said: “Nothing to fear from them, they are pilgrims.” That was the last day of Rajab. The
Muslim party on the other hand deliberated among themselves and decided that if they left
the Qurayshites alone that night, they would get into the sacred area and obstruct their
entry there; but if they fight them, they would be devaluing the sacred month by instituting
a bloody confrontation. At first they felt hesitant as well as dismayed but ultimately made
up their mind to kill as many of the Quraysh as possible and plunder as much of their goods
as they could. Waqid b. ‘Abdullah at-Tamimi shot the first arrow killing ‘Amr b. al-Hadrami
while his companions captured two of the Qurayshites. ‘Abdullah b. Jahsh and his compa-
nions returned to Madina with their captives.
When ‘Abdullah b. Jahsh and his companions reported the incident to the Prophet (r), he
said: “I did not ask you to fight in the sacred month, nor seize the caravans and take cap-
tives.” The Prophet (r) refused to accept the spoils brought to him by the transgressing
group.
The campaigners were worried and fearfully apprehensive of being doomed. Besides, the
other Muslims also harshly reproached them for what they had done. At the same time,
Quraysh laid a charge, saying, “Lo! Muhammed has allowed war and bloodshed in the sa-
cred months!”
It was on this occasion that Allah sent down the revelation to the Prophet (r).
“They question thee (O Muhammed) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say:
warfare therein is a great (transgression), but turn (men) from a way of Allah, and to
expel the people thence, is greater (sin) with Allah; for persecution is worse than kill-
ing.” [Qur'an 2:217]Ibn Qayyim writes about the meaning of this verse in Zad al-Ma’ad: “Allah has given a fair
deal to His friends as well as foes, for He has not commended the sin of fighting in the sa-
cred month that was committed by His pious and devout servants. Allah has held it to be a
serious act of transgression. At the same time, He reminds the idolaters that they have been
guilty of even greater sins through their acts of persecution in the sacred city of Makkah,
and thus they still deserve more condemnation and punishment. Since, however, the believ-
ing servants of Allah had been guilty of indiscretion or that they had committed a mistake,
Allah has lent them a hope. He had given them hope that they might be forgiven on account
of their faith in the Unity of Allah, submission to Him, migration with the Prophet (r) and
their sacrifices towards His way.” (Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. I, p. 341)
FASTING MADE OBLIGATORY
When the Muslims had taken prayer as a mark and symbol of their faith it had been indel-
ibly ingrained in their hearts and souls. Then it was, in the second year of Hijrah, that Allah
commanded them to also observe fasting, hence: