The ProphetÇÖs Joy (Peace be Upon Him)

The Prophet's Joy (Peace be Upon Him)

By Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan

Introduction

InshaAllah in these few minutes that I have with you, I'm going to talk to you about one particular incident in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that brought him an overwhelming amount of happiness. InshaAllah ta'ala in describing this scene, it's quite an elaborate thing. I actually spoke about this for over 3 hours to get to the moment where the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) experienced that joy because there's just that much going on in the background, but I have to try to pull this off within the next 20 minutes so I'm going to give you snippets of what I originally taught inshaAllah ta'ala.

The Journey from Mecca to Medina and Early Conflicts

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has, you guys know, he travels out of Mecca to Medina and the conflict between the people of Medina, the Muslims and the Quraish begins. They've been in multiple conflicts, military conflicts, through the years and one of the worst of them is the battle of the trenches, Al-Ahzab. At that battle, the Muslims were almost entirely killed. The numbers of legions that came, bloodthirsty for Muslims, was overwhelming. As a matter of fact, according to some historians, the number of militia or military personnel that came to attack the city of Medina actually outnumbered the civilian population, which is insane.

Divine Intervention at the Battle of the Trenches

The only thing keeping them safe from a bloodbath inside Medina is a trench dug outside of Medina. As that happens, Allah Azza wa Jal somehow intervenes. He says:

"When armies came upon you, We sent against them wind and armies you could not see. And Allah is ever Seeing of what you do."

In other words, the armies of the Muslims were in no way even close to being able to compete with the enemy forces, so Allah decides to intervene in a divine way through winds. They have their campsite outside, waiting to find an opportunity to go inside Medina, hoping that they starve inside and eventually give up. A wind comes and tips their cooking over, the camp catches fire, camels run away, and all this kind of crazy stuff happens so they couldn't maintain the siege of the city. Allah sent angels, invisible armies that you couldn't even see.

The Decision to Perform Hajj

This military campaign fails, but who initiated it? It was initiated by the people of Mecca who wanted to see Islam completely finished this time. Badr has already happened, Uhud has already happened - let's finish the job, let's just get this over with. They were incredibly encouraged since the last time the Muslims and they met in battle was Uhud, where they seriously damaged the Muslim army and 70 of the great companions were shuhada.

Eleven months go by, and the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) decides to announce to the community that he has seen a dream in which the Muslims are going to make hajj. Now you don't make hajj in Medina - you have to go to Mecca. But those Meccans just 11 months ago were ready to kill every last Muslim. So now we're gonna go to hajj because the Prophet Muhammad saw a dream (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

The Hypocrites' Reaction

The Muslims are ready to go and the hypocrites in Medina are overjoyed:

"But you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, ever, and that was made pleasing in your hearts."

The hypocrites were really happy because they thought these guys are gonna go to hajj, they're gonna get killed, and we're gonna have Medina back to ourselves. Allah actually cites that thought process - they didn't say it, they were thinking it, and the Quran records what they were thinking.

The Journey to Hudaibiya

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) convinces, according to some historians, between 1400 and 1800 people to leave Medina. When you go for hajj, do you go armed or unarmed? You go unarmed. They're taking animals that are supposed to be sacrificed. A large contingent of Muslims is now leaving towards Mecca.

The Quraish have their spies and scouts, so they know they're coming. Word gets out that the Muslims are coming, so they try to meet them in the path and kill all of them. The Muslims get word too because they also sent scouts.

The Alternative Route

The Muslims are settled in a field and they're about to be attacked by the Quraish. The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says: "Does anybody know an alternative route to get to Mecca? Because if we go straight we're gonna get killed or we have to turn back."

Some of the sahabah are so angry - we didn't walk all this way to turn back, might as well just fight. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq says: "Actually Ya Rasulullah, you told us that you came for the purpose of hajj and you did

not come to fight" - (إِنَّا لَا نُرِيدُ الْقِتَالَ - inna la nuridul qital) as he said (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the beginning.

One guy raises his hand and says: "I know an alternative route but it's not meant for human beings" - a thorny path with treacherous burning rock, black rock between a narrow valley. They have to travel all the way through it wearing ihram, and they're bleeding the entire day, dragging themselves, getting scrapes along their legs. Their shoes are starting to melt off because the rock is too hard and their feet are getting blisters.

Arrival at Hudaibiya and the Miracle of Water

They get to this field Hudaibiya where there's basically nothing. Some people say it's called Hudaibiya because there's a bent tree over there - Hadab means hunchback. There's a dried up well and the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) performs a miracle there. He gargles, puts it in the well with some arrows, makes dua, and the water starts gushing out. They feed all their animals, all the camels, everything feeds and they're surviving in Hudaibiya.

