VOL 7.2

Banu Qaynuqa' were goldsmiths and armourers, and also conducted

a market. They had been confederates of 'Abd Allah b.

Ubayy, and when they surrendered after a fortnight's siege, he

pleaded for them, though without much success. The statement

quoted by al-Tabari from al-Waqidi that Muhammad wanted to

kill them seems to be mistaken. It was against their expulsion

that 'Abd Allah b. Ubayy argued on the ground that Muhammad

Translator’s Foreword

xxix

might some day be in need of their skill as armourers; but Mu-

hammad was not to be moved. On leaving Medina, they are said

to have gone first to Wadi al-Qura, where there were Jewish set-

tlements, then to Syria.

The expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa* was only the first of a series of

attacks on Jewish groups and individuals. A few months later,

five men of the Ansar (of the tribe of al-Aws) killed Ka'b b. al-

Ashraf, who counted as a Jew because his mother was Jewish, al-

though his father was a pagan Arab from a nomadic tribe. He was

a noted poet who after Badr went to Mecca and did his best to discredit

the Muslim cause and create dissension. Two of those in-

volved in the killing were his milk-brothers (1368-72). Al-Tabari

follows this almost immediately (1375-83) with the account of

the killing of Abu Rafi' Sallam b. Abl al-Huqayq ; but this probably

occurred considerably later, after the siege of Medina in the

year 8/627. He had seconded the efforts of Ka'b b. al-Ashraf

against the Muslims and later had helped to persuade nomadic

tribes to take part in military operations against Medina.

Minor expeditions between Badr and Uhud (1362-8; 1373-5)

Apart from the "expedition" against Ka'b b. al-Ashraf, there

were four between Badr and Uhud led by Muhammad himself and

one led by his adoptive son, Zayd b. Harithah. The early Muslim

scholars discussed the dating of these expeditions at length without

coming to any firm conclusions. Furthermore, so little information

is given about them that it is difficult to know the precise

aim of some, much less to determine the exact dates.

The first was the so-called "barley-meal raid" ( sawiq ) in which

the Muslims were responding to a challenge from the Meccans.

Abu Sufyan probably intended to do no more than make a gesture

which might help to restore Meccan prestige among the nomads,

but his two hundred horsemen could have inflicted heavy casualties

on any Muslims fighting on foot — and the Muslims had only

one or two horses. His retreat when a Muslim force came out

against him seems to show that he was not looking for a confrontation.

Significant points are the apparent ease with which he entered

Medina and the fact that a leading man of a Jewish clan was

prepared to converse with him. (The fact that the nickname of

XXX

The Foundation of the Community

"barley-meal raid" was also given to what is otherwise known as

Badr al-Maw'id 10 indicates the difficulties the historians had with

the small early expeditions.)

The other expeditions led by Muhammad were against nomadic

tribes and were perhaps chiefly intended to convince po-

tentially hostile nomads that the Muslims could not be attacked

with impunity. The expedition led by Zayd to al-Qaradah was,

like that to Badr, aimed at a caravan. The Meccan leaders realized

the difficulty they were in after Badr, since any caravan following

the normal coastal route northwards could easily be attacked by

raiders from Medina. They therefore sent a small but wealthy caravan

by a more easterly route through Najd. Muhammad must

have learnt about this, for he sent out Zayd with a force of a

hundred men, more than sufficient to overawe the Meccans and

make them abandon their caravan. Al-Tabari, following Ibn

Ishaq, says the caravan was led by Abu Sufyan, but al-Waqidx

makes the leader Safwan b. Umayyah, supported by Abu Zam'ah

al-Aswad b. al-Muttalib. 11

The battle of Uhud (1383-1430)

The Meccan defeat at Badr, along with subsequent events such

as the loss of a caravan at al-Qaradah, had made it clear to all that

if Mecca was to survive as a commercial power it must somehow

reduce Muhammad to impotence and restore its own prestige

among the Arabs generally. To the achievement of this end the

Meccans directed strenuous efforts in the months after Badr under

the forceful leadership of Abu Sufyan b. Harb. By the spring of

625, he was able to mobilize three thousand men from the men of

Mecca and the allied tribes in the neighbourhood; of these, 700

had coats of mail and two hundred were mounted on horses. They

set out about 1 x March and reached the oasis of Medina on Thursday,

21 March, entering it from the northwest comer and pasturing

their animals in the fields of cereals there.

Muhammad's first plan was that the people of Medina should

retire to the strongholds or fortified houses ( atam ), of which each

10. See 1457-9 below.

11. Abu Sufyan is mentioned by al-Tabari in his report from al-Waqidi, but he is

not mentioned at all in al-Waqidi, 1 97f.

Translator’s Foreword

XXXI

clan had several. The Meccans would find these virtually impregnable

and would be unable to use their cavalry if there was fighting

in the confined spaces between the strongholds. Some of the

Ansar, however, could not bear to see their fields devastated by

the Meccans and insisted on marching out to confront them.

Somewhat against his better judgement, Muhammad agreed. He

set out with a thousand men and, using a guide with local knowledge,

slipped past the Meccans and took up a position to the north

of their camp on the lower slopes of the hill of Uhud, where he

could not be attacked by the Meccan cavalry. Before he reached

this position, however, 'Abd Allah b. Ubayy with three hundred

men had returned to the strongholds in the centre of the oasis,

leaving only seven hundred men with Muhammad. Presumably

he acted in this way because he disagreed with Muhammad's policies,

though there are divergent views on the point. From this

time on, 'Abd Allah b. Ubayy is known as the leader of the Hypocrites

( munafiqun ), the nominal Muslims opposed to Muhammad.

