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Muhammad and the Meccans: Who Antagonized Whom?
Muhammad and the Meccans:
Who Antagonized Whom?
Examining Muslims’ Justification for Muhammad’s Atrocities
Sam Shamoun
INTRODUCTION
Oftentimes, when Christians and other individuals mention atrocities committed by
Muhammad, such as the raiding of caravans and the brutal murdering of people, Muslims
seek to justify these heinous crimes by claiming that Muhammad was only attacking those
who first persecuted him and his followers. For instance, Muslims attempt to justify
Muhammad’s raids on Meccan caravans on the basis that the Meccans were the ones
who first attacked Muhammad and the Muslims, and had driven them away from their homes
and properties. Thus, Muhammad’s attacks on the caravans were intended to regain
some of the property which had been wrongfully stolen from the Muslims by the pagans.
It is our intention to show in this paper that the claim that the pagans were the ones
who first persecuted Muhammad is not supported by the Islamic data. We will see that the
Islamic evidence actually shows that it was Muhammad who first attacked and antagonized
the pagan Meccans by assaulting their religion and family values, thereby igniting the
anger of the Meccans and instigating their subsequent retaliation against Muhammad and his
followers.
Another point worth emphasizing is that it is the Islamic sources themselves
that do not support the common Muslim theory that the pagans were the ones who antagonized
Muhammad. For nearly every conflict in this world, whether wars between nations or
arguments between individuals, if one were to ask one of the parties involved, one
will almost always get the answer that the other side started it. The others
are guilty that this confrontation ever went so far. It is common sense that in order to
determine the truth, one needs to look at the arguments from both sides. History is
usually written by those who were victorious. That does not necessarily mean that their
view of things is objectively true.
If the Islamic sources were saying that the pagans started to persecute the Muslims
without cause, this would be expected, but it would be questionable, since it is common
to put all the blame on the opponents. In this case, the amazing fact is that even the
Islamic sources do not support the popular position that the pagans instigated the
hostility towards Muhammad. As so often, in this case, we do not have the opinion and/or
documentation of those who were conquered, of those who did not embrace Islam. We only
have sources written from the view of the Muslims, i.e. the viewpoint of those who prevailed.
But even based on this one-sided collection of documents, they still show that
things went differently than what Muslim apologists want to tell us today.
The Evidence
The following citations are taken from the monumental historical work on Islam written
by renowned Muslim historian and Quranic commentator, al-Tabari, titled The History of
al-Tabari. We will also be using Alfred Guillaume’s English translation of Ibn
Ishaq’s biography of Muhammad’s life, Sirat Rasulullah, titled "The
Life of Muhammad" (Oxford University Press, Karachi, tenth impression 1995).
In regard to Muhammad’s early preaching in Mecca, Al-Tabari notes:
Ibn Humayd- Salamah- Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God proclaimed God’s message
openly and declared Islam publicly to his tribesmen. When he did so, they did not
withdraw from him or reject him in anyway, as far as I had heard, UNTIL he spoke of their
gods and denounced them. When he did this, they took exception to it and united in
opposition and hostility to him, except for those of them whom God had protected from
error by means of Islam. The latter were few in number and practiced their faith in
secret. His uncle Abu Talib was friendly to him, however, and protected him and shielded
him from them. The Messenger of God continued to do God’s work and to proclaim his
message, undeterred by anything. When Quraysh saw that he would not give them any
satisfaction, they objected to his departing from their ways and denouncing their gods,
and seeing that Abu Talib protected him, shielded him from harm, and would not hand him
over to them, a number of the nobles of Quraysh, consisting of such men as ‘Utbah b.
Rabi‘ah, Shaybah b. Rabi‘ah, Abu al-Bakhtari b. Hisham, al-Aswad b. al-Muttalib,
al-Walid b. al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl b. Hisham, al-‘As b. Wa’il and Nubayh and
Munabbih, the sons of al-Hajjaj, went to Abu Talib and said, "Abu Talib, your
nephew has reviled our gods, denounced our religion, derided our traditional values and
told us that our forefathers were misguided. Either curb his attacks on us or give us
a free hand to deal with him, for you are just as opposed to him as we are, and we will
deal with him for you." Abu Talib gave them a mild answer and declined courteously,
and they left him. The Messenger of God continued as before, proclaiming the faith of God
and summoning people to it.
After this, Muhammad was estranged from the Quraysh, and they withdrew from him and
harbored a secret hatred for him. They talked about him frequently amongst themselves and
urged one another against him. Eventually they went to Abu Talib once again. "Abu
Talib," they said, "we hold you in respect among us on account of your age, your
nobility and your standing. We asked you to forbid your nephew TO ATTACK US, but you
did not do so. By God, we can no longer endure this vilification of our forefathers, this
derision of our traditional values and this abuse of our gods. Either you restrain him
or we shall fight both of you over this until one side or the other is destroyed," or
words to that effect. Then they left. This breach and enmity with his tribe weighed
heavily on Abu Talib, but he could not reconcile himself to surrendering the Messenger of
God to them or deserting him.
Muhammad b. al-Husayn- Ahmad b. al-Mufaddal- Asbat- al-Suddi: A number of men of the
Quraysh gathered together with a number of other shaykhs of the Quraysh, and said to one
another, "Let us go to Abu Talib and speak to him about Muhammad, so that he will
give us justice against him and order him to desist from reviling our gods and we will
leave him to the god whom he worships for we fear that this old man may die and we may
do something which the Arabs will reproach us for and say, ‘They let him alone until
his uncle died, and then they laid hands on him.’"
They sent one of their number, whose name was al-Muttalib, to Abu Talib to ask
permission for them to enter. He said, "Here are the shaykhs and nobles of your tribe
asking permission to visit you." He told him to ask them to come in, and when they
had done so they said, "Abu Talib, you are our elder and our chief, so give us
justice against your nephew and order him to desist from reviling our gods, and we will
leave him to his god."
Abu Talib sent for the Messenger of God, and when he came in he said, "Nephew,
here are the shaykhs and nobles of your tribe. They have asked for justice against you,
that you should desist from reviling their gods and they will leave you to your god."
"Uncle," he said, "shall I not summon them to something which is better for
them than their gods?" "What do you summon them to?" he asked. He
replied, "I summon them to utter a saying through which the Arabs will submit to them
and they will rule over the non-Arabs." Abu Jahl said from among the gathering,
"What is it, by your father? We would give you it and ten like it." He answered,
"That you should say, ‘There is no deity but God.’" They took fright
at that and said, "Ask for anything rather than that!" But he said, "If you
were to bring me the sun and put it into my hand, I would not ask you for anything other
than this."
They rose up to leave in anger and said, "By God, we shall revile you and your
god who commands you to do this!" "The chiefs among them hurried about,
exhorting; Go and be staunch to your gods! This is a thing designed…" to the
words "naught but an invention." (The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at Mecca,
translated and annotated by W. Montgomery Watt and M. V. McDonald [State University of New
York Press, Albany 1988], Volume VI, pp. 93-95; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
Abu Kurayb and Ibn Waki‘- Abu Usamah- al-A‘mash- ‘Abbad- Sa‘id b.
Jubayr- Ibn ‘Abbas: When Abu Talib fell ill, a number of Quraysh visited him, among
them Abu Jahl, who said, "Your nephew is reviling our gods and doing and saying
all sorts of things. Why do you not send for him and forbid him to do
this?"… Abu Talib said to him, "Nephew, how is it that your tribe are
complaining of you and claiming that you are reviling their gods and saying this, that
and the other?" They showered accusations upon him, and then the Messenger of God
spoke and said, "Uncle, I want them to utter one saying. If they say it, the Arabs
will submit them and the non-Arabs will pay the jizyah to them." They were
perturbed at this utterance and said, "One saying? Yes, by your father, and ten! What
is it?" Abu Talib said, "What saying is it, nephew?" He replied,
"There is no deity but God." They rose up in alarm, shaking the dust off their
garments and saying, "Does he make the gods one god? This is indeed an astounding
thing." Then came the revelation beginning with the words just spoken by these
men and ending "they have not yet tasted my doom." These are the
exact words of Abu Kurayb’s account…
When Quraysh discovered that Abu Talib had refused to abandon the Messenger of God and
to hand him over, and was determined to break with them on this issue and become their
enemy, they brought ‘Umarah b. Walid b. al-Mughirah to him, and said, I have been
told, "Abu Talib, this is ‘Umarah b. al-Walid, the bravest, most poetically
gifted and most handsome young man in Quraysh. Take him, and his intelligence and his
support are yours. Take him as a son, and he is yours; and hand over your nephew who has
opposed your religion and the religion of your forefathers, who has sowed discord among
your tribe and who has derided their traditional values, and we shall kill him. A man
for a man." …
After this, the situation deteriorated, hostility became more bitter, and people
withdrew from one another and showed open hatred to one another. Then the Quraysh
incited one another against those in their various clans who had become Companions of the
Messenger of God and had accepted Islam with him. Every clan fell upon those of its
members who were Muslims, tormenting them and trying to force them to leave their
religion. God protected his Messenger from them by means of his uncle Abu Talib who saw
what the Quraysh were doing among the Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib and called on
them to follow him in protecting and defending the Messenger of God…
‘Ali b. Nasr b. ‘Ali al-Jahdami and ‘Abd al-Warith b. ‘Abd al-Samad
b. ‘Abd al-Warith- ‘Abd al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith- Aban al-‘Attar-
Hisham b. ‘Urwah- ‘Urwah: He wrote to ‘Abd al-Malik as follows, referring
to the Messenger of God: When he summoned his people to the guidance and light which
had been revealed to him and for which God had sent him, they did not withdraw from
him at the beginning of his preaching, and were on the point of listening to him.
