The life of the Prophet Muhammad - Ibn Kathir - volume 2 of 4

60 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
us, hut not upon us! ' The clouds were then withdrawn from above his head, and
the people around them were watered."
He said, "The verse of siirat al-Dukhan was mentioned earlier and it referred
to the starvation that had afflicted them. This refers to God's statement, 'We are
withdrawing from you the punishment for a while; hut yon will revert.' And the
verses of scrat al-Riim (XXX), and those referring to the 'grievous hold' (of siirat
al-Dukhan; XLIV, v.16), and the 'splitting of the moon' (ofsiirat al-@mar; LIV,
v.l), all came true at the battle of Badr."
Al-Bayhaqi stated, "What he means, though God alone knows best, is that the
'grievous hold', 'the smoke' and the verse relating to the lizam, God's punishment,
all these (prophecies) came true at the battle of Badr."
He said, "Al-Bukhw made reference to this account. He then mentioned it
through 'Ahd al-Razzaq from Macmar, from Ayyiib, from 'Ikrima, from Ibn
'Abb%, in the words, 'Aha Sufym came to the Messenger of God (SAAS) seeking
relief from the hunger because they had nothing to eat, even consuming spoiled
meat. God Almighty then revealed the words, 'We brought punishment down
on them, but they would not submit to their Lord, nor were they humble' (siirar
al-Mu'miniina; XXIII, v.76). And so the Messenger of God (SAAS) said a prayer
for them, so that God gave them relief."
The ha& al-Bayhaqi stated, "There is given in the story relating to Aba
Snfym material suggesting that it applied to the period after the migration.
Perhaps it happened twice. God knows best."
Then al-Bayhaqi related the story of the Persians and the Byzantines and
Almighty God's revelation of the verses: "Alif. Lam. Mim. The Byzantines have
been defeated in the neighbouring territory, yet after their defeat they will
overcome, after a few years. God makes the decision, both before and after. And
on a certain day the believers will rejoice at God's assistance. God assists
whomever He wishes, for He is the Almighty, the Merciful" (swat al-Riim;
XXX, v.2).
He then related through Sufyan al-Thawn, from Hahih b. Aba 'Amr, from
Sacid h. Juhayr, from Ihn {Abbns, who said, "The Muslims would have liked
the Byzantines to he victorious over the Persians because the former were the
'People of the Book'. The polytheists wanted the Persians to overcome the
Byzantines because the former were idol worshippers. The Muslims mentioned
this to Aba Bakr, who spoke about it with the Prophet (SAAS). The latter
commented, 'They will prevail.' Ahn Bakr related this to the polytheists who
said, 'Set a term for us and if they do prevail, then you get so-and-so while if our
side wins we get so-and-so.' Aha Bakr then related this to the Prophet (SAAS),
who said, 'So now I've made it a wager!' He went on, 'In less than ten (days).'
And thereafter the Byzantines were victorious."