Summary of Sira
The tribe of Banoo Hawazin had extended a helping hand to the enemies of the Muslims on several occasions. In response, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched a military campaign made up of twenty-five men under the leadership of Shujaa’ ibn Wahb al-Asa’dee. The tribe was based in an area called as-Siyy, near Rukbah, behind al-Mi’din, which is situated at the distance of five nights journey from al-Madeenah. He ﷺ commanded him to mount a raid on them. He marched towards their location, travelling by night and hiding during the day. He reached them in the morning while they were sleeping. He gave orders to his companions not to overdo in their pursuit. They captured a lot of camels and sheep and did not encounter any resistance. They drove them away with them until they reached al-Madeenah. They distributed the booty amongst them. Their share comprised of fifteen camels for each person, and they equated a camel with ten sheep. Their absence lasted for fifteen nights.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched an army consisting of three thousand fighters, and appointed Zayd bin Haarithah as the commander of the army. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated that if Zayd is martyred, then Ja’far ibn Abee Taalib will take over. And if he is martyred, then Abdullah ibn Rawaahah takes over. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ accompanied them in their departure and bade them farewell, then he ﷺ returned. They started the journey, marching forward. When they reached Ma’aan, part of the lands of the Levant (i.e. Jordan), they received the news that Heraclius, the king of the Romans, stationed in the land of Banee Ma’aab - the land of al-Balqaa’ - with a hundred thousand Romans and with another hundred thousand Christians from the people of the Levant. The Muslims camped in Ma'aan for two nights, consulting about the matter of meeting their two-hundred-thousand enemy. They said, “We should write to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informing him of the number of our enemy, thereafter he may order us with his command or provide us with reinforcements.
Abdullah ibn Rawaahah remarked, “O my people, what you dislike is exactly what you set out to seek - meaning martyrdom - and we do not fight people with numbers or strength, and we do not fight them except with this which Allah has honoured us with. So, march forward. It is either one of the two things: either victory or either martyrdom.” The Muslim army agreed on this opinion, and they rose to march forward. When they arrived at the borders of al-Balqaa’, they met some of the fighters that were with Heraclius near a town called Mu’tah. They fought with each other and Zayd ibn Haarithah was martyred during the combat. Then, Ja’far ibn Abee Taalib took the flag, then he fought until his right hand was cut off; so, he took the flag in his left hand, that hand was also cut; thereafter, he clenched it on his chest. He kept fighting until he was also martyred. Thereafter, Abdullah ibn Rawaahah took the flag. He somewhat hesitated, then resolved to do so, and fought until he was martyred. Thereafter, Thaabit ibn Aqram took the flag, and said, “O Muslims, reconcile with the leadership of a person amongst you. They replied, “You [take the command].” He answered, “No.” So, the people reconciled with the leadership of Khaalid ibn al-Waleed. When he took the flag, he repelled the enemy and fought them bravely. Then, he took a side and the enemy withdrew from him, until he managed to withdraw with those who were with him among the Muslims.
Khaalid ibn al-Walid recalled the event and said, “Nine swords were broken in my hand on the Day of Mu’tah, and what remained in my hand was nothing but a Yemeni blade.” This statement requires that the Muslims killed so many of their enemies; and if that was not the case, they would not have been able to escape from them. For this reason and other reasons than that, some verifiers concluded that the Muslims had won in this battle and were not defeated.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ informed the people of the death of Zayd, Ja’far, and Ibn Rawaahah beforehand [learning about it through revelation], before receiving their actual news. He ﷺ said, “Zayd has held the flag, and he has been martyred. Thereafter, Ja’far has taken the flag and he has been martyred. Then, Ibn Rawaahah has taken the flag, and he has also been martyred - his eyes were filled with tears – now a sword among the swords of Allah has taken the flag until Allah granted them victory.”
