Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 25

The Outcome of Victory by Way of the Unseen Aid

Ibn Jurayj reported from Mujahid that this was the first Ayah of Bara'ah in which Allah, the Exalted, reminds the believers how He favored and blessed them by giving them victory in many battles with His Messenger . Allah mentioned that victory comes from Him, by His aid and decree, not because of their numbers or adequate supplies, whether the triumphs are few or many. On the day of Hunayn, the Muslims were proud because of their large number, which did not avail them in the least; they retreated and fled from battle. Only a few of them remained with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ Allah then sent down His aid and support to His Messenger and the believers who remained with him, so that they were aware that victory is from Allah alone and through His aid, even if the victorious were few. Many a small group overcame a larger opposition by Allah's leave, and Allah is ever with those who are patient. We will explain this subject in detail below, Allah willing.

The Battle of Hunayn

The battle of Hunayn occurred after the victory of Makkah, in the month of Shawwal of the eighth year of Hijrah. After the Prophet conquered Makkah and things settled, most of its people embraced Islam and he set them free. News came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that the tribe of Hawazin were gathering their forces to fight him, under the command of Malik bin `Awf An-Nadri, as well as, the entire tribe of Thaqif, the tribes of Banu Jusham, Banu Sa`d bin Bakr, a few people of Awza` from Banu Hilal and some people from Bani `Amr bin `Amir and `Awf bin `Amir. They brought their women, children, sheep and camels along, in addition to their armed forces and adequate supplies. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ marched to meet them with the army that he brought to conquer Makkah, ten thousand from the Muhajirin, the Ansar and various Arab tribes. Along with them came the Tulaqa' numbering two thousand men. The Messenger took them along to meet the enemy. The two armies met in Humayn, a valley between Makkah and At-Ta'if. The battle started in the early part of the morning, when the Huwazin forces, who were lying in ambush, descended on the valley when the Muslims entered. Muslims were suddenly struck by the ambush, the arrows descended on them and the swords struck them. The Huwazin commander ordered them to descend and attack the Muslims as one block, and when they did that, the Muslims retreated in haste, just as Allah described them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained firm in his position while riding his mule, Ash-Shahba'. He was leading his mule towards the enemy, while his uncle Al-`Abbas was holding its right-hand rope and his cousin Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith bin `Abdul-Muttalib was holding the left rope. They tried to hold the mule back so it would not run faster toward the enemy. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was declaring his name aloud and saying,

«إِلَيَّ عِبَادَ اللهِ إِلَيَ أَنَا رَسُولُ الله»

(O servants of Allah! Come back to me! I am the Messenger of Allah! He repeated these words,

«أَنَا النَّبِيُّ لَاكَذِبْ. أَنَا ابْنُ عَبْدِالْمُطَّلِب»

(I am the Prophet, not lying! I am the son of Abdul-Muttalib!) There remained between a hundred and eighty Companions with the Prophet . These included Abu Bakr, `Umar, Al-`Abbas, `Ali, Al-Fadl bin `Abbas, Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith, Ayman the son of Umm Ayman and Usamah bin Zayd. There were many other Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. The Prophet commanded his uncle Al-`Abbas, whose voice was rather loud, to call at the top of his voice, "O Companions of the Samurah tree" referring to the Muhajirin and Ansar who gave their pledge under the tree during the pledge of Ridwan, not to run away and retreat. He also called, "O Companions of Surat Al-Baqarah." Upon hearing that, those heralded started saying, "Here we are! Here we are!" Muslims started returning in the direction of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. If the camel of one of them did not obey him (as the people were rushing to the other direction in flight) he would wear his shield and descend from his camel and rush to the side of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on foot. When a large crowd gathered around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he commanded them to fight in sincerity and took a handful of sand and threw it in the faces of the disbelievers, after supplicating to Allah,

«أللّهُمَّ أَنْجِزْ لِي مَا وَعَدْتَنِي»

(O Allah! Fulfill Your promise to me!) Then he threw that handful of sand which entered the eyes and mouth of all the disbelievers, thus distracting them from fighting, and they retreated in defeat. The Muslims pursued the enemy, killing and capturing them. The rest of the Muslim army (returning to battle gradually) rejoined their positions and found many captured disbelieving soldiers kept tied before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Shu`bah said that Abu Ishaq said that Al-Bara' bin `Azib said to a man who asked him, "O Abu `Amarah! Did you run away during Hunayn and leave the Messenger of Allah ﷺ " Al-Bara' said, "But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not run away. Hawazin was a tribe proficient with their arrows. When we met them we attacked their forces and they ran away in defeat. The Muslims started to worry about collecting the spoils of war and the Hawazin started shooting arrows at us, then the Muslims fled. I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ proclaiming, -- while Abu Sufyan was holding the bridle of his white mule,

