The Extension and Export of the Revolution - The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution

The Extension and Export of the Revolution

I now have to elaborate two points. First of all, prior to Hudaibiya agreement neither did the Prophet (SAW) send any preacher outside Arabia, nor was any letter or message despatched to any head of state or government. For full ten years he did all the revolutionary work in Makkah. After this he traveled to Taif. 

The single most significant trait of the revolutionary process is that it does not spread or gain ground in the beginning. It was, so to say, its latent period. Missionary work or preaching spreads like the creepers of musk-melons or cucumbers on earth whereas the revolutionary process first consolidates its roots in one place and then rises upright. Just like the seed of the mango fruit when it sprouts and two petals come out which later form the mango plant. It then becomes the mango tree with flowers and burgeons. 

The revolutionary struggle of the Prophet (SAW) was not of a missionary nature only, rather it was of a revolutionary type. At the beginning of the Makkan phase of his life the Prophet (SAW) did not lack in wealth. His wife Khadija's wealth was there and she had placed it at the disposal of the Prophet (SAW). At that time if the Prophet (SAW) had wanted he could have corresponded with the Caesar, Chosroe and other emperors to the effect: 'I am the Prophet of Allah, accept me as His messenger'. But the Prophet (SAW) did not do that. After the migration (the Hijrah) to Madina the Prophet (SAW) entered into many pacts and treaties with different tribes of the Arabs but did not send any delegation outside Arabia. 

It was only after the Treaty of Hudaibiya (the Holy Quran declares it an "Open Victory") when the Quraish had accepted the Prophet (SAW) as a rival force and a force to be reckoned with that the Prophet (SAW) sent some Companions (RAA) with the messages and invitations to accept Islam. These were sent to Heraclius, Muqawqis, Negus and those rulers of the far-flung border areas of the Arabian peninsula who had as yet not accepted Islam. To these sacred letters different reactions from the different Emperors and Potentates came to the fore. King of Ghassan who was under Heraclius martyred the Prophet's ambassador Harith bin Umair (RAA). As redemption (Qisas) for this cruel act, the Prophet (SAW) sent an army and as a result the fight of Ghazwa-e-Mauta occurred. It was after this that Ghazwa-e-Tabuk took place. 

Hence within the blessed lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) the process of exporting revolution was initiated. Not only was the revolution completed within the blessed lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) but it was the prophet himself who undertook steps to extended the revolutionary process outside Arabia. And then the Prophet (SAW) delegated this responsibility to the Ummah while delivering sermon during the last pilgrimage.

Source: The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution
To be continued ....

The Sixth Stage of Prophet's Revolution: Armed Conflict

The Sixth Stage of the Holy Prophet's Revolution : Armed Conflict

Due to the two above mentioned events the Doves were subdued and as a result of this the sixth stage of the Holy Prophet's struggle, i.e. Armed Conflict began with the battle of Badr. This was a bilateral confrontation between the Prophet (SAW) and the Quraish which lasted for six years and during this time there were many battles between Truth and Falsehood. In Ghazwa-e-Badr seventy of the most eminent leaders of the Quraish were killed whereas fourteen Companions (RAA) of the Prophet (SAW) were martyred. In Uhud the situation was totally opposite to this where due to the blunder committed by some Companions of the Prophet (SAW), seventy of them were martyred. To get detailed information regarding this kindly read my Urdu book "Manhaj Inqilab-i-Nabawi". I am only providing salient details of the strategy plan that I have already sketched. I am not teaching you the seerah, rather I am trying to make you understand the philosophy of Prophet's life endeavour. 

