The Battle of Mu'tah
it was the most significant and the fiercest battle during the lifetime of the messenger of allâh [pbuh], a preliminary and a prelude to the great conquests of the land of the christians. it took place in jumada al-ula 8 a.h. / september 629 a.d. mu’tah is a village that lies on the borders of geographical syria.
the prophet [pbuh] had sent al-harith bin ‘umair al-azdi on an errand to carry a letter to the ruler of busra. on his way, he was intercepted by sharhabeel bin ‘amr al-ghassani, the governor of al-balqa’ and a close ally to caesar, the byzantine emperor. al-harith was tied and beheaded by al-ghassani.
killing envoys and messengers used to be regarded as the most awful crime, and amounted to the degree of war declaration. the prophet [pbuh] was shocked on hearing the news and ordered that a large army of 3000 men be mobilized and despatched to the north to discipline the transgressors. [za'd al-ma'ad 2/155; fath al-bari 7/511] it was the largest muslim army never mobilized on this scale except in the process of the confederates battle.
zaid bin haritha was appointed to lead the army. ja‘far bin abi talib would replace him if he was killed, and ‘abdullah bin rawaha would succeed ja‘far in case the latter fell.[sahih al-bukhari 2/611] a white banner was raised and handed over to zaid. [mukhtasar seerat ar-rasool p.327]
the prophet [pbuh] recommended that they reach the scene of al-harith’s murder and invite the people to profess islam. should the latter respond positively, then no war would ensue, otherwise fighting them would be the only alternative left.
he ordered them:
"fight the disbelievers in the name of allâh, neither breach a covenant nor entertain treachery, and under no circumstances a new-born, woman, an ageing man or a hermit should be killed; moreover neither trees should be cut down nor homes demolished. [mukhtasar seerat ar-rasool p.327; rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/271]"
at the conclusion of the military preparations, the people of madinah gathered and bade the army farewell. ‘abdullah bin rawaha began to weep at that moment, and when asked why he was weeping, he swore that it was not love for this world nor under a motive of infatuation with the glamour of life but rather the words of allâh speaking of fire that he heard the prophet [pbuh] reciting:
"there is not one of you but will pass over it (hell); this is with your lord, a decree which must be accomplished." [al-qur'an 19:71]
the muslim army then marched northward to ma‘ân, a town bordering on geographical syria. there news came to the effect that heraclius had mobilized a hundred thousand troops together with another hundred thousand men of lakham, judham and balqain — arabian tribes allied to the byzantines. the muslims, on their part had never thought of encountering such a huge army. they were at a loss about what course to follow, and spent two nights debating these unfavourable conditions. some suggested that they should write a letter to the prophet [pbuh] seeking his advice. ‘abdullah bin rawaha was opposed to them being reluctant and addressed the muslims saying: "i swear by allâh that this very object which you hold in abhorrence is the very one you have set out seeking, martyrdom. in our fight we don’t count on number of soldiers or equipment but rather on the faith that allâh has honoured us with. dart to win either of the two, victory or martyrdom." in the light of these words, they moved to engage with the enemy in masharif, a town of al-balqa’, and then changed direction towards mu’tah where they encamped. the right flank was led by qutba bin qatadah al-‘udhari, and the left by ‘ubadah bin malik al-ansari. bitter fighting started between the two parties, three thousand muslims against an enemy fiftyfold as large.
zaid bin haritha, the closest to the messenger’s heart, assumed leadership and began to fight tenaciously and in matchless spirit of bravery until he fell, fatally stabbed. ja‘far bin abi talib then took the banner and did a miraculous job. in the thick of the battle, he dismounted, hamstrung his horse and resumed fighting until his right hand was cut off. he seized the banner with his left hand until this too was gone. he then clasped the banner with both arms until a byzantine soldier struck and cut him into two parts. he was posthumously called "the flying ja‘far" or "ja‘far with two wings" because allâh has awarded him two wings to fly wherever he desired there in the eternal garden. al-bukhari reported fifty stabs in his body, none of them in the back. [sahih al-bukhari 2/611]
‘abdullah bin rawaha then proceeded to hold up the banner and fight bravely on his horseback while reciting enthusiastic verses until he too was killed. thereupon a man, from bani ‘ajlan, called thabit bin al-arqam took the banner and called upon the muslims to choose a leader. the honour was unanimously granted to khalid bin al-waleed, a skilled brave fighter and an outstanding strategist. it was reported by al-bukhari that he used nine swords that broke while he was relentlessly and courageously fighting the enemies of islam. he, however, realizing the grave situation the muslims were in, began to follow a different course of encounter, revealing the super strategy-maker, that khalid was rightly called. he reshuffled the right and left flanks of the muslim army and introduced forward a division from the rear in order to cast fear into the hearts of the byzantine by deluding them that fresh reinforcements had arrived. the muslims engaged with the enemies in sporadic skirmishes but gradually and judiciously retreating in a fully organized and well-planned withdrawal.
