VOL 8.4

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

Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr 158 — *Urwah b. al-Zubayr—

'A’ishah, who said: Only one of their women was killed. By God,

she was by me, talking with me and laughing unrestrainedly while

the Messenger of God was killing their men in the marketplace,

when suddenly a mysterious voice 159 called out her name, saying,

"Where is so and so?" She said, "Here I am, by God." I asked,

"Alas, what is wrong?" She said, "I shall be killed." "Why?" I

{1495] asked. She said, "A misdeed 160 that I committed." She was taken

away and beheaded. ('A’ishah used to say: I shall never forget my

wonder at her cheerfulness and much laughter, even when she

knew that she would be killed.)

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

Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri: Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas came to al-Zablr

b. Ba$a al-Qurazi, whose familiar name was Abu 'Abd al- Rahman.

Al-Zabir had done Thabit b. Qays b. Shammas a favor in the Time

of Ignorance [before Islam]. (According to Muhammad [b. Isfraq]:

One of al-Zabir's descendants told me that he had done him this

favor at the battle of Bu'ath. 161 He had captured him but had cut

off his forelock and released him.) Thabit came to al-Zabir, now an

158. Muhammad b. Ja'far b. al-Zubayr died between 110/728-29 and 120/738.

See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, IX, 93.

159. Arabic h&tif, a voice from an unseen source, often with supernatural

overtones.

160. Arabic fradathun alfdathtuhu (literally, "a happening or a novelty that I

caused to happen") usually has a negative sense, see Lane, Lexicon, n, 528.

161. The battle of Bu'ath, the climax of the war of Hi{ib between Medina's two

Arab tribes, al-Aws and al-Khazraj, took place ca. a.d. 617, shortly before the

Hijrah and was fought in the territory of the Banu Quray^ah. See Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 155-58, EP, s.v. Bu'ath.

The Events of the Year 5

37

old man, and said, "Abu *Abd al-Rahman, do you recognize me?"

Al-Zabir replied, "Can someone like me fail to recognize someone

like you?" Thabit said, "I want to repay you for your favor to me."

Al-Zabir said, "Truly the noble man repays the noble!" Thabit

then went to the Messenger of God and said: "Messenger of God,

al-Zabir did me a favor and I owe him a debt of gratitude. I wish to

repay him for it. Grant me his life." The Messenger of God said,

"It is yours." So Thabit went to him and said: "The Messenger of

God has granted me your life. It is yours." He replied, "An old man

with no family and no children — what will he do with life?" So

Thabit went to the Messenger of God and said, "Messenger of

God, his family and children?" "They are yours," he said. So

Thabit went to him and said: "The Messenger of God has given me

your wife and your children. They are yours." He replied, "A

household in the Hijaz with no wealth — how can they survive?"

So Thabit went to the Messenger of God and said, "His wealth?"

"It is yours," he said. So Thabit went to him and said: "The Messenger

of God has given me your wealth. It is yours." He replied,

"O Thabit, how fares it with the one whose face was like a

Chinese mirror in which the virgins of the tribe viewed

themselves — Ka*b b. Asad?" Thabit said, "He has been killed."

"And how fares it," he said, "with the chief of the settled folk and

the nomads, Huyayy b. Akh^ab?" Thabit said, "He has been

killed." "And how fares it," he said, "with our vanguard when we

attacked and our defense when we wheeled round, 162 Azzal b.

Shamwll?" Thabit said, "He has been killed." "And how fares it,"

he said, "with the two assemblies?" (He meant the Banu Ka'b b.

Quray?ah and the Banu ’Amr b. Qurayzah.) Thabit said, "They

have gone to their death." He said: "Then I ask you for the sake of

the favor I once did for you to join me to my kinsmen, for by God

there is no good in living after them. I will not wait patiently for

God, not even [the time needed] to take the bucket of a watering

trough, until I meet my dear ones." So Thabit brought him forward,

and he was beheaded. When what he said — "until 1 meet my

dear ones" — was reported to Abu Bakr, he said, "He will meet

them, by God, in the fire of Gehenna, there to dwell forever and

forever." Concerning this, Thabit b. Qays b. al-Shammas said,

mentioning al-Zablr b. Ba{a:

161. Arabic kararna } IH, III, 243, reads fararna, "we fled"; W, II, 519, reads

wallaw "they turned back." Al-Waqidi gives the name as Ghazzal b. Samaw’al.

38

The Victory of Islam

My obligation has been acquitted: I was generous and was

patient, when the folk turned away from patience.

Zabir of all men had the greatest claim to gratitude

on me; therefore, when his wrists were tied with a thong,

I came to the Messenger of God, that I might untie him;

and the Messenger of God to us was a flowing sea. 163

The Messenger of God had commanded that all of them who

had reached puberty should be killed.

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

Ayyub b. *Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abdallah b. Abi $a'?a'ah 164 (a member

of the Banu 'Adi b. al-Najjar): Salma bt. Qays, the mother of al-

Mundhir and sister of Salif b. Qays, was one of the maternal aunts

of the Messenger of God. She had prayed with him facing both of

the qiblahs 165 and had sworn allegiance to him after the manner

of women. 166 She asked him for [the life of] Rifa'ah b. Shamwil al-

Qurazi, who had come of age. He had taken refuge with her and

had previously been one of their acquaintances. She said: "Prophet

of God, you are as dear to me as my father and mother! Give me

Rifa'ah b. Shamwil, for he has said that he will pray and eat camel

meat. 167 He gave him to her, and thus she saved his life.

