A Dilemma in the Sacred Month

They spotted the caravan of Quraysh. The caravan was lightly guarded, only four guards, and they were within striking distance, but they were in a dilemma. This was a sacred month. There were four months in the year in which the Arabs did not fight, and this was agreed upon among them, and they held it in high esteem — they took these months seriously, they would not violate them, and they would not fight in them. They were on the last day of the month of Rajab, which is one of the sacred months, so they were not supposed to fight. One might ask the question: why not just wait one more day, so that they would be in the month of Shaʿbān, and then attack them? Well, there was another problem: if they waited another day, the caravan would enter the sacred limits of Makkah, where they were not supposed to fight either. So either way, they would be violating either the sanctity of the four months or the sanctity of Makkah. So it was a dilemma. They made shūrā, and they decided to go ahead and attack in the month of Rajab, in the sacred month.

They shot their arrows. One of the four guards was killed, al-Ḥaḍramī. One of them ran away, and two of them were taken prisoner, and the whole caravan fell into the hands of the Muslims. So they drove it back to Madīnah. This was breaking news; everyone was talking about it. Quraysh made a big deal about it — they took this opportunity and milked it to the limits. They went around saying that Muhammad and his people were violating the sacred months, shedding blood, taking prisoners, stealing their wealth, all in the holy months: istaḥalla Muḥammadun wa aṣḥābuhu al-shahra al-ḥarāma, wa safakū fīhi al-dam, wa akhadhū fīhi al-amwāl, wa asarū fīhi al-rijāl — they have violated the sacred months, and they have shed blood, and they have taken our wealth, and they have taken our men prisoner. So again, this was breaking news on all networks, splashed across the front pages of every newspaper in the country, and Quraysh went around spreading this news in Arabia, and it was a big deal.