Incident of Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah

The acts of mischief and seditious behaviour perpetrated by the tribes of Sulaim, and Ghaṭafān, etc. have already been mentioned above. These tribes inhabited the central region of Arabia in the Satḥ-e-Murtafa‘ Najd and had allied with the Quraish of Makkah against the Muslims. Slowly but surely, the evil of these mischievous tribes was continuing to grow and the Satḥ-e- Murtafa‘ Najd was continuing to be poisoned with the venom of enmity against Islām. As such, in the days we are describing now, an individual named Abū Barā’ ‘Āmirī, who was a chieftain of the tribe situated in central Arabia known as the Banū ‘Āmir, presented himself before the Holy Prophet(sa) in order to meet him. The Holy Prophet(sa) very gently and kindly conveyed the message of Islām to him and at the outset he also listened to the address of the Holy Prophet(sa) with interest and attention, but did not accept Islām. Albeit, he submitted to the Holy Prophet(sa), “Send a few Companions along with me to Najd, who can travel there and preach the message of Islām to the people of Najd. I am confident that the people of Najd will not reject your message.” The Holy Prophet(sa) said, “I do not trust the people of Najd.” Abū Barā’ responded, “Do not worry, I guarantee their security.” Since Abū Barā’ was the chief of a tribe and was an influential man, the Holy Prophet(sa) took his word and dispatched a party of Companions towards Najd.1

This is the narration as it is related by history. It is narrated in Bukhārī that a few people from the tribes of Ri‘l and Dhakwān, etc. (which were branches of the renowned tribe known as the Banū Sulaim) presented themselves before the Holy Prophet(sa) and claimed to accept Islām. Then they requested that a few men should be dispatched along with them to assist them against those people of their nation who were enemies of Islām (there is no elaboration as to the nature of the assistance they requested - missionary or military). Upon this, the Holy Prophet(sa) sent off this company.2 Ibni Sa‘d has also recorded a narration in support of this, but has not given it preference over the other one.3 However, unfortunately with respect to the details of Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah, even the details as narrated in Bukhārī have become mixed to a degree, due to which all the relevant facts cannot be identified in full.4 In any case, however, what is ascertained is that on this occasion, the people belonging to the tribes of Ri‘l and Dhakwān, etc. presented themselves before the Holy Prophet(sa) as well, and they requested for a few Companions to be sent along with them. One prospect for the reconciliation of both these narrations is that perhaps Abū Barā’ ‘Āmirī, chieftain of the ‘Āmir tribe, also came along with the people of Ri‘l and Dhakwān, and he spoke to the Holy Prophet(sa) on their behalf. As such, according to the historical account, the Holy Prophet(sa) said, “I do not trust the people of Najd,” to which he responded, “Do not worry, I give you the assurance that your Companions shall not be harmed.” This indicates that the people of Ri‘l and Dhakwān had also come with Abū Barā’ and the Holy Prophet(sa) was concerned on their account. 5

In any case, the Holy Prophet(sa) dispatched a party of Companions under the leadership of Mundhir bin ‘Amr Anṣārī(ra) in Ṣafar 4 A.H.6 These people were mostly from the Anṣār and totaled seventy in number, and almost all of them were Qāris, i.e., they were well-versed in the Holy Qur’ān. They would collect wood from the jungle by day to make ends meet and would spend a better part of the night in worship.7 When these people reached a place known as Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah, which was named as such due to a water well, an individual named Ḥarām bin Milḥān(ra), who was the maternal uncle of Anas bin Mālik(ra), went forward with the message of Islām to ‘Āmir bin Ṭufail, who was chief of the ‘Āmir tribe and paternal nephew of Abū Barā’ ‘Āmirī. The rest of the Companions remained behind. When Ḥarām bin Milḥān(ra) arrived to meet ‘Āmir bin Ṭufail and his followers as an emissary of the Holy Prophet(sa), at first, they warmly welcomed him in their hypocrisy; but after he had been fully seated and made to feel at ease, and began to preach the message of Islām, a few evil ones from among them made a signal to someone, who struck this innocent emissary with a spear from behind and put him to death there and then. At the time, the following words were on the tongue of Ḥarām bin Milḥān(ra), , i.e., “Allāh is the Greatest. By the Lord of the Ka‘bah, I have attained my objective.”8 ‘Āmir bin Ṭufail did not suffice upon the murder of this emissary of the Holy Prophet(sa) alone. As a matter of fact, after this he incited the people of his tribe, the Banū ‘Āmir, to attack the remaining party of Muslims as well, but they refused and said that they would not attack the Muslims due to the guarantee of Abū Barā’. Upon this, ‘Āmir collected the Banū Ri‘l, Dhakwān and ‘Uṣayyah, etc. from the tribe of Sulaim (i.e., the same tribes who had come to the Holy Prophet(sa) as a delegation according to the narration of Bukhārī) and attacked this small and helpless community of Muslims.9 When the Muslims saw these bloodthirsty beasts racing towards them, they said, “We have no quarrel with you. We have only come with an assignment from the Holy Prophet(sa); we have not come to fight,” but they did not listen to a word and murdered them all.10 Among the Companions who were present at the time, only one individual was spared, who had a limp, and had managed to climb to the top of a mountain.11 The name of this Companion was Ka‘b bin Zaid(ra). From various narrations it is ascertained that the disbelievers attacked him as well, due to which he was wounded. The disbelievers left him for dead, but in actuality there was still life in him and he survived.12

