EVENTS

630 CE / Campaign of Tabuk.  9th Year after Hijrah (Migration)

Important events and incidences that took place

A short while after the conquest of Makkah growing rumours began to spread in Madinah that Heraclius had advanced a year’s salary to his army in view of a lengthy campaign against Madinah. However, the Prophet was also expecting his armies to open up Syria to Islam and so he too set about mustering by far the largest and best equipped army which he had led. 

This time there was no attempt at secrecy with Muhammad ordering even the Makkans and the allied tribes to send at once to Madinah all their available armed and mounted men for the Syrian campaign.

The season was always a hot one, but that year there was a drought and the heat was more oppressive than usual. These were testing times for the believers with many of the hypocrites approaching the Prophet with various excuses to stay behind. There were however three men of good faith, Ka’b ibn Malik and two other, who did not deliberately decide to remain home, nor did they proffer excuses; but it seemed to them so undesirable to leave Madinah with the rest of the army that they put off preparations until the last minute when it dawned on them that it was too late.

The army arrived at al Hijr where the rock-hewn remains of Thamud stood, and the Prophet commanded the army to dismount for watering and a brief rest. Then, when the army reached the spring of Tabuk they encamped for twenty days. It was evident that the rumours of danger from the Byzantines had been unfounded; perhaps the news of the Muslim army’s approach had already reached the Byzantines who had withdrawn to the safety of their vicinity. The Prophet chose not to pursue the Byzantines, but instead invited all of the tribes to join in allegiance to the Muslims. 

Before the Muslim army was to return, the Prophet intended to put to a stop any future attack, and so, he sent Khalid ibn al Walid with five hundred cavalrymen to deal with Ukaydir, the Christian king of Dumah who was suspected of preparing to launch an attack as soon as the Byzantine forces could return. The rest of the army was commanded to return to Madinah.

Khalid hurried to Dumah and, discovering that the king was out on a hunting trip with his brother, sought to attack them decisively, and killed Hassan, the king’s brother, while capturing Ukaydir. However, Khalid was unable to penetrate the city, but by threatening to kill Ukaydir the city yielded. After seizing two thousand camels, eight hundred goats, four hundred loads of grain, and four hundred coats of arms, Khalid brought them, together with his captive, King Ukaydir, to Madinah. In Madinah Ukaydir was offered Islam to which he converted. Upon his submission to God, he was reinstated as the king of his people and an ally of the Prophet. Upon the army’s return, those who failed to enlist came forth to offer their excuses. Many a Hypocrite presented his excuse; the Prophet listened and let them go free pending God’s final judgment. However, there were three believers who truthfully stated their reasons; Ka’b ibn Malik, Murarah, and Hilal. The Muslims were ordered to boycott them for fifty days after which they were forgiven by divine decree and reintegrated within the community to the joy of the Muslims.

LESSONS & WISDOMS

630 CE / Campaign of Tabuk

A closer look at the events; in search of deeper meanings and drawing lessons

“After the recent conquest of Makkah the Prophet was certain that God would open up Syria to his armies; and whether because he thought the time had come or whether because he wished to give his troops some training for the inevitable northern campaign, he now announced an expedition against the Byzantines, and set about mustering by far the largest and best equipped army which he had led.

The Quran discusses the Battle of Tabuk in more detail than any other conflict of the Prophet’s life. In many respects the battle was quiet unique to any other. The season was always a hot one, but that year there was a drought and the heat was more oppressive than usual. It was also the time when much ripe fruit was to be eaten, so that there were two reasons for not wanting to take part in the expedition; and a third reason was the formidable reputation of the imperial army. The Quranic narrative concerning the battle contains the following themes, 

– The great error on the part of those who stayed behind from the expedition. God not only obliged the Muslim community to participate in the battle but also reproached those who did not. Even the Prophet was warned of being overly forgiving to those who had stayed behind.

– God spoke of the difficult nature of the battle and the severe hardship it entailed calling the battle “The time of Distress”.

– God reproached the hypocrites for mocking those who gave seemingly little in charity. In the eyes of God what is great is not the amount but rather the sincerity and giving according to ones means.

– Part of the revelation spoke of the “seven weepers’ – five needy Helpers and two bedouins – whom the Prophet turned reluctantly away because he was not able to provide military equipment to them and so they parted with tears filling theirs eyes.

