Skirmishes, raids and expeditions
Family: War, peace and the conduct of conflict · 37 entries
Entries on this theme
Person
Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham)
c. 570 CEThe most implacable leader of Meccan opposition to Muhammad: organizer of the boycott of Banu Hashim, persecutor of the weak converts, and the Quraysh commander killed at Badr.al-Dahhak ibn Sufyan al-Kilabi
A companion of Banu Kilab appointed sadaqa collector over his people in 9 AH; when a clan of them refused the call to Islam and fought, he led the expedition that routed them in Rabi' al-Awwal of that year.Al-Hakam ibn Kaysan
A client (mawla) of the Banu Makhzum, taken captive on the expedition of Abd Allah ibn Jahsh (Nakhla); he accepted Islam in the Prophet's presence and was killed at Bi'r Ma'una. Al-Haytham ibn Adi reports that he was a cupper by trade.al-Zibriqan ibn Badr
A Tamimi notable and poet of Banu Bahdala of Sa'd who came among his people's chiefs to Medina in 9 AH and declaimed a boast before the Prophet; Hassan ibn Thabit answered him, al-Aqra' conceded the Muslims' superiority, and he accepted Islam; later sources make him sadaqa collector over part of Banu Sa'd.Alqama ibn Mujazziz al-Mudliji
A companion whom the Prophet sent in Rabi' al-Akhir 9 AH with three hundred men against Abyssinian raiders gathered for piracy near the Jeddah coast; he crossed the sea to their island and they fled before him.Qays ibn al-Musahhar al-Ya'muri
A Companion and poet of Banu Ya'mar; he killed Mas'ada ibn Hakama al-Fazari in Zayd ibn Haritha's second raid on Fazara and composed verses on it, and on Zayd's order killed Umm Qirfa; he also has verses on Mu'ta excusing what happened and praising Khalid ibn al-Walid.Qutba ibn Amir ibn Hadida
A Khazraji companion — one of the six Ansar who first met the Prophet at al-Aqaba and among its twelve nuqaba' — who witnessed Badr, and in Safar 9 AH commanded the twenty-man raid against a Khath'am clan near Tabala.Surad ibn Abdullah al-Azdi
He came in an Azd delegation to the Prophet and became a good Muslim; the Prophet set him over the Muslims of his people and ordered him to fight the neighbouring polytheist tribes of Yemen. He besieged Jurash for about a month, withdrew, and when its people pursued him thinking him routed he turned on them at the mountain of Shakar and slaughtered them.
Event
Abdullah ibn Unays's mission to kill Khalid ibn Sufyan ibn Nubayh al-Hudhali
c. 625 CE · c. 4 AHNews reached the Prophet that Ibn Sufyan ibn Nubayh al-Hudhali was gathering men at Nakhla or Urana to attack him; he summoned Abdullah ibn Unays and ordered him to go and kill him, giving as the sign that he would shiver on seeing him. Ibn Unays went girded with his sword, found him with women in litters seeking a camping place at the afternoon hour, prayed by nodding his head as he walked toward him, told him he was an Arab who had heard of his gathering and come for it, walked with him until he could and struck him dead with the sword, leaving the women bent over him. On his return the Prophet said 'the face has prospered' and gave him a staff as a sign between them on the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Ishaq has it from Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr from Ibn Unays.The dispatch of Amr ibn Umayya al-Damri to kill Abu Sufyan, and what he did on the way
c. 626 CE · c. 4 AHIbn Hisham tells it, from a scholar he trusts, among what Ibn Ishaq did not include: after the killing of Khubayb ibn Adi and his companions the Prophet sent Amr ibn Umayya al-Damri to Mecca to kill Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, with Jabbar ibn Sakhr al-Ansari; they circled the Ka'ba at night, Amr was recognised and the two fled to a mountain and spent the night in a cave, where Amr killed a Qurayshi who came upon them; he then took down Khubayb's body from its stake and threw it into a ravine; on his way home he killed a one-eyed old man of Banu al-Dil who sang that he would never be a Muslim, killed one of two Quraysh spies and brought the other bound to Medina.Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf's detachment to Dumat al-Jandal