According to Ibn Isfcaq: Then the Messenger of God divided the

wealth, wives, and children of the Banu Qurayzah among the

Muslims. On that day he made known the shares of horsemen and

shares of foot soldiers, and he deducted from these shares the fifth

163. I.e., granted the request. The sea is a metaphor tor generosity.

164. His name is also given as Ayyub b. *Abd al-Rahman b. $a'§a’ah. His exact

dates are not known. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, I, 408.

165. The qiblah is the direction that Muslims face in prayer. Originally

Muhammad followed the practice of the Jews in facing Jerusalem, but changed the

qiblah to the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca during a.h. 2 (see Watt and

McDonald, Foundation, 24-25 (I, 1279-81]) the change is alluded to in Qur’an

2:136 ££.), In other words, Salma's conversion to Islam took place before the change in the qiblah. See El 2 , s.v. ftibla.

166. Arabic: baya'athu bay'ata al-nisd’i— this was the term for a pledge of alle-

giance in which no obligation to fight was involved.

T67. Camel meat is permitted under Islamic dietary regulations but prohibited

under Jewish regulations.

The Events of the Year 5

39

[khums ). 168 A horseman received three shares: two shares for the

horse and one share for its rider. A foot soldier who had no horse

received one share. The cavalry at the battle with the Banu

Qurayzah numbered thirty-six horses. It was the first booty

[fay ’) 169 in which shares were allotted and from which the khums

was deducted; and according to its precedent (sunnu/z) and the

procedure of the Messenger of God in it divisions of booty took

place and precedent was followed in [succeeding] expeditions.

However, if a man had horses with him, he appointed shares only

for two horses.

Then the Messenger of God sent Sa'd b. Zayd al-An$ari (a member

of the Banu ‘Abd al-Ashhal) with some of the captives from the

Banu Qurayzah to Najd, and in exchange for them he purchased

horses and arms. The Messenger of God selected for himself from

their women Rayhanah bt. 'Amr b. Khunafah, a woman from the

Banu ’Amr b. Qurayzah, and she remained his concubine; when he

predeceased her, she was still in his possession. 170 The Messenger

of God offered to marry her and impose the curtain [hijab] on her,

but she said, "Messenger of God, rather leave me in your possession

[as a concubine], for it is easier for me and for you. " So he did

so. When the Messenger of God took her captive, she showed

herself averse to Islam and insisted on Judaism. So the Messenger

of God put her aside, and he was grieved because of her. Then,

while he was with his companions, he heard the sound of shoes

behind him and said, "This must be Tha'labah b. Sa’yah coming to

bring me tidings of Rayhanah's acceptance of Islam." He came to

him and said, "Messenger of God, Rayhanah has become a

Muslim" — and it gave the Messenger of God joy.

After the affair of the Banu Qurayzah had ended, the wound of

Sa’d b. Mu’adh broke open. The account of this is as follows,

according to Ibn Waki’ — Ibn Bishr — Muhammad b. ’Amr — his

father — 'Alqamah [in a report that he attributed to ’A’ishah): After

Sa’d b. Mu’adh had passed judgment as he did on the Banu

Qurayzah, he prayed, saying: "O God, Thou knowest that there

are no men against whom I would rather fight and strive than men

who called Thy Messenger a liar.

168. The khums was the one-fifth of booty reserved to Muhammad under

Qur'an 8:14 (said to have been revealed after the battle of Badr) to be used for

communal purposes; see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 23a, 25 s.

169. On the development of the term fay' ("chattels taken as booty") see El 2 , s.v.

170. I.e, she never became a full wife. See Ibn Sa'd, Jabaqat, VIII, 92-94.

40

The Victory of Islam

O God, if Thou hast saved any

portion of warfare with Quraysh for Thy Messenger, save me for

it; but if Thou hast cut off the warfare between him and them,

take me to Thee." So his wound broke open. The Messenger of

God returned him to the tent he had pitched over him in the

mosque.

'A’ishah said: The Messenger of God, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar

came to him. By the One holds the soul of Muhammad in His

hand, I could tell Abu Bakr's weeping from 'Umar's even while I

was in my chamber. They were, as God has said, "merciful among

themselves." 171

'Alqamah asked ['A’ishah], "Mother [of the Faithful], 172 how did

the Messenger of God behave?" She replied: "His eye did not weep

for anyone. When his grief for someone became intense or when

he was upset, he would only take hold of his beard."

According to Ibn yumayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq, who said: At

the Battle of the Trench only six Muslims and three polytheists

were killed. At the battle with the Banu Quray?ah, Khallad b.

Suwayd b. Tha'labah b. 'Amr b. Balharith b. al-Khazraj was killed:

a millstone was thrown onto him and badly crushed him. Abu

Sinan b. Mihsan b. Hurthan, a member of the Banu Asad b.

Khuzaymah, died while the Messenger of God was besieging the

Banu Qurayzah and was buried in the cemetery of the Banu

Quray?ah. After the Messenger of God returned from the trench,

he said, "Now we shall attack them"— meaning Quraysh— "and

they will not attack us" — and thus it was, until God granted His

Messenger the conquest of Mecca.

