سورة التوبة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Shaykh al-Mufid, by his own chain of narration, reported from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "When Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) set out from Medina, groups of angels met him. They held weapons in their hands and were mounted on the steeds of Paradise. They greeted him (peace be upon him) and said: 'O you who, after your grandfather, your father and your brother, are the Proof of Allah over creation! The All-Powerful Allah aided your noble grandfather in several places through us, and He has aided you too through us.'"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the narration of Abu al-Jarud from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) it is reported that he said: "A man from Banu Nasr ibn Muawiya, called Shajara ibn Rabi'a, who had been taken captive by the Muslims, said to them: 'Where are the piebald horses and the men clothed in white? It was they who were killing us, and we saw you among them only like a mole [on the face]. They said: Those were the angels.'"

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abu Ali ibn Rashid and others said in a long hadith: He brought me to the house of Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) ... I found a written note under which was written: "What does the Imam (peace be upon him) say concerning one who has sworn an oath to give a large amount of wealth in charity? How much must he give?" The answer, in the Imam's (peace be upon him) own handwriting beneath it, was: "If he is an owner of sheep, he must give eighty-four sheep in charity. If he is an owner of camels, he must likewise give eighty-four camels. If he has silver money, he must give eighty-four silver dirhams. The proof of this is the verse of the Qur'an which says: لَقَدْ نَصَرَکُمُ اللهُ فِی مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ [Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields]. I counted the occasions on which Allah aided the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) before the revelation of this verse, and they were eighty-four occasions."

Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): It is narrated from Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them) that they said: مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ [many battlefields] in the verse were eighty occasions.

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), from his father, from a number of his companions, narrated that he said: "When al-Mutawakkil was poisoned, he vowed that if he were cured he would give a large sum of money in charity. ... Ja'far ibn Mahmud went to Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) and asked him about the amount of 'much wealth'. The Imam said to him: 'Much wealth means eighty.' Ja'far said to the Imam: 'My master! I know that al-Mutawakkil will ask about the reason for it.' The Imam (peace be upon him) said: 'Indeed Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: لَقَدْ نَصَرَکُمُ اللهُ فِی مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ [Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields]; the number of those places was eighty locations.'"

