Jihad Unspun - A Clear View On The US War On "Terrorism"

Fasting is what distinguishes the month of Ramadan from all other months. Fasting is a unique act of worship. In a Holy Hadith, Allah says: “All (good) deeds done by any child of Adam are for him, except fasting, it is for me, and I give the reward for it.” In other words, the reward for an acceptable fast could be much greater than the usual one for one, ten to one, or even 700 to one are just some of the reward-to-good-deed ratios that have been mentioned in Qur’an. The messenger of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), said: The best fasting is the one which was practiced by prophet Dawood; he used to fast every other day.”

Combining fasting, the unique act of worship, with Jihad which is the Highest Intuition (Thurwat al-Sanam) of Islam, gave believing men and women of earlier generations an unbeatable combination that characterized Ramadan by battles of glory and victories over the unbelievers.

At least eight major battles took place in Ramadan, some, such as the Battle of the Ditch, the Battle of Tabuk, and the Battle of Hittin, were more significant than others, and one, the Battle of Badr, was a turning point for Islam as a religion.

This article is the first in a series in which we intend to give a detailed account of each battle fought in Ramadan, insha’a Allah (God Willing). For each battle, we will present a review of the prevailing sociopolitical environment and events leading to the battle. We will also discuss the aftermath and all major consequences of each battle. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, we will focus a beam of light on the lessons to be learned from each battle.

We will start with a remarkable battle, a most important battle of destiny. Had the outcome of that battle been in favor of the Pagans, the faith of Islam could have been history, and many of us would be worshipping idols or the cross. Allah has distinguished this battle from all others in at least three major ways:

1. The Qura’n devotes an entire Surah or chapter, chapter 8, entitled “Anfal” to this battle and related issues.

2. Allah has called the battle of Badr “The Furq’an” or The Criterion, and the day of the battle was called “The Day of the Criterion”; criterion between right and wrong, decision between forces of faith and unbelief.

3. Allah looked at Badr participants and said: Do whatever you want, for I have forgiven you.

The Battle of Badr: 17th Ramadan 2 AH (13th January 624 AD)

Abdullah Ebn Jahsh’s Sariah to Nakhlah precipitated the Battle of Badr (1). The messenger of Allah (PBUH) assembled a group of eight men under the command of Abdullah Ebn Jahsh. He gave Abdullah Ebn Jahsh a sealed letter of instructions and ordered him not to read the instruction until he had been traveling for two days. He also said to him: “Do not compel any of your men to continue marching with you thereafter.”

The companions of Abdullah Ebn Jahsh were all from the Muhajiroun. He marched for two days and then opened and read the prophet’s instructions, “When you read these instructions, march until you set camp at Nakhlah between Makkah and Ta’if. There, watch the movements of the caravan of Quraysh and collect news about them for us.”

When Abdullah Ebn Jahsh read the document, he said, “I hear and obey.” He then read the document to his companions and he also informed them that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) has prohibited him from forcing any of them to continue marching with him. None of his companions turned back. Abdullah entered the Hijaz area (western Arabia) until he reached an area called Buhran, close to Furu. There, Sa’d Ebn Abu Waqqas and Utban Ebn Ghaswan lost the camel that they were riding in turns, and they went back to search for it while Abdullah Ebn Jahsh and the rest continued until they reached Nakhlah. Soon a caravan belonging to the Quraysh passed by carrying raisins, food stuffs and some trade items for the Quraysh. Amr Ebn Hadrami was in the caravan, as well as Uthman Ebn Abdullah Ebn Al-Mughirah and his brother Nawfal, and Al-Hakam Ebn Kaysan. When they saw the companions they were frightened, but when they saw Ukashah Ebn Muhsin their fears subsided, since his head was shaved. They said, “those people seek the Umrah, so there is no need to fear them.”

The companions conferred among themselves. That day was the last day in the sacred month of Rajab. They said to each other, “By Allah! If you let them pass, they will soon enter the sacred area and take refuge in it from you. If you kill them, you will kill them during the sacred month.” They at first hesitated not wanting to attack them. They then began encouraging themselves and decided to kill whomever they could among the unbelievers and to confiscate whatever they had. Therefore, Waqid Ebn Abdullah Al-Tamimi shot an arrow at Amr Ebn Al-Hadrami and killed him. Uthman Ebn Abdullah and Al-Hakam Ebn Kaysan gave themselves up, while Nawfal Ebn Abdullah was able to outrun them in flight.

Later on, Abdullah Ebn Jahsh and his companions went back to the prophet (PBUH) in Al-Madinah with the caravan and the two prisoners. The prophet said to them: “I have not commanded you to conduct warfare during the Sacred Month.” He refused to accept the caravan and the two prisoners.

When the messenger of Allah did that, the soldiers from the attack were concerned and felt they were destroyed, and their Muslim brothers criticized them for what they did. The Quraysh said that Muhammad and his companions violated the sanctity of the Sacred Month and shed blood, confiscated property and took prisoners during it. Meanwhile the Jews were pleased about what happened to the messenger of Allah (PBUH). They said: Amr Ebn Hadrami was killed by Waqid Ebn Abdullah: Amr means the war has started, Hadrami means the war has come, as for Waqid; the war has raged. In other words, they used some of the literal meanings of these names to support their fortune-telling! But, Allah made all that turn against them.

The people continued talking about this matter, and then Allah revealed this verse:

{They ask you concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month, say: “Fighting therein is a grave (offense); but graver is it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members. Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life. And in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fire and will abide therein.} 02:217

When Allah brought relief to the Muslims through this verse, Allah’s messenger (PBUH) took possession of the caravan and the two prisoners. The Quraysh offered to ransom the two prisoners, Uthman Ebn Abdullah and Hakam Ebn Kaysan however the prophet (PBUH) said:

“We will not accept your ransom until our two companions return safely”, meaning Sa’d Ebn Abu Waqqas and Utbah Ebn Ghazwan, “For we fear for their safety with you. If you kill them, we will kill your people.” Later on, Sa’ad and Utbah returned safely and the prophet (PBUH) accepted the Quraysh ransom for their prisoners.

From a historical point of view, the following facts are worth mentioning:

• Waqid’s arrow was the first arrow to be shot in combat in Islam.

• Ebn Al-Hadrami was the first casualty in the war between Muslims and Pagans.

• The confiscated caravan in this incident was the first “spoils of war” taken by Muslims.

• Uthman and Hakim were the first war prisoners to fall in the hands of Muslims.

As far as Muslims were concerned, verse 2:217 closed the chapter on “The Nakhlah Incident”. However, on the distant horizon across the desert, deep routed Arab traditions and social settings would not allow the issue to be brought to a closure. The murder of a person from one tribe at the hands of another, almost certainly triggered a ferocious war between the two tribes. The name of the murdered person was written down and passed on to generation after generation so that revenge remained on the mind of everyone.

The word revenge started to dominate town halls discussions and family gatherings in Makkah after news of the death of Al-Hadrami reached them. Once again, verse 2:217 and acceptance of the Quraysh ransom for their prisoners brought an end to the incident on the Muslim side. However, in Makkah, the drums of war had begun beating loudly.

End Part 1

Footnote:

(1) The word Sariah refers to an expedition that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) has ordered but not personally participated in.

*Copyright © Jihad Unspun 2005. No portion of this report, in part or in full, may be reprinted without the expressed permission of the publisher. All rights are reserved.

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