According to Ibn Ishaq, the conquest of the Banu Quray?ah took

place in the month of Dhu al-Qa'dah or in the beginning of Dhu al-

Hijjah. 173 Al-Waqidi, however, has said that the Messenger of God

attacked them a few days before the end of Dhu al-Qa'dah. He

asserted that the Messenger of God commanded that furrows

should be dug in the ground for the Banu Quray?ah. Then he sat

down, and 'Ali and al-Zubayr began cutting off their heads in his presence.

171. Qur’an 48:29.

172. See note 95, above.

173. Dhu al-Qa’dah of a.h. 5 began on 24 March 6 i 7 > Dhu al-Hijjah began on 23

April.

The Events of the Year 5

4i

He asserts that the woman whom the Prophet killed

that day was named Bunanah, the wife of al-Hakam al-Qurazi — it

was she who had killed Khallad b. Suwayd by throwing a mill-

stone on him. The Messenger of God called for her 174 and be-

headed her in retaliation for Khallad b. Suwayd.

There is disagreement over the date of the Prophet's expedition

against the Banu al-Mu?$aliq. This was the expedition called the

expedition of al-Muraysf — al-Muraysi' being the name of a watering

place belonging to [the tribe of] Khuza'ah, near Qudayd toward

the coast. 175 According to Ibn Ishaq (as transmitted to us by Ibn

Humayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq), the Messenger of God attacked

the Banu al-Mustaliq [clan] of Khuza'ah in Sha'ban of the year 6 of

the Hijrah. 176 Al-WaqidI has said that the Messenger of God attacked

al-Muraysi' in Sha'ban of the year 5 of the Hijrah. 177 He

asserted that the Battle of the Trench and the battle with the Banu

Quray?ah took place after al-Muraysi' — referring to the warfare

with the Banu al-Mustaliq of Khuza'ah. Ibn Ishaq (as transmitted

to us by Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq) asserted that the

Messenger of God returned after concluding the affair of the Banu

Qurayzah at the end of Dhu al-Qa'dah or at the beginning of Dhu

al-Hijjah. He remained in Medina during Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram,

$afar, and the two months of Rabi'. 178 During the year 5, the

polytheists were in charge of the pilgrimage.

174. For ed. Leiden's da' a biha ("called for her"), ed. Cairo reads da' a lahu

("prayed for him" — i.e., for Khallad).

175. The place, about 15 kilometers from Medina, was the site of the shrine to

Manat at al-Mushallal. See the article by T. Fahd in EP, s.v. Manat.

176. Sha’ban of a.h. 6 began on 16 December 627.

177. Sha'ban of a.h. 5 began on 26 December 626. For al-Waqidi's account, see

W, 1 , 404 ff. Cf. al-Tabari's account p. 51, below. Cf. also Hamidullah, Battlefields, 29-30, who argues for the earlier dating.

178. Roughly from 23 April 627 (the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah, 5) to 17 September 627 (the end of RabiawaII, 6).

The

Events of the Year

6

(May 23, 627-MAY 10, 628)

*

The Expedition against the Band Libyan 179

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari]: The Messenger of God set out

[1501] during Jumada I 180 at the end of six months from the conquest of

the Banu Qurayzah to the Banu Lihyan, seeking (vengeance] for

the men [who were betrayed] at al-Raji', Khubayb b. 'Adi and his

companions. 181 To take the enemy by surprise, he pretended to be

setting out for the north. 182 He left Medina and traveled by

Ghurab, a mountain near Medina, on his way north, then by

Makhld 183 and al-Batra’. 1 84 Then he veered to the left and, having

passed Yayn and $ukhayrat al-Yamam, 185 his route led him

directly by the main road to Mecca. He traveled quickly and

halted at GhurSn, where there were settlements of the Banu

179. Parallels: W, II, 535-37, IH, III, 279-81 (tr. Guillaume, 484-86).

180. Jumada I of a.h. 6 began on 18 September 627.

1 8 1. See note 84, above.

181. Arabic al-sha'm means both "north" and "Syria."

183. IH, III, 279: al-Mahi?) but Yaqut, Mu'jam al-bulddn, VII, 411, records

Makhid with reference to this passage and gives Mai}!? as a place within Medina

(VII, 401).

184. Al-Batra’ is a mountain about 130 miles northwest of Medina, about midway between Medina and Tabuk; it is not to be confused with the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, which has the same name in Arabic.

185. In W, II, S36, the names are given as Bin and §ukhayrit al-Thumam,

respectively.

The Events of the Year 6

43

Lihyan. (Ghuran is a valley between Amaj and 'Usfan 186 extending

toward a village called Sayah.) He found that they were on the

alert and had taken secure positions on the mountain tops. After

the Messenger of God had halted there and failed to take them by

surprise as he intended, he said, "If we went down to 'Usfan, the

Meccans would think that we had come for Mecca." So he set out

with two hundred riders of his companions and halted at 'Usfan.

He sent out two horsemen of his companions. They reached Kura'

al-Ghamim 187 and then returned, and he turned back.

