The Battle of Hunayn

After this, the Noble Messenger ﷺ said:

“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not leave any idol in his house. He should break it.”

People began breaking the idols.

When Hazrat Hind رضي الله عنها, the wife of Hazrat Abu Sufyan رضي الله عنه, had accepted Islam, she went toward the idol that was kept in her house and began kicking it.

As she did so, she would say:

“We were greatly deceived and filled with pride because of you.”

Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also sent Companions رضي الله عنهم to the surrounding areas so that the idols kept in those regions could also be destroyed.

In some areas, people had built proper places of worship in which idols had been installed.

The polytheists respected these idols and places of worship just as they respected the Kaaba.

They would even sacrifice animals there for two days, just as sacrifices were made at the Kaaba.

To such an extent that they would also perform Tawaf around these places of worship.

In short, every family had its own idol.

After the Conquest of Makkah, the Noble Messenger ﷺ stayed there for nineteen days.

During this period, he continued offering shortened prayers.

During this time, a woman committed theft.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ ordered that she be punished according to the prescribed ruling.

The people of her tribe gathered and came to Hazrat Usamah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه, asking him to intercede with the Noble Messenger ﷺ.

When Hazrat Usamah رضي الله عنه interceded on behalf of the woman, the color of the Prophet’s ﷺ face changed, and he said:

“Are you interceding concerning the punishments prescribed by Allah?”

Hazrat Usamah رضي الله عنه immediately said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Please seek forgiveness for me.”

The Noble Messenger ﷺ stood up immediately.

First, he praised and glorified Allah, and then delivered this sermon:

“O people! The nations before you were destroyed only because when an honorable person among them committed theft, they would not punish him, but when a weak person committed theft, they would punish him.

By the One in Whose Hand is my life, even if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, were to commit theft, I would also have her punished according to the law.”

After this, according to the command of the Noble Messenger ﷺ, the prescribed punishment was carried out upon the woman.

Then the Noble Messenger ﷺ appointed ‘Attab ibn Asid رضي الله عنه as the governor of Makkah al-Mukarramah.

He instructed him to lead the people in prayer.

He was the first governor who led the congregational prayer in Makkah after the Conquest of Makkah.

The Prophet ﷺ left Hazrat Mu‘adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه with ‘Attab ibn Asid رضي الله عنه so that he could teach the people Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence.

‘Attab ibn Asid رضي الله عنه was very strict with deceivers and those who neglected prayer.

He used to say to the people:

“If I hear about someone who deliberately abandons the congregational prayer without a valid reason, I will have him punished severely.”

Seeing this strictness, the people of Makkah complained about him to the Noble Messenger ﷺ in these words:

“O Messenger of Allah! You have appointed over the people of Allah’s House a rough and uncultured man like ‘Attab ibn Asid.”

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

“I saw in a dream that ‘Attab came to the gate of Paradise and shook the chain very strongly. Eventually, the door opened and he entered it.

Through him, Allah has elevated Islam.

Whoever wishes to oppress the Muslims, ‘Attab remains ready to help the Muslims against him.”

After the Conquest of Makkah, the Battle of Hunayn took place.

Hunayn is a village near Ta’if.

This expedition is also called the Battle of Hawazin and the Battle of Awtas.

When Allah Almighty granted Makkah to His Prophet ﷺ through his hands, all the tribes accepted obedience except the tribes of Banu Hawazin and Banu Thaqif.

These two tribes were very rebellious and arrogant.

In their arrogance, they began saying:

“By Allah! Until now, Muhammad has only encountered people who were not properly familiar with warfare.”

They now began preparing for war.

They appointed Malik ibn ‘Awf an-Nasri as their commander.

(He later accepted Islam.)

When everyone unanimously appointed Malik ibn ‘Awf as the leader of all the tribes, different tribes began arriving from every direction in large numbers and joining the army.

Eventually, Malik ibn ‘Awf took this army and camped at the place of Awtas.

Meanwhile, when the Noble Messenger ﷺ received reports that Banu Hawazin had gathered a large army, he sent one of his Companions, Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Hadrad al-Aslami رضي الله عنه, to spy on them.

While sending him, he said:

“Join their army and listen to what decisions they are making.”

He therefore joined the army of Banu Hawazin.

