Battle of Hunayn
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| Battle of Hunayn | |
|---|---|
| 21°26′N 40°21′E / 21.433°N 40.350°E | |
| Result | Muslim victory |
Quraysh
Bani 'Amr bin Amir
Bani 'Awf bin Amir
Dorayd bin Al Soma
Abu al-A'war
6,000 captured[2]
24,000 camels[2] 40,000 goats[3]
160,000 dirhams in silver[4]| Part of a series on |
| Muhammad |
|---|
The Battle of Hunayn (
Preparations
Background
The Hawazins had been long-standing enemies of Meccans. They were located north-east of Mecca and their territory sat beside the trade route to
On that day Muhammad had twelve thousand armed soldiers under his standard. Ten thousand of them were those who had accompanied him from Medina and had taken part in the conquest of Mecca, and the other two thousand were from amongst Quraysh, who had embraced Islam recently. The command of this group rested with Abu Sufyan. In those days such an army was hardly found anywhere and this numerical strength of theirs became the cause of their initial defeat. It was because, contrary to the past, they prided themselves on the large number of their soldiers and ignored military tactics. When Muslim soldiers including the new Meccan converts who saw large number of men they said: "We shan't at all be defeated, because our soldiers far outnumber those of the enemy[11]
Spy
The Hawazin and their allies, the Thaqif, began including their forces when they learned from spies that Muhammad and his army had departed from Medina to begin an assault on Mecca. The confederates apparently hoped to attack the Muslim army while it besieged Mecca. Muhammad, however, uncovered their intentions through his own spies in the camp of the Hawazin, and marched against the Hawazin just two weeks after the conquest of Mecca with a force of 12,000 men.[1][12][13][6] Only four weeks had elapsed since the Muslim forces had left Medina to conquer Mecca.[14]
Course of the battle
On Wednesday night, the tenth of Shawwal, the Muslim army arrived at Hunain. Malik bin 'Awf, who had previously entered the valley by night, gave orders to his army of four thousand men to hide inside the valley and lurk for the Muslims on roads, entrances, and narrow hiding places. His orders to his men were to hurl stones at Muslims whenever they caught sight of them and then to make one-man attacks against them. When Muslims started camping, arrows began showering intensely at them. Their enemy's battalions started a fierce attack against the Muslims, who had to retreat in disorder and utter confusion. It is reported that only a few soldiers stayed behind and fought, including Ali bin Abu Talib, the standard bearer, Abbas bin Abdullah, Fadl ibn Abbas, Usamah, and Abu Sufyan bin al-Harith[15][16]
Prophet Muhammad stood firmly in the intense battlefield sitting on his ride and prayed to Allah to send help and called his people to return to the battlefield. He said "I am the Messenger of Allah. I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah." Later Muslims' returned to the battlefield. Muhammad, then picking up a handful of earth, hurled it at the faces of their enemies while saying: "May your faces be shameful." Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter confusion, according to the Muslim scholar Safi-ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri[1][18]
After the enemy was defeated. About seventy men of Thaqif alone were killed, and the Muslims captured all their riding camels, weapons and cattle. The Quran verse 9:25 was also revealed in this event according to Muslim scholars:[1][18]
Indeed Allah has given you ˹believers˺ victory on many battlefields, even at the Battle of Ḥunain when you took pride in your great numbers, but they proved of no advantage to you. The earth, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on you, then you turned back in retreat. Then Allah sent down His reassurance upon His Messenger and the believers, and sent down forces you could not see, and punished those who disbelieved. Such was the reward of the disbelievers.
Some of the enemies fled, and Muhammad chased after them. Similar battalions chased after other enemies, Rabi'a bin Rafi' caught up with Duraid bin As-Simmah who was an old man and killed him. Durayd was an important asset of the pagan forces due to his great number of experiences in battle and knowledge of terrain and
The Messenger of God's cavalry followed those who went to Nakhlah, but not those who took to the narrow passes. Rabia b. Rufay' b. Uhban b. Tha'labah b. Rabi'ah b. Yarbu' b. Sammal119 b. 'Awf b. Imr al- [1666] Qays, who was called Ibn Ladh'ah after his mother, overtook Durayd b. al-Simmah and seized his camel by its halter, thinking that he was a woman because he was in a howdah. But lo, it was a man. He made the camel kneel down beside him and [found that] the man was very old. He was Durayd b. al-Simmah, [but] the young man did not know him. Durayd asked him what he wanted to do with him. The young man replied that he wanted to kill him. Durayd asked him who he was, and he replied that he was Rabi'ah b. Rufaya al-Sulami. He then struck him with his sword, but to no effect. Thereupon Durayd said, "What a poor weapon your mother has armed you with! Take this sword of mine that is at the rear of the saddle in the howdah and strike me with it above the spine but below the brain, for I used to slay men in that way. Then when you go to your mother, tell her you killed Durayd b. al-Simmah. By God, how many times I protected your women.[Tabari, The Last Years of the Prophet, Pg 16][20]
Aftermath
Because Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri had brought the families and flocks of the Hawazin along, the Muslims were able to capture huge spoils. 6,000 prisoners taken and 24,000 camels were captured. Some Bedouins fled, and split into two groups.
Islamic Primary sources
The event is mentioned in the
We set out in the company of Allah's Messenger on the day (of the battle) of Hunain. When we faced the enemy, the Muslims retreated and I saw a pagan throwing himself over a Muslim. I turned around and came upon him from behind and hit him on the shoulder with the sword He (i.e. the pagan) came towards me and seized me so violently that I felt as if it were death itself, but death overtook him and he released me. I followed `Umar bin Al Khattab and asked (him), "What is wrong with the people (fleeing)?" He replied, "This is the Will of Allah," After the people returned, the Prophet sat and said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has a proof of that, will possess his spoils." I got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and then sat down. The Prophet again said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has proof of that, will possess his spoils." I (again) got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and sat down. Then the Prophet said the same for the third time. I again got up, and Allah's Messenger said, "O Abu Qatada! What is your story?" Then I narrated the whole story to him. A man (got up and) said, "O Allah's Messenger! He is speaking the truth, and the spoils of the killed man are with me. So please compensate him on my behalf." On that Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, "No, by Allah, he (i.e. Allah's Messenger ) will not agree to give you the spoils gained by one of Allah's Lions who fights on the behalf of Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Abu Bakr has spoken the truth." So, Allah's Messenger gave the spoils to me. I sold that armor (i.e. the spoils) and with its price I bought a garden at Bani Salima, and this was my first property which I gained after my conversion to Islam.
The event is also in Imam Maliks Al-Muwatta as follows:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said that he had heard a man asking ibn Abbas about booty. Ibn Abbas said, "Horses are part of the booty and personal effects are as well."
Then the man repeated his question, and Ibn Abbas repeated his answer. Then the man said, "What are the spoils which He, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned in His Book?" He kept on asking until Ibn Abbas was on the verge of being annoyed, then Ibn Abbas said, "Do you know who this man is like? Ibn Sabigh, who was beaten by Umar ibn al-Khattab because he was notorious for asking foolish questions."
Yahya said that Malik was asked whether someone who killed one of the enemy could keep the man's effects without the permission of the Imam. He said, "No one can do that without the permission of the Imam. Only the Imam can make ijtihad. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever said, 'Whoever kills someone can have his effects,' on any other day than the day of Hunayn."
See also
- Islam and violence
- Military career of Muhammad
- List of expeditions of Muhammad
- Adnanites
References
- ^ ]
- ^ a b c Muir, Sir William (1861). The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ Russ Rodgers, The Generalship of Muhammad (SAW): Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah, p. 224.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Quran 9:25-27
- ^ ISSN 1573-3912.
- ISBN 978-9960-897-28-8– via Google Books.
- ^ The sealed nectar, By S.R. Al-Mubarakpuri, Pg356
- ISBN 978-81-7435-467-9.
- ^ IslamKotob. Tafsir Ibn Kathir all 10 volumes. IslamKotob.
- ^ Sha'rani, Ahmad Abdul Wahab Bin Ahmad (2006), alkitab.com-Source for Arabic Books: Tabaqat al-Kubra - Sha'rani - الطبقات الكبرى: History - Islamic - Sufi Studies: By Sha'rani, Ahmad Abdul Wahab Bin Ahmad, DKI, Beirut [page needed]
- ^ "Reconnoitering the Enemy's Weapons". www.witness-pioneer.org.
- ^ "witness-pioneer.org". www.witness-pioneer.org.
- ^ "Muhammad: Victory". www.alislam.org.
- ^ Akramulla Syed. "The battle of Hunayn, Battle at Hunain, Military History of Islam, Khalid bin Al-Waleed". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ ln Mughazi, vol. III, page 602
- ^ Ibn Kathir, The Battles of the Prophet, p. 175-176
- ^ a b c d "witness-pioneer.org". www.witness-pioneer.org.
- ISBN 979-8-6941-4592-3
- ISBN 978-0-88706-691-7
External links
Media related to Battle of Hunayn at Wikimedia Commons