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Ibn Ishaq (who transmitted

the report about the expedition against the Banu Lihyan

from 'A$im b. 'Umar b. Qatadah and 'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr, who

transmitted it from 'Ubaydallah b. Ka'b): Then the Messenger of

God returned to Medina. He had stayed only a few nights before

'Uyaynah b. Hisn b. Hudhayfah b. Badr al-Fazari with horsemen of

Ghafafan raided the milch camels of the Messenger of God at al-

Ghabah. 188 Tending them were a man of the Banu Ghifar 189 and

his wife. They killed the man and carried off the woman with the

camels.

The Expedition to Dhu Qarad

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

'A§im b. 'Umar b. Qatadah, 'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr, and someone

whom I do not doubt — 'Ubaydallah b. Ka'b b. Malik (each of

whom transmitted part of the report about the expedition to Dhu

Qarad): The first person to know about them 190 was Salamah b.

186. Yaqut, Mu'jam al-buldan, VI, 173-74, locates 'Usfan at two stages or 33

Arab miles from Mecca on the road to Medina. The name is preserved by a modern town about so miles northwest of Mecca.

187. Kura' al-Ghamim was a mountain on the edge of a lava field eight miles

from 'Usfan; see Yaqut, Mu'jam al-buldan, VII, 226.

188. For al-Ghabah, see note 73, above. Parallels: W, II, 537-49? IH, HI, 281-89

(tr. Guillaume, 486-90).

189. The Banu Ghifar, a subdivision of the Banu pamrah b. Bakr b. 'Abd Manat

b. Kinanah, lived in the Hijaz between Mecca and Medina. They became allies of

the Muslims and eventually embraced Islam. Some of them must have settled

within Medina. Cf. p. 5, above, where Muhammad is said to have left Siba' b. 'Urfu- fah al-Ghifari in charge of Medina during his absence. See EP, s.v. Ghifar.

190. I.e., the raiding party from Ghanaian mentioned in the previous paragraph.

44

The Victory of Islam

'Amr b. al-Akwa* al-Aslami. 191 He set out for al-Ghabah early in

the morning, with his bow and arrows suspended from his

shoulder, accompanied by a slave of Talhah b. 'Ubaydallah. 192

However, the account of this expedition of the Messenger of

God from Salamah b. al-Akwa' [himself dates it] after his return to

Medina from Mecca in the Year of al-Hudaybiyah. 193 If that is

correct, the events narrated on the authority of Salamah b. al-

Akwa' must have taken place either in Dhu al-Hijjah of a.h. 6 or in

the beginning of a.h. 7, because the return of the Messenger of

God from Mecca to Medina in the Year of al-Hudaybiyah took

place in Dhu al-Hijjah of a.h. 6 . Thus, nearly six months separate

the date given by Ibn Ishaq for the expedition to Dhu al-Qarad and

the date transmitted from Salamah b. al-Akwa*.

The account of Salamah b. al-Akwa* [is as follows]. According to

al-Hasan b. Yahya 194 — Abu 'Amir al-'Aqadi 195 — 'Ikrimah b.

'Ammar al-Yamami 196 — Iyas b. Salamah 197 — his father [Salamah

b. al-Akwa*], who said: We returned to Medina with the Messenger

of God — that is, after the peace of al-Hudaybiyah. The Messenger

of God sent out his camels with Rabah, the slave of the

Messenger of God, and I went out with him with a horse belonging

to Talhah b. 'Ubaydallah. When we woke up in the morning, we

saw that 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Uyaynah had raided the camels of the

Messenger of God, driving off all of them and killing their herdsman.

I said: "Rabah, take this horse and get to Talhah. Tell the

Messenger of God that the polytheists have raided his camels."

191. Salamah is more frequently called "Ibn al-Akwa'," after his grandfather's

nickname ("having a prominent or deformed wrist"). Known for his bravery, Salamah died in 74/693-94 when he was about eighty. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, IV, 1 50- 52.

192. The reading of ed. Cairo, "Talhah b. 'Abdallah," is probably a misprint. At I,

1507, ed. Cairo agrees with ed. Leiden in reading "Talhah b. 'Ubaydalllh."

193. In accordance with the custom of naming years after their most important

event, a.h. 6 came to be known as the Year of al-Hudaybiyah, after the episode

narrated at pp. 67 ff., below.

194. Al-Hasan b. Yahya al-Jurjani died in 263/876 in his eighties. See Ibn Hajar,

Tahdhib, II, 324-25.

195. Abu 'Amir 'Abd al-Malik b. 'Amr al-'Aqadi died in 204 or 205/819-21. See

Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, VI, 409-10.

196. 'Ikrimah b. 'Ammar al-'Ijli Abd 'Ammar al-Yamim! was bom in al-Ba$rah

and died in 159/775-76. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, VII, 261-63.

197. Iyas b. Salamah b. al-Akwa' al-Aslami Abu Salamah was bom in Medina

and died there in 1 19/737 at the age of seventy-seven. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, I,

388-89.

The Events of the Year 6

45

Standing on a hill, I faced Medina and shouted, "A raid!" 198 three

times. Then I set out after the enemy, shooting arrows at them and

saying these rajaz verses:

I am Ibn al-Akwa'!

Today is the day for the mean [to receive destruction]. 199

By God, I kept shooting at them and hitting their riding animals.

Whenever one of their horsemen came back toward me, I would go

to a tree, sit beneath it, and shoot at him and hit his mount.

