Summary of Sira
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Zayd ibn Haarithah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Banoo Sulaym. He travelled by night until he came to al-Jamoom - which is a water source on the road to Makkah - towards the area of Batn Nakhl on its left. They captured a woman from the tribe of Muzaynah called Haleemah, and she directed them to an area amongst the places of Banoo Sulaym. They acquired in that area camels, goats, and captives. Among them was the husband of Haleemah al-Muzaniyyah. When Zayd ibn Haarithah returned to Al-Madeenah with what he acquired, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gifted the Muzaniyyah lady and her husband their freedom.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Muhammad ibn Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) and ten people with him to Banoo Tha’labah from Ghatafaan and Banoo ‘Awaal from the tribe of Tha’labah, who were at Dhoo al-Qassah. They reached them at night. The people saw him, and they were one hundred in number. There was an exchange of arrows that ensued for some time of the night. Then, the Arab nomads attacked them with spears, and they killed them all. Muhammad ibn Maslamah was wounded. They hit his heel, but he did not move, and they thought he was dead, so they stripped him of his clothes and set off.
A man from the Muslims passed by Muhammad (ibn Maslamah) and his companions, and he said: “Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed we will return unto Him.” When Muhammad heard him say that, he moved so he could notice that he was still alive. The man took him and carried him to Al-Madeenah. At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Aboo ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah with forty men to their battleground, however, they did not find anyone. Nonetheless, they found livestock and goats, so, they acquired them and returned to al-Madeenah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Aboo ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah (may Allah be pleased with him) with forty fighters to Dhul-Qassah - a place close to Al-Madeenah - following the killing of the companions of Muhammad ibn Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) when they performed the Maghrib prayer. The brigade proceeded as an infantry until they reached Dhul al-Qassah at darkened hours of morning - with remaining darkness of night- they then attacked them, crippling their efforts to escape into the mountains, and they captured a man who accepted Islam, hence they released him. They seized their livestock and brought them back with them, and they acquired items of less value – household items of minimal value - amongst their belongings. They brought all of that to al-Madeenah. The Messenger Allah ﷺ took the one-fifth share and divided what was left among them. According to Ibn Sa`d in his Tabaqaat, ‘the reason he ﷺ dispatched the brigade of Aboo ‘Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Dhul-Qassah was what he had heard that the tribes of Banoo Muharib ibn Khasfah, Tha’labah and Anmaar - both of which are from Ghatafaan – agreed to raid the livestock of al-Madeenah which were grazing at Haifaa – a place at a distance of seven miles from al-Madeenah. It is possible that the Messenger ﷺ sent Aboo ‘Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) twice to Dhu al-Qassah, or that dispatch might have occurred once. However, there were two reasons for that, one, to take revenge on behalf of the companions of Muhammad ibn Maslamah who were killed; and two, to repel those who intended to raid the livestock of al-Madeenah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Zayd ibn Haarithah (may Allah be pleased with him) in a brigade comprising of one hundred and seventy riders to al-‘Ees – name of a place closer to Al-Madeenah at the coastline of the sea (Red Sea)- with the objective to intercept a caravan belonging to Quraysh that came from the levant under the leadership of Aboo al-‘Aaas ibn al-Rabee’. They managed to catch up with it and they seized all of it. On that day, they confiscated a sizeable amount of silver belonging to Safwaan ibn Umayyah, and they imprisoned several people who were in the caravan, among whom was Aboo al-’Aas ibn al-Rabee’, and they brought them to al-Madeenah. Aboo al-’Aas was among a handful of men known for trade, wealth, and trustworthiness in Makkah, and was the husband of Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . His mother is Haalah bint Khuwaylid, the sister of Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her). Aboo al-’Aas came to Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) at night asking for her refuge and protection, which she granted to him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted her protection. At that time, Zaynab had already migrated from Makkah to al-Madeenah before him and had left him on his polytheism.
