Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 86 - Recap & Lessons from Hunayn & Ta'if ~ Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 13 Aug 2014
Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 86 - Recap & Lessons from Hunayn & Ta'if ~ Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 13 Aug 2014
We will recap the Battle of Hunayn and Ta'if, and the main points of benefit from them.
Recap
Recall we discussed in length the Conquest of Makkah which occurred Ramadan 8th Hijrah. We mentioned of the most important product of the Conquest is that the entirety of the Quraysh converted to Islam: Some of them immediately, others it took a while such as Abu Sufyan, Suhayl ibn Amr, Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahal, etc. After the Conquest, the Prophet PBUH also destroyed all the idols in the neighboring tribes. He then went on the offensive against the tribe of Thaqif in Ta'if. Indeed, the Prophet PBUH heard Thaqif had allied with their cousins, Hawazin - which are two tribes that rival Makkah. And they decided they will launch an offensive so the Prophet PBUH decided he will engage with them in war. And so the Ansar, Muhajirun and all the new converts from Makkah engaged in the Battle of Hunayn. And the Qur'an mentions two battles by name; Allah mentions the confederates (Ahzab), so we call the battle the 'Battle of Ahzab' but it's not mentioned like this in the Qur'an. The two battles that are mentioned by name are Badr and Hunayn.
Initially the Muslims fled and ran away, but the Prophet PBUH and senior sahaba remained until the counter offensive was launched. And eventually the Battle of Hunayn was a resounding success. Regarding the tribe of Hawazin - the men fled and left all their women, property and belongings on the battlefield. Thus all this was taken as war booty. Recall the younger overzealous commander said, "Bring all the women and children," and the elder said, "That's foolish," but the younger commander decided no and he brought everything with him to the battlefield. It was a very foolish move for them; it turned out to be a great advantage for the Muslims. And thus this turned out to be the largest ghanima in the history of the seerah. We also mentioned the Prophet PBUH camped outside Ta'if and it was not a success at that time, so the Prophet PBUH returned to Madinah and he said, "Allah will guide them to Islam sooner or later," and indeed in the 9th year of the Hijrah they converted.
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Points of Benefit From the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta'if
Let us go back and derive some benefits from the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta'if.
1. Do not neglect the primary cause of victory. What is the primary cause of victory? Trust in Allah. As Allah says:
إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ اللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ
"If Allah helps you nobody can conquer you." [3:160]
What does Allah say in the Qur'an about who the Muslims put their trust in on that day? Allah says, "On the Day of Hunayn they had a confidence in other than Allah (the quantity they had)." Therefore, our tawakkul has to be in Allah - the one who causes the cause. Not in the cause itself. If our tawakkul is put in the cause, this is a type of shirk. It's called minor shirk and there are many examples. For example, if you have an alarm system in your house and you turn it on and think, "Okay the alarm system will protect me." This isn't great shirk that makes you a mushrik, but it's hidden/minor shirk. That your tawakkul is in that alarm system. Similarly, if you are sick and you go to the doctor, your tawakkul is in Allah but you realize Allah has given this doctor the tools and knowledge you don't have. So ultimately Allah gives the shifa, but it's through the medicine and doctor.
So in all affairs of life: You must put your tawakkul in Allah. If a person denies Allah and says, "This is all from me," for example the story in Surah Kahf about the man with the two gardens. His brother said, "This is from Allah," but the guy said, "No it's from me." Qarun said the same thing, "I was the businessman who managed to get the money" and so he's a kafir because he made himself the cause. So the one who eliminates Allah and says, "I am the cause," - this is shirk and kufr. Among Muslims this is not possible, thus it's not major shirk to say this but rather minor shirk and it will not bring us success - this is exactly what happened on the day of Hunayn. They put their tawakkul in their cause and they almost failed had Allah not helped them.