Whenever the mountain [track] narrowed and they went into a

narrow place, I would climb the mountain and pelt them with

stones. I kept doing this, by God, until I had set behind me every

one of the Messenger of God's camels that God had created and

they had left me free to do as I pleased with them. They had cast

off more than thirty spears and thirty cloaks to lighten them-

selves, and I placed stones to mark everything they cast off so that

the Messenger of God and his companions would notice it. Finally

they came to a narrow place on a pass, and 'Uyaynah b. Hi§n b.

 Badr came to them bringing help. They sat down for a midmoming

meal, and I sat down on a ridge above them. 'Uyaynah looked and

said, "What is it I see?" They said: "This fellow has given us

trouble. By God, he never left us since dawn, shooting at us until

he rescued everything that was in our hands." 'Uyaynah said,

"Four of you get up and attack him." Four of them made for me.

When they came within speaking range, I said, "Do you recognize

me?" "Who are you?" they asked. I said: "Salamah b. al-Akwa'l By

Him who has honored Muhammad, I will overtake every one of

you that I pursue, but none shall pursue me and overtake me."

One of them said, "I don't think so!"

They went back, and I did not leave my place until I saw the

horsemen of the Messenger of God coming through the trees. The

198. Arabic: y& sabafrah, literally, "O my morning!" or "O what a morning!"

See Lane, Lexicon, TV, 1642, for the idiom.

199. Arabic: al-yawmu yawmu l-ruffla'i, literally, "today is the day of the ones

who suck." In pre-Islamic Arab folklore one sign of stinginess {one of the lowest of vices in Bedouin society) was for a man to suck the teats of his milch camel rather than milk it, so that the sound of milk streaming into the bucket would not attract guests. See Lane, Lexicon, III, 109S.

4 6

The Victory of Islam

first of them was al-Akhram al-Asadi; following him came Abu

Qatadah al-An$ari, and after him was al-Miqdad b. al-Aswad al-

Kind!. 200 I took hold of the rein of al-Akhram's horse and said:

"Akhram, the men are few. Be on guard against them; don't let

them cut you off before the Messenger of God reaches us with his

companions." Al-Akhram said, "Salamah, if you believe in God

and the Last Day and know that Paradise is real and that the Fire is

real, do not stand between me and martyrdom!"

I let him go. He and *Abd al-Rahman b. 'Uyaynah met. Al-

Akhram hamstrung 'Abd al-Rahman's horse, but 'Abd al-Rahman

[1505] thrust at him with a spear and killed him. 'Abd al-Rahman then

shifted onto his horse. Abu Qatadah overtook ‘Abd al-Rahman and

thrust at him and killed him. 'Abd al-Rahman had hamstrung Abu

Qatadah's horse, so Abu Qatadah shifted onto al-Akhram's horse.

They left in flight.

According to Salamah: By Him who honored Muhammad, I followed

them, running on foot until I could not see any of Muhammad's

companions behind me, or even their dust. Before sunset

they turned aside into a canyon called Dhu Qarad where there was

water to drink, for they were thirsty. They saw me running after

them, and I drove them away so that they tasted not a drop of it.

Then they went up into the mountain trail of Dhu Athir. One of

them turned back to attack me, and I shot him with an arrow that

landed in his shoulder blade. I said, "Take that!": 201

I am Ibn al-Akwa'!

Today is the day for the mean [to receive destruction).

He said, "My al-Akwa' of early this morning?" "Yes," I said, "you

enemy of your own soul!" Then I saw two horses on the trail, and I

led them back toward the Messenger of God. My uncle 'Amir met

me after dark with a skin of watered milk and one of water. I made

my ablutions, prayed, and drank; then I came to the Messenger of

God, who was at the watering place from which I had driven them

at Dhu Qarad.

200. He was also called al-Miqdad b. 'Amr; cf. IH, III, 282 |tr. Guillaume, 487).

See EP, s.v. al-M*]cdad b. 'Amr.

|e should follow ed. Cairo in reading the words "Take that!" as

K art of the verse, which would then form a complete hemistich of rajaz meter

khudhhd wa najbnuj-'akwa'l However, on p. 48, below, the same verse is intro-

duced with the words "Take that from me" {khudhhd minnf), which could not

form part of the verse metrically.

The Events of the Year 6

47

Behold, the Messenger of God had taken the camels

I had rescued from the enemy and each spear and cloak. Bilal 202

had slaughtered a female camel from the ones I had rescued from

the foe and was roasting some of its liver and hump for the Messenger

of God. I said, "Messenger of God, let me choose a hundred

men and follow the enemy, so that not one of them shall remain."

The Messenger of God laughed until his back teeth became visible

and could be clearly seen [in the light of the fire}; 203 then he said,

"Would you do it?" I said, "Yes, by Him who has honored you!"

The next morning the Messenger of God said, "Now they are

being received as guests in the country of Ghatafan."

A man then came from Ghatafan and said that so and so

"slaughtered a camel for them. When they had stripped off its

skin, they saw dust; so they said, The enemy is upon you/ and left

fleeing."

The next morning the Messenger of God said, "Our best horseman

today has been Abu Qatadah, and our best foot soldier has

been Salamah b. al-Akwa'." The Messenger of God gave me the

share of a horseman and the share of a footman. Then the Messenger

of God mounted me behind him on al-'A^ba’. 204 While we

were traveling, a footman of the An§ar who was unbeatable at

running began saying, "Is there no one who will race?" He said

this several times. When I heard him, I said, "Do you not honor a

generous man and fear a noble man?" He said, "No, unless he be

the Messenger of God." So I said: "Messenger of God, you are as

dear to me as my father and mother! Permit me to race the man."

