The Muslims suffered a setback in the Battle of Uhud, causing them to retreat somewhat. Even though the Quraysh were not victorious in this war, they continued to spread propaganda in various ways claiming that they had won the war. For this purpose, their various poets began to compose various types of poems. They continued to campaign in favor of the Quraysh after the Battle of Uhud. Muslim poets also began to compose poems to answer their lies. In this way, both sides continue to wage a media war through poetry. On the other hand, some small groups tried to attack Medina because their goal was to use this opportunity to wipe out the Muslims. Despite having made a treaty with the Muslims, the two tribes of Abul and Qara plotted to attack Medina. Neither of these two tribes had the opportunity to launch a military attack against the Muslims. But they wanted to attack and intimidate the people of Medina. On the other hand, Medina faced another problem, which was the Bunu Nazir tribe. On the other hand, Medina faced another problem, which was the Bulu Nazir tribe. But the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) suppressed these rebellions with his clever tactics and prudent steps. That is why even after the Battle of Uhud, the Muslims had to spend a lot of time preparing for the rebellion.
We will discuss the events between Uhud and the Trench in the next two episodes.
The intelligence forces of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were stationed in various parts of Arabia. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) learned through intelligence that the Banu Asaad tribe, led by Tula. Tulai’s goal was to attack and plunder Medina and seize power with the Quraysh. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) decided to ambush them in advance. He sent a force of 150 soldiers, a combination of Ansar and Mujahideen, led by Abu Salam (may Allah be pleased with him). He handed the flag to Abu Salam and said that you will continue to advance. You will reach the Banu Asad tribe and if they come to attack first, you will attack before they do. This attack was carried out in the month of Muharram. The Banu Asad tribe was shocked by this attack. They had no idea that the Muslims could attack in this way. Finally they made a peace treaty with the Muslims.
The second incident today is the killing of Khali ibn Sufyani. It was a covert assassination operation. Another group took advantage of the Muslims’ weakness to attack. They were the Hudai tribe. And this leadership was led by Khalid ibn al-Hussein. He prepared for the attack on Medina and began gathering troops. This man was the main conspirator. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) decided that if only this man could be removed, the entire tribe would be suppressed. He sent Abdullah ibn Ubays. Abdullah ibn Ubays killed Khalid ibn al-Hussein in a face-to-face fight or wrestling match and returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
After this incident, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent a small army of 10 men to a place called Raji. The purpose of sending this group was to learn about the enemy. Led by Asif ibn Thabit, When this group reached the Banu Raihan tribe, a group of 100 archers captured them. Asif ibn Thabit realized that they had been betrayed. He went to a mountain and hid there. The polytheists said that if you come down, you will be released. But Asif (may Allah be pleased with him) realized that they were lying, so he replied that we do not trust the polytheists. Saying this, Asif started running one after the other and started killing the polytheists. Then he became a martyr.
The companions proved with their blood that they were the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). A Muslim cannot kill an infidel out of personal anger, but rather to protect Islam.
Allah says in the Quran about the hypocrite traitors:
And of the people is he whose speech pleases you in worldly life, and he calls Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the fiercest of opponents.
(Quran 2:204)
Now let’s discuss some points, namely that jihad does not always take place on the battlefield. Rather, disabling the enemy through panic attacks was a regular tactic of the Prophet of Islam. The second thing is that maintaining confidentiality is very important. Information is a kind of deposit. Muslims should study their enemies and learn about their strategies. Then the lesson is to give importance to the Sunnah. But the Companions never abandoned the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There is an incident where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would go somewhere on the back of a camel and look to the right, and his companions would also look to the right because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was looking to the right. Then the next lesson is to swear by the Kaaba that I have succeeded. The companions died saying “I swear by the Kaaba” even when they were dying because they knew the dignity of martyrs. Then the next lesson is that success cannot be achieved without suffering. The Battle of Uhud was followed by betrayal, rebellion, and the deaths of many Muslims. None of these events could unite or stop the companions.
Then we will discuss the events of the fourth year of the Hijri. The first incident is the marriage of Umm al-Muskeen to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
This wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was called the mother of the poor since the Age of Ignorance. Because he always looked out for poor people and helped them with money. Her real name is Zaynab bint Raza Allah Ta’ala Anhu. Her first husband was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. And later the Prophet (peace be upon him) married her. Her marriage with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lasted only nine months. Later, Zaydan died.
This incident was a sign of the Prophet’s kindness towards women. This is a wisdom behind maintaining the polygamy system in Islam. The second incident is the marriage with Umm Salma, may Allah be pleased with her. This is the Umm Salma from whom her husband and child were taken during the migration. Abu Salama was her first husband who was wounded in the Battle of Uhud. But he later died due to the decomposition of his wound.
The lesson we learn from marrying Umm Salma is that we should not forget our martyred brothers and that none of their families should forget them. The third event is that Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) was born. In the same year, i.e., the fourth year of the Hijri, the grandson of the Prophet of Islam, Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), was born.
When Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) was born, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very happy and kissed his forehead and called the call to prayer in his ear.
The fourth incident: Zayd ibn radiyallahu ta’ala anhu’s language learning. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him and told him to learn Hebrew so that he would not have to seek the help of the Jews. The Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to appoint a trustworthy person for this important position. Inspired by the words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he learned Hebrew in just 15 days. Learning Arabic is very important for Muslims because the Quran and Hadith were written in Arabic. It is difficult to benefit from these if you don’t know Arabic.