c. 627 CE · c. 6 AHIbn Ishaq tells it from Ata' ibn Abi Rabah, from a man who asked Abdullah ibn Umar about letting the turban's end hang behind: Ibn Umar was one of ten Companions sitting with the Prophet in his mosque when a young Ansari asked which believers were best and wisest; the Prophet then addressed the Muhajirun with the five afflictions, then ordered Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf to prepare for a detachment, wound a black cotton turban on him with his own hands leaving four fingers hanging behind, handed him the banner and charged him: fight in God's way, do not steal from the spoils, do not break faith, do not mutilate, do not kill a child. Ibn Hisham adds: he set out for Dumat al-Jandal.Kurz ibn Jabir's detachment against the men of Bajila who killed Yasar
c. 627 CE · c. 6 AHIbn Hisham tells it from a scholar, from Muhammad ibn Talha, from Uthman ibn Abd al-Rahman: in the raid on Muharib and Banu Tha'laba the Prophet acquired a slave named Yasar and put him in charge of his milch-camels grazing near al-Jamma'; a party of Qays Kubba of Bajila came to Medina, fell sick and their spleens swelled, so the Prophet told them to go out to the camels and drink their milk and urine; when they recovered they attacked Yasar, slaughtered him, drove thorns into his eyes and drove off the camels. The Prophet sent Kurz ibn Jabir after them; he caught them and brought them to the Prophet on his return from the Dhu Qarad raid, and he cut off their hands and feet and put out their eyes.Sariyya of Abdullah ibn Unays against Sufyan ibn Khalid
c. April 627 CE · c. Dhu al-Qa'da 5 AH†A single-man sariyya the Prophet sent in Muharram of the sixth year, as Waqidi reports, to kill Sufyan ibn Khalid al-Hudhali, who was gathering forces at Uranah; Ibn Unays went alone, identified him by the Prophet's description, and joined him to get close.Abdullah ibn Rawaha's expedition to Khaybar and the killing of al-Yasir ibn Rizam
c. 628 CE · c. 6 AHAl-Yasir ibn Rizam, also given as Ibn Razim, was at Khaybar gathering Ghatafan to attack the Prophet, who sent Abdullah ibn Rawaha with a party including Abdullah ibn Unays; they persuaded him that the Prophet would appoint and honour him, and he set out with them with a group of Jews. At al-Qarqara, six miles from Khaybar, he repented; Ibn Unays saw him reaching for the sword, struck him and cut off his leg, al-Yasir hit him on the head with a staff of shawhat wood, and each Muslim killed his Jewish companion except one who fled; the Prophet spat on Ibn Unays's wound and it did not fester.Zayd ibn Haritha's raid on Banu Fazara and the killing of Umm Qirfa
c. 628 CE · c. 6 AHZayd ibn Haritha raided Wadi al-Qura and met Banu Fazara; some of his men were hit, he was carried off wounded from among the dead, and Ward ibn Amr ibn Madash was killed, so Zayd swore no water would touch his head from major impurity until he raided Fazara. When he recovered the Prophet sent him with an army; he slaughtered them at Wadi al-Qura, Qays ibn al-Musahhar al-Ya'muri killed Mas'ada ibn Hakama ibn Malik ibn Hudhayfa ibn Badr, and Umm Qirfa, Fatima bint Rabi'a ibn Badr, an old woman married to Malik ibn Hudhayfa, was captured with a daughter and Abdullah ibn Mas'ada. Zayd ordered Qays to kill Umm Qirfa, 'and he killed her violently', and they brought her daughter and Ibn Mas'ada to the Prophet; the daughter fell to Salama ibn al-Akwa', the Prophet asked for her and gave her to his maternal uncle Hazn ibn Abi Wahb. The episode is contested and carries perspectives.Zayd ibn Haritha's raid on Judham and the Prophet's restitution
