Participation in this battle and that too at such a young...

Participation in this battle and that too at such a young age tells us about the unparalleled valour of the Holy Prophet and we understand as to why Imam Ali, the most valiant of the valiant, the Commander of the Faithful says "Whenever matters became difficult for us (the Muslim Soldiers) on the battle front we took refuge with the Prophet of Allah and none of us was nearer to the enemy than the Prophet himself.[^3] We shall mention the principles of Islamic military training in the chapter relating to the battles of the Muslims with the polytheists, and shall study the manner of their fighting, which always took shape according to the directions of the Holy Prophet.

And this in itself is one of the fascinating discussions of the history of Islam. The Fujjar (Unjust) Battles Detailed account of such matters is beyond the scope of our book. However, we give below in brief the causes and the events of these battles, in one of which the Holy Prophet also participated, so that the esteemed readers may not remain totally uninformed about them. The Arabs of the Age of Ignorance spent the whole year in fighting and plundering.

However, the continuance of this state of affairs deranged their lives. For this reason they did not fight during four months in a year (viz.

Rajab, Zi Qa'd, Zil Haj and Muharram) so that their might open their trade markets during these four months and engage themselves in work and earning of livelihood.[^4] In view of this resolution the bazaars of 'Ukaz, Mujannah and Zil Majaz witnessed wonderful gatherings during these four months and friends as well as foes engaged themselves, side by side with one another, in buying and selling as well as in selfglorification.

The great singers of Arabia sang their compositions in these assemblies. The well-known orators delivered speeches. The Jews, the Christians and the idolaters presented their religious beliefs before the Arab world without any fear of harm from their opponents. During the course of Arabian history, however, this covenant was broken four times, when some Arab tribes engaged in war-fare with one another.

And as these battles were fought in the months in which fighting is prohibited they are called Fujjar Battles.