It was noticed above that Abu Sofyân had on his return from Ohod said to the Musalmâns that the battle the next year would take place at Bedr. Some have related that his lordship said to Fârûq: ‘Tell him yes, if Allah pleaseth.’ When the time of the promise was approaching, Abu Sofyân began to make preparations for the campaign, and instigated the Qoraish to march out; but his heart was not in concert with his tongue. His urgency, namely, was founded on the apprehension that the people might say he was the cause of the non-fulfilment of the promise. This appears plainly from the following circumstances: Na’ym, the son of Masu’d Ashja’y, had gone to Mekkah on pilgrimage, but before he started Abu Sofyân met him, and said: ‘I have made a promise on the day of Ohod to Muhammad, but as this year dearth and scarcity of food have befallen us, I am unwilling to march against him with the army. If, therefore, thou couldst on thy arrival at Madinah frighten Muhammad and his companions so as to induce them to break the promise, I would engage to give thee twenty camels of the age of three years, and Sahal B. A’mru will be security for my fulfilling this promise.’ Accordingly, when Na’ym arrived in Madinah he informed the professors of Islâm that the troops of aberration were approaching in great strength and formidable numbers ready for battle and contest. He also said: ‘It will be better for you to withdraw your feet within the skirts of security, and not to leave Madinah on any account.’ The Musalmâns believed the words of Na’ym, and were so unwilling to march out that his lordship imagined no one would take a share in that Ghazwah. Abu Bakr, however, and O’mar waited upon his lordship, persuaded him to march out, and spoke so enticingly that he was highly pleased, and said: ‘I swear by that God in the power of whose grasp my life is, that we shall sally forth, even if not a single individual accompanies us!’
After these words, the apprehensions vanished from the minds of all intelligent men, and they agreed to march. Accordingly his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.— handed his victorious standard to A’li Murtadza—u. w. b. —and started from Madinah in the company of one thousand five hundred valiant men for the purpose of extirpating Abu Sofyân and the army of Satan. The professors of Islâm possessed [only] ten horses, but plenty of merchandise, which they sold on their arrival at Bedr —in the first three days of the month Dhu-l-qa’dah—to such advantage that for each dinâr of the value they obtained one dinâr’s profit. And after eight days they turned their faces beaming with joy and gladness again towards Madinah, but did not encounter the idolaters on that journey. Meanwhile Abu Sofyân had marched from Mekkah with two thousand men, and had gone as far as Wâdi-tz-Tzuhrân, and had again returned, which happened as follows: When the enemies had arrived in the just-mentioned place, Abu Sofyân said to them: ‘This is a year of famine and scarcity, and the camels give no milk, therefore it will be convenient for us to return from this place.’ Thereon the professors of futility accepted the advice of Abu Sofyân as wise, and returned to Mekkah. When the Qoraish heard of the success and prosperity of the professors of the orthodox religion, Ssafuwân Bin Ommiah said to Abu Sofyân: ‘Thou hast made a promise to give battle to Muhammad, but wast unable to fulfil it; accordingly they [i.e., the Moslems] are impudent towards us.’ Then they began to make preparations for the ‘Battle of the Ditch,’ which shall be described by-and-by, if it pleaseth Allah the Most High. As the opponents had for the campaign of ‘the Bedr of promise’ taken no other provisions to live upon except Sawyq,* the inhabitants of Mekkah nicknamed the army ‘the companions of Sawyq.’
Among the events that took place during the fourth year after the Flight was also the stoning of a Jew and a Jewess who had been convicted of adultery, both of whom his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—caused to be lapidated according to the Law of the Toratah, which was also in accordance with the religion of U’zza. At first, however, the Jews manifested pity for their co-religionists, and asserted that all which was required, according to the Toratah, would be to blacken the face of the adulterer and adulteress, to seat them backwards on a camel, and thus to lead them in procession round the town. But from the researches of A’bdullah B. Sollâm, whose profession of Islâm has already been recorded in these pages, it became evident that the above assertion of the Jews was false. His holy and prophetic lordship had apprehended that the Jews would probably alter and falsify the words of the Toratah, and had ordered Zayd B. Thâbet to study it. Zayd obeyed, and accomplished that important business in fifteen days.
In this year also Ta’mah B. Abzaq had stolen a cuirass from the house of Qotâdah B. Nu’mân, the Anssâri, and had carried it to the house of a Jew named Zayd B. Alyemin. By some means or other, Qotâdah happened to discover the coat of mail, and accused Zayd, but he replied: ‘I am guiltless! Ta’mah has brought this cuirass to my house as a deposit.’ The people of Ta’mah, however, though they knew that during the time of [pre-Islâmitic] ignorance larceny had been his occupation, waited upon his lordship the refuge of apostleship—u. w. b.—and bore witness that the honour of Ta’mah was untarnished by this crime. Therefore that prince intended to punish the Jew Zayd; meanwhile, however, the blessed verse ‘We have revealed to thee the book in truth, to judge among men,’ to the end of this verse was revealed. Accordingly, his lordship released Ebn Yemin, and ordered the hand of Ta’mah to be cut off; the latter, however, fled from Madinah to Mekkah and brought eternal punishment upon his soul by the occupation of thieving to which he devoted himself. During this year also the verse concerning the prohibition of the use of wine was revealed,* the circumstances whereof are recorded in biographical works.