Part of A summary of the Prophet’s biography (the series is complete)
· Lesson 121 of 182
Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (142) | The Battle of Al-Muraisi’ or Banu Al-Mustaliq
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
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A Concise Summary of the Prophetic Biography.
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Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azmi, may Allah preserve him.
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The Battle of Al-Muraysi' or Banu Al-Mustaliq.
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The Battle of Al-Muraysi' or Banu Al-Mustaliq took place in the month of Sha'ban.
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Scholarly opinions differed regarding the year in which this battle occurred, as follows:
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The first opinion: It took place in the fifth year after the Hijrah.
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The second opinion: It took place in the sixth year after the Hijrah.
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The Cause of This Battle:
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Word reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar,
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chief of Banu Al-Mustaliq, had rallied his tribe and whichever Arabs he could assemble,
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to wage war against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
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So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched Buraydah ibn Al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him)
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to ascertain the truth of the matter.
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He went to them, met Al-Harith ibn Dirar, and spoke with him,
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then returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and informed him of the news.
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The Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Departure Toward Them:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) urged the people to march,
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and they hastened to set out.
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A large number of hypocrites accompanied him,
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who had never gone forth in any military expedition like it before.
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He appointed Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) in charge of Medina.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) departed Medina on Monday,
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two nights having passed of the month of Sha'ban.
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When news reached Al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar and those with him
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regarding the march of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) toward them,
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they were struck with severe fear,
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and the Arabs who had joined them dispersed from them.
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Did Fighting Take Place in This Battle?
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) arrived at Al-Muraysi',
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and a disagreement arose as to
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whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) called them to Islam before launching a surprise attack against them or not.
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What appears to be the case is that he did not invite them at that time,
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because the call of Islam had already reached them.
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Indeed, the two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their authentic collections—
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and the wording is Muslim's—
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from Ibn 'Awn, who said:
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"I wrote to Nafi'
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asking him about extending an invitation to Islam before fighting.
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He said:
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'So he wrote back to me:
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"That was only in the early days of Islam.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) launched a raid
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upon Banu Al-Mustaliq
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while they were unaware,
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and their cattle were being watered at the spring.
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He killed their fighting men and took their women and children captive,
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and on that day he acquired Juwayriyah, the daughter of Al-Harith.
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This hadith was narrated to me by
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'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),
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who was present in that army."'
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Imam Al-Nawawi said:
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"In this hadith lies
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the permissibility of launching a surprise attack on disbelievers who
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have already received the call to Islam, without giving prior warning."
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Al-Hafiz said in *Fath Al-Bari*:
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"It is a matter of scholarly disagreement.
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A group of scholars, including 'Umar ibn 'Abd Al-'Aziz, held
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that calling people to Islam before fighting is a strict prerequisite.
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Whereas the majority held
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that this requirement applied only in the beginning,
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before the call of Islam had spread widespread.
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Thus, if someone is found whom the call has not reached,
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he is not fought until he is invited to Islam;
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this was explicitly stated by Al-Shafi'i.
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Malik said:
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'Those who live near the lands of Islam
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are fought without an invitation,
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due to the fame and spread of Islam.
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But as for those from far lands,
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extending an invitation is more decisive in removing doubt.'
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Meanwhile, Al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd, and Ibn Ishaq held
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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did invite them to Islam,
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and that actual fighting broke out between the two sides."
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Al-Waqidi stated:
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"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) reached
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Al-Muraysi',
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which is a watering place.
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He dismounted and pitched (peace be upon him)
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a leather dome tent for himself,
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accompanied by his wives 'A'ishah and Umm Salamah
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(may Allah be pleased with them both).
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The enemy had gathered at the water source
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and had prepared and arrayed themselves for battle.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) arranged his Companions in ranks,
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then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered
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'Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him),
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who proclaimed among the people:
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'Say: "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,"
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by which you may protect your lives and your wealth!'
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But they refused.
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The first shot was fired by a man from among them with an arrow,
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whereupon the Muslims shot arrows for a brief hour.
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Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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commanded his Companions to charge,
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and they charged as a single man.
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Not a single person among the enemy escaped;
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ten of their men were killed,
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and the rest were taken prisoner.
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Thus the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) captured
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the men, women, and children,
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as well as the camels and sheep."
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Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said:
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"Likewise said 'Abd Al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf
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in his *Seerah* work and others,
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but this is an oversight,
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for there was no actual prolonged fighting between them;
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he merely launched a raid on them at the water source,
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taking their families and wealth as booty,
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as is established in *Al-Sahih*."
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Al-Hafiz reconciled the two views in *Fath Al-Bari*,
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saying:
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"It is possible that when the attack was launched against them,
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they stood their ground briefly,
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and when casualties mounted among them,
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they were routed.
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That is to say, when he ambushed them while they were at the water,
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they stood firm and formed battle ranks,
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and a brief clash took place between the two parties,
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after which victory was achieved over them."
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I say:
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It is astonishing how Ibn Sa'd
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preferred the *mursal* report of the historians (the people of *Maghazi*)
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over the authentic narration of Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
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For he said, after mentioning the report of the historians
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which I cited a moment ago:
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"'And Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to
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relate that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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raided them while they were unaware
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and their cattle were being watered at the spring,
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killing their combatants and capturing their dependents;
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yet the former report is more firmly established.'"
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Al-Hafiz refuted him in *Fath Al-Bari*, stating:
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"The ruling that what is in the books of *Seerah*
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is more firmly established than what is in *Al-Sahih* is rejected,
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especially given the possibility of reconciling the two reports.
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And Allah knows best."
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A Concise Summary of the Prophetic Biography.
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Though the longing of creation for one another grows long,
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the longing for you knows no bound or end.
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May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
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and lips move with remaining devotions.