GHAZWAH OF TABUK, AND EVENTS OF THE NINTH YEAR
AFTER THE FLIGHT.*

Abu Sa’yd Samnâny—Allah have mercy on him!—has narrated in some of his books that, after the Ghazwah of Honayn and the division of spoils, the apostle of God returned to Madinah, where he arrived on Friday, the 25th Dhu-l-qa’dah, and appointed, towards the end of the month Moharram of the ninth year, certain men to collect the legal alms from the Arab tribes who had recently embraced Islâm, and they brought the required amount to Madinah. One of these officials was Boryd B. Alhassyb, who had been despatched to the tribes Foqâr and Aslam; others, however, mention in his stead Ka’b B. Mâlek. A’bâd B. Bashar was sent to the Qurârah, Dzohâk B. Sofyân to the Bani Kallab, Râfi’ B. Muktah to the Johaynah, and Bashar B. Sofyân Ka’by to the Bani Ka’b. At the time when the last-named individual met the Bani Ka’b they were assembled near a watering-place with the Bani Tamym. Bashar numbered the cattle of the former, and began to take the amount required for the legal alms; the latter, however, on account of their great envy and meanness, and because the number appeared to them to be too great, asked: ‘Why is it necessary to give so much property to Muhammad?’ The Bani Ka’b, however, replied: ‘Because our tribe follows Muhammad and has accepted his religion, according to which it is a duty to pay legal alms.’ Then the Bani Tamym grasped their swords and arrows, saying: ‘We swear by Allah that this tax-gatherer shall not take a single camel away from this place.’ And to Bashar they said: ‘Do not be going around these camels.’ Therefore, Bashar acted according to the proverb, ‘Who saves his head is a gainer,’ preferred flight to permanency, hastened on the wings of speed to Madinah, and reported what he had experienced from the Bani Tamym. His lordship then said to his friends: ‘Who of you will take vengeance on the Bani Tamym?’ Hereon O’tbah B. Hossyn Farâzy swore an oath, and exclaimed: ‘I shall go after the Bani Tamym, and not return unless I take them and bring them to thee.’ When his lordship perceived the readiness and inclination of O’tbah to undertake that task, he ordered a detachment of cavalry, consisting of fifty men, to accompany him, none of them being of the Mohâjer or Anssâr. O’tbah started with the troopers towards the rebels, marching during the night and lurking concealed in the day. In this manner they reached in due time the country of the Bani Tamym, whose dwellings, however, they found untenanted by combatants. They accordingly began to foray and to plunder them, whereon they returned to Madinah with eleven women, ten men, and thirty children, whom they had captured, and all of whom were accommodated in appropriate places by order of his lordship the refuge of termination. A number of the Bani Tamym, such as Afza’ B. Hâbes, A’ttârid B. Hâjab, Warqâ B. Mundhar, Na’ym B. Sa’d, A’mru B. Alashham, and Qays B. Sa’d, proceeded [a short time after­wards] to Madinah in search of the people abducted from them, whom they visited first, as soon as they arrived in that blessed country, and afterwards proceeded to the mosque of the apostle of God. At that time the prophet— u. w. b.—happened to be in the apartment of A’ayshah, resting himself and slumbering. Being ignorant in what room the apostle of God was, the Bani Tamym knocked, embarrassed as they were, at every door they passed, exclaiming: ‘O Muhammad, come out!’ Ballâl and the people of the mosque endeavoured to quiet them, but ineffectually, till at last his lordship awoke, and coming out, asked: ‘What is the matter with these people, that they disturb my sleep?’ When his lordship was returning to his august room, after holding matutinal prayers, the Bani Tamym, intercepting his way, said: ‘Thy com­panions have taken away our wives and children without any hostility on our part.’ It is related that his lordship said to them neither yea nor nay, but returned to his blessed chamber, where he prayed and then returned to the mosque. On that occasion Afza’ B. Hâbes, of the Bani Tamym, spoke as follows: ‘O Muhammad, allow me to speak, for praise to thee is an ornament, and reproof ignominious.’ His lordship the best of men—u. w. b.— replied: ‘Thou hast lied; for to praise God is an orna­ment, and to revile Him is ignominious. But what is your purpose?’ They assented to what he had said, and continued: ‘We have brought the poet and orator of our people to eulogize thee.’ His lordship replied: ‘I need no poets nor laudations. Say, however, what you want.’ Accordingly Warqâ B. Mundhar said to A’ttârid B. Hajab, who was their most eloquent man and speaker: ‘Rise, and deliver the harangue.’ A’ttârid then got up, spoke some words in praise of God the Most High, and then expatiated on the excellency and nobility of the tribe Bani Tamym. When he had finished his speech, the son of the firmament of apostleship, from whose august forehead Jupiter* was borrowing felicity, ordered Thâbet B. Qays B. Shammâs the Anssâry to reply to his elocution, of which duty the latter acquitted himself with the greatest eloquence by first pronouncing the laudation of the Omnipotent Creator, and then enumerating the qualities and virtues of the Mohâjer and Anssâr, in conformity with the requirements of the occasion. After Thâbet had terminated his reply to A’ttârid, Warqa, the poet of the Bani Tamym, rose and recited some distichs. After that Hasân obtained leave to speak from his lordship, and declaimed some verses, which elicited the approbation of A’ttârid. Afza’ B. Hâbes also recited a few distichs, to which Hasân replied. When the interlocutions on both sides had ceased, Afza’ B. Hâbes said: ‘I swear by Allah that Muhammad is aided with victory from the invisible world, because no favour is with­held from him. His speaker is more eloquent than ours, and his poet is more accomplished than ours.’ The people of Tamym repented, became obedient, and the caskets of their hearts were illuminated by the light of guidance, and the blessed verse, ‘[As to] those who call unto Thee from without the inner apartments the greater part of them do not understand [the respect due to Thee],’* was revealed with reference to them. His holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—said to Qays B. A’assum: ‘This is the prince of the desert;’ presented those people with abundant gifts, and liberated their captives.