Note there are two types of causes: Physical and spiritual. A physical cause is a cause that humanity understands and believes in regardless of religion. For example: medicine, job, and education, strength, etc. A spiritual cause is a cause that is supernatural. We as Muslims have our 'spiritual causes' through du'a, Qur'an, etc. All of these are spiritual. Now, a spiritual cause if it is legitimate, can it be attached to that? We said your heart should not have tawakkul and attachment to any physical cause i.e. a doctor. Okay, can your heart be attached to a spiritual cause? Yes because by definition it is connected with Allah. To have your heart connected to Allah through a spiritual cause is tawhid. We learn this from the incident of Hunayn that we don't put our trust in physical causes. Now of course physical causes are necessary in that they are causes: The famous hadith of, "Tie your camel and then put your trust in Allah." This is the basis of actions: We do the physical causes and then put our trust in Allah. We go to the doctor, install an alarm system, do a degree to get a job, etc. But after doing all this our heart is attached to Allah. So we put our tawakkul in Allah while we do these physical causes.
2) Another important point of theology is we excuse people even for major shirk and kufr out of ignorance. If a person is genuinely ignorant and they say they are Muslim, and believe they are Muslim, but fall into blatant shirk and kufr, and they don't even know it is, it is possible Allah will forgive them because they are ignorant. We learn this from the hadith of Abu Waqid - as the Muslims left Makkah they saw the tree which they used to hang their weapons on. And the tree itself was an idol; and they Quraysh would hang their weapons there for 'good luck.' So Abu Waqid al-Laythi who just converted yesterday and doesn't know anything, he asks the Prophet PBUH, "Can't you make for us Dhat Anwat (good luck charm)?" This is major kufr - he is asking for another besides Allah. And the Prophet PBUH said this is major shirk. He said, "I swear by Allah you asked me exactly what the Bani Israel asked Musa AS," and what they did was major shirk. But did the Prophet PBUH say, "Repeat your shahada for you've become a kafir." No. Why? Because he's a brand new Muslim and is ignorant.
Indeed we hear such strange views about Islam and Muslims come forth sometimes with blatant kufr, the most obvious example is the notion of, "Anyone who is good will go to heaven." This is blatant shirk - to say this is kufr akbar. Why? Because you are saying that in fact there are Gods to be worshiped besides Allah. It goes against the Prophet PBUH because you are saying someone who denies the Prophet PBUH can go to Jannah. It goes against the shahada - you've negated it when you say, "All paths go to Jannah." Even in our own communities people will say, "Oh yes if you're good it's fine." But no - you have to be good theologically first, and then action wise. Insha'Allah such a person who says this can be forgiven because there is Iman in their hearts and they want to submit to Allah.
'Asl al-Kufr' is when you don't want to submit. But 'asl al-Iman' is such that you want to submit but you don't know how to properly. Such a person who believes himself to be Muslim, then commits a major mistake such as kufr but is ignorant; that person will not be held accountable for their ignorance, rather they must be taught and educated. We have for example gender orientation these days - we say, "To say it's okay is wrong." Indeed to say it's okay is like saying it's okay to drink alcohol. That is kufr; drinking alcohol is not kufr, but to legitimize haram is kufr. We have to deal with such Muslims in a gentle manner and with wisdom.
3) Even the best of people can be swayed by worldly desires, power, ambition and desire for wealth. It's not in and of itself a sign of weak Iman to have desires of this world and be swayed by them. True Iman comes when you are reminded to keep in check. When someone shows you the truth, can you put yourself in check? This is explicit in the story of Yusuf AS. The Qur'an says, "He desired her." It is not in and of itself haram to have this inclination. What happened in the Battle of Hunayn? When the Ansar felt somehow that the Prophet PBUH had not done justice to them after they got nothing from the ghanima. When all the money was given to the new converts, Abu Sufyan, etc. And the Ansar said something that really demonstrated how disappointed they were with the Prophet PBUH, which is very dangerous - it's actually a type of kufr. But they are human. They said, "When it comes to the call for war, we are the first on the line, but when it comes to money being given, he gives it to his relatives and family (Quraysh)." Indeed money was given to the new converts, by the millions, from being a popper you become a 1% elite. People became millionaires overnight. Wallahi any one of us would have lost our minds. Imagine you fight a people for 20 years with the Prophet PBUH but now when the money is handed out, they get everything and you don't get a penny.
