In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.
May Allah preserve him.
The second year of the Hijrah.
The Expedition of al-Abwa’.
Also known as Waddan.
This was the first expedition led by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Imam al-Bukhari stated:
And Ibn Ishaq stated:
The first expedition of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was
to al-Abwa’, then Buwat,
then al-Ushayrah.
This took place in the month of Safar,
twelve months after the arrival of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in Medina.
He entrusted his banner to Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him.
It was a white banner.
He appointed Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, may Allah be pleased with him, as his deputy in Medina.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out with 70 men from the Muhajirun,
with no one from the Ansar among them.
He reached al-Abwa’,
intending to intercept a caravan of the Quraysh,
but he did not encounter any conflict.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, concluded a peace treaty
during this expedition
with Makhshi ibn 'Amr al-Damri,
who was the leader of the Banu Damrah in his time,
stipulating that he would not raid the Banu Damrah,
nor would they raid him or gather forces against him,
nor would they assist any enemy against him.
He wrote a formal document between himself and them.
The absence of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, during this expedition
lasted 15 nights.
The Expedition of Buwat.
This was the second expedition of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
It took place in Rabi' al-Awwal,
thirteen months after his migration.
He entrusted his banner to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him.
He appointed Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, as his deputy in Medina.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out with 200 of his Companions from the Muhajirun,
intending to intercept a Quraysh caravan containing Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi,
and one hundred men from the Quraysh,
along with two thousand five hundred camels.
He reached Buwat in the region of Radwa,
but he did not encounter any conflict and returned to Medina.
The Expedition of al-Ushayrah.
This was the third expedition of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
It took place in Jumada al-Akhirah,
sixteen months after the migration of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He entrusted his banner to Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him.
It was a white banner.
He appointed Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi, may Allah be pleased with him, as his deputy in Medina.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out with 500 men,
though it is said 200 of the Muhajirun.
He did not compel anyone to join the expedition.
They set out with thirty camels, taking turns riding them.
They intended to intercept a Quraysh caravan heading to the Levant.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had received news of its departure from Mecca.
It contained the wealth of the Quraysh.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, reached al-Ushayrah,
but found that the caravan had passed by days earlier.
This is the same caravan that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out to pursue
when it returned from the Levant,
and it is the one that Allah promised him—either the caravan or the armed force—
which led to the Great Battle of Badr.
The Expedition of Safwan, or the First Battle of Badr.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did not stay in Medina upon returning from the expedition of al-Ushayrah
for more than ten nights,
before Kurz ibn Jabir al-Fihri raided the grazing livestock of Medina
and drove them away.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out with seventy of his Companions from the Muhajirun.
He entrusted his banner to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him.
It was a white banner.
He appointed Zayd ibn Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, as his deputy in Medina.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, pursued him
until he reached a valley called Safwan in the vicinity of Badr.
Kurz ibn Jabir al-Fihri escaped, and he did not catch him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, returned to Medina.
The detachment (sariyyah) of 'Abdullah ibn Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with him, to Nakhlah.
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sent
'Abdullah ibn Jahsh al-Asadi, may Allah be pleased with him, to Nakhlah.
He sent with him eight of the Muhajirun, with no one from the Ansar among them.
This was in Rajab, seventeen months after the Hijrah.
Every two men took turns riding one camel.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, wrote a letter for him,
and commanded him not to look at it until he had traveled for two days, then to read it,
and to carry out what he was commanded without compelling any of his Companions.
'Abdullah ibn Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with him, set out.
After traveling for two days, he opened the letter, which read:
"When you read this letter, proceed until you encamp at Nakhlah between Mecca and Ta'if,
lie in wait for the Quraysh there, and gather news for us about them."
He said, "I hear and I obey."
He then informed his Companions of this, stating that he would not compel them.
"Whoever desires martyrdom, let him proceed; whoever fears death, let him return."
"As for me, I am proceeding." So they all went with him.
While on the way, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
and 'Utbah ibn Ghazwan, may Allah be pleased with them, lost a camel they were taking turns riding.
They stayed behind to search for it, while 'Abdullah ibn Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with him, continued
with the rest of his Companions until they encamped at Nakhlah.
A Quraysh caravan passed by, carrying raisins, leather, and trade goods.
Among them were 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami, 'Uthman and Nawfal, the sons of 'Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah,
and al-Hakam ibn Kaysan, the freedman of Hisham ibn al-Mughirah.
The Muslims consulted one another, saying, "We are in the last day of Rajab, the sacred month."
"If we fight them, we will violate the sacred month."
"But if we leave them tonight, they will enter the Sacred Territory."
They then resolved to confront them.
Waqid ibn 'Abdullah al-Tamimi shot 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami with an arrow and killed him.
The Muslims attacked them,
taking 'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah and al-Hakam ibn Kaysan as prisoners,
while Nawfal ibn 'Abdullah escaped.
They then brought the caravan and the two prisoners to Medina.
They had set aside one-fifth of the spoils.
This detachment marked the first one-fifth (khums) in Islam,
the first polytheist killed in Islam,
and the first two prisoners in Islam.
When they arrived in Medina,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, disapproved of what they had done.
They, may Allah be pleased with them, had acted based on their own ijtihad (legal reasoning).
The men were deeply distressed, may Allah be pleased with them,
and thought they were ruined.
The Quraysh intensified their criticism and condemnation of the act,
saying, "Muhammad has made the sacred month lawful."
Then Allah the Almighty revealed:
“They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.” (2:217)
“They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.” (2:217)
“They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.” (2:217)
"And they will continue to fight you..."
“They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.” (2:217)
"And whoever among you turns back from his religion
and dies while he is a disbeliever,
for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter,
and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."
The scholar Ibn Kathir stated:
"The Almighty says:
This incident, even if it was a mistake,
because fighting in the sacred month is a grave matter before Allah,
yet what you, O polytheists, are engaged in—
of blocking the path of Allah,
disbelieving in Him and in the Sacred Mosque,
and expelling Muhammad and his Companions,
who are in truth the people of the Sacred Mosque—
is greater before Allah than fighting in the sacred month."
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
For the longing toward you knows no bounds;
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and as long as lips move in remembrance.