Wild Wild Arabia
Sher
Khan
2005/10/28
In
an eerily quiet valley, a group of outlaws is leaning on scattered boulders and
anxiously waiting for its prey. A stagecoach, full of money for railroad
workers, is expected to pass through the valley. ‘Billy the Kid’ is carrying
a dragon pistol at one hip and a sharp knife at the other. His colt rifle
dangles at his back as he shifts his position. It’s Billy who first notices a
cloud of dust whirling at the end of the trail. Within a minute, the stagecoach
emerges and the gang of outlaws attacks the carriage. It does not take long for
them to kill all armed guards and loot bags full of money. In the evening,
‘Billy the Kid’ and his outlaw friends are drinking in a saloon, cheering
their audacity and the good fortune that they made today.
It’s a
typical scene of Western movies, where outlaws are semi-nomadic characters,
wandering from town to town, riding horses, carrying guns and robbing
stagecoaches or trains. Sheriffs and marshals are the good people working as
police officers, who chase these bad guys and kill them in gunfights. The era of
lawlessness--fights between outlaws and marshals--is commonly known as the
‘Wild Wild West’ of
America
.
Fourteen
hundred years ago, on the land of “Wild Wild Arabia”, there were no sheriffs
or police officers, but a gang of evil people did exist. In the year of 624 AD,
a group of bandits were waiting by a coastal road that linked
Syria
and
Mecca
. They had slept well that night because Mohammad, the commander of the group,
ordered them not to worry. The following morning they were waiting for a caravan
to arrive, full of gold and precious commodities. No, they didn’t have any
plans to trade or buy; they wanted their wealth the easiest way--simply robbing
them.
They
successfully robbed the caravan and returned home with an abundance of riches.
This legendary robbery was known as the famous Battle of Badr. Later, they too,
like the outlaws of the ‘Wild Wild West’, got drunk. Hamza, one of the
members of the gang, was so drunk that he did not realize that he killed and cut
two humps of a camel that belonged to Ali, the soon-to-be son-in-law of
Mohammad. (Drinking alcohol was not prohibited in nascent Islam; it was banned
at a later date.) There is a reference in Hadith, “Narrated
Ali: I got a she-camel in my share of the war booty on the day (of the battle)
of Badr,..…. Allah's Apostle started rebuking Hamza for what he had done, but Hamza
was drunk and his eyes were red……”
(Khumus, Sahi Bukhari).
Whereas
the story of ‘Billy the Kid’ of the ‘Wild Wild West’ is somewhat
fictitious, the Battle of Badr is a historical fact compiled in the Quran,
Hadith and many Islamic books. Muslims always brag about the victory of Mohammad
in this battle, assuming he fought against injustice to establish Islam. In
reality, this raid had nothing to
do with revenge for persecution, as claimed in the Quran.
This war was not between oppressed and oppressor, or between good and evil. It
was not a defensive war. It even should not be called a war or a battle because
the whole conflict was about monetary gain for Mohammad. To put it simply, it
was robbery. Later, Muslim
propagandists incorporated this raid into Islam as Jihad or holy war.
In the month of
September of 622 AD, Mohammad migrated from
Mecca
to
Medina
. He was not able to bring any money with him. His first wife, Khadiza, died in
619 AD, while he
was in
Mecca
. What was the profession of
Mohammad and his companions after the migration to
Medina
? Did Allah send them food through overnight delivery? Did Mohammad use a credit
card? He did not even have a house where he could acquire a home equity loan.
So, how did they survive?
Throughout the year
of 623 AD, Mohammad and his companions made several attempts to rob Meccan
caravans and kidnap innocent people. Muslims proudly claims these attacks as
‘military expeditions’, which, of course, are nothing but mugging. Those
attacks are of two categories, ’Ghazawaat’ (plural of Ghazawah),
and ’Saraayaa’ (plural of Sariya). When Mohammad took part in
the action, it was called ‘Ghazawah’ and raids without Muhammad’s
presence are known as ‘Sariya’. Islamic scholars vary on the number
of these attacks, but it is estimated to be approximately 17 to 27 ‘Ghazawaat’
and 36 to 100 ‘Saraayaa’.
Muhammad hit the
jackpot in ‘the awful caravan robbery’, commonly known as Ghazawaat Al-Badr.
According to ‘Sirat Rasul Allah 428’ and ‘Tabari
VII:29’, “Then the
apostle heard that Abu Sufyan b. Harb was coming from Syria with a large caravan
of Quraysh, containing their money and merchandise, accompanied by some thirty
or forty men.” Mohammad said, “This is the Quraysh caravan
containing their property, Go out to attack it, perhaps God will give it as
prey,”
The Battle of Badr was an offensive
war from Mohammad’s side. He knew that his poor and needy Muhajiruns (those
who migrated from
Mecca
) would be happy to loot for wealth but he was doubtful about Ansars (Muslims of
Medina who invited Mohammad). “So the apostle was afraid that the Ansar
would not feel obligated to help him unless he was attacked by an enemy in
Medina
, and that they would not feel it incumbent upon them to go with him against an
enemy outside their territory. (Ishaq 435). Eventually, they agreed and
Mohammad was happy to have a group of skilled warriors on his side. They all
proceeded towards Badr, hoping to change their fortune.
Meanwhile, “When Abu Sufyan got
near the Hijaz, he was seeking news, and questioning every rider in his anxiety,
until he got news from some riders that Muhammad had called out his companions
against him and his caravan. He took alarm at that and hired Damdam b. Amr al-Ghifari
and sent him to
Mecca
, ordering him to call out Quraysh in defense of their property”.
(Ishaq 428).
Ibn Ishaq
continues, “Abu Sufyan went forward to get in front of the caravan as a
precautionary measure until he came down to the water, and asked Majdi if he had
noticed anything. He replied that he had seen nothing untoward: merely two
riders had stopped on the hill and taken water away in a skin. Abu Sufyan came
to the spot where they had halted, picked up some camel dung and broke it in
pieces and found that it contained date-stones. ‘By God,’ he said, ‘this
is fodder of Yathrib.’ He returned at once to his companions and changed
the caravan’s direction from the road to the seashore leaving Badr on the
left, traveling as quickly as possible” (Ishaq 437).
Does it look like
Mohammad was playing a defensive game? Often, Muslims complain that their
dearest Mohammad, ‘the propane of Islam’, had to fight because he was
attacked. Poor Abu Sufyan was desperately trying to save the caravan and called
for help. Indeed, help arrived in due course. Ibn Ishaq elaborates, “When
Abu Sufayn saw that he had saved his caravan he sent word to Quraysh. ‘Since
you came out to save your caravan, your men, and your property
and God has delivered them, go back.’ Abu Jahl said, ‘By God, we will
not go back until we have been to Badr’. Badr was the site for one of the Arab
fairs where they used to hold a market every year. ‘We will spend three days
there, slaughter camels and feast and drink wine, and the girls shall play for
us. The Arabs will hear that we have come and gathered together, and will
respect us in the future. So come on!’ (Ishaq: 438).
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