Battle of the Camel From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other battles in the area, see Battle of Basra.

Battle of the Camel

Part of the First Fitna

Ali and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel

Date 7 November 656 Location Basra, Iraq Result Rashidun Caliphate victory

Belligerents

Rashidun Caliphate Aisha's forces

and Umayyad

Caliphate

Commanders and leaders

Ali ibn Abi Talib Aisha

Malik al-Ashtar Talhah †

Hasan ibn Ali Muhammad ibn

Ammar ibn Yasir Talha † Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr Zubayr ibn al-Awam †

Abdul-Rahman ibn Abi Kaab ibn Sur †

Bakr Abd Allah ibn al-

Muslim ibn Aqeel Zubayr

Harith ibn Rab'i Marwan I (POW)

Jabir ibn Abd-Allah Waleed ibn

Muhammad ibn al- Uqba (POW)

Hanafiyyah

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari

Abu Qatada bin Rabyee

Qays ibn Sa'd

Qathm bin Abbas

Abd Allah ibn Abbas

Khuzaima ibn Thabit

Strength

~20,000[1] ~30,000[1]

Casualties and losses

~5,000[2][3] ~13,000[2][3]

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First

Islamic

Civil War

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Civil wars of the early Caliphates

The Battle of the Camel, sometimes called the Battle of Jamal or the Battle of Bassorah,[4] took place atBasra, Iraq on 7 November 656. A'isha heard about the killing of Uthman (644-656), the third Caliph. At the time she was on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was on this journey that she became so angered by his unavenged death, and the naming of Ali as the fourth caliph, that she took up arms against those supporting Ali. She gained support of the big city of Basra and, for the first time, Muslims took up arms against each other. This battle is now known as the First Fitna, or Muslim civil war.[5]

Contents [hide]

 1 Before the conflict

 2 Preparation for battle

 3 Battle

o 3.1 Casualties

 4 Aftermath

 5 Image and legacy of A'isha

o 5.1 Sunni and Shi'i split

 6 Participants

o 6.1 Soldiers of Caliph Ali's Army

o 6.2 Soldiers of Aisha's Army

o 6.3 Others involved

o 6.4 Unclassified

 7 References

 8 External links

Before the conflict[edit]

The Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib forgave his opponents after the Battle of the Camel.

Talhah and Zubeir asked Ali the permission for pilgrimage. He let them and they departed. The Medina people wanted to know Ali’s point of view about war against Muslims by asking his view about Muawiyah I and his refusal to give Ali his allegiance. So they sent Ziyad Bin Hanzalah of Tamim who was an intimate friend to Ali. He went to him and sat for a while. He went back and told the people in Medina that Ali wanted to confront Muawiyah. In Medina, Marwan manipulated people. In Iraq many people hated the Syrians following the Byzantine- Sassanid Wars. Aisha (Aisha bint Abu Bakr) (Muhammad's widow), Talhah (Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah) and Zubayr ibn al-Awam(Abu ‘Abd Allah Zubayr ibn al-Awwam) set off from Makah on their way to Iraq to ask Ali to arrest Uthman ibn Affan killers, not to fight Muawiyah.[6][7]

Preparation for battle[edit] While passing Medina, on their way to Iraq, Aisha, Talha and Zubair passed a group of Umayyads leaving Medina led by Marwan who said that the people who had killed Uthman, had also been causing them trouble.[8]Everyone then went to Basra, which was the beginning of the first civil war in Islam. Some historians put the number at around 3000 people.[9] Zubair and Talha then went out to meet Ali. Not all Basra was with them. Beni Bekr, the tribe once led by the second Caliph, joined the army of Ali. Beni Temeem decided to remain neutral.[10]

Battle[edit] Writer Leila Ahmed claims that it was during this engagement that Muslims fought Muslims for the first time. The battle was a reflection of pre-Islamic practices of bloodshed for vigilante causes.[11]

Some chieftains of the Kufa tribes contacted their tribes living in Basra.[8] A chieftain contacted Ali to settle the matter.[8] Ali did not want to fight and agreed to negotiate.[8] He then contacted Aisha and spoke to her,[8] "Is it not wise to shed the blood of five thousand for the punishment of five hundred."[8] She agreed to settle the matter.[8] Ali then met Talha and Zubair and told them about the prophecy of Muhammad. Ali's cousin Zubair said to him, "What a tragedy that the Muslims who had acquired the strength of a rock are going to be smashed by colliding with one another."[8]Talha and Zubair did not want to fight and left the field. Everyone was happy except the people who had killed Uthman and the supporters of the Qurra, who later became the Khawarij.[8] They thought that if a settlement was reached, they would not be safe.[8] The Qurra launched a night attack and started burning the tents.[8] Ali tried to restrain his men but no one was listening. Everyone thought that the other party had committed breach of trust. Confusion prevailed throughout the night.[8] The Qurra attacked the Umayyads and the fighting started. Talhah had left. On seeing this, Marwan (who was manipulating everyone) shot Talhah with a poisoned arrow[8] saying that he had disgraced his tribe by leaving the field.[8] According to some Shia accounts Marwan ibn al-Hakam shot Talha,[12] who became disabled in the leg by the shot and was carried into Basra, where he died later of his wound.[13][14][15] According to Shia sources Marwan said,

By God, now I will not have to search for the man who murdered Uthman.[16]

In the Sunni sources it says that he said that Talha had disgraced his tribe by leaving the field.[8] With the two generals Zubair and Talhah gone, confusion prevailing and the Qurra and the Umayyads fought.[8][17] Qadi Kaab ibn Sur of Basra held the Quran on his head and then advised Aysha to mount her camel to tell people to stop fighting, until he was killed by arrows shot by the forces of Ali.[8] As the battle raged Ali's forces targeted their arrows to pierce the howdah of Aisha. The rebels lead by Aisha then gathered around her and about a dozen of her warriors were beheaded while holding the reins of her camel. However the warriors of Ali faced much casualties during their attempts to reach Aisha as dying corpses lay pilled in heaps. The battle only came to an end when Ali's troops as commanded attacked the camel from the rear and cut off the legs of the beast. Aisha fled from the arrow-pierced howdah and was captured by the forces of Ali.[18] Ali's cousin Zubair was by then making his way to Medina; he was killed in an adjoining valley. Aisha's brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, who was Ali's commander, approached Aisha, who was age 45. There was reconciliation between them and Ali pardoned her. He then sent Aisha to Medina under military escort headed by her brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, one of Ali's commanders. She subsequently retired to Medina with no more interference with the affairs of state.[8][19] Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was the son of Abu Bakr, the adopted son of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the great-grandfather of Ja‘far al-Sadiq. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was raised by Ali alongside Hasan and Husein. Hassan also accompanied Aisha part of the way back to Medina. Aisha started teaching in Medina and deeply resented Marwan.[20][21] Tom Holland writes in the best selling book The shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World "Marwan was fabulously venal and slippery. Nothing he had done had helped to improve his reputation for double dealing.[21][22] Casualties[edit] According to historian William Muir, 10,000 people lost their life in this battle, with each party bearing equal loss. In the three days after the battle, Ali performed a funeral service for all the dead from both parties.[19]

Aftermath[edit] Ali's forces overcame the rebels, and the defeated army was treated with generosity. Ali met Aisha and there was reconciliation between them. He sent her back to Medina under military escort headed by her brother Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, one of Ali's commanders. She subsequently retired to Medina with no more interference with the affairs of state.[19] Talha, who became disabled in the leg by the shot and fled the battlefield was carried into Basra, where he died later of his wound.[13] When the head of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam was presented to Ali by Ahnaf ibn Qais, the Caliph Ali couldn't help but to sob and condemn the murder of his cousin. This reaction caused Ahnaf ibn Qais resentment and, drawing his sword, stabbed it into his own breast.[23] Marwan I and the Qurra (who later became the Khawarij) manipulated every one and created conflict. Marwan was arrested but he later asked Hassan and Hussein for assistance and was released.[6] Ali was later killed by a Kharijite Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa.[24] Two decades later, after years of planning and scheming and making every one else fight, Marwan came to power in Syria and the Qurra (the Kharijites) established a state in southern Iraq.[25]

Image and legacy of A'isha[edit] The name of the battle refers to the camel ridden by Āʿ isha — once the camel had fallen, the battle was over. Some Muslim scholars believe the name was recorded as such in history to avoid linking the name of a woman with a battle.[26] Although Āʿ ishah's role in the Battle of the Camel is very controversial, it is clear that some see her as a role model for Muslim women in politics and other roles of leadership. Fatima Mernissi is an example of a Muslim feminist and scholar who sees Āʿ ishah as a model for her and other women. She proves this through her works by questioning the authority of the Hadith that say women should not lead. Specifically, she states as the mission of her text that "This book is a vessel journeying back in time in order to find a fabulous wind that will swell our sails and send us gliding toward new worlds, toward a time both far away and near at beginning of the Hejira, when Muhammad could be a lover and a leader hostile to all hierarchies, when women had their place as unquestioned partners in a revolution that made the mosque an open place and the household temple of debate." By stating this as her mission she highlights that she would like people to remember the time of clear gender equality and leadership, as demonstrated by Āʿ ishah.[27] A'isha's symbolic significance for believers is justified through her close proximity to the Muhammad. "Identified as part of the new Islamic female elite, the mothers of the believers, Āʿ isha's political importance was not achieved, but ascribed."[28] Sunni and Shi'i split[edit] Āʿ isha's depiction in regards to the first civil war in the Muslim community reflected the molding of Islamic definition of gender and politics. Sunni Muslims recognized the tension between Āʿ isha's exemplary status as the acknowledged favorite wife of Muhammad and her political actions as a widow. The Sunni task was to assess her problematic political participation without complete disapproval. Shi'i Muslims faced no such dilemma in their representation of the past. Āʿ isha had opposed and fought ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Shi'i male political and spiritual ideal in the Battle of the Camel. Her involvement in the First Fitna provoked Shi'i scorn and censure, while Sunni authors had the more difficult task of defending her.[29] Moreover, Shias regard Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib as the successor to the Holy Prophet, as such, they see the following verse- in Surah At-Tahrim where it begins with condemning 'Aisha- as Ali carrying out divine duties against the hypocrites, "O Prophet! Strive hard against the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)."[Quran 66:9 (Translatedby Pickthall)]

Participants[edit] Soldiers of Caliph Ali's Army[edit]

 Ali [30]

 Malik al-Ashtar

 Hasan ibn Ali

 Hussain ibn Ali

 Ammar ibn Yasir

 Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr

 Muslim ibn Aqeel

 Harith ibn Rab'i [30]

 Jabir ibn Abd-Allah

 Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah

 Abu Ayub Ansari [31]

 Abu Qatada bin Rabyee[31]  Qays ibn Sa'd [31]

 Qathm bin Abbas[31] Soldiers of Aisha's Army[edit]

 Aisha [30]

 Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah [30]

 Muhammad ibn Talha [32]

 Zubayr ibn al-Awwam [30]

 Marwan ibn al-Hakam [30]

 Abd al-Rahman I[33]

 Abdullah ibn al-Walid (KIA)[33]

 Abdullah ibn Hakim (KIA)[33]

 Abdullah ibn Saffron[33]

 Yahya ibn Hakim ibn Safwan[33]

 Amir ibn Mascud ibn Umayya ibn Khalaf[33]

 Ayyiib b. Habib b. Alqama b. Rabia[33]

 Utba[33]

 Abdullah ibn Abi Uthman ibn al-Akhnas ibn Sharlq (KIA)[33] Others involved[edit]

 Abd-Allah ibn Umar [30]

 Hafsa bint Umar [30]

 Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya [30] Unclassified[edit]

 Abdullah bin Aamir Hadhrami of Makkah[30]

 Ya'la bin Umayya[30]  Abdullah bin Aamir bin Kurayz of Basra[30]

 Saeed bin Aas[30]

 Mughira bin Shaaba[30]

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a b http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=axL0Akjxr- YC&pg=PT472&dq=Ali+20,000+battle+of+the+camel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PNc- UresF4nAtQaZioGQCg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Ali%2020%2C000%20battle%20of%20the %20camel&f=false

2. ^ Jump up to: a b Jibouri, Yasin T. Kerbalā and Beyond. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2011. Print. ISBN 1467026131 Pgs. 30

3. ^ Jump up to: a b Muraj al-Thahab Vol. 5, Pg. 177

4. Jump up ^ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_the_Camel. Missing or empty | title= (help)

5. Jump up ^ Mernissi, Fatima. "A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam". Retrieved 2014-04-30.

6. ^ Jump up to: a b Nahj al Balagha Sermon 72

7. Jump up ^ Medieval Islamic civilization By Josef W. Meri Page 131

8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Nadvi, Sulaimān. Hadhrat Ayesha Siddiqa: Her Life and Works. Safat, Kuwait: Islamic Book, 1986. Print. Pg. 44

9. Jump up ^ Dr. Mohammad Ishaque in Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, Vol 3, Part 1

10. Jump up ^ Sir John Glubb, The Great Arab Conquests, 1967, p. 320

11. Jump up ^ Goodwin, Jan. Price of Honour: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World. UK: Little, Brown Book Group, 1994

12. Jump up ^ anwary-islam.com

13. ^ Jump up to: a b http://anwary-islam.com/companion/ten-talhah-ibn-ubaydullah.htm

14. Jump up ^ http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/61.htm

15. Jump up ^ http://www.islam4theworld.com/Sahabah/talhah_bn_ubaydullah_R.htm

16. Jump up ^ Ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. III, p. 223

17. Jump up ^ The Early Caliphate, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Al-Jadda Printers, pg. 169-206, 1983

18. Jump up ^ http://www.alim.org/library/biography/khalifa/content/KAL/53/3

19. ^ Jump up to: a b c William Muir, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall from Original Sources . Chapter XXXV: "Battle of the Camel". London: 1891. p. 261.

