Reconciliations

(The Wisdom of the Prophet)

Diplomacy

Sahih International: Just as We have sent among you a messenger from

yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the
Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know.

After the Battle of Hunayn there army reached a

valley called Ji’raanah were there was spoils of war
or booty. There were thousand of woman and
children. There were twenty four thousands camels,
their were about forty thousand sheep and goats
more or less
The Prophet did not distributed the spoils of war
right away because he anticipated that Hawazin
would send him a delegation begging for generous
treatment. There was, however, one sector of
distribution which he did not wish to delay. His fifth
of the spoils served the same purposes as the
money received by way of alms Zakat; and a recent
Revelation had introduced a new category of
persons entitled to benefit from such funds, namely

‫الْ ُم َؤلََّف ِة ُقلُوبُ ُه ْم‬

for bringing hearts together [for Islam]

Sahih International: Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the
needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts
together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt
and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation
[imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.

The Prophet now gave Abu Sufyan a hundred

camels, and when he thereupon asked that his two
sons Yazid and Mu'awiyah should not be forgotten
they were each given a hundred, which meant in
fact that Abu Sufyan received three hundred. This
did not escape the notice of others, and when
Khadijah's nephew Hakim was given a hundred he
asked for two hundred more, which the Prophet
allotted him forthwith. As in the case of Abu Sufyan,
any hesitation or reluctance would have defeated
the purpose of the gift. But to Hakim the Prophet
none the less said: "This property is a fair green
pasture. Whoso taketh it in munificence of soul
shall be blessed therein; but whoso taketh it for the
pride of his soul shall not be blessed therein; and he
shall be as one that eateth and is not filled. The
upper hand is better than the lower hand; and
begin thy giving with such of thy family as are
dependent upon thee." "By Him who sent thee with
the truth, I will not receive aught from any man
after thee," said Hakim determined that for the
future his hand should never be the lower hand;
and he took only a hundred camels, relinquishing
his claim to the rest.
Those who were not Muslim were also recipients of
the Zakat too. Safwan and Suhayl
Included in the same category of recipients were
those who were on the brink, and had not yet made
their decision to enter Islam. Some of these were
also given a hundred camels. The most important of
them were Safwan and Suhayl. Both had fought at
Hunayn and when one of the unconverted Meccans
in the rear had expressed satisfaction at the initial
flight of the Muslims he was sharply rebuked by
Safwan: "If an overlord I must have," he said, "let it
be a man of Quraysh rather than Hawazin!" After he
had received his hundred camels, Safwan
accompanied the Prophet as he rode through the
valley of ji'ranah to look at the spoils. There were
many side valleys opening out from the main valley,
and in one of these the pasture was especially
luxuriant so that it was full of camels and sheep and
goats, with the men who herded them. Seeing that
Saiwan was struck with wonder at the sight, the
Prophet said to him: "Doth it please thee, this
ravine?" And when Safwan warmly assented, he
added: "It is thine, with all that is in it." "I bear
witness," said Safwan, "that no soul could have such
goodness as this, if it were not the soul of a
Prophet. I bear witness that there is no god but
God, and that thou art His Messenger."