Al-Tabari's method of presenting without comment a series of

slightly different reports about incidents in the battle does not

produce a clear picture but suggests rather a long, confused melee.

By following the more coherent accounts and mak i ng use of

the references in the Qur’an, the course of the battle may be outlined

somewhat as follows.

It possibly began with an unsuccessful attack by the Meccan

cavalry. Muhammad's main defence against them is usually

taken to be his archers, posted on his left flank. The report from

Ibn 'Abbas (page 1394) most probably does not mean that al-

Zubayr and his men had to move against the cavalry but that they

were posted in such a way that they could deflect a cavalry charge

in cooperation with the archers. Apart from this, the chief Meccan

assault seems to have been an advance by the infantry against

the main body of Muslims, who may have begun to move down

from the hill slopes. The references to the carrying of the Meccan

standard by men of the clan of 'Abd al-Dar (and the deaths of

eleven of them) seem to imply that they led this advance. Fierce

fighting ensured, of which the Muslims had the better. The Meccans

retreated towards their camp, perhaps even took to flight

and abandoned their camp (as is suggested by the mention of the

xxxii The Foundation of the Community

women running away}. It is doubtful whether the Muslims actually

began to plunder the camp, but some sections of the Muslim

force saw opportunities for plunder, and in particular some of the

archers left their positions.

When these movements were observed by Khalid b. al-Walid,

commanding the right wing of the cavalry, he caused consternation

by charging the Muslim flank and rear. It was at this point

that Muhammad was personally involved in fighting and was

wounded. However, he was able to rally a number of Muslims

round him and to regain the slopes of Uhud. They may have been

a little higher than previously, and they beat off Meccan attacks

without much difficulty. One body of Muslims, however, instead

of making for the hill, tried to reach a stronghold to the south of

the Meccan camp, and it was probably they who suffered the

severest casualties. The figure is given of seventy Muslims killed,

four Emigrants and sixty-six of the Ansar . 12 As soon as Abu Sufyan

realized that it would be impossible to dislodge the Muslims

from their position on the hill, he decided to leave Medina and return

to Mecca. The whole Meccan army moved off to Hamra’ al-

Asad, eight miles to the south.

To understand this surprising denouement, it is necessary to

assess carefully the significance of the battle for the two sides.

The fact that there were seventy Muslim casualties as against

twenty-two Meccan suggests a serious defeat for the Muslims,

and both Muslim and Western scholars have often interpreted it

in this way. Yet, a little reflection shows that it was far from being

a victory for the Meccans. They had boasted that they would

exact several Muslim lives for every Meccan life lost at Badr,

whereas, on the assumption that seventy Meccans fell at Badr,

the Muslim losses in the two battles were less than those of the

Meccans, and so they had not even achieved a life for a life. More

seriously, the Meccans had completely failed in their strategic

aim of breaking Muhammad's power. These facts point to the

conclusion that in the early stage of the fighting, before the reversal

of fortune brought about by the cavalry charge, the Meccan infantry

had had much the worse of it; many of the horses, too, may

have been wounded by the Muslim arrows. Abu Sufyan must

ii. IH, 607-9,- W, 300-7.

Translator’s Foreword xxxiii

have reckoned that despite the Muslim casualties the Meccans

were not capable of attacking the strongholds of Medina. He may

also have hoped that those of the inhabitants of Medina who were

least enthusiastic about Muhammad and his religion would now

turn against him and expel him; and he would not want to do

anything to antagonize such people.

From a strictly military point of view, then, Muhammad

had not been seriously defeated; apart from the possibility of increased

disaffection towards him in Medina, he had come out of

the battle at least as well as the Meccans. What Abu Sufyan could

not have realized, however, was that the happenings at Uhud

were for Muhammad and the Muslims a serious spiritual reverse.

After the victory of Badr, the Muslims had thought that they were

practically invincible, since God and his angels were helping

them. In the Qur’an (8.66), Muhammad was told to encourage the

Muslims to fight, for "if there are twenty steadfast men among

you, they will overcome two hundred, and if a hundred, they will

overcome a thousand." To the ordinary Muslim, conscious of so

many comrades dead, it must have seemed that God was not supporting

them after all. Muhammad's own faith may have been

shaken, at least briefly. In due course the Qur’an made it clear

that the discomfiture did not indicate withdrawal of God's support

but was caused by the Muslims' own disobedience and excessive

desire for plunder.

Whatever Muhammad's inmost feelings in the immediate aftermath

of Uhud, he publicly put a brave face on things, and on

the following day led out about nine hundred men to Hamra’ al-

Asad, from which the Meccans had now moved on to al-Rawha’.

This expedition was really a kind of gesture of defiance intended,

as Ibn Ishaq put it, "to lower the morale of the enemy . . . and to

give them the impression that his strength was unimpaired."

To heighten the show of strength, Muhammad told the men to

gather wood by day and to light a large number of fires at night — a

matter mentioned by al-Waqidl but not thought worthy of inclusion

by al-Tabari. A friendly nomad, Ma'bad al-Khuza'i, also

helped by exaggerating the size and warlike attitude of the Muslim

force. At the same time, Abu Sufyan was using comparable

means to scare the Muslims into withdrawing, while some of the

Meccans wanted to attack Medina again. It is unlikely, however,

XXXIV

The Foundation of the Community

that either side thought seriously of again engaging the enemy;

and both soon returned to base.