20. Jump up ^ Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 352 21. ^ Jump up to: a b The shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland, ISBN 9780349122359 Abacus Page 409

22. Jump up ^ See:

 Lapidus (2002), p.47

 Holt (1977a), p.70 - 72

 Tabatabaei (1979), p.50 - 53

 Nahj Al-Balagha Sermons 8, 31, 171, 173

23. Jump up ^ http://www.alim.org/library/biography/khalifa/content/KAL/53/4

24. Jump up ^ Tabatabae (1979), page 192

25. Jump up ^ Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 9, Book 88, Number 228:[1] Narrated by Abu Al-Minhal. When Ibn Ziyad and Marwan were in Sham and Ibn Az-zubair took over the authority in Mecca and Qurra' (the Kharijites) revolted in Basra, I went out with my father to Abu Barza Al-Aslami till we entered upon him in his house while he was sitting in the shade of a room built of cane. So we sat with him and my father started talking to him saying, "O Abu Barza! Don't you see in what dilemma the people has fallen?" The first thing heard him saying "I seek reward from Allah for myself because of being angry and scornful at the Quraish tribe. O you Arabs! You know very well that you were in misery and were few in number and misguided, and that Allah has brought you out of all that with Islam and with Muhammad till He brought you to this state (of prosperity and happiness) which you see now; and it is this worldly wealth and pleasures which has caused mischief to appear among you. The one who is in Sham (i.e., Marwan), by Allah, is not fighting except for the sake of worldly gain.

26. Jump up ^ Mernissi, Fatima (1987). The Veil and the Male Elite. New York: Basic Books. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-201- 63221-7.

27. Jump up ^ Mernissi, Fatima. The Veil and the Male Elite. Basic Books. ISBN 0-201-52321-3.

28. Jump up ^ Spellberg, D.A. (1994). Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-231-07999-0.

29. Jump up ^ Spellberg, D.A. (1994). Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past. Columbia University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-231-07999-0.

30. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Razwy, Ali Asgher. A Restatement of the History of Islam & Muslims: 579 to 661 CE. Stanmore: World Federation of KSI Muslin Communities, 1997. Print. Ch. 62

31. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Islamic period

32. Jump up ^ www.islam4theworld.com

33. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Madelung, Wilferd. The Succession to Muhḥammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. ISBN 0521646960 Pg. 18

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of the Camel.  Ali ibn Abi Talib (1984). Nahj al-Balagha (Peak of Eloquence), compiled by ash-Sharif ar- Radi. Alhoda UK. SBN 0940368439.

 Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1990). History of the Prophets and Kings, translation and commentary issued by R. Stephen Humphreys. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-0154-5. (volume XV.)

 Holt, P. M.; Bernard Lewis (1977). Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29136-4.

 Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.

 William Muir. The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall [2].

Ridda wars From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2012)

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the early Caliphates

Ridda wars

First Fitna

Second Fitna

Revolt of Ibn al-Ash'ath

Revolt of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab

Revolt of Harith ibn Surayj

Zaydi Revolt

Berber Revolt

Third Fitna

Abbasid Revolution

Alid Revolt (762–763)

Alid Revolt (786)

Mudhari Revolt

Fourth Fitna

Anarchy at Samarra

Kharijite Rebellion (866–896)

Map detailing arenas of Ridda campaigns.

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 E also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military ,(حروب الردة :The Ridda wars (Arabic campaigns launched by the Caliph Abu Bakr against rebel Arabian tribes during 632 and 633 AD, just after Muhammaddied.[1] The rebels' position was that they had submitted to Muhammad as the prophet of God, but owed nothing to Abu Bakr. Some rebels followed either Tulayha or Musaylima or Sajjah, all of whom claimed prophethood. Most of the tribes were defeated and reintegrated into the Caliphate. The peoples surrounding Mecca did not revolt.

Contents [hide]

 1 Prelude

o 1.1 Defense of Madinah

 2 Abu Bakr's Strategy

 3 Campaign of Apostasy

 4 Central Arabia

o 4.1 Buzakha

o 4.2 Najd

o 4.3 Yamamah  5 Oman

 6 Northern Arabia

 7 Yemen

 8 Mahra

 9 Bahrain

 10 Hadhramaut

 11 Aftermath

 12 See also

 13 References

 14 Further reading

 15 External links

Prelude[edit] In about the middle of May 632, Muhammad, now ailing, ordered a large expedition to be prepared against the Byzantine empire in order to avenge the martyrs of battle of Mu'tah. 3000 Muslims were to join it. Usama ibn Zaid, a young man and son of Zayd ibn Harithah who was killed in the battle at Mu'tah, was appointed as commander of this force so he could avenge the death of his father.[2][3] [4] However, Muhammad died in June 632 and Abu Bakr claimed to be Caliph with the help of a group of his friends. On the first day of his caliphate, Abu Bakr ordered the army of Usama to prepare for march. Abu Bakr was under great pressure regarding this expedition due to rising rebellion and apostasy across Arabia, but he was determined.[5] Before his march, Usama sent Umar to Caliph Abu Bakr and is reported to have said: Go to the Caliph, ask him to permit the army to remain at Medina. All the leaders of the community are with me. If we go, none will be left to prevent the infidels from tearing Medina to pieces.[6] However, Abu Bakr refused. He was moved to this decision at least partially by his desire to carry out the unfulfilled military plan of Muhammad. On June 26, 632 the army of Usama broke camp and moved out. After leaving Medina, Usama had marched to Tabuk. Most of the tribes in this region opposed him fiercely but were defeated by Abu Bakr's army. Usama raided far and wide in the region of Northern Arabia, starting with the Quza'a, and then made his way to Dawmatu l-Jandal (modern Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia). As a direct result of his operations, several rebel tribes resubmitted to Madinian rule and claimed that they re-acceptedIslam. The Quza'a remained rebellious and unrepentant, however 'Amr ibn al-'As later attacked them and forced them to surrender again.[1] Usama next marched to Mu'tah, attacked the Christian Arabs of the tribes of Banu Kalb and Ghassanids in a small battle. Then he returned to Medina, bringing with him a large number of captives and a considerable amount of wealth, part of which comprised the spoils of war and part taxation of the re-conquered tribes. The Islamic army remained out of Medina for 40 days. Defense of Madinah[edit] The concentrations of rebels nearest Madinah were located in two areas: Abraq, 72 miles north-east of Madinah, and Dhu Qissa, 24 miles east of Madinah.[7] These concentrations consisted of the tribes of Banu Ghatafan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy. Abu Bakr sent envoys to all the enemy tribes, calling upon them to remain loyal to Islam and continue to pay their Zakat. A week or two after the departure of the Islamic army under Usama, the rebel tribes surrounded Medina, knowing that there were few fighting forces in the city. Meanwhile, Tulayha, a self- proclaimed prophet, reinforced the rebels at Dhu Qissa. In the third week of July 632, the apostate army moved from Dhu Qissa to Dhu Hussa, from where they prepared to launch an attack on Medina. Abu Bakr received intelligence of this move of rebels, and immediately prepared for the defense of Medina. As the main army was out of Medina under Usama, Abu Bakr scraped together a fighting force mainly from the clan of Mohammad, the Banu Hashim. The army had stalwarts like Ali ibn Abi Talib r.a, Talha ibn Ubaidullah r.a and Zubair ibn al-Awam r.a, who would later (in the 640s) conquer Egypt. Each of them was appointed as commander of one-third of the newly organised force. Before the apostates could do anything, Abu Bakr launched his army against their outposts and drove them back to Dhu Hussa. The following day, Abu Bakr marched from Medina with the main army and moved towards Dhu Hussa.[1] As the riding camels were all gone with Usama's army, he could only muster inferior pack camels, and the army mounted these camels. These pack camels, being untrained for battle, bolted when Hibal, the apostate commander at Zhu Hussa, made a surprise attack from the hills on the Muslims; and the Muslims retreated to Medina. The apostates recaptured the outposts that they lost a few days earlier. At Medina Abu Bakr reorganised the army for the battle and attacked the apostates during the night, taking them by surprise. The apostates retreated from Dhu Hussa to Dhu Qissa. On the morning Abu Bakr led his forces to Dhu Qissa and defeated the rebel tribes and captured Dhu Qissa on 1 August 632. The defeated apostate tribes retreated to Abraq, where more clansmen of the Ghatfan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy were gathered. Abu Bakr left a residual force of soldiers under the command of An- Numan ibn Muqarrin at Dhu Qissa and returned with his main army to Medina. On 4 August 632, Usama's army arrived in Medina. The army had been away for 40 days. Abu Bakr ordered Usama to rest his men in Medina and re-equip them to fight against the rebels. Meanwhile in the second week of August 632 Abu Bakr with his army moved to Zhu Qissa. Taking the remaining forces from Numan ibn Muqarrin under his command, he moved to Abraq, where the retreated rebels had gathered, and defeated them. The remaining rebels retreated to Buzakha, where Tulayha had moved with his army from Samira.

Abu Bakr's Strategy[edit] In the fourth week of August 632, Abu Bakr moved to Zhu Qissa with all available fighting forces. There he planned the strategy of the Campaign of the Apostasy to deal with the various enemies who occupied the entire land of Arabia except for the small area in the possession of the Muslims. [7] The battles which he had fought recently against the apostate concentrations at Zhu Qissa and Abraq were in the nature of immediate preventive action to protect Medina and discourage further offensives by the enemy. These actions enabled Abu Bakr to secure a base from which he could fight the major campaign that lay ahead, thus gaining time for the preparation and launching of his main forces. Abu Bakr had to fight not one but several enemies: Tulayha at Buzakha, Malik bin Nuwaira at Butah, Musaylima atYamamah. He had to deal with widespread apostasy on the eastern and southern coasts of Arabia: in Bahrain, in Oman, in Mahra, in Hadhramaut and in Yemen. There was apostasy in the region south and east of Mecca and by the Quza'a in northern Arabia. Abu Bakr formed the army into several corps. The strongest corps, and this was the main punch of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn Walid. This was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to subdue the less dangerous apostate tribes. The first corps to go into action was that of Khalid, and the timing of the despatch of other corps hinged on the operations of Khalid, who was given the task of fighting the strongest enemy forces one after the other. Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear the area of west central Arabia (the area nearest to Medina), then tackle Malik bin Nuwaira, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous and powerful enemy: the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylima.

Campaign of Apostasy[edit] The caliph formed 11 main corps, each under its own commander. A standard was given to each corps. The available manpower was distributed among these corps, and while some commanders were given immediate missions, others were given missions for which they would be launched later. The 11 corps commanders and their assigned objectives were as follows:

from the Asad ( ططلیح ہ بن خویلد السدی)  Khalid Ibn Walid: First Tulaiha bin Khuwailad Al-Asdee .then Malik bin Nuwaira, at Butah ,(بزاخہ) at Buzaakhah (بنو اسد) Tribe

 Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl: Confront Musaylima at Yamamah but not to get involved until more forces were built up.

 Amr ibn al-As: The apostate tribes of Quza'a and Wadi'a in the area of Tabuk and Daumat-ul- Jandal.

 Shurahbil bin Hasanah: Follow Ikrimah and await the Caliph's instructions.

 Khalid bin Saeed: Certain apostate tribes on the Syrian frontier.

 Turaifa bin Hajiz: The apostate tribes of Hawazin and Bani Sulaim in the area east of Medina and Mecca.

 Ala bin Al Hadhrami: The apostates in Bahrain.

 Hudhaifa bin Mihsan: The apostates in Oman.

 Arfaja bin Harthama.: The apostates in Mahra.

 Muhajir bin Abi Umayyah: The apostates in the Yemen, then the Kinda in Hadhramaut.

 Suwaid bin Muqaran: The apostates in the coastal area north of the Yemen. As soon as the organisation of the corps was complete, Khalid marched off, to be followed a little later by Ikrimah and 'Amr ibn al-'As. The other corps were held back by the caliph and despatched weeks and even months later. Their despatch was conditioned by the progress of Khalid's operations against the hard core of enemy opposition.[1] Before the various corps left Zhu Qissa, however, envoys were sent by Abu Bakr to all apostate tribes in a final attempt to induce them to submit. Apart from their specific objectives, the corps commanders were given the following instructions: 1. Seek the tribes which are your objectives

2. Call the Azaan.

3. If the tribe answers with the Azaan, do not attack. After the Azaan, ask the tribe to confirm its submission, including the payment of zakat. If confirmed, do not attack.

4. Those who submit will not be attacked.

5. Those who do not answer with the Azaan, or after the Azaan do not confirm full submission, will be dealt with by the sword.

6. All apostates who have killed Muslims will be killed. With these instructions Abu Bakr launched the forces of his Caliphate against the apostates.

