Soon after the murder of Ka'b a Jew named Abu Rafe'...

Soon after the murder of Ka'b a Jew named Abu Rafe', who followed in Ka'b's footsteps and was one with him in the matter of spying and instigating, was also killed. Ibn Athir has recorded the details of this event in his history.[^1] Quraysh Decide To Meet The Expenses Of War Seeds of subversion and disturbance had already been sown in Makkah for quite some time. Prohibition of mourning had strengthened the sense of revenge.

Closure of the trade route of the people of Makkah via Madina and Iraq had made them extremely uneasy. Ka'b bin Ashraf added fuel to this fire and set it ablaze.

For these reasons Safwan bin Umayyah and 'Ikramah bin Abi Jahl suggested to Abu Sufyan that as the chiefs and soldiers of Quraysh had been killed for the sake of the protection of the trade caravan of Makkah, it was expedient that everyone of those who owned a part of the merchandise which was carried by their caravan should contribute his share to meet the expenses of war. This proposal met Abu Sufyan's approval and was put in action immediately.

The chiefs of Quraysh who were aware of the strength of the Muslims and had observed their bravery and self-sacrifice from a very near quarters in the Battle of Badr, considered it expedient to face Muhammad with an organized army consisting of brave and experienced men of various tribes. Amr bin As and some others were deputed to contact the tribes of Kananah and Saqif and to seek their help.

They were instructed to invite their brave men to fight with Muhammad, fully equipped, and to promise them that the expenses of war and all necessities of the journey would be provided by Quraysh.

They succeeded, after a good deal of activity, in procuring the services of a number of brave men belonging to the tribes of Kananah and Tahamah and in preparing an army consisting of three to four thousand men to participate in the battle.[^2] What has been stated above is the number of men only, who participated in the battle, and if the number of the women, who were present on the scene, is added, the figure will go up.

It was not the custom amongst the Arabs to take women to the battlefield, but this time women also participated in the battle along with men. And their plan was that they should walk between the formations of the troops, beating drums, and instigate them to take revenge, by reciting verses and making moving speeches.