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"And I have lost
my son, Handhalah." said Abu Sufyan. "My thirst
for revenge is no less than yours. I shall be the first to prepare
and launch a powerful expedition against Muhammad."1
At this conference they all took the pledge of
revenge; this time none would stay back. An expedition would be
prepared such as had never assembled at Makkah before, and other
local tribes would be invited to join the expedition and take part
in the annihilation of the Muslims. The entire profit from the caravans,
amounting to 50,000 dinars, would be spent on financing the expedition-
Abu Sufyan was unanimously elected as the commander of the Quraish
army.
Abu Sufyan now gave two decisions, the first of
which was more or less universally accepted. This was to the effect
that there should be no weeping and no mourning of any kind for
those who had fallen at Badr. The idea behind this order was that
tears would wash away the bitterness in their hearts, and that this
bitterness should be kept alive until they had taken their revenge
against the Muslims. However, those whose burden of sorrow was too
heavy to carry wept secretly.
The second decision related to the prisoners who
were in Muslim hands. Abu Sufyan forbade all efforts to get them
released for fear that if these efforts were made immediately, the
Muslims might put up the price. This decision, however, was not
followed by everyone. Within two days a man left Makkah secretly
at night to ransom his father; and when others came to know about
this, they took the matter into their own hands and got their dear
ones released. Abu Sufyan had no choice but to revoke his decision.
The rate of ransom varied. The top rate was 4,000
dirhams and there was a graduated scale down to 1,000 dirhams for
those who could not afford to pay more. A few prisoners who were
too poor to pay but were literate, earned their freedom by teaching
a certain number of Muslim children to read and write. Some destitute
ones were released by the Prophet without ransom on condition that
they would never again take up arms against Muslims.
Among those who went to negotiate the release
of the prisoners were Ikrimah, Khalid (who had missed the battle
of Badr on account of his absence from the Hijaz) and Khalid's brother,
Hisham. Khalid and Hisham arranged the release of their brother,
Waleed. When Hisham heard that the ransom would be 4,000 dirhams,
he began to haggle for a lower sum but was rebuked by Khalid. The
sum of 4,000 dirhams was duly paid for the release of Waleed, whereafter
the three brothers left Madinah and camped for the night at a place
called Zhul Halifa, a few miles away. Here, during the night, Waleed
slipped away from the camp, returned to Madinah, reported to the
Prophet and became a Muslim. He thereafter proved a devout Muslim
and became very dear to the Prophet; and in spite of his new faith,
his relations with Khalid remained as warm and loving as ever.
While at the Quraish conference the main theme
of the discussion had been revenge, another factor which drove the
Quraish to war with the Muslims was economic survival. The main
route of the Quraish caravan to Syria and Palestine lay along the
coastal road which now, after the Battle of Badr, was no longer
open to them. In November, Safwan bin Ummayya felt the need for
more trade, and despatched a caravan towards Syria on another route
which he thought might be safe. This caravan left Makkah on the
road to Iraq, and after travelling some distance turned north-west
towards Syria, bypassing Madinah at what Safwan considered a safe
distance. But the Holy Prophet came to know of this caravan and
sent Zaid bin Harithah with 100 men to capture it, which Zaid did.
Safwan then went to Abu Sufyan, and both leaders
agreed that since the economic well-being and prosperity of the
Quraish depended on their profitable trade with Syria, the sooner
the Muslims were crushed the better. Ikrimah also was impatient
and pressed for speed. Abu Sufyan, however, as a wise old chief,
knew that it would take time to prepare the expedition and purchase
the camels, the horses and the weapons. He promised to do his best.
The preparations for the expedition now
began in right earnest. While they were in progress, an unbeliever
of doubtful character approached Abu Sufyan with a proposal. This
man was Abu Amir of Madinah. He had taken exception to the arrival
of the Holy Prophet at Madinah and to the speed with which members
of his own clan, the Aws, had begun to embrace Islam. Consequently
he had left Madinah and sworn never to return as long as Muhammad
remained in power. At Makkah he took to inciting the Quraish against
the Muslims. In the old days Abu Amir had been known as the Monk,
but the Holy Prophet had given him the nickname of the Knave! Thus
the Muslims knew this man as Abu Amir the Knave.2
1. Waqidi: Maghazi, pp. 156-7
2. Ibn
Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 67.
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