(لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ ۙ…) (Allah has already given you victory in many regions): Allah has given you victory in Badr, in the War of the Trench, in the Conquest of Mecca, and in many other locations. “regions” here refers to places where significant events took place, and in this context, it can be understood as “battlefields.”

(…وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ…) (and [even] on the day of Hunayn, when your great number pleased you,): The Battle of Hunayn took place after the conquest of Mecca, as the number of believers increased significantly. So some Muslims who were pleased by their large numbers; said, “today, it is impossible that anyone can defeat us because of our number.” Here, they relied on the reasons and ignored the Creator of the reasons. The following is a brief description of what happened on the day of Hunayn, where the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif gathered and chose Malik ibn ‘Auf to be the leader in this battle. Malik ibn ‘Auf managed to assemble four thousand fighters, and a great number of surrounding Bedouins joined him. Malik devised a plan that the army would go out for battle, along with their wealth, such as money, cattle, and camels. Their women and children were also to accompany them so that each person would defend his family, his property and wealth, thus preventing anyone from fleeing the battle. This approach aimed to ensure that everyone would fight bravely and fiercely, defending everything they possessed, and, in this way, all factors were in place to guarantee victory.

The polytheists gathered and descended into a valley called Wadi Awtas, situated between Mecca and Ta’if. Among them was an elderly blind man named Dorayd ibn al-Soma, who was the leader of the Jusham tribe. When they reached the battlefield, he asked, “In which land are we?” They replied, “We are in the valley of Awtas.” He smiled and said, “It is neither a sharp pointed height nor a loosed soiled plain.” He meant that the land was not suitable and had sharp stones that would be tiring to walk on. However, Malik persisted in his plan. When the Muslim army arrived at the battlefield, they did not notice the presence of the disbelievers, who had carefully concealed themselves from sight. At that moment, Malik ibn Auf signaled to his fighters to begin the attack. The polytheists emerged from every direction and caught the Muslims off guard with a fierce attack. The Muslims had little time to react in the face of the severity and intensity of the battle. Coupled with the element of surprise, the defeat of the Muslim army was imminent in the early hours of the confrontation. Only nine of the Companions remained with the Prophet (saws) on the battlefield, including Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib and Ayman ibn Umm Ayman, along with a few companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). Here, one may ask: ‘Why this defeat occurred at the beginning of the Battle of Hunayn?’. The answer is that when the Muslim army came out for war, they said, “Today, it is impossible that anyone can defeat us because of our number.” With that mindset, they focused on the reasons and forgot the Creator of the reasons.

So, Allah (swt) willed to reprimand them for that and, at the same time, elevate the status of the Prophet (saws). Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“I was in the company of the Messenger of Allah (saws) on the day of (the battle of) Hunain. Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith and I did not leave the Messenger of Allah (saws) throughout the battle. The Messenger of Allah (saws) was riding on his white mule. When the Muslims had an encounter with the pagans, Muslims took to their heels. The Messenger of Allah (saws) began to urge his mule towards the disbelievers, holding the bridle of his mule. I was trying to restrain it from going very fast, and Abu Sufyan was holding the stirrup of the mule of the Messenger of Allah (saws). The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “O Abbas! Call out the People of As-Samurah [i.e., those people who had made the covenant under the tree (i.e., Bai’ah Ridwan)].” ‘Abbas called out at the top of his voice: “Where are the People of As-Samurah.” ‘Abbas said: As soon as they heard my voice, they rushed towards the Prophet (saws) like a cow turning towards her calf. They were shouting: “Here we are.” Soon they began to fight the infidels. Then there was a call for Ansar. Those who called out to them shouted: “O you the people of Ansar! O you the people of Ansar!” They ended their call at Banu Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj. The Messenger of Allah (saws) who was riding on his mule looked at their fight with his neck stretched forward and he said, “This is the time when the fight is raging hot.” Then the Messenger of Allah (saws) took pebbles and threw them in the face of the disbelievers. He said, “By the Rubb of Muhammad, the disbelievers will be defeated.” I continued to watch until I found that their force was subdued and they began to retreat.”[1]

Al-Bara narrating when a man from Qais (tribe) asked him “Did you flee leaving Allah’s Messenger (saws) on the day (of the battle) of Hunain?” Al-Bara’ replied:

“But Allah’s Messenger (saws) did not flee. The people of Hawazin were good archers, and when we attacked them, they fled. But rushing towards the booty, we were confronted by the arrows (of the enemy). I saw the Prophet (saws) riding his white mule while Abu Sufyan was holding its reins, and the Prophet (saws) was saying “I am the Prophet (saws) undoubtedly.” (Israil and Zuhair said, “The Prophet (saws) dismounted from his Mule.”) ‘[2]

This means that Allah (swt) would never forsake him; He would never abandon him, for he is His Messenger. No one from the Hawazin and Thaqif could stand before the believers, and the battle ended with a decisive victory, abundant spoils, and wealth beyond measure. The Muslim army set out towards Ta’if to pursue the fleeing enemies, and Malik ibn Auf, the enemy commander, went into hiding. Later, the Messenger of Allah (saws) returned, and he distributed the spoils. The distribution of the spoils almost caused discord among the Muslims because the Prophet (saws) gave a share of the spoils to those new reverts to Islam whose hearts needed to be softened and to other Arab tribes, but he did not allocate anything to the Ansar. When the Prophet (saws) distributed gifts to the Quraysh and other Arab tribes, excluding the Ansar, some of the Ansar felt resentment, and talk of this began to increase among them, Narrated by Abu Sa’id: When the Messenger of Allah (saws) distributed the war captives at Al-Ja’ranah, he gave to the Quraysh and other Arab tribes, but not to the Ansar. This led to much discussion and discontent among them. Some of them even said, “As for the Messenger of Allah, he has now rejoined with his people.” The news reached the Prophet, and he sent for Sa’d ibn Ubadah and asked him:

“What are these words I have been told about you?” Sa’d replied, “Yes, what has reached you is true.” The Prophet then asked, ” what do you think of all that?” Sa’d said, “I am just a man from my people.” The Prophet’s anger intensified, and he said, “Gather your people, and let no one else be present with them.” So, Sa’d gathered them in one of the enclosures designated for the spoils of war. The Prophet stood at the entrance, allowing only those from Sa’d’s tribe to enter. He might have left some of the Muhajirun to enter and disallowed others. Then the Prophet (saws) came, and anger was apparent on his face. He said, ” Didn’t I come to you when you were astray and Allah guided you? Weren’t you foes and Allah made you love one another? You were poor and Allah gave you wealth.?” “Yes,” they said, “Allah and His Messenger are better and more gracious.” Then he (saws) said: “What prevents you from replying to the Messenger of Allah, O congregations of Helpers?” They said, “What should be the reply, O Messenger of Allah, while to the Lord and to his Messenger belong all benevolence and grace.” The Prophet (saws) again said: “But by Allah, you might have answered and answered truly, for I would have testified to its truth myself, you could reply to me: ‘You came to us belied and rejected and we accepted you; you came to us as helpless and we helped you; a fugitive, and we took you in; poor and we comforted you’. You Helpers, do you feel anxious for the things of this world, wherewith I have sought to incline these people unto the Faith in which you are already established?

Are you not satisfied, O group of Helpers that the people go with ewes and camels while you go back with the Messenger of Allah (saws) to your dwellings. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, had there been no migration, I would have been one of the Helpers. If the people would go through a valley and passage, and the Helpers go through another valley and passage, I would go through the valley and passage of the Helpers. Everyone is the outer layer while The Ansar is the inner layer. O Allah! Have mercy on the Helpers, their children and their children’s children.” The audience wept until wet their beards as they said: “Yes, we are satisfied that the Prophet of Allah (saws) ! is our lot and share.” Then the Prophet (saws) left the gathering and the people also dispersed “[3]

How beautiful and magnificent was the moment during the Battle of Hunayn when the Messenger of Allah (saws), the master of loyalty has addressed the Ansar with this overwhelmingly great impactful speech.

[1] Al-Mustadrak ‘alas Sohihayn: Vol 3, Pg 370, Hadith no. 5418

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari: The Book of Jihad and Siyar, Chapter: The One who Drives Another Person’s Animal in Battle, Hadith no. 2709

[3] Kanzul ‘Ummal: The Book of Jihad and Siyar, Vol 14, Hadith no. 37939