Summary of Sira
After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from al-Hudaybiyah, he sent letters to the kings inviting them to Islam. However, when he ﷺ wanted to write to them, he was advised that kings do not read a letter without a seal on it.” Thus, the Prophet ﷺ took a silver ring whose inscription was: Muhammad, Messenger [of], Allah. This inscription had three lines: Muhammad in a line, Rasool (Messenger) in the second line, and Allah in the third line. On the authority of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) he said: “It is as if I vividly perceive the shine of the ring on the finger of the Prophet, ﷺ or in his hand.” He ﷺ chose messengers from his Companions who had knowledge and experience and sent them to the kings. He sent Dihyah ibn Khaleefah al-Kalbee to Caesar, the king of the Romans, who read the letter and yet he did not embrace Islam. He ﷺ sent Abdullah ibn Sahmee to Kisra, the king of the Persians, and when the letter was read to him, he tore it. When that news reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he said, “May Allah tear his kingdom apart.” Thus, it happened exactly as he stated. He ﷺ also sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah ad-Damari to Negus, the king of Abyssinia. When he gave him the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he took it and placed it on his eye and came down from his couch onto the floor. He ﷺ sent Haatib ibn Abee Balta'ah to Cyrus, the king of Alexandria, who took the letter of the Prophet ﷺ and put it into the cavity of ivory, and sealed it, then he wrote to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a letter, though he did not accept Islam, however, he gifted two slave girls, Maariyah and Shireen (Sireen), and a mule called Duldul.
He ﷺ sent Amr Ibn al-‘Aas as-Sahmee to Jayfar and ‘Ayaad ‘Abbaad, the sons of al-Julundee al-Azdee, the Kings of Oman. They all answered the call of Islam and believed in the Prophet ﷺ. He sent Saleet ibn Amr, a person from Banee Amer ibn Lu’ay to Haudhah Ibn Ali al-Hanafee, the King of al-Yamamah. He responded below the expected response, and he wrote to the Prophet ﷺ “How best and beautiful is what you call to; however, the Arabs fear my position, so make me a part of the affairs, then I will follow you.”
He sent al-‘Alaa ibn al-Hadramee to al-Mundhir ibn Saawi al-‘Abdee, the King of Bahrayn. When the letter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached him, he readily accepted Islam. He ﷺ sent Shujaa’ ibn Wahab al-Asadee to al-Haarith ibn Aboo Shimr al-Ghassani the king of the boundaries of the Levant. When the letter reached him, he threw it away, and retorted, “Who will snatch my kingdom from me? I will be marching towards him.” Thus, he did not embrace Islam. Further, he sought Caesar’s permission to fight the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he discouraged him from fulfilling his intention. Al-Haarith ordered Shujaa’ ibn Wahb to receive clothes and maintenance and responded to him kindly. He ﷺ also sent al-Muhaajir ibn Aboo Umayyah al-Makhzoomee to al-Haarith ibn Abd Kulaal al-Himyaree, the King of Yemen, who accepted Islam alongside both of his brothers.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Ghaalib ibn Abdullah al-Laythi to Banoo Al-Mulawwah at Qudayd after they killed the Companions of Basheer ibn Suwayd. The mission of this brigade was to take revenge. They staged the raid at night, thus, killing some of them and herded the livestock. However, a large army of the enemy chased them, until they approached the Muslims, rain started to pour down. A great flood ensued which became a hindrance between the two groups. Thus, the Muslims succeeded in the rest of the withdrawal
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a letter to Caesar of the Roman Empire, and the bearer of the letter was Dihyah ibn Khaleefah Al-Kalbee. After reading the letter and the discussion that occurred about its content, Caesar gifted Dihyah ibn Khaleefah al-Kalbee with money and clothing. On his way back to al-Madeenah, Dihya arrived at Hisma where he met some people from the tribe Judhaam. They robbed him of all what he had, leaving nothing with him. After arriving at al-Madeenah, Dihyah visited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ before entering his house, and he informed him of the incident. In response, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Zayd ibn Haarithah to Hisma, which is situated behind Waadee al-Qura, with five hundred men. Zayd launched the raid on Judhaam, and he killed them horribly, and took away their livestock and women. He took from the camels one thousand camels, and from the sheep five thousand, and the captives consisting of one hundred women and children. At that time, there was a peace pact between the Prophet ﷺ and the tribe of Judhaam, thus, Zayd ibn Rifaa’ah al-Judhaamee, one of the leaders of this tribe, hurriedly presented a protest to the Prophet ﷺ who, alongside other men, had embraced Islam earlier and had also helped Dihyah when he was robbed on the road. The Prophet ﷺ accepted his protest and commanded to return the spoils and the captives.