The expeditions of year 4 (1431-59)

For an adequate understanding of the events of year 4, which

were relatively minor, it is necessary to appreciate more of the

general background than is made clear in the materials presented

by al-Tabari.

The key is to be found in the activities of the Meccans after

Uhud. Despite the casualties inflicted on the Muslims, the Meccans

had failed to dislodge Muhammad or even, as things turned

out, to seriously weaken him. Yet this was what they had to do if

they were to preserve their commerce and their wealth. It must

have been clear to Abu Sufyan, too, that the army he had managed

to collect from Mecca itself and the small neighbouring

tribes was not sufficient to achieve their aim. For complete success

they would have to have the support of some of the great nomadic

tribes; and for the next two years the Meccans were making

strenuous efforts to gain this support, using all possible

means from promises of booty to straight bribes.

In consequence of this, Muhammad's general strategy during

these years, apart from restoring confidence among the Ansar and

strengthening his position in Medina, was to take all possible

measures to counteract what the Meccans were doing. There was

an expedition shortly after Uhud (not mentioned by al-Tabari)

into regions friendly to the Meccans in order to counteract their

propaganda about Muhammad's weakness and display something

of the Muslims' military power. The expedition to Dhat al-Riqa'

{1453 — 7) was somewhat similar. Muhammad also hoped to persuade

groups from the nomadic tribes to accept Islam and toward

this end was prepared to take calculated risks. Examples of this,

in which the gamble did not come off, were the expeditions of al-

Raji* (1431-7) and Bi’r Ma'unah (1441-8). Muhammad's prestige

was apparently now such that one group or faction within a tribe

might hope to improve its standing in the tribe by being first to

embrace Islam. Something of this sort may have been at the root

of the attack on the Muslims at al-Raji'. It was certainly present

in the disaster at Bi’r Ma'unah.

In the latter case, the chief of the tribe of 'Amir, Abu Bara’

Translator’s Foreword

xxxv

'Amir b. Malik, seems to have wanted to improve his position in

the tribe against a rival faction led by his nephew, 'Amir b. al-

Tufayl. Abu Bara’ gave his formal protection to the Muslim party,

and this should have been respected by all the tribe; and it was in

fact respected by all despite the pleas of his nephew to disregard

it. Foiled at this point, the nephew suggested to nearby clans of

the tribe of Sulaym, with whom he must have been on good

terms, that they could attack the Muslims with impunity. All the

Muslims were killed except a nomadic confederate who was able

to claim that he was protected by some oath. What happened next

is puzzling to the Westerner. On his way back to Medina this confederate

met two men of the tribe of 'Amir and killed them; as a

result Muhammad had to pay blood-money to 'Amir for these two

men, although he was unable to claim blood-money for the forty

or more Muslims who had been killed. The explanation is that

the actual killing had been done by men of Sulaym, so that in

Arab eyes they alone were responsible (and Muhammad was not

in a position to demand blood-money from Sulaym, which was

friendly to Mecca). 'Amir b. al-Tufayl had suggested the killing

and so in Western eyes was morally responsible, but he had not

been physically involved in it, and so he and his tribe of 'Amir

were not liable for blood-money. The nomadic confederate was a

powerful and brutal man who a little earlier had gone to Mecca in

an attempt to kill Abu Sufyan (1437-41).

In the case of the last expedition of the year, that of Badr al-

Maw'id (1457-9), it seems clear that neither side really meant to

engage the other in battle, but both put on a show of brinkmanship

to convince the tribes of the region that they themselves

had no fear, whereas the opponents were on the point of running

away.

The expulsion of Banu al-Nadir (1448—53)

The main underlying reason for the expulsion of the clan of al-

Nadir was the same as in the case of Qaynuqa', namely, that

Jewish criticisms endangered the ordinary Muslim's belief in

Muhammad's prophethood and in the Qur’an as revelation from

God. It should also be kept in mind that the attack was made

only a few weeks after the Muslim loss of life at al-Raji' and Bi’r

Ma'unah, when many people in Medina must have been -

XXXVI

The Foundation of the Community

entertaining gloomy feelings. Some of the details are obscure. The clan

of al-Nadir had some sort of alliance with the tribe of 'Amir, but it

is not clear how this affected the question of blood-money. Again,

while it is possible that some men of al-Nadir really planned to

drop a stone on Muhammad and kill him, it is also possible that

the allegation was no more than an excuse to justify the attack.

Even if there is some truth in the story, however, the incident

was only the occasion for the attack, not the fundamental reason.

Apart from the general hostility of the Jews to Muhammad and Islam,

a chief of al-Nadir had given hospitality and information to

Abu Sufyan at the time of the "barley-meal raid" in 624, and

Muhammad may have been aware of this. The result of the Meccan

attack was similar to that on Qaynuqa', except that some of

the clan of al-Nadir remained at the oasis of Khaybar where they

had lands.

Muhammad's s.a.w  family

During year 4 (about October 625), Muhammad lost his eldest

grandson, 'Abd Allah, the son of 'Uthman and Muhammad's

daughter Ruqayyah. A few months later, however, in January 626,

'All and Fatimah had a second son, al-Husayn (1453).