When, however, he spoke of their idols, some wealthy men of Quraysh who had come from
al-Ta’if took exception to this and reacted strongly against him, not liking what he
said… (Ibid., pp. 95-98; bold, italic and underline emphasis ours)
Abu Ja‘far (al-Tabari): When those of the Messenger of God’s Companions who
emigrated to Abyssinia had departed, the Messenger of God remained in Mecca preaching in
secret and openly, protected by God through his uncle Abu Talib and by those of his clan
who answered his call for support. When Quraysh saw that they had no means of attacking
him physically, they accused him of sorcery, soothsaying, and madness, and of being a
poet. They began to keep away from him those whom they feared might listen to him and
follow him. The most serious step which they are reported to have taken at that time was
the following.
Ibn Humayd- Salamah- Muhammad b. Ishaq- Yahya b. ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr- his father
‘Urwah-‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As: I said to him, "What was the
worst attack you saw by Quraysh upon the Messenger of God when they openly showed their
enmity to him?" He replied, "I was with them when their nobles assembled one day
in the Hijr and discussed the Messenger of God. They said, ‘We have never seen the
like of what we have endured from this man. He has derided our traditional values,
abused our forefathers, reviled our religion, caused division among us, and insulted our
gods. We have endured a great deal from him,’ or words to that effect. While they
were saying this, the Messenger of God suddenly appeared and walked up and kissed the
Black Stone. Then he passed by them while performing the circumambulation, and as he
did so they made some slanderous remarks about him. I could see from the Messenger of
God’s face that he had heard them, but he went on. When he passed the second time
they made similar remarks, and I could see from his face that he had heard them, but again
he went on. Then he passed them the third time, and they made similar remarks; but this
time he stopped and said, ‘Hear, men of Quraysh. By Him in whose hand
Muhammad’s soul rests, I have brought you slaughter.’ They were gripped by
what he said, and it was as though every man of them had a bird perched on his head; even
those of them who had been urging the severest measures against him previously spoke in
conciliatory ways to him, using the politest expressions they could think of, and said,
‘Depart in true guidance, Abu al-Qasim; by God you were never ignorant.’
"The Prophet left, and the next day they gathered in the Hijr, and I
(‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As) was again present. They said to one another,
‘You were talking about the unpleasantness which you have endured and the things
which Muhammad has done to you, but when he openly said something disagreeable you
shrank from him.’ While they were saying this, the Messenger of God suddenly
appeared, and they leapt upon him as one man and surrounded him, saying, ‘Is it you
who says this and that?’ repeating what they had heard of his denunciation of their
gods and their religion. The prophet said, ‘Yes, I am the one who says
that.’"