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) with thirty men to Turbah in the back area of Hawaazin - a place that is situated at the distance of four nights journey from Makkah, on the road to Sana’a. Along the expedition, the Prophet ﷺ sent a guide from Banoo Hilaal who instructed the expedition to travel at night and hide during the day. After the news reached Hawaazin, they fled and when ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived at their places of residence, he did not find any of them there, thus, he left and headed back to al-Madeenah. However, on their way back, they arrived at a place that is six miles away from al-Madeenah, the guide asked him, “Would you care to raid a group from the tribe of Kath’am? ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) refused and explained that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not order him to fight them and that he only ordered him to fight Hawaazin.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent out Basheer ibn Sa’d al-Ansaaree with thirty men to Banoo Murrah who were situated in the Fadak district. With this bigrade, he mounted a raid on them and seized the sheep and camels and then headed back to al-Madeenah. However, the people of Banoo Murrah managed to catch with them at night. They shot them with arrows until the arrows of Basheer and his companions were all spent. All of them were killed apart from Basheer, who was carried while he had some life to Fadak, where he stayed with Jews until his wounds healed; thereafter, he returned to al-Madeenah.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent the brigade of Ghaalib ibn Abdullah Al-Laythee to Banoo ‘Uwaal and Banoo ‘Abd ibn Tha’labah at al-Mayfa’ah. It was said that they were sent to al-Huraqaat of the tribe of Juhaynah in a group of one hundred and thirty men. The expedition attacked all of them and killed from them those who engaged with them; and then they seized their camels and sheep. In this mission, the famous incident of Usaamah ibn Zayd with Naheek ibn Mirdaas happened when he killed him after he uttered statement, “There is no god but Allah.” After their return to al-Madeenah, the Prophet ﷺ was informed of the incident, which he could not take it easy due to its seriousness, thus, he ﷺ said to Usaamah, “You really killed him after he said, ‘There is no god but Allah?!’” Zayd replied, “He only uttered it to save himself.” Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ remarked, “Would you rip open his heart to discern whether he is truthful or a liar?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to know about the plan of Yaseer ibn Rizaam, the Jew, who was rallying the ranks of Ghatafaan to attack al-Madeenah; thus, he ﷺ dispatched a thirty-horseman group headed by 'Abdullah ibn Rawaahah to eliminate Yaseer ibn Rizaam in Khaybar. When they arrived, they said to him, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us to you to appoint you as the governor of Khaybar. They persuaded him until he accepted to return with them; thus, he joined them with thirty men from his supporters. With each man of them, there was a Muslim man riding behind him. When they reached Qarqarah Niyaar, Yaseer ibn Rizaam regretted that he joined them and then inclined with his hand to the sword of Abdullah ibn Rawaahah. However, ‘Abdullah ibn Rawaahah became conscious of this and shouted at his camel, then broke into the people and started leading them, until he was able to overpower Yaseer, and he struck his leg and cut it off. Yaseer on the other hand charged forward and he had a curved wooden stick made from Shawhat tree. He struck the face of Abdullah ibn Rawaahah with it injuring thereby the middle of his head. Then, every person among the Muslims leaned towards his rear passenger and killed him, apart from one man amongst the Jews who made them exhausted in fighting. None of the Muslims suffered casualties. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his blessed saliva on the Abdullah ibn Rawaahah’s head wound; it never became septic thereafter nor did it hurt him until he passed away.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent out the brigade of Aboo Hadrad al-Aslamee to al-Ghaabah. The reason for that was that a man from Jusham ibn Mu’awiyah came in a large number of people to al-Ghaabah, wanting to rally the ranks of Qays to fight the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Aboo Hadrad with two men to investigate the situation and bring back the news. They arrived at their location at the sunset, and so, Aboo Hadrad hid in one side and his two companions in another side. Their shepherd was delayed until the darkness of the night disappeared. The leader of the tribe stood up alone, when he passed by Aboo Hadrad, he shot him with an arrow into his heart, and he fell and did not speak. Aboo Hadrad cut off his head, charged in the direction of the army and said out loud the takbeer. His companions also said takbeer and charged. The people could not do anything but flee. The three Muslims in this mission captured many camels and sheep.
