ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims The Battle of Hunayn The conquest of Makkah triggered the mass conversion of the Arabs to Islam in many parts of the country. But there were some tribes living in the east and south-east of Makkah which did not wish to abjure idolatry.

They were alarmed at the rapid progress of Islam, and they thought that if it continued to spread at the same speed, they would soon be surrounded by the Muslims, and would become isolated from other pagan tribes. Their leaders figured that it would be unwise on their part to let the Muslims consolidate their recent gains and become too strong. They, therefore, decided to act immediately by attacking the Muslims in Makkah and destroying them.

The leading tribes among them were the Thaqeef, Hawazin, Banu Sa'ad and Banu Jashm, all fierce warriors, jealous of their independence and proud of their warlike traditions. They had noted that Makkah had surrendered to Muhammad without striking a blow but they attributed the failure of the Quraysh to resist him, to their effeminacy. As for themselves, they were confident that they were more than a match on the battle-field for the warriors of Islam or any other warriors.

In late January 630, the Prophet received intelligence that Thaqeef and Hawazin had left their home base, and were moving toward Makkah. When these reports were confirmed, he too ordered a general mobilization in the newly-conquered city. The Prophet didn't want Makkah to become a battle-ground. He, therefore, hastily left Makkah on January 26, 630 at the head of 12,000 warriors, to meet the enemy.

Out of this force, ten thousand men were from Medina, and the other two thousand were recruits from the newly-converted Makkans. This new army was the largest force ever assembled in Arabia to that date. As its various formations marched out of the city gate, in full panoply of war, Abu Bakr who was watching, was much impressed, and exclaimed: “We cannot be defeated this time because of lack of numbers.” But very soon he was proven wrong.

Muslims were defeated at the beginning even though they were thrice as numerous as the enemy. Qur’an itself called attention of the Muslims, rather pointedly, that numbers alone were no guarantee that they would be victorious.