«أَنَا النَّبِيُّ لَاكَذِبْ أَنَا ابْنُ عَبْدِالْمُطَّلِب»

(I am the Prophet, not lying, I am the son of `Abdul- Muttalib!) This shows the great courage on behalf of the Prophet in the midst of confusion, when his army ran away and left him behind. Yet, the Messenger remained on his mule, which is a slow animal, not suitable for fast battle moves or even escape. Yet, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was encouraging his mule to move forward towards the enemy announcing who he was, so that those among them who did not know who he was came to know him. May Allah's peace and blessings be on the Messenger until the Day of Resurrection. This indicates the tremendous trust in Allah and reliance upon Him, as well as, sure knowledge that He will give him victory, complete what He has sent him for and give prominence to his religion above all other religions. Allah said,

ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ

(Then Allah did send down His Sakinah on His Messenger), He sent down tranquillity and reassurance to His Messenger,

وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(and on the believers), who remained with him,

وَأَنزَلَ جُنُوداً لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا

(and sent down forces which you saw not, ) this refers to angels. Imam Abu Ja`far bin Jarir At-Tabari said that Al-Qasim narrated to them, that Al-Hasan bin `Arafah said that Al-Mu`tamir bin Sulayman said from `Awf bin Abi Jamilah Al-`Arabi who said that he heard `Abdur-Rahman, the freed slave of Ibn Barthan saying, "A man who participated in Hunayn with the idolators narrated to me, `When we met the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions on the day of Hunayn, they did not remain in battle more than the time it takes to milk a sheep! When we defeated them, we pursued them until we ended at the rider of the white mule, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. At that time, men with white handsome faces intercepted us and said: `Disgraced be the faces! Go back. So we ran away, but they followed us. That was the end for us."' Allah said,

ثُمَّ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ مِن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Then after that Allah will accept the repentance of whom He wills. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) Allah forgave the rest of Huwazin when they embraced Islam and went to the Prophet , before he arrived at Makkah in the Ji`ranah area. This occurred twenty days after the battle of Hunayn. The Messenger ﷺ gave them the choice between taking those who were prisoner or the war spoils they lost, and they chose the former. The Prophet released six thousand prisoners to them, but divided the war spoils between the victors, such as some of the Tulaqa', so that their hearts would be inclined towards Islam. He gave each of them a hundred camels, and the same to Malik bin `Awf An-Nasri whom he appointed chief of his people (Huwazin) as he was before. Malik bin `Awf said a poem in which he praised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for his generosity and extraordinary courage.

Commentary:

Described in the verses cited about are events relating to the scenario of defeat and victory at the battle of Hunain. Along with it, several primary and subsidiary problems have also been resolved as a corollary. As the verse opens, Allah Ta` ala mentions His favour and grace which has descended upon Muslims on all occasions and under all conditions. It was said: لَقَدْ نَصَرَ‌كُمُ اللَّـهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَ‌ةٍ (Allah has surely blessed you with His help on many battlefields). Particularly cited soon after this opener was: وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْن (and on the day of Hunain) that is, Muslims were blessed with the help of Allah on the day of the battle of Hunain as well.

The battle of Hunain was specially mentioned because many events and circumstances unfolded unexpectedly and extraordinarily during the course of this encounter. If you were to think about these happenings, you would realize that they make one stronger in faith and bolder in deed. Therefore, before we take up a literal explanation of the verses under study, it is appropriate to describe the major events of this battle. They appear in authentic books of Hadith and history. We are describing them in a somewhat detailed manner so that it becomes easier to understand not only the verses mentioned above but also the lessons that these events teach. The major portion of these events has been taken from Tafsir Mazhari. Necessary references to books of Hadith and history may be seen there.

Hunain is the name of a place between Makkah al-Mukarramah and Ta'if. It is located at a distance of about ten miles from Makkah. When Makkah was conquered in Ramadan of Hijrah 8, the Quraysh of Makkah laid down their arms before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This alarmed the tribe of Banu Thaqif from Ta'if who were a branch of the tribe of Hawazin known all over Arabia as big, brave, rich and warring. They got together and considered the challenge posed by the newly gained strength of Muslims after their conquest of Makkah. Once the Muslims settled down, they concluded, they would turn to them. Therefore, they decided, the wisest course for them was to launch a pre-emptive attack on Muslims much before they came upon them. To carry out this plan, the tribe of Hawazin brought all its branches spread out from Makkah to Ta'if together. Included there were all big and small units of this tribe - except a few individuals who were less than a hundred in number.

