The Battles and the Final Years

Al-Suhayli's annotations on the battles of the Madinan period are among the most technically demanding sections of Al-Rawd al-Unuf, combining military history, chain analysis, and Quranic exegesis. At Badr in the second year of the Hijra, a force of approximately 313 Muslims encountered a Qurayshi army of nearly a thousand. Al-Suhayli notes the significance of this battle as the first major military confrontation, records the chains of transmission for the key narrations, and identifies the names of participants and slain on both sides with his characteristic attention to proper names. The Quran's account of Badr in Surah al-Anfal provides al-Suhayli with rich material for cross-referencing between the historical narrative and the divine commentary on it, and he notes that the battle is one of the most thoroughly Quranically attested events in the entire Sira.

The Battle of Uhud in the third year of the Hijra, which resulted in a difficult setback for the Muslim forces after an initial advantage was squandered, receives nuanced treatment. Al-Suhayli does not treat it as a mere military defeat but as a theological teaching moment: the Quran's extended commentary on Uhud in Surah Al Imran addresses why the believers suffered and what lessons they were meant to draw. Al-Suhayli's annotations on this section closely follow the Quranic exegetical tradition, explaining the verses in light of the specific incidents, the moment when the archers abandoned their position against the Prophet's command, and the wounding of the Prophet himself. The death of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle and a warrior of legendary courage, is recorded with particular care.

The Conquest of Makkah in the eighth year of the Hijra marks the culmination of the Madinan period and the fulfillment of a divine promise. Al-Suhayli annotates the famous amnesty declaration with which the Prophet entered the city where he had been persecuted: 'Go, for you are free.' He identifies the linguistic usage of this phrase and its precedents, and notes the theological significance of forgiveness at the moment of total power. The purification of the Ka'ba from the idols that had surrounded it is annotated with reference to the Quranic verse revealed at the moment: 'Truth has come and falsehood has vanished; falsehood is ever vanishing' (17:81). Al-Suhayli observes that the manner of the conquest, with minimal bloodshed, was itself a manifestation of prophetic mercy.

The Farewell Pilgrimage of the tenth year of the Hijra and the Prophet's final sermon receive the weight they deserve in al-Suhayli's commentary. The sermon, delivered before a vast gathering on the plain of Arafat, is annotated with attention to each of its legal and ethical provisions: the abolition of pre-Islamic blood debts, the prohibition of riba, the rights of women, the equality of humanity before Allah, and the final confirmation of the message's completeness. Al-Suhayli notes the revelation of the verse 'Today I have perfected your religion for you' (5:3) during the pilgrimage and records that Abu Bakr wept upon hearing it, understanding it as a sign that the Prophet's mission was complete and his departure from the world was near. Al-Suhayli closes his commentary on these final sections with reflections on the enduring authority of the prophetic example and the obligation to transmit it faithfully to subsequent generations.