THE BATTLE OF HUNAIN- by Imam Al Asi

THE BATTLE OF HUNAIN- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

You are familiar with the pressures, the distortion of the facts and the larger schemes that are at work. Much of it is expressed in a way that floods our senses, (probably you'll only hear this here), in particular there has been and continues to be a well thought out program to have Muslims lose interest in their independence and future. We want to go back to Allah's Prophet and see if we can scoop from his lifetime enough confidence that will recharge us and have us as stable as mountains when it comes to the poisonous information that circulates in public and private. We are going to go back to a particular incident (which is) very important in its details in the Prophet's life. First of all, we will take the ayaat from Allah's guiding book that pertain to this event. He says to us in Surah Al Faadiha, (in other words), Surah Al Bara'ah or At Tawbah in the ayah 25 through 27. What are these ayaat saying? Here is our attempt to bring to you the meanings in English- Allah is speaking to you as He was speaking to the 1^st Muslims who were listening to these words- Allah says

Allah has given you help until victory on many occasions, and on the day of Hunain you were impressed by your numbers, but your numbers did you no good and this expansive earth turned phobic on you- you felt like you were suffocating with all the numbers you had- and then you began to retreat. And then Allah brought down upon His Messenger comfort and composure and He did so upon the committed Muslims and He brought down reinforcements that you could not see and He tormented the deniers of Allah's power and authority; and that is the recompense of these deniers. And then Allah will forgive after all of this whomever He wants and Allah is ever forgiving, very merciful. (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 24-27)

OK- these are the three ayaat in Surah At Tawbah- what are these ayaat speaking about? What's the context, history (and) the human variable in these ayaat? OK- here's where you should lock-in on these particulars. The Prophet and the committed Muslims with him had just liberated Makkah. This is the 8^th year of the hijra in the month of Shawwal- that's the month that follows Ramadhan. The Muslims who came from Al Madinah and other areas in Al Hejaaz to liberate Makkah were about 10,000. Now, Makkah itself was liberated- finally- after all of these years and warfare by the chieftains and citizens of Makkah. Finally, Makkah was released from the forces of Kufr and Shirk; but as Makkah succumbed, its twin city, At Taif, was gearing up for a final and probably the last significant confrontation in Al Hejaz between the power and State of Islam and whatever is left i.e. the remnants of Shirk and Al Kafireen. So the Muslims heard about this impending military affair and they, with the leadership of Allah's Prophet, decided to go and take on this last stronghold of opposition and animosity to Islamic self-determination and Islamic independence. At Taif is about 75 miles, (or 115km or so), away from Makkah and it is located in a mountain area. It was like what we would consider today a summer resort. People who were affluent or well to do would go to At Taif. There were family relations between At Taif and Makkah. There were also commercial connections between At Taif and Makkah. So when Makkah fell At Taif felt it. Here, the Muslims, for the 1^st time had a force of 12,000 warriors going from Makkah to At Taif. The original army that was made of 10,000 now had an extra 2,000 who have tagged along from Makkah to At Taif. The Muslims had entered into one of these valleys/areas called Hawaazin- that is why this same military issue is referred to as Hunain and Hawaazin. The day was called Hunain and the area where the two opposing forces confronted each other was called Hawaazin. And during the last portion of the night when the Muslims were beginning to decamp in this particular area they were attacked. (There was) a surprise attack upon them from all directions. They didn't know what to do. This was a surprise attack and this was the hour or so before fajr. It was night time and all of a sudden arrows, spears and whatever other forms of weapons were used against them. And what happened to all of this number of Muslims? Here they were with this type of number which they never had before when they were encountering their enemies. The Muslims were few and the enemies had the numbers, now it was the reverse- the enemies were fewer and the Muslims had the numbers. Here is where the meanings of these ayaat become pertinent.

Allah has given you help and triumph on many occasions and on the day of Hunain when you were exalted because of your multitudes, it did you no good… (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

When the committed Muslims and the Islamic armed force of the 12,000 was attacked, they began to run away.