Central Arabia[edit] Apostasy and rebellion in central Arabia was led by Musaylima, a self-proclaimed prophet, in the fertile region of Yamamah. He was mainly supported by the powerful tribe of Banu Hanifa. At Buzakha in north central Arabia, another self-proclaimed prophet, Tulaiha, a tribal chief of Bani Asad, led the rebellion against Medina aided by the allied tribes of Banu Ghatfan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy. At Najd, Malik ibn Nuweira led the tribes of Banu Tamim against the authority of Medina.[8] Buzakha[edit] On receiving intelligence of the Muslims preparations, Tulayha too prepared for a battle, and was further reinforced by the contingents of the allied tribes. Before launching Khalid against Tulayha, Abu Bakr sought ways and means of reducing the latter's strength, so that the battle could be fought with the maximum prospects of victory. Nothing could be done about the tribes of Bani Assad and Banu Ghatafan, which stood solidly behind Tulayha, but the Tayy were not so staunch in their support of Tulayha, and their chief, Adi ibn Hatim, was a devout Muslim. Adi was appointed by Abu Bakr to negotiate with the tribal elders to withdraw their contingent from Tulayha's army. The negotiations were a success, and Adi brought with him 500 horsemen of his tribe to reinforce Khalid's army. Khalid next marched against another apostate tribe, Jadila. Here again Adi ibn Hatim offered his services to persuade the tribe to submit without bloodshed. Bani Jadila submitted, and their 1000 warriors joined Khalid's army. Khalid, now much stronger than when he had left Zhu Qissa, marched for Buzakha. There, in mid- September 632 CE, he defeated Tulayha in the Battle of Buzakha. The remaining army of Tulayha retreated to Ghamra, 20 miles from Buzakha, and were defeated in the Battle of Ghamra in the third week of September 632 CE. Several tribes submitted to the Caliph after Khalid's decisive victories. Moving south from Buzakha, Khalid reached Naqra in October 632 CE, with an army now 6000 strong, and defeated the rebel tribe of Banu Saleem in the Battle of Naqra. 632 In third week of October 632 CE, Khalid defeated a tribal mistress, Salma, in the battle of Zafar. Afterwards he moved to Najd against the rebel tribe of Banu Tamim and their Sheikh Malik ibn Nuwayrah. Najd[edit] At Najd, getting the news of Khalid's decisive victories against apostates in Buzakha, many clans of Banu Tamim hastened to visit Khalid, but the Banu Yarbu', a branch of Bani Tamim, under their chief, Malik ibn Nuwayrah, hung back. Malik was a chief of some distinction: a warrior, noted for his generosity, and a famous poet. Bravery, generosity, and poetry were the three qualities most admired among the Arabs.

Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of Arabia.

At the time of Muhammad, he had been appointed as a tax collector for the tribe of Banu Tamim. As soon as Malik heard of the death of Muhammad, he gave back all the tax to his tribespeople, saying, "Now you are the owner of your wealth."[9] Most scholars agreed that he was adhering to the normal beliefs of the Arabs of his time in which they should cease to pledge their allegiance to a tribe upon the death of its Sheikh. His riders were stopped by Khalid's army at the town of Buttah. Khalid asked them about the signing of pact with Sajjah; they said it was just because they wanted revenge against their terrible enemies. [10]

When Khalid reached Najd he found no opposing army. He sent his cavalry to nearby villages and ordered them to call the Azaan (call for prayers) to each party they meet. Zirrar bin Azwar, a squadron leader, arrested the family of Malik, claiming they did not answer the call to prayer. Malik avoided direct contact with Khalid's army and ordered his followers to scatter, and he and his family apparently moved away across the desert.[11] He refused to give zakat, hence differentiating between prayer and zakat Nevertheless, Malik was accused of rebellion against the state of Medina. He was also to be charged for his entering in an anti-Caliphate alliance with Sajjah, a self-proclaimed prophetess. [12] Malik was arrested along with his clan men,[13] Malik was asked by Khalid about his crimes. Malik's response was "your master said this, your master said that" referring to Abu Bakr. Khalid declared Malik a rebel apostate and ordered his execution.[14] Khalid bin Walid killed Malik ibn Nuwayra. In Medina, ‘Umar told Khâlid: “You are an enemy of Allâh! You killed a Muslim man and then raped his wife. By Allâh, I will stone you".[15] his wife, Layla bint al-Minhal. Shias claim that Islamically, Khalid would have had to wait for her to complete the waiting period iddah (3 menstrual cycles) before Khalid would have been able to marry her. Sunnis believe that since Malik and his tribe were judged apostates, they were taken captives and Idda rules do not apply to apostates. Shias also claim that Abu Qatada Ansari was so shocked at Malik's murder by Khalid that he immediately returned to Medina, and told Abu Bakr that he would not serve under a commander who had killed a Muslim.[16] The death of Malik and Khalid's taking of his wife Layla created a controversy. Some officers of his army—including a prominent companion of Muhammad, Abu Qatadah—believed that Khalid killed Malik to take his wife. After the pressure exerted by Umar—Khalid's cousin and one of Caliph Abu Bakr's main advisors— Abu Bakr called Khalid back to Medina to explain himself.[17] In Medina, ‘Umar told Khâlid: “You enemy of Allâh! You killed a Muslim man and then rape his wife. By Allâh, I will stone you".[15] Yamamah[edit] Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl, one of the corps commanders, was instructed to make contact with Musaylima at Yamamah, but not to engage in fighting until Khalid joined him. Abu Bakr's intention in giving Ikrimah this mission was to tie Musaylima down at Yamamah. With Ikrimah on the horizon, Musaylima would remain in expectation of a Muslim attack, and thus not be able to leave his base. With Musaylima so committed, Khalid would be free to deal with the apostate tribes of north-central Arabia without interference from Yamamah. Meanwhile Abu Bakr sent Shurhabil's corps to reinforce Ikrama at Yamamah. Ikrimah, however, in early September 632 A.D attacked Musaylima's forces and was defeated. He wrote the details of his actions to Abu Bakr, who, both pained and angered by the rashness of Ikrimah and his disobedience, ordered him to proceed with his force to Oman to assist Hudaifa; once Hudaifa had completed his task, to march to Mahra to help Arfaja, and thereafter go to Yemen to help Muhajir.[18] Meanwhile Abu Bakr sent orders to Khalid to march against Musaylima. Shurhabil's corps, that was stationed at Yamamah, was to reinforce Khalid's corps. In addition to this Abu Bakr assembled a fresh army of Ansar and Muhajireen in Medina that joined Khalid's corps at Butah. From Butah Khalid marched to Yamamah to join with Shurhabil's corps. Though Abu Bakr had instructed Shurhabil not to engage Musaylima's forces until the arrival of Khalid, shortly before the arrival of Khalid, Shurhabil engaged Musaylima's forces and was defeated too. Khalid joined with the corps of Shurhabil early in December 632. The combined force of Muslims, now 13,000 strong, defeated Musaylima's army in the Battle of Yamama, which was fought in the third week of December 632 CE. The fortified city of Yamamah surrendered peacefully later that week.[18] Khalid established his headquarters at Yamamah, from where he despatched columns to all over the plain of Aqraba to subdue the region around Yamamah and to kill or capture all who resisted. Thereafter all of central Arabia submitted to Medina. What remained of the apostasy in the less vital areas of Arabia was rooted out by the Muslims in a series of well planned campaigns within five months.

Oman[edit] In mid-September 632, Abu Bakr dispatched Hudaifa bin Mihsan's corps to Oman to tackle the apostasy in Oman, where the tribe of Azd, that dominated the region of Oman, had revolted under their chief Laqeet bin Malik, known more commonly as "Dhu'l-Taj", i.e. "the Crowned One." According to some reports, he also claimed prophethood. Hudaifa entered the province of Oman, but not having strong enough forces to fight Dhu'l-Taj, he decided to wait for reinforcement, and wrote to the Caliph accordingly. The Caliph sent Ikrimah to aid him in late September 632. Ikrimah marched from Yamamah to Oman, and the combined forces of these two generals defeated Dhu'l-Taj at the Battle of Daba, fought in late November 632 at Dibba, a stronghold of Dhu'l-Taj. Dhu'l-Taj was killed in battle. [14] Being appointed governor of Oman, Hudaifa next set about the re-establishment of law and order. Ikrimah, having no local administrative responsibility, used his corps to subdue the neighbourhood of Daba, and in a number of small actions succeeded in breaking the resistance of those of the Azd who had continued to defy the authority of Medina.[1]

Northern Arabia[edit] Some time in October 632, Amr's corps were dispatched to Syrian border to subdue the apostates tribes, most importantly the tribes of Quza'a and the Wadi'a (a section of Bani Kalb), in the region around Tabuk and Daumat-ul-Jandal (Al-Jawf). Amr was not able to beat the tribes into submission until Shurhabil joined him in January after Battle of Yamamah.

Yemen[edit] The Yemen had been the first province to rebel against the authority of Islam when the tribe of Ans rose in arms under the leadership of its chief and self-proclaimed prophet Al-Aswad, the Black One, who was killed by Fairoz the Persian, while the Prophet Mohammad still lived, and thereafter Fairoz had acted as governor of Yemen at San'a. [7] When word arrived that the Prophet Mohammad had died, the people of the Yemen again revolted, this time under the leadership of a man named Qais bin Abd Yaghus. The avowed aim of the apostates was to drive the Muslims out of the Yemen, and they decided to achieve this objective by assassinating Fairoz and other important Muslim leaders, thus rendering the Muslim community leaderless. Fairoz somehow managed to escape and took shelter in the mountains. This happened in June or July 632. For the next six months Fairoz remained in his mountainous stronghold, where over the months he was joined by thousands of Muslims of Yemen. [14] When he felt strong enough, Fairoz led his men against Qais, and marched to San'a and defeated Qais, who retreated with his remaining men northeast to Abyan, where they all surrendered and were subsequently pardoned by the Caliph. [7]

Mahra[edit] From Oman, following the orders of Abu Bakr, Ikrimah marched to Mahra to join Arfaja bin Harthama. As Arfaja had not yet arrived, Ikrimah, instead of waiting for him, tackled the local rebels on his own. At Jairut Ikrimah met two rebel armies preparing for battle. Here he persuaded the weaker to embrace Islam and then joined up with them to defeat their opponents. Having re-established Islam in Mahra, Ikrimah moved his corps to Abyan, where he rested his men and awaited further developments.

Bahrain[edit] After the Battle of Yamamah, Abu Bakr sent Ula bin Al Hadhrami's corps against the rebels of Bahrain. Ula arrived in Bahrain to find the apostate forces gathered at Hajr and entrenched in a strong position. Ula mounted a surprise attack one night and captured the city. The rebels retreated to the coastal regions, where they made one more stand but were decisively defeated. Most of them surrendered and reverted to Islam. This operation was completed at about the end of January 633.

Hadhramaut[edit] The last of the great revolts of the apostasy was that of the powerful tribe of Kindah, which inhabited the region of Najran, Hadhramaut, and eastern Yemen. They did not break into revolt until January 633. [14] Ziyad bin Lubaid, Muslim governor of Hadhramaut, operated against them and raided Riyaz, after which the whole of the Kinda broke into revolt under Ash'as bin Qais and prepared for war. However, the strength of the two forces, i.e. apostate and Muslim, was so well balanced that neither side felt able to start serious hostilities. Ziyad waited for reinforcements before attacking the rebels. Reinforcements were on the way. Muhajir bin Abi Umayyah, the last of the corps commanders to be despatched by Abu Bakr, defeated some rebel tribes in Najran, south-eastern Arabia, and was directed by Abu Bakr to march to Hadhramaut and join Ziyad against the Kinda. The Caliph also instructed Ikrimah, who was at Abyan, to join Ziyad and Muhajir's forces. In late January 633 the forces of Muhajir and Ziyad combined at Zafar, capital of Hadhramaut, under the overall command of the former, and defeated Ash'as, who retreated to the fortified town of Nujair. Just after this battle the corps of Ikrimah also arrived. The three Muslim corps, under the overall command of Muhajir, advanced on Nujair and laid siege to the fortified city. Nujair was captured some time in mid-February 633. With the defeat of the Kinda at Nujair the last of the great apostate movements collapsed. Arabia was safe for Islam. The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the 11th year of the Hijra. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on March 18, 633, with Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina. This campaign was Abu Bakr's greatest political and military triumph with the great help of Ali bin abiTalib who was afraid of collapse of Islamic civilization.

Aftermath[edit] With the collapse of the rebellions and Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina, Caliph Abu Bakr now decided to expand the empire. It is unclear what his intentions were; whether it was a full scale expansion plan or preemptive attacks to secure more territory to create a buffer zone between the Islamic state and the powerful Sassanid and Byzantine empires. This set the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia to begin. [14] Khalid was sent to the Persian Empire with an army consisting of 18,000 volunteers to conquer the richest province of the Persian empire: Iraq. After the successful conquest of Iraq, Abu Bakr sent his armies to invade Roman Syria, a main province of the Byzantine Empire. [19]

See also[edit]

 Byzantine-Arab Wars

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Laura V. Vaglieri in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.58

2. Jump up ^ Ibn Sad: p. 707

3. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=czSP046th6IC&pg=PA65&dq=usama+byzantine+ibn+sa %27d&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EWNWVYq9Ccj38QXUi4GgAg&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&f=false

4. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books? id=qVYT4Kraym0C&pg=PA187&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Q2VWVaCAPMfe8AWHx4HQBA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&f =false 5. Jump up ^ Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 461.

6. Jump up ^ Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 462.

7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Frank Griffel: Apostasie Und Toleranz Im Islam, p. 61.

8. Jump up ^ The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. Vol. 1, p. 110.Peter Hellyer, Ibrahim Al-Abed, Ibrahim Al Abed, The United Arab Emirates, A New Perspective, London, Trident Press Ltd., 2001, p. 81-84. ISBN 1-900724-47-2.

