society. Instead of playing with children of his age group, he felt
disgusted in their company and preferred to be in solitude. Allaah the
Almighty had kept him aloof from every kind ofdebasement and
immorality. A few boys of Quraysh forced him to enjoy a marriage
celebration where there was dancing and music. However, as hereached
the spot, he was overtaken by sleep and kept sleeping the whole night,
only to get up when the assembly had dispersed at the end of the
celebration. He was, thus, saved from the undesirable and forbidden
activities of the marriage ceremony.
He was perhaps seven years old when the Quraysh started rebuilding the
Ka'bah, which had suffered damage from a flood. During the
construction work, hejoined the party of workers and helped them by
carrying stones and giving them to the masons. He was wearing an
Izaar)waist sheet( which was causing him some trouble doing the work.
The nakedness of a boy of seven was not then considered something
improper. So, his uncle Al-'Abbaas grabbed hold of the waist sheet and
pulled it so violently that hebecame naked. Hegrew shameful to the
extent that he fell down unconscious. At last, the people felt the
gravity of the situation and put his waist sheet back on, after which
herecovered.
First Journey toSyria
The Prophetwas twelve yearsold when Abu Taalib planned to go with a
merchant caravan to Syria leaving him behind in Makkah. But hewas so
used to the company of Abu Taalib that he could not bear
separationfrom his uncle. Abu Taalib felt moved and agreed to take him
toSyria. When they reached Busrah)which was a part ofSyriain the
vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain(, they met a monk called
Baheerah )his real name was Georges(, who showedgreat kindness and
entertained them lavishly. He had never been in the habit of receiving
or entertaining them before. He readily enough recognised the
Prophetand said while takinghis hand: "This is the master of all
humans. Allaah will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to
all beings." Abu Taalib asked: "How do you know that?" He replied:
"When you appeared from the direction of 'Aqabah, all stones and trees
prostrated themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can
recognise him also by the seal of Prophethood, which is below his
shoulder, like an apple. We have learnt this from our books." He also
asked Abu Taalib to send theboy back to Makkah and not to take him
toSyriafor fear of the Jews. Abu Taalib obeyed and senthim back to
Makkah with some ofhis men servants.
Harb Al-Fijaar )The Sacrilegious Wars(, First Participation inBattle
A great fair was regularly held at 'Ukaath. This fair would organise a
number of programs including horse races, wrestling, demonstrations of
the art of combat and poetic competitions. All the tribes ofArabiawere
highly belligerent by nature and drew swords against one another at
the smallest incident.
Once, in the course of the fair at 'Ukaath, the Hawaazin and Quraysh
tribes challenged each other due to a slight provocation.At the
outset, some wise and sober people stood in the way and put the matter
right. Nevertheless, some mischief-mongers worsened the
situation,which led to a large-scale fighting and killing on both
sides.The war was known as Harb Al-Fijaar because it took place in the
month of Dhul-Qa'dah when fighting was altogether forbidden.
Muhammadwas hardly fifteen when the 'sacrilegious' wars started -
which continued with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human
life for a number of years.This war was based on a series offour wars
in which the first three were small and the fourth war happened to be
more fierce than the preceding one as all the tribes of Qays joined
the Hawaazin tribe while all the tribes of Kinaanah came to the help
of the Quraysh. Thus, this war developed to become a war between the
Qays and Kinaanah tribes. The fourth and last war was so terrible that
some of the chieftains had their feet chained so they would be unable
to flee from the battlefield.
The Prophetjoined this fourth war for the first time armed with
weapons. Among Banu Kinaanah, every tribe had a commander. Zubayr Ibn
'Abdul-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophetled the Quraysh while Harb Ibn
Umayyah was the commander of all the troops of Banu Kinaanah.
Muhammadwas entrusted with the service ofpicking up the arrows for his
uncles. However, hewas saved from combat action. At theoutset Banu
Hawaazin seemed tobe dominating, but in the end, Banu Kinaanah turned
the tables against the Banu Qays and the war ended with a peace
treaty.
Al-Fudool Confederacy:
At the conclusion of these wars when peace was restored, peoplefelt
the need for forming a confederacy at Makkah for suppressing violence
and injustice, and vindicating the rights of the weak and the
destitute. Representatives of Banu Haashim, Banu Al-Muttalib, Asad Ibn
'Abd Al-'Uzzaa, Zahrah Ibn Kilaab and Taym Ibn Murrah were called to
meet in the habitation of an honourable elderly man called 'Abdullaah
Ibn Jada'aan At-Taymi to enter into a confederacy that would provide
for the abovementioned terms.
During his prophethood, the Prophetcommented on it with very positive
words: "I witnessed a confederacy in the house of 'Abdullaah Ibn
Jada'aan.It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in
the period of Islam, I would respond positively to attending such a
meeting if I were invited."
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