Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (pbuh) (Al-Maghaazi)

During one of his journeys, the Messenger of Allah was traveling at night with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. ʿUmar asked him something, but the Messenger of Allah did not answer. He asked again and received no answer, then asked a third time and again received no answer. ʿUmar said to himself, “May your mother be bereaved of you, ʿUmar! You have pressed the Messenger of Allah three times, and each time he has not answered you.” ʿUmar said: I urged my camel on and went ahead of the Muslims, fearing that a Qur’anic revelation might come down about me. Before long I heard someone calling out to me. I said, “I feared that revelation had come down about me.” I came to the Messenger of Allah, greeted him, and he said, “A sūra was revealed to me tonight that is dearer to me than everything over which the sun rises.” Then he recited, “Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory.”

Sufyān said: I heard al-Zuhrī relate this report and retained part of it; Maʿmar helped me establish it from ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, from al-Miswar ibn Makhrama and Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam, each adding details to the other. They said: The Prophet set out in the year of al-Ḥudaybiya with a little over a thousand of his Companions. When he reached Dhū al-Ḥulayfa, he garlanded the sacrificial animals, marked them, and entered consecration there for an ʿumra. He sent a scout from Khuzāʿa ahead of him. The Prophet continued until he was at Ghadīr al-Ashṭāṭ, where his scout came to him and said, “Quraysh have gathered forces against you and have also assembled the Aḥābīsh. They will fight you, bar you from the House, and prevent you from reaching it.” He said, “People, advise me. Do you think I should go against the families and children of those who intend to bar us from the House? If they come to us, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will have struck a blow at the polytheists; otherwise, we will leave them bereft.” Abū Bakr said, “O Messenger of Allah, you set out intending this House; you do not seek to kill anyone or fight anyone. So proceed toward it. Whoever bars us from it, we will fight.” He said, “Proceed in the name of Allah.”

ʿUrwa heard Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam and al-Miswar ibn Makhrama relate an account about the Messenger of Allah’s ʿumra at al-Ḥudaybiya. Among what ʿUrwa reported from them was this: When the Messenger of Allah made a truce with Suhayl ibn ʿAmr at al-Ḥudaybiya, one of Suhayl’s conditions was, “If anyone from us comes to you, even if he follows your religion, you must return him to us and leave us free to deal with him.” Suhayl refused to make the treaty unless the Messenger of Allah accepted this. The believers disliked and resented it, and spoke about it. When Suhayl insisted, the Messenger of Allah made the treaty with him. That day the Messenger of Allah returned Abū Jandal ibn Suhayl to his father, Suhayl ibn ʿAmr. During that period he returned every man who came to him, even if he was Muslim. Believing women came as emigrants. Umm Kulthūm bint ʿUqba ibn Abī Muʿayṭ was among those who went out to the Messenger of Allah; she was a young woman. Her family came asking the Messenger of Allah to return her to them, until Allah Most High revealed what He revealed concerning believing women.

Ibn Shihāb said: ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr also related to me that ʿĀʾisha, wife of the Prophet, said: The Messenger of Allah would test the believing women who emigrated by this verse: “O Prophet, when believing women come to you…” From his uncle he also reported: We were told that when Allah commanded His Messenger to return to the polytheists what they had spent on those of their wives who emigrated, we were also told about Abū Baṣīr. He then related his account at length.

During the civil strife, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar set out to perform ʿumra and said, “If I am barred from the House, we will do as we did with the Messenger of Allah.” He entered consecration for ʿumra because the Messenger of Allah had entered consecration for ʿumra in the year of al-Ḥudaybiya.

Ibn ʿUmar entered consecration and said, “If I am prevented from reaching it, I will do as the Prophet did when the Quraysh unbelievers prevented him.” He recited, “You have an excellent example in the Messenger of Allah.”

ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh and Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh spoke with ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar. Another route says that one of Ibn ʿUmar’s sons said to him, “If only you stayed this year, for I fear you may not reach the House.” He replied: We set out with the Prophet, and the Quraysh unbelievers prevented us from reaching the House. The Prophet sacrificed his offerings, shaved his head, and his Companions shortened their hair. He said, “I call you to witness that I have made ʿumra obligatory upon myself. If I am allowed to reach the House, I will circumambulate it; if I am prevented, I will do as the Messenger of Allah did.” He traveled for a while, then said, “I think the two rites are one and the same. I call you to witness that I have made ḥajj together with my ʿumra obligatory upon myself.” He performed one circumambulation and one Saʿy, then became released from both rites.

People say that Ibn ʿUmar became Muslim before ʿUmar, but that is not so. On the day of al-Ḥudaybiya, ʿUmar sent ʿAbd Allāh to fetch a horse of his from a man of the Anṣār, so that he could fight on it. The Messenger of Allah was taking the pledge beneath the tree, and ʿUmar did not know this. ʿAbd Allāh pledged allegiance to him, then went to fetch the horse and brought it to ʿUmar, who was preparing himself for battle. He told ʿUmar that the Messenger of Allah was taking the pledge beneath the tree. ʿUmar went with him and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah. This is why people say Ibn ʿUmar became Muslim before ʿUmar.

On the day of al-Ḥudaybiya, the people were with the Prophet and had dispersed into the shade of the trees. Then they gathered around the Prophet. He said, “ʿAbd Allāh, see what is happening—the people have surrounded the Messenger of Allah.” ʿAbd Allāh found that they were pledging allegiance, so he pledged. Then he returned to ʿUmar, and ʿUmar went out and pledged.

We were with the Prophet when he performed ʿumra. He circumambulated, and we circumambulated with him; he prayed, and we prayed with him; and he made Saʿy between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwa. We shielded him from the people of Mecca so that no one could harm him.

When Sahl ibn Ḥunayf returned from Ṣiffīn, we went to him seeking his account. He said, “Be wary of your own judgment. On the day of Abū Jandal, I saw myself in such a state that, had I been able, I would have reversed the Messenger of Allah’s decision. But Allah and His Messenger know best. Whenever we have shouldered our swords over a matter that distressed us, it has only led us more easily to a matter we knew before this one. We do not close one breach without another breach opening against us, and we do not know how to deal with it.”

At the time of al-Ḥudaybiya, the Prophet came upon me while lice were falling onto my face. He asked, “Are the vermin on your head troubling you?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Then shave, and fast for three days, or feed six poor people, or offer a sacrifice.” Ayyūb said: I do not know which of these he mentioned first.

We were with the Messenger of Allah at al-Ḥudaybiya, in consecration, and the polytheists had confined us. I had thick hair, and lice kept falling onto my face. The Prophet passed by me and asked, “Are the vermin on your head troubling you?” I said, “Yes.” Then this verse was revealed: “Whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head must offer a ransom of fasting, charity, or sacrifice.”

Anas related to us: Some people of ʿUkl and ʿUrayna came to Medina and professed Islam. They said, “Prophet of Allah, we are people of livestock, not people of settled farmland.” They found Medina unhealthy for them. The Messenger of Allah provided them with a few camels and a herdsman, and ordered them to go out with him and drink the camels’ milk and urine. They set out, but when they reached the outskirts of al-Ḥarra, they renounced Islam, killed the Prophet’s herdsman, and drove off the camels. News reached the Prophet, who sent people after them. He ordered that their eyes be branded out and their hands cut off, and they were left in a part of al-Ḥarra until they died in that condition. Qatāda said: We were told that after this the Prophet encouraged charity and forbade mutilation. Shuʿba, Abān, and Ḥammād reported from Qatāda that they were from ʿUrayna. Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr and Ayyūb reported from Abū Qilāba, from Anas, that a group from ʿUkl had come.

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz once consulted people, asking, “What do you say about the oath procedure of qasāma?” They replied, “It is right. The Messenger of Allah ruled by it, as did the caliphs before you.” Abū Qilāba was behind his couch. ʿAnbasa ibn Saʿīd said, “Then what about the report of Anas concerning the ʿUrayniyyūn?” Abū Qilāba said, “Anas ibn Mālik himself related it to me.” ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Ṣuhayb reported from Anas that they were from ʿUrayna; Abū Qilāba reported from Anas that they were from ʿUkl. He then mentioned the story.