M uhamma d married Zaynab bt. Khuzaymah about February

626 (1441). Her first husband al-Tufayl b. al-Harith had divorced

her and then she had married his brother 'Ubaydah, who had been

killed at Badr. Muhammad may have felt that he had an obligation

to her, since her two husbands had been from the clan of al-

Muttalib, which was virtually part of his own clan of Hashim,-

she herself belonged to the tribe of 'Amir, with which he was

cultivating good relations.

About a month later he took another wife, Umm Salamah, the

widow of Abu Salamah, who had died from wounds received at

Uhud after apparently recovering. Both were from the Meccan

clan of Makhzum, the clan of Abu Jahl, with which it was important

for Muhammad to have good relations.

Al-Tabari and his Sources

Al-Tabari’s main source for the first four years of the Hijrah

was the Shah or biography of the Prophet by Ibn Ishaq (d. 150/

767). A form of this is still extant and is available in scholarly

Translator’s Foreword xxxvii

printed editions and in an English translation by Alfred Guillaume.

The extant form of the Sirah is the recension of it by an-

other scholar, Ibn Hisham (d. 218/833), who added some small

items of information but also omitted a few passages. In the present

volume, the most notable omissions are those of how the

Prophet's uncle al-'Abbas took part in the battle of Badr as a pagan

and was captured. Though not found in Ibn Hisham's recension,

these have been reproduced by al-Tabari. 13 Guillaume places Ibn

Hisham's additions in an appendix but includes in his main text

passages of Ibn Ishaq's work from al-Tabari and others. While al-

Tabari retains most of the strictly narrative parts of Ibn Ishaq, he

omits some matters only incidental to the main account, as well

as the lists of names, the detailed references to Qur’anic texts

about Badr, Uhud and the like, and most of the poetry.

To the material from Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari adds divergent accounts

from a large number of sources. The most important of

these is al-Waqidi (d. 207/823), whose Kitab al-Maghazi ("Book of

the Expeditions") has been excellently edited. He seems to have

studied questions of dating more thoroughly than Ibn Ishaq, and

al-Tabari always notes where his conclusions differ from the latter's.

Apart from this, however, al-Tabari only reproduces material

from al-Waqidi where It is significantly different from Ibn

Ishaq, but he does not reproduce material found only in al-Waqidi.

Another source worthy of mention is an early document, the

letter of 'Urwah b. al-Zubayr (d.94/712) to the Umayyad caliph

'Abd al-Malik. 14 Ibn Ishaq uses material from 'Urwah but does not

seem to have known of this document.

Al-Tabari also has a small amount of material for which he

gives no source, such as statements about births, deaths, and

marriages. These were possibly regarded as matters of common

knowledge.

Problems of Chronology

For the first ten years of the Hijrah there are special difficulties

about the correlation of Islamic dates with Christian. The -

13. See pp. 1290, 1323, 1339!, 1344, and notes 6 5 and 101.

14. See pp. 1284-9 and notes 16 and 56.

xxxviii The Foundation of the Community

"standard" correlation (as found in Wiistenfeld-Mahler'sche Vergleichungs-

Tabellen, ed. Bertold Spuler, Wiesbaden 1961 ) has

been followed here. This is based on the assumption that the

strict Islamic calendar, without intercalary months, was followed

from the beginning of year 1. This assumption, however, is almost

certainly wrong, since the Qur’anic verse ( 9 - 37 ) forbidding

the use of the intercalary month (nasi) was revealed at the Pilgrimage

of the year 10 (March 632). There is thus a presumption

that before that date three or four intercalary months had been

observed by the Muslims since the Hijrah. There is no record,

however, of how many such months there had been, nor in what

years. This leads to discrepancies about the day of the week on

which certain events happened. Thus Muhammad is said to have

arrived at Quba’ in the oasis of Medina on Monday, 12 Rabi' al-

awwal; but according to the "standard" correlation, this was a

Friday. Attention has not been called to discrepancies of this type

except in note 1. The alternative method of dating events as so

many months after the Hijrah is a useful check, but does not

solve the problems.

While Dr. Michael McDonald and I have cooperated closely in

this volume, the primary work of translation has been his and

that of annotation and introduction mine. The rendering of

Qur’anic verses is from The Meaning of the Glorious Koran by

Marmaduke Pickthall.

W. Montgomery Watt

[1256]

&

The

Events of the Year

I

(July 16, 622-JuLY 4, 623)

Part 2: The Period After the Hijrah

Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari) states: We have already mentioned the date

of the Prophet's arrival in Medina, the place in which he stayed

when he arrived, the man with whom he stayed, the length of his

stay in that place and his departure from it. We shall now men*

tion the other noteworthy events of this year, the first year of the

Hijrah.

The First Friday Prayer

Among these is his holding the Friday prayer with his companions

on the day on which he left Quba’ for Medina. This was on

Friday, 1 and the time for prayer — the Friday prayer — overtook

1. IH, 333, says that the Messenger reached Quba* on the outskirts of the oasis of

Medina on Monday, 12 Rabr al-Awwal (September 24, 622}, and stayed there until

Friday of that week. According to the standard calendar, 12 Rabr al-Awwal is itself a Friday; but the standard calendar is based on the assumption that from year

1 the Muslims observed a lunar year without intercalary months, whereas it is almost certain that some intercalary months had been observed before the revela tion of the verse (Qur. 9.7) abolishing them; because of this, some slight discrepancies of dating are only to be expected and will not be further commented on here.

It is generally agreed in many sources that so long as Muhammad was at Mecca

there was no special observance of the Friday midday prayer.

