The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

448 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
of God (SAAS), when he saw how people were behaving at the battle of
Hunayn, as saying, "'Abbas! Call out: '0 aqzr! 0 people of the tree!"' (When he
did so) they responded, "Labbayka! Labbayka! At Your service! At Your service!"
The men then tried to turn their mounts, and when they failed to do so, they
threw off their armour from around their necks, took their swords and shields
and headed in the direction of his voice. Eventually some 100 of them were
gathered about hi
and they made a stand and fought on. The first call he made
was to the an@?, then another was made to (Bana) Khazraj. They were steadfast
in the battle. The Messenger of God (SAAS) looked out at his mounted men and
the fierce battle waging and commented, "The fires of war are really hot now!"
Al-Bayhaqi went on, "By the time all the force had returned around him,
the prisoners were already bound, and there with them the Messenger of God
(SAAS). God destroyed many of them and caused many to flee. He awarded to
His messenger their possessions and children."
Ibn Lahi'a stated, from Aha al-Aswad, from Wrwa, and Masa b. Wqbanarrated
in his military chronicle, from al-Zuhri, that after God had conquered Mecca for
the Messenger of God (SAAS) and he had rested, he went out against Hawszin,
accompanied by the people of Mecca, some mounted, others on foot. Even the
women left too, walking; they did so not for religious reasons but to watch and
to bring back the booty. And they would not have minded if the Messenger of
God (SAAS) and his men had lost.
They also stated that he was accompanied by Abn Snfym b. Harb and Safw2n
b. Umayya. The wife of the latter was a Muslim, while he was still a polytheist.
But they (the couple) had not been separated.'ji
Wrwa stated, "The leader of the polytheists that day was Mslik b. 'Awf
al-Na~ri. With him was Durayd h. al-Simma, much suffering from his advanced
age. Also accompanying them were their womenfolk, children and livestock. The
Messenger of God (SAAS) sent out ahead 'Abd All& b. Aha Hadrad as a scout.
He spent the night with the enemy force and heard Mdik b. 'Awf say to his
companions, 'When morning comes, attack them as one man. Break the scabbards
of your swords and position your livestock and women in separate lines.'
"Next morning Abn Sufym, Safwsn and Hakim h. Hiza positioned themselves
apart and to the rear to observe which side would prevail. The Muslim
forces were ranged into lines and the Messenger of God (SAAS) mounted his
grey mule, went out to meet each lie and urged them to fight hard, encouraging
them that they would be victorious if they remained steadfast.
"While they were so engaged, the polytheists attacked the Muslims as one
man. The Muslims engaged in one round of fighting, then turned around and
retreated. Haitha b. al-Nn'mm commented, 'I estimated the number remaining
with the Messenger of God (SAAS) after the retreat to be 100 men.'
135. The fact that the couple did not share the same faith did not cause the dissolution of their
marriage.