The leader of this movement was Malik ibn ` Awf who became a Muslim later on and rose to be a major standard-bearer of Islam. However, at that particular time, his zeal to attack Muslims was the highest. Going along with him, the overwhelming majority of the tribe started preparing for war. Two small branches of this tribe, Banu Ka'b and Banu Kilab, did not approve of this action plan. Allah Ta` ala had blessed them with some foresight. They said: Even if the forces of the whole world from the East to the West came together against Muhammad ﷺ ، he would still overcome all of them. We cannot fight the power of God (with him). As for the rest of them, they all gave their pledges to fight. Malik ibn ` Awf devised a plan to ensure that all of them abided by their commitment to the war. He proposed that all participants should take their families and valuables with them. The catch was that, in case they thought of bolting away from the battlefield, the love of wife, children and things of value with them would hold them back like shackles on their feet and they would be left with no freedom to desert the battlefield. As for their numbers, historians differ. According to the master of Hadith, ` Allamah ibn Hajar and some others, the weightier opinion is that they were twenty four or twenty eight thousand in number. Some others have given a number of four thousand. It is possible that, with the inclusion of women and children, the total number could be twenty four or twenty eight thousand while the actual number of fighting men among them remained four thousand.

Anyway, when the news of their dangerous intentions reached the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Makkah al-Mukarramah, he decided to confront them. He appointed Sayyidna ` Attab ibn Asid ؓ as the Amir of Makkah al-Mukarramah, left Sayyidna Mu` adh ibn Jabal ؓ behind to teach people Islam, and asked the Quraysh of Makkah for weapons and other war supplies - of course, as a borrowing. The Quraysh chief, Safwan ibn Umaiyyah spoke out: ` Do you want to take this war material forcibly against our will?' He said: ` No, we would rather like to borrow it from you, a borrowing guaranteed to be returned.' After hearing that, he gave one hundred coats of mail and Nawfil ibn Harith offered three thousand spears likewise. According to a narration of Imam Zuhri, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was now ready to launch the Jihad with an army of fourteen thousand Companions ؓ which included twelve thousand Ansar of Madinah who had accompanied him for the conquest of Makkah. Then, there were two thousand Muslims who were residents of Makkah and its environs and who had embraced Islam at the time of its conquest. They are known as ` al-tulaqa.' It was on Saturday, the 6th of Shawwal that he marched out for this battle saying that the next day, insha'Allah, they shall be camping at the spot in Khaif bani Kinanah where the Quraysh of Makkah had assembled to write down their pledge to excommunicate Muslims.

As for the army of fourteen thousand Mujahidin, it did march out of the city for Jihad. But, there was another crowd of people - many men and women of the city of Makkah - who also came out of their homes as spectators. Their hearts were excited with conflicting emotions. Speaking generally, if Muslims were to be defeated on this occasion, they thought, they would have a good chance of taking their revenge against Muslims - and if they were to win, they consoled themselves that they were not going to lose anything after all.

Shaibah ibn ` Uthman was one of these spectators. When he embraced Islam later on, he narrated what had happened to him: ` In the battle of Badr, my father was killed by Hamzah and my uncle by Sayyidna ` Ali. My heart was full of anger. I was bent on taking my revenge. I took advantage of this opportunity and started walking alongside the Muslim forces. The purpose was to find an opportunity and attack the Holy Prophet ﷺ . I kept hanging with them always on the lookout for that opportunity until came the time during the initial stage of this Jihad when some Muslims had started losing their ground. When I found them running, I seized the opportunity and reached close to the Holy Prophet ﷺ But, I saw that ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ was guarding him on the right and Abu Sufyan ibn Harith ؓ on the left. Therefore, I dashed towards the rear with the intention of attacking him with my sword all of a sudden. Right then, he happened to look at me and he called out to me: 'Shaibah, come here.' He asked me to come closer. Then, he put his blessed hand on my chest and prayed: ` 0 Allah, remove the Shaytan away from him.' Now, when I raise my eyes, the Holy Prophet ﷺ becomes in my heart dearer than my own eye and ear and life. He said to me: 'Go and fight the disbelievers.' Now, there I was staking my life for him, fighting the enemy valiantly right to the end. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ returned from this Jihad, I presented myself before him. At that time, he told me about the thoughts I had when I started off from Makkah with a particular intention and how I was shadowing him in order to kill him. But, since Allah had intended that I must do something good, I did what I did.'

Something similar happened to Nadr ibn Harith. He too had gone to Hunain with the same intention. However, when he reached there, Allah Ta` ala put in his heart the thought of the innocence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and a feeling of love for him.

This turned him into a valiant Mujahid who took no time in piercing through the enemy lines.