9. Jump up ^ reference=al-Balazuri: book no: 1, page no:107.

10. Jump up ^ reference= Tabari: Vol) p. 501-2.

11. Jump up ^ Al-Tabari 915, pp. 501–502

12. Jump up ^ Al-Tabari 915, p. 496

13. Jump up ^ Al-Tabari 915, p. 502

14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e reference=Tabari: Vol. 2, Page no: 5)

15. ^ Jump up to: a b Tabari, Al (1993), The conquest of Arabia, State University of New York Press, p. 104, ISBN 978-0791410714

16. Jump up ^ (A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, Ali Razwy, Chapter 55)

17. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 183

18. ^ Jump up to: a b John Glubb, The Great Arab Conquests, 1963, p. 112.

19. Jump up ^ Akram, chapter 18.

Further reading[edit]

 Fred McGraw Donner: The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton University Press, 1986.ISBN 0691053278

 Elias S. Shoufani: Al-Riddah and the Muslim conquest of Arabia. Toronto, 1973. ISBN 0- 8020-1915-3

 Meir J. Kister: The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama. In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 27 (2002)

 Ella Landau-Tasseron: The Participation of Tayyi in the Ridda. In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 5 (1984) Battle of Yarmouk From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Yarmouk

Part of the Muslim conquest of Syria

(Arab–Byzantine Wars)

Across the ravines lies the battlefield of Yarmouk, this picture

taken about 8 miles away, from Jordan.

Date 15–20 August 636 Location Near the Yarmouk River 32.81411°N 35.95482°E Coordinates: 32.81411°N 35.95482°E Result Decisive Rashidun victory Territorial The Levant is annexed by the Rashidun changes Caliphate

Belligerents Byzantine Empire, Rashidun Caliphate

Ghassanid Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Heraclius ʿUmar ibn al-

Theodore Trithyrius † [1] Khattāb

Vahan † g[›] Khalid ibn al-Walid

Jabalah ibn al-Aiham Abu Ubaidah ibn al-

Dairjan † Jarrah

Niketas the Persian Amr ibn al-A'as

Buccinator (Qanateer) Khawla bint Al-

Gregory [2] Azwar

Shurahbil ibn

Hassana

Yazid ibn Abi

Sufyan

Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr

at-Tamimi

Ayadh bin Ghanim

Dhiraar bin Al-Azwar

Abdul-Rahman ibn

Abi Bakr.[3][4]

Strength

15,000–150,000 15,000–40,000

(modern estimates)a[›]100,000– (modern estimates)d[›]

400,000 24,000–40,000 (primary Arab sources)c[›] (primary sources)e[›]

140,000 (primary Roman sources)b[›]

Casualties and losses

45% or 50,000+ killed 3,000 killed[5] (modern estimates)[5][6]

70,000–120,000 killed

(primary sources)f[›]

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Khalid ibn al-Walid

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 E The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Arabforces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what today are the borders of Syria-Jordan and Syria-Israel, east of the Sea of Galilee. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which ended Byzantine rule in Syria. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history,[7][8] and it marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of Muhammad, heralding the rapid advance ofIslam into the then Christian Levant. In order to check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Roman army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmouk plains close to Arabia where, after being reinforced, they defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is considered to be one of Khalid ibn al-Walid's greatest military victories. It cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history.[9]

Contents [hide]

 1 Prelude

 2 Byzantine counterattack

 3 Muslim strategy

 4 Battlefield

 5 Troop deployment

o 5.1 Rashidun army

. 5.1.1 Weaponry

o 5.2 Byzantine army

. 5.2.1 Weaponry

 6 Tensions in the Byzantine army

 7 Battle

o 7.1 Day 1

o 7.2 Day 2

o 7.3 Day 3 o 7.4 Day 4

o 7.5 Day 5

o 7.6 Day 6

 8 Aftermath

 9 Evaluation

 10 References

 11 Notes

 12 Bibliography

o 12.1 Primary sources

o 12.2 Secondary sources

 13 External links

Prelude[edit] Further information: Rashidun Invasion of Levant (634) and Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 During the last Byzantine–Sassanid Wars in 610, Heraclius became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire,[10]after overthrowing Phocas. Meanwhile the Sassanid Persians conquered Mesopotamia and in 611 they overranSyria and entered Anatolia, occupying Caesarea Mazaca. Heraclius, in 612, managed to expel the Persians from Anatolia, but was decisively defeated in 613 when he launched a major offensive in Syria against the Persians.[11] Over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer Palestine and Egypt. Meanwhile Heraclius prepared for a counterattack and rebuilt his army. Nine years later in 622, Heraclius finally launched his offensive.[12] After his overwhelming victories over the Persians and their allies in the Caucasus andArmenia, Heraclius, in 627, launched a winter offensive against the Persians in Mesopotamia winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Nineveh thus threatening the Persian capital city of Ctesiphon. Discredited by these series of disasters, Khosrau II was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his son Kavadh II,[13] who at once sued for peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territories of the Byzantine Empire. Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem with a majestic ceremony in 629.[14] Meanwhile there had been rapid political development in Arabia, where Muhammad had been preaching Islam and by 630, he had successfully united most of the Arabia under a single political authority. When Muhammad died in June 632, Abu Bakr was elected Caliph and his political successor. Troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakr's succession, when several Arab tribes openly revolted against Abu Bakr, who declared war against the rebels. In what became known as the Ridda wars (Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy, 632–33), Abu Bakr managed to unite Arabia under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina.[15] Map detailing the Rashidun Caliphate's invasion of the Levant.

Once the rebels had been subdued, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest, beginning with Iraq. Sending his most brilliant general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Iraq was conquered in a series of successful campaigns against the Sassanid Persians. Abu Bakr's confidence grew, and once Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, Abu Bakr issued a call to arms for the invasion of Syria in February 634.[16] The Muslim invasion of Syria was a series of carefully planned and well coordinated military operations that employed strategy instead of pure strength to deal with Byzantine defensive measures.[17] The Muslim armies, however soon proved to be too small to handle the Byzantine response, and their commanders called for reinforcements. Khalid was sent by Abu Bakr from Iraq to Syria with reinforcements and to lead the invasion. In July 634, the Byzantines were decisively defeated at Ajnadayn. Damascus fell in September 634, followed by the Battle of Fahl where the last significant garrison of Palestine was defeated and routed.[18] Caliph Abu Bakr died in 634. His successor, Umar, was determined to continue the Caliphate Empire's expansion deeper into Syria.[19] Though previous campaigns led by Khalid were successful, he was replaced by Abu Ubaidah. Having secured southern Palestine, Muslim forces now advanced up the trade route, where Tiberias and Baalbek fell without much struggle, and conquered Emesa early in 636. From thereon, the Muslims continued their conquest across the Levant.[20]

Byzantine counterattack[edit] Having seized Emesa, the Muslims were just a march away from Aleppo, a Byzantine stronghold, and Antioch, where Heraclius resided. Seriously alarmed by the series of setbacks, Heraclius prepared for a counterattack to reacquire the lost regions.[21][22] In 635 Yazdegerd III, the Emperor of Persia, sought an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor. Heraclius married off his daughter (according to traditions, his grand daughter) Manyanh to Yazdegerd III, to cement the alliance. While Heraclius prepared for a major offensive in the Levant, Yazdegerd was to mount a simultaneous counterattack in Iraq, in what was meant to be a well-coordinated effort. When Heraclius launched his offensive in May 636, Yazdegerd could not coordinate with the maneuver—probably owing to the exhausted condition of his government—and what would have been a decisive plan missed the mark.[23] Umar won a decisive victory against Heraclius at Yarmouk, and used great strategy[citation needed] to engage and entrap Yazdegerd.[citation needed] Three months later Yazdegerd lost his imperial army at the Battle of Qadisiyah in November 636, ending Sassanid control west of Persia.

Muslim and Byzantine Troop Movements before the battle of Yarmouk. Modern countries indicated.

Byzantine preparations began in late 635 and by May 636 Heraclius had a large force concentrated at Antioch in Northern Syria.[24] The assembled army consisted of contingents of Byzantines, Slavs, Franks, Georgians, Armenians and Christian Arabs.[25] This force was organized into five armies, the joint leader of which was Theodore Trithourios the Sakellarios. Vahan, an Armenian and the former garrison commander of Emesa,[26] was made the overall field commander,[27] and had under his command a purely Armenian army. Buccinator (Qanateer), a Slavic prince, commanded the Slavs and Jabalah ibn al-Aiham, king of the Ghassanid Arabs, commanded an exclusively Christian Arab force. The remaining contingents, all European, were placed under Gregory and Dairjan.[28][29] Heraclius himself supervised the operation from Antioch. Byzantine sources mention Niketas, son of the Persian general Shahrbaraz, among the commanders, but it is not certain which army he commanded.[30] At that time, the Rashidun army was split into four groups: one under Amr in Palestine, one under Shurahbil in Jordan, one under Yazid in the Damascus-Caesarea region and the last one under Abu Ubaidah along with Khalid at Emesa. As the Muslim forces were geographically divided, Heraclius sought to exploit this situation and planned to attack. He did not wish to engage in a single pitched battle but rather to employ central position and fight the enemy in detail by concentrating large forces against each of the Muslim corps before they could consolidate their troops. By forcing the Muslims to retreat, or by destroying Muslim forces separately, he would fulfill his strategy of recapturing lost territory. Reinforcements were sent to Caesarea under Heraclius' son Constantine III probably to tie down Yazid's forces which were besieging the town.[28] The Byzantine imperial army moved out from Antioch and Northern Syria sometime in the middle of June 636. The Byzantine imperial army was to operate under the following plan:

 Jabalah's lightly armed Christian Arabs would march to Emesa from Aleppo via Hama and hold the main Muslim army at Emesa.  Dairjan would make a flanking movement – moving between the coast and Aleppo's road – and approach Emesa from the west, striking at the Muslims' left flank while they were being held frontally by Jabalah.

 Gregory would strike the Muslims' right flank, approaching Emesa from the northeast via Mesopotamia.

 Qanateer would march along the coastal route and occupy Beirut, from where he was to attack weakly defended Damascus from the west to cut off the main Muslim army at Emesa.

 Vahan's corps would act as a reserve and would approach Emesa via Hama.[31]

Muslim strategy[edit] The Muslims discovered Heraclius' preparations at Shaizar through Roman prisoners. Alert to the possibility of being caught with separated forces that could be destroyed, Khalid called for a council of war. There he advised Abu Ubaidah to pull the troops back from Palestine and from Northern and Central Syria, and then to concentrate the entire Rashidun army in one place.[32][33] Abu Ubaidah ordered the concentration of troops in the vast plain near Jabiya, as control of the area made cavalry charges possible and facilitated the arrival of reinforcements from Umar so that a strong, united force could be fielded against the Byzantine armies.[34] The position also benefited from close proximity to the Rashidun stronghold of Najd, in case of retreat. Instructions were also issued to return the jizya (tribute) to the people who had paid it.[35] However, once concentrated at Jabiya, the Muslims were subject to raids from pro-Byzantine Ghassanid forces. Encamping in the region was also precarious as a strong Byzantine force was garrisoned in Caeseara and could attack the Muslim rear while they were held in front by the Byzantine army. On Khalid's advice the Muslim forces retreated to Dara’ah (or Dara) and Dayr Ayyub, covering the gap between the Yarmouk Gorges and the Harra lava plains,[32] and established a line of camps in the eastern part of the plain of Yarmouk. This was a strong defensive position and these maneuvers pitted the Muslims and Byzantines into a decisive battle, one which the latter had tried to avoid.[36] During these maneuvers, there were no engagements save for a minor skirmish between Khalid's elite light cavalry and the Byzantine advance guard.[37]

Battlefield[edit]

Map detailing the location of the area where the battle took place.