One of the events of this year was that his lordship the best of men sent A’li B. Abu Ttâleb with one hundred troopers to the tribe Bani Ttây to destroy the idol-temple of Falas, which was in their country. The companions attended the stirrups of this exalted personage, started, and reached one morning the Ttây tribe without the cog­nizance of the latter. They began the work of plunder and demolition by burning the temple and razing it. The professors of Islâm obtained much booty, as well as a great number of camels; but Hâttim Ttây, the chief of the people, who is so well known that he need not be described in this place, fled and took refuge in Syria. After A’li the Commander of the Faithful had separated one-fifth of the spoils, he distributed the remainder among the glorious companions. The daughter, however, of Hâttim, who was a beautiful woman, he did not allot to anyone, but con­veyed to Madinah, and kept her in the house where it was customary to lodge prisoners. One day, when his holy and prophetic lordship was walking to the mosque, the daughter of Hâttim stepped out from the house, accosted him on the road, and said: ‘O apostle of God, my father has perished, and my protector has disappeared. Have mercy on me, and God will have mercy on thee.’ The apostle of God asked: ‘Who is thy protector?’ She said: ‘My brother A’dy.’ He rejoined: ‘That man is a fugitive from Allah and from His prophet.’ Having uttered these words, he hastened to his destination. Next day, when his lordship passed by, the daughter of Hâttim reiterated her petition, but received the same answer. The third day, when he passed near the door of that house, the daughter of Hâttim advanced, in spite of her despair and hopeless condition, saying: ‘O apostle of Allah, I am the daughter of the prince and chief of my tribe. My father has departed to the eternal world, and my brother has fled to Syria. Have mercy on me and liberate me, that God the Most High and Glorious may have mercy on thee.’ This time her petition was responded to, and his lordship made arrangements for surrendering her to a number of her neighbours on their arrival in Madinah, which actually took place after the expiration of a few days, his lordship investing her with a garment of honour, bestowing on her various benefits, and rejoicing her with many favours, he gave her permission to depart with that company wherever she liked. The daughter of Hâttim departed, however, to Syria, where she met A’dy B. Hâttim, blamed him in many ways, and related to him her adventures; and when A’dy was dis­cussing with his sister the propriety of meeting his lord­ship the refuge of termination—u. w. b.—she replied: ‘Muhammad is either a prophet or a king, and in either case it is incumbent on thee to visit him.’ This chief of the Ttây tribe accordingly travelled to Madinah, where he arrived when his lordship happened to be in the mosque. When he entered the former asked him: ‘Who art thou?’ He replied: ‘A’dy B. Hâttim Ttây.’ A mosque, however, not being a fit place to converse with a professor of idolatry, his lordship rose, returned to his sacred mansion, and was followed by A’dy. On the road a feeble old woman met and stopped the apostle of God, and conversed a long time with him till he satisfied her wishes. When A’dy beheld this great condescension on the part of the seal of prophets—u. w. b.—he said to himself: ‘This is a char­acteristic of prophets and apostles.’ After the apostle of God had terminated his conversation with the old woman he walked to his sacred habitation, which he entered, and threw down a bolster of goat-leather stuffed with fibres of the date-tree for A’dy to sit upon, saying: ‘Take a seat in this place.’ A’dy refrained at first, but complied at last, on account of the entreaties of the apostle of God; and when he to whom the words Lao lâka* had been addressed took his place on the bare ground A’dy said to himself: ‘This act is also not one of kings and sovereigns, but one of the good qualities of prophets and of apostles.’ After both had sat down the lord of apostleship said: ‘O A’dy, thou hast professed such and such a religion and sect, but hast done such and such an act which is not licit in thy religion and sect.’ By these words A’dy was convinced that his lordship was an inspired prophet, and the latter continued: ‘O A’dy, perhaps the smallness of the means and the greatness of the necessities of the Musalmâns hinders thee from professing Islâm. I swear by Allah that riches will soon become so plentiful among them that there will be no persons found to take possession of them. Or perhaps the great number of the opponents and the paucity of the professors of Islâm prohibit thee from embracing it? I swear by God that if thy life is prolonged thou wilt see the professors of Islâm very numerous and their enemies very inconsiderable, so that even a woman will be able to mount a camel and to arrive from Qâdesyah to circum­ambulate the Ka’bah, and will fear no one except God the Most High and His prophet. Or perhaps, because thou seest the power and government in the hands of the foes of our religion, thou art unwilling to embrace it? I swear by God that the time is at hand when thou wilt hear of the white castles of the country of Babel having been con­quered by the Musalmâns.’