"Then I saw one of them grabbing his cloak, but Abu Bakr stood in front of him
weeping and saying, ‘Woe upon you all! Would you kill a man because he says, My Lord
is God?’ Then they left him, and that is the worst thing I ever saw Quraysh do to
him." (Ibid., pp. 101-102; bold and underline emphasis ours)
The Quran says:
And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits
they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We made fair seeming to every
people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them
of what they did. Surah 6:108 Shakir
Renowned Muslim commentator Ibn Kathir provides the historical background for the
preceding passage:
The Prohibition of Insulting the False gods of the Disbelievers, So that they Do not
Insult Allah
Allah prohibits His Messenger and the believers from insulting the false deities of the
idolators, although there is a clear benefit in doing so. Insulting their deities will
lead to a bigger evil than its benefit, for the idolators might retaliate by insulting
the God of the believers, Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but He. `Ali bin Abi
Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas commented on this Ayah [6:108]; "They (disbelievers)
said, `O Muhammad! You will stop insulting our gods, or we will insult your Lord.' Thereafter,
Allah prohibited the believers from insulting the disbelievers' idols ...
<lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge.>" `Abdur-Razzaq
narrated that Ma`mar said that Qatadah said, "Muslims used to insult the idols
of the disbelievers and the disbelievers would retaliate by insulting Allah wrongfully
without knowledge ..." (Source;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
As does Ibn Ishaq:
Abu Jahl met the apostle, so I have heard, and said to him, 'By God, Muhammad,
you will either stop cursing our gods or we will curse the God you serve.' So God revealed
concerning that, 'Curse not those to whom they pray other than God lest they curse God
wrongfully through lack of knowledge.' I have been told that the apostle refrained from
cursing their gods, and began to call them to Allah. (Alfred Guillaume, p. 162)
Summary Analysis
The preceding data leads us to make the following observations. When Muhammad preached
Islam and invited people to his god, the Meccans showed no hostility towards him, and were
even listening to him. The Meccans only began showing hostility towards Muhammad after he
had started attacking their gods, their religion and their traditional values. Being fed up
with the insults to their religion, the pagans threatened to ridicule Muhammad’s god
in return. Only then does Allah intervene by "sending down" a verse telling
the Muslims to refrain from insulting the idols so as to prevent the pagans from abusing him.
Thus, initially, it was not the Meccans who attacked Muhammad and his followers, but it
was Muhammad who antagonized the people of Mecca by ridiculing and insulting their gods.
At first, the Meccans sought peaceable means in which Muhammad and they could come to
terms, trying to avoid any division and hostility between them. Instead of acquiescing,
Muhammad tries to bribe the Meccans by promising them rulership over the peoples, both
Arabs and non-Arabs alike. Muhammad also threatens them with punishment if they refuse to
accept Islam. Note, for instance, the following quotation from al-Tabari:
Ibn Humayd- Salamah- Muhammad b. Ishaq- Yazid b. Ziyad- Muhammad b. Ka‘b
al-Qurazi: They gathered against him, and among them was Abu Jahl b. Hisham, who said,
while they were waiting at his door, "Muhammad claims that if you follow him in his
religion, you shall be the kings of the Arabs and the non-Arabs, that after your
death you shall be brought back to life and your lot shall then be gardens like the
gardens of Jordan. He also claims that if you do not do this, you shall meet with
slaughter after him, and that after death you shall be brought back to life, and your
lot shall then be a fire, in which you shall burn."… (Al-Tabari, pp. 142-143;
bold emphasis ours)
Interestingly, when other groups asked if they would be given the command for embracing
Islam, Muhammad says that rulership is not up to him to grant, but up to Allah:
Ibn Humayd- Salamah- Muhammad b. Ishaq and Muhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab al-Zuhri: He
went to the Banu ‘Amir b. Sa‘sa‘ah, called them to God and offered himself
to them. One of them called Bayharah b. Firas said, "By God, if I could take this
young man from Quraysh I could conquer all the Arabs with him." Then he said,
"Do you think that if we follow you and God gives you victory over your opponents
we shall have the command after you?" He replied, "Command belongs to God,
who places it where He wills."… (Ibid., p. 121; bold emphasis ours)
It is rather intriguing that Muhammad could know that Allah would give the Meccans,
specifically his Quraysh tribe, the kingship over all the peoples, but couldn’t
tell whether the Banu Amr would be given rulership for embracing Islam and for supporting
Muhammad! This strongly suggests that Muhammad would just about do and say anything to win
over his tribe to Islam, even making promises which he did not make to other groups and
clans.
The evidence from Islamic sources quite clearly shows that it wasn’t the Meccans
who first persecuted and attacked Muhammad. Rather, Muhammad antagonized them by insulting
their gods, ridiculing their traditional values, threatening them physically with slaughter,
and with the threat of hell fire as the judgment of God if they refused to accept his religion.