As to Suhayl, it was also at ji'ranah that his final

doubts were overcome, either through his renewed
acquaintance with his son 'Abd Allah, or his
witnessing of the miraculous victory of Hunayn, or
his experience of the Prophet's presence and his
magnanimity, or through all of these together; but
once he entered Islam he entered it without
reserve; and three years later, when 'Abd Allah was
killed in battle, and Abu Bakr spoke words of
comfort to the bereaved father, he replied: "1 have
been told that God's Messenger said: 'The martyr
shall intercede for seventy of his people.' And I have
hopes that my son will not begin with anyone
before me."
Also some of the Men from the Makhzum enter
Islam in the valley of Ji’raanah
The Muslim army had now spent several days in the
valley, but still no delegation had come from
Hawazin, so the Prophet allocated each man his
portion of the spoils. No sooner had he finished
doing so than the delegation arrived, and in it was
the brother of his foster-father (Halimah husband)
Harith. Fourteen of them were already Muslim. The
remainder now entered Islam, and insisting that the
whole tribe of Hawazin must be considered as his
foster-kinsmen, they asked for his generosity. "
We nursed thee on our laps, and suckled thee at
our breasts," they said. He told them that he had
waited for them until he thought they were not
coming, and that the spoils had already been
distributed. Then, although knowing the answer, he
asked them which were the dearer to them, their
sons and their wives, or their possessions; and
when they said "Give us back our sons and our
wives" he said: "As for those which have fallen unto
me and unto the sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib, they are
yours; and I will plead with other men on your
behalf. When I have led the congregation in the
noon prayer, then say: 'We ask the Messenger of
God to intercede for us with the Muslims, and we
ask the Muslims to intercede for us with the
Messenger of God.'''l They did as they were told,
and the Prophet turned to the congregation and
explained that they were asking for their children
and their wives to be returned to them. The
Emigrants and Helpers immediately presented their
captives to the Prophet. As for the tribes, some of
them did the same, and some refused; but those
who refused were persuaded to let their captives go
in return for future compensation; and so they were
all returned to their people except one young
woman who had fallen to the lot of the Prophet's
maternal cousin, Sa'd of Zuhrah, and who wished to
remain with him. The Prophet gave his foster-sister
some more camels and some sheep and goats, and
bade her farewell. Then, as the delegation were
leaving, he asked them for news of their leader,
Malik. They told him that he had joined Thaqif in
Ta’if. "Send him word," he said, "that if he come to
me as a Muslim, I will return his family to him and
his possessions, and I will give him a hundred
camels." He had deliberately lodged Malik's family
with his aunt 'Atikah in Mecca, and had withheld his
property from being distributed. When the message
reached Malik in Ta'if, he said nothing to Thaqif for
fear they would imprison him if they suspected his
intention; and leaving the town by night, he made
his way to the camp and entered Islam. The Prophet
put him in command of the already large and
increasing Muslim community of Hawazin, with
instructions to give Thaqif no peace. The raising of
the siege of Ta'if had thus been no more than the
briefest of respites. Another kind of siege, less acute
but more implacable, was now to take its place.
The Problem or push back from the Prophet giving
the Spoils of War to the Quraysh
The Prophet knew well that though the religion had
power in itself to work upon souls, this power
depended on the religion's being accepted with
some degree of commitment, and not just
nominally. It was to remove barriers to that
commitment, such as a sense of bitterness or
frustration, that the principle of giving to those
whose hearts are to be reconciled had been
revealed; but this principle was not understood at
first by many of the older Companions, let alone
others. In addition to what has already been
mentioned, rich gifts had also been given to some
prominent Bedouin whose Islam was highly
questionable, whereas more deserving men of the
desert had been neglected. Sa'd of Zuhrah asked
the Prophet why he had given a hundred camels
each to 'Uyaynah of Ghatafaan and Aqra' of Tamim
and nothing to the devout Ju'ayl of Damrah, who
was moreover, unlike the other two, exceedingly
poor. The Prophet replied: "By Him in whose hand is
my soul, Ju'ayl is worth more than a worldful of
men like 'Uyaynah and Aqra'; but their souls have I
reconciled that they might better submit unto God,
whereas I have entrusted Ju'ayl unto the
submission! he hath already made,
There were no further objections on the part of the
Emigrants; but by the end of the Prophet's halt in
ji'ranah there was a growing disquietude of soul
among the four thousand Helpers. Many of them
were impoverished, and out of the exceptionally
plentiful spoils each man had received only four
camels or their equivalent in sheep and goats. They
had hoped for good ransoms from the captives, but
their share in these they had unhesitatingly
sacrificed to please the Prophet. Meantime they
had witnessed the bestowal of rich gifts upon
sixteen influential men of Quraysh and four chiefs
of other tribes.
All these recipients were men of wealth. But not
one of the Helpers had received a gift from the
Prophet. The same was true of the Emigrants; but
that was no consolation to the citizens of Medina,
for most of the gifts had gone to men of Quraysh,
that is to close kinsmen of the Emigrants. "The
Messenger of God hath joined his people," the
Helpers were saying amongst themselves. "In time
of battle it is we who are his companions, but when
the spoils are divided his companions are his own
people and family. And we would fain know whence
this cometh: if it be from God, then we accept it
with patience; but if it be no more than a thought
which hath occurred to God's Messenger, we would
ask him to favour us also."
When feeling rose high amongst them, Sa'd ibn
'Ubadah went to the Prophet and told him what
was in their minds and on their tongues. "And
where standest thou in this, 0 Sa'd?" said the
Prophet. "0 Messenger of God," he answered, "I am
as one of them. We would fain know whence this
cometh." The Prophet told him to gather all the
Helpers together in one of the enclosures that had
been used to shelter the captives; and some of the
Emigrants also joined them, with Sa'd's permission.
Then the Prophet went to them, and, having given
praise and thanks to God, he addressed them:
B n taken from Muhammad Husayn Haykal Life of
Muhammad
"O Ansar ! It has been reported to me that you were
personally angry, that you do not approve of my
distribution of the booty. Do tell me, when I came
to you, did I not find you languishing in misguidance
and error and did not God guide you to the truth
through me? Did I not find you in a state of need
and did not God make you affluent? Did I not find
you enemies of one another and did not God
reconcile your hearts?" Confused, al Ansar
answered: "Indeed! God and his Prophet have been
very generous and very loving;" and they fell into
silence. Muhammad continued: "Will you not then
say more than this, O Ansar? By God, had you
replied, `Rather, it was you Muhammad, who were
under our obligation. Did you not come to us belied
by your fellow men and did we not believe in you?
Did you not come to us vanquished and defeated
and did we not come to your rescue? Did you not
come to us banished and repulsed and did we not
give you shelter? Did you not come to us in want
and need and did we not give you of our bounty?'
Had you replied to me in this vein you would have
said nothing but the truth and I would have had to
agree. O Ansar, are you angry because I have given
away some goods to those whom I sought to win to
Islam? Because I deemed their faith confirmable by
material goods whereas I deemed yours to be based
on solid conviction, to be candid beyond all
dissuasion? Are you not satisfied, O Ansar, that all
the people return from this conquest loaded with
goods and camels whereas you return with the
Prophet of God? By Him who dominates
Muhammad's soul, except for the fact of my birth,
there is no people to whom I love to belong beside
al Ansar. If all mankind went one way, and al Ansar
went another, I would certainly choose the way of
al Ansar. O God, bless al Ansar, their children, and
their grandchildren. Show Your mercy to them and
keep them under Your protection." The Prophet
said these words out of great affection for all the
men of al Ansar who had pledged their loyalty and
allegiance to him, who had helped him, who had
reinforced his ranks and found their strength in him.
Indeed, he was so moved by his feelings for them
that he cried. The Ansar cried with him and
declared their contentment.