Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

566 The Life of Muhammad
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri from 'Ubaydullah b. 'Abdullah b. 'Utba b. Mas'iid
said: The apostle stayed in Mecca after he had occupied it for fifteen
nights, shortening prayers. The occupation of Mecca took place on the
20th Ramadan A.H. 8.
THE BATTLE OF l;IUNAYN, A.H.8
When Hawiizin heard how God had given the apostle possession of Mecca,
Malik b. 'Auf al-Nasri collected them together. There assembled to him
also all Thagif and all Nasr and Iusham; and Sa'd b. Bakr, and a few men
from B. Hila!' There were no others present from Qays 'Aylan. Kab and
Kiliib of Hawazin kept away and no one of ap.y importance from them was
present. Among the B. Iusham was Durayd b. al-$imma, a very oldman
whose sale remaining use was his valuable advice and his knowledge of war,
for he was an experienced leader. Thagjf had two leaders: Qarib b. al­
Aswad b. Mas'ud b. Mu'attib comma~ded the A\>laf, and Dhu'l-Khimar
Subay' b. al-1:Jarith b. Malik and his brother A\>mar commanded the B.
Malik. The general direction of affairs lay with Malik b. 'Auf al-Na~ri.
When he decided to attack the apostle he placed with the men their cattle,
wives, and children. When he halted at Aulas the men assembled to him,
among them Durayd b. al-$imma in a sort of howdah ih which he was
carried. As soon as he arrived he inquired what wadi they were in and
when he was told that it was Aups he said that it was a fine place for
841 cavalry. 'Not a hill with jagged rocks, nor a plain full of dust; but why do
I hear the groaning of camels and the braying of asses, and the crying of
children and the bleating of sheep I"~ They told him that Malik had brought
them with the men, and he immediately inquired for him and said, '0
Malik, you have become the chief of your people and this is a day which
will be followed by great events.' He then inguired about the cattle and the
women and children, and l\lalik explained that his purpose in bringing
them and putting them behind the men was to make them fight to the
death in their defence. He made a sound indicative of dismayz and said:
'You sheep-tender, do you suppose that anything will turn back a man that
runs away 1 If all goes well nothing will help you but sword and lance; if
it goes ill you will be disgraced with your family and property.' Then he
asked what had happened to Ka'b and Kilab; and when he heard that they
were not there he said, 'Bravery and force are not here; were it a day of
lofty deeds Ka'b and Kilab would not have stayed away. I wish that you
had done what they have done. What clans have you got I' They told him
'Amr b. 'Amir and 'Auf b. 'Amir and he said, 'Those two sprigs of 'Amir
can do nothing either way. You've done no good, Malik, by sending forward
the mainbody, the mainbody of Hawazin, to meet the cavalry. Send
them up to the high and inaccessible part of their land and meet the
I The language is the oracular style of saj'.
1. Lit. 'said Tehk'; other authorities say it means snapping the fingers.
The L1fe of Muhammad 567
apostates I on horseback. If all goes well those behind can join you, and if
the battle goes against you you will have saved your families and stock,'
Malik answered, 'I \von't do it. You are an old dotard. You \vill either
obey me, 0 Hawazin, or I will lean on my sword until it comes out from my
back.' He could not bear Durayd's having any credit in the matter. Ha\vazin
said that they would obey him and Durayd said, 'This is a day which
I did not witness (as a warrior) and did not altogether miss.'
Would that I were young again!
I would ride forward gently
Leading long-haired steeds
Like young antelopes (819).
(To Durayd was the chief of the B. Iusham and their leader and greatest T. 16 57
man, but old age had overtaken him so that he was feeble. His full name
was Durayd b. al-$imma b. Bakr b. 'Algama b. Iuda'a b. Ghazjva b.
Iusham b. Mu'awiya b. Bakr b. Hawazin. Then Malik said to the -men
'A s soon as you see them, break your scabbards and attack them as one'
man.')
Umayya b. 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. 'Uthman informed me that he was told 842
that Malik sent out spies who came back with their joints dislocated. When
he asked what on earth had happened to them they said, 'We saw white
men on piebald horses and immediately we suffered as you see.' And, by
God, even that did not turn him back from the course he intended.
When the prophet heard about them he sent 'Abdullah b. Abu Hadrad
al-~slami to them and ordered him to go among them and stay with them
until he learned all about them, and then bring him back the news. 'Abdul_
lah went and stayed with them until he learned that they had decided to
fight the apostle and the dispositions of Hawazin, and then came back to
tell the apostle. (T. The apostle called for 'Umar and told him what Ibn
Abu 1:Jadrad had said. 'Umar said that he was a liar. He replied, 'You
may call me a har, 'Umar, but for a long time you denied the truth.' 'Umar
said, 'Do you not hear what he says, a apostle?' and the apostle answered
'You were in error and God guided you, 'umar.') ,
When the apostle decided to go out against Hawazin he was told that
f;lafwan b. Umayya had some armour and weapons, so he sent to him
though he was at that time a polytheist, saying, 'Lend us these weapons of
yours so. that we may fight our enemy tomorrmv.' $afwan asked, 'Are you
demandmg them by force, Muhammad I' He said, ':-\0, they are a loan
and a trust until we return them to you.' He said that in that case there was
no objection and he gave him a hundred coats of mail with sufficient arms
to go with them. They allege that the apostle asked for transport to carry
them and he provided it.
Then the apostle marched with 2,000 Meccans and 10,000 of his companions
who had gone out with him when he conquered Mecca, 12,000 in
I
The fabi' was one who changed his religion; in this case the newly converted Muslims.