So the Ansar said their statement, and this demonstrates again they are humans. We have a problem in making the sahaba into angels - the sahaba are the best generation of humans. They wanted money like we want it and everyone else wants it. When the Prophet PBUH heard what happened, he called them all in his tent, and told all the non-Ansari to get out. He addressed the Ansar directly and frankly. And he gave that moving lecture and said, "Are you not happy people are going back to their homes with gold and silver in their hands, and you are going back to your home with Rasulullah amongst you?" And he said, "I am one of you - were it not for my birth and lineage I would have been of the Ansar." And further he said, "If all of mankind went one direction, and the Ansar went another, I would go with the Ansar." Subhan'Allah such beautiful words - and all the Ansars sobbed and cried. And they begged the Prophet PBUH for forgiveness - this is true Iman. The fact they had waswas doesn't mean they don't have Iman. The Prophet PBUH said, "The believer when he is reminded he remembers." Thus the sahaba were humans, they were swayed like us all but they tempered it and controlled it.
4) Of the benefits we see again and again the Prophet PBUH is dealing with people according to the background and levels. He didn't give the Ansar a penny but all the ghanima to the new converts. Look at how he dealt with the Quraysh in the battlefield when they fled. He used a war slogan never used before or after that. He said, "I am the prophet of Allah, and I am the son of Abdul Muttalib." He called up his lineage - he had never done this in any other war. This is what you call the master of human psychology. Islam says the notion of who your father/grandfather is has the potential to be something of Jahiliyyah. Indeed the Prophet PBUH said, "Being proud of your lineage," is one of the four things that will always remain in the ummah. What is happening at Hunayn? The Prophet PBUH is not disobeying himself - he isn't being proud of his lineage. Rather he is using something on that battlefield that needs to be used with these new converts from the Quraysh. When they think, "Who is your leader?" - he's not a foreigner, he's not a stranger, this is the grandson of your legendary chieftain. So the same thing can be applied for nationalism. There is nothing wrong with ascribing yourself to a certain land, cuisine, etc. If it is used improperly it can become kufr and sin. That is why the war slogan was first, "I am the Prophet" and then after, "I am the son of Abdul Muttalib."
The Prophet PBUH also dealt with the Bedouins in a different way. He did not give the average Bedouins what he gave the chieftains of Quraysh. He just gave them tokens until everything was finished. The millions the Prophet PBUH had, he gave it all away in one day. And he didn't keep a penny for himself or for the elite of the Ansar. The Bedouins that came got whatever was there until it was all finished. Until the Prophet PBUH was surrounded by a group of Bedouins and they were demanding money, and all of the force forced him back into a group of shrubs (thorns). Because these Bedouins are Muslims, the sahaba are not acting like bodyguards. But they pushed the Prophet PBUH back into the shrubs so much so his upper shawl was caught and it fell on the floor. And the Prophet PBUH said, "Give me my cloak back for wallahi if I had coins/golds as much as the thorns on these shrubs I would have distributed to the last of you and you would not have found me stingy or miserly." So our religion teaches us common sense - we treat people according to their backgrounds. There is a hadith in Muslim narrated by Aisha RA, "Our Prophet PBUH commanded us to treat people according to their level."
5) Also we see the issue of making du'a for vs against people. We should speak about the seerah frankly. If we have a false image of the Prophet PBUH or the sahaba, this could later be a crisis of faith. So another common misconception: You are never allowed to make du'a against somebody. This is completely wrong. When the sahaba finished the Siege of Ta'if, they begged the Prophet PBUH to make du'a against Thaqif. Why? Because they were so stubborn; the sahaba had been there for 2 weeks, Muslims had died and Thaqif brings all the highs of the Muslims down. We are in the 8th year of Hijrah. Do you think the sahaba are asking for something new? No. They know it is possible. When Asr was missed during Khandaq the Prophet PBUH made du'a against the Ahzab. When a carcass was thrown on the Prophet PBUH, he made explicit du'a by name against the group of Qureshis who did it. And every one of them was killed at Badr. And when the 70 sahaba were killed, the Prophet PBUH made du'a against those who did it for a whole month. Did not Musa AS make du'a against Pharaoh? Did not Nuh AS make du'a against his own people? Yes, Ibrahim and Isa made du'a for their people. Of course Ibrahim and Isa were the tender hearted ones, Nuh and Musa were more stricter like Abu Bakr and Umar. Which shows us yes both are there. No doubt the general rule is to make du'a for, but sometimes it is healthy and necessary to make du'a against.