The battlefield lies in the western plane of Syrian Hauran, just south-east of the Golan Heights, an upland region currently on the frontier between Israel, Jordan and Syria, east of the Sea of Galilee. The battle was fought on the plain north of Yarmouk River, which was enclosed on its western edges by a deep ravine known as Wadi-ur-Ruqqad. This ravine joins the Yarmouk River, a tributary of the Jordan River, on its south. The stream had very steep banks, ranging from 30 m (98 ft)–200 m (660 ft) in height. On the north is the Jabiya road and to the east are the Azra hills, although these hills were outside the actual field of battle. Strategically there was only one prominence in the battlefield: a 100 m (330 ft) elevation known as Tel al Jumm'a, and for the Muslim troops concentrated there, the hill gave a good view of the plain of Yarmouk. The ravine on the west of the battlefield was accessible at a few places in 636 AD, and had one main crossing: a Roman bridge (Jisr-ur-Ruqqad) near 'Ain Dhakar[38][39] Logistically, the Yarmouk plain had enough water supplies and pastures to sustain both armies. The plain was excellent for cavalry maneuvers.[40][41]

Troop deployment[edit] Most early accounts place the size of the Muslim forces between 24,000 and 40,000 and the number of Byzantine forces between 100,000 and 400,000. Modern estimates for the sizes of the respective armies vary: the vast majority of estimates for the Byzantine army are between 80,000 and 150,000, while other estimates are as low as 15,000 to 20,000.[42][43] Estimates for the Rashidun army are between 25,000 and 40,000. Original accounts are mostly from Arab sources, generally agreeing that the Byzantine army and their allies outnumbered the Muslim Arabs by a sizeable margin.m[›] The only early Byzantine source is Theophanes, who wrote a century later. Accounts of the battle vary, some stating it lasted a day, others more than a day. Rashidun army[edit]

During a council of war, the command of the Muslim army was transferred to Khalidi[›] by Abu Ubaidah, Commander in Chief of the Muslim army.[44] After taking command, Khalid reorganized the army into 36 infantry regiments and four cavalry regiments, with his cavalry elite, the mobile guard, held in reserve. The army was organized in the Tabi'a formation, a tight, defensive infantry formation. [45] The army was lined up on a front of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), facing west, with its left flank lying south on the Yarmouk River a mile before the ravines of Wadi al Allan began. The army's right flank was on the Jabiya road in the north across the heights ofTel al Jumm'a,[46] with substantial gaps between the divisions so that their frontage would match that of the Byzantine battle line at 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). The center of the army was under the command of Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (left center) and Shurahbil bin Hasana (right center). The left wing was under the command of Yazid and the right wing was under Amr ibn al-A'as.[44] Center, left and right wings were given cavalry regiments, to be used as a reserve for counter-attack in case they were pushed back by the Byzantines. Behind the center stood the mobile guard under the personal command of Khalid. If and when Khalid was too occupied in leading the general army, Dharar ibn al-Azwar would command the mobile guard. Over the course of the battle, Khalid would repeatedly make critical and decisive use of this mounted reserve.[44] Khalid sent out several scouts to keep the Byzantines under observation. [47] In late July 636, Vahan sent Jabalah with his lightly armored Christian Arab forces to reconnoiter- in-force, but they were repulsed by the mobile guard. After this skirmish, no engagement occurred for a month.[48]

Weaponry[edit] Helmets used included gilded helmets similar to the silver helmets of the Sassanid empire. Mail was commonly used to protect the face, neck and cheeks either as an aventail from the helmet or as a mail coif. Heavy leather sandals as well as Roman-type sandal boots were also typical of the early Muslim soldiers.[49] Armor included hardened leather scale or lamellar armor and mail armor. Infantry soldiers were more heavily armored than horsemen. Large wooden or wickerwork shields were used. Long-shafted spears were used, with infantry spears being 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long and cavalry spears being up to 5.5 m (18 ft) long. Short infantry swords like the Roman gladius and Sassanid long swords were used; long swords were usually carried by horsemen. Swords were hung in baldrics. Bows were about 2 metres (6.6 ft) long when unbraced, similar in size to the famous English longbow. The maximum useful range of the traditional Arabian bow was about 150 m (490 ft). Early Muslim archers, while being infantry archers without the mobility of horseback archer regiments, proved to be very effective in defending against light and unarmored cavalry attacks.[50] Byzantine army[edit] A few days after the Muslims encamped at the Yarmouk plain, the Byzantine army, preceded by the lightly armed Ghassanids of Jabalah, moved forward and established strongly fortified camps just north of the Wadi-ur-Ruqqad.[51]j[›] The right flank of the Byzantine army was at the south end of the plains, near the Yarmouk River and about a mile before the ravines of Wadi al Allan began. The left flank of the Byzantines was at the north, a short distance before the Hills of Jabiya began, and was relatively exposed. Vahan deployed the Imperial Army facing east, with a front about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long,[38] as he was trying to cover the whole area between the Yarmouk gorge in the south and the Roman road to Egypt in the north, and substantial gaps had been left between the Byzantine divisions. The right wing was commanded by Gregory and the left by Qanateer. The center was formed by the army of Dairjan and the Armenian army of Vahan, both under the overall command of Dairjan. The Roman regular heavy cavalry, the cataphract, was distributed equally among the four armies, each army deploying its infantry at the forefront and its cavalry as a reserve in the rear. Vahan deployed Jabalah's Christian Arabs, mounted on horses and camels, as a skirmishingforce, screening the main army until its arrival.[52] Early Muslim sources mention that the army of Gregory had used chains to link together its foot-soldiers, who had all taken an oath of death. The chains were in 10-man lengths and were used as a proof of unshakeable courage on the part of the men, who thus displayed their willingness to die where they stood and never retreat. The chains also acted as an insurance against a breakthrough by enemy cavalry. However, modern historians suggest that the Byzantines adopted the Graeco-Roman testudo military formation, in which soldiers would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with shields held high and an arrangement of 10 to 20 men would be completely shielded on all sides from missile fire, each soldier providing cover for an adjoining companion.[38]

Weaponry[edit] The Byzantine cavalry was armed with a long sword, known as the spathion. They would also have had a light wooden lance, known as a kontarion and a bow (toxarion) with forty arrows in a quiver, hung from a saddle or from the belt.[53] Heavy infantry, known as skoutatoi, had a short sword and a short spear. The lightly armed Byzantine troops and the archers carried a small shield, a bow hung from the shoulder across the back and a quiver of arrows. Cavalry armor consisted of a hauberk with a mail coif and a helmet with a pendant, i.e. a throat-guard lined with fabric and having a fringe and cheek piece. Infantry was similarly equipped with a hauberk, a helmet and leg armor. Light lamellar and scale armor was also used.[54]

Tensions in the Byzantine army[edit] Khalid's strategy of withdrawing from the occupied areas and concentrating all of his troops for a decisive battle forced the Byzantines to concentrate their five armies in response. The Byzantines had for centuries avoided engaging in large-scale decisive battles, and the concentration of their forces created logistical strains for which the empire was ill-prepared.[36][55] Damascus was the closest logistical base, but Mansur, leader of Damascus, could not fully supply the massive Byzantine army that was gathered at the Yarmouk plain. Several clashes were reported with local citizens over supply requisition, as summer was at an end and there was a decline of pasturage. Greek court sources accused Vahan of treason for his disobedience to Heraclius' command not to engage in large-scale battle with Arabs. Given the massing of the Muslim armies at Yarmouk, however, Vahan had little choice but to respond in kind. Relations between the various Byzantine commanders were also fraught with tension. There was a struggle for power between Trithurios and Vahan, Jarajis, and Qanateer (Buccinator).[56] Jabalah, the Christian Arab leader, was largely ignored, to the detriment of the Byzantines given his knowledge of the local terrain. An atmosphere of mistrust thus existed between the Greeks, Armenians, and Arabs. Longstanding ecclesiastical feuds between the Monophysite and Chalcedonian factions, while of negligible direct impact, certainly inflamed underlying tensions. The effect of these feuds was decreased coordination and planning, one of the reasons for the catastrophic Byzantine defeat.[57]

Battle[edit] For a good understanding of the description of the battle, it is useful to be acquainted with the divisions of opposing forces. The battle lines of the Muslims and the Byzantines were divided into four sections: the left wing, the left center, the right center and the right wing. Note that the descriptions of the Muslim and the Byzantine battle lines are exactly each other's opposite, i.e.: so the Muslim right wing faced the Byzantine left wing (see imagen[›]).

Troop deployment.

Muslim army

Byzantine army

Vahan was instructed by Heraclius not to engage in battle until all avenues of diplomacy had been explored.[58] This was probably because Yazdegerd III's forces were not yet ready for the offensive in Iraq. Accordingly, Vahan sent Gregory and then Jabalah to negotiate, though their efforts proved futile. Before the battle, on Vahan's invitation, Khalid came to negotiate peace, to a similar end. These negotiations delayed the battles for a month.[38] On the other hand, Caliph Umar, whose forces at Qadisiyah were threatened with confronting the Sassanid armies, ordered Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas to enter into negotiations with the Persians and send emissaries to Yazdegerd III and his commander Rostam Farrokhzād, apparently inviting them to Islam. This was most probably the delaying tactic employed by Umar on the Persian front.[59] Meanwhile he sent reinforcements[38] of 6,000 troops, mostly from Yemen, to Khalid. This force included 1,000 Sahaba (companions of Muhammad), among whom were 100 veterans of the Battle of Badr, the first battle in Islamic history, and included citizens of the highest rank, such as Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abu Sufyan, and his wife Hind bint Utbah.[60] Umar, apparently wanting to defeat the Byzantines first, employed the best Muslim troops against them. The continuing stream of Muslim reinforcements worried the Byzantines, who fearing that the Muslims with such reinforcements would grow powerful, decided that they had no choice but to attack. The reinforcements that were sent to the Muslims at Yarmouk arrived in small bands, giving the impression of a continuous stream of reinforcements, in order to demoralize the Byzantines and compel them to attack.[61] The same tactic would be repeated again during the Battle of Qadisiyah.[47] Day 1[edit] Day 1, limited attacks by the Byzantine army

The battle began on 15 August 636.[62] At dawn both armies lined up for battle less than a mile apart. It is recorded in Muslim chronicles that before the battle started, George, a unit commander in the Byzantine right center, rode up to the Muslim line and converted to Islam; he would die the same day fighting on the Muslim side.[63] The battle began as the Byzantine army sent its champions to duel with the Muslim mubarizun. The mubarizun were specially trained swordsmen and lancers, with the objective to slay as many enemy commanders as possible to damage their morale. At midday, after losing a number of commanders in the duels, Vahan ordered a limited attack with a third of his infantry forces to test the strength and strategy of the Muslim army and, using their overwhelming numerical and weaponry superiority, achieve a breakthrough wherever the Muslim battle line was weak. However the Byzantine assault lacked determination; many soldiers of the Imperial Army were unable to press the attack against the Muslim veterans.[64] The fighting was generally moderate, although in some places it was especially intense. Vahan did not reinforce his forward infantry two- thirds of which was kept in reserve with one-third deployed to engage the Muslims, and at sunset both armies broke contact and returned to their respective camps.[63] Day 2[edit]

Day 2, Phase 1. Day 2, Phase 2.

Day 2, Phase 3.

Phase 1: On 16 August 636, Vahan decided in a council of war to launch his attack just before dawn, to catch the Muslim force unprepared as they conducted their morning prayers. He planned to engage his two central armies with the Muslim centre in an effort to stall them while the main thrusts would be against the wings of the Muslim army, which would then either be driven away from the battlefield or pushed towards the centre.[63][65] To observe the battlefield, Vahan had a large pavilion built behind his right wing with an Armenian bodyguard force. He ordered the army to prepare for the surprise attack. Unbeknownst to the Byzantines, Khalid had prepared for such a contingency by placed a strong outpost line in front during the night to counter surprises, which gave the Muslims time to prepare for battle. At the center, the Byzantines did not press hard, intending to pin down the Muslim centre corps in their position and preventing them from aiding the Muslim army in other areas. Thus the center remained stable. But on the wings the situation was different. Qanateer, commanding the Byzantine left flank which consisted of mainly Slavs, attacked in force, and the Muslim infantry on the right flank had to retreat. Amr, the Muslim right wing commander ordered his cavalry regiment to counterattack, which neutralized the Byzantine advance and stabilized the battle line on the right for some time, but the Byzantine numerical superiority caused them to retreat towards the Muslim base camp.[66] Phase 2: Khalid, aware of the situation at the wings, ordered the cavalry of the right wing to attack the northern flank of the Byzantine left wing while he with his mobile guard attacked the southern flank of the Byzantine left wing, while the Muslim right wing infantry attacked from the front. The three-pronged attack forced the Byzantine left wing to abandon the Muslim positions they had gained on, and Amr regained his lost ground and started reorganizing his corps for another round. [66] The situation on the Muslim left wing which Yazid commanded was considerably more serious. Whilst the Muslim right wing enjoyed assistance from the mobile guard, the left wing did not and the numerical advantage the Byzantines enjoyed caused the Muslim positions to be overrun, with soldiers retreating towards base camps.[60] Here the Byzantines had broken through the corps. The testudo formation that Gregory's army had adopted moved slowly but also had a good defense. Yazid used his cavalry regiment to counterattack but was repulsed. Despite stiff resistance, the warriors of Yazid on the left flank finally fell back to their camps and for a moment Vahan's plan appeared to be succeeding. The centre of the Muslim army was pinned down and its flanks had been pushed back. However, neither flank had broken, though their morale was severely damaged. [67] The retreating Muslim army was met by the ferocious Arab women in the camps.[60] Led by Hind, the Muslim women dismantled their tents and armed with tent poles charged at their husbands and fellow men singing an improvised song from the Battle of Uhud that then had been directed against the Muslims. O you who run from a constant woman Who has both beauty and virtue; And leave her to the infidel, The hated and evil infidel,

To possess, disgrace and ruin.[66]

This boiled the blood of the retreating Muslims so much that they returned to the battlefield.[68] Phase 3: After managing to stabilize the position on the right flank, Khalid ordered the mobile guard cavalry to provide relief to the battered left flank. Khalid detached one regiment under Dharar ibn al- Azwar and ordered him to attack the front of the army of Dairjan (left center) in order to create a diversion and threaten the withdrawal of the Byzantine right wing from its advanced position. With the rest of the cavalry reserve he attacked Gregory's flank. Here again, under simultaneous attacks from the front and flanks, the Byzantines fell back, but more slowly because they had to maintain their formation.[69] At sunset the central armies broke contact and withdrew to their original positions and both fronts were restored along the lines occupied in the morning. The death of Dairjan and the failure of Vahan's battle plan left the larger Imperial army relatively demoralized, whereas Khalid's successful counterattacks emboldened his troops despite their being smaller in number.[70] Day 3[edit]

Day 3, Phase 1. Day 3, Phase 2.

