25- ENCOUNTER WITH BANU MUSTALIQ
After the Battle of Uhud, there was a severe famine at Mecca. Disregarding all enmity which the Meccans bore against him, and disregarding all machinations which they had been employing to spread disaffection against him throughout the country, the Prophetsa raised a fund to help the poor of Mecca in their dire need. The Meccans remained unimpressed even by this expression of goodwill. Their hostility went on unabated. In fact it became worse. Tribes which had so far been sympathetic towards Muslims also became hostile. One such tribe was Banu Mustaliq. They had good relations with Muslims. But now they had started preparing for an attack on Medina. When the Prophetsa heard of their preparations he sent men to find out the truth. The men returned and confirmed the reports. The Prophetsa decided to go and meet this new attack. Accordingly, he raised a force and led it to the territory of Banu Mustaliq. When the Muslim force met the enemy, the Prophetsa tried to persuade the enemy to withdraw without fighting. They refused. Battle was joined and in a few hours the enemy was defeated.
Because the Meccan disbelievers were bent upon mischief and friendly tribes were turning hostile, the hypocrites among Muslims had also ventured on this occasion to take part in the battle on the Muslim side. They probably thought they might have a chance to do some mischief. The encounter with Banu Mustaliq was over in a few hours. The hypocrites, therefore, did not have any chance to do any mischief during the battle. The Holy Prophetsa, however, decided to stay in the town of Banu Mustaliq for a few days. During his stay a quarrel arose between a Meccan and a Medinite Muslim over drawing water from a well. The Meccan happened to be an ex-slave. He struck the Medinite, who raised an alarm, crying out for fellow-Medinites—known as the Ansar or Helpers. The Meccan also raised an alarm and cried out for fellow-Meccans—known as the Muhajirin or Refugees. Excitement prevailed. Nobody inquired what had happened. Young men on both sides drew their swords. ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy ibn Salul thought it a Godsend. He decided to add fuel to the fire. “You have gone too far in your indulgence to the Refugees. Your good treatment of them has turned their heads, and now they are trying to dominate you in every way.” The speech might have had the effect which ‘Abdullah desired. The quarrel might have assumed serious proportions. But it did not. ‘Abdullah was wrong in assessing the effect of his mischievous speech. Believing, however, that the Ansar were being persuaded, he went so far as to say:
Let us return to Medina. Then will the most honoured among its citizens turn out the most despised (Bukhari).
By the most honoured citizen, he meant himself and by the most despised he meant the Prophetsa As soon as he said this, believing Muslims were able to see through the mischief. It was not an innocent speech they had listened to, they said, but the speech of Satan who had come to lead them astray. A young man stood up and reported to the Prophetsa through his uncle. The Prophetsa sent for ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy ibn Salul and his friends and asked them what had happened. ‘Abdullah and his friends denied that they had taken any such part as had been attributed to them in this incident. The Prophetsa said nothing. But the truth began to spread. In the course of time ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy ibn Salul’s own son, ‘Abdullahra, also heard about it. Young ‘Abdullahra at once saw the Prophetsa, and said, “O Prophetsa, my father has insulted you. Death is his punishment. If you decide so, I would rather have you command me to kill my father. If you command someone else, and my father dies at his hands, I may be led to avenge my father by killing that man. Maybe I incur the displeasure of God in this way.”
“But,” said the Prophetsa, “I have no such intention. I will treat your father with compassion and consideration.” When young ‘Abdullahra compared the disloyalty and discourtesy of his father with the compassion and kindness of the Prophetsa, he made for Medina full of suppressed anger against his father. He stopped his father on the way and said he would not let him go any farther on the road to Medina until he had withdrawn the words he had used against the Prophetsa. “The lips which said, ‘The Prophetsa is despised and you are honoured,’ must now say, ‘The Prophetsa is honoured and you are despised.’ Until you say this I will not let you go.” ‘Abdullah bin Ubayy ibn Salul was astonished and frightened and said, “I agree, my son, that Muhammadsa is honoured and that I am despised.” Young ‘Abdullahra then let his father go (Hisham, Vol. 2).
We have mentioned before two Jewish tribes who had to be banished out of Medina on account of their mischievous machinations and murderous intrigues. Banu Nadir, one of the two, migrated partly to Syria, partly to a town called Khaibar in the north of Medina. Khaibar was a well-fortified Jewish centre in Arabia. The Jews, who had migrated there, began to excite the Arabs against Muslims. The Meccans were already sworn enemies of Islam. No fresh provocation was needed to excite the Meccans against Muslims. Similarly the Ghatafan of Najd, because of their friendly relations with the Meccans, were hostile to Muslims. The Jews settled in Khaibar already counted on the Quraish of Mecca and the Ghatafan of Najd. Besides these, they planned to turn Banu Sulaim and Banu Asad against Islam. They also persuaded Banu Sa‘d, a tribe in alliance with the Jews, to join the Meccans in an alliance against Islam. After a long intrigue a confederacy of Arab tribes was organized to fight the Muslims. This included the Meccans, the tribes living in territories around Mecca, the tribes of Najd, and those living in territories to the north of Medina.
(Source: LIFE OF MUHAMMAD (pbuh))
BY HADRAT MIRZA BASHIRUDDIN MAHMUD AHMAD
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