In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
The dwellings of Thamud.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went to Tabuk,
he passed on his way by the dwellings of Thamud,
which is Al-Hijr.
He said,
"Do not drink any of its water,
nor perform ablution with it for prayer.
As for any dough you have kneaded,
feed it to the camels,
and do not eat any of it."
"And let none of you go out
unless accompanied by a companion."
These dwellings are the dwellings of those who were punished.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
commanded the people not to enter the dwellings of those who were punished
unless they were weeping or feigning to weep.
In the command of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to discard what they had cooked,
and to take the dough and feed it to the camels,
is evidence of the prohibition of drinking water
from the dwellings of those who were punished.
Yet,
we find many ignorant people
going to the dwellings of Thamud,
playing and laughing.
This is something that is not permissible,
because the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
when he passed by Al-Hijr,
urged his mount forward and said,
"Do not enter upon these people who were punished
unless you are weeping.
If you are not weeping,
then do not enter upon them,
lest what befell them befall you."
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
used to hasten through the valley of Muhassir in Makkah,
because this valley
is where Allah destroyed
the People of the Elephant, according to the well-known account.
Treasures of the Seerah.
Two Prophetic signs.
The first:
While in Tabuk,
the people were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of him,
and they had no water.
So he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stood up
and prayed for rain for them.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, sent a cloud,
and it rained
until the people were quenched
and took what they needed of the water.
The second:
The she-camel of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went missing.
Zayd ibn al-Sayd,
who was a hypocrite, said,
"Does he not claim to be a prophet,
and inform you of the news of the heavens,
yet he does not know where his she-camel is?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"A man is saying such and such."
Then he said,
"By Allah, I know only what Allah has taught me."
Where are those who claim that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
knows the unseen?
Where are those who claim that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
knows their conditions and what happens to them?
By Allah, this is falsehood.
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Allah has guided me to it;
it is in the valley in such and such a ravine,
and a tree has caught its reins."
"Go and bring it to me."
They went and brought it to him, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Therefore, it is not permissible for a person, when asked, to say,
"Allah and His Messenger know best,"
except in matters of religious law.
As for worldly matters,
one should say,
"Allah alone knows best."
Treasures of the Seerah.
"I wish I were the one in the grave."
On the way to this expedition,
Abdullah Dhu al-Bijadayn died.
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said,
"I got up in the middle of the night
while I was with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
on the expedition of Tabuk.
I saw a flame of fire in the corner of the camp,
so I followed it to see what it was.
It was the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with Abu Bakr and Umar,
and Abdullah Dhu al-Bijadayn al-Muzani had died.
They had dug a grave for him,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was in the grave,
while Abu Bakr and Umar were lowering him down to him.
He was saying,
'Bring your brother closer to me.'
So they lowered him to him.
When he had arranged him in his burial niche, he said,
'O Allah, I have spent the evening pleased with him,
so be pleased with him.'"
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said,
"I wish I were the one in the grave."
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"There are people in Madinah
who, no matter what distance you traveled or what valley you crossed,
were with you."
They asked, "Even though they were in Madinah?"
He said, "They were kept back by a valid excuse."
From Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
it is narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked,
"Tell us about the Hour of Difficulty."
Umar said,
"We went out to Tabuk
in intense heat.
We stopped at a place
where we were struck by such thirst
that we thought our necks would snap.
A man would slaughter his camel,
squeeze its intestines, and drink from them,
then place what remained on his liver."
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
Allah has accustomed you to goodness in supplication,
so pray to Allah for us."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Would you like that?"
He said, "Yes."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, raised his hands to the sky,
and he did not lower them
before the sky began to pour,
raining heavily and then pouring down.
They filled what they had with them.
Then we went to look,
and we found it had not exceeded the camp.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The outcome of Tabuk.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went to Tabuk
and camped there,
prepared to meet the enemy.
As for the Romans and their allies who had
gone out to fight the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
they were seized with terror
when they heard of the Prophet's march toward them.
They did not dare to advance or meet him.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"I have been granted victory through terror [covering] a month's journey."
This was that terror.
They scattered throughout the lands,
and there was no fighting between the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Romans.
Thus was the expedition of Tabuk:
an easy victory without fighting.
Treasures of the Seerah.
Ukaydir of Dumah.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned from Tabuk,
having sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to Ukaydir of Dumah.
He was Ukaydir ibn Abd al-Malik,
a man from Kindah.
He was a Christian and the king of Dumah.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to Khalid,
"You will find him hunting wild cows."
Khalid went out
until he was within sight of his fortress.
On a clear, moonlit night,
while he was on his roof with his wife,
wild cows began rubbing their horns against the palace door.
His wife said,
"Have you ever seen anything like this?"
He said, "No, by Allah."
She said, "Who would leave these?"
He said, "No one."
He went down, ordered his horse to be saddled,
and rode out with a group of his household,
among them a brother of theirs called Hassan.
They rode out to hunt them.
When they went out,
they were met by the cavalry of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and they were captured.