On 17 August 636, Vahan pondered over his failures and mistakes of the previous day, where he launched attacks against respective Muslim flanks, but after initial success, his men were pushed back. What bothered him the most was the loss of one of his commanders. The imperial Byzantine army decided on a less ambitious plan, Vahan now aimed to break the Muslim army at specific points. He decided to press upon the relatively exposed right flank, where his mounted troops could maneuver more freely as compared to the rugged terrain at the Muslims' left flank. And it was decided to charge at the junction between the Muslim right center and its right wing held by Qanateer's Slavs, to break the two apart and to fight them separately. Phase 1: The battle resumed with Byzantine attacks on the Muslim right flank and right center. [71] After holding off the initial attacks by the Byzantines, the Muslim right wing fell back, followed by the right center. They were again said to have been met by their own womenfolk who abused and shamed them. The corps, however, managed to reorganize some distance from the camp and held their ground preparing for a counterattack.[66] Phase 2: Knowing that the Byzantine army was focusing on the Muslim right, Khalid ibn al-Walid launched an attack with his mobile guard, along with the Muslim right flank cavalry. Khalid ibn al- Walid struck at the right flank of the Byzantines left center, and the cavalry reserve of the Muslims right center struck at the Byzantines left center at its left flank. Meanwhile he ordered the Muslims' right wing cavalry to strike at the left flank of the Byzantines left wing. The combat soon developed into a bloodbath. Many fell on both sides. Khalid's timely flanking attacks again saved the day for Muslims and by dusk the Byzantines had been pushed back to the positions they had at the start of the battle.[66] Day 4[edit] 18 August 636, the fourth day, was to prove decisive.

Day 4, Phase 1. Day 4, Phase 2.

Phase 1: Vahan decided to persist with the previous day's war plan as he had been successful in inflicting damage on the Muslim right. Qanateer led two armies of Slavs against the Muslim right wing and right centre with some assistance from the Armenians and Christian Arabs led by Jabalah. The Muslim right wing and right center again fell back.[72] Khalid entered the fray yet again with this mobile guard. He feared a general attack on a broad front which he wouldn't be able to repulse and as a precaution ordered Abu Ubaidah and Yazid on the left centre and the left wings respectively to attack the Byzantine armies at the respective fronts. The attack would result in stalling the Byzantine front and prevent a general advance of the Imperial army.[73] Phase 2: Khalid divided his mobile guard into two divisions and attacked the flanks of the Byzantine left center, while the infantry of the Muslim right center attacked from front. Under this three- pronged flanking manoeuvre, the Byzantines fell back. Meanwhile the Muslim right wing renewed its offense with its infantry attacking from the front and the cavalry reserve attacking the northern flank of the Byzantine left wing. As the Byzantine left center retreated under three-pronged attacks of Khalid, the Byzantine left wing, having been exposed at its southern flank, also fell back.[72] While Khalid and his mobile guard were dealing with the Armenian front throughout the afternoon, the situation on the other end was worsening.[74] Byzantine horse-archers had taken to the field and subjected Abu Ubaidah and Yazid's troops to intense archery preventing them from penetrating their Byzantine lines. Many Muslim soldiers lost their sight to Byzantine arrows on that day, which thereafter became known as the "Day of Lost Eyes".[75] The veteran Abu Sufyan is also believed to have lost an eye that day.[75] The Muslim armies fell back except for one regiment led by Ikrimah bin Abi Jahal, which was on the left of Abu Ubaidah's corps. Ikrimah covered the retreat of the Muslims with his four hundred cavalry by attacking the Byzantine front, while the other armies reorganized themselves to counterattack and regain their lost positions. All of Ikrimah's men were either seriously injured or dead that day. Ikrimah, a childhood friend of Khalid's was mortally wounded and died later in the evening.[74] Day 5[edit] Deployment of troops on the fifth day. Khalid gathered all his cavalry for a decisive flanking charge.

During the four day offense of Vahan, his troops had failed to achieve any breakthrough and had suffered heavy casualties, especially during the mobile guard's flanking counterattacks. Early on 19 August 636, the fifth day of the battle, Vahan sent an emissary to the Muslim camp for a truce for the next few days so that fresh negotiations could be held. He supposedly wanted time to reorganize his demoralized troops. But Khalid deemed victory to be in reach and he declined the offer.[76] Up till now, the Muslim army had adopted a largely defensive strategy, but knowing that the Byzantines were apparently no longer eager for battle, Khalid now decided to take the offensive and reorganized his troops accordingly. All the cavalry regiments were grouped together into one powerful mounted force with the mobile guard acting as its core. The total strength of this cavalry group was now about 8,000 mounted warriors, an effective mounted corps for an offensive attack the next day. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Khalid planned to trap Byzantine troops, cutting off their every route of escape. There were three natural barriers, the three gorges in the battlefield with their steep ravines, Wadi-ur-Ruqqad at west, Wadi al Yarmouk in south and Wadi al Allah in east. The northern route was to be blocked by Muslim cavalry.[77] There were however, some passages across the 200 metres (660 ft) deep ravines of Wadi-ur-Raqqad in west, strategically the most important one was at Ayn al Dhakar, a bridge. Khalid sent Dharar with 500 cavalry at night to secure that bridge. Dharar moved around the northern flank of Byzantines and captured the bridge. This maneuver was to prove decisive the next day.[78] Day 6[edit]

Day 6, Phase 1.

Day 6, Phase 2. Day 6, Phase 3.

Day 6, The last phase.

On 20 August 636, the final day of the battle,[79] Khalid put into action a simple but bold plan of attack. With his massed cavalry force he intended to drive the Byzantine cavalry entirely off the battlefield so that the infantry, which formed the bulk of the imperial army, would be left without cavalry support and thus would be exposed when attacked from the flanks and rear. At the same time he planned to push a determined attack to turn the left flank of the Byzantine army and drive them towards the ravine to the west.[78] Phase 1: Khalid ordered a general attack on the Byzantine front and galloped his cavalry around the left wing of the Byzantines. Part of his cavalry engaged the Byzantine left wing cavalry while the rest of it attacked the rear of the Byzantine left wing infantry. Meanwhile the Muslim right wing pressed against it from the front. Under this two-pronged attack, the Byzantine left wing fell back and collapsed and fell back to the Byzantine left center, greatly disordering it.[76] The remaining Muslim cavalry then attacked the Byzantine left wing cavalry at the rear while they were held frontally by the other half of the Muslim cavalry, routing them off the battlefield to the north. The Muslim right wing infantry now attacked the Byzantine left center at its left flank while the Muslim right center attacked from front. Phase 2: Vahan, noticing the huge cavalry maneuver of the Muslims, ordered his cavalry to group together, but was not quick enough; before Vahan could organize his disparate heavy cavalry squadrons, Khalid had wheeled his cavalry back to attack the concentrating Byzantine cavalry squadrons, falling upon them from the front and the flank while they were still moving into formation. The disorganized and disoriented Byzantine heavy cavalry was soon routed and dispersed to the north, leaving the infantry to its fate.[80] Phase 3: With the Byzantine cavalry completely routed, Khalid turned to the Byzantine left center which already held the two-pronged attack of the Muslim infantry. The Byzantine left center was attacked at its rear by Khalid's cavalry and was finally broken.[80] The last phase: With the retreat of the Byzantine left center, a general Byzantine retreat started. Khalid took his cavalry north to block the northern route of escape. The Byzantines retreated west towards Wadi-ur-Ruqqad where there was a bridge at Ayn al Dhakar for safe crossing across the deep gorges of the ravines of Wadi-ur-Ruqqad.[74] Dharar had already captured the bridge as part of Khalid's plan the night before. A unit of 500 mounted troops had been sent to block this passageway. In fact, this was the route by which Khalid wanted the Byzantines to retreat all along. The Byzantines were surrounded from all sides now.[76]k[›] Some fell into the deep ravines off the steep slopes, others tried to escape in the waters, only to be smashed on the rocks below and again others were killed in their flight. Nevertheless a large number of the soldiers managed to escape the slaughter.[81] Jonah, the Greek informant of the Rashidun army during the Conquest of Damascus died in this battle. The Muslims took no prisoners in this battle, although they may have captured some during the subsequent pursuit.[82] Theodore Trithurios died on the battlefield, while Niketas managed to escape and reach Emesa. Jabalah ibn al-Ayham also managed to escape and later, for a short time, came to terms with the Muslims, but soon defected to the Byzantine court again.[83]

Aftermath[edit] Immediately after this operation was over, Khalid and his mobile guard moved north to pursue the retreating Byzantine soldiers; he found them near Damascus and attacked. In the ensuing fight the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, the Armenian prince Vahan, who had escaped the fate of most of his men at Yarmouk, was killed.[84] Khalid then entered Damascus where he was said to have been welcomed by the local residents, thus recapturing the city.[33][85]

When news of the disaster reached the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius at Antioch,[86] he was devastated and enraged. He blamed his wrongdoings for the loss, primarily referring to his incestuous marriage to his niece Martina.[87] He would have tried to reconquer the province if he had had the resources,[86] but now he had neither the men nor the money to defend the province any more. Instead he retreated to the cathedral of Antioch, where he observed a solemn service of intercession.[86]He summoned a meeting of his advisers at the cathedral and scrutinized the situation. He was told almost unanimously, and accepted the fact, that the defeat was God's decision and a result of the sins of the people of the land, including him.[88] Heraclius took to the sea on a ship to Constantinople in the night. It is said that as his ship set sail, he bade a last farewell to Syria, saying:

Farewell, a long farewell to Syria,l[›][86] my fair province. Thou art an infidel's (enemy's) now. Peace be with you, O Syria – what a beautiful land you will be for the enemy.[88] Heraclius abandoned Syria with the holy relic of the True Cross which was, along with other relics held at Jerusalem, secretly boarded on ship by Parthia of Jerusalem,[86] just to protect it from the invading Arabs. It is said that the emperor had a fear of water.[89] and a pontoon bridge was made for Heraclius to cross theBosphorus to Constantinople. After abandoning Syria, the Emperor began to concentrate on his remaining forces for the defence of Anatolia and Egypt instead.Byzantine Armenia fell to the Muslims in 638–39, after which Heraclius created a buffer zone in central Anatolia by ordering all the forts east of Tarsus to be evacuated.[90] In 639–642 Muslims invaded and captured Byzantine Egypt, led by Amr ibn al-A'as – who had commanded the right flank of the Rashidun army at Yarmouk.[91]

Evaluation[edit] The Battle of Yarmouk can be seen as an example in military history where an inferior force manages to overcome a superior force by superior generalship. The Imperial Byzantine commanders allowed their enemy to have the battlefield of his choosing. Even then they were at no substantial tactical disadvantage.[51]Khalid knew all along that he was up against a force superior in numbers and, until the last day of the battle, he conducted an essentially defensive campaign suited to his relatively limited resources. When he decided to take the offensive and attack on the final day of battle, he did so with a degree of imagination, foresight and courage that none of the Byzantine commanders managed to display. Although he commanded a numerically inferior force and needed all the men he could muster, he nevertheless had the confidence and foresight to dispatch a cavalry regiment the night before his assault to seal off a critical path of the retreat he anticipated for the enemy army.[78] Because of his leadership at Yarmouk, Khalid ibn al-Walid is considered one of the finest generals in history[9] and his use of mounted warriors throughout the battle showed just how well he understood the potential strengths and weaknesses of his mounted troops. His mobile guard moved quickly from one point to another, always changing the course of events wherever they appeared, and then just as quickly galloping away to change the course of events elsewhere on the field.[92] Vahan and his Byzantine commanders did not manage to deal with this mounted force and use the sizable advantage of their army effectively.[93] Their own Byzantine cavalry never played a significant role in the battle and were held in static reserve for most of the six days.[61] They never pushed their attacks and even when they obtained what could have been a decisive breakthrough on the fourth day, they were unable to exploit it. There appeared to be a decided lack of resolve among the Imperial commanders, though this may have been caused by difficulties commanding the army because of internal conflict. Moreover, many of the Arab auxiliaries were mere levies, while the Muslim Arab army consisted for a much larger part of veteran troops.[94] The original strategy of Heraclius, to destroy the Muslim troops in Syria, needed a rapid and quick deployment, but the commanders on the ground never displayed these qualities. Ironically, on the field at Yarmouk, Khalid carried out on a small tactical scale what Heraclius had planned on a grand strategic scale: by rapidly deploying and manoeuvering his forces, Khalid was able to temporarily concentrate sufficient forces at specific locations on the field to defeat the larger Byzantine army in detail. Vahan was never able to make his numerical superiority count, perhaps because of the unfavorable terrain that prevented large-scale deployment. However, at no point did Vahan attempt to concentrate a superior force to achieve a critical breakthrough.[95] Although he was on the offensive 5 days out of the six, his battle line remained remarkably static. This all stands in stark contrast to the very successful offensive plan that Khalid carried out on the final day, when he reorganised virtually all his cavalry and committed them to a grand manoeuvre that won the battle.[92] George F. Nafziger, in his book Islam at war, describes the battle as:

“ Although Yarmouk is little known today, it is one of the most decisive battles in human history...... Had Heraclius' forces prevailed, the modern world would be so changed as to be unrecognizable.