The Assassination Attempt

They're about to make it into Mecca but Meccans realized they're in Hudaibiya, so they sent 70 masked men to engage in an assassination attempt of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and kill as many as they can. This was a provocation - they wanted to spark the Muslims with an attack so the young men would get agitated and fight. Then Quraish could say: "See? We told you they're violent, we told you they don't mean peace."

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the companions somehow are able to disarm all of them, arrest all of them, kill none of them, and send them back. They just got owned. They were supposed to be masked so nobody knows that Quraish sent them, but now they've been arrested, unmasked, and we know where they came from.

The Youth's Anger and Initial Negotiations

The young men following the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) are really heated up now: "How could they try to kill us? We came to do hajj, we have no harmful intent. They never stop anyone else, why do they stop us?" The youth are fired up against these kuffar.

The negotiations begin. Several negotiators come, and I want to share about two of them. One of them, Urwah, comes and says "Ay Muhammad" - he comes to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saying "Hey Muhammad" just like that. These young loyal men are sitting around and a man walks in and says "Hey Muhammad" - what do you think they're going to do?

Urwah's Insults and Abu Bakr's Response

Urwah says: "Have you ever heard of anyone attacking their own people? What are you doing? You're an embarrassment to the Arabs. Have you ever heard of any Arab before coming and making trouble with his own people? You should be ashamed of yourself." He's yelling at the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He doesn't know what kind of people the sahaba are and what they're willing to do for the dignity of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

He continues: "I see some faces here and people that I ain't never seen before in Arabia. Your loyalty comes from your tribe, you guys know that?" When he goes to meet the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) there's an Abyssinian sitting there, a Persian, a Roman, a man from this tribe - they're all sitting together and equal among each other. He's like: "What is this? Where are all these people from? This is your army? I'm telling you, if you move forward and the Quraish come and attack you, these people are gonna run away from you."

He doesn't know that the bond of tribe is nothing compared to the bond of (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - la ilaha illallah muhammadun rasulullah) (صلى الله عليه وسلم). When he says that, one of the nicest, softest, sweetest, calmest men in all of Islamic history - Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) - snaps and curses him out. Urwah turns to him and says: "If I didn't owe you money I would have answered you, but I don't owe you money anymore - this is payback."

Urwah's Report to Quraish

Urwah comes back to the Quraish and says: "Wallahi, I swear to God, I have been an ambassador in the presence of kings - Caesar, Kisra of Persia, and I've sat in front of the king of Abyssinia, the Najashi. I have never seen anybody honoring their king, their ruler, like the companions of Muhammad honor Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He so much as spits phlegm out of his mouth and they run to catch it in their hands and rub their faces on it. There's not a time he gargles and they fight each other to catch the drops. You will not be able to fight him and his men."

When he talked to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he said the Muslims' people aren't going to be able to handle the Quraish. When he goes back to Quraish, he says: "Actually y'all can't handle this man and his followers, you guys got nothing on him."

Suhail Ibn Amr and the Final Negotiations

Suhail Ibn Amr, the final negotiator, comes and says: "Let's start negotiating." The famous parts where they said this is between Rasool Allah and Quraish, he said: "No, we don't accept Rasool Allah, cross that off." Ali (رضي الله عنه) couldn't get himself to cross it off, but the Prophet Muhammad told him to cross it off.

Suhail has a son - Abu Jandal. Abu Jandal became Muslim and when his father found out, he was so mad that he imprisoned him and tortured him for almost four years. Abu Jandal has been tortured because he became Muslim and is now in prison, can't get out, while his father is negotiating.

The First Clause and Abu Jandal's Escape

The first clause is: "If any Muslim runs away from Makkah, you will send him back to us." As soon as they said it, all of the sahaba standing around go "Subhanallah, we're gonna give them back to the kuffar? How can that be? We can't agree with that." If that clause existed, there would never have been a Medina because all of Medina is Muslims running away from Makkah.

As they are getting angry about this, they see a man caught up in chains, scarred in the face, walking and crying - it's Abu Jandal who somehow escaped the basement of his father, ran through all of Makkah, made it to the negotiations. He's so happy: "I made it, I'm finally in Muslim hands!"

His father says: "We'll begin with him, send him back." The Muslims, the young men who saw their brother, go wild: "No, no, how can we? We can't do this, we can't let our brother go!" The Prophet Muhammad says: "Well we didn't write it down yet, we haven't agreed to this yet." Suhail, because that's his son and his pride kicked in, says: "If you don't agree to this, there's no negotiation, let's just fight." The Prophet Muhammad says: "Fine, we'll agree."

