This Ghazwah is also called the Ghazwah of Dhu Amr. The occasion for it was as follows: It had reached the august hearing of his lordship the refuge of prophecy that a number of the Bani Tha’lebah and others had assembled in Dhu Asr,* one of the villages of Najd, and intended to make a raid in the vicinity of Mekkah. Accordingly, his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—issued orders to his friends to prepare, and marched with four hundred and fifty of his companions against the enemy. When they arrived at Dhu-l-qassad they captured one of the opponents and brought him to that prince, who examined him concerning the enemy. The man replied: ‘They will not enter the lists of contention and battle with thee, because they have made arrangements to retreat to the fastnesses among the mountains at the approach of thy august troops.’ In fact, when the Musalmâns reached the place of their destination [they found that] the idolaters had taken refuge on the mountain-tops, so that the two opposing armies were able [only] to see each other. Meanwhile a rain had moistened the garments of his lordship the refuge of apostleship—u. w. b.—and of his companions. Therefore that prince went a little aside from the camp and hung his robes on a tree to dry them, sitting himself down at the foot thereof for the sake of repose. The Arabs, who saw from the top of the mountain what was taking place, said to Ra’thûr B. Alhâreth, who was a chieftain of the people and a very brave man: ‘See, Muhammad is reclining under a tree. There is some distance between him and his friends. Now is the time for thee to subdue him.’ Ra’thûr, being glad at the chance, crept slowly with his scimitar bright like a tongue of fire, till he reached the bolster of the lord of apostleship, and exclaimed: ‘Who will this day protect thee, and ward off my evil design from thee?’ His lordship replied: ‘Allah the Most Magnificent and Gracious!’ Then Jebrâil struck the breast of Ra’thûr with his hand, so that he not only dropped his sword, but fell himself prostrate to the ground. Hereon his lordship grasped the sabre of Ra’thûr, and, standing by his side, exclaimed: ‘Woe betide thee!’ And Ra’thûr uttered in his perfect helplessness and weakness the words: ‘I testify that there is no God but Allah, and I testify that thou art the prophet of Allah. By Allah! I shall no more assemble the people to wage war against thee.’ His lordship then gave back the sword to Ra’thûr, who continued: ‘I swear by Allah that thou art better than I am.’ When he returned to his people they said: ‘Thou wentest forth with a drawn sword against Muhammad, and hast done nothing, although there was no one to hinder thee from accomplishing thy design.’ Ra’thûr said: ‘I have seen a white and tall man, who gave me such a blow on the breast that I fell upon my back. I know him to be an angel and Muhammad the apostle of Allah.’ After that he invited the people to profess Islâm. The writer of this work says that, according to the author of the Raudzatu-l-âhbâb, the name of the man who assembled the idolaters at Dhu Asr was not Ra’thûr, but Ghowrath, which name was corrupted in conversation to Ra’thûr.
During the third year after the Flight, his holy and prophetic lordship also heard that Ssafuwân B. Ommyah had, with a number of prominent men from among the Qoraish, gone by way of E’râq on a commercial journey to Syria; therefore he appointed Zayd B. Hâreth with one hundred troopers to march in pursuit of him. When Zayd reached the idolaters their chiefs fled and saved their lives from the grasp of death; their property, however, which amounted in value to one hundred thousand dirhems, fell into the hands of the Musalmâns. During the same year the apostle—u. w. b.—bestowed the hand of his daughter, Omm Kalthûm, upon O’thmân B. A’ffân, and he took to himself as wives [Hafssah] the daughter of O’mar B. Alkhattâb, and Zaynab, the daughter of Khodhaymah.