Supplication is the resort of the servants of Allah, to seek refuge with their Lord. Allah, Exalted is He, prescribed Qunoot (i.e., supplication recited in prayers) whenever calamities and adversities should befall Muslims, because supplication strengthens the heart, boosts faith, and relieves distress. In this hadeeth, Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that people from the tribes of ofRa‘l, Dhakwaan, Banee ‘Usayyah, and BaneeLihyaancame to the Prophetﷺand claimed that they had embraced Islam and requested him to support them with some men to invite their people and teach them Islam. The Prophet ﷺsent seventy men from the Ansaar, led Al-Munthir ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), and it was also said that they were led by Mathrad ibn AbeeMathrad(may Allah be pleased with him). These seventy Muslims were known as the ‘Reciters of the Quran,’ because they devoted their lives to the Quran and its recitation. They used to cut wood during the day to buy food for the People of Suffah (i.e., the poor homeless Muslims who were sheltered in a place annexed to the Prophet’s Mosque) and pray all night long. They took the (seventy) men till they reached a place called Bi’rMa‘oonah, i.e., a place in the land of Hudhayl between Makkah and ‘Usfaan, where they betrayed and killed them. This took place in Safar, 4 A.H. The Prophetﷺ observed Qunoot for a month,invoking evil on the tribes of Ra‘l, Dhakwaan, BaneeLihyaan, and Banee ‘Usayyahin the prayers. He ﷺ supplicated Allah, Exalted is He, against all these tribes because the news about the betrayal of the Muslims in the incidents of Bi’rMa‘oonah and Al-Rajee‘ reached him on the same night. It is also possible that the incident of Bi’rMa‘oonah marked the beginning of the Prophet’s Qunoot, and afterward he ﷺ observed Qunoot supplication due to following incidents. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)said that they (i.e., Muslims) used to recite an ayah concerning those martyrs which reads: "O Allah! Let our people be informed on our behalf that we have met our Lord Who was pleased with us and made us pleased,” but the ayah was abrogated later on. It is deduced from the hadeeth that it is prescribed to supplicate Allah, Exalted is He, against the unjust people and those who betray and harm Muslims, proclaiming their names and openly supplicating against them. The hadeeth also highlights the Companions’ keenness to seek martyrdom and their joy upon attaining it. It is also inferred that the people of the truth may be harmed by the people of falsehood, and this does not indicate that the people of the truth are not right but is rather an indication of their honor and that the people of falsehood would be ruined and destroyed. .