24 Rajab 1432 A.H. - Battle of Khyber

[Ali Jafri]

Allah grant us the courage to change the things we can, the serenity to accept the ones we cannot and the wisdom to know the difference .. Ameen

 

Ali Mehdi

> As Salam-o-Alaikum,
>
> 24th of Rajab marks the anniversary of the victory of Islam against
> the Jews in the battle of Khyber. This battle was fought in the 7th
> Hijrah.
>
> Background
> ==========
> Khyber was a locality at a distance of about 160 Kms from Madina. It
> consisted of eight (or ten) popular and very strong forts where the
> Jews lived and also gave refuge to the enemies of Islam. They had
> become an active center of conspiracies against Islam. In the 7th
> Hijrah, our Holy Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) got information about the
> conspiracy being hatched by the Jews against Muslims in connivance
> with other hostile elements of Islam. He(sawaw) decided to take on
> the challenge.
>
> Preparation for War
> ===================
> In a consultative meeting, it was decided by the Muslims to take on
> the
> enemy outside Madina. A force of 1,400 muslim fighters (History of
> Muslims of the World by K.A.Hameed) set out of Madina to protect
> themselves and their homeland against a Jewish force of more than
> 14,000 fighters (Allama Tabrisi). Before the start of the battle, the
> Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) took ill. Imam Ali(a.s.) was also not able to
> participate in this battle in the beginning due to a illness in his
> eyes.
>
> The battle starts
> =================
> The battle started with the siege of the forts at Khyber. The siege
> continued for a period of about one month. Some individual battles
> were
> followed by a general assault from both sides for three continuous
> days but a decisive result could not be achieved. This was mainly due
> to the fact that the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) was not commanding the
> military moves himself as well as because Imam Ali(a.s.) was not
> taking part in the battle.
> The so called “Mujahideen-e-Islam” who always complained of not being
> given sufficient chance to show their skills were in charge and no
> victory was in sight.
>
> In Tarikh Abul Fada (Vol1 page 187) it is stated that “Due to the
> illness of Prophet Mohammad(sawaw), Hazrat Abu Bakr took the banner
> and went to fight but returned unsuccessful and then Hazrat Umar took
> the banner and fought even harder but he as well returned
> unsuccessfully. Thereafter, Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) was informed of
> this situation”. It is quite clear that the Prophet(sawaw) never
> awarded the banner to any of the two, they took it by themselves and
> went to fight and returned unsuccessful.
>
> After five days of general battle, Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) declared
> that “Tomorrow I will award the Standard of the Islamic forces to a
> man who loves Allah(swt) and his Prophet(sawaw) and Allah(swt) and his
> Prophet(sawaw) love him. He is the one who attacks forcefully and does
> not run away from the battlefield and he will not return until
> Allah(swt) grants victory on his hand”. Every Sahabi was waiting and
> wishing to be awarded this honor.
>
> The next day Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) called for Imam Ali(a.s.). People
> said that Ali(a.s.) was suffering from a disease in his eyes but the
> Prophet(sawaw) insisted on him being called and when he arrived, the
> Prophet(sawaw) applied his saliva on the eyes of Imam Ali(a.s.) which
> cured him instantly and then he prayed to Allah(swt) and awarded him
> the standard of Islam.
>
> Advances of Imam Ali(a.s.)
> ==========================
> Imam Ali(a.s.) led the Islamic forces to the strongest fort of Khyber
> named QAMOOS and when they came near, the battle was started by the
> Jews. One of their strongest man, Haris, attacked and martyred two
> Muslims after which Imam Ali(a.s.) took on Haris and killed him
> instantly. He was followed by the strongest man among the Jews -
> Marhab. Marhab faced the same fate. His body was equally divided into
> two parts by the zulfiqar of Imam Ali(a.s.).
>
> After this, general battle started. The Muslim forces fought with a
> lot of courage under the leadership of Imam Ali(a.s.).
>
> Upon realizing that they were losing the battle, the Jews started
> running towards the fort and closed the huge iron gate of the fort
> from inside. This was the gate which used to be opened and closed by
> 40 strong men. Imam Ali(a.s.) alone lifted and broke the gate in one
> strong jolt. He then used the same gate to make a bridge on a trench
> so that the Islamic forces could enter the fort and conquer it. The
> remaining frightful Jews cried of mercy and Imam Ali(a.s.) ordered to
> stop the battle and declare peace for them who had surrendered. One
> after the other, the muslim fighters under the leadership of Imam
> Ali(a.s.) conquered various forts of this stronghold and completed the
> grand victory of Islamic forces over the Jews.
>
> Brother Mohsin Naquvi Adds:
> ===========================
> Marhab's mother had had a dream in her youth and when Marhab was only
> a baby. In her dream she had seen that a lion had killed her. Because
> of that dream, she used to say to her son (when he had grown up and
> had become a renowned fighter in Arabia): Son, never fight a man whose
> name resembles the meaning of 'lion.'
>
> In all previous sorties the Prophet of Islam would appoint a commander
> and then send some soldiers under the command of that commander to
> attack the fort. When the Prophet (pbuh) asked Ali to take charge and