The people of Banoo Lihyaan are those who ambushed Khubayb ibn ‘Adiy (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions on the day of ar-Rajee’. As their residences were spread throughout the region of al-Hijaaz extending towards the borders of Makkah, and due to the presence of vengeances between the Muslims on one side and Quraysh and Arab nomads on the other side, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ decided not to penetrate in the regions that are closer to the biggest and official enemy, Quraysh. When the Parties failed in their attempt to invade al-Madeenah and their determinations were broken, he ﷺ saw that the time had arrived to combat Banoo Lihyaan and to take revenge on behalf the companions of ar-Rajee’. The Messenger ﷺ led an expedition consisting of two hundred of his companions and twenty horses, heading to the regions of Banoo Lihyaan to seek revenge for the bloodshed of his companions, and left Abdullah ibn Umm Maktoom (may Allah be pleased with him) as the governor over al-Madeenah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ pretended that he was heading to the Levant, so that he could take them by surprise. Then, he ﷺ hastened the march until he reached the valley of Ghuraan located between Amajj – a place between Makkah and al-Madeenah – and ‘Usfaan – a town between Makkah and al-Madeenah, which are the areas of Banoo Lihyaan. It was there where the casualties of his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) occurred. The Messenger ﷺ prayed for their mercy and supplicated for them. After Banoo Lihyaan heard about his arrival, they fled in panic and took shelter on the peaks of the mountains; thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was unbale to capture anyone of them. He ﷺ stationed in their homelands for a day or two, and during that time he ﷺ dispatched brigades in all corners, but they could not capture anyone from them. Then the Messenger ﷺ journeyed with his Companions to ‘Usfaan to allow Quraysh to hear about it, thus instilling fear in them and to show them his power. Thereafter, he ﷺ sent Aboo Bakr as-Siddeeq (may Allah be pleased with him) with ten horsemen to Kuraa’ al-Ghameem – a place between Makkah and al-Madeenah. However, Aboo Bakr as-Siddeeq (may Allah be pleased with him) did not find anyone there so he returned to al-Madeenah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Zayd ibn Haarithah (may Allah be pleased with him) to al-Taraf - which is a water source over thirty-six miles from al-Madeenah. His brigade was made up of fifteen fighters that marched to Banoo Tha'labah. The Arab nomads fled in panic and feared that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ will go after them and that this bigrade was the frontline division of a battalion. The bigrade captured twenty camels of their livestock, and then returned to al-Madeenah, without encountering any fighting. The bigrade remained away for four nights, and their motto was: "Put to death. Put to death"
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ summoned Abdur Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him, “Prepare, as I will send you in a brigade today or tomorrow, by Allah’s will.” In the early morning, Abdur Rahman proceeded to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made him sit in front him and placed the turban on his head with his hand. Then, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ handed the banner to him with his hand, or ordered Bilaal to hand him over the banner, then said to him: “Take it by the Name of Allah and His blessing.” Then he ﷺ praised Allah, and thereafter, he ﷺ said, “Invade by the Name of Allah, and in the path of Allah, and fight those who disbelieved in Allah! Do not defraud the spoils - it is the betrayal of the spoils and the theft of the war spoils before the division - and do not be treacherous, and do not kill a young child.”
Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered him to go to Banoo Kalb at Doomat al-Jandal and invite them to Islam. He ﷺ then said to him, “If they accept Islam, then marry the daughter of their king.” Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) travelled with seven hundred fighters, until he came to Doomat al-Jandal. He stayed there for three days inviting them to Islam. On the third day, their head and their king, al-Asbagh ibn Amr Al-Kalbee, who was a Christian, embraced Islam, and many of his people embraced Islam with him. Abdur Rahman sent Raafi’ ibn Makeeth to convey the good news to the Prophet ﷺ. Abdur Rahmaan married the daughter of al-Asbagh and brought her to al-Madeenah, after which she bore him Aboo Salamah ibn Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf.
The sub-tribe of Fazaarah was plotting to assassinate the Prophet ﷺ. In response, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a brigade headed by Aboo Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). He attacked them, killed the enemy, imprisoned, and captured many of them. Among their vice people was Umm Qirfah, who had prepared thirty horsemen of her family in order to assassinate the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. However, all of them were killed, and her daughter was taken as prisoner. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used her as a ransom to free some of the Muslim captives in Makkah.
