Ramadan: Islam’s victorious month
We are less than a week to the blessed month of Ramadan. Today, in welcoming this Great Guest of Muslims, we present excerpts from a write-up discussing ancient and historical victories of Islam and Muslims that occurred in Ramadan. The original article, “Ramadan: The Month of Heroes and Victory”, was written by Z. A. Rahman and posted on www.islam21c.com/ islamic-thought/ramadan-the-month-ofheroes<http://www.islam21c.com/ islamic-thought/ramadan-the-month-ofheroes(where you can read the full, unabridged article). The writer is a community activist, lawyer and writer. Enjoy:
THE BATTLE OF BADR: “O Allāh! Should this group be defeated today, You will no longer be worshipped.” These were the words of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad, (upon whom be peace) as he stood before his Lord one Friday night with his hands raised in the air, his palms wide open, weeping, whilst supplicating for victory. It was no ordinary night and no ordinary place. It was the 17th night of Ramadan in the valley of Badr, on the eve of the most important battle ever to be fought by Muslims. Out of His infinite mercy, Allah granted them victory against the odds that would never to be forgotten where 313 men, 2 horses and 70 camels defeated an army of 1000 men, 100 horses and 700 camels. The timeless reminder of this victory is preserved for us in the Glorious Qur’an (3:123) where Allah (exalted be His name) stated: “And indeed Allāh assisted you at Badr when you were weak, so be observant to your duty to Allāh so that you may be of the thankful ones…” It was in Ramadan, a month filled with such decisive victories and events that shaped the course of history.
THE OPENING OF MAKKAH: We should remember that it was on the 20th of Ramadan in the 8th year AH (After Hijrah) that the Prophet (upon whom be peace) returned to Makkah not as the ruled but as the ruler in the opening of Makkah (Fath Makkah), when he took it under the authority of Islam for the first time in the history of Islam. Makkah was conquered without a battle. He entered Makkah and treated the people justly. Logic might tell you that battling whilst fasting is to result in a loss, but faith and reliance on Allah transcends such flawed logic, it is greater than that. And so you find that rarely has a month witnessed so many battles for fighting for the sake of Allah and the achievement of great conquests and victories of Islam like the month of Ramadan.
AL-QADISIYYAH: In the year 636CE corresponding to 15AH in the month of Ramadan, the Muslim army led by Sa’ad b. Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) consisting of 30,000 troops triumphed against a seemingly overwhelming Persian army of 100,000 which had within its ranks huge elephants wearing coats of mail with their tusks wrapped in silk and velvet. The Muslim army looked less impressive, but what they lacked in resources they made up with their faith and unshakable conviction and thus the ground was set for the spectacle of battle between the two armies. After an early setback, the great Persian commander, Sa’ad prevailed and Rustum was erased from the pages of history.
GREECE: In the Ramadan of 31AH, the Muslims, under the leadership of Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), conquered the Greek islands of Rhodes, destroying the biggest idol in the world at the time, the Colossus of Rhodes (named after the Greek god named Helios), a statue 110 feet tall that sat on a 50-foot high pedestal of white marble by the city’s harbour. This battle was known to be so ferocious that it is said that had a bird sought to fly over the plains of this spectre, it would not pass to the other side without being cut into a thousand pieces from the meeting of the swords and the volley of arrows. It was Ramadan.
SPAIN: By 92AH, Islam had spread across North Africa, Persia and Syria. Spain was under the tyrannical rule of King Roderic who persecuted, oppressed and imprisoned the Jews and Christians alike. According to the chronicles of history, a Christian chief called Julian who had fled Spain called upon the Muslims across the shores for help (according to www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ religions/islam/history/ spain_1.shtml <http://www. bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/ islam/history/spain_1. shtml>). The Umayyad governor of North Africa, Musa ibn Nusair, responded by sending 12,000 troops in Ramadan of that year. They were confronted with an army led by Roderic himself numbering 90,000. There was an aura of fear and skepticism amongst the Muslim flanks; upon knowing which the Muslim General ordered his loyal men to burn all the ships that had carried them here and were their only source of a safe journey home. That fearless leader was called Tariq ibn Ziyad and the place he landed was named Jabal al-Tariq, later twisted to Gibraltar. The battle was fought and Islam won. In Ramadan.
THE CRUSADES: A divided Islamic world offered feeble resistance to the Crusaders who had invaded and consolidated their hold on the lands surrounding al-Quds (Jerusalem) containing Islam’s third holiest site, Masjid al-Aqsa. The warring Muslim parties did not take the Crusader invasion seriously at this stage. After almost 100 years of occupation, Allah renewed Islam by the man of the hour, perhaps the most celebrated of Muslim soldier in history, Salahuddin Al Ayyubi, who threw down the gauntlet to the invading Crusaders. After a number of battles, the decisive battle once again, as many times previously, took place in the blessed month of Ramadan in the year 582AH at the battle of Hattin. Allah gave the Muslims victory in the blessed month of Ramadan and raised Salahuddin Al Ayyubi’s status among the greats of this noble Ummah.
THE MONGOLS: Fierce mounted warriors swept out of Mongolia, laying waste to every city that refused to surrender. In 656AH, they unleashed their fury against Baghdad and breached its walls. They murdered and pillaged for a week - some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 were killed. The whole Islamic world trembled in fear of the Mongols. This was such a decisive blow that for the first time since the very early stages of the faith at the time of Badr, there was a real fear that Islam and Muslims could be wiped off the face of the earth. Amongst all this doom and gloom and when Muslims were in a real position of weakness, fear and apprehension, Allah raised for the Ummah His servant, Saifuddin Qutuz. In the month of Ramadan, on Friday the 25th in 658 AH was the famous battle of Ain Jalut. By the Grace of Allah, they achieved their victory. The invaders were defeated and the whole of the world sighed in relief and stood in awe at the remarkable achievement of these noble sons of Islam.
This was the spirit of Ramadan that enabled our righteous forefathers to face seemingly impossible challenges. It was a time of intense activity, spending the day in the saddle and the night in prayer while calling upon Allah for His mercy and forgiveness. Today, the Muslim world is faced with imperialist occupation, military aggression, widespread corruption and oppressive rulers. In such times, we pray that Allah raise a group of believers who walk in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet (upon whom be peace) and other heroes of Islam who changed the course of history. May Allah make this Ramadan a turning point for Muslims and make it join the months of victory.