This battle took place after the Battle of Mu’tah and the reason it is called Dhat al-Salasil is that it took place near a water source called Al-Salsal. The intelligence of the Prophet ﷺ reported to him that a group from the tribe of Banoo Qudaa’ah were rallying up to attack al-Madeenah and heading towards it. In response, the Prophet ﷺ dispatched an expedition made up of 300 fighters from the Emigrants and Ansaar, led by ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas. He ﷺ handed him the flag of the expedition. About this event, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered me to collect my weapons and clothing and then come to him. I came to him when he ﷺ was performing ablution. He looked thoughtfully and then lowered his head and he ﷺ said, “O ‘Amr! I want to dispatch you on a matter in which Allah will keep you safe and grant you booty, and I shall make you an allotment from the spoil.” I replied, “O Messenger of Allah! My emigration was not for the sake of property but was only for my interest in Islam and to be in the company of Allah’s Messenger.” He said, “The best of good property is that which is owned by a righteous man.”
Before the battle started, his companions asked him to set some fire [because the night was cold] and asked Aboo Bakr to talk with him about it. However, he refused and said if any one of them set a fire, I would throw him into it. After the two armies engaged in fight, the Muslims defeated their enemy and they wanted to go in their pursuit, but he prevented them from doing so. After their return to al-Madeenah, they mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ the incident and complained to him about his decision. His response was: “O Messenger of Allah! I disliked letting them setting a fire because I feared our enemy would notice our little number and forbid them from pursuing them because I feared that they may have reinforcements and then take us over.” Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ commended his decision.
During this battle, ‘Amr led the prayer while he was in a state of major impurity and all he did was wash his private member and performed dry ablution (taymammum) although he had water. After he returned, he inquired about the validity of his prayer and said to the Prophet ﷺ: “By the One who has sent you with the Truth! Had I taken a bath, I would have been dead. It was so cold such that I never experienced anything like it before. And, Allah, Most High, said: {Do not kill yourselves, for Allah is indeed merciful to you} [Quran 6:29]. Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ laughed and did not comment on the incident.
The Prophet ﷺ dispatched an expedition made up of three hundred men under the command of Aboo ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah (may Allah be pleased with him) to the coastline. The objective of this bigrade was to intercept a caravan belonging to Quraysh and fight a group of people from Juhaybah. He ﷺ provided them a sack filled with dates that Aboo ‘Ubaydah supervised its distribution between his men to ensure it can suffice them. He kept giving them their daily ration in small amounts from it, till it was exhausted. The share of every one of them used to be as little as one date only – due to the lack of supplies with them. One day, he divided the dates between his men so that each one could get only one date, but he was one date short. After they consumed all the dates and had nothing left to eat, they had to eat the leaves of a tree called al-Khabt, and because of which, they were called the Detachment of al-Khabt. They experienced extreme hunger that made Qays ibn Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah – one of the soldiers in this expedition, slaughter three camels, then slaughter another three camels, and finally, he slaughtered three more camels to feed the platoon. Thereupon, Aboo ‘Ubaydah ordered him to stop it. When they reached the sea-shore, they saw a huge fish, called al-‘Anbar, which was like a small mountain that the army ate from for twenty days and rubbed its fat on their bodies until their bodies became stout. Then, Aboo 'Ubaydah caught hold of one of its ribs and fixed that up. He then casted a glance at the tallest man of the army and the highest of the camels, then made him ride over that, and that man passed beneath the rib without touching it. After, they extracted many pitchers of meat and fat from this sea-fish and added it to their supplies. After their return to al-Madeenah, they mentioned the story to the Prophet ﷺ who said: “It is a provision which Allah has brought forth for you! Do you have any meat of it with you so I can eat from it?” So, they sent some of it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he ate it.
The Prophet ﷺ dispatched a military campaign under the leadership of Aboo Qataadah ibn Rib’yy (may Allah be pleased with him) to Khidrah where the tribe of Banoo Ghatafaan were gathered, preparing to attack the Muslims. The location of this area is in Najd, and it is the land of Muhaarib. The military detachment was made up of 15 men who managed to slay many of their enemy and capture their livestock and people. This expedition was absent from al-Madeenah for 15 nights.
