Seerah and History

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: On the day of (the battle of) Badr, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the polytheists, who were one thousand (fighters), while his Companions were three hundred and nineteen. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards the Qiblah, stretched his hands up, and started calling upon his Lord: "O Allah, fulfill for me what You have promised to me. O Allah, accomplish what You have promised to me. O Allah, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed, You will not be worshiped on earth." He continued his supplication to his Lord while raising his hands and facing the Qiblah until his mantle slipped down from his shoulders. So Abu Bakr came to him, picked up his mantle, and put it back on his shoulders. Then he embraced him from behind and said: "O Prophet, you have sufficiently prayed to your Lord, and He will fulfill for you what He has promised you." So Allah, the Exalted, revealed: {When you appealed to your Lord for help, He responded to your call (saying): I will help you with one thousand angels coming in succession} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 9]. So Allah supported him with angels." Abu Zumayl reported that Ibn ‘Abbās told him: "On that day, a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever who was running in front of him, he heard the sound of a whip from above, and the voice of a rider, saying: 'Go ahead, Hayzūm.' He glanced at the polytheist, who had (then) fallen down on his back. When he looked at him, there was a scar on his nose, and his face was torn as if it had been lashed with a whip, and it all turned purple. The Ansāri (man from the Ansār came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and related this (incident) to him. He said: 'You have told the truth. This was help from the third heaven.' On that day (the day of the battle of Badr), the Muslims killed seventy disbelievers and captured seventy as captives. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them): 'What is your opinion regarding these captives?' Abu Bakr said: 'They are our kith and kin. I think you charge them a ransom (in return for releasing them), which (the ransom) will be a source of strength to us against the disbelievers. Perhaps, Allah will guide them to Islam.' Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'What is your opinion, O Ibn al-Khattāb?' He said: 'No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I do not agree with the opinion of Abu Bakr. I am of the opinion that you should hand them over to us so that we cut off their heads. Hand over ‘Aqīl to ‘Ali to cut off his head, and hand over such-and-such relative to me to cut off his head. These are the leaders of the disbelief and its veterans.' ‘Umar noted: 'The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) favored the opinion of Abu Bakr and did not favor what I had said. The next day, when I came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) I found that both he and Abu Bakr were sitting and crying. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, why are you and your companion crying? Tell me the reason. For I will cry, or I will at least pretend to cry in sympathy with you.’ The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘I cry for what has been offered to your companions of taking the ransom (from the prisoners). I was shown the punishment to which they will be subjected. It was brought to me as close as this tree.’ Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed: {It is not befitting for a Prophet that he should take prisoners until the force of the disbelievers has been crushed...} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 67] {so eat of what you have gained of the spoils of war, (it is) lawful and pure} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 69]. So Allah made war spoils lawful for them."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) returned from the battle of the Trench and put down his arms and took a bath, Jibrīl (peace be upon him) came and said (to him): "You had put down your arms? By Allah, we (i.e. the angels) have not put them down yet. So, set out for them." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Where to go?" Jibrīl said: "Towards this side", pointing towards the Banu Qurayzhah. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) headed towards them.

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of Eid. He commenced with the prayer before the sermon, and did so without Adhān or Iqāmah. He then stood up leaning on Bilāl, and he commanded people to fear Allah and obey Him, and he preached to the people and reminded them. He then walked until he reached the women, and he preached to them, admonished them, and then said to them: "Give charity, for the majority of you will be the firewood of Hell." A woman in the center of the crowd, with dark spots on her cheeks, said: "Why is that so, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "It is because you often complain and show ingratitude to your spouses." Thus, they began to donate their jewelry, like earrings and rings, throwing them in Bilāl's garment (that he had spread out).

