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A
GENERAL EVALUATION OF THE MILITARY ACHIEVEMENTS OF GOD’S
MESSENGER
One of
the significant points to be noted concerning the personality of
God’s Messenger is that he was the most eminent commander in
human history. In order to understand this dimension of his
sacred mission, it is worthwhile to make a general evaluation of
his military triumphs:
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There
is not another Prophet who carried his mission to decisive
victory in all aspects of life. When the Prophet Moses, upon
him be peace, who resembles God’s Messenger more than the
other Prophets in many aspects of his mission, died, his
people were still in the desert, not yet able to conquer ‘Palestine’
after several decades of his preaching. Jesus’ mission was
mainly aimed at infusing a spiritual and moral revival into
the life of the Jews who had drowned in the bog of
materialism. After his elevation to heaven, his disciples
succeeded in conveying his Message as far as the center of
the Roman Empire despite severe persecutions but,
unfortunately, at the cost of the degeneration or corruption
of his original creed.
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When
the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, said
farewell to the world, he left behind the whole of Arabia
converted to Islam, and an ‘army’ of dedicated
Companions, who were ready to convey his Message as far as
the remotest corners of the world. He achieved this end with
a handful of self-sacrificing men, who had neither heard of
belief or Scripture before, nor been acquainted with
anything concerning a civilized social life and world
politics or good morals and self-discipline. He made a
handful of desert men engaged in civil wars, unending feuds,
into an ‘army’ of holy warriors who, equipped with
belief, sincerity, knowledge, good morals, love of humanity
and compassion, and imbued with activism, dedicated
themselves to a Divine Cause to, in the words of Rabi‘ ibn
Amir, the Muslim envoy to the Iranian commander during the
Qadisiyyah War, ‘elevate men from the dark pits of worldly
life to the high, boundless realm of the spirit, from the
humiliation of worshipping false and man-made divinities to
the honor and dignity of worshipping One God, the only
Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and to free them from
the oppression and depression brought about by false
religions and man-made systems to the luminous and peaceful
climate of Islam.’
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The
aim of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings,
was never to build a worldly kingdom; he was sent to guide
humanity to salvation in both worlds, physical and
spiritual; he aimed at reviving people, not killing them. It
is to this end that he was obliged to arrange military
expeditions and sometimes to command armies. He sent out
many expeditions and himself commanded forces 28 times.
Fighting took place in almost half of all the military
campaigns he organized during his mission, which number
about 1, and only around 1,000 people lost their
lives in all on both sides. Around 250 Muslims were martyred
and 750 non-Muslims were killed. This means that God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, established his
Message and brought absolute security to the whole of the
Arabian peninsula for the first time in its history, and
opened the way to global security, at the cost of only 1,000
lives. This is, as so many of his achievements are,
unequalled in world history.
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God’s
Messenger established a system of rules governing
international relations among sovereign states. In other
words, he was the first to legislate an international law.
Although the concept was not unknown before Islam,
international law was very limited - for example, there were
no recognized rules for the treatment of prisoners of war.
Again, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace, established a
set of rules to bring a ‘discipline’ to fighting. For
example, the following is the order given by him and his
true successors to come until the present day to armies
dispatched for fighting, an order which had been strictly
obeyed by Muslims in their wars as Muslims:
Always
keep fear of God in your mind. Remember that you cannot
afford to do anything without His grace. Do not forget
that Islam is a mission of peace and love. Do not destroy
fruit-trees nor fertile fields in your paths. Be just, and
spare the feelings of the vanquished. Respect all
religious persons who live in hermitages or convents and
spare their edifices. Do not kill civilians. Do not
outrage the chastity of women and the honor of the
conquered. Do not harm old people and children. Do not
accept any gifts from the civil population of any place.
Do not billet your soldiers or officers in the houses of
civilians.80
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God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, never neglected
to take preliminary precautions, and he left nothing to
chance. He always acted with the utmost care, insight and
forethought and therefore never met with any setbacks. He
did not have the slightest part in the reverse suffered at
Uhud. Also, he was extraordinarily successful in getting
information from the enemy, without ever resorting to force
or torture. Once an enemy soldier was captured by the
vanguard of the Muslim army, who tried to force him to give
information about the enemy’s numbers and equipment. God’s
Messenger ordered his release and asked him how many camels
the approaching army slaughtered every day to eat.
Calculating how many camels are eaten by how many people in
a day, he tried to work out the numbers of the enemy army.2
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God’s
Messenger founded a military intelligence service and
succeeded in getting all the necessary information about the
enemy, but he never allowed any news about his movements to
leak out to the opposite side. Before setting out to conquer
Makka, Khatib ibn Abi Balta‘a secretly sent a letter with
a woman to his relatives in Makka about the preparations of
God’s Messenger. However, the Prophet was informed of
this, and sent ‘Ali and Zubayr to catch up with the woman
and intercept the letter, which they did.
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Also,
God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, kept
secret his military preparations and did not reveal to his
Companions where he would march. He tended to take a
different direction from that of his real destination and
only after some while did he turn to his target. He made
much use of tactics securing victory such as speed, surprise
attack and flexibility of movement. In most of his
campaigns, major or minor, he caught the enemy unprepared
and overcame them relatively easily. For example, in the
Battle of Khaybar, the Jews got news of his coming upon them
only through their farmers going to their fields and so had
time only to shelter in their citadels. In the same way, the
Quraysh were left nothing to do other than surrender during
the conquest of Makka.