It is related of A’dy, that he said: ‘After the apostle of God had uttered the above words, he invited me to make a profession of Islâm, whereon I was adorned with the decoration of the Faith, and after the demise of the prophet I lived to see the fulfilment of two of the predictions he had made. One of them was the conquest of the castles, and the other the travelling of a lone woman to Mekkah, and I have no doubt that the third will also be fulfilled.’ Let it, however, not remain concealed from the intelligent reader, that A’dy was made happy by kissing the feet of his lordship in the tenth year after the Flight, but for the sake of the context this conversion has been [now] inserted.

One of the events of this year was that during it his holy and prophetic lordship swore an oath that he would, during one month, not have any intercourse or association with his spouses. For this oath various reasons have been assigned, and one of them is as follows: On a certain day the apostle condescended to enter the apartment of Hafssah, the daughter of O’mar B. Alkhattâb, who had, however, on that day, by permission of the apostle of God, left the house on a visit to her father, and the house being empty, his lordship took in his concubine, the Copt Mâryah, and had sexual connection with her. Meanwhile Hafssah returned from her father’s house, found the door of the room locked, and was compelled to wait till his lordship opened it and came out. When Hafssah found what had taken place [in her absence] she began to weep, and said: ‘O apostle of God, holdest thou sexual connection with a slave-girl in my absence and on my bed?’ The prophet, noticing the agony of Hafssah, asked: ‘Art thou willing that I should make [intercourse with] Mâryah unlawful to me?’ She replied: ‘I am willing.’ Accordingly his lordship made her society illicit to himself, but ordered Hafssah to keep the matter secret, which she promised to do for the sake of expediency. But when his lordship the apostle of God went away, she could no longer conceal her joy, and communicated the secret to A’ayshah in the following words: ‘O A’ayshah, glad tidings to thee. The prophet will henceforth abstain from having intercourse with the Coptic slave-girl.’ Accordingly, when A’ayshah was made happy by waiting on his holy and prophetic lordship, she said to him ironically: ‘O apostle of God, have intercourse with the Coptic slave-girl during my turn, so that the time of thy other wives may not be taken up with her.’ Mean­while Jebrâil descended with the verses of the Chapter of Prohibition,* in consequence whereof his lordship said to Hafssah: ‘Have not I told thee not to reveal this secret to anyone, and not to divulge it?’ Hafssah asked: ‘Who has informed thee of this?’ His lordship rejoined: ‘The omniscient and all-seeing God.’* As he had, on account of the above event, been reproached by several of his wives, he was displeased, and refrained from associating also with the others during one month, in order to punish them all. Another cause for this proceeding was that the mothers of the Faithful [i.e., the wives of Muhammad] had asked his lordship the apostle of the Lord of the universe for various sums of money to purchase garments which could not be easily procured, and in proof of this [disagreement between the prophet and his wives] it may be adduced that one day Abu Bakr Ssiddyq arrived at the door of the holy and pro­phetic mansion, where he perceived a number of the com­panions sitting, none of whom had obtained the felicity of an interview [with the prophet]. Ssiddyq, however, obtained admission, and O’mar B. Alkhattâb, who had after him reached the door of the august chamber, was likewise admitted to the honour of kissing the hands of his lord­ship. On that occasion grief and pain had so overpowered the most noble mind of the favourite of Allah the Most High, on account of the various claims of his wives who were the mothers of the Musalmâns, that he spoke to no one. Fârûq, who knew the state of the matter and desired to make his lordship laugh, therefore said: ‘O apostle of God, recently my wife, the daughter of Khârejah, asked me for some money, whereon I rose and struck her on the neck; and I wish thou hadst beheld the scene.’ The apostle of God smiled at the words of O’mar and said: ‘My wives are on my neck. They ask for money, and want things which I do not possess.’ These words so excited Ssiddyq Akbar that he rose and struck the neck of [his daughter] A’ayshah with his fist, and Fârûq, imitating him, gave also a blow to his own daughter, Hafssah, both reproving their daughters in the following strain: ‘Are you asking from the apostle of God things which he does not possess?’ Hereon A’ayshah and Hafssah swore an oath that they would never ask the prophet for anything he did not possess. Nevertheless, as his wives troubled him more than he could endure, his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—separated himself from them, sojourned one month in the upper room of his mosque, keeping at the door a slave, Ryâh by name, whom he ordered to admit no one without permission. When the news had spread in Madinah that the prophet had divorced his wives, every one of the companions who heard it visited the mosque.

