Expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah

Last updated
Expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah
DateJuly, 627 AD in Muharram, 6AH
Location
Diriyah, Najd
Result

As follows:

  • 10 tribe members killed, 1 prisoner captured
  • 150 camels and 3000 goats captured as booty [1]
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad ibn Maslamah Thumamah ibn Uthal
Strength
30 Unknown
Casualties and losses
0 killed 10 killed
Thumamah ibn Uthal captured

The Expedition of Muhammad ibn Maslamah [2] took place in July, 627 AD in Muharram, 6AH. [1] [3]

Contents

Expedition

A platoon of thirty Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad bin Maslamah was despatched on a military mission. They headed for the habitation of the sept of Banu Bakr. The Muslims attacked the sept and dispersed them in all directions. The Muslims captured war booty and returned with the chief of the tribe of Banu Hanifa, called Thumamah bin Uthal Al-Hanafi. [4]

Muhammad's Companions tied him to a pole of a Mosque. To a question posed by Muhammad, Thumamah used to say: "If you were to kill someone, then you would have to choose one of noble descent, if you were to be gracious, then let it be to a grateful man and if you were to ask for money, you would have to ask for it from a generous man." He repeated that three times on three different occasions. On the third time, the Muhammad ordered that he should be released and later he converted to Islam. [4]

During this raid the Muslims killed ten people while others fled offering no resistance. The Muslims captured 150 camels and 3000 goats as booty [1] [5]

Islamic sources

Biographical literature

This event is mentioned in the works of the Muslim Jurist Tabari. The Muslim jurist Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya also mentions the event in his biography of Muhammad, Zad al-Ma'ad. [6] Modern secondary sources which mention this, include the award winning book, [7] Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar). [4] The event is also mentioned by the Muslim jurist Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya in his biography of Muhammad, Zad al-Ma'ad. [8] [9]

The event is also mentioned by the Muslim scholar Ibn Sa'd in his book about Muhammad's military campaigns., [5] he wrote about the expedition:

SARIYYAH OF MUHAMMAD IBN MASLAMAH AGAINST AL-QURATA.

Then occurred the sariyyah of Muhammad Ibn Maslamah against al-Qurata. He set out on 10 Muharram in the beginning of the fifty ninth month from the hijrah of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him. He (Prophet) despatched him against al-Qurata, an under-tribe of Banu Bakr a branch of the Kilab.

They used to halt at al-Bakarat, a place in the vicinity of Dariyyah. Dariyyah issituas- ed at (a distance of) seven stages from al-Madinah. He had ordered him to surround it from all sides. So he marched in the night and...
[Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir, p. 96]

[5]

Hadith literature

In this expedition, the chief of the Banu Hanifa tribe was captured, he was called Thumamah bin Uthal Al-Hanafi. [4] The Sahih Muslim hadith collection also mentions this:

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira who said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent some horsemen to Najd. They captured a man. He was from the tribe of Banu Hanifa and was called Thumama b. Uthal. He was the chief of the people of Yamama. People bound him with one of the pillars of the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) came out to (see) him. He said: O Thumama, what do you think? He replied: Muhammad, I have good opinion of you. If you kill me, you will kill a person who has spilt blood. If you do me a favour, you will do a favour to a grateful person. If you want wealth, ask and you will get what you will demand. The Messenger of Allah left him (in this condition) for two days, (and came to him again) and said: What do you think, O Thumama? He replied: What I have already told you. If you do a favour, you will do a favour to a grateful person. If you kill me, you will kill a person who has spilt blood. If you want wealth, ask and you will get what you will demand. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) left him until the next day when he (came to him again) and said: What do you think, O Thumama? He replied: What I have already told you. If you do me a favour, you will do a favour to a grateful person. If you kill me, you will kill a person who has spilt blood. If you want wealth ask and you will get what you will demand. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Set Thumama free. He went to a palm-grove near the mosque and took a bath. Then he entered the mosque and said: I bear testimony (to the truth) that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His bondman and His messenger. O Muhammad, by Allah, there was no face on the earth more hateful to me than your face, but (now) your face has become to me the dearest of all faces. By Allah, there was no religion more hateful to me than your religion, but (now) your religion has become the dearest of all religions to me. By Allah, there was no city more hateful to me than your city, but (now) your city has become the dearest of all cities to me. Your horsemen captured me when I intended going for Umra. Now what is your opinion (in the matter)? The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) announced good tidings to him and told him to go on 'Umra. When he reached Mecca, somebody said to him: Have you changed your religion? He said: No! I have rather embraced Islam with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). By Allah, you will not get a single grain of wheat from Yamama until it is permitted by the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). Sahih Muslim , 19:4361

