Chapter 33 : The Caravan Raids Flashcards
Regarding the change from Yathrib to Madinah
- Ibn Hisham reports the following :-
” Aisha reports that when she first emigrated to Yathrib, there was A severe plague that had afflicted many of The Prophet’s Companions. When she informed The Prophet of the severity of their fevers and delirium, he prayed as follows :-
’ Make Madinah beloved to us just as you made Makkah beloved to us or even more so. Bless our transactions in the market [ Literally bless our Mudd and Sa ]. Escort this plague down the thoroughfare leading away from us. ‘ “
- Some scholars believe that he changed the name of the city in the tradition from Yathrib which means plague or is related to ‘ Tathrib ‘ which means Blame / Faultfinding to Madinah as a good omen and as part of the reformation of the city
- Lisan Al Arab claims that he thereafter would discourage people from calling it Yathrib
- Eventually, after Tabuk, he named the city Taybah or Tabah
The Rise of Hypocrisy in Madinah
- Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul from Khazraj was unmatched in his nobility
- Abdullah was about to be made King of Yathrib when the First Pledge of Aqabah took place
- He was bitter that The Prophet had stripped him of this position
- The Prophet went to visit Sa’d Ibn Ubadah during the plague
- On the way, he passed by Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and some others
- The Prophet felt obliged to stop and pay respects to Abdullah while also preaching to them
- Abdullah Ibn Ubayy replied :-
” There are no better words than these you have shared with us, if they be true. So go sit in your house. If anyone comes to you to hear your words then speak to him. But if someone doesn’t come seeking them then don’t dump them on him and certainly do not speak them in A person’s gathering when he hates to hear them. “
- According to Al Tabari, All of Surat Al Munafiqun was revealed about him
- Some scholars have listen the names of the known Hypocrites of The Banu Aws, Banu Khazraj and The Jewish Tribes
- Ibn Hisham says that the first 100 Verses of Al Baqarah were revealed about these Hypocrites
The Permission to Fight
” Permission [ To Fight ] is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed and most Surely Allah is able to assist them. “
Al Quran [ 22 : 39 ]
- This was the first ayah that came down that gave Muslims permission to raise arms and fight their oppressors
- God used the term ‘ Permission ‘ rather than ‘ Command ‘ when letting The Muslims know that they can take up arms against their Makkan and Madinan oppressors
- It was up to The Muslims to figure out whether they felt it necessary to fight or not depending on their situation
- Later on, God would command those believers that they have to fight against those people who fight against The Muslims in Surat Al Baqarah Verse 190 :-
” And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you and do not exceed the limits. Verily, Allah loves not those who exceed the limit. “
Al Quran [ 2 : 90 ]
Why did Allah give permission to fight at this time [ What was the reason for concern ]
1) Quraysh’s enmity towards The Prophet was still real. He had recently escaped an assassination attempt. The Prophet leaving Makkah wasn’t good enough for them so this issue had not been dealt with
2) The Muslims in Madinah had caught people who were spies from Quraysh and other Tribes in Makkah who were spying on The Prophet and The Muslims in Madinah
3) These spies were relaying information back to The Makkans who were trying to figure out what was going on and maybe even look for a vantage point or a particular weak spot where they [ The Makkans ] could attack Madinah
4) The Makkans had also started to develop and invest into their defense fund
5) The Prophet was concerned about The Arab Tribes living around Madinah [ The Bedouin Tribes ]. These Tribes were between Makkah and Madinah and were basically in the Middle of The Two Cities
The Early Expeditions
- There are two types of Military Expedition in The Seerah :-
1) Ghazwa [ Plural - Ghazawat ] is any Military Expedition that The Prophet himself accompanied. In These Expeditions, The Prophet was obviously The Commander. Ghazwa typically translates to ‘ War ‘ or ‘ Battle ‘
2) Sariyya [ Plural - Saraya ] is something that The Prophet commanded Companions to go on but The Prophet did not accompany. Sariyya typically translates to ‘ Expedition ‘