– Though no fighting actually took place, the Romans perception of the Arabs had now changed drastically. They were previously looked upon as insignificant and unworthy of a challenge. Conversely the Arabs had always feared the Romans as a mighty superpower. But all that changed with the battle of Tabuk. When Roman forces fled from the Muslim army, the Arabs began to realize that it would be the Muslims that would soon defeat them. As a result many of the christian tribes around the Tabuk area broke off their alliances with the Romans and formed treaties with the Muslims.

– The strategy of the Prophet in seeking out a non-Arab military target reinforces the notion of the universality of his message- The goal of the Prophet and his followers is to spread Islam to the furthest parts of the world.

The heart-rendering story of Ka’b Ibn Malik was narrated by none other than himself in a lengthy, though wholly eloquent narrative. It is full of great wisdoms and lessons:

1) The greatest lesson Ka’b learnt was mentioned at the end of his narration, “By God, after He guided me to Islam, He never bestowed on me a blessing as immense as guiding me to be truthful to the messenger; for by not lying, I was saved from being destroyed”. He learnt that the only path to safety in this life and the next was through honesty; regardless of the possible dire consequences. For this reason it makes a telling tale for educating children.

2) In accepting the excuses of the hypocrites, although they were nothing but lies, the Prophet taught us to only judge by what is visible to us on the outside and what is obvious. As for what is in the hearts, God is the only Judge. The rulings of this life are based on what appears to us, as for the reward or punishment of the hereafter, it is the result of what lies in the hearts.

3) We learn of the powerful effect a publicly orchestrated boycott has in reforming individuals. The Prophet would employ every allowable means to help cultivate and reform his society, even if it meant temporarily severing ties of kinship. It should be dully noted that large scale boycotting of this nature can only be employed in communities with similar grounding in Islam as that of the Muslim community in Madinah at the time of the Prophet. 

4) The joyful manner in which the Muslims received their three brethren illustrates the difficulty and discomfort they endured in having to censure their fellow companions. Yet they all obeyed the Prophetic command, even the wife of Ka’b ibn Malik and his dearest friend Abu Qataadah would show animosity towards him. It was the strong ties of brotherhood, a faith-based bond, upon which the fabric of society was built.

5) Ka’b’s reaction upon receiving the letter from the Christian king Gassaan bears testimony to his faith and loyalty to the Prophet.

6) The day a believer receives glad tidings of forgiveness from God is a day of immense joy; for Ka’b it was the best day of his life and he fell into prostration when he first heard it. The entire community participated in congratulating ‘The Three’, because such a blessing from God outweighs any other worldly blessing; the disciples of the Prophet understood this best. The Prophet’s statement to Ka’b, “Rejoice for this is the best day you have had since the day your mother gave birth to you”, indicates that it was even better than the day on which he converted to Islam.

7) We learn from the story three ways in which a Muslim can offer thanks to God upon receiving a favour from Him. 1) To perform the prostration of thankfulness (which can also be done when one is saved from a calamity) 2) Rewarding the bearer of glad tidings, as Ka’b gave him his set of clothes 3) To give money in charity.”

EDICTS & RULINGS

630 CE / Campaign of Tabuk

Revelation & rulings particular to this year

Many a verse of Bara’a (Tauba) Chapter handling the event of Tabuk were revealed. Some verses were revealed before the march, while others after setting out for Tabuk, i.e. in the context of the battle. Some other verses were also revealed on the Prophet’s return to Madinah. All of which covered the incidents that featured this invasion: the immanent circumstances of the battle, exposure of the hypocrites, the prerogatives and special rank earmarked for the strivers in the cause of God, acceptance of the repentance of the truthful believers who slackened and those who hung back, etc.

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Verse 118 of Sura Tawba were revealed about ‘the three’ that stayed behind and in it God forgave them for their error and brought to an end the boycott:

 And (God has forgiven) the three who stayed behind, until for them the earth, vast as it is, was straitened and their souls were straitened to them, and they perceived that there is no fleeing from God, and no refuge but with Him. Then, He forgave them, that they might beg for His pardon. Verily, God is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.

***

In the year 630, the ninth year of the Islamic calendar, Hajj was made obligatory upon the muslims.

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The Prophet ordered that no polytheist would ever enter Makkah again, nor could a male or female undress and circumambulate the Ka’bah, as was the custom of the Quraysh.

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In this year there was an incident in which the Prophet prayed behind ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf as a way of honoring him. The scholars derive from this the permissibility of a more qualified person opting to be led by one of a lesser standing for a certain benefit.

