THE SENDING OF EMISSARIES BY THE QURAISH SO AS TO RANSOM THEIR PRISONERS
Ibn Ishaq related that among the captives was Abu Wada‘ah Ibn Dubairah As-Sahmi, so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “He has a son back in Makkah who is a shrewd and rich trader and it seems he will soon come to ransom his father.”
When the Quraish said to not hasten in getting your captives ransomed so that Muhammad and his Companions do not become extreme in regards to their asking amount, Al-Muttalib Ibn Abi Wada‘ah, the one about whom the Messenger of Allah. peace be upon him, said: “You are correct, do not be in haste,” snuck out at night and headed for Madinah. When he got there, he ransomed his father with four thousand dirham and took him away.
I say: This was the first prisoner of the Battle of Badr to be ransomed. Afterwards, the Quraish sent emissaries seeking to ransom their prisoners. Makraz Ibn Hafs Ibn Al-Akhyaf also arrived to pay the ransom of Suhail Ibn ‘Amr.
Ibn Ishaq related that ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said to Allah’s Messenger, peace be upon him: “Allow me to pluck out the front teeth of Suhail Ibn ‘Amr to let his tongue stick out so that he will never again be able to speak against you in public.” Allah’s Messenger replied: “No, I shall not torture him so that Allah may not also torture me even though I am a Prophet.”
I say: This Hadith is mursal; rather, it is mu’dal.
Ibn Ishaq related: It has reached me that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to ‘Umar concerning his request to punish Suhail severely: “Perhaps he will stand in a position for which you will not censure him.”
I say: This is in reference to his standing in Makkah when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, died and some Arabs apostatized and hypocrisy reared its head in Madinah and other places.
Suhail rose in Makkah to address the people and strengthen them upon the deen of Al-Haneef (Islam) as shall be elaborated on later.
Ibn Ishaq said: ‘Abdullah Ibn Abi Bakr narrated: It was said to Abu Sufyan, “Ransom ‘Amr, your son.” He replied, “Should I add my wealth to my blood? They killed Hanzalah and will I pay ransom for ‘Amr? Leave him in their hands, let them do as they like with him.” While his son was still in captivity in Madinah, Sa‘d Ibn An-Nu‘man Ibn Ukal, the brother of Banu ‘Amr Ibn ‘Awf and one of the Banu Mu‘awiyyah went out with the intention of performing ‘Umrah (in Makkah). He was an old Muslim man who used to tend his livestock by the Baqee‘. So he departed from there for ‘Umrah without any fear of what might be done to him. He did not entertain the thought of being detained in Makkah. He had merely come for ‘Umrah, and the Quraish had previously given their words that they will not intercept anyone who comes to them with the intention of Hajj or ‘Umrah. However, while in Makkah, Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb transgressed against him, and detained him in retaliation for his son, ‘Amr.
Banu ‘Amr Ibn ‘Awf went to inform Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, of the incident and they requested him to hand over ‘Amr Ibn Abi Sufyan so as to exchange him with their own compatriot. The Prophet acceded to their request and they sent ‘Amr to Abu Sufyan and he also freed Sa‘d.
Ibn Ishaq related that ‘A’ishah said that when the Quraish sent emissaries to ransom their prisoners, Zainab sent money to ransom her husband, Abul-‘As. The money included a necklace which Khadeejah (her mother) had given her on the occasion of her marriage. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw the necklace, he became emotional and said (to his Companions): “If you wish to free her prisoner and return her money, then do so.” The Companions accepted this and did as the Messenger of Allah wished.
Ibn Ishaq also related: Abu Azzah ‘Amr Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Uthman Ibn Uhaib Ibn Hudhafah Ibn Jamuh (one of the prisoners) was a poor man with daughters to care for; so he said: O Messenger of Allah, you are aware of my condition with regard to wealth. I am a needy person with families to care for, so please be kind to me.” Allah’s Messenger showed mercy to him and he took a covenant from him to never aid anyone against him. Abu Azzah said in praise of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
Who will inform Muhammad on my behalf
That you are indeed truthful and a noble holder
And that you are one who invites to the truth and guidance
You have a witness from Allah, the Almighty
You were built among us like a residence
Having many levels whose climbing is easy
Whoever you wage war against is unfortunate
And whoever you make peace with is fortunate
When I remember Badr and its people
My portion of sorrow and omission come back
I say: This Abu ‘Azzah would later annul the covenant he had with Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Mushrikeen played on his intelligence and he returned to them. On the day of the Battle of Uhud, he was again captured. He once more begged the Messenger of Allah for clemency and the Prophet said: “I will not let you go, for you will turn your cheek and say that you fooled Muhammad twice.” He then ordered that he be executed, which was carried out as shall be related in the story of the Battle of Uhud. It is also said that it is on this occasion that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “A Muslim is not stung twice from the same hole.” These kinds of words are not heard elsewhere except from him.
Ibn Ishaq related that ‘Urwah Ibn Az-Zubair related that ‘Umair Ibn Wahb Al-Jumahi sat with Safwan Ibn Umayyah in the hijr shortly after the debacle of Badr. ‘Umair Ibn Wahb was one of the vilest of Quraish and one of those who used to hurt the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his Companions. They used to experience trouble from him while in Makkah. However, his son, Wahb Ibn ‘Umair was among the prisoners of Badr. Ibn Hisham added: the one who captured him was Rifa‘ah Ibn Rafi‘ from the Banu Zuraiq.
