Despite what the enemies of Islam say, particularly nowadays, and what impression some fringe groups of Muslim hard-liners advocate, Islam is a religion of peace, which prefers to live with all communities in an atmosphere of mutual respect and true understanding. However, Islam does not shrink from fighting a war imposed on it by its enemies. This could be by launching a straightforward attack on Muslim population or Muslim land, such as Israel did when it attacked Gaza and Lebanon in recent months, or by imposing some sort of siege, which prevents Muslims from advocating their faith through free speech. In fact Islam does not require from anyone more than the basic freedom of speech and conviction, which are as essential to human existence as food and drink. Without such freedom, man’s life will not be different from that of animals.
Such a serious approach to life which allows for the possibility of war, should the enemy force it on Muslims, makes it very important to be prepared. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was always prepared and he took the necessary precautions for safety, should war erupts. At the time, fighters had their weapons, such as swords and spears, and they also wore coats of mail and used shields to protect themselves against the enemy. Hence, we have descriptions of what armament the Prophet had. He used these in war.
Anas ibn Malik reports: “Abu Talhah used to put up his shield to protect the Prophet and himself together. Abu Talhah was a good marksman with arrows. When he threw his arrows at the unbelievers, the Prophet would look up to see what they hit.” (Related by Al-Bukhari.)
This was in the Battle of Uhud, when most of the Muslim army suffered from confusion and retreated. The battle ended in a bitter military defeat for Muslims. Abu Talhah, who was Anas’ stepfather, was one of the few Muslim fighters who remained steadfast, and he was close to the Prophet defending him as best he could, using his skill in aiming arrows at the enemy. The Prophet used to hand him the arrows to aim at the unbelievers. He was very devoted to the Prophet.
In that battle, the Quraysh’s plan aimed to kill the Prophet at all costs and also to kill as many as possible of the leading figures in the Muslim community. A group of their fighters were pledged to do their best to ensure that the Prophet would be killed. When confusion was widespread among the Muslims, there was a clear chance for them to achieve their purpose. Hence, they launched their determined attack, and the Prophet received more than one injury. However, he and the few of his companions who were close to him managed to repel the attack and foil the aim of the Quraysh.
Al-Zubayr ibn Al-Awwam reports: “On the Day of the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet wore two coats of mail. He wanted to climb a rock, but he could not. Talhah ibn Ubaydellah sat under him so as to help him get on top of the rock. I heard the Prophet say: ‘Talhah has made it a must.’” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi.) What Talhah made a must is his own admission into heaven. He defended the Prophet as no one else did. Indeed he was the hero of the day. According to Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, “Talhah remained close to the Prophet while the rest of us made some leaps forward and came back to him.” He was badly injured in the battle, but he was determined that no one could get to the Prophet.
When the Prophet wanted to climb this rock, he was injured. In fact, because of the thrust of the attack on him, the Prophet fell into a hole and received his injury. Therefore, Ali and Talhah helped him to climb, with Ali holding his hand and Talhah lifting him, sitting under him. Needless to say, a coat of mail is heavy, and to have two of them and an injury weakens a person considerably. Hence, the Prophet needed this help in rising from the hole and climbing the rock.
Perhaps it is useful to learn what sort of coat of mail the Prophet used to have. One report is given by Amir Al-Shaabi, a scholar of the Tabieen generation which succeeded the Prophet’s companions. He said: “Ali ibn Al-Husayn showed us the Prophet’s coat of mail. It was thin, Yemeni made with rings for hanging. If it is hanged by its rings, it is lifted and if kept without hanging, it touched the floor.” Another description mentions that “the Prophet’s coat of mail had two rings of silver at the place of a person’s chest and two additional silver rings in the back.” Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq says: “I put it on and it touched the floor.” (Both these reports are related by Abu Al-Shaykh and Ibn Saad.) No wonder that the Prophet could not climb out of the hole without help, having these two coats of mail and his injury.
The Prophet was well prepared for fighting at any time with the enemy. When Makkah fell to Islam, it was clear to all that the unbelievers were not in a position to fight. Nevertheless, the Prophet was well prepared, and he ordered his companions to be prepared, in case the idolaters, or a section of them, found it too hard to let the Prophet take over the city without a fight. Therefore, the Prophet wore his full body armor.
Anas ibn Malik reports: “The Prophet entered Makkah on the day when it was taken over, wearing a helmet. When he took it off, a man came and said: ‘Ibn Khatal is holding to the covering of the Kaaba.’ The Prophet ordered him to be killed. He was not in the state of consecration on that day.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and Ibn Majah.)
The relevant point in this Hadith is the fact that the Prophet was wearing his helmet to protect him from a head injury should there be any fighting. However, we need to explain who was this man the Prophet ordered to be killed at a time when he pardoned all the Quraysh despite their 20 years of hostility to Islam during which they launched several attacks on Muslims, persecuted them, attempted to assassinate the Prophet and were persistent in their disbelief. In fact the Prophet had named a number of people, less than 20, ordering their execution. However, most of them were subsequently pardoned, but four were killed including this man.
Abdullah ibn Khatal used to be a Muslim. The Prophet once sent him to collect zakah from people who lived far away. He traveled with another man and a servant of his who was a Muslim. At one stage on the way they stopped. He gave the servant orders to slaughter a big goat and prepare food for him while he himself went to sleep. When he woke up, he discovered that the servant had not done anything. He killed his servant and, fearing the Prophet’s punishment, reverted to idolatry. He also had two slave girls who used to sing for him and for his companions songs full of abuse of the Prophet. The Prophet’s instructions specified that the two slave girls should also be killed. The man was killed as he was actually holding on to the coverings of the Kaaba. Abu Barzah Al-Aslami and Saeed ibn Hurayth Al-Makhzumi killed him along with one of his slave girls. The other managed to flee until someone sought a special pardon for her from the Prophet, which he granted.