… scurrying in every direction, they began to retreat and this expansive earth with all the extended regions to/in it began to feel as if you were suffocating in your own selves … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

You i.e. the committed Muslims, the Islamic armed forces! And then you began to retreat, to abandon your positions and responsibilities; and then, in the middle of war and in the midst of hostilities,

… Allah brought down upon His Apostle comfort, calm (and) composure and He also brought down this serenity and tranquility upon the committed Muslims … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

What are these ayaat speaking about as far as the details of this military encounter? When the Muslims were surprise attacked and they began to runaway, Allah's Prophet didn't run away. Remember- brothers and sisters, this is extremely important to think about and analyze we, (of course, we weren't born then, but as a continuum), had 12,000 of ourselves around the Prophet and they knew that they were much more than this enemy, but when they were attacked, they couldn't stand their ground so the Prophet began to call the defectors back to frontline positions (and) dangerous areas in this war. And out of 12,000 only about 100 responded in that 1^st hour when the test between the two sides was crucial. These 100 were from the Muhajireen (radi Allahu anhum) and Ansaar (radi Allahu anhum). Please drill this into your memory. You can go through the books- ibn Is'haaq and other books of Seerah- go to whichever book you like (and) you're going to find that there's 100 who responded to him or in another book you will find 80 of them responded to him and then in the peripheral books, this is where it gets disproportional, they tell you only eight-to-ten responded to him. This is what you're going find. The most generous is 100 from these Muhajireen and Ansaar, which tells us that latter day Muslims i.e. those 1000's who became Muslims only in the past few months and couple of years could not withstand the heat of war. They were Muslims just like you and me, but when the test came "wait a minute, this is too much; we're leaving." And that's what they did. So back to the ayah- in this dynamic in these circumstances

… you felt like the whole earth was choking you… … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

This is a big place/globe/planet but you felt like you were suffocating

… and then you began to run away, break rank or desert… … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

Within this psychologically challenging time that

… Allah brought down an air of stability and tranquility upon His Messenger… … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

The Muslims regrouped and they turned the tide of this battle.

… the pain, agony and torment was turned around and it inflicted alladheena kafaru… … (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