After Quraysh breached the truce treaty that it signed with the Muslims at al-Hudaybiyyah, the Messenger of Allah was determined to launch a military campaign against them. He ﷺ ordered the people to prepare for war and informed them that they are heading to Makkah. He ﷺ said to them: “O Allah, keep their scouts and our news away from Quraysh so we can take them by surprise upon our arrival at their land.” To ensure their cover and keeping their intent unknown, he ﷺ dispatched a brigade made up of eight fighters under the leadership of Aboo Qataadah ibn Rib’iee to Batn Idam, which is a place located between Dhee Khashab and Dhee Marwah that is situated thirty-six miles away from al-Madeenah. The brigade travelled at the beginning of the month to keep their actual destination unknown to give people the impression that he ﷺ was planning to attack that place so Quraysh receives this news. While the brigade was heading towards that place, the Muslim army marched towards Makkah and then followed them.
The Quraysh of Makkah broke their pact of Hudaybiyyah with the Prophet (PBUH) by killing some of the men of the Khuzaa’ah tribe with whom the Prophet ﷺ had a treaty. After learning of this incident, the Prophet ﷺ ordered the people to prepare for a war without informing them of his destination. The Prophet ﷺ set out with his forces until he reached the valley of Marr al-Dhahraan, which is situated near Makkah. It is reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺset out in the month of Ramadan with his forces of 10,000 men, after 8.5 years from his arrival to al-Madeenah. He ﷺ marched with his forces while all of them were fasting until they reached a place between ‘Usfaan and Qudayd, which is a water source called al-Kadeed. There, they broke their fast.
Before reaching Makkah, Aboo Sufyaan witnessed the army of the Prophet ﷺ and that scene made him overwhelmed and bedazzled. Afterwards, he entered Islam and then went to his people (i.e., Quraysh) and called them out loud warning them that they would not be able defeat the army of the Prophet ﷺ
Aboo Sufyaan rushed to Makkah and called the people of Quraysh outload warning them, “O Quraysh! This is Muhammad ﷺ who has come to you with a force you cannot resist.”
Thereafter, the Prophet ﷺ announced that whoever entered Aboo Sufyaan’s house would be safe and whoever went behind his own door and bolted it would be safe and whoever went into the Sacred Mosque would also be safe.” Thereupon, the people of Makkah took refuge in their own homes and the Sacred Mosque.
‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) related that in the year of the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet entered Makkah from Kadaa' at the higher place of Makkah. On the Conquest Day, the Prophet ﷺ authorised the killing of some disbelievers, and he ﷺ found 360 idols installed around the Ka’bah. He ﷺ poked each one of them and recited, {The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Surely, falsehood is bound to vanish!} (17:81).
The reports on the length of his stay in Makkah after the conquest varied, but the most likely correct opinion is that he ﷺ stayed for 19 days, And Allah knows best.
After the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ felt comfortable and assured, and so he sent out Khaalid ibn al-Waleed on the fifth day from the end of the month of Ramadan to a place called Nakhlah, where there was an idol of the goddess called Al-'Uzza, worshipped by the Quraysh and Kinaanah tribes, and guarded by custodians from Banoo Shaybaan. The mission of Khaalid was to destroy the idol, which was one of the greatest idols of theirs; thus, Khaalid at the head of thirty horsemen, arrived at the spot and destroyed the idol.
Upon his return, the Prophet ﷺ asked him if he had seen anything else there, to which Khaalid replied, "No". He ﷺ told him: “You did not destroy it as yet. Return and destroy it.” Khaalid went again to Nakhlah and there saw a black woman, naked with disheveled hair. The warden of the idol started to shout at her, and then Khaalid struck her with his sword and cut her into "two pieces." Then, he returned once again and narrated his story to the Prophet ﷺ who said after hearing the news: “Yes, that was al-'Uzza. She despaired that she will ever be worshipped again your land."
The Prophet ﷺ sent out ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas in a mission to destroy Soowaa’, an idol that the people of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) worshipped at first and then the tribe of Hudhayl of Mudar worshipped it. They used to worship and glorify this idol to the extent that they used to travel to it. This remained the case until the day of the conquest of Makkah when the tribe of Hudhayl entered Islam among the large number of Arabs who entered Islam at that time. The idol was installed in a place called Ruhaat, which is situated in the northern east of Makkah, 150 kilometers away from Makkah. When ‘Amr arrived at the location of the idol, its warden asked him about the reason of his visit. He replied: I am here fulfilling the order of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ - that is to destroy it. The warden responded: You will not be able to do it. ‘Amr asked: Why is that? The warden replied: You will be prevented, to which ‘Amr said: “Are you still upon falsehood? Woe to you! Does it have the ability to hear or see?” Then, he broke the idol to pieces, and ordered his men to destroy its temple and they found it empty. ‘Amr looked at the warden of the idol and asked him: “What do you think now?” to which he replied: “I have submitted to Allah.”