Expedition of Hamza Ibn Abdul Muttalib [ Saif Al Bahr Platoon ]
- The First Expedition ordered by The Prophet was under The Leadership of his uncle Hamza Ibn Abdul Muttalib in 1 AH in The Month of Ramadhan
- The raid was comprised of 30 - 40 Muhajireen [ Emigrants ] and they were given the task of intercepting A caravan that belonged to Quraysh
- Abu Jahl was The Leader of The Caravan and was accompanied by 300 Riders
- The 2 Parties encountered each other, aligned and stood face to face in preparation for The Battle
- However, Majdi Ibn Al Juhani [ A Qurayshi ] who was friendly to both the parties intervened between them
- Thus, Both Parties separated without fighting
- Hamza Ibn Abdul Muttalib returned to Madinah and Abu JahL proceeded towards Makkah
Expedition of Ubaydah Ibn Al Harith
- The Second Expedition ordered by The Prophet was under The Leadership of his first cousin Ubaydah Ibn Al Harith
- Ubaydah went with A Party of 60 - 70 armed Muhajireen [ Emigrants ] to the Valley of Rabigh
- They expected to intercept A Quraysh Caravan that was returning from Syria under the protection of Abu Sufyan and 200 Armed Riders
- Some arrows were shot back and forth but no blood was shed and then A Neutral Party came in and basically caused A Type of Truce and The Quraysh went their way while The Muslims went their way
- Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas shot an arrow to The Quraysh which is known as The First Arrow of Islam
- After this incident, The Neutral Tribe formed an alliance with The Muslims
- More Tribes then embraced, If not The Religion of Islam, At least The Political State of Islam [ This means that they write a contract that they won’t support The Quraysh and if The Quraysh comes, they will inform The Prophet ]
Expedition of Al Abwa [ Patrol of Waddan ]
- This was The Prophet’s First Military Expedition
- They leave on 1st Safar 2 AH to Abwa just past Juhfah
- The Mission was to intercept A Qurayshi Caravan but there was no contact
- However, he does make A Treaty with The Banu Damrah Clan in which Imam Ali writes the agreement
Expedition to Buwat [ Patrol of Buwat ]
- This was The Prophet’s Second Military Expedition
- In Rabi Al Awwal, The Prophet led a Second Expedition to attack A Qurayshi Caravan led by Umayyah Ibn Khalaf [ Bilal’s Former Owner ]
- Again they failed to engage
- According to some historians, Umayyah Ibn Khalaf took another route possibly because he was tipped off
The Preliminary Badr Invasion [ The Minor Battle of Badr ]
- This was The Prophet’s Third Military Expedition
- Karz Ibn Jabir Al Fihri burgeld The Cattle of A Madinan
- The Prophet and Imam Ali [ Standard Bearer ] led an Expedition to chase him down
- They followed him to The Wells of Badr but lost him
- During this expedition, The Prophet installed Zayd as his Deputy in Madinah
- One of the consequences of this Battle was that The Prophet decided that he needed to have Spies for Reconnaissance [ To monitor the tracks of The Quraysh and their allies ]
Expedition of Dhu Al Ushayrah [ Patrol of Dhu Al Ushayrah ]
- The Prophet took around 150 - 200 Companions to attack The Mother of All Caravans led by Abu Sufyan
- This is The Annual Caravan that went up to Syria which contained around 70 % - 80 % of wealth in Makkah [ Because anyone who has money in Makkah would invest in this Caravan ]
- The Prophet wanted to catch The Caravan as it went up to Syria
- However, their paths did not cross
- One of the People of Abu Sufyan’s Caravan had strayed and saw The Muslims
- He rushed back to inform his people and Abu Sufyan hastily went away that otherwise he would have not gone
- Abu Sufyan knows that he cannot come back unprepared so he sends an envoy back to Makkah making sure that they are prepared for him on the return journey
- The Quraysh will send an entire army and this was the set up for The Battle of Badr
- The Muslims were not expecting an army but Abu Sufyan was trying to be 10 steps ahead
- He sent a crier with false stories and exaggerations [ He told the crier to brush himself up, cause himself to bleed, tore his clothes up, etc and basically was causing frantic chaos in Makkah to get an army together and prepare for war ]
- And so they went berserk and gathered the largest army The Quraysh had ever seen
Expedition of Nakhla [ Raid on Nakhla ]
