(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
To: Sa'di Dheeb Awad
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
To our beloved brother, our Sheikh, and our Ameer Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, may Allah protect you and take care of you, grant victory at your hands, distance the hatred of the envious and the betrayal of the oath-breakers from you, and make us among those who are obedient to Allah and His Messenger under your leadership, and may Allah keep our feet firm from slipping or betraying... My honorable Sheikh, I have a question and I hope you can respond to it as soon as possible, which is:
It was mentioned in the book The Islamic State on page 106, the first line, regarding the subject of the Conquest of Makkah: "And when the Muslims returned from Mu'tah and a great many of them had been killed..."
Our Sheikh and our Ameer, I paused at the phrase "a great many of them had been killed" and I searched through all the references but found nothing that indicates the correctness of this phrase or proves its reality. Instead, I found in the narrations those who said the number of dead was 8, others said 12, others 13, and others 15. There is evidence that indicates the opposite, including that the Messenger (saw) named Khalid as the "Unsheathed Sword of Allah" and described them as al-Karrarun (the constant attackers) and not al-Farrarun (those who flee). If we look at how nine swords were broken in Khalid's hand, we would conclude the endurance and patience of the Muslims in fighting, as well as how terror was struck into the hearts of the tribes after the defeat of the Romans. It is also mentioned that the bodies of the martyrs were filled with wounds, reaching 50 or 70 stabs and sword strikes. From another perspective, the best of the Sahaba and the memorizers of the Quran were killed in the Battle of Uhud in numbers greater than those killed in Mu'tah according to the narrations, yet we did not say about that battle that "a great many were killed."
I hope for an answer and clarification from you. May Allah bless you. Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
We have previously answered this question and sent it to the regions, and it seems that you did not see the answer from your region for some reason... I will convey to you part of what was mentioned in that answer which relates to your question:
[The mentioned part in the book The Islamic State is:
"And when the Muslims returned from Mu'tah and a great many of them had been killed, Quraysh imagined that the Muslims had been finished off, so they incited Bani Bakr against Khuza'ah and supplied them with weapons. Bani Bakr then raided Khuza'ah and killed some of them. Khuza'ah fled to Makkah, and Amr ibn Salim al-Khuza'i rushed to Medina and began to recount to the Messenger (saw) what had happened to them and sought his help..."]
There are narrations stating that the number of martyrs in Mu'tah was twelve, and there are other narrations stating that the number of martyrs was around seventy. This means that what is mentioned in The Islamic State has a basis, especially since one would (rationally) expect the martyrs to be numerous, because the size of the Islamic army was about three thousand, while the enemy army was about two hundred thousand... In addition, the three leaders of the army were martyred, specifically while they were carrying the banner, and the army usually pushes forward with great intensity in ancient wars to fight around the banner... This indicates, according to the reality of ancient wars, that a great number of the army were martyred...
1- Among the evidence that the martyrs of Mu'tah reached seventy or thereabouts:
- It was cited in the book Dala'il al-Nubuwwah by al-Bayhaqi (3/277):
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الْحُسَيْنِ بْنُ بِشْرَانَ الْعَدْلُ، بِبَغْدَادَ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَمْرِو بْنُ السَّمَّاكِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَنْبَلُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: يَا رَبَّ السَّبْعِينَ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ: سَبْعِينَ يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ، وَسَبْعِينَ يَوْمَ بِئْرِ مَعُونَةَ، وَسَبْعِينَ يَوْمَ مُؤْتَةَ، وَسَبْعِينَ يَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ
"Abu al-Husayn ibn Bishran al-Adl informed us in Baghdad, saying: Abu Amr ibn al-Sammak informed us, saying: Hanbal ibn Ishaq narrated to us, saying: Affan narrated to us, saying: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas, who said: 'O Lord of the seventy of the Ansar: seventy on the day of Uhud, seventy on the day of Bi’r Ma’una, seventy on the day of Mu’tah, and seventy on the day of al-Yamama.'"
- And in As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Kathir (3/91):
وَقَالَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ، أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُول: قَارب السَّبْعِينَ يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ، وَيَوْمَ بِئْرِ مَعُونَةَ، وَيَوْمَ مُؤْتَةَ، وَيَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ.
"Hammad ibn Salamah said, from Thabit, from Anas, that he used to say: 'Nearly seventy on the day of Uhud, the day of Bi’r Ma’una, the day of Mu’tah, and the day of al-Yamama.'"
2- Among the evidence that the martyrs of Mu'tah were twelve or thereabouts:
- It was cited in As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Kathir (3/489):
فصل فِي ذكر مَنِ اسْتُشْهِدَ يَوْمَ مُؤْتَةَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَمِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ... فَهَؤُلَاءِ أَرْبَعَةُ نَفَرٍ. وَمِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ... أَرْبَعَةُ نَفَرٍ. فَمَجْمُوعُ مَنْ قُتِلَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَوْمَئِذٍ هَؤُلَاءِ الثَّمَانِيَةُ، عَلَى مَا ذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ إِسْحَاقَ، لَكِنْ قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَمِمَّنِ اسْتُشْهِدَ يَوْمَ مُؤْتَةَ فِيمَا ذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ الزُّهْرِيُّ...فَهَؤُلَاءِ أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ أَيْضًا، فَالْمَجْمُوعُ عَلَى الْقَوْلَيْنِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ رَجُلًا.
"A section mentioning those who were martyred on the day of Mu’tah among the Muslims: from the Muhajireen... so these are four people. And from the Ansar... four people. So the total of those killed among the Muslims on that day were these eight, according to what Ibn Ishaq mentioned. However, Ibn Hisham said: And among those martyred on the day of Mu’tah according to what Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri mentioned... these were four from the Ansar as well. So the total according to both opinions is twelve men."
- And in As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah in the Light of the Quran and Sunnah (2/428):
(... وإنه لشيء نادر في تاريخ الحروب أن يقف جندي واحد أمام سبعين من الجنود المدججين بالسلاح، ولكنه الإيمان الذي يصيّر من الجبناء شجعانا، ومن الشجعان أبطالا، ولعل مما يثير العجب أن جميع من استشهد من المسلمين في مؤتة ثمانية، وقيل اثنا عشر.)
"...And it is a rare thing in the history of wars for a single soldier to stand before seventy heavily armed soldiers, but it is the faith that turns cowards into brave men, and brave men into heroes. Perhaps what is surprising is that all those martyred from the Muslims in Mu’tah were eight, and it was said twelve."
In terms of combining the evidence, as long as one piece of evidence is not distinguished from the other in terms of strength, it requires taking the narration of seventy because the narration of twelve is included within it. Thus, the two narrations are reconciled: the extent of the knowledge of the first was that they were twelve and he did not know of others, while the second knew of more. The martyrdom of seventy out of three thousand is truly described as 'a great many'...
**Thus, what is mentioned in the book The Islamic State has a basis... and therefore, there is no need to change what is mentioned in the book *The Islamic State.**] End.
2017/02/13.
I hope this is sufficient, and Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
12 Sha'ban 1439 AH Corresponding to 28/04/2018 CE
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