In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azimi,
May Allah preserve him.
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) leading the prayer.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) encamped with his formidable army at a stopping place
While on their way to Tabuk.
And shortly before dawn,
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to answer the call of nature
And was delayed from returning to the Muslims,
Until the time for the Fajr prayer was nearly running out.
So the Muslims put forward 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him).
Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) caught up for one rak'ah,
While missing one rak'ah.
For Imam Muslim recorded in his Sahih,
And Imam Ahmad in his Musnad,
And Abu Dawud in his Sunan—
And the wording is from Abu Dawud—
On the authority of Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) turned aside [from the path],
And I was with him during the expedition of Tabuk before dawn,
So I turned aside with him.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) made his mount kneel,
And relieved himself.
Then he returned,
And I poured water over his hands from the leather vessel.
He washed his hands,
Then washed his face,
And then tried to uncover his forearms,
But the sleeves of his jubbah were too narrow.
So he tucked his hands inside and pulled them out from beneath the jubbah,
Washing both of them up to the elbows.
He wiped his head,
And then performed ablution by wiping over his leather socks.
He then mounted up,
And we set off riding
Until we reached the people while they were already in prayer,
Having put forward 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him).
He had led them when the time for prayer arrived,
And we found 'Abd al-Rahman having already completed one rak'ah of the Fajr prayer with them.
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood,
Joined the row with the Muslims,
And prayed behind 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him)
The second rak'ah.
Then 'Abd al-Rahman concluded with the taslim,
Whereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up to complete his prayer.
The Muslims were alarmed at this,
And began repeating tasbih frequently,
Because they had preceded the Prophet (peace be upon him) in starting the prayer.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) concluded with the taslim,
He said to them:
'You have done right,'
Or, 'You have done well.'"
The arrival of the Messenger (peace be upon him) at Tabuk.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) informed the Muslims shortly before their arrival at Tabuk
That the water of the spring at Tabuk was scarce,
So no one should draw anything from it.
However, some hypocrites who were among his army
Did not comply with the Prophetic command;
They reached the water before him and drew from it.
For Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad with an authentic chain of transmission,
On the authority of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) set out on the day of the expedition of Tabuk,
And news reached him that water was scarce at the place they were heading to.
So he ordered a herald to proclaim among the people:
'Let no one precede me to the water!'
Yet when he reached the water,
Some people had already preceded him, and he invoked Allah's curse upon them."
And Imam Muslim recorded in his Sahih,
On the authority of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the year of the expedition of Tabuk,
And he used to combine the prayers:
He prayed Dhuhr and 'Asr together,
And Maghrib and 'Isha' together.
Until one day he delayed the prayer,
Then came out and prayed Dhuhr and 'Asr together;
Then he went in, and later came out
And prayed Maghrib and 'Isha' together.
Then he said:
'Tomorrow, if Allah wills, you will reach the spring of Tabuk,
But you will not reach it until the heat of mid-morning sets in.
So whoever among you arrives at it
Must not touch any of its water until I arrive.'
So we reached it, and two men had already preceded us there,
While the spring was like a shoelace, dripping only a trickle of water.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked them:
'Have you touched any of its water?'
They said, 'Yes.'
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) rebuked them severely
And said to them whatever Allah willed that he say.
Then they scooped water from the spring little by little with their hands
Until some was gathered in a vessel.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) washed his hands and face in it,
And then poured it back into the spring.
Thereupon the spring gushed forth with an abundant flow of water—
Or he said: copiously—
Until all the people had drawn water.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'It is near, O Mu'adh, that if your life is prolonged,
You will see what is here filled with lush gardens.'"
The stay of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Tabuk
And his most prominent actions there.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stayed in Tabuk for twenty days.
For Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad and Abu Dawud in his Sunan with an authentic chain of transmission,
On the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stayed in Tabuk for twenty days, shortening the prayer."
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not encounter an enemy,
Dispatching delegations and expeditions to the tribes surrounding Tabuk.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) made peace with Yuhannah ibn Ru'bah, the ruler of Aylah,
And dispatched Khalid ibn al-Walid in an expedition to Ukaydir of Dumah,
Concluding a peace treaty with him.
For the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim] recorded in their Sahihs,
On the authority of Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"We went on the expedition of Tabuk with the Prophet (peace be upon him),
And the king of Aylah presented the Prophet (peace be upon him) with a white mule
And gave him a cloak to wear,
And he wrote a treaty securing their territory for them,"
Meaning their land and dominion.
And Abu Dawud recorded in his Sunan,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)
And 'Uthman ibn Abi Sulayman:
"That the Prophet (peace be upon him) dispatched Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him)
To Ukaydir of Dumah.
They captured him and brought him,
So he spared his life
And made peace with him in exchange for the jizyah."
And Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, and al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban with a good chain of transmission,
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched an army to Ukaydir of Dumah,
Who then sent to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) a jubbah made of brocade
Woven with gold.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) put it on,
And stood upon the pulpit—or sat—
Without speaking,
Then stepped down.
The people then began touching the jubbah and marveling at it,
So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'Do you marvel at this?'
They said:
'We have never seen any garment finer than this!'
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied:
'The kerchiefs of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh in Paradise are far finer than what you see.'"
The return of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Medina.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stayed in Tabuk for twenty days
Without encountering an enemy,
Then he returned to Medina.
For Ibn Abi 'Asim recorded in Al-Sunnah with a good chain of transmission,
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood among us on the day of Tabuk,
Praised and glorified Allah the Exalted,
And then said:
'Indeed, Allah permitted this march for you,
And He has now permitted you to return.'"
The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
Though the longing of people for one another may last long,
The longing toward you knows no bounds.
May Allah shower blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
And lips continue to move with what remains.