Taliban rekindle memories of Badr and Conquest of Makkah

On the occasion of the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) announced a general amnesty and said: Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyaan (may Allah be pleased with him) will be safe, whoever enters Makkah will be safe, and whoever locks his door will be safe. After entering Makkah, he said while giving a sermon at the door of the Kabah: O Quraysh! What do you think that I am about to do with you? The Quraysh replied, You will do good. You are our noble brother and son of a noble brother.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: I say as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said to his brothers. This day there shall be no upbraiding of you nor reproach. Go, you are free.

After returning from the Battle of Badr, the Prophet (peace be upon him) divided the prisoners among his Companions and ordered them to treat the prisoners kindly. The Companions treated the prisoners so well that it became the means of hundreds of them converting to Islam. The Companions would feed them that which they themselves did not at times eat. Abu Aziz Ibn Umayr, the brother of Abu Musab Ibn Umayr, was among the prisoners said that he was in a house of the Ansar and that they used to feed him bread and would suffice upon eating dates themselves. He said that he was embarrassed and insisted that they eat it themselves, but they would reply no, the Prophet (peace be upon him) has commanded us to treat the prisoners well.

On the occasion of the recent victories after Eid ul Fitr, when I see the Taliban’s good treatment towards the prisoners and surrendering soldiers, it takes me back to the Prophetic era a millennia earlier. The Taliban are seen embracing surrendering soldiers and kissing their foreheads.

A video that has been recently circulating on social media showed the Taliban adopting such an approach with hundreds of surrendering soldiers in Ghazni province’s Qarabagh district that many eyes were filled with tears of joy. The video shows a Taliban commander saying to a surrendering soldier reassuringly, it is our obligation to protect your wealth, life and your honor. Even if you have martyred two hundred of our Mujahideen, your blood is still forbidden to us just like that of our Mujahideen brothers. In another video from the same district, a soldier comes while filled with regret to meet the Taliban. He is crying. The Taliban commander hugs and reassures him that there is no difficulty, you are our brother, you have come to your home and your country.

Observing all of this, you will also conclude that if anyone has rekindled the memories of the Conquest of Makkah and Battle of Badr, then it is none other than the Taliban of Afghanistan.