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The Great Threat From The North
After the Battle of Hunayn the only threat that
remained for the Muslims was the Roman
Empire.
There were rumors that the Roman Emperor was
planning a campaign against the Muslims.
Reports of an imminent attack were carried to
Madinah by the traders. They told of an
enormous well equipped army of about fifty
thousand fighters in addition to Arabian tribes
who allied with Byzantines.
The army had reached Al-Balqaa an area in
Jordan.
The news from Syria brought back
memories of the experience of Gazwat
Mu’tah that you have learned earlier.
 In that battle, the Romans and their Arab
allies in Syria assembled around two
hundred thousand fighters.
 Zaid Ibn Al-Harithah and other Muslim
leaders were martyered during that
battle were not forgotten.
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Prophet Muhammad didn't want take
any chances, so he began assembling
his largest army ever.
 He was worried that the Byzantines with
their huge army may attack Madinah.
 The Prophet was determined to proceed
up north to face the Byzantines and fight
a decisive battle at their own borders.
 The battle of Tabook was the last of the
Prophet’s military expeditions.
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It was summer, and the blazing desert
heat was enough to discourage anyone
from traveling. It was the month of Rajab
ninth year of Hijrah.
 Wealthy Muslims contributed large
amounts of money for the army fund.
 Uthman ibn Affan donated enough
money to equip ten thousand troops.
 The army was thirty thousand men strong
with ten thousand horses.
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The Prophet encouraged the Sahabah to pay
the charity and fundraise for this Gazwah
battle.Uthman ibn Affan donated nine hundred
saddled camels, a hundred horses, two
hundred ounces of gold as charity, a thousand
dinars.
The Messenger of Allah looked at them and
said: “From this day on nothing will harm
‘Uthman regardless of what he does.”
Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf also gave 2 hundred
silver ounces.
Abu Bakr gave all his money to the campaign
and left nothing for his family the Prophet asked
him, What he had left for his family? He
answered , “I left for them Allah and his
Prophet.”
Omar donated half of his fortune.
 Al-Abbas gifted a lot of money too.
 Asim ibn Adi offered ninety camel loads.
 One person gave a bushel or half bushel
that he owned.
 Women contributed by giving jewelry and
other items they owned.
 Despite such generosity, the army still fell
short of being perfectly equipped. There
remained a shortage of money, equipment,
and mounts.
 Eighteen men had to take turns, sharing one
camel. That’s why army was called “The
army of Hardship” or “Jaysh-ul-Usrah.”
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The Prophet set up his camp, at Thaniyyat el-Wadaa.
The people of Madinah were witnesses to the
stunning scene of the Prophet at the head of his huge
army of 10,000 horsemen and 20,000 other soldiers on
camelback and foot.
It was the habit of the Prophet not to disclose where
he was going for Ghzwah, The Prophet specified that
he was going to Tabook because of the great
distance and long duration of the trip.
He wanted everyone to prepare emotionally and
physically for this long and difficult journey.
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The Prophet appointed Muhammad ibn
Maslamah Al-Ansari the Amir over the city of
Madinah during his absence.
This was the greatest Muslim army ever
assembled during the lifetime of the Prophet.
The thirty thousand strong Muslim army
marched to Syria under the scorching Arabian
sun.
Despite the hardship, the hearts of the Muslims
were filled with the love and dedication to the
service of Allah and His Messenger.
The munafiqeen, or the hypocrites this time tried to scare
the believers away from fighting the Romans. They
warned them “do you really believe that fighting those
people is as easy as fighting a few Arab? By God, we can
see that tomorrow you will be dragged in chains.”
 They also said to the Muslims, “do not travel in the heat.”
To which Allah replied in the Qur’an: “the fire of Hell is
stronger in heat.”
 Many of them came to the Prophet making excuses to
avoid traveling with him. The prophet knew that they were
liars and hypocrites,
so he kept tolerating them,
hoping that Allah would guide them to the straight path.
 However, a number of the hypocrites joined the Muslim
army for evil purposes, as you learn later.
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In the north Arabia, the army passed by the
ruins of Thamood, the people of prophet
Salih, at the village of Al-Hijr.
 The place is called now Mada, in the
northwestern part of present Saudi Arabia.
 Allah destroyed Thamood because the
people disobeyed Allah and His Messenger
prophet Salih.When the army was near that
place, Prophet Muhammad asked his
followers to hurry up while passing through
the area. He also prevented them from
drinking, eating or making ablution from the
wells in that place.
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Imam Al – Bukhari and Muslim reported
that the Prophet Said : “don’t enter upon
those punished people unless you are
crying as I fear that you may be hit with
what they were inflicted with.”And he
covered his head with his cloak and
accelerated his stride.
Halfway between Madinah and
Jerusalam,the army set up camp at a place
called Tabook in present day Saudi Arabia.
The army Remained in Tabook for twenty
days, searching for information about the
advance of the roman army. The enemy
army never showed up.
 The Romans had their spies and were
informed of the Prophet’s preparation for
war and knew he had come for them .
 The Byzantines and their allies were terrified.
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The Romans quickly retreated to their own
frontiers and they scattered.
 It seems that they had recalled their
experience in mu’tah and realized that they
would not be able to defeat the huge
Muslim army.
 The Prophet had no desire to invade Syria
and confront its army, but he prepared for
both possibilities: war and peace.
