The Sixth
Year of Migration
It has already been mentioned among
the events occurring in 5 AH that on the occasion of the Prophet's return from
the expedition to Dumat-ul-Jandal, Uyainah bin Hisn had requested him to allow
grazing of his camels in the meadows of Al-Madinah. He was allowed the
opportunity for one year. But that thankless fellow paid back by raiding the
pasture of the Prophet's camels, killed a man from Banu Ghifâr and carried away
his wife along with the camels of the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم).
Salamah bin Amr bin Akwa' (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was the first to
know of this incident. He raised the alarm, collected a small band and gave
them hot chase. Salamah's loud voice made the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) also to go behind the culprits. Shortly
after his departure, Miqdâd bin Al-Aswad, Abbâd bin Bishr, Saad bin Zaid,
Ukâshah bin Mihsan (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
Muhriz bin Fadâlah Asadi, and Abu Qatâdah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) followed suit and joined the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). He appointed Saad bin Zaid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) the head of the
party and sent him ahead and he himself halted at the stream of Dhu Qirad.
Salamah bin Amr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) caught the miscreants. The pursuers were
strengthened by reinforcements, and both the parties set themselves against one
another. The Muslims captured their camels besides regaining their own camels.
They returned to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
at Dhu Qirad. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
slaughtered a camel from among the captured ones, and left for Al-Madinah after
a night's halt.
In the same year, news reached the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that Banu Bakr had
entered into a conspiracy with the Jews of Khaibar to invade Al-Madinah. The
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) at the head of two
hundred soldiers to deal with Banu Bakr.
On the way, the Muslim army captured
a spy of Banu Bakr who disclosed the concentration points of the enemy troops
on a promise of his safety. He was set free as promised. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) made a sudden dashing charge against the enemies and they took
to their heels after a fierce encounter. The Muslims collected five hundred
camels and two thousand goats as booty.
Preaching
of Islam
In Sha'bân, 6 AH, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent Abdur-Rahman
bin Auf (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to the surrounding
areas of Dumat-ul-Jandal to preach Islam to the people of those areas who were
still disbelievers. One of their chieftains, Asbagh bin Umar Kalbi was a
Christian. With the efforts of Abdur-Rahman bin Auf (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), Asbagh accepted Islam and the majority of the tribe followed
suit. Some other chieftains, who declined to accept Islam, got ready to pay the
Jizyah (a tax levied on non-Muslims to compensate their not taking part in
armed defense of the Muslim community). Tamâdar, the daughter of Asbagh was
married to Abdur-Rahman bin Auf (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) and she gave birth to Abu Salamah who rose to be among the
greatest Islamic legal experts.
A
Criminal Event
A few persons from Ukl and Urainah
tribes who seemingly confessed Islam, expressed their desire to settle in
Al-Madinah. But, after a few days, they complained of the unfavorable climate
of Al-Madinah and became sick. The Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) sent them to the north of Uhud where his own camels were
grazing. When they became strong and stout, they mercilessly killed Yasâr, who
was taking care of the camels, and made off with the camels. When this tragic
news reached Al-Madinah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) sent Kurz bin Jâbir Al-Fihri behind them with twenty horsemen
and they caught the culprits on the way and they were returned to Al-Madinah
and put to death there.
The
Truce of Hudaibiyah
Although the religion of Ibrahim
(Abraham) (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
was part of the culture all over Arabia, the people had become immersed in
polytheism and idol-worship, they all still held the Ka'bah in high esteem and
performed the Hajj most regularly. They also stopped fighting during the days
of Hajj. In the month of Shawwâl, 6 AH, the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) had a dream that he was entering the
Ka'bah along with his Companions. The Muslims had a great desire to visit
Ka'bah and the dream deepened this urge. The Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) decided to visit the Ka'bah to perform
Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) and he left Al-Madinah for Makkah in Dhul-Qa'dah,
6 AH, with one thousand four hundred Companions and seventy sacrificial camels.
They were all in Ihrâm. Coming as pilgrims symbolized their peaceful intentions
and the Makkans also had no right to prevent the Muslims from visiting the
Ka'bah.
Having arrived at Dhul-Hulaifah, the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent as a precaution
a man from the Khuzâ'ah tribe to check the situation. He came back and informed
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
that the Quraish had collected a large number of people to stop the Muslims
from reaching the Ka'bah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) consulted the Companions. Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said, "We have come here for performing Umrah and not for
fighting. But, if someone stands between the House of Allâh and us, then we
must fight against them." Having heard this, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ordered the Muslims
to proceed on. The Quraish had already sent Khâlid bin Walid with a squad of
cavaliers to Kura' Al-Ghamim to stop the movements of the Muslims towards the
Ka'bah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
took a route towards the right evading the main route and all of a sudden, they
passed western side of Khâlid bin Walid. Now he, frightened to the extreme,
galloped off on his horse to Makkah to update them of the imminent danger at
hand. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم),
on the other hand, reached the hilly range below which starts the surrounding
areas of the city of Makkah. His dromedary sat down there. The people around
remarked: "The dromedary has played foul." Thereupon the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) retorted, "The
dromedary has not played foul, but she is prevented by the One Who has
prevented elephants to enter the city."
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