It is related of Fârûq that he said: ‘When I heard this rumour I hastened to the mosque, where I beheld a number of the companions seated near the pulpit and weeping. I remained with them for a while, but deep grief overpowered me, so I got up, went to the room of the mosque, and asked Ryâh to procure me an interview [with the prophet]. He attempted to do so several times, but in vain, and received no answer. I therefore said in a loud voice: “Ryâh, I believe the apostle of God thinks I have come to intercede for the crime of Hafssah. I swear by God that if he tells me to strike off her head I shall not disobey his orders!” Saying these words, I departed, but suddenly heard Ryâh exclaiming: “O’mar, come; thou hast obtained admit­tance.” I then returned, entered, saluted him, and said before taking a seat: “O apostle of God, hast thou divorced thy wives?” He replied: “No,” whereon I uttered the Takbyr in a loud voice.’ Solmah says: ‘When the sound of the Takbyr reached our house, we knew what he had said to the apostle of God, and what answer he had received.’

In short, after twenty-nine days had elapsed since the departure of his lordship the refuge of termination— u. w. b.—he left the room of the mosque and entered the house of A’ayshah, who met that prince, saying: ‘O apostle of God, thou hast sworn an oath that thou wilt not return to us before a month has elapsed, but since the time of thy departure only twenty-nine days have as yet expired.’ His lordship replied: ‘Sometimes a month has twenty-nine days.’ The writer of these pages observes that this matter has also been recorded in other ways in voluminous books.

During this year the lapidation of Sabya’h A’ameryah took place, which happened as follows: Three years before the just-mentioned date an A’ameryah woman made in the august assembly of his holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—a confession of having committed adultery, and requested him to judge her according to the religion, to purify her from her sin. His lordship answered: ‘Return; pray to Allah for pardon, and trust to His mercy if you sincerely repent.’ Sabya’h continued: ‘O apostle of God, desirest thou to turn me away as thou hast sent away such-and-such a woman, seeing that I am pregnant from adultery?’ He asked: ‘Art thou with child from adultery?’ She said: ‘Yes.’ His lordship continued: ‘Wait till the delivery takes place.’ She was thereon given in charge of one of the Anssâr till she gave birth to a child. When that event had taken place it was reported to the apostle of God —u. w. b.—who said: ‘We cannot stone her now, con­sidering that her infant is young, and there is no one to suckle it.’ Some time afterwards Sabya’h weaned the child, put a piece of bread into its hand, brought it thus into the august assembly, and requested the law of the religion to be put in force. His lordship then gave the child of Sabya’h to a Musalmân, and ordered her to be placed into a pit up to the breast, whereon he gave the signal for lapidation. Khâled B. Alwolyd thereon approached Sabya’h in front, and struck her with a stone; but some drops from the wound thus inflicted having touched his face, Khâled cursed her. His lordship, however, quieted him, and said: ‘I swear by that God in the power of Whose grasp my soul is, that Sabya’h has repented; and that if the Tamghâchy* had done this penance he would have been forgiven.’ When the bird of the soul of Sabya’h flew to the gardens of paradise, the cage of her body was, by order of the lord of termination, prayed over and buried in another spot.