Ibn 'Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that Allah's Messenger ﷺ and his Companions came to Makkah and the fever in al-Madeenah had weakened them. Thereupon, the polytheists (of Makkah) said: There would come to you a people whom the fever has made weak, and they have suffered severely from it. They sat in Hatim. Thereupon Allah's Messenger ﷺ commanded them to walk briskly for three circuits and walk normally between the two corners so that the polytheists can witness their endurance. The polytheists then said (to one another), “You were under the impression that fever had emaciated them whereas they are stronger than so and so.” Ibn Abbaas said: “He (the Prophet) did not command them (the Muslims) to walk quickly in all the circuits out of kindness to them.
It is during this Umrah when the Prophet ﷺ married Maymoonah bint al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Ibn Aboo al-‘Awjaa’ with a group of fifty men to Banoo Sulaym to invite them to Islam. However, their response was: “We are in no need of what you called us to,” and then they fought a fierce battle in which Aboo al-‘Awjaa’ was wounded, and two men from the enemy were captured.
She is Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the eldest of her sisters. She was married to the son of her maternal aunt Aboo Al-‘Aas ibn Al-Rabee’ during her mother’s life. She bore him Umaamah, whom Ali ibn Abee Taalib married after the demise of Fatimah, and she bore him Ali ibn Abi Al-‘Aas. Zaynab embraced Islam and emigrated six years before her husband converted to Islam. Umm ‘Atiyyah says, “When Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us, “Wash her an odd number of times, three times, or five, and use camphor in the fifth time, or some camphor. Once you have washed her, let me know.” She said, “So we informed him, and he gave us his lower garment and said, ‘Shroud her in it.’”
When the Prophet ﷺ had finished from the battle of Hunayn, he dispatched a platoon headed by Aboo ‘Aamir to Awtaas where he engaged in combat with Durayd ibn as-Simmah. The outcome of the battle was the killing of Durayd and the defeat of the enemy. Aboo Moosa al-Ash’aree reported: “The Prophet ﷺ sent me along with Aboo 'Aamir al-Ash’aree, and Aboo 'Aamir received a wound in his knee from the arrow, (shot by) a person of Banee Jusham. It stuck in his knee. I went to him and said: Uncle, who shot an arrow upon you? Abu 'Amir pointed out to Abu Musa and said: Verily that one who shot an arrow upon me in fact killed me. Abu Musa said: I followed him with the determination to kill him and overtook him and when he saw me, he turned upon his heels. I followed him and I said to him: Don't you feel ashamed (that you run), aren't you an Arab? Why don't you stop? He stopped and I had an encounter with him, and we exchanged the strokes of (swords). I struck him with the sword and killed him. Then I came back to Abu Amir and said: Verily Allah has killed the one who killed you. And he said: Now draw out this arrow. I drew out the arrow and there came out from that (wound) water. Aboo 'Aamir said: My nephew, go to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and convey my greetings to him and tell him that Abu Amir begs you to ask forgiveness for him. And Abu Amir appointed me as the chief of the people, and he died after a short time. When I came to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) I visited him, and he had been lying on the cot woven by strings and there was (no) bed over it and so there had been marks of the strings on the back of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and on his sides. I narrated to him what had happened to us and narrated to him about Aboo ‘Aamir and said to him that he had made a request to the effect that forgiveness should be sought for him (from Allah). Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) called for water and performed ablution with it. He then lifted his hands and said: O Allah, grant pardon to Your servant Aboo ‘Aamir. (The Prophet had raised his hands so high for supplication) that I saw the whiteness of his armpits. He again said: O Allah, grant him distinction amongst the majority of Your created beings or from amongst the people. I said: Allah's Messenger, ask forgiveness for me too. Thereupon Allah's Messenger ﷺ said: Allah, forgive the sins of Abdullah ibn Qays (Aboo Moosa Al-Ash'aree) and admit him to an elevated place on the Day of Resurrection. Aboo Burda said: One prayer is for Aboo 'Aamir and the other is for Aboo Moosa.”