This six year long war with the Quraish started on the 17 th of Ramadhan, 02 A.H and ended with the conquest of Makkah on the 10 th of Ramadan, 10 A.H. There were many ups and downs during this period. Hundreds of Companions had to lay down their lives in different Glwzwaats. In Ghazwa-e-Uhud the Prophet (SAW) was wounded and his two teeth were also broken. When the blessed face of the Prophet (SAW) was struck by a sword two links of a chain from the armour he was wearing pierced into his cheekbones. One of the Companions tried to dislodge those links of chain but except for his own teeth breaking in the process he was unsuccessful in dislodging the two pieces. Somehow when the pieces were finally removed, blood gushed out. So much so that the Prophet (SAW) fainted and it was rumoured that the Prophet (SAW) had been martyred. Seventy Companions (RAA) of the Prophet (SAW) were martyred including the gallant Hamza (RAA). He was related to the Prophet (SAW) in many ways; he was his paternal uncle, his maternal aunt's son and foster brother who were considered to be like real brothers amongst the Arabs. Apart from this he was also the Holy Prophet's childhood friend and companion. His body was brought in a condition that his nose was cut off, his ears had been cut off, his stomach had been slashed open and his liver gnawed. Therefore, this work of bringing about a revolution was not performed easily. Great sacrifices had been offered for this. 

Nevertheless, since this work was done after properly going through preparatory stages, therefore in a period extending over six years, the conclusion of this Armed Conflict came out in the form of the conquest of Makkah, thereby bringing to summation the revolution of the Prophet (SAW) with in Arabia. 

And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished; for falsehood is (by its very nature) bound to perish. 

(Al-lsra' 17:81)

After the conquest of Makkah, whatever battles the Prophet (SAW) fought were, in military terms, mopping up operations by means of which opposing forces were finally crushed and wiped out. With the conquest of Makkah the completion of the revolution within the geographical boundaries of Arabian peninsula was accomplished.

Source: The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution

To be continued ....

Eight Expeditions before the Battle of Badr - The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution

Eight Expeditions before the Battle of Badr

After consolidating his position in Medina the Prophet (SAW) started sending small raiding parties as part of the stage of Active Resistance. Prior to Ghazwa-e-Badr the Prophet (SAW) sent eight such missions out of which the Prophet (SAW) took part in four and was not present in others. Hence, four of them are called ghazwaat and the rest are called saraya. There was no offensive movement from the side of the Makkans during this period. That is to say, whatever initiative was taken during this period was taken by the Prophet (SAW). It is regretted that just to hide this fact a lot of distortion in the biography of the Prophet was done. This was so because just like today the Western media is spreading propaganda that Islam was spread by the sword, Islam is a bloody religion, Islam propagates terrorism; in a similar fashion when the colonial powers conquered the Islamic world the Western writers started spreading vicious propaganda. Impressed by their political power, most of our authors adopted an apologetic stance to the effect that the Prophet (SAW) did not start these wars himself rather these wars were fought in self-defense. This is a complete travesty of truth. It was the Prophet (SAW) who stirred a commotion in the placid pond of Makkah. Otherwise the people of Makkah were living contentedly. Similarly, it was the Prophet (SAW) who initiated the measures of Active Resistance eventually leading to Armed Conflict against the people of Makkah after the Hijrah.

There were apparently two reasons for the eight missions or raids conducted one year prior to Ghazwa-e-Badr. In modern terminology the first objective was the economic blockade of Makkah and the second aim was the political isolation or containment of the Quraish. Through these raiding missions, the Prophet (SAW) had made unsafe the route taken by the caravans of the Quraish thereby sending the signal to the Quraish that we are here to check you and your caravans are within our reach. The route from Makkah to Syria passed through Badar. Badar is two hundred miles from Makkah whereas its distance from Madina is only 90 miles. The Prophet (SAW) sent many missions there to check and monitor the trade caravans of the Quraish. The Prophet (SAW) himself led a similar expedition and pursued that big trade caravan that Abu Sufyan was taking to Syria but he escaped. Similarly, the caravans moving from Makkah to Yemen had to pass through Taif. The Prophet (SAW) sent a party there too. Apart from this wherever the Prophet (SAW) went he entered into pacts with the tribes. These tribes were either previously allies of the Quraish and now had allied themselves with the Prophet (SAW) or had adopted a non-aligned stance, that is neither to help the Muslims against Quraish nor to help the Quraish against Muslims. The hegemony and power of the Quraish was curtailed by both types of these pacts. In this manner the Prophet (SAW) realized both the above mentioned objectives.

