Military Activities Continued

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Military Activities Continued:

Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq (Abu Rafi‘) was a terrible Jew criminal, who had mustered the troops of the Confederates and provided them with a lot of wealth and supplies, on the one hand, and used to malign the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam), on the other. When the Muslims had settled their affair with Banu Quraiza; Al-Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al-Aws, asked for the Prophet’s permission to kill that criminal in order to merit a virtue equal to that of Al-Aws who had killed another criminal of the Jews, Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf. The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) gave them his permission provided that no women or children be killed.

A group of five people with ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ateeq (Radhi Allahu Anhu) at their head, headed for Khaibar where ‘Abu Rafi‘’s fort was situated. When they approached the place, ‘Abdullah advised his men to stay a little behind, while he went ahead disguised himself in his cloak as if he had been relieving himself. When the people of the fort went in, the gate-keeper called him to enter thinking he was one of them.

‘Abdullah went in and lurked inside. He then began to unbolt the doors leading to Salam’s room. There it was absolutely dark but he managed to put him to the sword, and then leave in safety. On his way back, his leg broke so he wrapped it up in a band, and hid in a secret place until morning when someone stood on the wall and announced the death of Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq officially. On hearing the glad news he left and went to see the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam), who listened to the whole story, and then asked ‘Abdullah to stretch his leg, which he wiped and the fracture healed on the spot. (Al-Bukhari 2/577)

In another version, all the group of five participated in killing that enemy of Islam. This incident took place in Dhul Qa‘dah or Dhul Hijjah in the year five Hijri.

Shortly after the conclusion of the battle with the Confederates and Quraiza, the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) began to despatch punitive expeditions to force the aggressive tribes and rebellious Arabians to come to peaceful terms with the rising state of Islam.

A platoon of thirty believers under the leadership of Muhammad bin Maslamah was despatched on a military mission in Muharram, the sixth year Hijri, following the two previous battles. It headed for the habitation of Bani Bakr sect. The Muslims attacked that sect and dispersed them in all directions. Plenty of spoils fell to the lot of the Muslims who returned home with a terrible disbeliever, Thumamah bin Uthal Al-Hanafi, chief of Bani Hanifa, who had gone out by order of Musailama, the Liar, to assassinate the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam). The Prophet’s Companions (Radhi Allahu Anhum) tied him to a pole of the Prophetic Mosque. To a question posed by the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam), 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 Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) ordered that he should be released.

He soon went nearby, washed and then came back to profess the new faith addressing the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam): “No face had been more awful to me than yours but now it is the closest to my heart, no religion had ever been more repugnant to me than yours, now it is the dearest in my heart. Now I want to perform the ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).” The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) gave him good tidings and asked him to do that. On his arrival in Makkah, the Quraishites accused him of apostasy. He denied it and affirmed that he had embraced Islam, then swore that they would never get a grain from Yamama, a suburban area around Makkah, unless the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) would allow it. In fact, he did it and refused to send food supplies to Makkah until the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) interceded at the Makkans’ earnest plea.


Bani Lihyan Invasion:

Bani Lihyan had acted treacherously towards ten of the Prophet’s (Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) Companions and had them hanged. Their habitation being situated deep in the heart of Hijaz on the borders of Makkah, and due to deep-seated blood-revenge between the Muslims on the one hand, and Quraish and the Arabians on the other, the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) deemed it unwise to penetrate deep and come close to the greatest enemy, Quraish. However, when the power of the allied Confederates collapsed and they began to slacken and resign to the current unfavourable balance of power, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) seized this rare opportunity and decided that it was time to take revenge on Bani Lihyan. He set out in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal or Jumada Al-Ula in the year six Hijri at the head of two hundred Muslim fighters and made a feint of heading for Syria, then soon changed route towards Batn Gharran, the scene of his Companions’ tragedy, and invoked Allah’s mercy on them. News of his march reached Bani Lihyan, who immediately fled to the mountain tops nearby and thus remained out of his reach. On his way back, the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) despatched a group of ten horsemen to a place called Kura‘ Al-Ghamim, in the vicinity of the habitation of Quraish in order to indirectly confirm his growing military power. All these skirmishes took fourteen days, after which he left back for home.