 The Muslims gained an awesome military
reputation in lands of the Arabian Peninsula.
This reputation was far better than military
confrontation.
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The Arab tribes, who allied themselves
with the Byzantines, became quite
certain that their dependence on their
former masters had come to an end.
 They realized that the Muslims had
become more powerful than ever, and
that they had better come to terms with
them before it was too late.
 So they became pro-Muslim ,and the
Islamic state was able to expand its
borders out to the Byzantine borders.
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Prophet Muhammad realized that the
mission was accomplished. He could
disperse the great threat of the huge
Roman army and their Arab allies.
 He also made his enemies realized that
they could not defeat the Muslims easily.
 After he had achieved all of the above,
the Prophet decided to travel back to
Madinah.
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Before he returned to Madinah, the Prophet
called some of the tribes to Islam and
established alliances with friendly tribes in
the area.
 Some of the Munafiqeen tried to kill the
Prophet during the journey.
 They thought they could seize the
opportunity when the Prophet was on his
camel near the edge of a cliff.
 They attempted to cause him to fall off
that cliff, but Allah warned His prophet
about
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The Prophet was guarded by Ammar ibn
Yaser and Huthayfah ibn-ul-Yaman who
struck the heads of the attackers, camels
causing them to flee.
 Ammar and Huthayfah managed to
protect the Prophet and recognized the
masked men.
 So,they asked the Prophet for permission
to capture and kill those wicked culprits.
 The Prophet refused and said, I don’t
want the Arabs to think that I kill my
companions.
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1. Ibn Ishaq said: “the people woke up with no
water and complained to the Prophet. He
implored Allah, who sent a cloud that rained
on them until they quenched their thirst and
they took with them their supply of water.”
2. When the Prophet was on his way he lost his
she-camel. Zaid Ibn Al-Luseet,a
hypocrite,said,Muhammad claims that he is a
Prophet and informs you about the news of
Heaven, and yet he does not know where his
she-camel is.?
Then The Prophet said: “there is man
saying so and so…By Allah I know only
What Allah has taught me; and He
informed me that she is in the Valley
entrapped in her tether by a tree trunk.
Go and fetch her.”
 They went and found her in the valley as
the Prophet described.
 3.Imam Muslim reported that before the
Prophet had dismounted in a place
where the water was scarce, he told his
followers that by grace of Allah the next
day they would pass by Tabook spring.
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He warned them not to touch it before
his arrival. Two men had arrived before
him and touched the water and it
became just a thin trickle. The Prophet
scolded the two men for not listening to
him.
 Then his companions gathered what little
water was left and gave it to the
Prophet. He washed his hand and face
then he poured the water back to the
spring making Du’aa’.The Spring gushed
with water. And he told them:” Whoever
lives of you will hear that this valley will
be most fertile.”
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On the road, the camel of Abu-Tharr Al-Ghifari
slowed him down. He placed his belonging on his
back and followed in the footsteps of the Prophet on
foot. A while later the Prophet stopped to rest for a
while.
Someone looked around and glimpsed a man
walking from afar and exclaimed: “ O Prophet! There
is a man coming alone.” The Prophet said: “let him be
Abu-tharr.”
When the people looked hard they shouted: O
Prophet! By God, he is Abu-Tharr.” The Prophet said :
“Allah, have mercy on Abu-tharr. He walks alone, he
dies alone, and he will be resurrected alone.
Abu-tharr was a leader in his tribe Ghifar
and had embraced Islam early on in
Makkah. He called his tribe to Islam and
many had become Muslim. Prophet
Muhammad loved him for his truthfulness,
clean heart and diligence.
 One time , Abu-tharr asked the Prophet to
appoint him as an amir, or a leader. The
Prophet declined and told him that it was a
big responsibility and a trust that he could
handle. Abu-Tharr accepted what the
Prophet told him and never asked again.
He continued to be sincere and faithful
follower of the Prophet as this story
illustrates.
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The Prophet stayed twenty days in the
area of Tabook,then he headed back to
Madinah.
 The Muslim arrived in Madinah during the
month of Ramadan after a long trip that
had lasted for fifty days.
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The Prophet and the Muslim prayed Salat-ulMusafir, or the Traveler;s prayer, during the
campaign to Tabook. The Prophet combined Thuhr
and Asr prayers during the time of Thuhr.This is
called Jami’Taqdeem, or advanced combination.
A Muslim can also pray the same tow combination
of prayers during the time of the later one. This
called Jami’Ta’kheer, or delayed combination.
The Prophet also shortened the four-rakaat prayers
to two rakaat during travel. The shortening of the
prayer is called Qasr in Arabic.
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When and where did the campaign to Tabook
take place?
Why did the Prophet advance toward Syria?
Describe the military powers of the Muslims and
the enemies during the military campaign?
Who were the enemies of the Muslims in
Tabook?
How did the campaign to Tabook end?
Who was among the people who followed the
Prophet and traveled alone through the desert?
What lesson can we learn from him?
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What was the greatest lesson the Muslims
learned in the course of the battle?
Who are the Munafiqeen?
By end of the campaign there was a threat
on the Prophet’s life. Describe what
happened?
Briefly describe at least two of the miracles
demonstrated by the Prophet during the
journey to Tabook.
Describe how a traveler can combine and
shorten the prayer.
What was the root cause of the possible
attack of the Romans against the Muslims?