References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Kennedy 2006, p. 45

2. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, pp. 64–65

3. Jump up ^ Islamic Conquest of Syria A translation of Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi Page 352-353 [1]

4. Jump up ^ HADRAT 'UMAR FAROOQ By PROF. MASUD-UL-HASAN Published by ASHFAQ MIRZA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, Islamic Publications Ltd 13-E, Shah Alam Market, Lahore, Pakistan Published by SYED AFZAL-UL-HAQ QUDDUSI, Quddusi Printers, Nasir Park, Bilal Gunj, Lahore, Pakistan

5. ^ Jump up to: a b Akram 2004, p. 425 6. Jump up ^ Britannica (2007): "More than 50,000 byzantine soldiers died"

7. ^ Jump up to: a b Walton 2003, p. 30

8. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6

9. ^ Jump up to: a b Nicolle 1994, p. 19

10. Jump up ^ Haldon 1997, p. 41

11. Jump up ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, pp. 189–190

12. Jump up ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, p. 196

13. Jump up ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, pp. 217–227

14. Jump up ^ Haldon 1997, p. 46

15. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, pp. 12–14

16. Jump up ^ Luttwak 2009, p. 199

17. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 87

18. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 246

19. Jump up ^ Runciman 1987, p. 15

20. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 298

21. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 60

22. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 112

23. Jump up ^ Akram 2009, p. 133

24. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 402

25. Jump up ^ Al-Waqidi 8th century, p. 100

26. Jump up ^ (Armenian) Bartikyan, Hrach. «Վահան» (Vahan).Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. xi. Yerevan:Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1985, p. 243.

27. Jump up ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 82

28. ^ Jump up to: a b Akram 2004, p. 409

29. Jump up ^ Al-Waqidi 8th century, p. 106

30. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 16

31. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 399

32. ^ Jump up to: a b Nicolle 1994, p. 61

33. ^ Jump up to: a b Kaegi 1995, p. 67 34. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 401

35. Jump up ^ al-Baladhuri 9th century, p. 143

36. ^ Jump up to: a b Kaegi 1995, p. 134

37. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 407

38. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Nicolle 1994, p. 64

39. Jump up ^ Schumacher 1889, pp. 77–79

40. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 122

41. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 63

42. Jump up ^ Kaegi 2003, p. 242

43. Jump up ^ John Haldon (2013)

44. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 66

45. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 34

46. Jump up ^ Walton 2003, p. 29

47. ^ Jump up to: a b Akram 2004, p. 411

48. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 413

49. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 39

50. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 36

51. ^ Jump up to: a b Kaegi 1995, p. 124

52. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 65

53. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 29

54. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 30

55. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 39

56. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, pp. 132–133

57. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 121

58. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 130

59. Jump up ^ Akram 2009, p. 132

60. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 70

61. ^ Jump up to: a b Kaegi 1995, p. 129 62. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 92

63. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 68

64. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 415

65. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 417

66. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Nicolle 1994, p. 71

67. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 418

68. Jump up ^ Regan 2003, p. 164

69. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, pp. 418–19

70. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 419

71. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 420

72. ^ Jump up to: a b Nicolle 1994, p. 72

73. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 421

74. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 75

75. ^ Jump up to: a b Al-Waqidi 8th century, p. 148

76. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 76

77. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 422

78. ^ Jump up to: a b c Akram 2004, p. 423

79. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 114

80. ^ Jump up to: a b Akram 2004, p. 424

81. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 138

82. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 128

83. Jump up ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 80

84. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 273

85. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 426

86. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Runciman 1987, p. 17

87. Jump up ^ Runciman 1987, p. 96

88. ^ Jump up to: a b Regan 2003, p. 167

89. Jump up ^ Regan 2003, p. 169 90. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, pp. 148–49

91. Jump up ^ Kaegi 2003, p. 327

92. ^ Jump up to: a b Nicolle 1994, pp. 87–89

93. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 137

94. Jump up ^ Akram 2004, p. 408

95. Jump up ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 143

Notes[edit] ^ a: Modern estimates for Roman army: Donner (1981): 100,000. Britannica (2007): "More than 50,000 byzantine soldiers died". Nicolle (1994): 100,000. Akram (1970): 150,000. Kaegi (1995): 15,000–20,000 Mango, Cyril (2002). The Oxford History of Byzantium: 80,000. ^ b: Roman source for Roman army: Theophanes (p. 337–338): 80,000 Roman troops (Kennedy, 2006, p. 145) and 60,000 allied Ghassanid troops (Gibbon, Vol. 5, p. 325). ^ c: Early Muslim sources for Roman army: Baladhuri (p. 140): 200,000. Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 598): 200,000. Ibn Ishaq (Tabari, Vol. 3, p. 75): 100,000 against 24,000 Muslims. ^ d: Modern estimates for Muslim army: Kaegi (1995): 15,000-20,000 maximum. Nicolle (1994): 25,000 maximum. Akram: 40,000 maximum. Treadgold (1997): 24,000

Image-1. Concepts used in the description of the battle lines.

^ e: Primary sources for Muslim army: Ibn Ishaq (Vol. 3, p. 74): 24,000. Baladhuri: 24,000. Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 592): 40,000. ^ f: Primary sources for Roman casualties: Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 596): 120,000 killed. Ibn Ishaq (Vol. 3, p. 75): 70,000 killed. Baladhuri (p. 141): 70,000 killed. ^ g: His name is mentioned in Islamic sources as Jaban, Vahan Benaas and Mahan. Vahan is most likely to be his name as it is of Armenian origin ^ i: During the reign of Abu Bakr, Khalid ibn Walid remained the Commander-in-Chief of the army in Syria but at Umar's accession as Caliph he dismissed him from command. Abu Ubaidah ibn al- Jarrah became the new commander in chief. (See Dismissal of Khalid). ^ j: Some Byzantine sources also mention a fortified encampment at Yaqusah, 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the battlefield. E.g., A. I. Akram suggests that the Byzantine camps were north of Wadi-ur- Ruqqad, while David Nicolle agrees with early Armenian sources which positioned camps at Yaqusah (See: Nicolle p. 61 and Akram 2004 p. 410). ^ k: Akram misinterprets the bridge at 'Ayn Dhakar for a ford while Nicolle explains the exact geography (See: Nicolle p. 64 and Akram p. 410) ^ m: David Nicolle suggests at least four to one. (See Nicolle p. 64) ^ n: Concepts used in the description of the battle lines of the Muslims and the Byzantines. See image-1.

Bibliography[edit] Primary sources[edit]

 Al-Baladhuri, Ahmad ibn Yahya (9th century), Kitab Futuh al-Buldan Check date values in: | date= (help)

 Al-Waqidi, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Umar (8th century), Fatuh al Sham (Conquest of Syria) Check date values in: |date= (help)

 Chronicle of Fredegar, 658

 Dionysius Telmaharensis (774), Chronicle of Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre

 Ibn Ishaq (750), Sirah Rasul Allah

 Ibn Khaldun (1377), Muqaddimah

 The Maronite Chronicles, 664

 Pseudo-Methodius (691), Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius

 Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (915), History of the Prophets and Kings

 Theophanes the Confessor (810–815), Chronographia

 Thomas the Presbyter (7th century), Chronicle Check date values in: |date= (help)

 Fragment on the Arab Conquests, 636  Palmer, Andrew; Brock, Sebastian P; Hoyland, Robert (819), "West-Syrian Chronicle of 819", West-Syrian Chronicles, ISBN 9780853232384 Secondary sources[edit]

 Akram, A.I (2009), Muslim conquest of Persia, third edition, Maktabah Publications, ISBN 0- 9548665-3-3

 Akram, A.I (2004), The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed – His Life and Campaigns, third edition, ISBN 0-19-597714-9

 Conrad, Lawrence I. (1988), "Seven and the Tasbīʿ : On the Implications of Numerical Symbolism for the Study of Medieval Islamic History", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Brill Publishers) 31 (1): 42–73, JSTOR 3631765

 Donner, Fred McGraw (1981), The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-05327-8

 Greatrex–Lieu; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002), The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-14687-9

 Gil, Moshe; Broido, Ethel (1997), A History of Palestine: 634–1099, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59984-9

 Haldon, John (2001), The Byzantine Wars, Tempus Publishing, ISBN 0-7524-1795-9

 Haldon, John (1997), Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture, Cambridge, ISBN 0-521-31917-X

 Hoyland, Robert G. (1997), Seeing Islam as Others Saw It, Darwin Press, ISBN 0-87850- 125-8, OCLC 36884186

 Jandora, John W. (1986), "Developments in Islamic Warfare: The Early Conquests", Studia Islamica (Maisonneuve & Larose) (64): 101–113, JSTOR 1596048

 Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003), Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-81459-6

 Kaegi, Walter Emil (1995), Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-48455-3

 Kennedy, Hugh N. (2006), The Byzantine And Early Islamic Near East, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 0-7546-5909-7

 Kennedy, Hugh (2007), The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In, Weidenfeld & Nicolson publishers: Great Britain,ISBN 0-297-84657-4

 Luttwak, Edward N (2009), The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-03519-4  Nicolle, David (1994), Yarmuk 636 A.D.: The Muslim Conquest of Syria, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-85532-414-8

 Palmer, Andrew (1993), The Seventh Century in the West-Syrian Chronicles, Liverpool University Press, ISBN 0-85323-238-5

 Regan, Geoffery (2003), First Crusader: Byzantium's Holy Wars (1 ed.), Palgrave Macmillan: New York, ISBN 1-4039-6151-4

 Runciman, Steven (1987), A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade (second ed.), Penguin Books: London, ISBN 978-0-521-34770-9

 Schumacher, Gottlieb; Laurence Oliphant, Guy Le Strange (1889), Across the Jordan; being an exploration and survey of part of Hauran and Jaulan, London, Watt

 Treadgold, Warren (1997), A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2

 Walton, Mark W (2003), Islam at war, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-275-98101-0

 Wood David 2007 Jews, Rats, and the Battle of Yarmūk, in The late Roman Army in the Near East from Diocletian to the Arab Conquest edited by Ariel S. Lewin, Pietrina Pellegrini, Archaeopress : Oxford, ISBN 978-1-4073-0161-7

External links[edit]

 Yarmouk in Sword of Allah at GrandeStrategy by A.I. Akram

 Battle of Yarmuk animated battle map by Jonathan Webb

 Battle of Yarmuk, 636 Battle of Siffin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. The neutrality of this article is disputed. (October 2013) This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiableinformation. (October 2013) This article reads more like a story than an encyclopedia entry. (October 2013) This article contains too many or too-lengthy quotations for an encyclopedic entry. (October 2013) This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2011)

Battle of Siffin

Part of First Fitna

Date July 26 to July 28, 657 AD Location Siffin, Syria Result Inconclusive 2nd Major Muslim Civil War

Belligerents

Rashidun Caliphate Bani Umayya

Commanders and leaders

Ali ibn Abi-Taleb Muawiyah I

Hassan ibn Ali Marwan I

Malik al-Ashtar Amr ibn al-As Abd-Allah ibn Abbas Walid ibn Uqba

Ammar ibn Yasir † Shimr ibn Dhi 'l-Jawshan

Khuzaima ibn Thabit †

Hashim ibn Utbah †

[show]

 V

 T

 E

Civil wars of

the early Caliphates

[show]

 V

 T

 E

First

Islamic

Civil War

May–July 657 CE) occurred during the First Fitna, or first Muslim ;صفین :The Battle of Siffin (Arabic civil war, with the main engagement taking place from July 26 to July 28. It was fought between Ali ibn Abi Talib andMuawiyah I, on the banks of the Euphrates river, in what is now Ar-Raqqah, Syria.

Contents [hide]

 1 Background

 2 Start of hostilities

 3 The main engagement

 4 Arbitration

 5 References

Background[edit] Main article: Siege of Uthman The Islamic State expanded very quickly under Muhammad and the first three caliphs. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, marginalized as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.[1][2] As new areas joined the Islamic State, they also benefited from free trade while trading with other areas in the Islamic State; so as to encourage commerce, Muslims taxed wealth instead of trade.[3] The Muslims paid Zakat on their wealth to the poor. Since the Constitution of Medina was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Islamic State and had their own judges.[4][5][6] Therefore they only paid for policing for the protection of their property. To assist in the quick expansion of the state, the Byzantine and the Persian tax collection systems were maintained and the people paid a poll tax lower than the one imposed under the Byzantines and the Persians. Before Prophet Muhammad united the Arabs, the Arabs had been divided and the Byzantines and the Sassanid had their own client tribes that they used to pay to fight on their behalf. In 639, Muawiyah I was appointed the Governor of Syria by Umar after his elder brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan(Governor of Syria) died in a plague, along with Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (the Governor before him) and 25,000 other people. To stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, in 649 Muawiyah set up a navy, manned by Monophysitise Christians, Copts and Jacobite Syrian Christians sailors and Muslim troops. This resulted in the defeat of the Byzantine navy at the Battle of the Masts in 655, opening up the Mediterranean.[7][8][9][10] [11] 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and Emperor Constans II was almost killed. Under the instructions of the caliph Uthman ibn al-Affan, Muawiyah then prepared for the siege of Constantinople.

The Rashidun Caliphate during the Battle of Siffin.

The rapid Muslim conquest of Syria and Egypt and the consequent Byzantine losses in manpower and territory meant that the Eastern Roman Empire found itself struggling for survival. The Sassanid Dynasty in Persia had already collapsed. Following the Roman–Persian Wars and the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, deep-rooted differences between Iraq, formerly under the Persian Sassanid Empire, and Syria, formerly under the Byzantine Empire, also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic state to be in their area.[12] Previously, the second caliph Umar was very firm on the governors and his spies kept an eye on them. If he felt that a governor or a commander was becoming attracted to wealth or did not meet the required administrative standards, he had him removed from his position.[13] Early Muslim armies stayed in encampments away from cities because Umar feared that they might become attracted to wealth and luxury.[13][14][15][16] Some cities also had agreements with the Muslims, such as during the Siege of Jerusalem in 637 CE. As Uthman ibn al-Affan grew older, Marwan I, a relative of Muawiyah I, slipped into the vacuum and became his secretary, slowly assuming more control and relaxing some of these restrictions. Marwan I had previously been excluded from positions of responsibility. Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, the son of Abu Bakr and the adopted son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad bin Abi Hudhaifa, the adopted son of Uthman, had no senior positions.

