Islamiat Practice Task Feb Week 3
a- Write about the main events of the battles of Khaybar and Mu'ta.
Khaybar : The battle of Khyber was a very important event in the history of Islam that occurred in 628
A.D (7 Hijri).
The conflict was between the Muslims of Madinah, who were under Prophet Muhammad, and the Jews
who had settled in Khyber after they were expelled from Madinah. When Hazrat Muhammad heard of this
event, he considered it vital to move towards Khyber and punish the Jews for their actions. the Muslims
numbered around 1400 and the Jews were around 10,000. The Jews had shut themselves in their forts.
The arrival of the Muslims shocked the Jews, who had not anticipated such a move. Therefore, the
Muslims captured the forts of the Jews one after the other. However, the al-Qamus fort was heavily
fortified and thus the Muslims could not capture it even after 15 to 19 days. The Holy Prophet PBUH sent
Muslim army under the commandment of Hazrat Abu Bakr R.A towards the fort Qumus. The Muslim army
was unable to conquer the fort. The fort became a great challenge for Muslims. For 21 days Muslims
fought hard to capture the fort. Every day the Muslims would charge the fort with different technique
under the commandment of a different person. The Holy Prophet PBUH changed the commander every
day, yet none was able to conquer the fort. The next day, the Holy Prophet PBUH stated that the fort
would be conquered in the morning as a commandment to Allah's beloved and the Holy Prophet PBUH.
This not only made Muslims happier that finally they would be able to take charge of the fort but also
made them curious about the person who would be given commandment the next day. In the morning the
Muslim army got ready for the battle and was anxiously waiting to hear the name of the Beloved
commander. The Holy Prophet PBUH announced the name of Hazrat Ali R.A. as the commander. The
Holy Prophet approached Hazrat Ali R.A and put the armor on him. The Holy Prophet put the armor on Ali
with his own hands. The Holy Prophet PBUH prayed for the Muslim force, he prayed for their victory and
then ordered them to attack the fort in the name of Allah. With this, the Jews were defeated, and the
Muslims were victorious at the battle of Khyber.
Mu'ta: In 7 A.H, the Prophet (S.A.W) had started sending the message of Islam to various non-Muslims
rulers within the Arabian Peninsula. He had sent Hazrat Harith bin Umair with the letter to the ruler of
Basra. But he was intercepted and killed by the Roman governor of Al-Balqa. In response, in 629 A.D / 8
A.H, Mohammad (S.A.W) dispatched an army of 3000 under Hazrat Zaid bin Harith (R.A) to teach
Shurahbil a lesson and tell all such rulers that Muslims were now a force which could not be dealt with in
an insulting manner. Mohammad (S.A.W) knew that Muslims had to confront the Romans, not any weak
tribe. Accordingly, he explained if Hazrat Zaid bin Harith (R.A) embraced martyrdom, then the command
taken over to Hazrat Jaffer (R.A), and in case he too dies, then Hazrat Abdullah bin Rawahah (R.A)
should lead the troops. On the other side, Roman sent 100,000 troops with another 100,000 from Arabian
tribes allied to fight with the Muslim army. The news worried the Muslims who were confused about what
to do. Then Abdullah bin Rawahah (R.A) made an impassioned speech to his Muslim brothers. He (R.A)
encouraged the Muslims to fight them with the religion, that had been granted by Allah. After this speech,
the Muslim army got ready to fight. Muslims chose Hazrat Khalid bin Walid (R.A) unanimously as their
fourth leader. Hazrat Khalid (R.A) showed his skills as a strategist. Along with fighting random clashes
with the enemy, the Muslim forces retreated gradually in an organized manner. The Byzantine thought
they were being entrapped in the heart of the desert, so they decided to stop pursuing the Muslim army.
Thus, the Muslim army managed to retreat to Madinah with a small number of potential losses.