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Two weeks passed and the
end was not in sight. The Thaqeef would not come out to fight; the
Muslims could not get in to fight. Every time they approached the
town they were driven back with, arrows. One day Abu Sufyan also
took part in a sally towards the town and stopped an arrow with
his eye. He lived thereafter as a one-eyed man. 1
February can be very cold in the region
of Taif, and the weather during the siege was unpleasant. The Muslims
tried to force the Thaqeef out to give battle by destroying some
vineyards near Taif; but the Thaqeef refused to leave the security
of their fort. Malik was much too clever a general to risk a battle
under conditions which would favour his opponent. Finally the Holy
Prophet called a council of war and sought the advice of his officers.
One of them said, "When you corner a fox in its hole, if
you stay long enough you catch the fox. But if you leave the fox
in its hole it does you no harm." 2
Abu Bakr advised a return to Makkah, and Umar concurred with him.
The Prophet could not wait indefinitely
for the fall of Taif as he had more important matters to attend
to. He proposed that the siege be raised and the army return to
Makkah; but some Muslim hot-heads protested against this and insisted
that they fight on until victory was gained. "Then you
can attack tomorrow." 3 said
the Prophet.
The next day a few of these battle-hungry
Muslims again approached the fort with a view to capturing it, but
were severely punished by the Thaqeef archers. They returned in
a more philosophical mood and agreed with the Prophet that it might
be best to leave the fox in its hole.
On February 23, 630 (the 4th of Dhul Qad,
8 Hijri) the siege was raised. The Muslims had lost 12 men and a
large number had been wounded. The Thaqeef remained defiant. Ten
months later, however, this tribe was to accept Islam and prove
staunch in its faith.
The Muslims arrived at Jirana on February
26, and here the Prophet distributed the spoils taken at Autas.
To show the newly converted Makkans that there was no discrimination
against them for having delayed their acceptance of the new faith,
the Prophet also gave them a share of the spoils. But hardly had
the women, children and animals been distributed among the Muslims,
when a delegation of the Hawazin came to the Prophet and declared
that the tribe had accepted Islam. "Will you not return
to us what you captured from us in battle?" the delegates
pleaded. Actually they had no right to demand a return of what they
had lost, because they had lost it as infidels and not as Muslims;
but the Prophet was generous. "Are your women and children
dearer to you or your property?" he asked them. "Return
to us our women and children and you can keep the rest",
they replied. 4
The Prophet now appealed to his army to
return the women and children of the Hawazin. Every soldier responded
to the Prophet's appeal and returned the captives in his hands,
with the exception of Safwan bin Umayyah, who refused to part with
a girl who had been given to him as his share of the spoils. She
must have been very beautiful!
A few days later Malik slipped out of Taif and came to the Muslim
camp. He became a Muslim and was amply rewarded by the Prophet.
It is a pity that this brilliant young soldier was given no important
role in later Muslim campaigns, for he had the makings of a superb
general.
The Holy Prophet and the army of Islam now
returned to Madinah, arriving there in the latter part of March
630. Thus ended the eighth year of the Hijra. The year that followed
was to become known as the Year of Delegations, for during this
year most of the tribes of Arabia sent delegations to Madinah and
submitted to the Prophet. Not all the delegates, or the tribal chiefs
who sent them, were motivated by a desire for the true religion,
as we shall see later. While some were sincere seekers of the truth,
others came for political reasons. Some came out of sheer curiosity,
and a few were downright scoundrels.
1. According to some sources, Abu Sufyan
lost his eye at Yarmuk and not at Taif.
2. Ibn Sad: p. 675.
3. Ibid
4. Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 489.
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