I want to ask something : why did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) raid caravan? I think a prophet as noble as him should avoid any wrong doings.
Did he raid caravan? No. He peacefully preached Submission to will of creator, but that did not go down well with the non believing Quraysh. They plotted to eliminate, using the wealth of the believers.
He did the right thing. You disagree? Then you would not be able to declare in your post, you are a muslim.
And isn't raiding other people's caravan a sin? I know that they did that because their belongings in Mecca were taken, but still, couldn't he just forgive them?
Conclusion: He did forgive them. And, the initial resentment to Creators message naturally disappeared, because of the Good manners and impeccable character and lifestyle of Prophet
and his followers. The attempted raid was to
a. counter the economic sanctions on the city state Medina by the city state Mecca.
b. to prevent the caravan helping the war preparation by Quraysh in Mecca (on Medina) by selling Believers property which was in Mecca.
Like Perseverance pointed out, you know, but you need to dwelve more deeply to appreciate it. There are many parallels in history and religion. Dont prefer looking history? Its like the economic sanction America had on Cuba, just because Cuba decided to be socialist, or the economic sanctions on many countries. Just an example.
Isn't Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the best man with best moral?
Yes he is. Thats exactly why Alphonse de Lamartine said in awe “If greatness of purpose, aptness of means, and outstanding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?”
Before you judge me anything, I must declare that I am muslim and I am just curious to know. I hope a good answer from all of you who read this. It will be better if your answer based on valid reference such as Quran or hadith. Thanks
You passed a judgement on yourself
.It too early to judge, In The Judgement day each of us will bear witness to our deeds and misdeeds. Based on your inclination you will derive a different conclusion, let know.
And I heard some rumors that this raid story is not real, only made up to bring Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)'s moral down, is that true?
Here are the facts which I recollect (Highlighted in blue, if you are short on time):
(You heard rumor in present now how will that affect past accurately untampered documented history?)
For the first 13 years of Prophethood of Muhammad preaching Islam, despite intense persecution, the Muslims did not fight Quraysh. The retaliation of Quraysh in mecca grew manifolds. The noble prophet who had no history of wrongdoing and his followers were being prosecuted just because Messages of - peace, treating slaves better, not killing the girl child, paying wages dutifully, ascribing no partner to the creator - did not go down well with the powerful tribe of Quraysh. The believers were not allowed to worship. The believers, after reverting had turned away from old barbaric ways and become upright, morally good leading examples of better humans. The call to fix the injustice in society, economic, social and spiritual did not go well with the Quraysh. All Prophets in their time and age were prosecuted when the message of creator was spread among the masses. Allah details history of past prophets in Quran. The hadiths give accurate picture of the events. Take some time to read it, avoid rumors.
The resistance to prophet and his peaceful disciples grew stronger.
The Quraysh made the life of believers in Mecca difficult. The inhabitants of Medina (most were not muslims yet then), however seemed open to Divine message, were happy with Prophet, the best man with best morals, even in face of severe oppression by the Quraysh of Mecca. And the historic Hijra to Medina happened. The believers were not allowed to take their wealth while migrating from Mecca to Medina. The Migration was gradual and had to be done very secretively, such was the extent of the oppression. Believers arrived poor at Medina. The ansars of Medina welcomed the Meccan Believers. When the Meccans plotted to assasinate Prophet
, he under stealth moved to Madina (called Hijra). Even when they moved to Medina, the meccans did not stop their old ways.
Medina was now subject to economic sanction. Serious ultimatum to the chief of the disbelievers in al-Medina, ordering him to fight or drive out the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) from al-Medina. Otherwise, they would attack their city and destroy their people. Meccans began a serious preparation to carry out the Ultimatum. Once in Medina, the Prophet Muhammad received a revelation giving the Muslims permission to respond militarily. In the two years after the migration, the encounters between the two groups were small skirmishes and attempted raids. In Ramadan of 624 CE, this changed.
That year, the Prophet Muhammad received information that Meccan Quraysh had a large caravan returning from Syria to Mecca. This caravan was loaded with the property of the believers left behind in Mecca. The wealth from the trade was for war preparation. The Muslims planned to raid the caravan to counter for Quraysh’s using the muslims property for war preparation. The proceeds of this caravan was meant to equip in driving out believers from Mecca.
Prophet did not intend to go to battle and were not prepared for battle. Abu Sufyan, one of the Meccan leaders who was with the caravan, received word of the plan for the raid, send message to Meccans to send troops and diverted the caravan and reached safety.
Once Caravan was safe, Abu Sifyan again sent another message to Mecca informing Caravan was safe, directing the troops to go back. But under Abu Jahl's influence 1300 well prepared Troops set out to Badr from Mecca.
A troop of 900 hostile troops outside Medina, needed a response. Before the Prophet decided to fight the Meccans, he consulted his followers who were made of up Muslims who emigrated from Mecca (called muhajirun) and Muslims from Medina (called ansar). He waited for the support of the Muslims from Medina because the Constitution of Medina that they signed on to did not include fighting outside of Medina. . Once he received their support, the Prophet Muhammad decided to engage in battle. 900 Well Equipped Quraysh versus 313 ill equipped muslims.
The battles of past are different from now. The Islamic historians of then have captured the details very accurately and the unprejudiced world historians of today approve these well docuemented records.. One important point that comes out when you read about these battles from unbiased sources is the single battles at the beginning of the war. The battles were never an excess, and was a necessity.
There were some more battles. Since believers were steadfast to the imaan and followed it up with good character, there were many victory and few defeats too. Finally it culminated in Mecca. Never in history did a conqueror, gain control over the capital city without bloodshed when leading an army of 10,000 well equipped soldiers. These Soldiers, who were badly treated had chosen a better way of leading life, and hence did not retaliate. They did not retaliate because their Beloved Leader Prophet
instructed them not to. So not just Prophet
even his followers were also forgiving.
You are capable of applying your mind and arriving at a fair assessment, am sure. You can ask questions in forum openly without fear, there is no need for PMs. Hope this gives insights.