What was the mechanism that turned this whole episode around? It was the Prophet and those 100 out of the 12,000 who fought with valor, honor and distinction against those who are deniers of Allah's power and authority. Now, we come to an important addendum to this. When alladheena kafaru themselves began to retreat- some of them went back to At Taif (and) others went to a place called Awtaas- but they were fleeing. When this happened, the Muslims had spoils of war. What you have to understand, (and what we didn't mention a little earlier is), when the inhabitants of At Taif came to this final clash with the Islamic force, they brought with them their women, children and their wealth. Their commander by the name of Malik ibn Awf thought that this was a smart military thing to do. He said I'll bring their wives, sisters and daughters to war and they are going to be forced to fight to defend their own families, honor, womenfolk and wealth because he also brought what amounts to roughly, (the Islamic terminology is), 4,000 uqiya. Each uqiya of silver is about 119 grams, so we're speaking may be about 40 kgs of silver (or whatever 4,000 uqiyahs come to). All of that was at the warfront, now when the men who were under arms fled, of course the children, babies, wives, mothers, daughters and the weaker ones couldn't run away and Muslims had spoils of war. They had a human factor/element and the wealth/possessions/silver and the Prophet wanted to distribute this among those who were there at the battlefront. One of the details that we think you should bear in mind (is)… Let's go back… there were 2,000 who had joined the Islamic force from Makkah who joined the 10,000 from Al Madinah. Those 2,000 were virtually tulaqa' i.e. the ones that the Prophet upon liberation of Makkah released. He told them you're free. There were no prisoners of war, captives (and) courts for these lifelong enemies of the Prophet. He said you may go now, you are free. So, 2,000 of these were in this force and among these 2,000 was Abi Sufyan and his two sons Muawiya and Yazid. When the time came to disperse the spoils of war- and the Prophet waited about two weeks, it wasn't like we would do it right now. He was hoping that many of these defeated occupants of At Taif would reconsider/think themselves through and say "we want to go back and claim what is ours. We will become Muslims." But they didn't do that. So after these two weeks of waiting with no response from the people of At Taif, the Prophet of Allah began to distribute whatever that was there i.e. camels, sheep, donkeys, silver and he gave Abu Sufyan 100 camels and (if we can recall correctly) 400 uqiya of silver. This was in the presence of all the other Muslims who were seeing this. Abu Sufyan did not participate in this battle. He was an observer. Neither did his children. And it doesn't stop here. The Prophet gave him this because of the channel of zakah called al muallafati qulubuhum to try to win over their hearts. Remember, these were people who had power and status and (when) Makkah was liberated they no longer had power and status. Allah's Prophet wanted them to become Muslims with dignity, so he dispensed this amount to them. Al Muhajirun did not complain but Al Ansar did. Why's this? This person was an enemy of Allah and His Prophet all of these years and he just, in the past few weeks, became a Muslim and the Prophet gives him this?! Maybe the Prophet is abandoning us and going back to his own people i.e. the people of Makkah. These are the type of internal thoughts that they had. They didn't feel good about this, so they told Saad ibn Ubada (radi Allahu anhum), one of their leaders, speak to the Prophet. Express to him how we feel. And he did. You see- they weren't hiding anything from themselves. There was no social courtesies, mujaamalat, ta'araf and all of these other things that we encounter in cultural Islamic life. So the Prophet, after listening to Saad ibn Ubada asked him how do you feel about this? He said I'm only one individual of Al Ansaar meaning I am one of them I basically understand what they are saying to you even though I am expressing it. He said OK- call them. And he called them and they had a meeting with Allah's Prophet and Allah's Prophet explained to them that the wealth and the spoils of war that were dispersed to al muallafati qulubuhum are the material things of this world. It has an impact on them- it can win them over, but you have me. Who do you prefer to have? Me or the material and physical things of life? They said no. We prefer to have you. And the Prophet of Allah said a du'a to bless the Ansaar, the children of Al Ansaar and the grand children. It was only a few decades after that and the sons and grandsons of Quraish were going to massacre and violate the honor of the children and grand children of Al Ansaar at a place called Al Hurra outside of Al Madinah when they rose up against Yazid whose uncle, father and grandfather were from al muallafati qulubuhum. There were others- plain Munafiqeen in the words of the Qur'an- who objected to the Prophet. A person by the name of Dhu Al Khuwaysira said this is not fair. When you think about it, your mind can understand what he is saying, not your heart. The heart and conscience remain with the Prophet and therefore the mind, but this person came and said you haven't done justice. He said Ya Muhammad- without any respect. He didn't say ya rasullula ya nabiAllah; he said Ya Muhammad you have not done justice. So what's his rationale. He says the people who were up there- in the hazards of the war, potentially going to die- deserve this booty, not the likes of Abu Sufyan, his sons and these. They were there physically, but they weren't fighting so why are they receiving some of the leftovers of this war? So, there was a campaign. It didn't succeed or go anywhere, but nevertheless it was there to try to erode the decision of the Prophet.

If Allah and His messenger decree a thing A committed Muslim or Muslimah have no choice but to except… (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 36)

So why these objections? But that's what we had. In the middle of this

… Allah will forgive whoever he wants to forgive, Allah is oft forgiving and He is merciful… (Surah At Tawbah verse 25)

This is who we are. This is part of our history. If it wasn't for the Muhajireen and Ansaar- those early committed, struggling and sacrificing Muslims- we wouldn't have known how the course of this encounter would have gone. You can't prove a negative. Who knows?! But they responded to the Messenger of Allah when he called on them to resume their military positions and responsibilities.