2

The Foundation of the Community

him in the territory of the Banu Salim b. 'Awf in the bed of a wadi

belonging to them, and this was used as a mosque that day. 1 This

was the first Friday prayer which the Messenger of God held in Islam.

On this Friday he delivered a sermon, the first sermon he

preached in Medina.

The Seimon of the Messenger of God at the

First Friday Prayer 3

According to Yunus b. 'Abd al-A'la — Ibn Wahb — Sa'Id b. 'Abd al-

Rahman al-Jumahi: The sermon of the Messenger of God at the

first Friday prayer which he led at Medina in the territory of the

Banu Salim b. 'Awf was as follows:

Praise be to God. I praise him, and call on him for help, forgiveness

and guidance. I believe in him, do not deny him and

am an enemy of whoever denies him. I bear witness that

there is no deity but God alone, without partner, and that

Muhammad is his servant and his Messenger, whom he has

sent with guidance, light and exhortation after an interval

{fatrah)* in the appearance of messengers, at a time when

2. According to IH, 335, the wadi is Wadi Ranunah; see map in Watt, Medina,

152. Banu Salim b. "Awf was a small but important clan in Medina, usually known

as Qawaqilah. The clan system at Medina is very complex. Eight large clans are

mentioned in the document known as the Constitution of Medina (IH, 341 -4)/

but sixteen subclans seem to have functioned to some extent as independent

units, and at least as many more are occasionally mentioned. A form of the genealogical

table is given in Watt, Medina , 154. and this shows the nominal place of

other clans to be mentioned later by al-Tabari. Many of the names in the table appear

to be fictitious, perhaps due to the persistence in Medina until about this period

of a matrilineal kinship system. It should also be noted that the term banu,

"sons of," is used for kinship groups of all sizes, from single families to the largest

tribes; the use of words like "clan" and "tribe" depends on scholars’ estimates of

the size of the group.

3. IH, 340, gives a different sermon. The text here cannot be an exact reproduction

of the original, since it contains a verse of the Qur’an revealed at the time of

the battle of Badr.

4. It is unlikely that Muhammad himself would have used the words "I bear

witness that Muhammad is his servant and his Messenger." For fatrah, see El ,

s.v. The word was used for the interval or period between any two prophets or

messengers, but more particularly for that between Jesus and Muhammad. It may

also suggest a slackening of the previous prophet's religion.

The Events of the Year i

3

knowledge is scarce, men are led astray, time is cut short, the

Last Hour is at hand and the End is close. Whoever obeys God

and his Prophet has been rightly guided; whoever disobeys

them has erred, been remiss and gone far astray. I recommend

to you the fear of God, for the best thing which a Muslim

can enjoin upon a Muslim is that he should exhort him

to seek the Other World and command him to fear God. Beware

of what God has warned you against concerning himself.

There is no better advice than this and no better admonition.

The fear of God, for whoever acts according to it in fear

and dread of his Lord, is a trusty aid to what you desire of the

Other World. He who sets aright what is between him and

his Lord in secret and in public, seeking nothing thereby but

the face of God, will be remembered in this world, and will

have a treasure in that which is after death. Then a man will

have need of that good which he has done previously; and as

for that which is otherwise, he will wish that there was a

great distance between him and it. God warns you to beware

of himself, but God is merciful to his servants and to those

who believe his word and fulfil their promises. God says:

"The sentence that cometh from me cannot be changed, and

I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves ." 5 Fear God, then, in

this world and the next, in secret and in public. He who fears

God will have his evil deeds forgiven and his reward magnified;

he will achieve a great success. The fear of God will

ward off God's hatred and retribution and wrath. The fear of

God will make people blameless in the sight of God, will

please the Lord and will raise their degree. Seize hold of your

portion, and do not be remiss with regard to God. God has

caused you to know his Book and has opened his path before

you in order that he may know those who speak the truth

and those who lie. Act well, then, as God has acted well with

you. Be enemies of his enemies, and strive on God's behalf

in the way to which he is entitled. He has chosen you and

named you Muslims, "that he who perished (on that day)

5. Qur. 50.29; the "slaves" or "servants" (of God) are human beings generally.

(1258)

4 The Foundation of the Community

might perish by a clear proof (of his sovereignty) and he who

survived might survive by a clear proof." 6 There is no power

but with God. Remember God frequently and act for the sake

of that which is after today; for he who sets aright that which

is between him and God will have that which is between him

and other men taken care of by God. That is because God pronounces

judgement upon men whereas they do not pronounce

judgement upon him, and because God rules men

whereas they do not rule him. God is most great. There is no

might but with God the great.

The Choice of a Site for Mosque and House

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger

of God mounted his she-camel and let her reins hang loose. The

inhabitants of every settlement of the Ansar (the Muslims of

Medina) which she went past invited him to stay with them, saying,

"Come, O Messenger of God, to a settlement which has

many defenders and is well-provisioned and impregnable." He

would say to them, "Let go her reins, for she is commanded (by

God)." Finally he reached the present site of his mosque, and his

[1259] camel knelt down where the door of his mosque is. At that time

this place was a drying-floor for dates and belonged to two orphan

boys of Banu al-Najjar under the guardianship of Mu'adh b. 'Afra’;

their names were Sahl and Suhayl, sons of 'Amr b. 'Abbad b.