‘Ā’ishah and Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for ten years and then in Madīnah for ten years, and the Qur’an was descending upon him (in both).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Many delegations came to Mu‘āwiyah in the month of Ramadan and we would prepare food for one another. Abu Hurayrah was one of those who frequently invited us to his dwellings. I said: "Should I not prepare food and invite them to my home?" So I ordered food to be prepared and when I met Abu Hurayrah in the evening I said: "I’m inviting you to my house this evening." He said: "You preempted me!" I said: ‘Yes.’ and invited them. (After they had eaten) Abu Hurayrah said: "Shall I tell you a tradition from your traditions, O you assembly of the Ansār?" He gave an account of the Conquest of Makkah and said that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had proceeded until he reached Makkah. He dispatched Az-Zubayr on his right flank, Khālid on his left, and Abu ‘Ubaydah with a force that had no armor. They advanced to the interior of the valley. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was in the middle of a large contingent of fighters. He saw me and said: “Abu Hurayrah.” I said: “I am here at your service, Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Let no one come to me except the Ansār; (only) call the Ansār to me." Abu Hurayrah continued: "So they gathered around him. The Quraysh also gathered their ruffians and their (lowly) followers, and said: 'We will send these (men) forward. If they get anything, we will be with them (to share it) and if misfortune befalls them, we will pay (as compensation) whatever we are asked for.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said (to the Ansār): 'You see the ruffians and the (lowly) followers of the Quraysh.' And he indicated by (striking) one of his hands over the other that they should be killed and said: 'Meet me at As-Safa.' Then we went on (and) if any one of us wanted a certain person to be killed, he was killed, and none of them could offer any resistance." Abu Hurayrah continued: "Then came Abu Sufyān and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the blood of the Quraysh has become very cheap. There will be no Quraysh from this day on.' Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyān, he will be safe.' Some of the Ansār whispered among themselves: 'Love for his city and sympathy for his clan have overpowered him.' Abu Hurayrah said: "A revelation came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and when he was going to receive the revelation, we understood it, and when he was receiving it, none of us would dare raise his eyes to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) until the revelation ended. When the revelation came to an end, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'O you assembly of the Ansār!' They said: 'Here we are at your service, Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'You were saying that ‘Love for his city and people has overpowered this man.'' They said: 'So it was.' He said: 'No, never. I am a slave of Allah and His Messenger. I migrated to Allah and to you. I will live with you and I will die with you.' So, they (the Ansār) turned towards him in tears, saying: 'By Allah, we said what we said because of our attachment to Allah and the deep desire to have His Messenger among us.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Surely, Allah and His Messenger testify to your assertions and accept your apology.'" The narrator continued: "People came to the house of Abu Sufyān and locked their doors. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) proceeded until he approached the (Black) Stone. He kissed it and circumambulated the Ka‘bah. He reached an idol by the side of the Ka‘bah that was worshiped by the people. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had a bow in his hand that he was holding from a corner. When he came near the idol, he began to pierce its eyes with the bow, saying: {The Truth has come, and falsehood has perished} [Sūrat al-Isrā': 81]. When he had finished the circumambulation, he came to the Mount Safa, climbed it to a height from where he could see the Ka‘bah, raised his hands (in supplication), and began to praise Allah and prayed what he wished to pray.''

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Jibrīl came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him, laid him on the ground, split open his chest, took the heart out and then extracted a blood clot out of it and said: "That was the devil's share in you." Then he washed it with Zamzam water in a golden basin and then joined the wounded parts together after he restored the heart to its place. The boys came running to his mother, i.e. his wet nurse, and said: "Muhammad has been killed." They rushed to him and found his color was changed. Anas said: "I used to see the scar of this stitching on his chest."

Buraydah reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) spat on the leg of ‘Amr ibn Mu‘ādh when his leg was cut off, so he was healed.

Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We fought with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in Hunayn. When we encountered the enemy, I advanced and ascended a mountain pass. A man from the enemy turned towards me and I shot him with an arrow. He hid himself from me. I did not know what he did, but (all of a sudden) I saw that a group of people appeared from the other mountain pass. They and the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) met in combat, but the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) turned back and I too turned back in retreat. I had two mantles, one of which I was wrapping around the waist (covering the lower part of my body) and the other I was putting around my shoulders. My waist-wrapper got loose and I held the two mantles together. (In this downcast condition) I passed by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who was riding on his white mule. He said: "The son of Al-Akwa‘ has seen terror." When they (the disbelievers) gathered around him from all sides, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got down from his mule, picked up a handful of dust from the ground, threw it at their faces and said: 'May these faces be deformed.' There was none among them whose eyes were not filled with dust from this handful. So they turned back fleeing. Allah, Exalted and Glorified, defeated them, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) distributed their booty among the Muslims.

Abu Zayd ibn Akhtab (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) wiped my face with his hand and supplicated for me. ‘Azrah (one of the narrators) said: "He lived for one hundred and twenty years and only had a few little grey hairs on his head.”

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I never had sore eyes nor a headache since the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) wiped my face and spat in my eyes on the Day of Khaybar when he gave me the standard.

Abu al-‘Alā ibn ‘Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I was with Qatādah ibn Milhān when he was in the throes of death. A man passed in a distant place in the house, so I saw him in the face of Qatādah. Whenever I saw him [in the past], his face as if had oil on it. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had wiped over his face.

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) died with his head resting between my chest and my neck. When his soul departed (his body), it smelled like the best scent I have ever smelled.

Yazīd ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he once performed the Fajr ‎prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and he then mentioned the ‎Hadīth. He said: "(After the prayer) the people got up hurriedly and took the Prophet’s hand ‎and rubbed their faces with it. I too took his hand and rubbed my face with it. It was cooler ‎than ice and smelled better than musk."

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) once came to our house and had a siesta. While sleeping, there was perspiration upon his body. My mother brought a bottle and kept collecting the sweat in it. This awakened the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) who asked her: "What are you doing, O Umm Sulaym?" She answered: "This is your sweat, we mix it with our perfume, as it is from the best perfumes."

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When he washed the body of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) he looked for what is usually found on the dead person’s body (i.e. dirt), but found nothing. Therefore, He said: "May my father be sacrificed for you, you are pure alive and dead."

Al-Ja‘d reported that he heard As-Sā’ib ibn Yazīd say: "My maternal aunt took me to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, my nephew is ailing.' So he wiped over my head and invoked blessings upon me. Then he performed ablution and I drank from the water of his ablution. After that, I stood behind his back and looked at the seal of prophet-hood between his two shoulder blades, and it resembled the egg of a pigeon."

Abu Zayd al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) once said ‎to me: "Get near to me," and I did. Hence, he asked me to put my hand (underneath his shirt) to ‎massage his back. When I began massaging his back, my fingers accidentally touched the seal of ‎prophet-hood. He (Abu Zayd) was asked about the seal of prophet-hood and replied: "It consisted of hair between his shoulders." ‎

‘Abdullāh ibn Sarjis reported: I saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and ate bread and meat with him - or he said Tharīd (bread soaked in soup). I said to him: "Did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ask forgiveness for you?" He said: "Yes, and for you, and he then recited this verse: {...ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women...} [Sūrat Muhammad: 19] I then went behind him and saw the seal of prophet-hood between his shoulders on the top of his left shoulder, like a clenched fist with spots on it, resembling moles.

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been intimidated in the path of Allah at a time when no one else was intimidated, and I have been harmed for the sake of Allah at a time when no one else was harmed, and I once spent thirty days and nights wherein I and Bilāl had nothing a living being can eat except a little that was kept under Bilāl's armpit."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a woman with some sort of mental disorder said: "O Messenger of Allah, I need your help in a certain matter." He said: "O Mother of so-and-so, choose which road you would like (to meet me on) so that I may give you the help you need." He then stood aside with her on some road until she finished telling him what she needed.