In our time there are many tyrants, the modern pharaoh in Syria - is it not Islamic to make du'a against him? Wallahi it is. The one who makes du'a against after all that is done, that is the more logical thing to do. The point is that it is not un-Islamic. Because this notion that we cannot make du'a against someone is wrong. There are plentiful hadith about making du'a against a Muslim who has done wrong to you. If a Muslim had dishonored you, slandered you, Islamically and Quranically you can make du'a against him by name. The Prophet PBUH said, "The du'a of the one who has done wrong, there is no hijab (barrier) between him and Allah." Which means you CAN make du'a even against a Muslim, therefore of course we can make du'a against a tyrant. Thus if someone makes du'a against them by saying, "O Allah, destroy these people," this is fine and is from the sunnah. Now what did the Prophet PBUH do with Ta'if? He made du'a for them. Thus the general rule is to be merciful but you can be strict if necessary.
6) Wisdom in dealing in past offences. Should you punish people for their past crimes or forgive them? We have in the Battle of Hunayn a major crime, and that is the Muslims fled the battlefield. The Prophet PBUH said, "Seven are the deadly sins, one of them is to turn away and flee on the battlefield." And these groups of new Muslims did exactly this. It's a major sin. And therefore Ummi Sulaym, one of the famous sahabiyat, when they all fled, she in fact jumped off her own animal, runs to the Prophet PBUH and pulls out a hand dagger. So amongst the small group of men protecting the Prophet PBUH, Ummi Sulaym was also there. And the sahaba look at her and say, "What are you doing what will you do with that?" She says, "If anyone comes I will shove it in his stomach." When the battle was eventually won, her anger bursts out and she says, "Ya Rasulullah execute all those cowards," i.e. the ones who fled. And the Prophet PBUH said, "Oh Ummi Sulaym, Allah took care of us, He defended us and everything is fine." Meaning, 'yes they did a sin, but what shall we do? Kill a 1000 people?' Here we find wisdom in dealing. It's a major offence but what will you gain by mass retribution? This shows us the wisdom of the Prophet PBUH.
7) The Prophet PBUH uses psychological means which shows us you need to understand the human psyche. A leader must be able to deal with the human situation. In Hunayn, the tribe of Hawazin eventually accepted Islam. The Prophet PBUH had their women and children. The tribe of Thaqif ran back to their castles. Hawazin however ran away. But they've left all their property, women and children on the battlefield. So the Prophet PBUH was hopeful they were going to come back and negotiate. So he did not distribute any of their stuff; he just left them in Ji'rana and waited for them to come back. Hawazin didn't come - so eventually he distributed everything, all the property and people. Then lo and behold Hawazin come and say, 'We are sorry, we're Muslims, we want our stuff back.' Now, what did the Prophet PBUH do? Every person who has a property, money, slave, etc. - you can't expect it all back. This is very expensive. So what is to be done? When the Hawazin came to the Muslims, the Prophet PBUH asked them, "What is more beloved to you? Your family or your wealth?" Obviously they said, 'Family.' Why did he say this? Because he knows he cannot give everything back to them. So he tells them, "Tomorrow after the salah, stand up and make this speech, tell the people you are Muslims, and tell them, 'Ya Rasulullah, we ask you to be an intercessor with the rest of the Muslims.'"
Notice the psychology here. When everyone prays how do you feel after salah? You feel righteous and pious so it's the best time. Second, it's emotional appeal. The Prophet PBUH does not want to command the sahaba to hand everything over because Islamically that property is their right. And to tell them to "hand it back," is wrong. So he wants the Muslims to be generous and follow him. So after they gave their speech as planned immediately the Prophet PBUH stood up and it's emotional again. He is playing with the psyche of the new converts. As for the sahaba he could have commanded and they would have obeyed. But these new converts are still fragile. So he said, "As for what I have, and the family of Abdul Muttalib, they are yours. As for the rest of you, you see the situation of your brothers - they want their families back. So whoever can give it Allah will reward him. Whoever is not able to do so we will free them with the next amount of money that comes." Of course right now the Prophet PBUH has no money to give. Immediately the Muhajirun give everything up. Next the Ansar and said, 'FisabiliLlah.' Then the new converts, many said, 'No, only with money.' A large percentage of Muslims there was no money involved; those that wanted the money, it was their legitimate right, so the Prophet PBUH promised these people that they would be the first recipients of the next batch of ghanima.
And it's amazing the Hawazin were mortal enemies just 3 weeks before this. They set the trap to kill the Muslims, they plot to kill the Prophet PBUH and yet just a few weeks later they come as Muslims. No doubt their main motivation to accept Islam is just defeat and family. But khalas the Prophet PBUH doesn't make a deal out of this. They are Muslims, end of story. Why? Because Islam is the truth. So however one accepts it, eventually it will enter the heart. These people now their Iman is weak, or even nonexistent but it will enter their hearts. And therefore this new group of sahaba were treated with the type of generosity we expect from the Prophet PBUH and this helps them accept Islam more easier.
When they accepted Islam, the Prophet PBUH said, "Where is your leader, Malik ibn Awf al-Ansari?" He is the same leader who insisted to bring the women and children to battlefield against the advice of the elders. He was the main leader who instigated the attack, led the attack, had the tactic of showering the Muslims with arrows in the overpass, etc. They said, "He managed to get into Ta'if." So the Prophet PBUH said, "Go tell him, if he comes to me as a Muslim, I shall return his family and property, plus give him 100 camels." It's blatant bribery. When Malik heard this it's a no-brainer because he's lost everything. Family, wealth, tribe, etc. Now he's being told if he comes back as a Muslim, not only will he get it all back, he'll become a multi millionaire. It's a no-brainer - there's no life to live without your family, property and tribe. After all he is the chieftain! What will you do without a tribe to lead? So he has no choice, he comes to the Prophet PBUH, he accepts Islam, and the Prophet PBUH reinstates him as the tribal leader. The very person who instigated the entire attack against the Muslims. And this has happened before with the Banu Harithah; they are all prisoners of war, and then instantly they're all free, get their property back, go back to the same land and same people.
What other civilization can say this? The same batch of people who fought against the Muslims go back with their tribe, people, and property as before except they are now Muslims.
And in fact Malik ibn Awf al-Ansari versified lines of poetry saying the Prophet PBUH is truly a prophet because he did not have to do this. Yet he did, he fulfilled his promise and Malik said there is no doubt he's a true prophet. When you see someone giving millions away and not keeping a penny for himself what does this show? This is why al-Aqra ibn Habiz, the other chieftain said, "Wallahi this man is a prophet for no king would do what he has done. I've just come from a man who doesn't care about money! This is only a prophet." Ultimately when you are so generous and so good to the people you will bring their hearts to Islam and this is what happened with the tribe of Hawazin. And indeed as a general rule the Prophet PBUH tried to find local leaders and previous leaders within a tribe to lead. Look at Malik: The same leader of the tribe becomes the tribe leader again. Why? Because it's human nature to respect someone within your own ranks. You won't respect an outsider to the same level. Also, who better to rule than someone who's already ruled. Malik knows how to rule his own people: He knows the elites, the people in charge of things, etc.
8) Another point we discuss is the issue of the prisoners of war, which brings up the controversial issue of slavery in Islam and in Islamic law. This is a very hot topic that obviously critics of Islam and even Muslims don't know the sharia question about. Many people say, "How do we read the Qur'an and hadith when it talks about slavery?" This is a very long topic in and of itself.
The first thing is we don't like to use the word "slavery" here. Why? Because it is historically loaded. When we used the term instantly we get images of American slavery. And this has huge negative connotations; American slavery was the worst manifestation of it in human history. Even the ancient Romans treated their slaves better. The way slavery existed especially in America was really the worst manifestation of it. When we used the term slavery, that sort of imagery comes up whereas that never existed ever in Islam. So what was done 200 years ago was purely barbaric and wrong. It's a historical fact slavery in America was the worst of all time. This type of slavery NEVER existed in the history of Islam, or other cultures for that matter. The Arabic is actually 'ubudiyya' or 'riq' which is better.