In every nation there are two types of people. In contemporary political jargon they are called hawks and doves. In Makkah too there were both types of people. Prominent among the people who were hot blooded and temperamentally volatile were Abu Jahal and Uqba bin Abi Muait whereas amongst the tender-minded, calm and tolerant people, Utba bin Rabe'ah and Hakeem bin Hizam were prominent. It was the opinion of the first group (the hawks) that they should attack Madina forthwith and exterminate Muhammad (SAW) and his companions (RAA). Whereas the latter group (the doves) was not in favour of these harsh measures. Utba bin Rabe'ah was a very intelligent man. After the migration of the Prophet (SAW) he said to the Quraish that Muhammad (SAW) and his companions had left Makkah (thinking that their problem had been eliminated) but he will not sit at ease and idle there and will propagate his religion. This will lead to the Arabs turning against him and now the tussle will be with the rest of the Arabs. If Muhammad (SAW) conquers the rest of Arabia do we loose? He is our brother, his victory is our victory, with his victory we will establish power over Arabia. And if the Arabs kill Muhammad (SAW) then you will achieve your objective without staining your swords with the blood of your brothers. After all who is Abu Bakr? Is he not our brother? Who is U'mr? And who is Othman? He is from amongst the Bannu Umayyah. Who is Hamza? He is the son of Abdul Muttalib. And who is Muhammad (SAW)? The grandson of Abdul Muttalib. So all of them are our kith and kin. Will you cut their necks with your swords? Let the Arabs and Muhammad (SAW) deal with each other. If Muhammad (SAW) is victorious then we will rule the whole of Arabia. And as time went on, this was something that actually happened. After the rightly-guided Caliphate again were the same Arabs ruling over vast areas under Banu Umayyah or Banu Abbas dynasty. Utba bin Rabe'ah had presented such a profound idea that even quite influential people of Makkah were impressed.

These tender-hearted and tolerant people had a lot of influence in Makkah but two events occurred that tilted the balance in favour of the volatile and hot-blooded Hawks and consequently Doves were totally silenced. For one thing the caravan of Abu Sufyan which had been ambushed by the Prophet (SAW) but had escaped was now returning laden with trading goods from Syria. Abu Sufyan sent an SOS call to Makkah to the effect that I am apprehensive that Muhammad's men will attack the caravan and plunder us. Therefore help may be sent immediately. Taking Abu Sufyan's message, a man entered Makkah yelling and crying that your tribe, your clan and your possessions are in danger, hence sends help immediately. On the other hand another event occurred. The Prophet (SAW) had sent a small party of twelve people to Nakhlah, which is a site located between Taif and Makkah, and had instructed them to stay there and keep him informed of the movement of the Makkans. At this place an armed clash took place inadvertently between Muslims and Makkans, as a result of which one pagan was killed by the Muslims, two were captured and one of them escaped. The Muslims came to the Prophet (SAW) with camels laden with goods which had been taken as booty. The Prophet (SAW) expressed his displeasure at this saying that he had not commanded them to initiate a war. But now what had happened could not be undone. The pagan who had succeeded in escaping tore his clothes and entered Makkah crying and yelling, 'O people! Muhammad's men have killed one of our men'. Both these reports reached Makkah simultaneously, one from the North and the other from the South. After the Prophet's Hijrah none of the pagans had killed any Muslim. Prior to the Hijrah they had martyred Hazrat Sum'aya (RAA) and Hazrat Yasir (RAA) but after the Hijrah no steps or action for torturing Muslims had been taken by the people of Makkah.

Source: The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution

To be continued ....