In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic Biography.
Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azmi, may Allah preserve him.
The Battle of Al-Muraysi' or Banu Al-Mustaliq.
The Battle of Al-Muraysi' or Banu Al-Mustaliq took place in the month of Sha'ban.
Scholarly opinions differed regarding the year in which this battle occurred, as follows:
The first opinion: It took place in the fifth year after the Hijrah.
The second opinion: It took place in the sixth year after the Hijrah.
The Cause of This Battle:
Word reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar,
chief of Banu Al-Mustaliq, had rallied his tribe and whichever Arabs he could assemble,
to wage war against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched Buraydah ibn Al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him)
to ascertain the truth of the matter.
He went to them, met Al-Harith ibn Dirar, and spoke with him,
then returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and informed him of the news.
The Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Departure Toward Them:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) urged the people to march,
and they hastened to set out.
A large number of hypocrites accompanied him,
who had never gone forth in any military expedition like it before.
He appointed Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) in charge of Medina.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) departed Medina on Monday,
two nights having passed of the month of Sha'ban.
When news reached Al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar and those with him
regarding the march of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) toward them,
they were struck with severe fear,
and the Arabs who had joined them dispersed from them.
Did Fighting Take Place in This Battle?
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) arrived at Al-Muraysi',
and a disagreement arose as to
whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) called them to Islam before launching a surprise attack against them or not.
What appears to be the case is that he did not invite them at that time,
because the call of Islam had already reached them.
Indeed, the two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their authentic collections—
and the wording is Muslim's—
from Ibn 'Awn, who said:
"I wrote to Nafi'
asking him about extending an invitation to Islam before fighting.
He said:
'So he wrote back to me:
"That was only in the early days of Islam.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) launched a raid
upon Banu Al-Mustaliq
while they were unaware,
and their cattle were being watered at the spring.
He killed their fighting men and took their women and children captive,
and on that day he acquired Juwayriyah, the daughter of Al-Harith.
This hadith was narrated to me by
'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),
who was present in that army."'
Imam Al-Nawawi said:
"In this hadith lies
the permissibility of launching a surprise attack on disbelievers who
have already received the call to Islam, without giving prior warning."
Al-Hafiz said in *Fath Al-Bari*:
"It is a matter of scholarly disagreement.
A group of scholars, including 'Umar ibn 'Abd Al-'Aziz, held
that calling people to Islam before fighting is a strict prerequisite.
Whereas the majority held
that this requirement applied only in the beginning,
before the call of Islam had spread widespread.
Thus, if someone is found whom the call has not reached,
he is not fought until he is invited to Islam;
this was explicitly stated by Al-Shafi'i.
Malik said:
'Those who live near the lands of Islam
are fought without an invitation,
due to the fame and spread of Islam.
But as for those from far lands,
extending an invitation is more decisive in removing doubt.'
Meanwhile, Al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd, and Ibn Ishaq held
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
did invite them to Islam,
and that actual fighting broke out between the two sides."
Al-Waqidi stated:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) reached
Al-Muraysi',
which is a watering place.
He dismounted and pitched (peace be upon him)
a leather dome tent for himself,
accompanied by his wives 'A'ishah and Umm Salamah
(may Allah be pleased with them both).
The enemy had gathered at the water source
and had prepared and arrayed themselves for battle.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) arranged his Companions in ranks,
then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered
'Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him),
who proclaimed among the people:
'Say: "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,"
by which you may protect your lives and your wealth!'
But they refused.
The first shot was fired by a man from among them with an arrow,
whereupon the Muslims shot arrows for a brief hour.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
commanded his Companions to charge,
and they charged as a single man.
Not a single person among the enemy escaped;
ten of their men were killed,
and the rest were taken prisoner.
Thus the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) captured
the men, women, and children,
as well as the camels and sheep."
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
"Likewise said 'Abd Al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf
in his *Seerah* work and others,
but this is an oversight,
for there was no actual prolonged fighting between them;
he merely launched a raid on them at the water source,
taking their families and wealth as booty,
as is established in *Al-Sahih*."
Al-Hafiz reconciled the two views in *Fath Al-Bari*,
saying:
"It is possible that when the attack was launched against them,
they stood their ground briefly,
and when casualties mounted among them,
they were routed.
That is to say, when he ambushed them while they were at the water,
they stood firm and formed battle ranks,
and a brief clash took place between the two parties,
after which victory was achieved over them."
I say:
It is astonishing how Ibn Sa'd
preferred the *mursal* report of the historians (the people of *Maghazi*)
over the authentic narration of Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
For he said, after mentioning the report of the historians
which I cited a moment ago:
"'And Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to
relate that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
raided them while they were unaware
and their cattle were being watered at the spring,
killing their combatants and capturing their dependents;
yet the former report is more firmly established.'"
Al-Hafiz refuted him in *Fath Al-Bari*, stating:
"The ruling that what is in the books of *Seerah*
is more firmly established than what is in *Al-Sahih* is rejected,
especially given the possibility of reconciling the two reports.
And Allah knows best."
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic Biography.
Though the longing of creation for one another grows long,
the longing for you knows no bound or end.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and lips move with remaining devotions.