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Being
a Prophet who brought a universal religion from God, God’s
Messenger educated his Companions in the aims of that
religion so effectively that they were ever ready to
sacrifice themselves in the way of God. This was one of the
main factors lying behind the victories of God’s
Messenger. His Companions placed utmost reliance on and had
perfect confidence in him. Therefore, he inculcated fear in
the hearts of his enemies, as he himself said: I am
supported by God through implanting fear in the hearts of my
enemies from a distance of a month’s walk.3
Besides, in order to demoralize his enemies he resorted to
psychology. Poets like Hassan ibn Thabit and ‘Adbullah ibn
Rawaha wrote or recited verses to demoralize the enemy. In
the minor pilgrimage they performed one year after the
treaty of Hudaybiya, he ordered his Companions to run around
the Ka’ba so as to demonstrate their strength to the
Makkans watching them from the neighboring hills. While
running, ‘Adbullah ibn Rawaha recited:
I
start with the name of God,
Apart from Whom there is no other god,
And Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
O unbelievers, and sons of unbelievers, clear out of his
way.
The
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was pleased with
his recitation, commenting: His words are more penetrating
to the Quraysh than arrows.4
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God’s
Messenger was unequalled in introducing new strategies and
disuniting the allied enemy tribes. During the Battle of the
Trench, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza broke their treaty
with the Muslims at a most critical moment of the battle and
joined the Quraysh, besieging Madina. Left between two
hostile camps, God’s Messenger offered a peace treaty to
Banu Ghatafan, who were in alliance with the Quraysh in the
war. This discouraged Banu Ghatafan from continuing the war.
He also succeeded, with a skilful maneuver, in bringing
about a disagreement and mutual mistrust between the Quraysh
and Banu Qurayza. Also, during the campaign of Khaybar, he
first gave the impression that he was marching upon Banu
Ghatafan, who were than allied with the Jews of Khaybar.
This caused Banu Ghatafan to remain inactive during the
campaign, unable to help the Jews.
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God’s
Messenger did what he had to do at each step of his life,
and never showed any hesitation or irresolution in executing
his plans or intentions. Also, he never retreated during any
fighting, nor did he faint and lose heart. He stood
steadfast, without moving an inch backward, during the
critical moments of both the Battle of Uhud and Hunayn. He
called to those of his Companions scattering from around
him; Do not scatter! I am Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
That is no lie!
All the
Jewish tribes in and around Madina broke their agreements with
God’s Messenger one after the other. When they did not heed
his call to them to remain faithful to their agreement, God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, showed no
hesitation in marching upon them - as against the Banu Qurayza
after the Battle of the Trench, without taking off his coat of
mail; or against the Quraysh army one day after the set-back
at the Battle of Uhud - such incidents are very significant in
showing his resolution and invincibility.
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Almost
in all of his campaigns, major or minor, God’s Messenger
always kept in hand the initiative to attack and direct the
war. Even in set battles, like those of Badr, Uhud and the
Trench, in which he was made the target of the attack, he
did not lose the initiative and, by surprise strategies and
effective tactics, he was able to defeat the enemy. He also
succeeded in using time and any opportunities that arose in
his favor.
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God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, usually changed
the tactics and strategies he used in battles. For example,
in the Battle of Badr, he made an over-all attack upon the
enemy after demoralizing them in single combats. In the
first stage of the Battle of Uhud, he kept the enemy cavalry
inactive through the archers he stationed in the
mountain-pass of Aynayn and, hurling his eminent warriors
such as Hamza, ‘Ali, Abu Dujana and Zubayr, upon the
enemy, he won the victory. As for the Battle of Trench, he
faced the enemy with a long, deep trench they dug round
Madina and, remaining within the confines of the city,
forced the enemy to retreat after four weeks of siege.
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The
Messenger was never short of necessary reinforcement and
always kept his lines of communication active. Equally, he
never suffered from insufficient logistics.
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God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, brought up,
along with statesmen of extraordinary capability such as Abu
Bakr and ‘Umar and men of profound scholarship and
spirituality, great soldiers and invincible commanders. His
education was based on three basic elements:
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Continuous
bodily training. He usually urged his Companions to
train themselves in archery, wrestling, swimming and
riding horses. He sometimes arranged competitions and
even running races, in which he himself occasionally
participated. Also, he attached great importance to
preserving one’s health and maintaining strength.
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Good
morals and being well-mannered.
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Devotion
to God with unshakable belief, submission and reliance,
and obedience to God, to himself and others in
authority.
The
Muslim army conveyed peace and security to the lands it
conquered. Each soldier of that army was absolutely dedicated to
the cause of Islam. The only criterion for them to judge between
people was belief in God. They did not feel true love for
anybody who opposed God and His Messenger, even if they were
their fathers, children or brothers (See, al-Mujadila,
58.22). Because of this, it sometimes happened that children and
fathers or brothers met in opposing armies on the battlefield.
Belief
and submission made the Muslim soldiers so powerful and fearless
that neither the strength of enemy forces outnumbering them nor
fear of death could prevent them from conveying the Divine
Message. ‘Adbullah ibn Hudafa al-Sahmi was captured in a war
against the Byzantines. A priest in the Byzantine army offered
him Christianity so that his life could be spared, and gave him
three minutes of respite. ‘Adbullah responded to him:
Thank
you, father! You have given me three minutes to communicate to
you my religion.
1. Andrew Miller, Church
History, 285; Bukhari, “Manaqib,” 9.
2. I. Hisham, 2.269.
3. Bukhari, “Tayammum,” 1, “Salat,” 56.
4. Nasa’i, Sunan, 5.212; I. Hisham, 4.13; I. Sa‘d,
2.121.
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