Two individuals from among this community of Companions had separated from the group at the time in order to graze their camels, etc., and their names were ‘Amr bin Umayyah Ḍamrī(ra) and Mundhir bin Muḥammad(ra). When they looked towards their camp, lo and behold, they sighted flocks of birds flying about overhead. They understood these desert signs well and immediately deduced that a battle had taken place. When they returned, this atrocity of carnage and massacre perpetrated by the ruthless disbelievers lay before their eyes. Upon sighting this scene from afar, they consulted one another as to what should be done. One suggested that they should escape immediately and reach Madīnah in order to inform the Holy Prophet(sa). The other one, however, did not accept this proposal and said, “I shall not flee from where our Amīr, Mundhir bin ‘Amr(ra) has been martyred.” Hence, he proceeded forward and was martyred in battle.13 The other, whose name was ‘Amr bin Umayyah Ḍamrī(ra) was taken captive by the disbelievers.14 They would have perhaps murdered him as well, but when they found out that he was from the Muḍar tribe, according to the custom of Arabia, ‘Āmir bin Ṭufail cut off his forelocks and set him free, saying, “My mother has vowed to release a slave from the Muḍar tribe, and therefore, I set you free.” In other words, from among these seventy Companions, only two survived. One was this very ‘Amr bin Umayyah Ḍamrī(ra) and the second was Ka‘b bin Zaid(ra), who the disbelievers had left in the belief that he was already dead.15

‘Āmir bin Fuhairah, the freed slave of Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr(ra), and a pioneer devotee of Islām, was also among the Companions who were martyred in the incident of Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah.16 He was slain by a person named Jabbār bin Salamah.17 Afterwards, Jabbār became a Muslim and states that the reason for his having accepted Islām was because when he martyred ‘Āmir bin Fuhairah(ra), he uncontrollably called out, , i.e., “By God, I have attained my objective.”

Jabbār states:

“Upon hearing these words, I was astonished that I have just murdered this person and he says that he has attained his objective. What a peculiar thing indeed. As such, when I later inquired as to the reason for this, I was informed that the Muslim people considered the sacrifice of their lives in the way of God as being the greatest success a person can attain. This left such a lasting impression upon my disposition that ultimately, this very influence pulled me towards Islām.”18

The Holy Prophet(sa) and his Companions received news of the incidents of Rajī‘ and Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah at more or less the same time.19 The Holy Prophet(sa) was deeply grieved by these incidents, to the extent that narrations relate that the Holy Prophet(sa) was never so deeply grieved by anything before or after these events.20 Undoubtedly, for approximately eighty Companions21 to be suddenly murdered by deception, especially such Companions who were Ḥuffāẓ of the Holy Qur’ān, and were from a poor and selfless class of people, was no small event, even by standards of the barbaric customs and practices of Arabia. For the Holy Prophet(sa) personally, this news was no different than the loss of eighty sons, rather, even more so. The reason being that for a spiritual man, spiritual bonds are far dearer to him than the worldly relations of a worldly man. Hence, the Holy Prophet(sa) was deeply grieved by these tragic events, but in any case, Islām teaches patience. Upon hearing this news, the Holy Prophet(sa) said:

22

After this, the Holy Prophet(sa) said the following words:

“This is a result of the action of Abī Barā’, for I had disliked sending off these people and was apprehensive of the people of Najd.”23

The incidents of Bi‘r-e-Ma‘ūnah and Rajī‘ demonstrate the intense level of hatred and animosity which the tribes of Arabia harboured in their hearts against Islām and the followers of Islām, to the extent that they would not even refrain from the most despicable lies, treachery and deceit. Despite the remarkable intelligence and vigilance of the Muslims, due to their thinking well of others, which is the hallmark of a believer, at times they would be lured into their trap. These were Ḥuffāẓ of the Qur’ān and devoted worshippers, who would supplicate during the nights, sit in a corner of the mosque and remember Allāh; then they were poor and hunger-stricken people, who were lured out of their homeland by these cruel disbelievers with the excuse of ‘teaching them religion’; and when they had reached their land as guests, they were murdered in cold blood. Any level of grief suffered by the Holy Prophet(sa) would not have been enough. But at the time, the Holy Prophet(sa) did not employ any military action against these cold blooded murderers. Albeit, for thirty days continuously, after having received this news, the Holy Prophet(sa) supplicated while standing in his morning Ṣalāt, weeping and crying before God, individually naming the tribes of Ri‘l, Dhakwān, ‘Uṣayyah and the Banū Laḥyān in the following words:

“O Our Master! Have mercy upon us and hold back the hands of the enemies of Islām who are ruthlessly and stone-heartedly spilling the blood of innocent Muslims with the intention that Your religion may be expunged.”24