Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar).* Excellent Biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Episode 77

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*Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar).*

Excellent Biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Episode 77

*MADINAH RECEIVES THE NEWS OF VICTORY*

Two heralds, ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah and Zaid bin Harithah were despatched to Madinah, to convey the glad tidings of victory to the Muslims there. The multi-ethnic and ideological structure of Madinah featured different respective reactions. 

Rumour-mongers amongst the Jews and hypocrites spread news to the effect that the Prophet 

(Peace be upon him) had been killed, and tried to impress their false assumption on the fact that 

Zaid bin Harithah was riding Al-Qaswâ’, the Prophet’s she-camel. Having reached, the two 

messengers imparted to the Muslims the happy news of victory, and furnished accurate information 

about the course of events in order to establish the sense of reassurance deep in the hearts of the 

anxious, but now, joyous Muslims. They immediately started acclaiming Allâh’s Name and 

entertaining His praise at the top of their voices. Their chiefs went out of the city to wait and receive 

the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the road leading to Badr. 

Usamah bin Zaid related that they received the news of the manifest victory shortly after Ruqaiyah, 

the Prophet ’s daughter, and the wife of ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan had been committed to earth. She had 

been terminally ill and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had asked ‘Uthman to stay in Madinah and 

look after her. 

Before leaving the scene of the battle, dispute concerning the spoils of war arose among the Muslim 

warriors, as the rule relating to their distribution had not yet been legislated. When the difference 

grew wider, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) suspended any solution whereof until the 

Revelation was sent down. 

‘Ubadah bin As-Samit said: “We went out with the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and I 

witnessed Badr with him. The battle started and Allâh, the Exalted, defeated the enemy. Some of 

the Muslims sought and pursued the enemy, some were intent on collecting the spoils from the 

enemy camp, and others were guarding the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and were on 

the alert for any emergency or surprise attack. When night came and the Muslims gathered 

together, those who had collected the booty said: “We collected it, so no one else has any r ight to 

it.” Those who had pursued the enemy said: “You do not have more right to it than we do; we held 

the enemy at bay and then defeated them.” As for the men who had been guarding the Prophet 

(Peace be upon him), they also made similar claims to the spoils. 

At that very time, a Qur’ânic verse was revealed saying: 

• “They ask you [O Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ] about the spoils of war. Say: ‘The 

spoils are for Allâh and the Messenger.’ So fear Allâh and adjust all matters of difference 

among you, and obey Allâh and His Messenger [Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ], if you 

are believers.” [8:1] 

On their way back to Madinah, at a large sand hill, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) divided the 

spoils equally among the fighters after he had taken Al-Khums (one-fifth). When they reached As-

Safra’, he ordered that two of the prisoners should be killed. They were An-Nadr bin Al-Harith and 

‘Uqbah bin Abi Muait, because they had persecuted the Muslims in Makkah, and harboured deep 

hatred towards Allâh and His Messenger (Peace be upon him). In a nutshell, they were criminals of 

war in modern terminology, and their execution was an awesome lesson to oppressors. ‘Uqbah 

forgot his pride and cried out, “Who will look after my children O Messenger of Allâh?” The Prophet 

(Peace be upon him) answered, “The fire (of Hell). ” Did ‘Uqbah not remember the day when he had 

thrown the entrails of a sheep onto the head of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) while he was 

prostrating himself in prayer, and Fatimah had come and washed it off him? He had also strangled 

the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with his cloak if it had not been for Abu Bakr to intervene and 

release the Prophet (Peace be upon him). The heads of both criminals were struck off by ‘Ali bin Abi 

Talib. 

At Ar-Rawhâ’, a suburb of Madinah, the Muslim army was received by the joyous Madinese who had 

come to congratulate the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the manifest victory that Allâh had 

granted him. Usaid bin Hudair, acting as a mouthpiece of the other true believers, after entertaining Allâh’s praise, he excused himself for not having joined them on grounds that the Prophet ’s 

intention was presumably, an errand aiming to intercept a caravan of camels only, he added that if 

it had occurred to him that it would be real war, he would have never tarried. The Prophet (Peace be 

upon him) assured Usaid that he had believed him. 

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) now entered Madinah as a man to be counted for in a new 

dimension — the military field. In consequence, a large number of the people of Madinah embraced 

Islam, which added a lot to the strength, power and moral standing of the true religion. 

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) exhorted the Muslims to treat the prisoners so well to such an 

extent that the captors used to give the captives their bread (the more valued part of the meal) and 

keep the dates for themselves. 

Prisoners of war constituted a problem awaiting resolution because it was a new phenomenon in the 

history of Islam. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) consulted Abu Bakr and ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab as 

to what he should do with the prisoners. Abu Bakr suggested that he should ransom them, 

explaining this by saying: “They are after all our relatives, and this money would give us strength 

against the disbelievers, moreover, Allâh could guide them to Islam.” ‘Umar advised killing them, 

saying, “They are the leaders of Kufr (disbelief).” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) preferred Abu 

Bakr’s suggestion to that of ‘Umar’s. The following day, ‘Umar called on the Prophet (Peace be upon 

him) and Abu Bakr to see them weeping. He shextreme astonishment and inquired about the 

situation so that he might weep if it was worth weeping for, or else he would feign weeping. 

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said that a Qur’ânic verse had been revealed rebuking them for 

taking ransom from the captives rather than slaying them: 

• “It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) 

until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of 

this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allâh desires (for you) the 

Hereafter. And Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise. Were it not a previous ordainment from Allâh, a 

severe torment would have touched you for what you took.” [8:67,68] 

The previous Divine ordainment went as follows, 

• “Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom) or ransom.” 

[47:4] 

Which included an area providing permission to take ransom, that is why no penalty was imposed. 

They were rebuked only for taking prisoners before subduing all the land of disbelief. Apart from 

this, the polytheists taken to Madinah were not only prisoners of war but rather archcriminals of war 

whom modern war penal law brings to justice to receive their due sentence of death or prison for 

life. 

The ransom for the prisoners ranged between 4000 and 1000 Dirhams in accordance with the 

captive’s financial situation. Another form of ransom assumed an educational dimension; most of 

the Makkans, unlike the Madinese, were literate and so each prisoner who could not afford the 

ransom was entrusted with ten children to teach them the art of writing and reading. Once the child 

had been proficient enough, the instructor would be set free. Another clan of prisoners were 

released unransomed on grounds of being hard up. Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet (Peace be 

upon him), paid the ransom of her husband Abul-‘As with a necklace. The Muslims released her 

prisoner and returned the necklace in deference to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) but on 

condition that Abul-‘As allow Zainab to migrate to Madinah, which he actually did. 

In captivity, there was also an eloquent orator called Suhail bin ‘Amr. ‘Umar suggested that they pull 

out his front teeth to disable him from speaking, but the Prophet (Peace be upon him) turned down 

his suggestion for fear Quraish should retaliate in the same manner on one hand, and on the other 

for fear of Allâh’s wrath on the Day of Resurrection. 

Sa‘d bin An-Nu‘man, a lesser pilgrim detained in Makkah, was released in return for setting Abu 

Sufyan’s son, a captive, free.