Tha'labah b. Ghanm b. Malik b. al-Najjar. When the camel knelt

down, the Messenger of God remained on her. After a little she

got up and went a short distance, while the Messenger of God let

go her reins and did not direct her with them. Then she turned

round, went back to the place where she had knelt first, and there

knelt and laid down her neck. When the Messenger of God dismounted

from her, Abu Ayyub took his saddle into his house.

Others of the Ansar invited him to stay with them but the Messenger

of God said to them, "The man goes with his saddle," and

stayed with Abu Ayyub Khalid b. Zayd b. Kulayb among the Banu

Ghanm b. al-Najjar.

6. Qur. 8.42; generally held to have been revealed about the time of the battle of

Badr.

The Events of the Year i

5

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): The Messenger of God

asked to whom the drying-floor belonged, and Mu'adh b. 'Afra’

told him, "It belongs to two orphans under my guardianship,

whom I will compensate for it." The Messenger of God ordered

that a mosque should be built there, and stayed with Abu Ayyub

until the mosque and his living-quarters had been completed. 7

It is said that the Messenger of God bought the site of his

mosque and then built upon it, but the correct version in our

opinion is this, according to Mujahid b. Musa — Yazid b. Harun —

Hammad b. Salamah — Abu al-Tayyah — Anas b. Malik:

The site of the mosque of the Prophet belonged to Banu al-Najjar

and contained palm trees, cultivated land and pre-Islamic graves.

The Messenger of God said to them, "Ask me a price for it," but

they said, "We do not want a price for it, but only the reward we

shall receive from God." The Messenger of God then gave orders

concerning the site; the palm trees were cut down, the cultivated

land levelled, and the graves dug up. Before this mosque was completed

the Messenger of God used to pray in sheep-enclosures or

wherever the time of prayer overtook him.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): He himself joined in the

work of building his mosque, together with his companions from

the Emigrants and the Ansar.

Deaths and Minor Events

In this year the mosque of Quba’ was built.

The first Muslim to die after the Prophet's arrival in Medina, it

is said, was Kulthum b. al-Hidm, in whose house in Quba’ he had

lodged; his death occurred shortly afterwards. There followed in

the same year of the Prophet’s arrival the death of Abu Umamah

As'ad b. Zurarah, which occurred before the Messenger of God

had finished building his mosque; it resulted from diphtheria and

a rattling in the throat.

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr — Yahya b. 'Abd Allah b. 'Abd

al- Rahman: The Messenger of God said, "The death of Abu Uma-

7. What was built was primarily the living quarters for Muhammad and his

wives. At first, the mosque was presumably only the courtyard beside these.

6

The Foundation of the Community

mah is an evil thing for the Jews and the Arab Hypocrites. They

say, 'If Muhammad were a prophet, his companion would not

have died'; but I have no power with God either for myself or for

my companion."

According to Muhammad b. 'Abd al-A'la — Yazxd b. Zuray' —

Ma'mar — al-Zuhri — Anas: The Messenger of God cauterised

As'ad b. Zurarah for a whitlow ( shawkah ). 8

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq — 'Asim b.

[1261I 'Umar b. Qatadah: Abu Umamah As'ad b. Zurarah had been the

representative ( naqib )’ of Banu al-Najjar, and when he died they

came as a group to the Messenger of God and said, "O Messenger

of God, you know what position this man held among us; appoint

one of us to his place to perform for us the functions he used to

perform." The Messenger of God replied, "You are my maternal

uncles, 10 and I am one of you; I will be your representative." The

Messenger of God was unwilling to single out any one of them for

this honour to the disadvantage of others. As a result, it was

counted a distinction for the people of Banu al-Najjar that the

Messenger of God was their representative.

In this year there died Abu Uhayhah in al-Ta’if with all his

wealth, and al-Walid b. al-Mughirah and al-'As b. Wa’il al-Sahmi

in Mecca. 11

The Marriage with 'A'ishah

In this year also the Messenger of God consummated his marriage

with 'A’ishah. 12 This was in Dhu al-Qa'dah (May-June 623) eight

8. The identification of shawkah with "whitlow" is based on Hava's Dictionary. Elsewhere it is said to be a redness of face or body (Lane; Lisan al-'arab; s.v.).

9. At the second meeting at al-'Aqabah (June 622) twelve men were appointed

as nuqaba ’ (sing, naqib ) or "representatives" of the Ansar, the Muslims from

Medina. They were leading men in their clans, but their function is obscure; see

Watt, Mecca, 145-8; Medina, 248.

10. He is referring to the fact that his great-grandmother, Salma bt. f Amr, wife of

Hashim, was of Banu al-Najjar.

n. These were three powerful Meccan leaders of an older generation who had

opposed Muhammad; see Watt, Mecca, index.

12. 'A'ishah was the daughter of Abu Bakr, Muhammad's chief lieutenant, and

the marriage was important in cementing the relationship of the two men. According

to the statements given below, the original marriage, which could be considered

rather a betrothal, must have been about April or May, 620 or 621, since intercalary months presumably kept Shawwal about the same time of the solar year.

The Events of the Year i

7

months after his arrival in Medina according to some accounts, or

in Shawwal (April— May 623) seven months after his arrival according

to others. He had married her in Mecca three years before

the Hijrah, after the death of Khadijah. At that time she was six

or, according to other accounts, seven years old.

