76 No god but God
custom, the soldiers are trailed by a small group of women, bejeweled
and dressed in their finest tunics.
The women are led by the powerful and enigmatic wife of Abu
Sufyan (the Shaykh of Quraysh), Hind. A year earlier, in 624 C.E.,
when the Quraysh first clashed with Muhammad and his followers at
Badr, Hind’s brother and father had both been killed by Muhammad’s
uncle, Hamzah. Now, as she trudges through the desert grasping the
hem of her flowing white tunic in two clenched fists, Hind serves as a
physical reminder of why the Quraysh are finally bringing the battle
for control of the Hijaz directly to Muhammad’s doorstep.
“Quench my thirst for vengeance,” she shouts at the men march-
ing in front of her, “and quench your own!”
Meanwhile, Yathrib buzzes with rumors of the impending attack.
The Jewish clans, who want no part of this battle between Muham-
mad and Mecca, secure themselves inside their fortification. At the
same time, the Emigrants frantically collect what weapons and provi-
sions they can find in preparation for the siege. At dawn, the call to
prayer draws the entire community to the mosque, where Muhammad
calmly confirms the rumors.
It is true that the Quraysh are charging toward Yathrib, he
announces; but rather than go out to meet them in battle, Muhammad
reveals his plans to stay put and wait for their enemies to come to him.
He is convinced that the coat of mail he’d worn in his dream repre-
sented Yathrib’s invulnerable defenses. If the Quraysh were truly fool-
ish enough to attack this oasis, he proclaims, then the men will fight
them in the streets and alleyways, while the women and children hurl
stones at them from atop the palm trees.
His followers are skeptical about Muhammad’s plan. They
remember well the beating they gave the Quraysh a year ago at Badr.
Though ridiculously outnumbered, Muhammad’s small band had
inflicted heavy casualties on the mighty Meccan army, forcing them to
retreat in utter humiliation. Surely they would destroy them again in
battle.
“O Messenger of God,” they declare, “lead us out to our enemies
so that they may not think we are too cowardly and weak to face them.”
Their response confuses Muhammad, who had assumed his
dream to be a message from God. But the more his men urge him to