We will look at riq in the context of two times. Firstly what did Islam do, and secondly in our times with the ethical laws and the banning of slavery in the modern world. Now, during the Prophet's PBUH times, slavery/riq was a universal practice - no culture banned it ever, every society (Romans, Chinese, Indian, etc.) practiced it. Islam was the only and the first to institute LAWS for slavery. Of those laws here are some:
1. Restricting where your slaves come from - Islam only allowed one source: Prisoners of wars who weren't ransomed.
Every other civilization allowed people to capture free people from other lands and then sell them. So they would go into some land, take someone, force him into slavery and then bring him as a slave. Islam however forbade this. Islam only allowed Muslims to take slaves after a legitimate war took place; a state fights another state, there are thousands of prisoners and after the war all those who were captured and were NOT paid ransom, those people could be taken as slaves.
2. Legislated proper treatment
This again was unheard of - there are numerous hadith about treating slaves in a humane manner. Quite literally hadith in Bukhari says, "Your slave are your brothers, feed them from what you eat and give them to wear from what you wear." And that is why in Islam there are many instances where you cannot tell the slave from the master. Every civilization allowed masters to do what they like with their slaves. Islam said NO. Rather the Prophet PBUH said, "So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them (slaves) to do things beyond their capacity (power) and if you do so, then help them." In other words slaves were put at the same level as the master.
3. Islam legislated the freeing of slaves through so many avenues
Such as a false oath or testimony, breaking your fast in Ramadan. In fact it legislated zakat money - one of the 8 categories of zakat is freeing a slave. This is not something to be taken lightly. Not only zakat and penalty, freeing a slave is one of the highest virtues in Islam. There are whole books and chapters on the virtues of freeing slaves. Allah gave so much reward and virtue to those who freed slaves, so much so Aisha RA and others used to look for slaves to free. Indeed the Prophet PBUH said, "One of the ways to free yourself from hellfire is to free a slave."
4. It created a legal framework that incorporates the treatment of slaves but doesn't formally require their existence
That is, Islam doesn't require slavery. If we eliminate the entire structure of slavery the Islamic foundation and legislation laws are still perfectly intact. Therefore in our times when there is no slavery, Islamic law is full and valid and it doesn't need it. Therefore Allah intended slavery to be something that isn't required. If it's there, Islam has laws for it. If it's not - no problem, the Islamic framework still stands. This is quite a profound point.
There is also the issue of having relations with female slaves. But once again all societies and cultures had the exact same rule. It's not something Islam came with. There are plenty of references in the Old and New Testament about it. Previous cultures did not have any rules; in many cultures including pre-Islamic Arabian cultures, your slave didn't just have to be yours, you could lend her to other people. Of course what happened was you would hire her out to other people for a night. And the Qur'an references this that it's completely haram. So the Qur'an came and legislated things even in this regard.
And children both in Jahiliyyah days were also slaves whereas in Islam a child born from that union is like a normal child. That is why Ismail and Ishaq are both equal (even though Hajar was a slave). The majority of the khulafa were born of slaves. The majority of the Abbasids and the Uthmanids were actually born of a slave union, showing this brought no negative stigma. If a child was born of such a union, immediately the slave is no longer a slave, she is upgraded to 'umm al-walad.' So after the child is born, you cannot sell her to anyone - why? Because she is a mother of a child. And she becomes free on the death of the child's father. The point is that, yes it is a difficult topic but we don't have to deal with it in the modern world. Allah legislated something that in the time and context was the most humane possible. And everything seemed to work towards eliminating slavery. Now it is eliminated, it is now gone.
