Part 49

“That is no problem; after all 1am Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah and also the Messenger of Allah.”

But the Quraish stuck to their guns; taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances and displaying great civility, the Prophet # said, “ Ali, erase the word Rasulallah.”

Ali 4 replied, “O Messenger of Allah how can my hand dare to erase this word? “The Prophet 3 ignored ‘Ali’s questioning his decision as it was rooted in his great love for him. He erased the word himself, and wrote ‘Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah’ as the Quraish demanded.

To all intents and purposes it seemed that the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was in favour of the Quraish. They tried their utmost to get all those conditions ratified which were in their favour. Some of the Companions expressed their unhappiness with this unequal accord, but in the long run the agreement did benefit the Muslim Ummah.

Some of the terms and conditions are mentioned below.

1. No one would enter Makkah with swords, unless they were sheathed

2. If any citizen of Makkah fled to Al-Madinah, he would be sent back.

3. On the other hand if a resident of Al-Madinah went to Makkah, the people of Makkah were not bound to return him.

4. This time the Prophet 3 and his Companions would have to return without entering Makkah and performing the ‘Umrah.

5. The following year Muslims would be allowed to stay in Makkah for three days only.

When the Prophet 3 entered Makkah the following year, it was a sight worth seeing. After he had stayed there for three days, the Quraish asked ‘Ali # to tell his leader that the three days allowed him according to the terms of the treaty were over and he should leave.

When he started to depart from Makkah, the orphaned daughter of his uncle, Hamzah 2%, started to cry and asked him to take her along with him. ‘Ali # caught her hand. Then the argument of guardianship

arose between ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, Zaid bin Harithah and Ja‘far bin Abi Talib pee I 52),

The argument of ‘Ali bin Abi Talib 4 was that she was his uncle’s daughter. Ja’far bin Abi Talib % said he had the better right as her

mother’s sister was married to him. And Zaid bin Harithah # said she should be handed over to him as she was his brother's daughter.

When the Prophet 3 heard this argument he ruled in favour of Ja’far bin Abi Talib , saying that a mother’s sister was closest to the mother; hence she should be brought up in the house of Ja’far <.

The Prophet # wished to pacify the ruffled feelings of his three faithful Companions. He said to ‘Ali ,”You are from me and lam from you.”

He turned around to Ja’far bin Abi Talib , saying, “In your appearance and disposition you resemble me.”

Then he told Zaid bin Harithah 4, ” You are my brother and friend.”

All three of his Companions were very happy to hear of his feelings for them. The claim of Zaid bin Harithah that the girl was his brother’s daughter was based on the fraternal relationship established in AlMadinah when he and Hamzah # had been declared brothers in Islam.

The statement of the Prophet 3 that Ja’far bin Abi Talib 4 resembled him both in looks and character was a matter of pride and the greatest compliment and honour that he could possibly have received and that too from the lips of the Prophet 3 himself!

It is written in Seerah [bn Hishém that a caravan of ten people, fed up of the oppressive and tyrannical behaviour of the Quraish set out for Ethiopia. Among them were : -

“Uthman bin ‘Affan 4 and his wife, Rugiyyah bint Prophet 3 from the tribe of Banu Umayyah.

Jama’. ‘Amer bin Rabee’ah and his wife belonged to the Banu ‘Adi. Abu Sabrah was from the Banu ‘Amer and Suhail bin Baidha’ was from the Banu Harith etc were with the caravan.

Ja’far bin Abi Talib 4 was leader of the second group of eighty-three pilgrims. He lived in Ethiopia until the Battle of Khaibar. Emperor Najashi was influenced by him and converted to Islam. He and his companions were given the status of royal guests during their stay there.

All the attributes necessary for a successful general or leader were developed to an excellent degree of perfection in the character of Jafar bin Abi Talib 4. Timely decisions, quick repartees, smooth eloquence and firm courage in speaking out his mind in the face of the enemy - all these qualities were to be found in him.

How did he get those enviable titles of ‘Zuljanahain' and ‘At-Tayyar'? Was it because he died courageously in the battlefield? No! There are many martyrs slain in Jihad. Was it because he was a sincere and true Mo'min and Muslim? This cannot be, because there are many such true Muslims, in word and in deed.