Imam Muhammad Al Asi on Saudi Arabia/Wahhabism

What made the Mutazilla Unique

A lot of narrow minded Muslims say the Mutazilla restricted themselves to Hellenism. However, what the fail to see is that the Mutazilla on the contrary, came out to defend Islam.
Shaykh Abu Zahra in the biography of Abu Hanifa (ra) writes

"Groups of Magians, Sabaeans, Jews and Christians and others entered Islam, their minds still full of the teachings of those religions, and their understanding of Islam necessarily being filtered through them. Some pretended to have faith out of fear of the ruler, concealing their old belief, and began to try to corrupt the Muslims’ deen, to make them doubt their own beliefs, and to introduce ideas and opinions for which Allah had given no authority. The fruits of their efforts appeared: there were anthropomorphists, zindiqs and many other groups. The Mu‘tazilites tried to defend Islam, and their Five Tenets were the result of their sharp debates with their opponents. The tenet of Tawhid was formulated to refute the anthropomorphists; Justice was to refute the Jahmites; the Promise and Threat was to refute the Murji’ites; and the Position between the Two Positions was to refute the Kharijites who said that anyone who commits a sin was unbeliever. "

(Abu Zahra, 46)


Also what really impressed me was there unique methodology which separates them from all the Islamic schools.

Shaykh Abu Zahra discusses the unique methods applied by the Mutazilla. He states

The methods of deduction employed by the Mu‘tazilites were different from those of others among the Islamic Community and their deductive premises also differed. There were several distinct characteristics in the way they debated.
Point 1

The Mu‘tazilites avoided imitation and were averse to following others without investigation, examination, comparison, proofs and proper criteria. Their respect was for opinions and not names, for the truth and not the speaker. Hence they did not imitate one another. The rule which they followed was that every responsible person is answerable for the principles of the deen to which his ijtihad has led him. Perhaps that is why they split into so many groups.

Point 2

Also They relied on the intellect to establish their articles of faith, finding support for their positions in the Qur’an. They did not have much knowledge of hadiths because they did not use them for doctrine or evidence.

Point 3

They took from classical scientific sources which were translated in their time. They borrowed from some of those sciences and used them to support their arguments in clashes with opponents in the field of kalam. They were joined by many Muslims educated in the foreign education and philosophical systems which were nurturing the Arab intellect in that time, which is why there were many distinguished writers and philosophers among them.

Point 4

They excelled in language, eloquence and clarity of exposition. Their men included eloquent orators and debaters who were skilled in debate, knew its rules and were experienced in its methods and how to defeat opponents. Their leading figure, Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, was a notable orator." (Abu Zahra, 46)

In comparison to uniqueness of the Mutazilla I give a preference to them on the 3 out of the 4 points above. I think all school today suffer from at least one of the above. When it comes to imitation, the Ahle Sunnah and 12rs are both proponents of it. Today both schools followers consist of followers who are blind followers of taqleed. On the contrary, the Zaydis, have not suffered from this problem, since their school of opinions is not restricted to one monolithic group or on the basis of taqleed.

When it comes to ahadith, I would have to speak against the Mutazilla for lacking education in the area of ilm-e-rijal. The 12rs try to substitute this area, by simply applying rational reasoning(aql) toward ahadith. On the contrary, if this is the case then there can always be opinions on the contrary. For example in Nahj al-Balagha the sermon of Shiqshiqiyya is widely quoted by the 12r to dismiss the legitimacy of rule held by Abu Bakr (ra), Umar (ra) and Uthmaan (ra). Since, Nahj al-Balagha, has no chain the only method they use to authenticate this sermon is through their rational reasoning. On the contrary, the Mutazillah have recognized this sermon through their rational reasoning came to another conclusion. Ibn Abi al-Hadid al Mutazilli (ra) recognized al-Khutbat al-Shiqshiqiyyah as genuinely attributed to al-'Imam
Ali (as), he, however, tried to interpret it in accordance with Sunni belief in the legitimacy of al-Khilafat al-Rashidah. The Zaydi in the area of ilm-e-rijal are still unknown to the majority of the Muslim world. On the issue of Imam Ali (as) caliphate not all of them say Imam Ali (as) position is was an explicit one. However, through his merits they point out that Imam Ali's (as) position of caliphate was implicit which is not disagreed by many of the Scholars of Ahle Sunnah. Both Shia sects Zaydi and 12rs invite the Sunni schools to recognize the Imam of the time. The 12th Imam of the 12rs has left the world for over 1000 years. Until he doesn’t appear people really have no “infallible imam” to rely on. This mean the 12rs expect Muslims to follow a system of imamate which is no longer functioning. Zaydis on the contrary also suffer from a high level weakness in this area. Their main weakness is that they have not established their schools in the Western nations. Their main imams of knowledge can only speak in Arabic and have sources which are also restricted in the Arabic language.


