Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings

Author:Martin Lings
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: lings, seera
Published: 2017-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

Nu'aym went back through the town and made his way to the Bani Qurayh, who welcomed him as an old friend and offered him food and drink. "I came not for this," he said, "but to warn you of my fears for your safety and to give you my counsel." Then he proceeded to point out to them that if Quraysh and Ghatafan failed to inflict a decisive defeat on their enemy they would return home and leave the Jews at the mercy of Muhammad and his followers. Therefore they should refuse to strike one blow for Quraysh until they had been given leading men as hostages, in guarantee that they would not withdraw until the enemy had been overwhelmed. His advice was accepted with enthusiasm by the Bani Quray:5ah, who had been increasingly beset by the very fears he had touched on. So they agreed to do what he had said, and promised not to tell his own people or Quraysh that it was he who had given them this counsel.

Then he went to his one-time friend Abu Sufyan and told him and the other chiefs of Quraysh who were with him that he had a very serious piece of information to impart, on the condition, which they agreed to, that they would swear to tell no one that he was their informer. "The Jews regret their treatment of Muhammad," he said, "and they have sent to him saying: We regret what we have done, and will it satisfy thee if we take as hostages some of the leading men of Quraysh and Ghatafan and give them to thee that thou mayst cut off their heads? Then will we fight with thee against those that be left. Muhammad hath sent them his agreement; so if the Jews ask you for some of your men as hostages, give them not one man of yours." Then he went to his own people and the other clans of Ghatafan and told them the same as he had told Quraysh.

After consultation, the leaders of the two invading armies decided to say nothing for the moment to Huyay, but to put to the test what Nu'aym had said. So they sent ikrimah to the Bani Qurayh with the message: "Make ye ready to fight on the morrow, that once and for all we may rid ourselves of Muhammad." They answered: "Tomorrow is the Sabbath; nor in any case will we fight with you against Muhammad unless ye give us hostages who shall be for us as a security until we have made an end of him. For we fear that if the battle go against you ye will withdraw to your own country, leaving us with that man in ours, and we cannot face him alone." When this message reached Quraysh and Ghatafan they said: "By God, what Nuaym told us is indeed the truth." And they sent again to Bani Qurayh saying that they would not give them a single man, but bidding

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