The title of ‘Zuljanahain' was given to him in acknowledgement of his services as a General in the Battle of Motah. Both his arms were cut off, but he did not allow the flag of Islam to fall to the ground. One day the Prophet % said;

“{ dreamt last night that Ja‘far bin Abi Talib 4 was among a group of angels, and he had two wings on either side of his body. The front part of the wings had some blood on them. With the help of his wings he flew wherever he wished in Paradise with in the company of the angels.”

Thus he was given the title of ‘Zuljanahain’ after he attained martyrdom. And because he flew in Paradise with the angels he was called ‘At-Tayyar’ or ‘The Bird’.

When the Prophet % received news that Sharjeel bin ‘Amr Al Ghasani, the governor of King Hergal of Rome had killed his ambassador,

Harith bin ‘Umair, ina heartless manner, he was grieved. He readied an army of three thousand Mujahideen and appointed Zaid bin Harithah . the commander. He ordered him to reach the place where the ambassador had been slain. He also set up a chain of command. If Zaid bin Harithah was martyred, Ja’far bin Abi Talib 4 should take his place. In case something happened to him ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah would assume command. In case he too was martyred the Mujahideen could choose a commander for themselves.

The army reached Motah on the borders of Syria and encamped there. King Hergal had already reached there with a huge Roman army of a hundred thousand men. Another hundred thousand had gathered there from the tribe of Halif to help him. Now the war was between the small Islamic army of three thousand Mujahideen and an army of two hundred thousand Roman soldiers.

But the Mujahideen did not lose courage when they was this huge army; on the other hand their spirit of Jihad and the desire for martyrdom became more intense. The fact that this tiny army courageously faced the challenge of the massive forces of the enemy was entirely due to the strength of their faith. These pure souls could smell the perfumed air of Paradise and wished to enter its enchanted frontiers,

The two armies faced off in the battlefield; and the air echoed with the sound of flashing swords. The general Zaid bin Harithah was martyred fighting valiantly.

Ja‘far bin Abi Talib 4 moved up and took the flag from his hand. The Roman offensive was very fierce; one of the Roman soldiers struck at his right hand and cut it off. He picked up the flag with his left hand. The Roman cut off this as well. Ja’far bin Abi Talib still did not allow the flag to fall and held on to it with his arms. A Roman soldier now attacked him so fiercely that he lost his life, and gained the status of a martyr.

‘Abdullah bin Rawahah .% took the flag and the command next, but soon he too was martyred. Then by common consent Khalid bin Waleed .#% was chosen commander. He fought so bravely that he scattered the enemy, breaking nine swords in the process. The next day he brought about a lot of changes in the tactics employed. He switched the right wing of the army to the left and vice versa. He told

some of the Mujahideen to throw up a lot of dust; the result of all these sudden changes was that the enemy thought reinforcements had arrived. They panicked and started to retreat. After deceiving them in this manner for a few days, Khalid bin Waleed 4 managed to save the lives of the Mujahideen and get them out safely.

This was a remarkable achievement of Khalid bin Waleed # - that he managed to save the lives of a handful of Mujahideen from the clutches of an army consisting of two hundred thousand soldiers. Experts in military strategy were amazed by this miraculous feat. In reality bringing a tiny band of men back to safety with minimal losses against an army many times its size was an incredible exploit.

OOK The wife of Ja’far bin Abi Talib %, Asma’ bint ‘Umais {+ 4 ,2, says,

“One day I was sitting at home after bathing my children, when the Prophet 38 came to visit, He took my children in his lap and he looked sorrowful. Tears started to flow down his cheeks. I got nervous and asked him what was the matter and if there was some bad news. He answered that Ja’far bin Abi Talib & had_ been martyred in the cause of Allah %. I was grief-stricken and started to weep. He left after giving this sad news and went home and told his family to prepare food for the family of Ja’far +4. Some of the women of Al-Madinah came to condole with me. In order to console me one of them told me that the Prophet 3 had said that Allah % had placed my husband ina very high position. In place of the two arms he had lost he had been given two wings to fly wherever he pleased in the company of angels.”

‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar 4 relates,

“1 was also present at this encounter. We saw his body - it had more than ninety wounds. What was remarkable was that all the wounds were in the region of the breast, and not a single wound was in the back. This is a sign of a heroic man who did not once turn his back on the enemy.”