"If you wish," he said. So I leaped down and ran. I held back for one

202. Bilal, an Ethiopian slave, tortured by his pagan master for accepting Islam,

was rescued by Abu Bakr and became the first muezzin of the Muslim community. See EP-, s.v. Bilal b. Rabah.

203. Arabic nawajidh could be used for the wisdom teeth, all the molars, or the

teeth next to the eye teeth. The lexicographers were concerned about the possibility of Muhammad's laughing immoderately. See the discussion in Lane, Lexicon, VIII, 2769. Instead of ed. Leiden's [bada aw banat nawajidhuhu ) "his back teeth became visible or could be clearly seen," I translate ed. Cairo [bada wa-qad banat nawdjidhuhd \fl daw’i al-nar J). The bracketed words are from the parallel text in the $akih of Muslim (3:1433-41).

204. Al-'A^ba’ ("slit-eared," or "short in the foreleg") was Muhammad's she-

camel; see Lane, Lexicon, V, 2071.

48

The Victory of Islam

or two hills, 205 then I caught up with him and slapped him be-

ll 507] tween the shoulders. "I've beaten you, by God," I said. "I don't

think so!" he said. 206 So I beat him back to Medina. We stayed

there only three nights before setting out for Khaybar. 207

Resumption of the account of Ibn Ishaq: 208 Salamah b. al-Akwa*

was accompanied by a slave of Talhah b. ’Ubaydallah, and with

the slave was a horse of Talhah's that he was leading. When Salamah

went up into al-Wada* Pass, 209 he saw some of [the raiders']

horsemen; so he looked in the direction of Sal' and shouted, "A

raid!" Then he set out at full speed after the enemy — he was like a

beast of prey. Having overtaken them, he began to turn them away

with arrows. When he shot, he would say, "Take that from me" —

I am Ibn al-Akwa'!

Today is the day for the mean [to receive destruction].

Whenever the horses came toward him, he fled and attacked them

from the side. Whenever he could shoot, he would shoot and say,

"Take that" —

I am Ibn al-Akwa'!

Today is the day for the mean [to receive destruction].

One of their men said, "Our little al-Akwa* it is at the beginning of

the day!" 210

When a report of Ibn al-Akwa"s shout reached the Messenger of

God, he sounded the alarm in Medina. The horsemen all came

following one another to the Messenger of God. The first of the

205. The text in the $al?ihi of Muslim is fuller: "I held myself back from him for

one hill or two to save my breath; then I ran on his heels. I held back from him for one hill or two; then I sprinted and overtook him"; see ed. Leiden, Glossatium, p. CCLVl.

206. Following ed. Leiden (in a?unnu); ed. Cairo reads innf d?unnu, "I think so."

207. See pp. 116-24, below, for an account of the expedition to Khaybar in a.h.

208. This continues the report begun at al-Tabari, I, 1 502, above.

209. Thaniyyat al-Wada' ("Farewell Pass"| was the pass over which the road to

Mecca left Medina. See Yaqut, Mu'jam al-bulddn, IH, 25; photograph in

Hamidullah, Battlefields, 10.

210. The text is uncertain. Ed. Leiden reads, ukayyfuna huwwa awwala

l-nah&ii, which is what I have translated. This seems to be a contemptuous rejoinder, using the diminutive form of the name al-Akwa’. Ed. Cairo has a different reading, which also puns on the name: a-wa-yaki'uni huwwa . . . (and will he sting, or butt, us . . . ).

The Events of the Year 6

49

horsemen to reach him was al-Miqdad b. 'Amr. The first horseman

to stand by the Messenger of God after al-Miqdad from the

An§ar was 'Abbad b. Bishr b. Waqsh b. Zughbah b. Za'ura (a member

of the Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal); then came Sa'd b. Zayd (one of the

Banu Ka’b b. 'Abd al-Ashhal), Usayd b. Zuhayr (a member of the

Banu Harithah b. al-Harith, but there is uncertainty about him),

'Ukkashah b. Mih$an (a member of the Banu Asad b. Khuzaymah),

Muhriz b. Nadlah (a member of the Banu Asad b. Khuzaymah),

Abu Qatadah al-Harith b. Rib'i (a member of the Banu Salimah),

and Abu 'Ayyash (that is, 'Ubayd b. Zayd b. §amit, a member of the

Banu Zurayq). When they had gathered round the Messenger of

God, he appointed Sa'd b. Zayd as their commander and said, “Set

out in pursuit of the enemy until I catch up to you with men."

According to a report that has come to me from members of the

Banu Zurayq, the Messenger of God said to Abu 'Ayyash, “Abu

'Ayyash, why don't you give this horse to a man who rides better

than you, so that he can overtake the enemy?"

According to Abu 'Ayyash, who said: I replied, "Messenger of

God, I am the best rider among the people!" Then I struck the

horse, but I swear to God that before it had run fifty cubits it threw

me. So I marveled about how the Messenger of God had said, 'Why

don't you give it to someone who rides better than you?' and about

how I had said that I was the best rider among the people."

Some of the Banu Zurayq asserted that the Messenger of God

gave Abu 'Ayyash's horse to Mu'adh b. Ma'i§ (or 'A’idh b. Ma'i§) b.