c. 628 CE · c. 6 AHWhen Dihya ibn Khalifa al-Kalbi returned from Caesar, al-Hunayd ibn Us and his son of the Dula' of Judham robbed him in the valley of Shinar; men of the Dubayb, Rifa'a ibn Zayd's clan who had converted, recovered his goods. When Dihya complained to the Prophet and asked for al-Hunayd's blood, the Prophet sent Zayd ibn Haritha with an army, which raided from al-Awlaj at al-Maqis, took property and people, killed al-Hunayd and his son and three others, and captured converts among them. A party of the Dubayb with Hassan ibn Milla rode to Zayd, who had Umm al-Kitab recited and proclaimed their quarter inviolable; they then rode to Rifa'a and three nights on to Medina, where the Prophet read his own letter to Rifa'a, asked three times what he should do about the dead, and sent Ali with his sword to Zayd, who restored everything down to a woman's cushion. Ibn Ishaq has it from men of Judham learned in it.Zayd ibn Haritha's detachment to Madyan and the captives
c. 628 CE · c. 6 AHIbn Hisham tells it from Abdullah ibn Hasan ibn Hasan from his mother Fatima bint al-Husayn: the Prophet sent Zayd ibn Haritha towards Madyan with Dumayra, the client of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and a brother of his; he took captives from the people of Mina', the coasts, who were sold and separated; the Prophet came out as they wept, asked what ailed them, was told they had been separated, and said: sell them only together. Ibn Hisham: he meant mothers and children.The Expedition of Dhu Qarad (Ghazwat al-Ghaba)
c. May 628 CE · Muharram 7 AHShortly before Khaybar in 7 AH, Uyayna ibn Hisn raided the Prophet's milch camels at al-Ghaba; Salama ibn al-Akwa' pursued them alone on foot with stones and arrows, holding off the raiders until the cavalry arrived, recovering the camels.Ghalib ibn Abdullah al-Laythi's raid on Banu al-Mulawwah at al-Kudayd
c. 629 CE · c. 8 AHThe Prophet sent Ghalib ibn Abdullah al-Laythi with a detachment to raid Banu al-Mulawwah at al-Kudayd; Jundab ibn Makith al-Juhani, who was in it, tells it: at Qudayd they seized al-Harith ibn Malik ibn al-Barsa' al-Laythi, who claimed he was going to embrace Islam, and bound him; Jundab served as lookout on a hill and a man of the camp shot him with two arrows, but he kept still; before dawn they raided, killed and drove off the herds, and when the pursuers reached Wadi Qudayd God sent a flood without a cloud that cut them off. The Muslims' watchword that night was 'amit, amit'.Ghalib ibn Abdullah's raid on the land of Banu Murra and the killing of Mirdas ibn Nahik
c. 629 CE · c. 8 AHGhalib ibn Abdullah al-Kalbi al-Laythi's detachment to the land of Banu Murra; Mirdas ibn Nahik, an ally of theirs from al-Huraqa of Juhayna, was killed there by Usama ibn Zayd and a man of the Ansar after he had said 'I testify there is no god but God'. When they told the Prophet, he said to Usama: 'Who will answer for la ilaha illa Allah on your behalf?' and kept repeating it until Usama wished his Islam had begun that very day and that he had not killed him, and vowed never again to kill a man who said it.Ibn Abi Hadrad's raid on al-Ghaba and the killing of Rifa'a ibn Qays al-Jushami
c. 629 CE · c. 8 AHThe Prophet sent Abdullah ibn Abi Hadrad with two men to Rifa'a ibn Qays al-Jushami, who had camped at al-Ghaba with a large clan of Jusham meaning to gather Qays against the Prophet, to bring back news of him; they lay in ambush, Rifa'a went out alone after his shepherd and Ibn Abi Hadrad shot him through the heart and cut off his head; they shouted the takbir, the camp fled, and they drove off camels and sheep. The Prophet gave Ibn Abi Hadrad thirteen camels towards his dowry of two hundred dirhams.Ibn Abi Hadrad's raid on Batn Idam and the killing of Amir ibn al-Adbat
