The Prophet Muhammad Pocket Guide

continuously for divine succour. God then sent angels to help the Muslims who emerged victorious. The Quraysh suffered a total rout. Uhud The defeat of Badr, however, did not teach the Quraysh a lesson, but further enraged them. Determined to wipe out the blot of this humiliation, they now began preparations for a second attack, on a much bigger scale. They raised an army of more than 3000 warriors and, mad with revenge, marched to Madinah, led by Abu Sufyan. The Prophet’s men numbered only 700. But with God on their side, the Muslims successfully repulsed the attack. The enemy started retreating, leaving behind large quantities of booty. Victory was imminent for the Muslims, but a lapse allowed the Makkans to counter attack and the victory was turned to defeat. The Quraysh lost 14 men, while the Muslims lost 70. Among the dead was Hamzah, the Prophet’s uncle. The Prophet grieved over the loss of this brave soul. With deep sorrow the martyrs were buried and the Muslims came back to Madinah. The Trench The enemies and hypocrites contrived to bring together all the opponents of Islam. So they were able to assemble a mighty force of 10,000, with which large army they started marching towards Madinah. The Muslims numbered only 3,000. But the Makkan cavalry were stopped by the trench. However, they had plenty of provisions and supplies so they decided to lay siege to the city. On the 27th day of the siege, a fierce storm hit Madinah. For three days and nights the storm continued, bringing torrential rain. All the tents were blown away and the provisions became unusable due to the rain. Dissension in the army was now gradually growing. Discouraged, the Quraysh abandoned the siege. The Peace Treaty and the Spread of Islam The Peace Treaty The Prophet felt that war was not the solution. Therefore, he adopted another strategy. Guided by a dream, he left for Makkah to perform Umrah accompanied by 1400 companions. He camped at Hudaybiyyah, a short way from Makkah. It was a completely peaceful march. But the Makkan leaders objected to it. They felt that their prestige was damaged by the fact that the very people who had been expelled by them from Makkah should come to the city again and perform the rights of Umrah openly and in such large numbers. Now the Prophet halted at Hudaybiyyah and began negotiating for peace with the Makkan leaders. The Quraysh finally agreed to sign a peace treaty specifying that for the next ten years no war would take place between the Muslims and the Makkans. By the