the byzantines, seeing this new strategy, believed that they were being entrapped and drawn in the heart of the desert. they stopped the pursuit, and consequently the muslims managed to retreat back to madinah with the slightest losses. [fath-al-bari 7/513, 514; za'd al-ma'ad 2/156]
the muslims sustained twelve martyrs, whereas the number of casualties among the byzantines was unknown although the details of the battle point clearly to a large number. even though the battle did not satisfy the muslims’ objective, namely avenging al-harith’s murder, it resulted in a far-ranging impact and attached to the muslims a great reputation in the battlefields. the byzantine empire, at that time, was a power to be reckoned with, and mere thinking of antagonizing it used to mean self-annihilation, let alone a three-thousand-soldier army going into fight against 200,000 soldiers far better equipped and lavishly furnished with all luxurious conveniences. the battle was a real miracle proving that the muslims were something exceptional not then familiar. moreover, it gave evidence that allâh backed them and their prophet, muhammad, was really allâh’s messenger. in the light of these new strategic changes, the archenemies among the desert bedouins began to reconcile themselves with the new uprising faith and several recalcitrant tribes like banu saleem, ashja‘, ghatfan, dhubyan, fazarah and others came to profess islam out of their own sweet free will.
mu’tah battle, after all, constituted the forerunner of the blood encounter to take place with the byzantines subsequently. it pointed markedly to a new epoch of the islamic conquest of the byzantine empire and other remote countries, to follow at a later stage.
dhat as-salasil campaign
dhat as-salasil is a spot situated ten days’ walk north of madinah. the muslims are said to have encamped in a place with a well of water called salsal, hence the terminology dhat as-salasil. in view of the alliance between the arabian tribes on the borders of syria and the byzantines, the prophet [pbuh] deemed it of top urgency to carry out a wisely-planned manoeuvre that might bring about a state of rapport with those bedouins, and would at the same time detach them from the byzantines. for the implementation of this plan, he chose ‘amr bin al-‘as, whose paternal grandmother came from bali, a tribe dwelling in that area. this motive in mind, combined with provocative military movements, by bani quda‘a, precipitated this preemptive strike which started in jumada ath-thaniya, 8 a.h.
‘amr bin al-‘as was awarded a white flag with a black banner to go with it. he set out at the head of 300 emigrants and helpers assisted by a cavalry of 30 men, and was recommended to seek help from bali, ‘udhra and balqain tribes. he used to march at night and lurk during the day. on approaching the enemy lines and realizing the large build up of men, he sent for reinforcements from madinah, and these arrived on the spot headed by abu ‘ubaidah bin al-jarrah leading further 200 men as well as other platoons including abu bakr and ‘umar bin al-khattab. all of them were given strict orders to cooperate, work in harmony and never leave any area for disagreement.
at noon, abu ‘ubaidah wanted to lead the muslims in prayer, but ‘amr objected on grounds that the former came only to assist, and leadership in prayer was given to ‘amr.
the muslim army reached the habitations of quda‘a and penetrated deep in their land, destroyed the enemies and obliged the others to flee for their lives in different directions.
at the conclusion of the military operations, a courier was despatched to the messenger of allâh [pbuh] to brief him on the developments of events and the ultimate victory achieved.
khadrah campaign
in sha‘ban month 8 a.h., news reached the prophet [pbuh] of amassing troops by bani ghatfan, still outside the domain of islam. he urgently summoned abu qatadah and sent him at the head of fifteen men to discipline those outlaws.
it took fifteen days to teach them an unforgettable lesson. some were killed, others captured and all their property confiscated. [rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/233; talqeeh fuhoom ahl al-athar p.33]
dhat as-salasil is a spot situated ten days’ walk north of madinah. the muslims are said to have encamped in a place with a well of water called salsal, hence the terminology dhat as-salasil. in view of the alliance between the arabian tribes on the borders of syria and the byzantines, the prophet [pbuh] deemed it of top urgency to carry out a wisely-planned manoeuvre that might bring about a state of rapport with those bedouins, and would at the same time detach them from the byzantines. for the implementation of this plan, he chose ‘amr bin al-‘as, whose paternal grandmother came from bali, a tribe dwelling in that area. this motive in mind, combined with provocative military movements, by bani quda‘a, precipitated this preemptive strike which started in jumada ath-thaniya, 8 a.h.
‘amr bin al-‘as was awarded a white flag with a black banner to go with it. he set out at the head of 300 emigrants and helpers assisted by a cavalry of 30 men, and was recommended to seek help from bali, ‘udhra and balqain tribes. he used to march at night and lurk during the day. on approaching the enemy lines and realizing the large build up of men, he sent for reinforcements from madinah, and these arrived on the spot headed by abu ‘ubaidah bin al-jarrah leading further 200 men as well as other platoons including abu bakr and ‘umar bin al-khattab. all of them were given strict orders to cooperate, work in harmony and never leave any area for disagreement.
at noon, abu ‘ubaidah wanted to lead the muslims in prayer, but ‘amr objected on grounds that the former came only to assist, and leadership in prayer was given to ‘amr.
the muslim army reached the habitations of quda‘a and penetrated deep in their land, destroyed the enemies and obliged the others to flee for their lives in different directions.
at the conclusion of the military operations, a courier was despatched to the messenger of allâh [pbuh] to brief him on the developments of events and the ultimate victory achieved.