***

The Prophet sent out his first ever zakat collectors in this year. The following verse was revealed in the Quranic chapter al-Hujarat relating to an incident that took place between one of the collectors and the tribe of banu al-mustaliq:

You who have faith! if a deviator brings you a report, scrutinise it carefully in case you attack people in ignorance and so come to greatly regret what you have done.

***

Negus Ashama; the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), died so the Prophet performed prayer in absentia for him.

CONTENTIOUS NARRATIVES

630 CE / Campaign of Tabuk

Is the Seerah Reliable Historically?

The Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) is the most well documented man in history. However, there are oreintalists such as Sir William Muir and Alois Sprenger who both suspected that much of the Islamic traditions relating to Muhammad, which were accepted by Muslim scholars as authentic, were in fact forged. 

Their views were given a further impetus by Ignaz Goldziher who espoused the idea that this historical documentation, i.e. the Hadith literature, had only come about after the Arab conquests, some two centuries after the demise of the Prophet. The implications were devastating; according to him, the Hadith literature was not in fact the words of the Prophet, but merely statements of his followers who came some two hundred years later. If true, it would impact directly on our understanding of the biography of the Prophet, as it is a historical account of the Prophet’s life using Hadith.

However, as attested to by his non-Muslim contemporaries, such as Patricia Crone, these views were academically flawed and weak. Furthermore, the availability of new sources that were “pre-canonical”, i.e. authored during or immediately after the Prophet’s demise, such as the Muṣannaf of ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī and Ibn Abī Shayba, directly contradicted his theory. 

Through the development of the meticulous and unique Isnad (chain of transmission) analysis of the Hadith, the literature in question was shown to have early origins going back to the 1st century of Islam. In fact, the process of Isnad inspection quickly developed into a science in its own right, allowing for weaker reports to be filtered through and thereby facilitating an authentic historical narrative to be preserved until today. 

Reference can also be made to non-Muslim sources mentioning Prophet Muhammad that have been dated back to the first century of Islam. These non-Muslim texts provide some form of corroboration of the Muslim accounts.

One interesting account of an early seventh century historian comes from Sebeos who was also a bishop in the House of Bagratunis:

“At that time a certain man from along those same sons of Ismael, whose name was Mahmet [i.e., Mụhammad], a merchant, as if by God’s command appeared to them as a preacher [and] the path of truth. He taught them to recognize the God of Abraham, especially because he was learnt and informed in the history of Moses. Now because the command was from on high, at a single order they all came together in unity of religion. Abandoning their vain cults, they turned to the living God who had appeared to their father Abraham. So, Mahmet legislated for them: not to eat carrion, not to drink wine, not to speak falsely, and not to engage in fornication. He said: ‘With an oath God promised this land to Abraham and his seed after him forever. And he brought about as he promised during that time while he loved Ishmael. But now you are the sons of Abraham and God is accomplishing his promise to Abraham and his seed for you. Love sincerely only the God of Abraham, and go and seize the land which God gave to your father Abraham. No one will be able to resist you in battle, because God is with you.”

Sebeos was writing the chronicle at a time when memories of sudden eruption of the Arabs were fresh. He knows Muhammad’s name and that he was a merchant by profession. He hints that his life was suddenly changed by a divinely inspired revelation. He presents a good summary of Muhammad’s preaching, i.e. belief in one God, Abraham as a common ancestor of Jews and Arabs. He picks out some of the rules of behaviour imposed on the Muslim community; the four prohibitions which are mentioned in the Qur’an. Much of what he says about the origins of Islam confirms Muslim tradition and practice. 

Having said all this, it is worthwhile paying attention to the fact that not all narrations attributed to the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) are considered authentic. The science of Hadith analysis of both the chain of narration as well as the text is one of the most sophisticated branches of knowledge. Not only were the biographies of each narrator in the chain painstakingly preserved but details pertaining to their religious commitment were also recorded. There are voluminous works which document where each narrator comes from, his/her character, their piety, the strength of their memory, whether they were known to lie or not. These details are then used by the scholars of Hadith to check the veracity of a report and deem it to be authentic, weak or forged.

In reality, it would not be an exaggeration to assert that authentic Hadith narrations going all the way back to the prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him), is in fact the most authentic piece of history present today. Rejecting such sources is akin to rejecting our entire corpus of history as it does not reach the standard of Hadith literature.