Qays b. Khaldah, who was an eighth man. Some people count

Salamah b. *Amr b. al-Akwa' as one of the eight and reject Usayd b.

zuhayr of the Banu Harithah; however, Salamah on that day was

not a horsemen: he was the first to overtake the enemy on foot. So

the horsemen set forth in pursuit of the enemy and met them.

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

'A$im b. 'Umar b. Qatadah: The first horseman to overtake the

enemy was Muhriz b. Nadlah of the Banu Asad b. Khuzaymah

(Muhriz was called al-Akhram and was also called Qumayr).

When the alarm was sounded, a horse belonging to Mahmud b.

Maslamah started running around in its enclosure when it heard

the neighing of the horses — it was a specially tended, well-rested

horse. Some of the women of the Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal said (to

him) when he saw the horse running around in the enclosure,

50

The Victory of Islam

dragging the trunk of the palm tree to which it had been tied,

"Qumayr, would you like to ride this horse — you see how it is —

and catch up with the Messenger of God and with the Muslims?"

He said yes; so they gave it to him, and he set out on it. The horse

being rested, it did not cease to outstrip the [other} horses until it

reached the enemy. Muhriz stopped before them and said, "Halt,

you sons of vile slave women, until the Emigrants and Ansar

riding after you catch up with you!" One of them attacked him

and killed him. The horse wheeled round, and they could not stop

it until it stood by its pen among the Banu ‘Abd al-Ashhal. No

other Muslims were killed. The name of Mahmud's horse was

Dhu al-Limmah. 21 1

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

someone whom people do not doubt — ‘Ubaydallah b. Ka'b b.

Malik al-An$ari: Muhriz in fact was riding a horse called al*

Janah 212 belonging to 'Ukkashah b. Mih?an. When Muhriz was

killed, al-Janah was taken as booty. When the horsemen met, Abu

Qatadah al-Harith b. Rib'i of the Banu Salimah killed Habib b.

'Uyaynah b. Hi?n, covered him with his cloak, and rejoined the

men. When the Messenger of God approached with the Muslims,

there was Habib covered with Abu Qatadah's cloak. The people

exclaimed, "Surely we belong to God, and to Him we return!" 213

and said that Abu Qatadah had been killed; but the Messenger of

God said, "It is not Abu Qatadah, but someone killed by Abu

Qatadah; he has put his cloak on him so that you will know that

he did it." ‘Ukkashah b. Mih$an overtook Awbar and his son ‘Amr

b. Awbar, who were riding on one camel, and ran them through

with a spear, killing both of them. They rescued some of the

camels. The Messenger of God traveled until he halted at the

mountain of Dhu Qarad, and the people came to him in groups.

The Messenger of God made camp and stayed there a day and a

night. Salamah b. al-Akwa‘ said to him, "Messenger of God, if you

sent me out with a hundred men, I would rescue the remaining

animals and seize the enemy by their necks." The Messenger of

God said, as I have been informed, "They are now being given

hi. Dhu al-limmah means "having a long lock of hair."

in. Al-janak means "wing."

113. Qur’an 1:156, traditionally said in times of misfortune.

The Events of the Year 6

5i

their evening drink in (the territory of] Ghatafan." The Messenger

of God divided the meat of one camel among each hundred of his

companions. They stayed there, and then the Messenger of God

returned to Medina. He stayed there part of Jumada II and Rajab;

then he raided the Banu al-Mus^aliq 214 [clan] of Khuza'ah in

Sha'ban of the year 6. 215

The Expedition against the Banu al-Muftaliq 216

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah b. al-Fadl and 'Ali b.

Mujahid 217 — Muhammad b. Ishaq — 'A?im b. 'Umar b. Qatadah,

'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr, and Muhammad b. Yahya b. Habban. [Ibn

Ishaq] said, "Each transmitted to me part of the report on the Banu

al-Mu§taliq." They said: Word reached the Messenger of God that

the Banu al-Musfaliq were gathering against him under the leadership

of al-Harith b. Abi Dirar. (Al-Harith was the father of

Juwayriyah bt. al-Harith, [who subsequently became] the wife of

the Messenger of God.) When the Messenger of God heard about

them, he set out toward them and met them at one of their watering

places called al-Muraysi', near Qudayd toward the coast. The

people advanced toward each other and fought fiercely. God put

the Banu al-Mustaliq to flight and killed some of them. He gave

their children, women, and property to the Messenger of God as

booty — God gave them to him as spoil. A Muslim named Hisham

b. $ubabah from the Banu Kalb b. 'Awf b. 'Amir b. Layth b. Bakr

was wounded by one of the An§ar who was a close kinsman of

'Ubadah b. al-$amit ; he mortally wounded him by mistake, thinking

he was one of the enemy.

While the people were at that watering place, they brought their

animals down to drink. With 'Umar b. al-Kha^ab was a hired man

of his from the Banu Ghifar named Jahjah b. Sa'id, leading his

214. The name is given sometimes in its full form of Banu al-Mu$taliq and

sometimes in the abbreviated form of Balmu${aliq. I have normalized to the longer form throughout.

215. Sha'ban of a.h. 6 began on 16 December 627.

216. Parallels: W, I, 404 -II, 426 (dated a.h. 5, see p. 41, above); IH, III, 289-96

|tr. Guillaume, 490-93).