It is recorded in Saheeh Muslim on the authority of Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased him), “We fought against the Fazaarah, and Aboo Bakr was the commander over us. He had been appointed by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to command. When we were only at an hour's distance from the water source of the enemy, Aboo Bakr ordered us, so we halted during the last part of the night to rest. Afterwards, he launched an attack, and he reached the water source wherein he killed whom he managed to kill; and took some prisoners. I saw the necks of the people that consisted of women and children. I was afraid lest they should reach the mountain before me, so I shot an arrow between them and the mountain. When they saw the arrow, they stopped. So, I brought them down driving them along. Among them was a woman from Banoo Fazaarah. She was wearing a leather coat, meaning, a garment made of leader. With her was her daughter who was one of the prettiest girls of the Arabs. I drove them along until I brought them to Aboo Bakr who bestowed that girl upon me. Then, we arrived at al-Madeenah. I had not yet disrobed her when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ met me in the market and said, “Gift me that girl, O Salamah.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, I am fascinated by her [looks]. I have not disrobed her yet.” On the next day, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ again met me in the market, and he said, “Gift me that girl, O Salamah, may Allah bless your father.” I replied, “She is for you, Messenger of Allah! By Allah. I have not yet disrobed her.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent her to the people of Makkah and used her as a bargaining chip to free thereby a number of Muslims who were imprisoned in Makkah.
In this year, the brigade of Kurz ibn Jaabir al-Fihree was sent to the tribe of ‘Uraynah, who had killed the shepherd of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and drove away the livestock with them. In response, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent in their tracks Kurz ibn Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) with twenty horsemen.
It is narrated on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that “Some people from the tribes of ‘Ukl and ‘Uraynah came to Allah's Messenger ﷺ and embraced Islam, and they said, "O Allah's Messenger ﷺ! We are owners of livestock and have never been farmers and we find al-Madeenah unpleasant for us.” – its climate was unsuitable for them. Hence, Allah's Messenger ﷺ ordered that they be given some camels and a shepherd and ordered them to go out with those camels and drink their milk and urine. So, they set out; however, when they reached a place called Al-Harrah, they killed the shepherd and drove away the camels and they converted to disbelief after their conversion to Islam. The Prophet ﷺ sent in their pursuit. [After catching them] the Prophet ﷺ ordered to cut their hands and feet and branded their eyes with heated iron rods, and then they were left at Al-Harrah till they died in that state. He only branded their eyes with heated iron rods because they branded the eyes of the shepherds with heated iron rods.
Before holding the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had sent Khiraash ibn Umayyah al-Khuzaa’ee to Makkah and gave him a camel that belonged to him, which was called the ath-Tha’lab. When he entered Makkah, Quraysh harmed him and wanted to kill Khiraash. Al-Ahaabish stopped them from doing so until he came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger ﷺ called ‘Umar to send him to Makkah. He said, “O Messenger of Allah, I fear Quraysh for myself, and there is no one from Banoo ‘Adiy who can protect me, and Quraysh have known my enmity towards them and my harshness towards them. However, I will point you to a man who is dearer to them than me, that is, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affaan.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called him and sent him to Quraysh telling them that he did not come to them to war, and that he is coming as a visitor to the House, venerating its sanctity. ‘Uthman left until he arrived at Makkah and Aban ibn Sa’eed ibn al-‘Aas met him, so he came down from his mount and carried him in front of him and then he sat behind him and granted him security until he delivered the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. ‘Uthman moved forward until he came to Aboo Sufyaan and the chiefs of Quraysh, and he informed them of the message of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he had sent him with. They said to ‘Uthmaan, “If you want to circumambulate the House, then do so.” He replied, “I will not do so until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ circumambulates it. Upon that, Quraysh detained him. On the other hand, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Muslims were informed that ‘Uthman had been killed.