According to 'Abd al-Hamxd b. Bayan al-Sukkari— Muhammad

b. Yazld — Isma'Il (that is, Ibn Abi Khalid)— 'Abd

Rahman b. Muhammad: 'Abd Allah b. Safwan together with another

person came to 'A’ishah, and 'A’ishah said (to the latter), "O

so-and-so, have you heard what Hafsah has been saying?" 13 He

said, "Yes, O Mother of the Faithful." 'Abd Allah b. $afwan asked

her, "What is that?" She replied, "There are nine special features

in me that have not been in any woman, except for what God bestowed

on Maryam bt. 'Imran. 14 By God, I do not say this to exalt

myself over any of my companions." "What are these?" he asked.

She replied, "The angel brought down my likeness,- the Messenger

of God married me when I was seven; my marriage was consummated

when I was nine; he married me when I was a vir gin,

no other man having shared me with him,- inspiration came to

him when he and I were in a single blanket; I was one of the

dearest people to him; a verse of the Qur’an was revealed concerning

me when the community was almost destroyed; 13 1 saw

Gabriel when none of his other wives saw him; and he was taken

(that is, died) in his house when there was nobody with him but

the angel and myself."

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): The Messenger of God married

her, so it is said, in Shawwal, and consummated his marriage

to her in a later year, also in Shawwal.

13. Daughter of the second caliph 'Umar; married Muhammad in 3/625.

"Mother of the Faithful" was a title conferred on Muhammad's wives in 9/630

probably; and this incident must have occurred later; see Watt, Medina , a86f.

14. That is, Mary the mother of Jesus (see Qur. 3.35!.,* 66.12); but hardly any of

the special features apply to her.

15. This refers to the scandal about 'A’ishah after the raid on the tribe of al-

Mustaliq in 5/627. The verse is held to be Qur. 24. u.

8

The Foundation of the Community

Further Reports Concerning This

According to Ibn Bashshar— Yahya b. Sa'id— Sufyan— Isma'il b.

Umayyah — 'Abd Allah b. 'Urwah — his father ('Urwah) 16 —

'A'ishah: The Messenger of God married me in Shawwal and con-

summated his marriage to me in Shawwal. 'A'ishah liked her

women’s marriages to be consummated in Shawwal.

According to Ibn Waki' — his father — Sufyan — Isma'il b.

Umayyah — 'Abd Allah b. 'Urwah — 'Urwah — 'A’ishah: The Messenger

of God married me in Shawwal and consummated his marriage

to me in Shawwal, and which of the Messenger of God’s

wives did he favour more than me? 'A’ishah liked her women’s

marriages to be consummated in Shawwal.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): It is said that the Messenger

of God consummated his marriage to her on a Wednesday in

Shawwal in the house of (her father) Abu Bakr in al-Sunh. 17

Muslim Women Brought to Medina

In this year the Prophet sent Zayd b. Harithah and Abu Rafi' to

his daughters and his wife Sawdah bt. Zam'ah, and they brought

them from Mecca to Medina. 18 It is said that when 'Abd Allah b.

Urayqit 19 returned to Mecca he informed 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr of

the situation of his father Abu Bakr, and the latter brought his

father's family to him. The party included Umm Ruman, the

mother of 'A’ishah, ('A’ishah herself) and 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr,

and they were accompanied to Medina by Talhah b. 'Ubayd Allah.

16. 'Urwah, a son of al-Zubayr, had access to 'A’ishah because she was his

maternal aunt. His important collection of historical material was known to al-

Tabari, partly through Ibn Ishaq and partly through other channels. See n. 56

below.

17. Al-Sunh was a district of Medina where Abu Bakr lodged in the house of one

of the local Muslims (IH, 334).

18. Zayd b. Harithah was Muhammad's adoptive son and Abu Rafi' his mawla

or client. It is usually said that they escorted to Medina his two unmarried daughters, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah, as well as his wife Sawdah, whom he had mar-

ried after Khadijah's death.

19. Or b. Arqat. He was a pagan who had guided Muhammad and Abu Bakr on

their Hijrah from Mecca to Medina,

The Events of the Year i

9

Prayers of Travellers

In this year, it is said, two rak'ahs were added to the prayers of

those who were not travelling; up till now the prayers of those

not travelling and of those travelling had both been of two

rak'ahs. This change took place a month after the arrival of the

Messenger of God in Medina, that is, on 12 Rabi' al-Akhir (October

24, 622). Al-Waqidi asserts that there is no difference of opinion

among the people of Hijaz on this point.

Births

In this year also, some say, 'Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr was born; 20 but

according to al-Waqidi, he was bom in the second year of the

Messenger of God's residence in Medina, in Shawwal (April 624).

According to Al-Harith — Ibn Sa'd — Muhammad b. 'Umar al-

Waqidi: Ibn al-Zubayr was born in Medina twenty months after

the Hijrah.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): He was the first child born

to the Emigrants in the abode of the Hijrah. It is said that the

Messenger of God's companions cried, "Allah Akbar" ("God is

very great"), when he was bom. This was because a story was current

among the Muslims that the Jews claimed that they had bewitched

the Muslims so that no children would be born to them.

The Muslims praised God in joy that he had shown the Jews'

claim to be false. His mother, Asma’ bt. Abi Bakr, is said to have

been pregnant with him when she emigrated to Medina.

It is also said that al-Nu'man b. Bashir was bom in this year and

that he was the first child born to the Ansar after the Emigration

of the Prophet to them.

Al-Waqidi denies that this (happened in year r).

According to Al-Harith — Ibn Sa'd — al-Waqidi — Muhammad b.