On his return from his expedition to destroy al-‘Uzza, Khaalid ibn al-Waleed at the head of 350 horsemen of Emigrants, Ansaar, and Banoo Saleem was dispatched once again to Banoo Jadheem. His mission was to invite them to Islam, but they expressed themselves in a manner that made Khaalid believe that they refused to enter Islam. Instead of saying we have become Muslims, they said, we left the religion; thus, Khaalid killed some of them and captured others. Then, he placed one prisoner under the care of each one of his men. One day, he ordered his men to kill their prisoners but Ibn ‘Umar and his companions refused to do so. They went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him of the incident. Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said twice: “O Allah! I declare myself innocent from what Khaalid did.” The people from Banoo Saleem were the only ones who killed their prisoners while the Emigrants and Ansaar refused to do so. Then, the Prophet ﷺ sent Alee ibn Abee Taalib to resolve the issue, so he paid them the blood money and compensated them for what had been taken from them.
After tracking down the fled fighters of the tribe of Hawaazin in Awtaas and Nakhlah, the Muslim army marched to eliminate the people of Thaqeef who fled from Hunayn and Awtaas and stayed in their bastioned forts in al-Taa’if. According to the report in Saheeh Muslim, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ besieged the disbelievers in al-Taa’if for 40 nights.
Aboo Najeeh al-Sulamee (may Allah be pleased with him) related: We besieged with the Prophet ﷺ the fortress of al-Taa’if where I heard him say: “Whoever shoots an arrow in the cause of Allah and it hits the target, it will raise him one level in Paradise.' That day, I shot sixteen arrows that hit their targets.” Only 23 men managed to escape from that fortress to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): When Allah's Messenger ﷺ besieged Taif and could not conquer its people, he said, "We will return (to Medina) If Allah wills." That distressed the Companions (of the Prophet ﷺ and they said, "Shall we go away without conquering it (i.e., the Fort of Taif)?" Once the Prophet ﷺ said, "Let us return." Then the Prophet said (to them), "Fight tomorrow." They fought and (many of them) got wounded, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ said, "We will return (to al-Madeenah) tomorrow if Allah wills." That delighted them, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ smiled.
Hunayan is a valley near a place called Dhee al-Majaaz, near al-Taa’if. It is less than 20 kilometers away from Makkah from the direction of the mount of ‘Arafaat. It has been said it was named Hunayan after a man with the name of Hunayan ibn Qaabi’ah ibn Mahlaa’eel. The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Makkah for 19 days and around that time the tribes of Hawaazin and Thaqeef stationed in Hunayan with the intent of fighting the Prophet ﷺ. They rallied up before that point of time after they heard that the Prophet ﷺ left al-Madeenah, as they thought he was marching towards them. However, after they learned that he ﷺ entered Makkah, their preparation to encounter the Muslims started. They wished it to be a decisive battle; thus, they brought to the battle their women, children, and their property so that none of them would dare to flee the battlefield, leaving his wife, children and money behind. They pursued Ghatafaan and other tribes as well to join their forces, and all of them were under the leadership of Maalik ibn ‘Awf al-Nadree.
The Prophet ﷺ rallied up his army, borrowed 30 camels and 30 armors from Ya’la ibn ‘Umayyah, and 100 armors from Safwaan ibn ‘Umayyah, and appointed ‘Attaab in Aseed ibn Abee al-‘Aas the governor of Makkah.
According to the reports in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, those who accepted Islam after the conquest of Makkah joined the Muslim army in this battle too.