- The Prophet learned of A Makhzumi Caravan returning from Yemen and sends an 8 Person Reconnaissance Team to verify the news
- The group led by his cousin Abdullah Ibn Jahsh is instructed to proceed to the road that connects Makkah to Taif and watch for A returning Qurayshi Caravan
- Though the men are instructed to simply observe The Caravan, They spot A rare opportunity to attack it near The Village of Nakhla when fighting is strictly forbidden throughout Arabia
- The Attack is unexpected and all but 2 Makkans are taken captive
- 1 Man is Killed while the other Nawfal Ibn Abdullah escapes to Makkah
- When The Muhajireen [ Emigrants ] return from Nakhla, The Prophet condemns their decision to attack during The Sacred Month and refuses to accept The Spoils of War
- Later, Allah reveals 2 : 217 in The Al Quran
” They ask you concerning the sacred month about fighting in it. Say ‘ Fighting in it is a grave matter and hindering [ Men ] from Allah’s way and denying it and [ Hindering men from ] The Sacred Mosque and turning its people out of it are still graver with Allah and the mischief is graver than the killing and they will go on fighting with you so that they may turn you back from your religion if they can and whoever of you turns back from his religion then dies while an unbeliever, these it is whose deeds are forfeited in this world and the hereafter and they are the inmates of the fire, therein shall they abide. ‘ “
Al Quran [ 2 : 217 ]
How could The Prophet condone Caravan Raiding ?
- Karen Armstrong [ British Author and Commentator ] writes :-
” At the very least, he had to ensure that The Emigrants [ Muhajireen ] did not become A drain upon the economy. But it was difficult for them to earn A living. Most of them were merchants or bankers but there was very little opportunity for trade in Madinah where the wealthier Arabs and Jewish Tribes had achieved A monopoly … Their aim was not to shed blood but to secure an income by capturing camels, merchandise and prisoners who could be held for ransom. “
Were The Raids Offensive or Defensive
- It is important to keep in mind that some of The Quraysh went so far as to seize the properties and belongings of The Muhajireen [ Emigrants ] had left behind in Makkah
- They [ Emigrants ] would attack The Makkan Caravans passing near Madinah in order to take back the equivalent of their belongings that were usurped
- The Raids included only The Muhajireen [ Emigrants ] since only they were the victims of The Quraysh Confiscation
What Did The Raids Achieve
- The early expeditions achieved considerable results for The Muslims :-
1) They enabled them to form A good idea for the geography of the surrounding regions of Madinah. They identified the routes followed by Caravans travelling from Makkah to Syria
2) They also established contracts with several Tribes in the Area and entered into Alliances with them
3) The Muslims also proved that they were powerful enough to defend themselves and their Faith against any external or internal Threat [ Bolstered The Morale of The Muslims ]
4) They were made aware that threats could potentially come from either direction. Internally, The Jews and The Arabs who had accepted Islam could pose A threat while externally The Quraysh and their Allies were on the lookout for a chance to crush The New Muslim State
5) The Prophet also introduced certain new tactics which he employed in these expeditions. Most important among these was secrecy which helped in taking the enemy by surprise
6) As a result of these expeditions, The Quraysh recognized that its trade route to Syria was no longer secure. As Makkah relied on trade, such insecurity and the threat of an Economic Seige were Restraining Factors against The Quraysh making any rash move against The Muslims
Practical Lessons learned in this chapter
1) No victory comes with ease. Even Prophets must sacrifice and face challenges and fail before attaining victory
2) God id not bias towards Muslims. When Muslims violated the sanctity of The Sacred Months, they were condemned
3) The Prophet chose his Family Members to lead dangerous missions. True Leaders lead by example and do not put others in harms way while they protect themselves and their own families
4) The Prophet did not send any Ansar [ Local Emigrants ] on these expeditions because he honoured the terms of their pledge which was based on Protection and Not Offensive Attacks