Sahih al-Bukhari , 5:59:658 also mentions this.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Muhammad Yasin Mahzar Siddiqi, Role of Booty in the economy during the prophets time, Vol. 1, King Abdul Aziz University , p.11. (archive)
  2. ↑ Tabari, Al (2008), The foundation of the community, State University of New York Press, p. 119, ISBN   978-0-88706-344-2
  3. ↑ Hawarey, Mosab (2010). The Journey of Prophecy; Days of Peace and War (Arabic). Islamic Book Trust. ISBN   9789957051648.Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic, English translation available here
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman Al (2005), The Sealed Nectar, Darussalam Publications, p. 204, ISBN   9798694145923 [ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 Sa'd, Ibn (1967). Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir,By Ibn Sa'd,Volume 2. Pakistan Historical Society. p. 96. ASIN   B0007JAWMK.
  6. ↑ Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet , p. 352 (footnote 1).
  7. ↑ Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum - The Sealed Nectar Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine . Dar-us-Salam Publications
  8. ↑ Mubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman Al (2005), The Sealed Nectar, Darussalam Publications, p. 205, ISBN   9798694145923 [ permanent dead link ] Mubarakpuri says Za'd al Ma'd, 2/119
  9. ↑ Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, Za'd al Ma'd, 2/119. (see also Abridged zād al-maʻād)

Related Research Articles

Thumāmah ibn Uthāl was chieftain of the Banu Hanifah and one of the rulers of al-Yamamah, making him among the most powerful Arab rulers in pre-Quranic times. In 628 Muhammad sent eight letters to rulers in the Arabian peninsula and surrounding areas inviting them to Islam, including Thumamah. After receiving the letter, he was consumed by anger and resolved to kill Muhammad.

Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad, was the son of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Maria al-Qibtiyya. He died at the age of 2.

Muhammad ibn Maslamah al-Ansari was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was known as "The Knight of Allah's Prophet". His kunya was Abu Abdullah or Abu Abdurrahman. Ibn Maslamah embraced Islam before the Hijrah of Muhammad and his followers. Ibn Maslamah witnessed all the battles except for the expedition of Tabuk, as he was appointed as deputy governor of Medina during the campaign.

The Expedition of Qatan, was the first Raid on the Banu Asad bin Khuzaymah tribe, which occurred directly after the Battle of Hamra al-Asad in the year 4 A.H of the Islamic calendar.

The early Muslim–Meccan conflict refer to a series of raids in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions participated. The raids were generally offensive and carried out to gather intelligence or seize the trade goods of caravans financed by the Mushrik of the Quraysh. His followers were also impoverished. The raids were intended to harm the economy and in turn the offensive capabilities of Mecca by Muhammad. The Muslims felt that the raids were justified in that the items being sold in the caravans were their own items, stolen by the Meccans when they had fled to Medina.

The Raid on Nakhla was a raid that was initially unplanned by the companions of Muhammad, but is considered to be the first successful raid against the Meccans, since it was carried out during an espionage event, this raid took place at Nakhla, in the Hejazi region of what is now Saudi Arabia. It took place in Rajab A.H. 2. The commander was 'Abdullah ibn Jahsh al-Asadi, whom Muhammad dispatched to Nakhla as the head of 12 Emigrants with six camels.

