battle

Muslim Battles During Ramadan

1. Battle Of Badr – 2H

On the 17th of Ramadan two years after Hijrah, Allah established the truth of Islam through the epic battle between the polytheists of Quraish and the Muslims.

Three hundred odd Muslims, through the strength of faith and help from heaven, defeated a well-equipped army of Makkah that was three times their size. Many chiefs of the Quraish were slain and the battle proved a decisive victory in the favor of Muslims. It also sent a strong indication about on whose side Allah was.

Abu Jahl, perhaps the staunchest enemy of Islam among the Makkan chiefs, had called upon Allah to make a differentiation between the truth and falsehood when he marched to Badr. He described the Prophet ﷺ as one who had created trouble and caused disunity in Makkah.

When other tribes offered military support to the Quraish before the battle, Abu Jahl said in reply that if they were in reality fighting Allah and His Messenger, as Muhammad ﷺ claimed, then no force or support will be helpful. If not, they were strong enough for the battle. Abu Jahl got his answer.

Let there be no doubt that Abu Jahl knew of the truthfulness of the Prophet ﷺ. However, he chose to be a stubborn disbeliever and coerced others, through various propaganda, to reject Islam and stay opposed. The evil that the Quraish had lowered themselves to in their opposition of Islam had crossed all bounds and standards of their own construct.

The Muslims who had to escape for their lives to Madinah had no intention to engage in a war. They merely wanted to surround Abu Sufyaan’s caravan and recover some of their lost wealth in Makkah. However, Allah willed otherwise and gave them a victory greater than what they had sought.

The battle, and the stunning defeat of Quraish, sent a powerful message across Arabia. Muslims were now a force to reckon with. 

2. Wadi al-Qura – 6H

In Ramadan 6H, an expedition led by Abu Bakr as-Siddiq or Zaid bin Haritha was despatched to Wadi Al-Qura after the Fazara tribe had made an attempt at the Prophet’s life.

Following the morning prayer, the detachment was given orders to raid the enemy. Some of them were killed and others captured.

Amongst the captives, were Umm Qirfa and her beautiful daughter, who was sent to Makkah as a ransom to release some Muslim prisoners there. Umm Qirfa’s attempts at the Prophet’s life recoiled on her, and the thirty horsemen she had gathered and sustained to implement her evil scheme were all killed. [Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtoom/Sealed Nectar]

3. Fath Makkah – 8H

On the 10th of Ramadan 8H, the Prophet ﷺ left Madinah marching toward Makkah with 10,000 soldiers.

The Makkans had broken the peace treaty and, as great as the matter was, the Prophet ﷺ did not shy away from his responsibility. He conquered Makkah without a battle. He showed unparalleled humility and mercy while dealing with a people who were once hell-bent on exterminating him and his followers — he forgave them. No one but a prophet is capable of such extraordinary behavior.

The result was that soon after the entire populace embraced Islam. The chief of the Quraish, Abu Sufyaan, who embraced Islam during this march toward Makkah, commented to Al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, upon seeing the great Muslim army, “I swear by Allah that the sovereignty of your brother’s son has become too powerful to withstand.” Al-‘Abbas answered, “It is rather the power of Prophethood.” Abu Sufyaan agreed. (Raheeq Al-Makhtoom)

Only 8 years prior to that, the Prophet ﷺ was driven out of Makkah. And now Allah had made him its leader.

The Prophet ﷺ broke the 360 idols in Ka’bah and the haneefiyyah (i.e. pure tawheed) of Ibrahim and Ismaeel returned to the house of Allah.

4. Al-Andalus – 92H

In Ramadan 92H, the brilliant general Tariq bin Ziyad liberated Spain, al-Andalus, in a battle that does not cease to amaze historians.

With a mere 12000 soldiers, Tariq bin Ziyad faced and defeated King Roderic’s army of 90,000! Spain, during the time, was under heavy oppression of the Visigoths and the Church. The farmers suffered poverty due to double taxation and the Jews were severely persecuted.

The Muslims were specifically invited to liberate Spain and their rule was welcomed with open arms. Taxes were reduced to a fifth of the produce. Fair wages were introduced. Jewish and Christian minorities received protection of the state. All communities had equal opportunities for entry into public services and were allowed participation at the highest level of the government.

The Muslim rule brought prosperity and Spain became a beacon of light for Europe. [The Conquest of Spain by Prof. Nazeer Ahmed]

5. Jerusalem – 582H

In Ramadan of 582H, Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, one of the most revered heroes of Islam, defeated the crusaders and brought Masjid al-Aqsa, Jerusalem, back into Muslim control.

In 492H, the Crusaders took over Jerusalem and massacred over 70,000 Muslims. They committed horrible atrocities. However, the response from the caliphate in Baghdad at that time was weak. The Crusaders were only able to achieve this because the Muslims had become weak with internal fighting and disputes. Egypt during the time was ruled by the Shia Fatimid Empire.

At times, this empire cooperated with the Crusaders to the detriment of the rest of the Muslims. However, the Fatimid Empire too had become very weak and the Crusaders decided to invade Egypt and try to conquer it.

Nur ad-Din Zengi, the emir of Aleppo and Mosul, who at the time was standing up to the Crusaders recapturing one city after the other, decided to send his army to support Muslims in Egypt.

The head of the army, Shirkuh, took along his nephew Salahuddin. The army defeated the Crusaders in Egypt, Shirkuh died of a stomach illness and Salahuddin became the leader of Egypt.

By age 36, Salahuddin was one of the most powerful person in the world as the leader of Egypt. And yet, all the chroniclers of the time, Muslim and Christian, talk about his humility. He never cared about the pleasures of this life and remained focused on his role in the liberation of Muslim lands.

Salahuddin immediately set about making sure that the Muslims were united to prepare for an attack on the Crusaders. This process took a few years, but soon Salahuddin had an army ready to liberate the Holy Land from the Crusaders.

After 88 years, in Ramadan of 582H Jerusalem was freed from occupation, Alhamdulillah. [Lost Islamic History]

6. Ain Jalut (Defeating Mongols) – 658H

In the seventh century Hijri. the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called himself “the scourge of God sent to punish humanity for their sins”.

In 617H, Samarkand, Ray and Hamdan were put to the sword causing more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656H, Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, continued this destruction.

Even Baghdad, the leading city of the Muslim world, was sacked. Some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this carnage.

In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with the threat of the whole Muslim world and then Europe being subjected to the same fate, Allah raised up from the Mamluks of Egypt, Saifuddin Qutuz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on 25th of Ramadan, 658H.

Although they were under great pressure, the Muslims with the help of Allah, cunning strategy and unflinching bravery crushed the Mongol army and reversed this tidal wave of horror. 

[Ramadan in History by Abdullah Hakim Quick]


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