Yahya b. Sahl b. Abi Hathmah — his father — his grandfather: The

first child bom to the Ansar was al-Nu'man b. Bashir, who was

born fourteen months after the Hijrah (about October-

(1264)

20. Son of the prominent Companion al-Zubayr. He attempted to set himself up

as caliph in Mecca from 64/684 to 73/692. ‘Urwah (n.16) was his full brother.

10

The Foundation of the Community

November 623); the Messenger of God died when he was aged

eight or a little more. Al-Nu'man was bom three or four months

before Badr.

According to Al-Harith — Ibn Sa'd — Muhammad b. 'Umar (al-

Waqidi) — Mus'ab b. Thabit — Abu al-Aswad: Al-Nu'man b. Bashir

was mentioned in the presence of Ibn al-Zubayr, and he said, "He

is six months older than I."

According to Abu al-Aswad: Ibn al-Zubayr was bom exactly

twenty months after the Hijrah of the Messenger of God, and al-

Nu'man was bom in Rabi' al-Akhir, year 2 (October 623), fourteen

months after the Hijrah.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): It is said that al-Mukhtar b.

Abi 'Ubayd al-Thaqafi and Ziyad b. Sumayyah were bom in this

year.

Expedition Led by Hamzah

Al-Waqidi asserts that in this year, in Ramadan, seven months after

the Hijrah (about March 623), the Messenger of God entrusted

a white banner to Hamzah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib with the command

• • •

of thirty men of the Emigrants. Their aim was to intercept the

caravans of Quraysh. Hamzah met Abu Jahl at the head of three

hundred men. Majdi b. 'Amr al-Juhani intervened between them,

and they separated without a battle. The banner of Hamzah was

carried by Abu Marthad. 11

Expedition Led by ’Ubaydah

(He also says that) in this year, eight months after the Hijrah, in

Shawwal (April 623), the Messenger of God entmsted a white

banner to 'Ubaydah b. al-Harith b. al-Muttalib b. 'Abd Manaf and

ordered him to march to Batn Rabigh. His banner was carried by

Mistah b. Uthathah. He reached the pass of al-Marah, which is

near al-Juhfah, at the head of sixty Emigrants without a single

Ansar! (Muslim of Medina) among them. They met the polythests

21 . This is usually known as the expedition of Sif al-Bahr; cf. IH, 419-21; W, 9f.

Hamzah was Muhammad's uncle.

» •

The Events of the Year i

ii

at a watering place called Ahya'j they shot arrows at one an-

other but there was no hand-to-hand fighting.

There is a difference of opinion as to who was the commander

of the (Meccan) expedition} some say that it was Abu Sufyan b.

Harb and some that it was Mikraz b. Hafs.

• • •

Al-Waqidi says: I consider the true account to be that it was

Abu Sufyan b. Harb, and that he was at the head of two hundred

polytheists . 21

Expedition Led by Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas

In this year, in Dhu al-Qa'dah, the Messenger of God entrusted

to Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas a white banner (for an expedition) to al-

Kharrar. It was carried by al-Miqdad b. 'Amr . 23

According to Abu Bakr b. Isma'il — his father — 'Amir b.

Sa'd — his father: I set out on foot at the head of twenty men (or,

twenty-one men). We used to lie hidden by day and march at

night, until we reached al-Kharrar on the fifth morning. The Messenger

of God had enjoined me not to go beyond al-Kharrar, but

the caravan had got to al-Kharrar a day before me ; there were

sixty men with it. Those who were with Sa'd were all from the

Emigrants.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): Ibn Ishaq's 24 account of all

these expeditions differs from that of al-Waqidi, which I have just

related, and places them all in year 2.

Expedition Led by Muhammad to al-Abwa ’

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah b. al-Fadl — Muhammad b.

Ishaq: The Messenger of God came to Medina on the twelfth of

22. The expedition of Rabigh, placed before Sif al-Bahr by IH, 416-8; cf. W, lof.

Abu Sufyan of the clan of r Abd Shams/Umayyah was one of the leading men in

Mecca, and played an important part in later events. Art. Abu Sufyan in £/ 2 ; Watt,

Medina, index.

23. See IH, 422b; W,ii.

24. Muhammad b. Ishaq (d. 1 50/767) is the author of the Sirah (biography) of the

Prophet, which is the primary source for his career. It has been preserved and pub'

lished in the recension of Ibn Hisham (d. 218/833), and was also used by al-Tabari

in a different recension (see n.99). The other extant early source is the Maghazi

of al-Waqidi (d. 207/823), which was also used by al-Tabari. See Sezgin, GAS,

i.288-90; 294-9.

[1266]

12

The Foundation of the Community

Rabi' al-Awwal (September 24, 622), and remained there for the

rest of Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi* al-Akhir, the two Jumadas, Rajab,

Sha'ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah — the

pilgrimage in that month was directed by the polytheists — and

Muharram. In Safar (which began August 4, 623), nearly twelve

months after his arrival in Medina on the twelfth of Rabi' al-

Awwal, he went out on a raid as far as Waddan, searching for

Quraysh and the Banu Damrah b. Bakr b. 'Abd Manat b. Kinanah.

This was the expedition of al-Abwa’, 25 in the course of which the

Banu Damrah made a treaty of friendship with him; their fellowtribesman

and chief, Makhshi b. 'Amr, acted on their behalf.

Then the Messenger of God returned to Medina without any

fighting, and remained there for the rest of Safar and the beginning

of Rabi' al-Awwal.

25. See IH, 41 sf-; W, nf. ; see also i27of. below.