In light of the foregoing, we now turn our attention to Muhammad’s raids.
Muhammad’s Raids on the Caravans
Ibn Ishaq records that Muhammad, after having settled in Medina, would either lead or
send his Companions out on raids with the intention of enriching both himself and his
followers from the plunder that would be gained from these expeditions. Ibn Ishaq wrote:
The apostle had not been given permission to fight or allowed to shed blood BEFORE THE
SECOND ‘AQABA. He had simply been ordered to call men to God and to endure insult and
forgive the ignorant. The Quraysh had persecuted his followers, seducing some from their
religion, and exiling others from their country. They had to choose whether to give up
their religion, be maltreated at home, or to flee the country, some to Abyssinia, others
to Medina.
When Quraysh became insolent towards God and rejected His gracious purpose, accused His
prophet of lying, and ill treated and exiled those who served Him and proclaimed His
unity, believed in His prophet, and held fast to His religion, He gave permission to His
apostle to fight and to protect himself against those wronged them and treated them badly.
The first verses which sent down on this subject from what I have heard from ‘Urwa
b. al-Zubayr and other learned persons: ‘Permission is given to those who fight
because they have been wronged. God is well able to help them,- those who have been driven
out of their houses without right only because they said God is our Lord. Had not God used
some men to keep back others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques wherein the
name of God is constantly mentioned would have been destroyed. Assuredly God will help
those who help Him. God is Almighty. Those who if we make them strong in the land will
establish prayer, pay the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity. To God belongs
the end of matters.’ The meaning is: ‘I have allowed them to fight only because
they have been unjustly treated while their sole offence against men has been that they
worship God. When they are in the ascendant they will establish prayer, pay the poor-tax,
enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity, i.e. the prophet and his companions all of
them.’ Then God sent down to him: ‘Fight them so that there be no more
seduction,’ i.e., until no believer is seduced from his religion. ‘And the
religion is God’s,’ i.e. Until God alone is worshiped.
When God had given permission to fight AND THE CLAN OF THE ANSAR HAD PLEDGED THEIR
SUPPORT TO HIM IN ISLAM AND TO HELP HIM AND HIS FOLLOWERS, AND THE MUSLIMS WHO HAD TAKEN
REFUGE WITH THEM, the apostle commanded his companions, the emigrants of his people and
those Muslims who were with him in Mecca, to emigrate in Medina and to link up with their
brethren the Ansar. ‘God will make for you brethren and houses in which you may be
safe.’ So they went in companies, and the apostle stayed in Mecca waiting for his
Lord’s permission to leave Mecca and migrate to Medina. (Guillaume, The Life of
Muhammad, pp. 212-213; capital emphasis ours)
After his companions had left, the apostle stayed in Mecca waiting for permission to
migrate. Except for Abu Bakr and ‘Ali, none of his supporters were left but those
under restraint and those who had been forced to apostatize. The former kept asking the
apostle for permission to emigrate and he would answer, ‘Don’t be in a hurry; it
may be that God will give you a companion.’ Abu Bakr hoped that it would be Muhammad
himself.
When the Quraysh saw that the apostle had a party and companions not of their tribe and
outside their territory, and that his companions had migrated to join them, and knew that
they had settled in a new home and had gained protectors, they feared that the apostle
might join them, SINCE THEY KNEW THAT HE HAD DECIDED TO FIGHT THEM. So they assembled in
their council chamber, the house of Qusayy b. Kilab where all their important business was
conducted, to take counsel what they should do in regard to the apostle, FOR THEY WERE NOW
IN FEAR OF HIM. (Guillaume, p. 221; capital emphasis ours)
Then the apostle prepared for war in pursuance of God’s command to fight his
enemies and to fight those polytheists who were near at hand whom God commanded him
to fight. This was thirteen years after his call. (Ibid., p. 280)
Al-Tabari states:
According to Musa b. Harun- ‘Amr b. Hammad- Asbat- al-Suddi: "They question
thee with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great
(transgression), but to turn (man) from the path of Allah…." This was revealed
because the Messenger of God sent a detachment of seven men under the command of ‘Abd
Allah B. Jahsh al-Asadi, consisting of ‘Ammar b. Yasir, Abu Hudhayfah b. ‘Utbah
b. Rabi‘ah, Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas, ‘Utbah b. Ghazwan al-Sulami the confederate
of the Banu Nawfal, Suhayl b. Bayda’, ‘Amir b. Fuhayrah and Waqid b. ‘Abd
Allah al-Yarbu‘i the confederate of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab. He wrote a letter
(which he gave) to Ibn Jahsh, ordering him not to read it until he halted at Batn Malal.
