DR. NABEEL QURESHI has claimed that the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa ordered a “raid” in which he sent his companions to attack a Makkan Caravan. He claims that the Muslims attacked, killed and captured undefended Makkans during a truce and he further claims that the Holy Quran justified this attack.102 This allegation is completely false and we will show its reality through the Holy Quran, Aḥādīth and historical books which tell the true story of what had occurred.
Allah states in the Holy Quran:
And fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not transgress. Surely, Allah loves not the transgressors.103
This verse, along with many others quoted in this book, show that in the religion of Islam, the only time fighting is allowed is in the case of self defence.
It would be helpful here for the reader to understand the principles and general rules of Islam and Prophet Muhammadsa when it comes to fighting. Once Prophet Muhammadsa gave Hazrat Khālid bin Walīdra, a great military leader, an important instruction on warfare, as narrated by Rabah Ibn Rabī‘:
When we were with the Messenger of Allahsa on an expedition, he saw some people gathered together over something and sent a man (to them) saying to him, “See, what are these people gathered around?” The man then came (after checking) and said, “They are gathered around a woman who has been killed”. He said, “This is not one with whom fighting should have taken place”. Khālid ibn al-Walīdra was in charge of the group. The Prophetsa sent a man (to him) with the instruction, “Tell Khālid not to kill a woman or a hired servant”.104
This tells us about the stringent rules of engagement in Islam. A Muslim soldier was not even allowed to kill a woman or a hired servant; in other words, according to Islam, there must be no killing of non-combatants. The essence of the teaching in relation to fighting is: One is only allowed to fight in self-defence, and only fight those who are participating in the battle.
We now move to the event which Dr. Qureshi has attempted to criticize. First of all, seeing a specific event in isolation without any consideration of context is itself wrong and unjustified especially when determining the aggressiveness of one party or the other. Critics try to portray the early Muslims as aggressive by focusing on specific events like the Nakhla expedition when in reality the Muslims of that time always only reacted to aggression by the Quraish.
The Nakhlah expedition was preceded by a series of events demonstrating a very severe attitude of the Makkans towards the Muslims. As discussed earlier in this book, the hostility of the Quraish of Makkah and the other Arabian tribes had overtime reached such an extent that remaining quiet in response and not doing anything would have practically amounted to suicide for the Muslims. The Makkan life of Prophet Muhammadsa and the cruelties inflicted upon the Muslims by the Quraish and the plans they devised in order to destroy the religion of Islam were enough reason for war to break out. Muslims were brutally beaten and battered mercilessly, their wealth was confiscated, they were boycotted to the point of starvation, and some were martyred ruthlessly.
The situation was so bad that some Muslims left Makkah and migrated to Abyssinia. Great pains were even inflicted upon the leader of the Muslims – Prophet Muhammadsa – who was dearer to them than their own selves. While on a visit to Ṭā’if, stones were thrown at him till his body became drenched in blood. Ultimately, the tribes of the Quraish made a collective decision to assassinate Prophet Muhammadsa for no crime other than preaching his peaceful message. Then, in order to carry out this plan, some youths were selected from various tribes to attack Prophet Muhammadsa in the middle of the night. However, God protected Prophet Muhammadsa and he departed from his home out of their sight and took refuge in a cave.
To every honest researcher and seeker of truth, we ask: Were these cruelties and evil schemes and plans not equivalent to an announcement of war by the Quraish? By such actions, did the Quraish not unilaterally declare war on a small community of peace-loving, innocent Muslims who did nothing other than spread a message of peace? In the backdrop of such incidents, can any sensible individual assert that the Quraish of Makkah were not at war with Islam and the Muslims? Can it possibly be assumed that what the Muslims did in response to 13 years of suffering at the hands of the Quraish was “aggressive” and uncalled for? Would it not have been suicide if the Muslims had done nothing?
It was this series of events which caused Prophet Muhammadsa to migrate to Madīnah and even then the Quraish did not stop in their hostile activities. They began to instigate the Madīnites and tribes surrounding Madīnah against the Muslims. As a result, God gave Muslims the allowance to defend themselves and the first verses regarding Jihad were revealed on 12 Ṣafar A.H, or 15 August 623 A.D, when a period of approximately one year had elapsed since the arrival of Prophet Muhammadsa in Madīnah.
After this permission for self-defense, Prophet Muhammadsa undertook a series of expeditions for the protection of Muslims, with various objectives such as intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, signing defense pacts with tribes situated around Madīnah, and so on. Any expedition where Prophet Muhammadsa himself led a party of the Muslims is called a Ghazwah and any expedition where he appointed someone else to lead a party for a set purpose is called Sariyyah. The series of events that took place, leading up to the Nakhlah expedition, is as follows:
When these expeditions are looked at in closer detail, we discover that none of them led to any serious armed conflict. In every instance, the Muslims only sought to gather intelligence to guard themselves against the aggressiveness of the Quraish. However, despite their vigilance, the mischief of the Quraish managed to break through. A chieftain of Makkah named Kurz bin Jābir Fihrī suddenly raided a pasture of Madīnah, which was situated three miles from the city and fled with camels and other possessions of the Muslims. As soon as Prophet Muhammadsa found out about this, he set out in pursuit along with some of his companions, but Kurz was able to escape.
