The Expedition to Mu’tah

The Apostle had sent al-Ḥārith ibn ‘Umayr al-Azdī to deliver his letter to Shuraḥbīl ibn ‘Amr al-Ghassānī, a satrap of the Byzantine Emperor at Buṣrā.¹ Al-Ḥārith was first tied up under the order of Shuraḥbīl and then beheaded.² It had never been the custom of kings to condemn envoys to death, however disagreeable the message they had conveyed. The crime dishonoured both the sender of the letter and the recipient, in addition to the danger it meant for the envoy, and could not go unpunished. The guilt of blood bade to be avenged with firmness so that no tyrant dared repeat the crime in future.

First Expedition to the Byzantine Territory

The Apostle decided to send a detachment to Buṣrā in Jumādā ‘l-Ūlā, 8 AH. A force 3,000 strong was drafted. It was the strongest force sent out so far and a number of leading companions had enlisted for active service, but the Apostle gave its command to his freed slave Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. He also instructed that if Zayd were killed then Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib would take the command, and if he were also slain then the command would pass on to ‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāḥah. When the expedition got ready to depart, the people bade farewell and saluted the commanders selected by the Apostle.³ The force had to undertake a long and arduous journey and to face an enemy backed by the strongest empire of the time.

The force advanced to Ma‘ān in Syria where Zayd came to know that Heraclius was present at al-Balqā’ with a hundred thousand Roman troops joined by an equally strong force drawn from the Arab tribes of Lakhm and Judhām and Balqayn and Bahrā’ and Baliyy. The Muslims camped for two days at Ma‘ān, pondering over the situation. They decided at last to inform the Apostle about the strength of the enemy; if he sent reinforcements, well and good, otherwise they would face the enemy, if so ordered.⁴

Dauntless Warriors

‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāḥah made an impassioned speech encouraging his comrades. He said: “Men, you dislike the thing, by God, for which you came out — martyrdom. We do not fight the enemy on the strength of our numbers, or our power; we fight them with the religion with which God has honoured us. So come forth, we shall be winners either way: we win or we court martyrdom.” So the men got up and forged ahead to meet the enemy.

Action Starts

When the Muslims reached near al-Balqā’, they found the Byzantine forces stationed in a village called Mashārif. With the news of the arrival of Muslim forces, the enemy advanced towards them, and the Muslim troops took up their position in a village called Mu’tah where battle commenced.⁵

Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, who held the Apostle’s standard, descended on the enemy and died fighting bravely. He received innumerable wounds with spears. Ja‘far now took the standard in hand and led the fight. When the battle closed in, he jumped off his charger and hamstrung its forelegs, and fought until he lost his right hand. He took the standard in his left hand but when it was also cut off, he caught hold of the standard with his teeth. He fell down dead in the battlefield after receiving ninety cuts from swords and spears on his chest and arms, but none on his back.⁶ He was then 33 years of age.⁷ Thus fought this young man with reckless courage in the face of great odds, defying the enemy’s numbers and strength, until he was honoured by God with martyrdom.

The Apostle’s standard was then held aloft by ‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāḥah. He too dismounted from his horse and pressed onwards. One of ‘Abdullāh’s cousins came up to him with a meat bone, saying, “Take it for you have not had anything for the last few days. It will give you strength to fight.” ‘Abdullāh took it and ate a little. Then he threw it away and taking the sword in hand fought bravely until he was also killed.⁸

Khālid Assumes Command

Now the Muslim troops rallied round Khālid ibn al-Walīd who took the standard in his hand. With his instinct as a general, Khālid made his way to the south while the enemy forces turned aside towards the north.⁹ The day was done by this time and both the forces, tired by the day-long fight, thought it prudent to stop the fighting.

Khālid stationed a part of his force at a distance from his camp in the still of night. At the first flush of morning the detachment set apart by Khālid started shouting cries of war which gave an impression to the enemy that fresh reinforcements had arrived from Madīnah. The enemy had had the experience of fighting the small force of 3,000 Muslims the previous day. Now they dared not fight them again strengthened by additional troops. The Roman soldiers were disheartened and did not take the field. Muslims were thus spared the trouble of putting up a fight again.¹⁰

A Glimpse of the Battlefield

While the Muslims had been engaged in fighting the enemy at Mu’tah, the Apostle was describing the conflict in Madīnah. Anas ibn Mālik relates that the Messenger of God announced the death of Zayd, Ja‘far and ‘Abdullāh ibn Rawāḥah before the report about them reached Madīnah. Anas reports that the Apostle said: “Zayd took the standard and was smitten; then Ja‘far took it and was smitten, then Ibn Rawāḥah took it and was smitten”; the tears meanwhile trickling down from his eyes. The Apostle continued, according to Anas, “Finally one of God’s swords [meaning Khālid ibn al-Walīd] took the standard till God granted them success.”¹¹

Ja‘far aṭ-Ṭayyār

Another report about Ja‘far says that the Apostle said about him, “Allah has given two wings to Ja‘far in place of his arms. He flies in Paradise, wherever he likes.”¹² Thereafter Ja‘far came to be known as Ja‘far aṭ-Ṭayyār and Dhu ’l-Janāḥayn, meaning one possessed of two wings.

Words, Kind and Comforting

The Apostle went to the house of Ja‘far and asked his wife to bring her children. When they were brought the Apostle breathed in their fragrance as tears ran down from his eyes. Then he told them about the death of Ja‘far. When news about Ja‘far reached the Apostle from the front, he sent word to his family, “Prepare food for the family of Ja‘far. They will be too shocked to cook their food.” The Prophet’s face at the time reflected his grief.¹³

Not Deserters but Warriors

When the army returning from Mu’tah drew close to Madīnah the Apostle and the Muslims went out to receive them. The boys also came running while the Prophet was on his camel. The Prophet said, “Take the boys and give me Ja‘far’s son.” Ja‘far’s son ‘Abdullāh was brought to the Apostle who seated him before him.

This was the first time that a Muslim army had returned without winning a decisive victory. Some of the people started throwing dust on the men, saying the while, “You runaways, you fled from the way of God.” The Apostle said, “They are not runaways but warriors, if God wills.”¹⁴

Subsequent Expeditions

In between the two major expeditions to Mu’tah and Makkah, some smaller expeditions were also undertaken. One of them was the raid of Dhāt as-Salāsil in the country of Quḍā‘ah near Wādi ’l-Qurā, in Jumādā ’l-Ākhirah, 8 AH. The raiding party returned after they destroyed the enemy. Another raiding party consisting of 300 Anṣār and Muhājirīn was sent under Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ, to Najd. The party was sent to chastise a clan of Juhaynah. The army was exhausted with hunger and had to live for a few days on the leaves of the trees until God brought them a whale named ‘Anbar from the sea. The men spent about fifteen days on the flesh and fat of the whale and regained their strength. They brought back a portion of it, which the Apostle took and said to the men, “God sent it for you.”¹⁵ This expedition goes by the names of Sīf al-Baḥr and al-Khabaṭ.