Khaalid bin Al-Waleed said, “When Allah, Exalted be He, willed the good for me, He allowed my heart to embrace Islam and gave me guidance. At that point of time, I said to myself, ‘I have witnessed all these occasions against Muhammad ﷺ. There is no occasion that I witness, but I return, and I perceive in myself that I am in nothing, while that Muhammad will prevail and be victorious. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out to al-Hudaybiyah, I went out in a group of horsemen of the polytheists, and I stationed near his camp at ‘Usfaan. He prayed with his Companions the afternoon prayer in front of us. We intended to raid him, but we were not able to do so. He then performed the ‘Asr prayer, but it was performed in the form of the Prayer of Fear, with his Companions. That had a great impact on us, and I remarked, “The man is well fortified.” Thus, we parted.
After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made a pact with Quraysh at al-Hudaybiyah, he ﷺ entered Makkah on the occasion of 'Umrah al-Qadaa’, and he inquired about me, but he did not find me. He wrote to me a letter in which it was written: “By the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I wonder at nothing more than I wonder at your opinion of Islam and how your intellect did not lead you to Islam! How could a person be so ignorant about Islam?” Thereafter, he ﷺ asked about me, and he ﷺ was told, “Allah will bring him.” He ﷺ then remarked, “Anyone like him cannot be that ignorant about Islam. And if he were to put his vengeance with the Muslims against the polytheists, it would have been better for him; and we would have given him precedence (in commandeering) over others.” When his letter reached me, I became actively willing to set out [to him] and it increased me in interest towards Islam and his inquiry regarding me really delighted me. When I resolved to set out to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I met with ‘Uthmaan bin Talhah. I presented Islam to him, and he hastily responded positively to it. He set out with me until we reached Al-Hadah, and we found ‘Amr ibn Al-Aas there. Upon seeing us, he said, “Welcome, people!” We replied, “It is great to meet you!” He asked, “What is your destination?” We replied, “[We are travelling] to enter into Islam and follow Muhammad ﷺ. He remarked, “And that is the exact reason that brought me here.” We accompanied each other until we arrived at al-Madeenah. I wore my best clothes, then I proceeded to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was already informed about us, and he ﷺ was delighted by our arrival. He kept on smiling when he ﷺ saw me until I stood up in front of him. I greeted him with the address of [his prophethood], he ﷺ replied to my greeting with a smiling face.
I professed, “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.” He replied, “All praises are due to Allah Who guided you, I saw that you had an intellect and I hoped that it does not submit you to anything but good.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, you have seen what I used to be present in, meaning, on those occasions of war, against you; so, please supplicate to Allah that He forgives me those sins.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Islam abolishes all that was before it.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched to the afflicted companions of Basheer ibn Sa’d at Fadak the brigade of Ghaalib ibn Abdullah, with two hundred men. The Muslims captured livestock from Banoo Murrah, and killed some of them.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched a campaign made up of fifteen fighters under the command of Ka’b ibn ‘Umayr al-Ansaaree to Bano Quda’ah. The reason for this expedition was to eliminate the danger of Banoo Qudaa’ah who mobilised a big group of people in order to attack the Muslims. The expedition invited them to Islam, but they declined and refused. After hearing their response, The Muslims threw arrows at them until they killed all of them, except for one man who was badly wounded and carried away amidst the dead.
