”The Fijaar War” and the ”Fudool alliance” which took place when Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) was 14 or 15 years old.
The word Fijaar means wickedness. The reason why
the war was given this name is that the inviolability of Makkah
was being defiled, and Arabs considered any defilement of
Makkah’ s sanctity to be a wicked and heinous crime.
The Fijaar war pitted the Quraish, along with their allies from the
Kinaanah tribe, against the Hawaazin tribe. Like most Arab wars
that were fought during the pre Islamic days of ignorance, the
Fijaar War began with a trifling dispute and escalated into an all
out war.
A man named Urwah Ar-Rahhaal ibn ‘Utbah ibn
Hawaazin granted his protection to No’maan ibn Al-Mundhir
and his trading caravan, which was travelling to the marketplace
of Ukaadh. Al-Barraadh ibn Qais ibn Kinaanah said to Urwah,
“Will you protect him against the Kinaanah tribe?” Urwah said,
“Yes”
When Urwah set out with No’maan and his trading
caravan, Al-Barraadh followed close behind, waiting for an
opportune moment to ambush Urwah and kill him by surprise.
Al-Barraadh’ s tribe, the Kinaanah, found out about what was
happening, and so they too followed in close pursuit.
When Urwah and the Hawaazin found out that they
were being followed, they turned around and headed towards the
Kinaanah tribe.
They overtook the Kinaanah tribe before they were able to enter
the inviolable city of Makkah, and the two tribes fought until
nightfall, at which time the members of the Kinaanah tribe were
able to enter Makkah.
Since Arabs considered Makkah to be holy,
the Hawaazin tribe did not pursue their enemy. But on the
following day, the fighting began anew, except that this time
around, the Quraish entered into the fray, lending their support to
the Kinaanah tribe.
In the battles that ensued, the Messenger of
Allah (Peace be upon him) participated alongside the Quraish, albeit playing a very
minor role.
When he mentioned the war later on his life, the Prophet(Peace be upon him) said, “I used to
hand arrows to my uncles.” What this means is that the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
would pick up stray arrows fired by the enemies and hand
them to his uncles. At the time, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was either
fourteen or fifteen years old.
The Fudool Alliance was formed after the Quraish returned from
the Fijaar War.
It began when a man from Zubaid – a region in
Yemen – went to Makkah with some merchandise.
Al-‘Aas ibn Waail purchased the merchandise from him,but refused to pay for it. The man from Zubaid pleaded with Quraish’ s chieftains to help him, but they refused.
The Zubaidi man stood beside the Kaaba and called
out, asking for help.
Zubair ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, one of
the Prophet’s uncles, stood up and exclaimed, “Will no one help
him!” As a result of Zubair’s display of anger, a meeting was
convened at the house of Abdullah ibn Jud’aan.
The meeting occurred in Dhul-Qai’dah, one of the
four inviolable months, and those who were present pledged and
swore by Allah that they would be as one hand in their support of
any victim against his wrongdoer. They then went together to Al-
‘Aas ibn Waail, seized from him the merchandise he had
wrongfully taken, and returned it to it’s rightful owner.
The Quraish referred to what happened in the house of Ibn Jud’aan as
the Fudool Alliance.
Fudool was an appropriate name for the
alliance since Fudool comes from the word Fadl, which means
nobility, superiority, and virtue. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) who was present
at the above-mentioned meeting, said later on in his life, ”When I
was a boy, I attended the Al-Muteebeen Alliance (i.e., the Fudool
Alliance) with my uncles. I would not love to have even red
camels as a recompense for me breaking (the terms) of that
alliance.”
The owner of red camels during those times would
today be equivalent to a millionaire.
Morals and Lessons:
1) The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) felt honoured for being able to
participate in an alliance that was formed on the basis of
establishing justice, which shows that no matter who it is
that is carrying out justice, the act itself deserves to be praised.
2) The Fudool Alliance was like an oasis within the darkness of
pre-Islamic ignorance. That the Fudool alliance was formed
proves that, just because evil pervades a given society, it does
not mean that that society is completely void of virtuous acts
and deeds.
3) No matter what form it takes, wrongdoing is unacceptable. It
doesn’t matter whether the person being wronged is a Muslim
or a non-Muslim, a pious man or a sinner, a rich man or a poor
man; whoever he is, others in society must come to his help.
4) It is permissible to form an alliance with non-Muslims if justice
is being served in the process
5) It is permissible for Muslims to form alliances that are similar
in intent and content to the Fudool Alliance because they
establish a goal that is recognized by and encouraged in the
Shariah; however, in doing so, Muslims must take into
consideration what is best for Islam and for Muslims in the
short term and in the long run.
6) A Muslim must strive to have a positive effect on society, to be
a person who is remembered for the positive influence he has
on the events that take place during his lifetime.
References: [1] ^ Saheeh As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibraaheem Al-‘Alee (pg. 59), and Al-
Albaanee, may Allah have mercy on him, ruled it to be authentic.
[2] As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hishaam (1/134), and Fiqh-us-Seerah by Al-
Ghadbaan (pg. 102).