I set out before the first call to prayer, while the Messenger of Allah’s milch camels were grazing at Dhū Qard. A servant of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf met me and said, “The Messenger of Allah’s camels have been taken.” I asked, “Who took them?” He said, “Ghatafān.” I shouted three times, “Help! The raid!” so loudly that I was heard across the two lava fields of Medina. Then I rushed after them until I caught up with them while they were drawing water. I began shooting at them with my arrows, for I was an archer, saying, “I am the son of al-Akwaʿ; today is the day of the suckling ones!” I kept chanting until I recovered the camels from them and seized thirty cloaks. The Prophet and the people arrived. I said, “Prophet of Allah, I kept them from the water, and they are thirsty. Send people against them now.” He said, “Son of al-Akwaʿ, you have gained control, so be gentle.” Then we returned, and the Messenger of Allah carried me behind him on his camel until we entered Medina.

Suwayd ibn al-Nuʿmān told him that he went with the Prophet in the year of Khaybar. When they were at al-Ṣahbāʾ, one of the nearest places to Khaybar, the Prophet prayed ʿAṣr and asked for provisions. Nothing was brought but sawīq. He ordered it moistened; he and they ate from it. Then he stood for Maghrib, rinsed his mouth, and they rinsed theirs. He prayed without performing ablution.

We set out with the Prophet toward Khaybar, traveling at night. A man among the people said to ʿĀmir, “ʿĀmir, will you let us hear some of your verses?” ʿĀmir was a poet, so he dismounted and began chanting to the people: “O Allah, were it not for You, we would not have been guided, nor given charity, nor prayed. Forgive us—may we be sacrificed for You—as long as You preserve us, and make our feet firm when we meet the enemy. Send tranquility down upon us. When we are called to battle, we refuse to flee; and by their cries they call upon us.” The Messenger of Allah asked, “Who is that driver?” They said, “ʿĀmir ibn al-Akwaʿ.” He said, “May Allah have mercy on him.” A man from the people said, “It is assured for him, Prophet of Allah; if only you had let us benefit from him longer.” We reached Khaybar and besieged its people until severe hunger struck us. Then Allah Most High granted victory over them. On the evening of the day they were conquered, the people lit many fires. The Prophet asked, “What are these fires? What are you cooking?” They said, “Meat.” He asked, “What kind of meat?” They said, “Domestic donkey meat.” The Prophet said, “Pour it away and break the pots.” A man said, “Or should we pour it away and wash the pots?” He said, “Or do that.” When the people lined up for battle, ʿĀmir’s sword was short. He struck at a Jewish man’s lower leg with it, but the blade sprang back and struck ʿĀmir in the eye of his own knee, and he died from it. When they returned, the Messenger of Allah saw me holding his hand and asked, “What is the matter?” I said, “May my father and mother be your ransom; people claim that ʿĀmir’s deeds have come to nothing.” The Prophet said, “Whoever says that has lied. He has two rewards”—and he joined his fingers together—“for he strove and fought. Few Arabs have walked with such deeds as his.” Qutayba related from Ḥātim the wording, “He grew up with them.”

The Messenger of Allah came to Khaybar at night. Whenever he came upon a people at night, he did not attack them until morning. When morning came, the Jews went out with their picks and baskets. When they saw him, they said, “Muḥammad! By Allah, Muḥammad and the army!” The Prophet said, “Khaybar is ruined. When we descend upon the open ground of a people, evil is the morning of those who were warned.”

We reached Khaybar early in the morning. Its people came out with their picks. When they saw the Prophet, they said, “Muḥammad, by Allah! Muḥammad and the army!” The Prophet said, “Allah is greatest! Khaybar is ruined. When we descend upon the open ground of a people, evil is the morning of those who were warned.” We took some donkey meat. Then a caller of the Prophet announced, “Allah and His Messenger forbid you donkey meat, for it is impure.”