Slavery was abolished in the 1870s - many Muslim clerics opposed the abolishment of slavery, but so eventually it's been eliminated. The bottom line, yes it's a difficult issue to wrap our minds around, but it needs to be explained. Islam came and legislated it and made it far more humane than any other civilization. No civilization even had laws for slavery. And every book of fiqh has a chapter on slavery. Even in the seerah of the Prophet PBUH notice how many times slaves were freed. And the Prophet PBUH himself never had a personal slave; every slave he had he would free. But a number of them attached themselves to him after being freed for his company. Maria al-Qibtiyya was not a servant of the Prophet PBUH; there is an ikhtilaf whether she accepted Islam.
9) The final point we'll mention about the benefits of Hunayn and Ta'if - recall we discussed the conversion of the single most famous poet of Arabia, Ka'b ibn Zuhayr. And after Hunayn he accepted Islam. This is not on the places of Hunayn - we discussed his conversion story and his famous poem, Banat Su'ad. Now this is a little bit of a deep point: Pre Arabic poetry had certain motifs, mannerisms and styles. And some of them are awkward to say the least. For example every famous Arab poem, pre Islamic, always has a love story. Every poem by and large had some type of love element. This is the reality for all poetry. In this poem of Banat Su'ad; the most famous line in the poem is, "The Prophet PBUH is a light that people seek, and he is the Indian sword" (Muhannad Sword - the highest quality sword from Hind). Why are we discussing this? If we actually read this poem, as typical, there are paragraphs about Su'ad and the love Ka'b has for Su'ad. And descriptions of the beauty of Su'ad.
Now this type of terminology we wouldn't think of it when we think about poetry of the Prophet PBUH. But Ka'b is a brand new convert, and he's writing what turns out to be his most famous poem. And in it he's discussing the pain and anguish of Su'ad and how she is gone now. And there are lines in this poem that some of the more conservative Muslims would find problematic. Ultimately it's a love poem. There are styles and techniques used that we don't really like. But the Prophet PBUH did not correct him - he just let it be, it's not the time and place. This is a bit controversial because other poems he did correct. When the poetry was incorrect, even kufr, or too romantic he corrected.
A hadith in Bukhari narrates some young girls came to the Prophet PBUH on Eid and began playing the duff and singing. And one of the lines of the poetry was, "We have a prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow." Now that is going too far - it's a theological deviation. So our Prophet PBUH said to these young girls, "Get rid of this line and the rest of it is fine." This hadith is in Bukhari so it's authentic.
What is the point? Sometimes in some places you can't have 100% sanitized versions. We have to especially keep this in mind in the modern world we live in. When things are being done and people are doing dawah in ways which we don't agree/approve of. There will be issues that have problems in them. It's a case by case basis - the point is, if we read this Banat Su'ad poem us conservative Muslims who have not studied Arabic poetry will find it disturbing and problematic. But those who have studied understand this is genre and how classical Arabic is. It will always have a woman, beautiful ladies, stuff, etc. If we read this poem and think, "This is what the Prophet PBUH approved of?" we would say, "How is this halal?" Even though the poem is very famous because it eventually leads to the Prophet PBUH praising him.
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The Results of the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta'if
We conclude: what were the results of Hunayn and Ta'if?
1. A clear victory in the entire region of Hejaz even though Ta'if was still not Muslim - it was a small island of shirk in the ocean of tawhid. The entire Hejaz reason had converted to Islam.
2. Idolatry was eliminated completely publicly. Yes Ta'if is still pagan within their castle but just within a few months they will embrace Islam.
3. Therefore the Battle of Hunayn was the very last battle between Islam and shirk. After this, it's gone. Never did the Prophet PBUH and sahaba fight against the mushrikun of Arabia. The next battles are Rome, Persia, etc. As for shirk in Arabia, Hunayn was the final domino. Arab idolatry ceased to exist within less than a year. This is one of the biggest miracles of the seerah. Arabia was a land full of idol worshiping, left right and center. Within 22 years of the Prophet PBUH receiving prophethood, idolatry ceased to exist. Completely finished. This is a miracle only from Allah. It was a complete wiping of shirk from Arabia.
4. The final benefit is the entire Quraysh tribe converted to Islam
With this Central Arabia had been conquered, only the northern province was left - Allah willed they will not actually fight, the people will feel the power of Islam and realize they can't fight. This will be the Battle of Tabuk.