The Al-Qarada raid was an event in early Islamic history which took place in Jumad at Thaniya, in the year 3 A.H of the Islamic calendar, i.e. November 624.

Saʿd ibn Muʿādh Ansari was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina and one of the prominent companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He died shortly after the Battle of the Trench.

The Expedition of Abdullah ibn Unais, also known as the Assassination of Khaled bin Sufyan was the first attack against the Banu Lahyan, which took place in the month of Muharram in the year A.H. 3. It was reported that Khaled bin Sufyan Al-Hathali, considered an attack on Madinah and that he was inciting the people on Nakhla or Uranah to fight Muslims. So Muhammad sent Abdullah ibn Unais to assassinate him. After cutting off Khaled bin Sufyan's head at night, Unais brought it back to Muhammad.

The Expedition of al Raji, occurred directly after the Battle of Uhud in the year AH 4 of the Islamic calendar.

The Expedition of Bir Maona, according to Islamic tradition, took place four months after the Battle of Uhud in the year A.H. 4 of the Islamic calendar. It is believed the Islamic prophet Muhammad sent missionaries to preach Islam, at the request of Abu Bara. Forty or seventy of the Muslim missionaries sent by Muhammad were killed.

The Expedition of Badr al-Maw'id was the third time Muhammad led an expedition in Badr. Modern historians date the event to October 625, though several alternative dates are found in primary sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Banu Qurayza</span> 627 Muslim victory in Dhul Qa‘dah

The siege of Banu Qurayza took place in Dhul Qa‘dah during January of 627 CE and followed on from the Battle of the Trench.

The Expedition of al-Muraysiʿ was an early Muslim campaign against the tribe of Banu Mustaliq which took place in December 627 CE.

Second Expedition of Wadi al-Qura took place in January, 628AD, 9th month of 6AH of the Islamic calendar The raid was carried out by Zayd ibn Harithah or Abu Bakr, as a revenge for an ambush carried out by Banu Fazara against a party of 12 scouts led by Zayd ibn Harithah to monitor the surroundings of Medina against attacks from hostile tribes. The party was attacked as they slept at night, nine Muslims were killed, Zayd ibn Harithah himself escaped after suffering several wounds.

The expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place in July AD 625, or after the Battle of Khaybar in AD 628, i.e. AH 7 of the Islamic calendar. Two Quran verses, 5:11 and 4:101, are related to this event.

The Expedition of Qutbah ibn Amir, against the Khath'am tribe, took place in August 630 AD, 9AH, 2nd month, of the Islamic Calendar.

The Expedition of Ali ibn Abi Talib, against the Banu Tai tribe, took place in August 630 AD, 9AH, second month, of the Islamic Calendar. to destroy the statue (idol) of the pagan deity al-Fuls (al-Qullus).

The demolition or burning of Masjid al-Dirar , or the Mosque of Dissent, is mentioned in the Qur'an. Masjid al-Dirar was a Medinian mosque that was erected close to the Quba Mosque and which the Islamic prophet Muhammad initially approved of but subsequently had destroyed while he was returning from the Expedition to Tabouk. In the main account narrated by the majority of scholars, the mosque was built by 12 hypocrites (munafiqeen) on the commands of Abu 'Amir al-Rahib; a Hanif who refused Muhammad's invitation to Islam and instead fought along with the Meccan non-Muslims against Islam in the Battle of Uhud. Abu 'Amir reportedly urged his men to establish a stronghold and prepare whatever they can of power and weapons as he promised and insinuated to them that he will lead an army, backed by Heraclius, to fight Muhammad and his companions, and defeat his message by expelling him from Medina. Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri also relates that the men, who built the Al-Dirar mosque "for mischief and for infidelity and to disunite the Believers" refused to pray in Quba Mosque claiming that it was built in a place where a donkey used to be tied up.

This is a timeline of the early history of Islam during the lifetime of Muhammad. The information provided in this article is based on Islamic oral tradition, not on historical or archaeological evidence. A separate list of military expeditions and battles is at List of expeditions of Muhammad.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.