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both (him and his father), states, “The pledge of allegiance of al-Ridwaan was after ‘Uthman had gone to Makkah, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated with showing his right hand: “This is ‘Uthman’s hand.” He then struck it on his [left] hand and said: “This [allegiance] is for Uthmaan.”
Jaabir ibn Abdullah says, “On the day of al-Hudaybiyah, we were one thousand four hundred, so we pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Umar was holding his hand while he was sitting under the tree (to administer the oath) which was an acacia tortilis tree.” He further says, “We pledged allegiance to him not to flee, and we did not pledge allegiance to him on death. And the Prophet ﷺ told us, “Today you are the best of the people on earth.” Then Jaabir said, “If I had sight, I would have shown you the location of the tree.”
On the authority of Ma’qil ibn Yasaar, he said, “I saw on the day of the tree the Prophet ﷺ took allegiance of the people, while I was lifting one of its branches off his head. We were one thousand and four hundred.” The narrations differ regarding their number, and Ibn Hajar said, “The combination of this difference is that they were more than one thousand and four hundred. Whoever said: one thousand and five hundred, he made a reparation for the fraction (i.e., rounded up the number), and whoever said: one thousand and four hundred abolished it (i.e., rounded down the number).”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out with about one thousand and four hundred of his Companions wanting to perform Umrah. However, when they reached al-Hudaybiyah - which is about 22 km away from Makkah - the news reached him that there were people who wanted to fight him, so he said that he did not come to fight. Rather, he came to perform Umrah. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent ‘Uthamaan ibn ‘Affaan to Makkah to inform them of his real intention. After his arrival to Makkah, the news spread that ‘Uthmaan had been killed there, thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to pledge allegiance to him for the fight. They pledged allegiance to him and that was the pledge of allegiance of al-Ridwaan.
Afterwards, the polytheists came to al-Hudaybiyah and there, several negotiations between chiefs from among the polytheists and the Prophet ﷺ took place until Suhayl ibn ‘Amr came and the Prophet ﷺ reconciled with him and made a ten years truce during which people will be granted safety from any harm, and that if any of his Companions comes to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ without the consent of his guardian, then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would return him to them. And whoever of his companions would come to Quraysh, they would not turn him back, and that there was a blinding defect among them, i.e.: there was no cheating in it, and that there was no fraud - meaning no theft, and no tying - meaning no betrayal - and that the Muslims will return to al-Madeenah this year without entering Makkah. However, the coming year, they can enter it for three days, whilst carrying with them only the rider’s weapon. The Muslims, according to this truce, should enter while their swords in the sheaths .... Then the Prophet ﷺ ordered his Companions to slaughter the sacrificial animals and shave their heads to end their state of ihram. But they did not respond until Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) advised him ﷺ that he should do that [first] without speaking to anyone. When the Companions saw him that he had sacrificed, they hastened towards their animals driven for sacrifice and they emulated what he performed. Then the Prophet ﷺ returned to al-Madeenah.
The biographers of the life of the Prophet ﷺ differed on its time, having two opinions. It was mentioned: “It happened in the seventh year [after migration].” This is the view of Ibn Ishaaq and others. It was also stated, “It took place in the sixth year,” which is the saying of Maalik and others. Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The majority opinion is that it happened in the seventh year.” Ibn Hajar said, “These opinions are close to each other, and the most preponderant of them is what Ibn Ishaaq mentioned. The different views can be reconciled by saying that whoever proclaimed that it was the year six, they perceived so on the basis that the beginning of the year [in counting] should be from the real month of migration, which is in this case is Rabee’ al-Awwal.”