Khalid sent him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
who spared his life
and made a peace treaty with him regarding the jizya.
Then he let him go,
and Ukaydir returned safely to his people.
Treasures of the Seerah.
A third attempt to assassinate the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned from Tabuk, triumphant and victorious,
and Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, spared him from fighting.
However, an incident occurred that requires reflection and pause:
some of the hypocrites who had gone out with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
attempted to kill him.
They conspired to throw the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
from the top of a mountain pass on the way.
When they reached the pass,
they wanted to traverse it with him.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, approached them,
their plot was revealed.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever among you wishes to take the path through the valley floor,
it is more spacious for you."
The Messenger, peace be upon him, took the mountain pass,
and the people took the valley floor,
except for those individuals.
They came up behind the Prophet, peace be upon him,
intending to throw him from the mountain pass.
When they saw that the people had moved away from the Messenger, peace be upon him,
they covered their faces and prepared themselves,
contemplating this grave matter—
may Allah protect us from such things.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, then commanded
Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman
and 'Ammar Ibn Yasir,
and they walked with him.
He ordered 'Ammar to take hold of the camel’s halter,
and he ordered Hudhayfah to drive it from behind.
While they were traveling,
they heard the commotion of the people behind them, who had closed in on them.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, became angry with them,
and he commanded Hudhayfah to turn them back.
He said,
"Tell them to return to the valley floor."
Hudhayfah perceived the anger of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
so he turned back, carrying a staff.
He confronted the faces of their mounts and struck them with it.
He saw the men, and they were masked,
appearing as though they were merely travelers.
Allah, glory be to Him, struck terror into them when they saw Hudhayfah,
and they thought their plot had been exposed to him.
They hurried away until they mingled with the people so as not to be recognized.
Hudhayfah returned and caught up with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
"Strike the mount, O Hudhayfah,
and you walk, O 'Ammar."
They hurried until they reached the top of the pass,
and they emerged from the pass to wait for the people.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to Hudhayfah,
"Did you recognize those men,
or did you recognize any of them?"
Hudhayfah replied,
"I recognized the mount of so-and-so and so-and-so,
but it was dark, O Messenger of Allah,
and they were covered and masked."
He, peace be upon him, said,
"Do you know what the intention of the riders was,
and what they wanted?"
They said, "No, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
we did not know."
He said,
"They plotted to travel with me,
and when I ascended the pass, they intended to throw me from it."
They said,
"Will you not order us to deal with them, O Messenger of Allah?
We could strike off their heads."
He said,
"I dislike that people should talk
and say that Muhammad has turned against his own Companions."
He named them to Hudhayfah and said,
"Keep them secret."
In one narration,
it is mentioned that he named them to both Hudhayfah and 'Ammar,
and said,
"Keep them secret."
In some versions of this story,
such as what Ibn Ishaq mentioned in his Prophetic biography and military expeditions,
when the Prophet, peace be upon him, reached the morning,
he said to Hudhayfah,
"Call for me 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy,
Abu Khatir the Bedouin,
Abu 'Amir,
and al-Julas Ibn Suwayd Ibn al-Samit."
He was the one who had said,
"We will not stop until we throw Muhammad from the mountain pass tonight.
If Muhammad and his Companions are better than us,
then we are indeed like sheep and he is the shepherd,
and we have no intellect, while he is the intelligent one."
He also ordered him to call Mujammi' Ibn Harithah,
and Mulayh al-Taymi,
who was the one who stole the perfume of the Ka'bah
and apostatized from Islam thereafter.
He also ordered him to call Hisn Ibn Numayr,
Tu'aymah Ibn Ubayriq,
and 'Abdullah Ibn 'Uyaynah,
who was the one who said to his companions,
"Stay awake this night,
and you will be safe for all time.
By Allah, you have no choice but to kill this man."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, called him,
and said to him,
"Woe to you!
What benefit would you have gained from killing me, had I been killed?"
'Abdullah replied,
"By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
we remain in goodness as long as Allah grants you victory over your enemy.
We are only here by Allah and by you."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, left him alone,
and said,
"Call for me Murrah Ibn al-Rabi',
who was the one who said,
'We will kill this one man,
and the people will be at peace with his death.'"
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to him,
"Woe to you!
What drove you to say what you said?"
He replied, "O Messenger of Allah,
if I said anything of that, you are well aware of it,
but I did not say any of that."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, gathered them,
and they were twelve men.
He informed them of what they had said, peace be upon him,
and of their speech, their secrets, and their public words.
Allah, glory be to Him, had revealed this to His Prophet,
and taught him what they had done.
They are the ones of whom Allah said:
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
"And they disbelieved after their Islam."
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
"So if they repent, it is better for them."
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
“They swear by Allah that they said nothing (wrong), yet they did say the word of disbelief, and did disbelieve after their Surrender (to Allah). And they purposed that which they could not attain, and they sought revenge only that Allah by His messenger should enrich them of His bounty. If they repent it will be better for them; and if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful doom in the world and the Hereafter, and they have no protecting friend nor helper in the earth.” (9:74)
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.