Prophet of Islam

The personality of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) serves as a complete role model encompassing all walks of life but one of the most important among them is his role as a military strategist. The Prophet of Islam had no prior battlefield experience at the time he was facing a strong well-equipped and battle hardened Meccan Army but finally overcame them with the blessings of Allah and secondly, due to his sharp military mind.

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) started preached Islam, he was faced with stiff opposition even from his own clan, Quraysh. Quraysh spearheaded a major opposing front comprising of the tribes of Arabia against the Prophet of Islam. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) instead of retaliating with violence kept on preaching his message peacefully but when the opposition reached a point that the Meccan tribes started planning to kill the Prophet himself, he traveled to Medina along with his trusted companion, Hazrat Abu Bakar, in 622.

Upon reaching Medina, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) established political and military alliances with the tribes under the unanimously declared constitution of Medina. This alliance not comprised solely of Muslim tribes but also included Pagan and Jewish tribes, providing Muslims with the much-needed breathing space to concentrate on their Meccan competitors. Muslims adopted a strategy of cutting the lifeline of rival Meccan tribes by attacking the caravans taking goods to the Mecca or bringing from it.

This successful strategy of the skilled military strategist resulted in the drawing of Quraysh into an open battle but on Muslim terms. Muslims quickly seized the portion of the battlefield that was suitable for the military maneuver. Muslim got hold of the water resources, selected hard ground which proved vital at later stages and organized military into several ranks resulting in an ultimate victory for the Muslims.

Only a year later, Meccan tribes launched a new campaign with a mighty army to inflict heavy losses on the Muslims. The two armies met near the mountain of Ohud where Muslim army had hills to the back which provided relative protection except one pass which could prove to be a source of trouble in case of a surprise attack from the enemy. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) assigned the task of safeguarding that pass to a band comprising of 50 men commanded by Hazrat Abdullah Bin Jubayr (r.a) by saying,”Stick to your place, and don’t leave it even if you see birds snatching us, till I send for you; and if you see that we have defeated the infidels and made them flee, even then you should not leave your place till I send for you” [1].

When this band saw a clear victory in front of their eyes with the Meccan Army defeated, most of them retreated from their place to gather the spoils of war on the pretext that the order of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was till the continuation of the battle.  Sensing a chance to overcome the Muslim Army, Meccan Army under the command of Khalid Bin Walid (r.a) attacked the Muslim army through the passageway, resulting in the defeat of Muslims. This was a clear manifestation of the military acumen of the all-time great military strategist, Muhammad (s.a.w). When Muslims deviated from his instructions, they got defeated.

Two years laters in 627 AD, the Meccan tribes with an army of 10,000 decided to attack the state of Medina with full force to exterminate the Muslims once and for all. Facing this delicate situation, the Prophet of Islam sought advice from his companions for a strategy to stop the invasion of Quraysh into Medina. One of the close companions of the Prophet of Islam advised digging a trench on the side of Medina that presents a weak spot to the invading armies. The trench halted Meccan advance towards Medina and after staying there for many days, most of the Meccan fighters returned home with deteriorated morale.

In 630 AD, the Meccan tribes broke the Hudaybiyya peace agreement by siding with the tribe of Bani Bakar, whose men had killed a man from the tribe of Muslim-allied Khuza’a tribe. The Muslims instead of making noise about their advance on Makkah secretly attacked it. This took Meccan tribes by surprise and without offering much resistance, they surrendered to the Army of Islam.

Another clever strategy derived by this military genius was the instruction to the soldiers to cook in different tents so that Meccan Army takes it as an invasion of a large Army instead of the relatively weaker army with a 10000 strength. Quraysh, when saw fire in 10000 tents, taught it to be an army of more than 50,000 army men and decided to give up. Upon entering the Mecca, the Prophet of Islam instead of taking revenge pardoned them all. This transformed their hearts to embrace Islam wholeheartedly of whom many later proved to be the front-runner of the Islamic armies.

During his life, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) took part in as many as 26 battles and in each of them presented a role model in complete perfection for coming military strategists to follow.  Though he is a true guidance in all perspective of his military reforms and strategies yet for me, his greatest success was the training of his companions in such a manner that even after his demise proved to be the torch bearer of Islam faith and the defenders of Islamic lands from foreign occupations.

References:

1. http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/bukhari/bh4/bh4_279.htm