c. 629 CE · c. 8 AHA detachment the Prophet sent before the conquest of Mecca to Idam, with Abu Qatada and Muhallim ibn Jaththama among its men; Amir ibn al-Adbat al-Ashja'i passed them and gave the greeting of Islam, but Muhallim attacked and killed him over an old grudge and took his camel and goods; Ibn Abi Hadrad says Qur'an 4:94 was revealed about them. At Hunayn Uyayna ibn Hisn and al-Aqra' ibn Habis disputed the blood before the Prophet until blood-money was accepted, and the Prophet prayed three times: 'O God, do not forgive Muhallim'.Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah's detachment to the sea coast (the Khabat raid)
c. 629 CE · c. 8 AHA detachment the Prophet sent to the sea coast under Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, provisioned with a single bag of dates; Ubada ibn al-Samit tells it: Abu Ubayda rationed the dates until each man received one a day, and when hunger wore them down God brought out for them a sea creature on whose flesh and fat they lived twenty nights until they grew fat; the commander propped up one of its ribs and the tallest man on the biggest camel passed beneath it. When they asked the Prophet about having eaten it he said: a provision God provided you.The Expedition of Dhat al-Salasil
c. October 629 CE · Jumada II 8 AHIn Jumada II 8 AH (October 629 CE), following the Battle of Mu'tah, the Prophet dispatched Amr ibn al-As with 300 men (later reinforced by 200 led by Abu Ubayda) to Dhat al-Salasil on the borders of Syria to win over and neutralize the Quda'a and Bali tribes; Amr demonstrated tactical prudence, routed the gatherings, and established Muslim authority in the northern deserts.The expedition to Awtas
c. January 630 CE · Shawwal 8 AHA detachment sent by the Prophet under Abu Amir al-Ash'ari in pursuit of the routed Hawazin remnants encamped at Awtas; Abu Amir was struck by an arrow and martyred after routing nine enemy champions, whereupon Abu Musa al-Ash'ari took the banner and secured victory.The skirmish of al-Khandama
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AHA sharp clash on the heights of al-Khandama where armed resisters from Quraysh and Banu Bakr under Safwan ibn Umayya, Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, and Suhayl ibn Amr attempted to bar Khalid ibn al-Walid's entry; the resistance was quickly routed, leaving twelve to thirteen Meccan fighters dead, while Kurz ibn Jabir, Khunays ibn Khalid, and Salama ibn al-Mayla' fell on the Muslim side.The expedition to Tabuk
October 630 CE · Rajab 9 AHThe Prophet led a large expedition north toward the Byzantine frontier as far as Tabuk; no battle took place. وفي صحيح البخاري يروي كعب بن مالك قصة تخلفه عنها بلسانه: المسير في الحر الشديد والمفازة البعيدة، وأن النبي كان يوري بغير الغزوة حتى جلاها هذه المرة، وأن المسلمين كانوا «كثيراً ولا يجمعهم كتاب حافظ» ، وعدّها يعلى بن أمية «أوثق أعمالي».Ali ibn Abi Talib's expeditions to Yemen (twice)
c. 631 CE · c. 10 AHIbn Ishaq says in his enumeration of detachments: and Ali ibn Abi Talib's expedition to Yemen, which he made twice; Ibn Hisham adds from Abu Amr al-Madani that the Prophet sent Ali to Yemen and Khalid ibn al-Walid with another force, saying: if you meet, Ali is the commander. Ibn Hisham notes that Ibn Ishaq mentioned Khalid's dispatch in his narrative but not in his count, so the number should be thirty-nine.Uyayna ibn Hisn's raid on Banu Tamim