During the course of this very expedition, yet another event took place. This concerns Abu Burdah ibn Niyar۔ When he reached the place known as Awtas, he saw that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was sitting under a tree and there was someone else with him. The Holy Prophet ﷺ told Abu Burdah that he was sleeping when the man sitting with him came, grabbed his sword, positioned by the side of his head and said: ` O Muhammad, now tell me who can save you from me?' I said, ` Allah!' When he heard this, the sword fell down from his hands.' Abu Burdah said: ` O Messenger of Allah, please allow me to behead this enemy of Allah, he looks like a spy.' The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: ` Abu Burdah, say no more. Allah Ta` ala is my Protector until my religion prevails over all others.' After all that, he uttered not a single word of reproach for that person, in fact, let him go free.

When Muslims camped after reaching Hunain, Sayyidna Suhail ibn Hanzalah ؓ came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ with the news that one of their riders had brought a report that the entire tribe of Hawazin had arrived with an array of their war materials. Hearing this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ smiled and said: ` Do not worry. All this material has come as war spoils for Muslims!'

Once settled at the camping grounds, the Holy Prophet ﷺ sent Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Haddad to gather intelligence from the area controlled by the enemy. He went there and stayed with them for two days watching all prevailing conditions closely. He saw the enemy leader and commander, Malik ibn ` Awf and heard him saying to his people: ` Muhammad has yet to face a nation of experienced warriors. That fight against the innocent Quraysh of Makkah has given him false notions. He has become proud of his power. Now, he will find out where he stands. Let all of you go in battle formation at the early hour of dawn in a manner that each warrior has his wife, children and articles of value behind him. Then, take your swords out of the sheaths, break the sheaths, and attack, all together in one go.' These people were really very experienced in warfare. They had deployed their forces not only openly but secretly too. For example, they had hidden some units of their army in different mountain passes.

This was a view of how the army of disbelievers was getting ready to fight. On the other side, this was the first Jihad of Muslims in which fourteen thousand fighters had come out to confront the enemy. The war material they had with them was much more than they ever had. Then, they had the experience of Badr and 'Uhud where they had seen how a negligible number of three hundred and thirteen ill-equipped men had triumphed over a strong army of one thousand well-equipped fighters. Under these circumstances, when they came to think about their numbers and preparations on that day, some unfortunate words - ` today, it is impossible that anyone can defeat us, for today, once the fighting starts, the enemy will run' - were uttered by some of them (as reported by Hakim and Bazzar).

This attitude - that someone relies solely on one's own power - was something disliked by the supreme Master of humans, jinns and angels. Hence, Muslims were taught a lesson for their lack of discretion. They got a taste of it when the tribe of Hawazin, following their battle plan, launched a surprise attack and their army units lurking in mountain passes encircled Muslims from all sides. The dust kicked up by their sudden tactical advance turned the day into night, the Companions ؓ lost their foothold and started running. In contrast, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was the lone figure seen advancing on his mount, forward and not backwards. A counted few of his noble Companions ؓ - reportedly, three hundred, or even less than one hundred as said by others - did, however, stay with him, but they too wished that he would not continue advancing.

Then, the Holy Prophet ﷺ realized that the situation was grave. He asked Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ to call his Companions ؓ . These were his Companions ؓ who had given him a pledge to fight when they had assembled under the Tree. Then, he pointed out to those who had been mentioned in the Qur'an as well as to the Ansar of Madinah who had promised to stake their lives in this Jihad. He wanted all of them to come back and wanted them to know that the Messenger of Allah was present on the battlefield.

The call given by Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ ran through the battlefield like some power current. All deserters were smitten with remorse. They regrouped with fresh vigor and valor and fought against the enemy fully and decisively. First the enemy commander, Malik ibn ` Awf ran away from the battlefield leaving his family and belongings behind and took refuge in the fort of Taif. After him, the rest of his people deserted the battlefield. Seventy of their chiefs were killed. Incidentally, when some children received wounds at the hands of Muslim soldiers, the Holy Prophet ﷺ took immediate notice and prohibited them sternly against any such action in future. Everything they left fell into Muslim hands. It included six thou-sand prisoners of war, twenty four thousand camels, forty thousand goats and four thousand 'Uqiyah of silver.

1 'Uqiyah = 122.472 grams approximately. (اوزان شرعیّہ / Mufti Muhammad Shafi)

The same subject has been taken up in the first (25) and second (26) verses. The gist of what was said there is: ` when you waxed proud of your numbers, it did not work for you and you found yourself all cornered as if the earth was straitened for you despite its vastness. Then, you showed your backs and ran. Then, Allah Ta` ala sent down upon you His tranquility - sending forces of angels for His Messenger and the believers with him, something you did not see. Thus, the disbelievers were punished at your hands.'

Reliance on oneself develops sort of a haughtiness in a man which results in carelessness of external facts. He falls short in carrying out disciplinary regulations. Due to overweening self-confidence, he starts acting in an unrealistic manner, the result of which is necessarily defeat in this world of cause and effect. As opposed to this, having confidence in God is reliance on the greatest power. This develops humility in a man; he becomes extremely realistic; and realism is the key to all success.