He continued listening to their conversations and then returned and informed the Noble Messenger ﷺ of all the details.

The people of Banu Hawazin had brought their women, children, possessions, and wealth with them.

When the Noble Messenger ﷺ received this information, he smiled and said:

“Insha’Allah! Tomorrow, all of this will become war booty for the Muslims.”

The Noble Messenger ﷺ set out to confront Banu Hawazin with an army of twelve thousand.

Among them were two thousand young men from Makkah al-Mukarramah and the surrounding areas.

The remaining ten thousand were those Companions who had come with the Prophet ﷺ and through whom Allah Almighty had granted the conquest of Makkah.

When the Muslim army approached the enemy’s camp, the Noble Messenger ﷺ arranged the ranks of the army.

He distributed flags among the Muhajirun and Ansar.

He entrusted the flag of the Muhajirun to Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه.

He also gave one flag to Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه and another to Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه.

Among the Ansar, the Prophet ﷺ gave a flag to Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه and another to Usayd ibn Hudayr رضي الله عنه.

When the Noble Messenger ﷺ mounted his mule, he was wearing two coats of armor.

He was also wearing a helmet made of iron.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ then advanced with his army.

The army of the polytheists numbered twenty thousand.

They had concealed their army among the mountains and passes.

As soon as the Muslim army entered the valley, the polytheists suddenly attacked the Muslims from those hidden positions.

They began a powerful barrage of arrows.

They were highly skilled archers, and their aim was very accurate.

Because of this sudden and powerful attack, the Muslims became frightened.

Their ranks were disrupted.

Thousands of arrows were coming toward them at once.

Many Muslims turned back and fled.

But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained firmly in his place.

He did not retreat even an inch.

On that day, some polytheists from Makkah had also joined the Muslim army.

They had come out of greed for war booty.

When the intense archery began, they said to one another:

“Here is an opportunity to escape from the battlefield. In this way, the Muslims’ morale will also be weakened.”

With this, they suddenly began fleeing.

When some Muslims who had accepted Islam at the time of the Conquest of Makkah saw them fleeing, they thought that their fellow Muslims were running away.

They became frightened and began to flee as well.

Thus, when people saw one another running, everyone became confused and distressed.

Consequently, the remaining people also began to retreat.

Only a few Companions remained around the Noble Messenger ﷺ.

Among them were Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat ‘Umar, Hazrat ‘Ali, Hazrat ‘Abbas, his son Hazrat Fadl, Rabi‘ah ibn al-Harith, and the Prophet’s ﷺ cousin, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith رضي الله عنهم.

In addition to them, there were around ninety other Companions.

Thus, only around one hundred Companions remained around the Prophet ﷺ.

At that time, the Noble Messenger ﷺ was saying:

“I am the Messenger of Allah!

I am Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah!

I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger.”

Along with this, the Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه:

“‘Abbas! Call out to the people! Say: O group of the Ansar! O people of the Pledge of Ridwan! O Muhajirun!”

Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه called out in a loud voice.

He called the Muslims back.

Those Muslims who were gathered around the Noble Messenger ﷺ launched a powerful attack against the disbelievers.

Meanwhile, the Prophet ﷺ picked up a handful of pebbles and threw them toward the disbelievers, saying:

“May these faces be disfigured.”

By that time, the Muslims who had been fleeing had also returned after hearing the voice of Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه and some other Companions.

They began fighting firmly once again.

Thus, the battle began again.

Allah Almighty, through His power, caused that handful of pebbles to reach the eyes of the disbelievers.

When the pebbles struck them, they became extremely confused and disoriented.

They fled in great disorder.

Before this battle began, when one Companion saw the large number of Muslims, he said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Today our number is so great that we cannot be defeated by the enemy.”

The Noble Messenger ﷺ disliked this statement very much.

These words weighed heavily upon him because they contained an indication of pride and arrogance.

Allah Almighty also disliked this statement.

Perhaps this was why the Muslims initially suffered a setback.

But then Allah showed His grace, and the Muslims’ feet became firmly established.

Then, when the polytheists were defeated and fled in great disorder, the Noble Messenger ﷺ commanded:

“Whoever among the polytheists is encountered, deal with him according to the command of Allah.”