Ibn Ishaq related that Muhammad Ibn Ja‘afar narrated to me from ‘Urwah (that ‘Umair Ibn Wahb and Safwan) recounted the people thrown into the pit and other casualties of theirs, so Safwan said: “By Allah, there will not be any value in living after them.” ‘Umair concurred saying: “You are correct, by Allah, were it not for the repayment of the loan of ‘Ali, which I am incapable of repaying and my family for which I have some fears after I am gone, I would ride to Muhammad till I am able to kill him because my son is in his captivity.” Safwan Ibn Umayyah seized that opportunity and said to him: “I take responsibility for the repayment of your loan and I shall merge your family with mine in their care, no harm will come to them.” ‘Umair said: “Then keep this matter between both of us.” He replied: “I shall do that.” Then Umar called for his sword, sharpened it and laced it with poison. Thereafter, he proceeded till he arrived in Madinah.
Meanwhile, ‘Umar was in the midst of a group of Muslims discussing the event of Badr and recollecting how Allah had ennobled them with it and what they had seen in their enemies. Just then, ‘Umar saw ‘Umair Ibn Wahb as he perched by the entrance of the mosque with a drawn sword and said: “This is the dog, enemy of Allah, ‘Umair Ibn Wahb. Nothing has brought him here except an evil intent. He is the same person who sowed discord among us and gave the estimate of our strength to the enemies on the day of Badr.” Then he went in to inform the Messenger of Allah. “O Prophet of Allah,” he said, “ ‘Umair Ibn Wahb, the enemy of Allah, has come with a drawn sword.” The Prophet said: “Let him in.” ‘Umar went back, wrapped the strap of his sword to his neck, and he said to those present among the Ansar: “All of you go in and sit with the Prophet and protect him against this filth for he is not to be trusted.” ‘Umar led him in to meet the Messenger of Allah. When he saw how ‘Umar had wound the strap of his sword round ‘Umair’s neck, he said: “Release him, ‘Umar. Come closer, ‘Umair.” He moved close to the Prophet and said: “Good morning,” which was a greeting of the time of Jahiliyyah. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Allah has ennobled us with a better form of greeting than yours. ‘Umair, the greeting of peace will be the greeting of the inmates of Paradise.” Then the Prophet asked: “What has brought you, ‘Umair?” He replied: “I have come regarding this prisoner that you have with you to seek your benevolence on his matter.” “Then what about the sword on your neck?” the Messenger of Allah poked further. ‘Umair said: “Cursed be the swords, has they benefited (us) in any way?” “Tell me the truth, what has brought you?” the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, insisted. Again, ‘Umair maintained: “Nothing has brought me other than what I had told you.” Finally, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “No, rather, you sat in the hijr with Safwan Ibn Umayyah and you both lamented your loss and remembering the Quraishi inmates of the pit (of Badr) and then you said: ‘Had it not been for my debt and my family I would have proceeded to kill Muhammad, and Safwan offered to repay your debt and take care of your family upon the promise of killing me and Allah put a wedge between you and your goal.”
Obviously flabbergasted, ‘Umair said: “I bear witness that truly you are a Messenger of Allah. We used to believe what you used to bring from the Divine information and revelation. As for this issue, no other person had witnessed it except me and Safwan. By Allah, I know no one has brought this information to you except Allah. So I thank Allah Who has guided me to Islam and made me tread this course.” Then he bore the witness of Truth (i.e. he accepted Islam).
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Teach your brother his religion. Teach him the Qur’an and release his prisoner to him.” The Companions did as the Prophet ordered. Thereafter, he said: “O Allah’s Messenger, I used to make strenuous efforts to extinguish the Light of Allah and to persecute those who were upon the religion of Allah. I wish you would permit me to go back to Makkah so that I may invite them to Allah and His Messenger as well as to Islam. Perhaps Allah will guide them or, at least, they may also persecute me the way I used to persecute your Companions over their religion.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permitted him and he went back to Makkah.
Meanwhile, after Umair had left for Madinah, Safwan would tell the people: “I give you glad tidings of an impending incident that will make you forget the debacle of Badr. Safwan kept asking every rider arriving in Makkah for information about ‘Umair until a rider came and informed him that ‘Umair had accepted Islam. He swore never to speak with ‘Umair again and to have anything to do with him again.
Ibn Ishaq continued: When ‘Umair arrived in Makkah, he began calling people to Islam and many people accepted Islam at his hands. ‘Umair Ibn Wahb or Al-Haarith Ibn Hisham was the one who saw the enemy of Allah, Iblees, when he turned on his heels on the day of Badr saying: “ I have nothing to do with you. I see what you do not.” On that day, Iblees took the form of Suraqah Ibn Malik Ibn Ju‘shum.
Then Ibn Ishaq began to mention the names of the Muslims who were martyred in the Battle of Badr. First, he enumerated the names of those who witnessed it among the emigrants followed by those of the Ansar from the Aws and the Khazraj. Finally, Ibn Ishaq said: The aggregate of those who witnessed the Battle of Badr among the emigrant Muslims and the Ansar as well as those who were rewarded and given a share in the booty numbered three hundred and fourteen men. Eighty-three were from the Emigrants, sixty-one from the Aws and one hundred and seventy men from the Khazraj. Al-Bukhari has also enumerated them in his Saheeh in alphabetical order after the names of Allah’s Messenger, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali. May Allah be pleased with them all.
By: Ibn Katheer
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