Historical References for the ten thousand companions
Below is an excerpt from a longer article by Akberally Meherally found in the Qur'an and Bible link on the main page
'A BIOGRAPHY OF THE PROPHET'
Karen Armstrong was a Roman Catholic nun for seven years. Since
1982 she has been a TV broadcaster and a writer. Her prestigious work
and the best seller, 'History of God' has earned her an envious
reputation. In her most recent publication, 'Muhammad, A Biography
Of The Prophet', she writes:
At the end of 628 A.D., the Meccans broke the Treaty of
Hudaybiyah....
On 10 Ramadan, January 630, Muhammad set out at the head
of the largest army every to leave Madina. Nearly all the men in
the umma had volunteered and along the road their Bedouin allies
joined the expedition bringing the number up to 10,000 men.
(On Thursday, 20 Ramadan Hijri 8 (11 January 630) Muslim
army entered the city of Mekkah. The army was offered
practically no resistance. Only a handful of Mekkan offered
resistance. The rest stayed indoor.)
Muhammad had come to Mekkah not to persecute the Quraysh
but to abolish the religion which had failed them. ...he rode round
the Ka'aba seven times, touching the black stone each time and
crying 'al-Llahu Akbar!' The shout was taken up by his
10,000 soldiers and soon the whole city resounded with words
that symbolished the final victory of Islam.
Next Muhammad turned his attention to the 360 idols around
the shrine; crowded on to their roofs and balconies, the Quraysh
watched him smash each idol while he recited the verse:
"the truth has come, and falsehood has vanished away;
surely falsehood is certain to vanish." (Sura 17:82)
This expedition of prophet Muhammad with 10,000 Holy Ones, crushed
the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to roof.
That was the end of the idol worshipping, the termination of the age of
ignorance and the cessation of the wicked and immoral acts based upon
superstitions, in Paran.
From a *historical* point of view, one can say that upon the success or
failure of this historical expedition depended the future of prophet's
mission and the establishment of Islam as a Nation. Almost all the
biographers of the prophet have recorded the details of the above
historical expedition. And, the figure of 10,000 dedicated followers
(the Holy Saints), who had joined the prophet in this expedition, is
mentioned by the majority of them. Listed below are just a few
biographers and their works:
1. The eminent French Orientalist Maxime Rodinson, in his book
'Mohammed' writes on page 259:
At last he (Muhammad) set out with what was usual in Arabia
at that time, and immense army: ten thousand men.
2. Biographer Martin Ling's work, (life of) 'Muhammad' is based on
Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries. Martin had a degree in
Arabic and was a keeper of Oriental Manuscripts at the British
Museum. On page 293, he writes:
The Bedouin faithfully responded; and when the appointed day
came the army was the largest that had ever set out from
Medina. No able-bodied Muslim stayed behind. The Emigrants
were seven hundred, with three hundred horses; the Helpers were
four thousand, with five hundred horses; and the tribes, including
those who joined them on the way, brought the total numbers up
to nearly ten thousand men.
3. Sir John Glubb had spent most of his adult life in Arabia. He was
fluent in Arabic. His work; 'The Life and Times of Muhammad' is
considered to be sound, comprehensive and popular work in English on
prophet's life and people of the Prophet. He writes on page 305:
...no sooner had Abu Sofian left, than the Apostle gave orders for
all to prepare for the march on Mecca. Ten thousand men are
said to have answered his call. When we remember that, only two
years before, he had been followed to Hudaibiya by only one
thousand four hundred Muslims, the extent of the revolution in
his favour in those two years can be readily appreciated.
