This war broke out between the Quraysh and their allies Kinaanah, against the tribe of Hawaazin.
‘Urwah Ar-Rahhaal bin ‘Utbah bin Hawaazin had been protecting a caravan of musk belonging to An-Nu‘maan bin Al-Munthir to the market of ‘Ukaath. He came across Al-Barraadh bin Qays bin Kinaanah who asked, “Are you guarding this from Kinaanah?” He said, “Yes, and even from all the animals.” He then set out with it, and Al-Barraadh followed him and so he An-‘Urwah killed him. When hearing about this, Kinaanah departed without the knowledge of Hawaazin and chased ‘Urwah and caught up with him before he entered Al-Haram. They fought until night fell and they entered Al-Haram, where Hawaazin stopped fighting them.
They fought many rounds after that day, during which the Quraysh helped Kinaanah. Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) witnessed some of these days in the company of his paternal uncles. This war was called the Fijaar (wickedness) war due to the violation of the Makkan sanctities that were sacred among the Arabs. Regarding this war, the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “I would gather arrows for my paternal uncles.” He was referring to the arrows of their enemies that had been fired at them. At that time, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) was fourteen or fifteen years old, although some historians have also stated that he was twenty years old at the time. However, the fact that he would gather the arrows and hand them to his paternal uncles gives predominance to the former opinion, for this indicates that he was still very young.
In this way, he acquired courage and bravery, and was trained to fight from his early years. This war eventually ended, and it was just like many other wars that broke out among the Arabs until Allah The Almighty united their hearts and erased such errors from their them with the light of Islam.