The Sahaba's Anger and Umar's Outburst

The Sahaba are enraged, they are inflamed. This is just the first clause, then there's clause after clause, every one of them against the Muslims. Suhail finishes his negotiations, grabs Abu Jandal, and walks through the Muslims smiling at them while the Muslims have blood coming out of their eyes.

They were almost killed in Medina, they risked their lives to come all the way to Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad saw a dream that they're going to make Hajj, but part of the negotiations is: don't make Hajj this year, go back home empty handed. Some Sahaba don't call it the day of Hudaybiyah - they say the day of Abu Jandal because that's what scarred them so much.

Umar bin al-Khattab lost it and said:

"Weren't you the one who told us that we are going to go to the house and make tawaf?"

The Quran had already revealed:

"And know that among you is the messenger of Allah"

"Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)"

But Umar couldn't handle it and raised his voice. The Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

"Yes, but did I tell you we are going to go this year?"

Umar (رضي الله عنه) says no. He went to Abu Bakr and said: "Didn't he tell us that we're going to go?" Abu Bakr listens to him and says: "Watch it man, watch it before all of your good deeds get taken away. You are going to destroy yourself."

The Companions' Disobedience and Pain

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tells all the companions to take their Ihram off and they don't do it. The first time he told his believers - the people of (سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا - sami'na wa ata'na)

- they don't do it. When the Quraish don't listen it hurts, when Abu Talib dies without taking shahada it hurts, but when the people who have believed with you, who have fought with you, who have been with you through everything, when you tell them something as simple as "take your Ihram off and shave your heads, sacrifice the animal" and they don't do it - there is no more painful day.

Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walks back in and our mother tells him: "You go do it and they'll follow," and they do. They're frustrated and angry. This is the angriest day in the seerah, the most frustrating day for the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and for the Sahaba.

The Moment of Joy - Revelation of Surah Al-Fath

They are going back and Umar calms down a little bit. He goes to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم): "Can I talk to you?" Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is so upset he doesn't even look at him. Three times Umar tried to speak to Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he wouldn't talk to him - he was that upset.

After an hour or so, another Sahabi came to Umar and said: "The Prophet Muhammad is calling you." Umar's color dropped from his face - he said: "I thought some ayah came down about me." He goes up to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) afraid to make eye contact, and then he sees him. When he sees him, he says: "I've never seen the Prophet Muhammad happier in my life."

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) turns to him and said: "You know that a surah has come down on me - a surah has been revealed to me that I love more than everything the sun falls on." That surah was so much joy for the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that all of the pain I just described completely disappeared.

Surah Al-Fath and Its Message

That surah was Surah Al-Fath, and the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted Umar to be the first one to hear this surah. He recited the whole surah to him - all 29 ayahs. The first ayah:

"Indeed, We have given you a clear conquest."

When he finished the entire 29 ayahs, Umar (رضي الله عنه) is still stuck on the first ayah. He goes: "A fathun huwa?" (Is that victory?) The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "Na'am" (Yes). Umar realized something and said: "I was happy, I was just overjoyed."

Understanding the True Victory

I want you to understand what this victory is, what this joy is. This is so important for Muslims to understand. The mission of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is not understood properly, not just by non-Muslims but also by Muslims. We don't understand what the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was. We have painted it in political terms, military terms, words of conflict and conquest.

There are entire groups of people who say we are on the mission of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and until we conquer the entire earth, the Prophet Muhammad's job is not done. But the greatest day of joy of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is when he doesn't get to make hajj, when he has to go back, and the surah comes down that he's been given victory.

The Purpose of Hajj and Forgiveness

What is the purpose of hajj in the life of a Muslim? To earn forgiveness - you start a clean slate. The purpose of liberating the Kaaba is so that hajj can be reinstituted. Beginning, middle, end - all of it is about forgiveness. That is the goal of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He wants this ummah to be an ummah that seeks Allah's forgiveness, and he got that, and he was happy.

The Greatest Victory - Discipline of the Ummah

The other victory of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم): when they did not listen to him, we count that as a failure, but Allah counts that as the greatest success. Why? When you have a crowd of 1800 people that are as angry as angry gets, and they can still, even though they didn't listen the first time, just watch you take your ihram off and follow along anyway - that entire mob of 1800 people remaining calm under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the discipline of this ummah to follow the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) against every one of your emotions.

No matter how angry at the kuffar you are, you still stay disciplined and don't pick up arms. That is the greatest victory of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) - the discipline of this ummah that they can constrain themselves, that they don't define their Islam through their emotions, that their anger and frustration and grievances against what is happening in the world doesn't