Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Ever Heard of the Battle of Uhud?

It took place in 625 between Muhammed's Medina forces and those opposed from Mecca in which

Hind and her companions are said to have mutilated the Muslim corpses, cutting off their ears and noses and making the relics into anklets. Hind is reported to have cut open the corpse of Hamza, taking out his liver which she then attempted to eat. Abu Sufyan, after some brief verbal exchanges with Muhammad's companion, Umar (Umar ibn al-Khattab), decided to return to Mecca without pressing his advantage.

As a result of that loss,

Soon thereafter, Muhammad became convinced that the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir harbored enmity towards him and were plotting to kill him. The Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina after a fifteen-day siege, with some relocating to the oasis of Khaybar and others to Syria

At a subsequent battle, of Al-Ahzad, the Jews played a part, according to the Muslim tradition, here termed "a community from the followers of the Scripture" -

The Qureshite community had one important dream: The destruction of Mohammed and his religion. Pagan tribes outside Mecca were sharing with them the same dream. Like the Meccans, these tribes considered Mohammed a serious menace to their religion. This belief brought these tribes and the Muslims into military confrontations in which the Muslims had the upper hand. These tribes, therefore, were like the Meccan community full of resentment and rancor towards Mohammed and his religion.

There were clashes between the Muslims and some of the people of scripture who were neighboring Medina caused by their breaching of covenants with the Holy Prophet. Tribes from among them such as Banu Al-Natheer and others were exiled by the Prophet.

A delegation from these people went to Mecca and other Arab communities during the fifth year after the Hijrah, propagating war against the Prophet and attempting to mobilize the Arab forces for the proposed war. They did not need much effort to persuade the Meccans to a military undertaking against the Prophet. Their response to the invitation was prompt, and without hesitation, they mobilized four thousand fighters. This army was supplemented with six thousands from Ghatafan, Saleem, and other tribes. Thus, ten thousands strong marched towards Medina.

The Holy Prophet received the news of the imminent invasion a few days before their arrival at Medina. He consulted his companions, and Salman Al-Farisi (the Persian) advised the Prophet to dig a moat around Medina to prevent the invaders from entering it. The Messenger commanded the Muslims (who were about three thousands) to implement the plan. The moat was dug within six days.

Witnessing the moat, the invaders were surprised and realized that it had become difficult for them to enter Medina. Thus they found it necessary to besiege Medina instead of invading it directly. Banu Quraidhah, a community from the followers of the Scripture, joined the pagan army after its arrival. This community had a covenant of peace with the Prophet. Their treacherous action was a frightening surprise to the Muslims. By breaching the covenant, this community gave the pagan army additional forces and equipment. It became the duty of the Muslims to add to their defensive lines another line.

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