Muhammad: The Warrior Prophet

Before Muhammad, Arab military contingents fought under the command of clan or tribal leaders, sometimes assembled in coalition with other clans or tribes. While the authority of these clan chiefs was recognized by their own clan, every chief considered himself the equal of any other, so there was no overall commander whose authority could compel the obedience or tactical direction of the army as a whole. Clan warriors fought for their own interests, often only for loot, and did not feel obligated to pursue the larger objectives of the army as a whole. They often failed to report to the battlefield, arrived late, or simply left the fight once they had captured sufficient loot. Warriors and horses were precious, and clan leaders resisted any higher tactical direction that might place their men and animals in danger. As a result, Arab battles were often little more than brief, disorganized brawls that seldom produced a decisive outcome.

To correct these deficiencies Muhammad established a unified command for his armies centered on himself. Within the ummah there was no distinction between the citizen and the soldier. All members of the community had an obligation to defend the clan and participate in its battles. The community of believers was truly a nation in arms, and all believers followed the commands of Muhammad, God’s Messenger. As commander in chief Muhammad established the principle of unified command by appointing a single commander with overall authority to carry out military operations. Sometimes he also appointed a second-in-command. Muhammad often personally commanded his troops in the field. He also appointed all the other commanders, who operated under his authority. As Muslims, all members of the army were equally bound by the same laws, and all clan members and their chiefs were subject to the same discipline and punishments. When operating with clans whose members were not Muslims, Muhammad always extracted an honor oath from their chiefs to obey his orders during the battle.

The establishment of a unified military command gave Muhammad’s armies greater reliability in planning and in battle. Unified command also permitted a greater degree of coordination among the various combat elements of the army and the use of more sophisticated tactical designs that could be implemented with more certainty, thereby greatly increasing the army’s offensive power.

Traditional Arab warfare emphasized the courageous performance of individual warriors in battle, not the clan’s ability to fight as a unit. The Arab warrior fought for his own honor and social prestige within the kin group, not for the clan per se. One consequence was that Arab armies and the clan units within them did not usually reflect a high degree of combat unit cohesion, the ability of the group to remain intact and fight together under the stress of battle.

Muhammad’s armies, by contrast, were highly cohesive, holding together even when they fought outnumbered or were overrun. The ummah served as a higher locus of the soldier’s loyalty that transcended the clan. Many of Muhammad’s early converts had left their families and clans to follow the Prophet. There were many instances where members of the same clan or even families fought on opposite sides during his early battles. Religion turned out to be a greater source of unit cohesion than blood and clan ties, the obligations of faith replacing and overriding those of tradition and even family. His soldiers cared for each other as brothers, which under the precepts of Islam they were, and quickly gained a reputation for their discipline and ferocity in battle.

Muhammad’s armies demonstrated a higher degree of military motivation than traditional Arab armies. Being a good warrior had always been at the center of Arab values, but Muhammad enhanced the warrior’s status. His soldiers were always guaranteed a share in the booty. It became a common saying among Muslims that “the soldier is not only the noblest and most pleasing profession in the sight of Allah, but also the most profitable.” Muhammad’s soldiers were usually paid better than Persian or Byzantine soldiers.

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12 Comments to “Muhammad: The Warrior Prophet”
1-Muhammad himself was under siege by 10,000 arabian soldiers in his Madina and he had onlyt 3,000 soldiers!
2-Muhammad in the 1st 6 years in Madina was attacked 3 times each time by a massive force more than his army at least 3 time and he won!
“Deffensive wares”
3-All the dead soldiers from both sides in Muhaammad’s camaign was 270 soldiers and no 1 single Civilian !
4-”offence” Muhammad orderd an attack and Assasination of only 2 leadders later after being attacked to stop the danger comming from the arbian and Jewsh tribes after the 6th year in Madina and after bieng attacked from these tribes for a continious 6 years and by massive forces.

