Re: Unethical/questionable hadiths and surahs
Reply #94 - January 28, 2010, 04:38 AM
Qur'an 2:217 Pickthall
They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: "Fighting therein is a grave (offence); but graver is it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members." Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you Turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter; they will be companions of the Fire and will abide therein.
Expedition of 'Abdullah b. Jahsh and the Coming Down of 'They will ask you about the sacred month'
The apostle sent 'Abdullah b. Jahsh b. Ri'ab al-Asadi in Rajab on his return from the first Badr. He sent with him eight emigrants, without any of the Ansar. He wrote for him a letter, and ordered him not to look at it until he had journeyed for two days, and to do what he was ordered to do, but not to put pressure on any of his companions. The names of the eight emigrants wre, Abu Hudhayfa, 'Abdullah b. Jahsh, 'Ukkasha b. Mihsan, 'Utba b. Ghazwan, Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas, 'Amir b. Rabi'a, Waqid b. 'Abdullah, and Khalid b. al-Bukayr.
When 'Abdullah had travelled for two days he opened the letter and looked into it, and this is what it said: 'When you have read this letter of mine proceed until you reach Nakhla between Mecca and Al-Ta'if. Lie in wait there for Quraysh and find out for us what they are doing.' Having read the letter he said, 'To hear is to obey.' Then he said to his companions, 'The apostle has commanded me to go to Nakhla to lie i wait there for the Quraysh so as to bring him news of them. He has forbidden me to put pressure on any of you, so if anyone wishes for martyrdom let him go forward, and he who does not, let him go back; as for me I am going on as the prophet has ordered.' So he went on, as did all his companions, not one of them falling back. He journeyed along the Hijaz until at a mine called Bahran above al-Furu', Sa'd and 'Utba lost the camel which they were riding by turns, so they stayed behind to look for it, while 'Abdullah and the rest of them went on to Nakhla. A caravan of Quraysh carrying dry raisins and leather and other merchandise of Quraysh passed by them, 'Amr b. al-Hadrami (349), 'Uthman b. Abdullah b. al-Mughira and his brother Naufal the Makhzumites, and al-Hakam b. Kaysan, freedman of Hisham b. al-Mughira being among them. When the caravan saw them they were afraid of them because they had camped near them. 'Ukkasha, who had shaved his head, looked down on them, and when they saw him they felt safe and said, 'They are pilgrims, you have nothing to fear from them.' The raiders took council among themselves, for this was the last day of Rajab, and they said, 'If you leave them alone tonight they will get into the sacred area and will be safe from you; and if you kill them, you will kill them in the sacred month,' so they were hesitant and feared to attack them. Then they encouraged each other, and decided to kill as many as they could of them and take what they had. Waqid shot 'Amr b. al-Hadrami with an arrow and killed him, and 'Uthman and al-Hakam surrendered. Naufal escaped and eluded them. 'Abdullah and his companions took the caravan and the two prisoners and came to Medina with them. One of 'Abdullah's family mentioned that he said to his companions, 'A fifth of what we have taken belongs to the apostle.' (This was before God had appointed a fifth of the booty to him.) So he set apart for the apostle a fifth of the caravan, and divided the rest among his companions. When they came to the apostle, he said, 'I did not order you to fight in the sacred month,' and he held the caravan and the two prisoners in suspense and refused to take anything from them. When the apostle said that, the men were in despair and thought that they were doomed. Their Muslim brethren reproached them for what they had done, and the Quraysh said 'Muhammad and his companions have violated the sacred month, shed blood therein, taken booty, and captured men.' The Muslims in Mecca who opposed them said that they had done it in Sha'ban. The Jews turned this raid into an omen against the apostle. 'Amr b. al-Hadrami whom Waqid had killed they said meant 'amarati'l-harb (war has come to life), al-Hadrami meant hadarati'l-harb (war is present), and Waqid meant waqadati'l-harb (war is kindled); but God turned this against them, not for them, and when there was much talk about it, God sent to his apostle: 'They will ask you about the sacred month, and war in it. Say, war therein is a serious matter, but keeping people from the way of God and disbelieving in Him and in the sacred mosque and driving out His people therefrom is more serious with God.' i.e. If you have killed in the sacred month, they have kept you back from the way of God with their unbelief in Him, and from the sacred mosque, and have driven you from it when you were its people. This is a more serious matter with God that the kiling of those of them whom you have slain. 'And seduction is worse than killing.' i.e. They used to seduce the Muslim in his religion until they made him return to unbelief after believing, and that is worse with God than killing. 'And they will not cease to fight you until they turn you back form your religion if they can.' i.e. They are doing more heinous acts than that contumaciously.
And when the Quran came down about that and God relieved the Muslims of their anxiety in the matter, the apostle took the caravan and the prisoners. Quraysh sent to him to redeem 'Uthman and al-Hakam, and the apostle said, 'We will not let you redeem them until our two companions come,' meaning Sa'd and 'Utba, 'for we fear for them on your account. If you kill them, we will kill your two friends.' So when Sa'd and 'Utba turned up the apostle let them redeem them. As for al-Hakam he became a good Muslim and stayed with the apostle until he was killed as a martyr at Bi'r Ma'una. 'Uthman went back to Mecca and died there as an unbeliever. When 'Abdullah and his companions were relieved of their anxiety when the Quran came down, they were anxious for reward, and said, 'Can we hope that it will count as a raid for which we shall be given the reward of combatants?' So God sent down concerning them: 'Those who believe and have emigrated and fought in the way of God, these may hope for God's mercy, for God is forgiving, merciful.' That is, God gave them the greatest hopes therein. The tradition about this comes from Al-Zuhri and Yazid b. Ruman from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr.
One of 'Abdullah's family mentioned that God divided the booty when He made it permissible and gave four-fifths to whome God had allowed to take it and one-fifth to God and His apostle. So it remained on the basis of what 'Abdullah had done with the booty of that caravan (350).
Abu Bakr said concerning 'Abdullah's raid (though others say that 'Abdullah himself said it), when Quraysh said, 'Muhammad and his companions have broken the sacred month, shed blood therein, and taken booty and made prisoners' (351):
You count war in the holy month a grave matter,
But graver is, if one judges rightly,
Your opposition to Muhammad's teaching, and your
Unbelief in it, which God sees and witnesses,
Your driving God's people from His mosque
So that none can be seen worshipping Him there.
Though you defame us for killing him,
More dangerous to Islam is the sinner who envies.
Our lances drank of Ibn al-Hadrami's blood
In Nakhla when Waqid lit the flame of war,
'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah is with us,
A leather band streaming with blood restrains him.
Ishaq. I (Author), Guillaume. A (Translator). (2002). The Life of Muhammad. (pp. 286-289). Oxford University Press
Topic: Unethical/questionable hadiths and surahs