The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

286 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Messenger of God (SAAS) telling him, 'Two of these I myself killed. Regarding
the third, I saw a tall man kill him and I then took his head.'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) responded, '0, that was so-and-so, one of
the angels."'
Masii b. Muhammad b. Ibr&im related to me, quoting his father, as saying,
"Al-Sz'ib b. Aba Hubaysh used to relate, during the period of Wmar's rule, 'I
swear, it was no man who took me prisoner.' 'Who was it then?' he would he
asked, and he would respond, 'When Quraysh were defeated, so was I with them.
A tall, long-haired man on a white horse took me and tied me up. Then along
came 'Ahd al-Rahmm h. 'Awf and found me there hound. He called out to the
men, "Who was it captured this man?" Eventually he took me to the Messenger
of God (SAAS) who asked, LLWho was it took you prisoner?" I told him I did not
know, hut I was reluctant to tell him what I had seen. The Messenger of God
(SAAS) then said, "It was an angel who took you prisoner. Take your captive
away, Ibn 'Awf.""'
Al-Wzqidi stated, "'Abid b. Yahyz related to me, as did Aba al-Huwayrith,
from 'Imzra b. Ukayma, from Hakim b. Hiz-, who said, 'At the battle of Badr,
I witnessed striped cloth come down from the sky and it blocked off the horizon.
And then the valley streamed with water. It occurred to me that this was something
from heaven with which Muhammad was to be helped. And it was not long
before there was the defeat and the advance of the angels to the forefront.'"
Ishaq h. Riihawayh stated, "Wahh b. Jarir b. Haim related to us, saying, 'My
father told me, from Muhammad b. Ishaq, who said, "My father quoted to me
Jubayr h. Mut'im as saying, 'Before the enemy force was defeated, and while the
men were still fighting, I saw something like a black striped cloth descend from
the sky, like black ants; I had no doubt it was the angels, and soon the enemy
force was defeated."""
The angels descended to give their help and the Messenger of God (SAAS) saw
them when he took a nap and, upon waking up, he told Aba Bakr the good news,
saying, "Rejoice at this, Aba Bakr; for Gabriel was there, leading his horse and
with dust all over him." By this he meant hom the battle.
The Messenger of God (SAAS) then left the shelter, dressed in chain-mail,
and began urging on the men to battle. He told them of heaven and gave them
encouragement in news of the coming of the angels. The men were meanwhile
still in their battle ranks, not yet having advanced against their enemy. The result
was that they felt tranquility and confidence.
They felt that calmness that is the sign of confidence, security and faith, just
as God stated, "When He caused calm to overcome you, as a security from Him"
(snrar al-Anfzl; VIII, v.11). This similarly happened to them thereafter, at the
battle of Uhud, as in the reference in the Qur'm.
This is why Ibn Mas'ad remarked, "Calm in the battle ranks is a sign of faith;
calm during the prayer is a sign of hypocrisy."