This incident sheds light on the evil machinations and plans of the Quraish to attack Madīnah and destroy the Muslims completely. It was a significant turning point in relations between the Muslims and the Quraish, as the Quraish had practically initiated battle by inflicting harm upon the Muslims. It was in the context of this event which had naturally caused the Muslims to become apprehensive that the Nakhla expedition took place. Seeing these real threats from the Quraish, Prophet Muhammadsa decided that the movements of the Quraish should be surveyed from a closer distance so that all the necessary intelligence with respect to them is available and Madīnah is safeguarded from such sudden attacks in future. A party of eight companions was assembled for this task with ’Abdullāh bin Jaḥshra appointed as their commander.
The companions selected for this expedition belonged to the tribe of Quraish, and this was because they would have better experience in dealing with the conspiracies of the enemies, as they were also from the Quraish. Their task was covert and initially even the members of this party did not have any idea of what their specific task was, or where they were headed. At their departure, Prophet Muhammadsa handed their commander a sealed letter and said:
This letter contains necessary instructions for you. When you cover a distance of two days’ travel from Madīnah, open the letter and act in accordance with the stipulated instructions.105
The secrecy of the statement was meant to emphasize the confidentiality of the task, and provide assurance that the whereabouts of this group of companions. After two days of travel, the instructions were read and they were as follows:
Go forth to the Valley of Nakhla between Makkah and Ṭā’if, and obtain information on the Quraish and return with news therefrom.106
This statement of Prophet Muhammadsa alone should be enough for any truth-seeker in regards to the task which had been assigned to the companions, in contrast to what critics allege.
Two companions named Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqāsra and ‘Utbahra had lost their camels on the journey, which then left only six companions for this task of solely investigating the battle preparations of the Quraish. Once the companions had reached Nakhla, they began their task. Some of the companions shaved their heads, so the people would consider them among those who have come for the purpose of Umrah. Soon after the companions had reached Nakhla that a small caravan of the Quraish also happened to arrive and both parties encountered each other. At this point, the Muslims had a dilemma and they consulted one another. Their clear objective was covert intelligence gathering. However, the Quraish had already formally declared war with their attack on a pasture very close to Madīnah. Furthermore, since the people from the caravan had spotted the Muslims, their secret mission would no longer remain secret and this could have detrimental affects later on.
Keeping these factors in view, the Muslims decided to attack and, as a result, one man was killed and two were taken captive. The goods of the caravan were also seized. One person from the caravan however escaped causing the Muslims to swiftly return to Madīnah with the spoils. This is the part which critics like Dr. Qureshi call a “raid” however the very context in which this attack was made disproves such an allegation. How can a small party of 8 Muslims be sent so far away from Madīnah just to plunder a caravan? We must remember that such caravans used to pass in the vicinity of Madīnah as well en route to Syria. To send such a small contingent of Muslims so close to enemy headquarters – i.e. Makkah – just to plunder a small caravan is not just historically inaccurate but also an absurd suggestion. Their objective – as proven from history – was nothing other than intelligence gathering.
Furthermore, when Prophet Muhammadsa found out how they had attacked the caravan, he was extremely displeased. This means that the decision to attack the caravan was unilaterally and mistakenly taken by the head of the expedition. It is narrated that when the Prophet Muhammadsa heard of this, he said:
I have not given you permission to fight in the Sacred Month.107
This is in reference to a confusion the Muslims had at the time of the attack. Some thought that it was a sacred month according to ancient Arabian custom that makes fighting unlawful, while others believed that it was not a sacred month and fighting is permitted. This statement of Prophet Muhammadsa makes it clear that from the very beginning, he had no desire nor intention for any attack on a caravan.
It is also recorded that Prophet Muhammadsa was so displeased that he refused to accept the spoils.108 This fact further refutes all the faulty conclusions of the critics. If Prophet Muhammadsa was a man who “raided” caravans (God forbid!) just to get their spoils, he should have gladly accepted the spoils from this group and encouraged them to continue such actions. His refusal to accept the spoils and the consequent remorse and embarrassment felt by the Muslims demonstrates the care with which Muslims wished to avoid bloodshed. Some companions even reproached the Muslims who did this, and said:
You did that which you had not been ordered, and you fought in the Sacred Month, although you had not been ordered at all to fight in this campaign.109
This event had caused much controversy, and Muslims and disbelievers were discussing it as well. Finally, the following Quranic verse was revealed as a means of relief for the Muslims:
They ask thee about fighting in the Sacred Month. Say: ‘Fighting therein is a great transgression, but to hinder men from the way of Allah, and to be ungrateful to Him and to hinder men from the Sacred Mosque, and to turn out its people therefrom, is a greater sin with Allah; and persecution is worse than killing.’ And they will not cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith, if they can. And whoso from among you turns back from his faith and dies while he is a disbeliever, it is they whose works shall be vain in this world and the next. These are the inmates of the Fire and therein shall they abide.110
This verse sheds light on a historical fact that the Quraish would spread their bloody propaganda even in the Sacred Months. In fact, while the Muslims sought to avoid any hostilities in the Sacred Months, the Quraish became more active in their evil pursuits, taking advantage of the gatherings and journeys of the Sacred Months.111 Certainly, the bloodthirsty agenda of the Quraish knew no bounds and whatever violent actions the Muslims resorted to in reaction were only in self-defense.