Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 59A GREAT PROPHECY FULFILLEDThe time of the battle drew near. The Prophet sa cameout of the little hut in which he had been praying, andannounced:"The hosts will certainly be routed and will showtheir backs."These were the words revealed to the Prophet sa sometime before in Mecca. Evidently they related to thisbattle. When Meccan cruelty had reached its extremelimit, and Muslims were migrating to places where theycould have peace, the Prophet sa had the following versesrevealed to him by God:And surely to the people of Pharaoh also came Warners.They rejected all Our Signs. So We seized them as theseizing of One Who is Mighty and Omnipotent. Are yourdisbelievers better than those? Or have you an exemptionin the Scriptures? The hosts will certainly be routed andwill show their backs. Nay, the Hour is their appointedtime; and the Hour will be most calamitous and mostbitter. Surely the offenders will be in bewilderment andflaming fire. On the day when they will be dragged into theFire on their faces and it will be said to them, "Taste ye thetouch of burning" (54:42-49).These verses are part of Surah Al-Qamar and thisSurah, according to all reports, was revealed in Mecca.Muslim authorities place the date of its revelationsomewhere between the fifth and tenth year of theProphet's sa Call, that is, at least three years before theHijra (i.e. the year of the Prophet's sa migration fromMecca to Medina). More likely, it was revealed eightyears before. European authorities have the same view.According to Noldeke, the whole of this Chapter wasrevealed after the fifth year of the Prophet's sa Call.Wherry thinks this date a little too early. According tohim, the Chapter belongs to the sixth or seventh yearbefore the Hijra, or after the Prophet's sa Call. In short,both Muslim and non-Muslim authorities agree that thisChapter was revealed years before the Prophet sa and his