full moon, rising ever higher.

11:07 If he is offered injustice, his face darkens with indignation,

11:11 leading a massive army that surges like a foaming sea.

11:15 Truly, Quraysh broke their promise to you,

11:18 and violated your firmly established treaty.

11:21 They set an ambush against me regarding you,

11:25 claiming that I could call upon no one,

11:28 while they are lower and fewer in number!

11:31 They attacked us at al-Watir while we were sleeping at night,

11:34 and slew us while we were bowing and prostrating!"

11:37 Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

11:41 "You shall be granted victory, O 'Amr Ibn Salim!"

11:44 Now, the chain of transmission for this story contains weakness,

11:47 yet the scholars of the Prophetic biography (Seerah) unanimously recorded it.

11:50 Not everything in the Prophetic biography

11:53 possesses an authentic chain of transmission;

11:56 for this reason, the scholars have noted

11:59 that leniency is permitted regarding the Seerah,

12:02 provided that no legal rulings or creedal tenets are established upon it.

12:06 Quraysh sensed the gravity of their misdeed and treachery,

12:10 so they were compelled to send their leader, Abu Sufyan, as their representative

12:15 to renew the treaty with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

12:20 in order to restore the sanctity of the breached pact.

12:24 *Treasures of the Seerah*

12:27 A stance of faith:

12:34 Abu Sufyan arrived in Medina

12:37 and went in to see his daughter, Umm Habibah.

12:40 When he went to sit on the bedding of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),

12:45 she folded it away from him.

12:47 He said, "O my daughter,

12:49 do you think this bedding is too good for me,

12:52 or that I am too good for this bedding?"

12:54 Meaning: "Did you move the bedding out of honor for me,

12:57 or did you move it to honor the bedding above me?"

13:01 She replied:

13:02 "This is the bedding of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

13:05 and you are an impure polytheist!"

13:08 He said:

13:09 "By Allah, evil has overcome you since you left me!"

13:13 The chain of transmission for this story is weak,

13:16 yet it is not improbable that it actually occurred.

13:19 Abu Sufyan then left his daughter's presence

13:22 and came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to speak with him,

13:27 but the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him no reply.

13:31 So he went to Abu Bakr and asked him

13:34 to intercede on his behalf with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),

13:38 but he said:

13:39 "I shall not do so."

13:41 Then he came to 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab and spoke to him,

13:45 and 'Umar said:

13:46 "Should I intercede for you with the Messenger of Allah?

13:50 By Allah, even if I found nothing to fight you with except tiny ants,

13:52 I would wage jihad against you with them!"

13:54 Then Abu Sufyan came

13:56 and entered upon 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,

13:59 in whose presence was Fatimah.

14:01 He said:

14:02 "O 'Ali,

14:04 you are the closest of people to me in kinship,

14:07 and I have come for a need,

14:09 so do not turn me away empty-handed as I came!

14:12 Intercede for me with Muhammad."

14:14 'Ali said:

14:16 "Woe to you, O Abu Sufyan!

14:18 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has resolved upon a matter,

14:23 and we cannot speak to him regarding it."

14:26 This reflects the exemplary etiquette of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) toward the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

14:32 Abu Sufyan then turned to Fatimah and said:

14:36 "Would you ask this son of yours"—

14:38 meaning al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him)—

14:41 "to grant protection among the people,

14:43 so that he may become the master of the Arabs until the end of time?"

14:47 She replied:

14:48 "By Allah, my son is not old enough to grant protection among the people,

14:53 consider these noble words spoken by Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her)—

14:58 and no one can grant protection against the wish of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)."

15:04 When Abu Sufyan despaired, he said:

15:07 "O Abu al-Hasan,

15:09 I see that matters have become dire for me,

15:12 so advise me."

15:13 'Ali said:

15:15 "By Allah, I know of nothing that will be of any avail to you,

15:18 but you are the chief of Banu Kinanah,

15:21 so stand up and proclaim protection among the people,

15:23 then return to your land."

15:25 He asked:

15:26 "Do you think that will be of any avail to me?"

15:30 He replied:

15:31 "No, by Allah, I do not think so,

15:33 but I can find no other course for you."

15:36 So Abu Sufyan stood in the mosque and declared:

15:39 "O people,

15:41 I have granted protection among the people!"

15:44 Then he mounted his camel and departed.

15:47 When he arrived back before Quraysh,

15:49 they asked, "What news do you bring?"

15:51 He said:

15:52 "I went to Muhammad and spoke to him,

15:55 but by Allah, he gave me no response at all.

15:58 Then I went to the son of Abu Quhafah,

16:00 but I found no good in him.

16:02 Then I went to 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab,

16:05 and I found him to be the most hostile of enemies.

16:07 Then I went to 'Ali, and I found him to be the most lenient of the group;

16:11 he suggested something to me, and I did it,

16:14 though by Allah, I do not know

16:16 whether it will be of any avail to me or not."

16:19 They asked, "And what did he command you to do?"

16:21 He replied:

16:22 "He instructed me to proclaim protection among the people,

16:25 so I did so."

16:26 They asked:

16:27 "Did Muhammad ratify that?"

16:30 He said, "No."

16:31 They said, "Woe to you!

16:33 The man did nothing more than play with you!"

16:36 He said:

16:37 "No, by Allah, I found no alternative to this."

16:40 At that point, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave his order

16:45 and prayed:

16:46 "O Allah, withhold intelligence and news from Quraysh,

16:50 so that we may take them by surprise in their own land."

16:53 *Treasures of the Seerah*

Treasures of biography | Sheikh Othman Al-Khamis | Episode (37) | Conquest of Mecca

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