By muslim on Jul 25, 2008 at 8:39 am
Great. Very informative my friend. The muslims had such a huge empire. No other religion had such an empire. The muslims defeated all the greeks, romans and the mongols when they were asians. Then the muslims took over the mongol empire, from Arghun Khans childern.

By Sikh on Aug 17, 2008 at 6:27 am
Most people do not know though. But 15 000 muslims fought 600 000 Romans. ZafarKhan, who was a very blessed general of the delhi sultan reign, he was truly blessed by the Great Allah. He defeated both Kublai Khan, and Chingiizz Khan again and again. Google mongol conquests of india. The mongols ran from the muslims so many times. THIS WAS BEFORE THE MONGOLS CONVERTED TO ISLAM. The muslims conquered more then anyone else had ever had. The ottomans, and the mongols. Great respect to MY MUSLIM BROTHERS. MAD RESPECT!!!

By Sikh on Aug 17, 2008 at 6:28 am
sikh is full of it

By CREEK on Aug 28, 2008 at 9:17 am
Creek is right.

By McHugh on Aug 29, 2008 at 6:39 pm
mohammadism is a Satantically inspired belief, and mohammad was nothing but a bandit who was chosen by Satan to conduct the last attack on the True Faith of Christ. All of his success is due to the support of Satan. And now the muhamadins kill each other over the importance of the man’s brother-in-law! Get a grip.

By Stewart Moneymaker on Sep 12, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Hello friends,
Glad to address myself to knowledgeable ones.
Could you gear me toward a source on the above quotes Jewish tribes in arabia who fought against the Prophet?
And something about the ”Khans”.I believe they left footprints in the Levant: do you think they intermarried with Mohammed’s family?

By Chantal-E. on Sep 21, 2008 at 5:40 pm
anyone with a sane mind will immediately know that the great messenger of ALLAH never killed or attacked any kind of people except by rightous causes …. he accepted peace and offered it …. but the real problem is in the other side the west … you curse the messenger of GOD and you through charges as you like all because he defended whats right and banished what is wrong … you fight a man only because he says i worship ALLAH the all mighty god where there is no god but him … THE GOD of every thing … you accuse Mohamed of being satanic … if braying to god giving charity to the poor and protecting the weak from the strong .. ordering people to do whats right and leave whats wrong is satanic then you are crazy hard minded people with great envy on this region and its followers … notice that every single technology the Christians ever made was because their separation of science and Christianity which they missed up badly … and every single failure of Muslims made was because leaving the Islamic way of live …. and you are the last people to talk about the bandits because you annihilated complete civilizations with your ignorance and Christianity and stealing complete continents … and you never noticed that until you abandoned your sick satanic remodeling of the true Christianity given to you by GOD who has no partners ….

By karim on Sep 26, 2008 at 1:05 am
. . . karim, you prove my point better than I ever could. Your ignorance and thinly veiled hatred of everything you can’t understand, and mindless denial of the truth is what makes mohammadans like yourself a plague to mankind.

By Stewart on Oct 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Jesus never ordered the killing of anyone. People, having free will, have killed in His name, but He spoke of love, peace and respecting everyone. Including women. He never married either.
Mohammad had eleven wives - one nine years old! He ordered people killed if they did not convert to Islam. Very respectful.

By Jan Willard on Oct 14, 2008 at 8:19 am
The crusades were an eye opener to the muslims. A rag tag army from europa crushed muslim resistance each and every step of the way and conquered the ancient world’s biggest prize, Jerusalem. Amazing! It was just a prelude to the global dominance of the western world that was to come. Segno della croce invictus!

By The Realist on Nov 23, 2008 at 11:59 pm
to me prophet mohammad is indeed a bandit,adulterer and a murderer.he killed and rapped many people.it is a undeniable history truth.if he was really a prophet he should had shown love but not sexual addictions.he indeed inherited satanic characteristics.but the doloress lord jesus died for us to go to heaven.this is what we call a messiah or the son of god.he did not order people killing nor raping.BLESS THE LORD GOD.IN JESUS NAME I PRAY.

By jesussservant7 on Nov 29, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Muhammad: The Warrior Prophet

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