When it comes to scientific knowledge, once again I believe the Muslim world lack in this area. Today’s society of Islam is either filled with Muslims of worldly knowledge or Muslims of religious knowledge. There seems to be no balance between the two.
Shaykh Tahir Ul Qadri in the clip below identifies the roots of terrorism within Muslim lands.




Next Shaykh Hakim al Quick lists the weakness of the Muslim scholars.



Imam Al Asi points us that we have more fiqhi scholars in comparison to scholars who are scientist. He says the Quran has more hints toward science as comparison to fiqh.



As for the last point, I believe the early Mutazillah were closer to the school of Ahlul Bayt (as). However, the later Mutazilla started to deviate toward the wrong direction. Orators are needed the Muslim world, but if they lack scholarly knowledge then they are not different than the non-Muslim who present their ideas.

Quran's 150 Jurisprudential Verses & 750 Verses of Scientific Direction

Out of 6000 verses in the Quran only 150 verses are in reference to Fiqh. Since the day I was born my focus was only toward those 150 verses. Not a lot of Muslims want to emphasize on the remaining verses.

A Background on the Exegesis (Tafseer) of the Quran

Muslims today spend more time memorizing the Quran instead of understanding the Quran.

Muhammad al-Asi in an interview with the Tehran Times

Imam Al Asi with Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei


Imam Al Asi in Iran

TEHRAN – Muhammad al-Asi, a prayer leader at the Islamic Center of Washington, says only governments are Iranophobic while nations “sympathize” with Iran.

Muhammad al-Asi was in Tehran to participate in the 23rd International Islamic Unity Conference from March 3 to 5.

In an interview with the Tehran Times, Al-Asi said he believes that lack of “rational thought” is the most important reason behind misunderstandings between Muslims.

Following is an excerpt of the interview:

Q: Why there is misunderstanding between Muslims?

A: I think the absence of rational thought has contributed significantly to misunderstandings among Muslims. Tensions, and even accusations and in some cases the bad blood, most of that is attributable to the fact that we have a general public Muslim that lacks a minimum standard of thinking. If Muslims could raise their level of thinking then they can tolerate differences and if they raise their level of thinking they can accept the other opinion that does not necessarily correspond with their own opinion. I think there is no avoiding the issue that Muslims need to think and if we continue along this traditional Islam that we have then we will go from one generation to next generation with more problem, misunderstanding, friction, accusation, one denomination against the other, and one school of thought against the other. The only way out of these is to raise our standards of thinking.

Q: How should we handle the problems Muslims face?

A: When you speak about the pluralism and sectarianism you are becoming more practical in dealing with real problems that Muslims face. You know some Muslims are dying because of sectarianism, some Muslims are becoming tools of foreign policies that are against the Islamic common good. So, when you begin to deal with the issue of sectarianism and you begin to deal with the issue of Muslims tolerating a plurality of legitimate opinions, you are being more practical. There should be some type of input as to how we can come to terms with real problems that have plagued us for centuries and centuries.

Q: What are your suggestions for promoting unity in the Islamic world?