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him): Yusuf ibn Sukht said: al-Mutawakkil had fallen severely ill, so he vowed to Allah that if He cured him he would give a large sum of money as charity. Abu Yahya al-Munajjim said: "I suggest you write a letter to your cousin [Imam Hadi (peace be upon him)]." And he ordered that a letter be written to him and that he be asked. Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) replied thus: "Give eighty dirhams as charity." They said: "This is a mistake. Ask him from where he has derived this ruling." He said: "This is from the Book of Allah. Allah said to His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): لَقَدْ نَصَرَکُمُ اللهُ فِی مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ [Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields], and the mawatin (occasions) on which Allah aided His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) were eighty occasions. Therefore eighty dirhams from his lawful wealth is a large amount."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The reason for the battle of Hunayn was this: when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) set out for the conquest of Makkah, he announced that he intended to attack the tribe of Hawazin. This news reached Hawazin and they made themselves ready and began gathering men and weapons. Their chiefs assembled around Malik ibn Awf al-Nadri and chose him as their leader. They set out and took with them their wealth, women and children, and they marched on until they alighted at Awtas. Durayd ibn al-Simmah al-Jushami was among them, and he was the chief of Jusham. He was a very old man who had lost his eyesight due to old age. He touched the ground with his hand and said, "In which valley are you?" They said, "In the valley of Awtas." He said, "This is a vast land good for horses, in which there is no hard, rugged ground and no soft, verdant plain. Why do I hear the roaring of camels, the braying of donkeys, the lowing of cattle, the bleating of ewes and the crying of children?" They said to him, "Malik ibn Awf has brought with him the wealth, women and children of the people so that every man may fight for himself, his wealth and his family." Durayd said, "By the Lord of the Ka'bah! He is a shepherd of sheep — what has he to do with war?!" Then he said, "Bring Malik to me." When he came, he said to him, "O Malik! What have you done?" He said, "I have brought with the people their wealth, women and children, so that every man's family and property may be behind his back and he may be more courageous in battle." The old man said, "O Malik! Indeed you have become the chief of your people, and you are fighting a noble man. From this day onward, do not set anything from the beginning to the end of Hawazin [in the path of the enemy]. Woe to you — does a fleeing man pay attention to anything?! Return the womenfolk of Hawazin to the hilltops of their land and to the inaccessible places of their dwellings, and order the men to mount their horses. For no one will be of use to you except a man with his sword, his armour and his mare. Then if it goes in your favour, he will join you from behind, and if it goes against you, you will not be disgraced before your family and children." Malik said to him, "Indeed you have grown old and your knowledge and intellect have vanished." And he did not accept Durayd's advice. Durayd said, "What did Ka'b and Kilab do?" They said, "None of them attended." He said, "Then earnestness and prudence are not present here. If it were a day of nobility and good fortune, Ka'b and Kilab would not be absent." Then he said, "Who from Hawazin has come to it?" They said, "Amr ibn Amir and Awf ibn Amir." He said, "Those two useless, incompetent men — they bring neither benefit nor harm." Then Durayd sighed and said, "It is a fierce and prolonged war. Would that I had in this war a horse that moved swiftly, and I could gallop upon it with speed — a horse thick of mane with hair hanging from its legs, as though it were a young, strong ewe." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was informed of Hawazin's arrival at Awtas and of their gathering there. So he assembled the tribes and urged them to jihad and promised them victory, and Allah had promised him that He would grant him their wealth, women and children as spoils. So the people were encouraged and gathered under their standards, and he raised the greatest banner and handed it to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). Whoever had entered Makkah with his own standard he ordered to carry it, and he set out with twelve thousand men, ten thousand of whom were among those who had been with him.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the narration of Abu al-Jarud from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) it is reported: A thousand men from Banu Sulaym under the leadership of Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami, and a thousand men from Muzayna, accompanied him. They set out until they came within about half a night's march of the enemy. Malik ibn Awf said to his people: "Let every man of you keep his family and his property behind his back, break the scabbards of your swords, and lie in ambush in the ravines of this valley and among the trees. When the dawn glimmers, charge as one body and crush the people, for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has not yet met anyone skilled in warfare." When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had performed the dawn prayer, he descended into the valley of Hunayn — a valley with a long slope — while Banu Sulaym were in the vanguard at the head of his army. At that moment the battalions of Hawazin came out upon them from every side, and Banu Sulaym were routed, and those behind them were routed, and no one remained who was not defeated and did not flee. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) remained with a small band and continued to fight. The fugitives passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and continued their flight, paying attention to nothing. Abbas took hold of the bridle of the Messenger of Allah's (peace be upon him and his family) mule and stood at his right, and Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib was on his left. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was calling out: "O company of the Ansar! Where are you fleeing to? I am the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." But no one paid him any heed. Nusayba the daughter of Ka'b al-Maziniyya was throwing dust in the faces of the fugitives and saying: "Where are you fleeing to, away from Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family)?" Umar passed by her. Nusayba said to him: "Woe to you, what is this that you have done?" Umar said: "This is the command of Allah." When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saw this defeat, he spurred his mule toward Ali and saw him with his sword unsheathed. He said: "O Abbas! Climb this hillock and call out: O companions of the Cow! O companions of the Tree! Where are you fleeing to? This is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) raised his hand and said: "O Allah, praise belongs to You, to You we bring our complaint, and You alone are the One from whom we seek help." Jibra'il descended upon him and said: "O Messenger of Allah! You have made the very supplication that Musa (peace be upon him) made when Allah split the sea for him and delivered him from Fir'awn." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith: "Give me a handful of pebbles." He gave them to him, and he cast them into the faces of the polytheists and said: "May these faces be disfigured." Then he raised his head toward the heavens and said: "O Allah! If You destroy this band, You will not be worshipped, and if You wish not to be worshipped, You will not be worshipped." When the Ansar heard the call of Abbas, they turned back and broke the scabbards of their swords and raised the edges of their swords upward, and while saying "Labbayk," they broke the scabbards of their swords, passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and were ashamed to return to him. They reached the banner. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Abbas: "Who are these, O Abu al-Fadl?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah! These are the Ansar." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Now the furnace of war has grown hot and the matter has intensified." Help and support descended from the heavens, and Hawazin were routed; they heard the clashing of weapons in the air, and were defeated and scattered in every direction. And Allah gave the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) their wealth, their women and their children as spoils. And this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: لَقَدْ نَصَرَکُمُ اللهُ فِی مَواطِنَ کَثِیرَةٍ وَ یَوْمَ حُنَیْنٍ [Certainly Allah helped you in many battlefields and on the day of Hunain].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the book Bihar al-Anwar it is narrated: Then the Battle of Hunayn took place, in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) drew upon a great multitude for support and set out with ten thousand of the Muslims toward that people. Because of the crowd, the great number of men and the abundance of weapons that most of the Muslims saw, they supposed that they would not be defeated. And the great number so filled Abu Bakr with pride and self-conceit that he said, "Today we shall never be defeated on account of small numbers." But the outcome of the affair turned out contrary to their assumption, and Abu Bakr, through his pride and self-conceit at the large number of Muslims, cast the evil eye upon them. In the end, when they came face to face with the polytheists, it was not long before they all fled, and only ten men remained with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): nine were from the Banu Hashim, and the tenth of them was Ayman, son of Umm Ayman, who was killed. Those nine Hashimites stood firm until the fugitives returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). At first they came back one by one, then joined one another in succession, and together they charged the polytheists. And concerning this, and concerning Abu Bakr's pride and self-conceit at the large numbers, Allah the Exalted revealed these verses: وَ یَوْمَ حُنَیْنٍ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْکُمْ کَثْرَتُکُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنْکُمْ شَیْئاً وَ ضاقَتْ عَلَیْکُمُ الْأَرْضُ بِما رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّیْتُمْ مُدْبِرِینَ ثُمَّ أَنْزَلَ اللهُ سَکِینَتَهُ عَلی رَسُولِهِ وَ عَلَی الْمؤْمِنِین [And on the day of Hunayn, when your great numbers made you vain, but they availed you nothing and the earth became strait to you notwithstanding its spaciousness, then you turned back retreating. Then Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Messenger and upon the believers].