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When Allah Defends You

In tafsir al-Tabari, the incident which sparked off anger in the believers and exposed the hypocrites during the battle of Tabuk is mentioned.

Allah `azza wa jall says;

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوضُ وَنَلْعَبُ ۚ قُلْ أَبِاللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

And if you ask them, they will surely say, “We were only conversing and playing.” Say, “Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?”

[Surah al-Tawbah: Ayat 65]

It is narrated that on the way to the battle, a man from amongst the hypocrites said to ‘Awf ibn Malik, “What’s with these Qurraa’ (reciters) of ours? They are the greediest out of all of us, they lie the most and they are also the most cowardly when it comes to meeting the enemy.” This angered ‘Awf who said, “You’ve lied, rather you are a hypocrite! I am going to tell the Messenger of Allah.”

He set off to inform Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, but when he got there, he saw that the Qur’an had already superseded him. Surah al-Tawbah, verse 65 and 66 were already revealed condemning the hypocrites and exposing their disbelief, hatred and enmity towards the believers – in particular the people of the Qur’an (i.e. the Qurraa’). The man began making excuses saying that he was only joking, but Allah, the Knower of the Unseen and the Knower of what lies deep in the hearts, revealed the truth and exposed the matter clearly:

قُلْ أَبِاللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا قَدْ كَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ

“Say, “Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking? Make no excuses, you have indeed disbelieved after your belief.”

[Surah al-Tawbah: Ayat 65-66]

I think more than anything, what stands out the most is how Allah `azza wa jall came to the swift defense of the Qurra’; His believing slaves who turn to His Book day in & day out. Naturally, the one who associates with the Book of Allah on a regular basis and takes time out to read it, learn it, implement it, and ponder over it will have a grand and mighty status in the Sight of Allah Ta’ala – the One Who spoke such words and revealed that very Book. Naturally then, He will be in full defense of these slaves (whom He holds dear) whenever they are attacked, abused, spoken ill of and hurt by others.

The month of Qur’an is upon us once more, and what a great month to witness and be blessed to live in. Let us lift our rank with our Creator by becoming righteous slaves of His who turn to His Book and are His Qurraa’ upon this earth, His witnesses and loved ones.

Mālik ibn ʿAwf (Arabic: مالك بن عوف) was a companion of Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and a leader of the Hawazin tribe of Ta'if. Before he converted to Islam, he was one of the commanders in the Battle of Hunayn against the Muslims. His tribe, Hawazin, fought in the battle along with the Thaqif tribe. He was a prominent knight who commanded armies and held a high rank among his people. He converted to Islam before demised of Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Muhammad's visit to Ta'if

In the year 619, Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ uncle Abu Talib died and a few weeks later his wife Khadija also died. As a result, Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was deprived of the care and support he received from his uncle in his public life and from his wife at home. The position in Makkah was becoming more and more difficult for him.

So he travelled to Tai'f, a town in the mountains about forty-five miles away from Makkah, where the tribe of Thaqif lived, to seek their support to defend himself against his tribe. At the same time, he wished that they would accept the message with which Allah had sent him.

Malik ibn Awf criticized Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ when he came to Ta'if to spread Islam. When Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ went to the Thaqif leaders to proselytize, Awf and the leaders condemned his teachings. The Thaqif leaders sent their slaves to chase him out of the town, throwing stones and other things at him, until his feet bled.

Battle of Hunayn

Awf participated in the Battle of Hunayn after the Conquest of Makkah. Before the battle began, Awf ordered his fighters to shoot arrows at the Muslims. The Muslim fighters began to flee. Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ordered Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib to call the Muslim army back to fight. Abbas did so, and approx 100 Muslims came back to the battle. After seeing those soldiers fight, the rest of the Muslim army returned. The Muslims won; Awf and his army fled to Ta'if. A verse of the Qur'an was revealed on this incident. Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and his army laid siege to Ta'if, but they failed to take the city.

Full name

Malik ibn Awf's full name was Malik bin Awf bin Saad bin Rabia bin Waelah bin Dahman bin Nasr bin Muawiya bin Bakr bin Hawazen bin Mansour bin Ikrimah bin Khasfah bin Qais Aylan bin Mudar bin Nizar bin Maad bin Adnan bin Adad.

Conversion to Islam

Malik bin Auf al-Nasri al-Saad had led the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes to the Muslim war in Hunayn, so they were defeated and their money, family and offspring fell into the hands of the Muslims.

Ibn Ishaq said: "The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the delegation of Hawazin on the authority of Malik bin Auf al-Nasri, What did he do? They said: He is in Taif with Thaqif. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: (Tell Malik that if a Muslim comes to me, I will return his family and money to him, and give him a hundred camels). Malik came with that, so he went out to Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, from Taif, and he was Malik. So he ran until he came to his camel, where he ordered it to be imprisoned, so he rode it. So he followed Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and caught him in Al-Jaranah or in Makkah, and Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, returned his family and money to him, and gave him a hundred camels."

After Malik's conversion, Muhammad's Rasulullahصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used him over his people and those with him and remained with them until the war of conquests took place, where he participated with his tribe in the Battle of al-Qadisiyya, and they had an interest in it, as he witnessed the conquest of the city of Damascus and resided there, and it became for him a house known as the House of Bani Nasr, which Malik first lodged Damascus opened.