The Prophet ﷺ and his army arrived at the valley of Hunayn before the dawn while the sky was still dark. They descended down to the valley and launched an attack against Hawaazin who fled the location. Thereupon, the Muslims rushed to collect the spoils that they left behind and while they were busy collecting the spoils of war, Hawaazin showered them with arrows causing the Muslims to retreat, each one trying to save himself. The Muslim army panicked and were in so much distress by the surprise attack. Many fled the battlefield and only a few remained and stood firmly. The Prophet ﷺ remained and stood firm in the battlefield and called the Muslims out loud: "Come on, people! I am the Messenger of Allah. I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah." Then, he ordered his paternal uncle, al-‘Abbaas – who was known of his loud strong voice – to summon the people and encourage them to stand firm. The Prophet ﷺ called out first his Companions who pledged their allegiance to him (the pledge of al-Ridwaan), who rushed to answer his call. Then, he called the Ansaar who rushed to him immediately upon hearing his call. Then, he called out the tribe of Banoo al-Haarith bin al-Khazraj. All of them rushed to him while saying: “Here we are answering your call”. Thereafter, the Muslims led a fierce fighting against the tribe of Hawaazin. When the Prophet ﷺ observed how fierce was the fighting, he said: “This is the time when it is fierce fighting,” then he picked up a handful of pebbles, hurled it at their faces while saying: "May your faces be shameful." As a result, the eyes of each one of them were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter confusion. As they were fleeing, the Prophet ﷺ said: “By the Lord of Muhammad! They have been defeated.” And in another version of the report, he ﷺ said: “By the Lord of Ka’bah, they have been defeated. By the Lord of Ka’bah, they have been defeated.” It has been reported that the death toll from the clan of Banoo Maalik from the Tribe of Thaqeef alone was 70, who lost in Awtaas, 300 men, in addition to a large number of people from Banoo Nasr ibn Mu’aawiyyah and from Banoo Ri’aab. It was said that the number of women and children who were taken captives was about 6,000. All the while, only 4 people from the Muslims were killed.
It has been proven authentic that the Prophet ﷺ entered into the state of Ihraam for ‘Umrah from al-Ji’raanah after returning from the battle of Hunayn. It was the third ‘Umrah, after the ‘Umrah of al-Hudaybiyyah and the ‘Umrah al-Qadaa’ (i.e., it was performed after the ‘Umrah of al-Hudaybiyyah). Ibn Hajar said: “[Entering Makkah at night only happened once] ; the Prophet ﷺ entered into the state of Ihraam [for ‘Umrah] from al-JI’raanah. He ﷺ entered Makkah during the night, completed his ‘Umrah, and returned to al-Ji’raanah at [the same] night. He arrived ﷺ in the morning as if he had stayed there. Ibraaheem al-Nakh’ee said: They liked to enter Makkah during the daytime and leave it at night. ‘Ataa’ said: If you like, enter Makkah at night for you are not like the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was an Imaam [i.e., an example for us to follow and imitate], so he ﷺ liked to enter Makkah during daytime, so people can see him.”
The ruling concerning this is that if the person is someone who people follow his actions, it will be recommended that he enters Makkah during daytime, so people imitate him.
Umm Kulthoom is the daughter of the Prophet ﷺand his fourth child. Her mother was Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with her). It was said that she married ‘Utaybah ibn Abee Lahab then he left her. She embraced Islam and emigrated after the Prophet ﷺ had emigrated. When her sister Ruqayyah – the wife of ‘Uthmaan - passed away, ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan married her in the month of Rabee’ al-Awwal in the third year after Hijrah. She bore no children from him.
The aftermath of the conquest of Makkah was Arab tribes taking the initiative and declaring their Islam. This was because they wanted to see the outcome of the conflict between the Muslims and Quraysh. ‘Amr ibn Salamah related: “We lived by water which people passed. Riders would pass by us, and we would ask them, "What has happened to the people? What has happened to the people? What is this man like?”, and they would reply, "He asserts that Allah has sent him, has made a revelation to him, has made a revelation to him to this effect.” I was remembering those words with the result that they seemed to be glued in my breast. By their acceptance of Islam, the Arabs were expecting victory for they would say, ‘Leave him and his people alone, for if begets the better of them, he is a true prophet.’ Then when the conquest of Makkah took place, every tribe hastened to accept Islam, and my father was the first of my tribe to accept it.”