A: I always say and I continue to repeat that the best way in overcoming the centuries-old problems that we inherited is to intensify the communication among Muslims. There has to be more contact. We live in a world that is called the global village. The world is shrinking but we Muslims are still. Just because of artificial and geographical and political borders we can’t understand the Muslims that are just twenty miles away or twenty kilometers away. And this is very bad. All of this has to come down. There has to be a world of Islam that has intensive communications. All of these barriers have to come down. Why should be visas between Muslim countries? One of the issues that can eliminate a lot of these problems is to drop out the visas requirements. Muslims should be allowed to go anywhere in the Muslim world they wish to go. And in particular Mecca and Medina should be an open city for all Muslims. In all of the Islamic history Mecca was a gravity city for all Muslims. Muslims used to gravitate towards Mecca. No one told them you can’t come to Mecca. You can’t settle in Mecca, you can’t speak your mind in Mecca; you can’t open up to your other brother Muslim in Mecca. But right now the fact on the ground is that we have obstacles, we have official, physical, and economic obstacles that have isolated Mecca and have choked the vitality that belongs there as the melting part of Muslims. These barriers should come down and we can all meet and travel to our common Gheblah, Harram, birthplace of Islam and the Prophet. When this happens, we begin to see that differences among Muslims.

We can communicate with each other and bypass these types of differences there by overcoming the prejudice and bigotry that comes from us not knowing each other.

Mecca is a melting part. It is where Muslims are supposed to come from all over the world to express their heartfelt condition, inner thoughts and their mind to each other. It is a place where the Muslim public mind is consolidated. We don’t have a public mind. By public mind we should be sharing common thoughts, and the reason why we don’t share common thoughts is because we have been divided into 57 nation states and within these 57 nation states there are also subdivisions. Within one nation state we will find a little minority here, a little ethnic group there, a little denomination here. So the division keeps on multiplying and multiplying. This has to cease, it has to end. And the only way this can end is for us, to breathe the freedom that Allah has given us in Mecca and Medina. This is my understanding of how we can truly have a consolidation of the Islamic rank and file of the different peoples, ethnic groups of Islam, different languages, cultures, and educational levels of Muslims.

Q: All participants in such meetings insist on Muslim unity but when they return home no tangible progress is seen and sectarian rifts still persist.

A: There are two elements here. There is an element that gives and an element that takes. Not all people who attend in this conference are at the same level. Some people are more knowledgeable, some people are more experienced, and some people have accurate information. Others are less knowledgeable, less experienced, and less informed. So the people here who come to this conference who have accurate information and who have enough experience should influence those who don’t have… and influence them because people who come to this conference are supposed to be leaders in their own countries or own communities. They are supposed to be intellectuals, professors, and clergyman. They are all in position to affect public opinion in their own environment. So in this conference there has to be those who have the experience, who have the knowledge, the sincerity, and the background to influence, to give. So the others will be the recipients, and then when they go back home are not empty headed and empty handed; they go back with something. And this is supposed to be accomplished.

Q: What do people think about Islam in the U.S.?

A: This is a very hard question to answer because feelings about Islam are very mixed. If you take an official position in Washington, in the United States, there is much animosity and much hostility towards Muslims. This is expressed in policies, occupation, invasion, and stealing the resources of the Muslims.

Then you have the average person in the U.S. who is confused. He listens, says, and hears Islam is this and Islam is that. He may know some Muslims. So you have a proportion of people who are looking and searching for the truth. What is Islam? They want to understand. That segment of people exists in the U.S.

There is another segment of people we are called minorities because of the racist nature of American society. …so if the government is speaking bad about Islam and Muslims, minorities are going to begin to think: wait a minute there might be something good about Islam and Muslims. If my enemy is saying Islam is bad there must be some merits to Islam.

Q: What is your opinion about Iranophobia in the region and in the U.S.?

A: In the region it is only the governments who are Iranophobic. People, they sympathize and they understand Iran. But in the United States, Iran is a peculiar case of Islam. Iran is a head of the rest of the Muslims. That is why we see it (the U.S.) is trying to get Europe, China, and Russia to sanction Iran, to put economic pressure on Iran and these types of things because Iran is ahead of the other Muslims developing in technology, scientific research, progress, and in all of these. It has become the target of the evil governments in the world particularly those that are classified under the replica of imperialism and Zionism.

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Muhammad al-Asi is the elected Imam (the only elected Imam) of the Islamic Center in Washington, DC. He leads the Friday prayers outside of the Masjid as he is barred from entering the mosque for over 27 years.


http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=216001

Tafseer Launch by Imam Al Asi

This is an excellent lecture on the tafseers of the Quran.