> attack, Imam Ali(a.s.) did not bother about the soldiers. He took the
> banner in one hand, the sword in the other hand and marched uphill on
> the double. The only companion who went with him was Abu Rafay (other
> Muslim soldiers followed later), the personal attendant of the
> Prophet on whose authority the whole story is told. Abu Rafay
> narrates:
>
> When we arrived at the top of the hill, we were out of breath, because
> Ali had been marching on the double uphill. He established the banner
> in the rocks and looked upto the fort. When we arrived at the gate of
> the fort, there was an old Jewish guard watching us approach from one
> of the turrets. He looked at Imam Ali(a.s.) and shouted - Who are
> YOU? Notice the emphasis on YOU. Imam Ali(a.s.) replied by reciting
> the following verse:
>
> anal lazi sammatni ummi hydara
> zarghaamu aajaamin, laithun, qaswara
>
> Translation: I am the one who was named HYDER by his mother, I am the
> lion of the valley, I am the great lion, the lion who attacks his
> prey by chasing it.
>
> The old man turned to his people inside the fort and said: YOU ARE
> DESTROYED!!!
>
> Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlavi writes: Apparently, the old man had
> read some FAZA'EL of Imam Ali(a.s.) in his books and he recognized him
> for those. That is why he said what he said to his own people.
>
> It is indeed true that Imam Ali(a.s.) was named HYDER by his mother in
> his infancy. What is curious is that Imam Ali(a.s.) uses three more
> words meaning 'lion' of different qualities. Here is an explanation:
> But before that, let us read some Urdu poetry, which in its simplicity
> and recording of fact is an all-time classic.
>
> PATTHAR PA ALAM DEEN KA GARA KIS NE
> LALKAAR KE MARHAB TO PACHAARA KIS NE
> AS-HAAB-E-PAYAMBER SABHI THAI HAZIR
> KAHDO DAR-E-KHYBER KO UKHAARAA KIS NE
>
> The Imam comes to this world with a covenant with Allah that he would
> protect and preserve the law of Allah. If in that process the Imam
> needs to raise his sword he will do that with that intention and full
> committment to welcome martyrdom or win over the enemy. The main
> purpose of an Imam's life is to guide people and lead people. His main
> purpose in life is not killing people. But, if it comes to that, the
> Imam will not relent.
>
> That is why Imam Ali(a.s.) comes to the battlefield reciting those
> famous verses in which he uses three different words for the word
> lion. That was the indication that the Imam will first try HIDAYAT and
> then if all else fails he will not back away from using the sword. He
> wanted Marhab to remember his mother's dream. And if he had any sense
> he would go back and not confront Imam Ali(a.s.). As we saw, the old
> Jewish guard did recognize Imam Ali(a.s.) for his FAZA'EL. But Allah
> had destined something else for Marhab.
>
> We feel good about Imam Ali(a.s.) killing Marhab and Haris and pulling
> the gate of Khyber from its hinges. But those things really did not
> make Ali great. What made Imam Ali(a.s.) great was his devotion to
> Islam and his full commitment to the commands of the Prophet. After
> the famous hadeeth of Khyber when Imam Ali(a.s.) was ready to leave,
> he asked a question of the Prophet as to how long he should fight. The
> Prophet replied: Either until you are victorious or they accept Islam.
> He added: And remember ALi, if a single non-Muslim accepts Islam on
> your invitation, it is better for you than having a herd of one
> hundred red camels.
> That is why, after all the victory, Imam Ali(a.s.) did not bother to
> collect even the personal armour of his slain enemies, let alone
> looting wealth from the fort, which other Muslims did do after him,
> and it was quite legitimate in the circumstances. Reports tell us that
> he came down the hill of Khyber after victory totally empty-handed....
> That is what made Ali great.
>
> As Imam Ali(a.s.) was coming down the hill, the Prophet of Islam
> waited to greet him. Suddenly from one side, J'afar bin Abi Talib
> appeared who was now returning from Abyssinnia (Habsha) after twelve
> years' stay there. The Prophet was doubly pleased. He put his one arm
> round Imam Ali(a.s.)'s shoulder, the other round J'afar's shoulder. He
> would look at Ali and then at J'afar and would say:I don't know what
> makes me happier today, my brother Ali conquering the fort of Khyber
> or my brother J'afar returning from Habsha after twelve years. It was
> definitely one
> of the happiest moments in the life of te Prophet of Islam.
>
> The hadeeth of Khyber is also the true manisfestation of Imam
> Ali(a.s.)'s personality. The Prophet had said: Tomorrow mrning shall I
> give this banner to a MAN, who attacks repeatedly, and does not
> retreat. He loves Allah and his Rasool and Allah and His Rasool love
> him. Allah will give victory(FATAH) on his hands.
>
> There is not a single Companion for whom the Prophet of islam had
> fulfilled the prophecy of Allah's love like that. It was reserved for
> Imam Ali(a.s.), and him alone. The Prophet had ascribed in so many
> words Imam Ali(a.s.)'s non-compromising attitude to his mission, and
> Imam Ali(a.s.)'s future life became a living proof to that.
>
> Then the Prophet had used the word FATAH in his statement. This word
> is used in three different meaning is Arabic. The miracle of the
> Prophet's speech is that all three meanings came true in this story.
>
> Fatah means: 1. To open, 2. To conquer, and, 3. To begin
>
> Imam Ali(a.s.) was victorious, he opened the closed gate of Khyber,
> and, the conquest of Khyber turned out to be the beginning of a long-
> lasting prosperity on the Muslim community.
>