January 631 CE · Muharram 9 AHIn Muharram 9 AH the Prophet sent Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari with fifty horsemen — none Muhajirun or Ansar — against Banu Tamim, who had been inciting tribes and withholding jizya; he surprised them in the desert and took eleven men, twenty-one women and thirty children to Medina, where ten of their chiefs came for the famous oratory and poetry contest; al-Aqra' ibn Habis declared the Muslims' orator and poet superior, they accepted Islam, and their families were returned.Surad ibn Abdullah's campaign against Jurash and the conversion of its people
c. 631 CE · c. 9 AHSurad marched at the Prophet's order to Jurash, a walled town sheltering Yemeni tribes and Khath'am, besieged it for about a month and withdrew; when at the mountain of Shakar its people pursued him thinking him beaten, he turned and slaughtered them. Jurash had sent two men to the Prophet, who told them after the afternoon prayer that God's sacrificial camels were being slaughtered at Shakar at that moment, then prayed at their request that it be lifted; they found their people struck that very day and hour. The delegation of Jurash then came and embraced Islam, and the Prophet set a protected reserve around their village for the horse, the mount and the plough-ox.Qutba ibn Amir's raid on Khath'am
February 631 CE · Safar 9 AHIn Safar 9 AH the Prophet sent Qutba ibn Amir ibn Hadida with twenty men on ten camels they shared in turns against a clan of Khath'am near Tabala in the Turba region; the raid met hard fighting with many wounded on both sides, and the Muslims drove cattle, captives and sheep back to Medina.Ali's expedition to destroy al-Fuls, the idol of Tayy'
March 631 CE · Rabi' I 9 AHIn Rabi' al-Awwal 9 AH the Prophet sent Ali ibn Abi Talib with one hundred and fifty men — a hundred camels and fifty horses, a black banner and a white standard — to demolish al-Fuls, the idol-temple of Tayy'; they raided Hatim's quarter at dawn, demolished it, and took captives among them Adi ibn Hatim's sister, whose appeal to the Prophet led to her release and to Adi's coming from Syria and accepting Islam.al-Dahhak ibn Sufyan's expedition to Banu Kilab
March 631 CE · Rabi' I 9 AHIn Rabi' al-Awwal 9 AH the Prophet sent al-Dahhak ibn Sufyan al-Kilabi to his own people Banu Kilab to invite them to Islam; they refused and fought, and the Muslims routed them and killed one man.Alqama ibn Mujazziz's expedition to the Jeddah coast
April 631 CE · Rabi' II 9 AHIn Rabi' al-Akhir 9 AH the Prophet sent Alqama ibn Mujazziz al-Mudliji with three hundred men against a band of Abyssinians gathered near the Jeddah coast for piracy against the people of Mecca; he crossed the sea to an island, and they fled when they heard of the Muslims' approach.The expedition of Usama ibn Zayd
c. May 632 CE · Safar 11 AHIn Safar 11 AH the Prophet equipped a great army under the young Usama ibn Zayd to strike the Byzantine marches of al-Balqa' and al-Darum in Palestine — answering the empire's killing of Muslim converts; the troops camped at al-Jurf until the Prophet's illness delayed them, and the campaign was carried out under Abu Bakr.
Work
Al-Farazdaq's verses on al-Aqra' ibn Habis and the captives of Banu al-Anbar
Three verses from a longer poem by al-Farazdaq that Ibn Hisham quotes after the account of the Banu al-Anbar captives: that Ibn Habis stood before the Messenger of God with a resolute, glory-seeking plea, and the captives bound in ropes with fettered necks were released for him, sparing the mothers of those left behind the price of ransom and the arrows of the division of spoils.Salma bint Attab's two verses on the day of Banu al-Anbar
Two verses by Salma bint Attab on the day Uyayna ibn Hisn raided Banu al-Anbar: that Adi ibn Jundab met a steep and evil chasm, with enemies closing in from every side while its might and good fortune were absent.
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