217. 'Ali b. Mujahid b. Muslim al-Razi, a historian and traditionist, was bom in

100/718 in Rayy and died in 182/798. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, VII, 377-78; GAS, I,

312 -

52 The Victory of Islam

horse. Jahjah and Sinan al-Juhani (a confederate of the Banu 'Awf

[1512] b. al-Khazraj) began crowding each other at the watering place and

fought. Ai-fuhani shouted, "People of the An$ar!" and fahjah

shouted, "People of the Emigrants!" ‘Abdallah b. Ubayy b. Salul,

who had with him a band of his fellow tribesmen including the

young lad Zayd b. Arqam, 218 became angry and said: "Have they

really done it? They have tried to outrank us and outnumber us in

our own lands. By God, the proverb, 'Fatten your dog and he will

eat you up!' fits us and [the wearers of] the jilbab 219 of Quraysh to

a tee. By God, if we go back to Medina, those who are stronger will

drive out the weaker from it." 220 Then he turned to his tribesmen

who were with him and said: "This is what you have done to

yourselves! You allowed them to settle in your lands and divided

your wealth with them. Had you kept from them what you had, by

God they would have moved to lands other than yours."

Zayd b. Arqam heard this and took it to the Messenger of God —

this when the Messenger of God had finished with his enemies —

and he gave him a report. ‘Umar b. al-Khaftab, who was with him,

said, "Messenger of God, order ‘Abbad b. Bishr b. Waqsh to kill

him." The Messenger of God said: "'Umar, how will it be if people

start saying that Muhammad kills his companions? No, announce

our departure instead." (It was at an hour when the Messenger of

God usually did not break camp.) So the people departed.

218. Zayd b. Arqam b. Zayd b. Qays b. al-Nu’man b. Malik b. al-Agharr b.

Tha’labah b. Ka b b. al-Khazraj al-Angari participated in seventeen expeditions

with the Prophet. He later emigrated to al-Kufah and fought on 'Ali's side at §iffin. He died between 65/784 and 68/688. See Ibn Hajar, Tdhdhlb, 394-95.

219. Arabic: jalabib Quraysh "the shirts (or coarse waist wrappers) of Quraysh."

The origin of this apparently derogatory epithet for the Emigrants remains obscure; none of the older Arabic dictionaries explains it. Abu Pharr's note printed in most editions of IH, reads: "An epithet that the polytheists applied to the Emigrants who had become Muslims. Jalalib (plural of jilbab) originally means 'coarse waist wrappers.' They used to wrap themselves in them, and so they acquired this nickname."

One may see it as a reference to poverty or simply to distinctive dress. At p. 59,

below, 'A’ishah uses the word to designate the outer garment in which she

wrapped herself and lay down while waiting for the departed caravan to notice her absence. See ed. Leiden, Glossatium, p. clxvh. W. Arafat has argued that the word may be derived from the verb jalaba (to import) and may therefore mean "the imported ones." See the note in his article, "A Controversial Incident in the Life of yassSn b. Thabit," p. 197 n. 4.

220. Qur’an 63:8 quotes these words.

The Events of the Year 6

S3

Now when 'Abdallah b. Ubayy b. Salul heard that Zayd b. Arqam

had informed the Messenger of God of what he had heard him

say, he went to the Messenger of God and swore, "By God, I did

not say what he said, neither did I speak of it." 'Abdallah b. Ubayy

was a great noble among his people; so those who were present

with the Messenger of God — companions of his from the An§ar —

said, "Messenger of God, perhaps the lad was mistaken in his

report and did not remember exactly what the man said." They

said this out of affection for 'Abdallah b. Ubayy and to defend him.

After the Messenger of God had mounted and set out, Usayd b.

liu^ayr met him and, having greeted him as a prophet and wished

him peace, said, "Messenger of God, you have set out at an

unheard-of hour at which you usually do not set out." The Messenger

of God said to him, "Have you not heard what your companion

has said?" "Which companion, Messenger of God?" he

asked. "'Abdallah b. Ubayy," he answered. "And what did he

say?" he asked. He replied, "He said that if he returned to Medina,

those who are stronger would drive out the weaker from it."

Usayd said: "You, by God, O Messenger of God, will drive him

out, if you wish. He is the weak one by God, and you are the

strong." Then he said: "Messenger of God, be gentle with him. By

God, God caused you to arrive at the very moment when his

people were stringing precious stones to make him a crown; so he

thinks that you deprived him of a kingdom."

The Messenger of God traveled all that day until evening with

the people, all that night until dawn, and the first part of the day

until the sun hurt them; then he halted with them, and they fell

asleep as soon as they felt the touch of the ground. He did this only

to distract them from the talk that had taken place the day

before — what 'Abdallah b. Ubayy had said. In the afternoon he set

out with the people, marched through the Hijaz, and halted at a

watering place in the Hijaz called Naq'a’, a little above al-Naqi'. 221

When the Messenger of God set out in the afternoon, a strong

wind blew on the people, hurting them, and they became fearful

about it. The Messenger of God said, "Do not be afraid: it blew

only because of the death of one of the great men among the

unbelievers."

221. The place is mentioned by Yaqut, Mu'jam a-buldan, VUI, 309, as belonging

to the tribe of Muzaynah.