When he halted at Batn Malal, he opened the letter, which read, "March until you halt
at Batn Nakhlah." He said to his companions, "Whoever desires death, let him go
on and make his will; I am making my will and acting on the orders of the Messenger of
God." He went on, and Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas and ‘Utbah b. Ghazwan, who had
lost their riding-camel, stayed behind. They went to Buhran in search of it, while Ibn
Jahsh went to Batn Nakhlah. Suddenly he encountered al-Hakam b. Kaysan, ‘Abd Allah b.
Mughirah, al-Mughirah b. ‘Uthman, and ‘Amr b. al-Hadrami. They fought and took
al-Hakam b. Kaysan and ‘Abdallah b. al-Mughirah captive, while al-Mughirah escaped
and ‘Amr b. al-Hadrami was killed by Waqid b. ‘Abd Allah. This was the first
booty taken by the companions of Muhammad. When they returned to Medina with the two
captives and the property they had taken, the people of Mecca wanted to ransom the two
captives. The Prophet said, "Let us see how our two companions fare." When
Sa‘d and his companion returned, he released the two captives on payment of a ransom.
The polytheists spread lying slander concerning him, saying, "Muhammad claims that he
is following obedience to God, yet he is the first to violate the holy month and to
kill our companion in Rajab." The Muslims said, "We killed him (in the
previous month) Jumada." Some say it was on the first night of Rajab, and some say it
was on the last night of Jumada and that the Muslims sheathed their swords when Rajab
began. God revealed in rebuke of the Meccans, "They question thee with regard to
warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression)…."
… They met Ibn al-Hadrami and killed him, not knowing whether that day was in
Rajab or Jumada. The polytheists said to the Muslims, "You have done such-and-such in
the sacred month." They came to the Prophet and told him the story, and God revealed:
"They question thee with regard warfare in the sacred month…." up to
"…. for fitnah is worse than killing." The word fitnah here
means polytheism. (The History of Al-Tabari: The Foundation of the Community,
translated by M. V. McDonald, annotated by W. Montgomery Watt [State University of New
York Press, Albany 1987], Volume VII, pp. 21-23; bold emphasis ours)
According to ‘Ali b. Nasr b. ‘Ali and ‘Abd al-Warith b. ‘Abd
al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith- ‘Abd al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith- his father-
Aban al-‘Attar- Hisham b. ‘Urwah: ‘Urwah wrote to ‘Abd al-Malik b.
Marwan as follows:
You have written to me asking about Abu Sufyan and the circumstances of his expedition.
Abu Sufyan b. Harb came from Syria at the head of nearly seventy horsemen from all the
clans of Quraysh. They had been trading in Syria and they all came together with their
money and their merchandise. The Messenger of God and his companions were informed about
them. This was after fighting had broken out between them and people had been killed,
including Ibn al-Hadrami at Nakhlah, and some of Quraysh had been taken captive, including
one of the sons of al-Mughirah and their mawla, Ibn Kaysan. Those responsible were
‘Abd Allah b. Jash and Waqid, the confederate of the Banu ‘Adi b. Ka‘b,
together with other companions of the Messenger of God whom he had sent out with ‘Abd
Allah b. Jash. This incident had provoked (a state of) war between the Messenger of God
and Quraysh and was the beginning of the fighting in which they inflicted casualties upon
one another; it took place before Abu Sufyan and his companions had set out for Syria.
Subsequently Abu Sufyan and the horsemen of Quraysh who were with him returned from
Syria, following the coastal road. When the Messenger of God heard about them he called
together his companions and told them of the wealth they had with them and the fewness
of their numbers. The Muslims set out with no other object than Abu Sufyan and the
horsemen with him. They did not think that these were anything but (easy) booty and did
not suppose that there would be a great battle when they met them. It is concerning
this that God revealed, "And ye longed that other than the armed one might be
yours."
When Abu Sufyan heard that the companions of the messenger of God were on their way to
intercept him, he sent to Quraysh (saying), "Muhammad and his companions are going
to intercept your caravan, so protect your merchandise ..." (Ibid., pp. 28-29;
bold emphasis ours)