20. THE BATTLE OF HUNAYN
After the conquest of Makkah, the influence of the Arab unbelievers had almost diminished, and the people were frequently entering into the fold of Islam in groups. Noticing all this, a meeting was held between the chiefs of the tribes of ‘Hawazin’ and ‘Saqeef’. They counselled among each other that Muhammad is now contented after dominating over his tribe (the Quraysh).
Therefore, it is our turn now. So, why not we proceed for attacking the Muslims and obliterate them. Therefore, both the tribes of ‘Hawazin’ and ‘Saqeef’ appointed Maalik Bin ‘Awf Nadri as their king and started preparations for the war against the Muslims. Hearing about this, the Holy Prophet marched towards the place Hunayn with an army of about 12000 men comprising of ten thousand Muhajireen and Ansaar, two thousand new Muslims of Makkah and eighty such unbelievers who had not embraced Islam
but became friends of the Muslims at their own will, on the 10th Shawwal 8 AH, February 630 AD. When the instant of battling came, the Holy Prophet handed over the flag of Muhajireen to Sayyiduna ‘Ali ۡ. Amongst the Ansaar, Sayyiduna Hubaab Bin Munzar was made the flag-bearer of the tribe of Bani Khazraj and Sayyiduna Usayd Bin Hadeer was appointed as the flag-bearer of the tribe of Aws. The Revered and Renowned Prophet equipped himself with weapons, wore a double armour, took an iron helmet upon his blessed head, mounted upon his mule and led the Muslim army.
Some sort of arrogance invoked in the hearts of the Muslims upon seeing the large number of warriors in their army. This came to such an extent that some people said that ‘nobody can defeat us today’ without saying ’. Allah did not like this attitude based on number and strength. As such, Allah gave a lesson to the Muslims in such a way that when the war broke, all of a sudden, the strategic groups of enemy who were hidden in the valleys of the surrounding mountains for guerrilla war began firing arrows excessively. The Muslims were panicked due to this rain of arrows. The formation of the Muslim army broke down and within a short span of time, they were scattered from their positions. Except for the Holy Prophet and a few Muhajireen and Ansaar, all the people fled from the battlefield.
In these dangerous circumstances and in such a critical time, the Beloved Prophet kept advancing and he was announcing these couplets loudly:
I am a Prophet and it is not a lie. I am the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib
Finally, on the advice of the Holy Prophet Sayyiduna ‘Abbas loudly called out to the Muslims that had fled and saying by them motivated Upon hearing this call of Sayyiduna ‘Abbas all faithful Muslims returned to the battlefield and gathered under the flag of
the Holy Prophet. They fought with such courage, determination and will for sacrificing their lives that the scenario of the battlefield changed altogether. Consequently the Muslims became victorious after the defeat. The flag of Islam was hoisted high. Thousands of the unbelievers were arrested and many were killed. A lot of war booties were obtained. In this way, the influence of the Arab unbelievers died out. In the war of Hunayn, the outcome of the arrogance of some Muslims upon their numerical advantage in the form of defeat and then final victory, all has been mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran:
Indeed Allah helped you on many occasions – and on the day of Hunayn – when you had boasted of your multitude, so it availed you nothing, and the earth in spite of being so vast became restricted for you – then you turned your back, returning. Then Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Noble Prophet and upon the Muslims, and sent down forces that you did not see, and punished the nonbelievers; and such is the punishment for the deniers.
This event of the battle of Hunayn proves that the Muslims do not attain victory in the battlefield due to the excess in numbers or war ammunitions, but victory actually depends upon the blessings of Allah. If Allah bestows His great blessings, then even the
smallest of armies can overcome the largest of armies and win victory. If His blessings are not bestowed, then even the largest of armies get dominated and defeated by the smallest of armies. Therefore, it is mandatory for the Muslims to never depend upon the multitude of their army. Instead, they should always depend upon the favour and mercy from Allah
Source: (QURANIC WONDERS) by ‘ABDUL MUSTAFA A’ZAMI.
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