It is narrated on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ invaded Khaybar. He states, “We prayed the morning prayer at the earliest dark hours of daybreak. Thereafter, the Prophet ﷺ mounted his ride and thereafter, Aboo Talhah also rode his mount, and I mounted the same ride behind Aboo Talhah. The Prophet ﷺ sprinted in the alleys of Khaybar. My knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and the lower garment receded from the thigh of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ for I could see the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet ﷺ. When he entered the town, he proclaimed, “Allah is the Greatest, Khaybar has fallen into ruins. Indeed, when we halt at the people’s square, then the morning of those who have been warned before becomes really bad.” He said it three times. The narrator says, “The people had gone out to their usual business, and said: Muhammad, by Allah - Abdul Aziz said: “Some of our companions narrated Muhammad, and on Thursday” – He further said, “We conquered by force, and the captives were assembled. Dihyah came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, grant me a slave girl from the captives.” He said, "Go forth and take a maidservant.” So, he took Safiya bint Huyayy. A man came to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and said, “Prophet of Allah ﷺ you have given Dihyah Safiyyah, the daughter of Huyayy, the master of Quraydhah and an-Nadeer! She is only suitable for you.” He said, “Call him over with her.” He said, “He brought her and when the Prophet ﷺ looked at her, he said: “Take another slave girl from the captivity apart from her.” He further says, “And he then freed her and married her...”
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), it is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ went out to Khaybar and he arrived at it at night. It was his habit if he ﷺ came to a people by night, he would not attack them until morning. In the morning, the Jews came out with their baskets and spades. When they saw him, they said, “Muhammad and on Thursday.” The Prophet ﷺ proclaimed, “Allah is the Greatest, Khaybar has fallen into ruins. Indeed, when we halt at the people’s square, then the morning of those who have been warned before becomes bad.” Allah granted the victory of Khaybar at the hands of ‘Ali ibn Aboo Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him.
Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, says, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted Khaybar to the Jews on the condition that they work in it and cultivate it and they receive half of its produce. The Prophet ﷺ permitted them to remain in their lands and that they are allowed to take half of the produce.”
During the battle of Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited the consumption of domestic donkey’s meat and he informed that it is impure. He ﷺ commanded them to empty the pots. They were overturned whilst they were boiling with domestic donkey’s meat. He ordered the washing of the pots thereafter. During that period, he allowed the consumption of horses and he fed them to the Muslims, and he ﷺ prohibited temporary marriage contracts.
It is reported on the authority of Aboo Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that, “The news of the migration of the Prophet ﷺ reached us while we were in Yemen, so we went out as migrants to him. Two brothers of mine and I also migrated. I was the youngest of them; one of them was Aboo Burdah and the other was Aboo Ruhm – either he said, ‘in group of some people,’ or he said, ‘in fifty-three, or fifty-two men of my people.’ So, we boarded a ship, and our ship threw us to the Negus in Abyssinia, wherein we met Ja’far ibn Aboo Taalib and his companions. Ja’far said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us here and ordered us to stay here, so, please remain with us here. We stayed with him until we all came [to al-Madeenah]. We met the Prophet ﷺ when he conquered Khaybar, so he allocated a portion of its spoils for us” - or he said, “He gave us some of it” – “and he did not distribute anything of it to anyone who missed the conquest of Khaybar. He divided the spoils with those who witnessed the conquest of Khaybar and the people who were on our ship alongside Ja’far and his companions.”
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ felt comfortably peaceful at Khaybar after its conquest, Zaynab bint al-Haarith, the wife of Sallaam ibn Mishkam, gifted him a roasted lamb and asked, “Which portion is more beloved to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? She was told, “The shoulder.” She put more poison in it and then she laced the rest of the lamb with poison. Then, she brought it forth and placed it in from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He consumed the shoulder, masticating a morsel of it, however, he did not let it go down the throat and spat it out. Then he said, “This bone is informing me that it is laced with poison.” Then, he called her, and she admitted the crime. He ﷺ asked, “What prompted you to do that?” She replied, “I said to myself, if he (the Prophet) is only a king, then I will have a comfortable break from him and if he is truly a Prophet, then he will be notified.” So, he ﷺ let her go. Bishr ibn al-Baraa ibn Ma’roor was with the Prophet ﷺ and he had taken a morsel thereof, and had allowed it go down his throat. Thus, he died due to it.” The narrations have differed concerning letting the woman go and killing her. The scholars have all agreed that he let her go in the beginning. However, when Bishr died due to it, he killed as a legal retribution.
