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Ibn-Ishaq - Sirat Rasoul Allah (Life of Prophet Muhammad)
Ibn-Ishaq - Sirat Rasoul Allah (Life of Prophet Muhammad)
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Sirat Rasoul Allah
Index
Introduction
1- Early Life
2- Khadija
3- Revelation
4- The Helpers
5- Night Journey
6- Permission to wage war
7- Hijra
8- Medina
9- The Qibla
10- Rajam
11- The Trinity
12- First Caravan
13- Badr
14- Uhud
15- Banu Nadir
16- Aisha Sufwan
17- The Trench
18- Banu Qurayza
19- Pilgrimage
20- Khaybar
21- Pilgrimage of Retaliation
22- Conquest of Mecca
23- Hawazin
24- Byzantium
25- Tabuk
26- Last Illness
INTRODUCTION
It is always extremely difficult to be objective about the life of the founder of a great
religion - his personality is inevitably blurred by an aura of the miraculous. Early
biographers are preoccupied, not with historical fact, but with glorifying in every way
the memory of one they believe to have been a Messenger of God or wo ha7UbkAqzzwve7UbkACzqxqw
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In spite of his covenant with the Jewish tribes, relations became progressively
more strained. From the 7ewish point of view, Muhammad daily moved farther away
from Judaism as he became ever more positive in what he required of his followers:
while, to the apostle, the Jews appeared overcritical of his claims, and the possibility
of an alliance between the Jews and the Hypocrites was a continuing source of
disquiet. In Ibn Ishaq's biography of the apostle the rift in a never very firm alliance
is illustrated with innumerable anecdotes.
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13- Badr
When the apostle of Allah arrived near Badr he received news of the whereabouts of
the Quraysh, and sent several of his companions to the well at Badr to investigate
further. The companions brought back two slaves, watermen of the Quraysh, who
confessed to Muhammad that 'The Quraysh are at the rear of that sandfill.' The
apostle asked, 'How many men are there? and they replied, 'Many!' He asked, 'What
is their number?' but the slaves said that they did not know. 'How many camels do
they slaughter daily?' The slaves replied, 'Some days nine, and some days ten', and
the apostle said, 'Then they must be from nine hundred to one thousand in number.'
Meanwhile, two of the companions had gone back to the well to fetch water, and they
overheard a conversation between two girls and a tribesman, who said, 'Tomorrow or
the day after tomorrow the caravan will arrive.'
Abu Sufyan, however, had scouted ahead of his caravan and he reached the water
unobserved, after the two companions had left. There he asked the tribesman if any
strangers had been seen and was told, 'No one suspicious, except two riders, who
alighted near the hill, took water to fill their water-bottles and departed.' Abu Sufyan
went to the spot where they had halted and, examining the camel-dung there, found
that it contained date-stones. 'This is the fodder of Medina ,' he exclaimed, and
returning briskly to the caravan he diverted it from the road and along the coast, and
by-passed Badr altogether. They hastened on beyond the reach of danger and when
Abu Sufyah decided the caravan had reached safety he sent a message to the Quraysh
army telling them they could return to Mecca .
But Abu Jahl refused to return to Mecca without giving a display of strength at Badr.
'We shall stay there three days, slaughter cattle, feast the people, drink wine, and be
entertained by singing-girls. All Arabia will hear of us, of our march, of our festivity,
and they will respect us ever afterwards! Therefore, let us proceed.' One group, who
saw no further purpose in the expedition, returned to Mecca , but the rest of the army
followed Abu Jahl.
The Quraysh army marched until they reached the sandy foothills on the western side
of the valley of Badr , but they were impeded by rain and mud sent by Allah. In the
valley itself Muhammad and his force were not so hampered, and they reached the
wells of Badr first and halted at the nearest of them. Al-Hubab inquired of the apostle
if this halting-place were the choice of Allah, and when the apostle replied that it had
been selected according to his own strategy and according to no higher instruction,
al-Hubab said: 'Then let the people arise and march to the well next to the enemy; on
the way, let us close up all the wells except the last. Around that, let us make a
reservoir and fill it with water; then, when we fight, we shall drink, but not the
enemy.' The apostle replied, 'Thy advice is good! and they acted accordingly.
Some of the Quraysh, however, went down to the reservoir and the apostle said, 'Let
them drink', but only one man of those who drank survived the next day's battle. This
was Hakim, who later professed Islam.
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