Start of hostilities[edit] After the Battle of the Camel, Ali returned from Basra to Kufa in Rajab of 36 A.H. (January 657). The Iraqis wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to be in Kufa so as to bring revenues into their area and oppose Syria.[17] They convinced Ali to come to Kufa and establish the capital in Kufa. Ali listened to them and moved the capital to Kufa. Ali ibn Abi Talib tried to settle matters peacefully by sending an envoy to Syria. He chose Jarir, who was the chief of Banu Bajila and governor of Hamdan. In Syria, incitement to commotion continued unabated. Uthman's shirt, besmeared with his blood and the chopped-off fingers of his wife, Naila, were exhibited from the pulpit. In this manner, Muawiya raised the entire country of Syria against Ali. Ultimately, both parties converged on Siffin where the armies pitched their camps in 37/657. Even at this stage, Ali sent three men, viz. Bashir bin Amr bin Mahz Ansari, Saeed bin Qais Hamdani, and Shis bin Rabiee Tamini to Muawiya to induce him to settle for union, accord and coming together. According to Tabari, Muawiya replied that, "Go away from here, only the sword will decide between us."[18] Ali's inability to punish the murderers of Uthman and Muawiyahs refusal to pledge allegiance eventually led to Ali moved his army north to confront Muawiyah. Ali gathered his forces, and, after at first planning to invade Syria from the North, he attacked directly, marching through the Mesopotamian desert. Arriving at Riqqa, on the banks of the Euphrates, the Syrian vanguard was sighted, but it withdrew without engagement. The people of Riqqa were hostile to Ali, and his army had great difficulty crossing the river. Eventually, Malik al-Ashtar threatened the townspeople with death, which forced their co-operation. So, finally, the army managed to cross the river, by means of a bridge of boats. Ali's army then marched along the right bank of the Euphrates, until they came across the Syrian outpost of Sur al-Rum, where there was a brief skirmish, but Ali's advance was not slowed. So in Dhu al-Hijjah 36 (May 657), the army of Ali ibn Abi Talib came into sight of Muawiyah's main forces, which were encamped on the river plain at Siffin.[citation needed]

The main engagement[edit]

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The two armies encamped themselves at Siffin for more than one hundred days, most of the time being spent in negotiations. Neither side wanted to fight. Then on 11th Safar 37 AH, the Iraqis under Ashtar's command, the Qurra, in Ali's army, who had their own camp started the fighting in earnest which lasted three days.[19] Historian Yaqubi wrote that Ali had 80,000 men, including 70 Companions who participated in the Battle of Badr, 70 Companions who took oath at Hudaibia, and 400 prominent Ansars and Muhajirun; while Muawiya had 120,000 Syrians.[20] William Muir wrote that, "Both armies drawn out in entire array, fought till the shades of evening fell, neither having got the better. The following morning, the combat was renewed with great vigour. Ali posed himself in the centre with the flower of his troops from Medina, and the wings were formed, one of the warriors from Basra, the other of those from Kufa. Muawiya had a pavilion pitched on the field; and there, surrounded by five lines of his sworn body-guards, watched the day. Amr with a great weight of horse, bore down upon the Kufa wing which gave away; and Ali was exposed to imminent peril, both from thick showers of arrows and from close encounter ... Ali's general Ashtar, at the head of 300 Hafiz-e-Qur'an(those who had memorized the Koran) led forward the other wing, which fell with fury on Muawiya's body-guards. Four of its five ranks were cut to pieces, and Muawiya, bethinking himself of flight, had already called for his horse, when a martial couplet flashed in his mind, and he held his ground."[21] English historian Edward Gibbon wrote: "The Caliph Ali displayed a superior character of valor and humanity. His troops were strictly enjoined to wait the first onset of the enemy, to spare their flying brethren, and to respect the bodies of the dead, and the chastity of the female captives. The ranks of the Syrians were broken by the charge of the hero, who was mounted on a piebald horse, and wielded with irresistible force his ponderous and two edged sword." Of the estimated casualties, Ali's forces lost 25,000, while Muawiyah's forces lost 45,000. Appalled by the carnage, Ali sent a message to Muawiya and challenged him to single combat, saying that whoever won should be the Caliph. In Gibbon's words, "Ali generously proposed to save the blood of the Muslims by a single combat; but his trembling rival declined the challenge as a sentence of inevitable death."[22][23] Gibbon wrote of the estimated casualties that Ali's forces lost 25,000, while Muawiyah's forces lost 45,000.[24] The earliest account of the battle is found in Ibn Hisham's book (833) where he quotes Ibn Muzahim died 212 AH and Abu Mikhnaf died 170 AH.[25] It says that after three days of fighting the loss of life was terrible. Suddenly one of the Syrians, Ibn Lahiya, reportedly out of dread of the fitna and unable to bear the spectacle rode forward with a copy of the Quran on the ears of his horse to call for judgement by the book of Allah, and the other Syrians followed suit. Allegedly, those on both sides took up the cry, eager to avoid killing their follow Muslims except for the conspirators. The majority of Ali's followers supported arbitration. Nasr b Muzahim, in one of the earliest source states that al-Ash ath ibn Qays, one of Ali's key supporters and a Kufan, then stood up and said:"O company of Muslims! You have seen what happened in the day which has passed. In it some of the Arabs have been annihilated. By Allah, I have reached the age which Allah willed that I reach. but I have never ever seen a day like this. Let the present convey to the absent! If we fight tomorrow, it will be the annihilation of the Arabs and the loss of what is sacred. I do not make this statement out of fear of death, but I am an aged man who fears for the women and children tomorrow if we are annihilated. O Allah, I have looked to my people and the people of my deen and not empowered anyone. There is no success except by Allah. On Him I rely and to Him I return. Opinion can be both right and wrong. When Allah decides a matter, He carries it out whether His servants like it or not. I say this and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and you." Then, Nasr b Muzahim says people looked at Muawiya who said "He is right, by the Lord. If we meet tomorrow the Byzantines will attack our women and children and the people of Persia will attack the women and children of Iraq. Those with forebearance and intelligence see this. Tie the copies of the Quran to the ends of the spears." So the fighting stopped.[25]

Arbitration[edit] It was decided that the Syrians and the residents of Kufa, in Iraq, should nominate an arbitrator, each to decide between Ali and Muawiya. The Syrians choice fell on Amr bin al-A'as who was the rational soul and spokesman of Muawiya. 'Amr ibn al-'As was one of the generals involved in expelling the Romans from Syria and also expelled the Romans from Egypt.[26] A few years earlier according to Islamic tradition, 'Amr ibn al-'As with 9,000 men in Palestine had found himself confronting Heraclius' 100,000 army until Khalid crossed the Syrian desert from Iraq to assist him. [26] He was a highly skilled negotiator and had previously been used in negotiations with the Heraclius the Roman Emperor.[27] Ali wanted Malik Ashtar or Abdullah bin Abbas to be appointed as an arbitrator for the people of Kufa, Iraq, but the Qurra strongly demurred, alleging that men like these two were, indeed, responsible for the war and, therefore, ineligible for that office of trust. They nominated Abu Musa al-Ashari as their arbitrator. (During the time of Uthman, they had appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as the Governor of Kufa and removed Uthams governor before they started fighting Uthman) Ali found it expedient to agree to this choice in order to ward off bloody dissensions in his army. According to "Asadul Ghaba", Ali had, therefore, taken care to personally explain to the arbitrators, "You are arbiters on condition that you decide according to the Book of God, and if you are not so inclined you should not deem yourselves to be arbiters."[28]

The Iraqis under Ali and the Syrians under Muawiyah were not split over their faith[29] but over when to bring the people who killed Uthman to justice. Ali also wanted to bring them to justice but the dispute was over the timing.

According to early Shia sources Ali later wrote:[29] "The thing began in this way: We and the Syrians were facing each other while we had common faith in one Allah, in the same Prophet (s) and on the same principles and canons of religion. So far as faith in Allah and the Holy Prophet (s) was concerned we never wanted them (the Syrians) to believe in anything over and above or other than what they were believing in and they did not want us to change our faith. Both of us were united on these principles. The point of contention between us was the question of the murder of Uthman. It had created the split. They wanted to lay the murder at my door while I am actually innocent of it. I advised them that this problem cannot be solved by excitement. Let the excitement subside, let us cool down; let us do away with sedition and revolt; let the country settle down into a peaceful atmosphere and when once a stable regime is formed and the right authority is accepted, then let this question be dealt with on the principles of equity and justice because only then the authority will have power enough to find the criminals and to bring them to justice. They refused to accept my advice and said that they wanted to decide the issue on the point of the sword. When they thus rejected my proposal of peace and kept on sabre rattling threats, then naturally the battle, which was furious and bloody, started. When they saw defeat facing them across the battlefield, when many of them were killed, and many more wounded, then they went down on their knees and proposed the same thing, which I had proposed before the bloodshed had begun. I accepted their proposal so that their desire might be fulfilled, my intentions of accepting the principles of truth and justice and acting according to these principles might become clear and they might have no cause to complain against me. Now whoever adheres firmly to the promises made will be the one whose salvation will be saved by Allah and one who will try to go back upon the promises made, will fall deeper and deeper into heresy, error and loss. His eyes will be closed to realities and truth in this world and he will be punished in the next world."[30] Ibn Taymiyyah (1263 to 1328) said: "Muawiyah did not call himself to be a khaleefah and was not given the oath of allegiance to it when he fought Ali. He fought not because he considered himself to be the khaleef or deserving of the khilaafah. This they all agreed upon and he himself would affirm this to whomever asked him. He and his companions did not consider it permissible that they initiate the fight against Ali and his companions. But Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions believed that Muawiyah and his companions must pledge allegiance and show obedience to Ali, due to his authority such that there be only one khaleefah for the Muslims. Considering them defecting from this obligation he decided that Muawiyah and his companions should be fought until they fulfilled it. All this so that obedience and unity occur. Muawiyah and his companions did not see that it was obligatory upon them and if they were fought against they would consider themselves oppressed because Uthman was killed oppressively as was agreed by all the Muslims at the time and his killers were in Ali's camp, he having authority over them."[31]

Encyclopedia of Islam says "According to the non Muslim view the Syrians were winning" [32] Either way, neither the Syrians nor the Iraqis wanted to fight and the battle was stopped. When the arbitrators assembled at Daumet-ul-Jandal, which lay midway between Kufa and Syria and had for that reason been selected as the place for the announcement of the decision, a series of daily meetings were arranged for them to discuss the matters in hand. When the time arrived for taking a decision about the caliphate, Amr bin al-A'as convinced Abu Musa al-Ashari into entertaining the opinion that they should deprive both Ali and Muawiya of the caliphate, and give to the Muslims the right to elect the caliph. Abu Musa al-Ashari also decided to act accordingly. As the time for announcing the verdict approached, the people belonging to both parties assembled. Amr bin al-A'as requested Abu Musa to take the lead in announcing the decision he favoured. Abu Musa al-Ashari agreed to open the proceedings, and said, "We have devised a solution after a good deal of thought and it may put an end to all contention and separatist tendencies. It is this. Both of us remove Ali as well as Muawiya from the caliphate. The Muslims are given the right to elect a caliph as they think best."[33] Ali refused to accept the verdict of him stepping down and for an election to be held and found himself technically in breach of his pledge to abide by the arbitration.[34][35][36] This put Ali in a weak position even amongst his own supporters.[34] The most vociferous opponents of Ali in his camp were the very same people who had forced Ali to appoint their arbitrator, the Qurra who then became known as the Kharijites.[33] Feeling that Ali could no longer look after their interests[37] Also fearing that if there was peace, they could be arrested for the murder of Uthman they broke away from Ali's force, rallying under the slogan, "arbitration belongs to God alone."[33] The Qurra then became known as the Kharijites ("those who leave"). The Kharijites then started killing other people. After the battle of Saffin the Qurra realised that Ali could not safeguard their interests and therefore split off and formed their own Party called the Kharijites and later developed into an anarchist movement [38] and plagued successive governments even Harun the Abbasid ruler died fighting the Kharijites.[39] They also started killing Ali's supporters. They considered anyone who was not part of their group as an unbeliever.[40] In the best selling book, Shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World, Tom Holland writes [41] "The Kharijites argued a true believer would have trusted his fate not to diplomacy but to ongoing warfare and God will decide." Even though they them selves had put forward their representative and become a party of them selves, so that the negotiations could go in their favor and satisfy their own political and economic interests. Tom Holland says that "they then condemned Ali as an unbeliever, as the man who had strayed from the Strait Path. The fact that he was Muhammad's nephew only confirmed them in their militancy of their egalitarianism; that the true aristocracy was one of piety and not blood. Even a Companion of the Prophet, if he did not pray until he developed marks on his forehead. If he did not look pale and haggard from regular fasting, if he did not live like a lion by day and a monk by night, ranked in the opinion of the Kharijites as no better than an apostate." They then developed even more twisted views. Tom Holland writes "Other Kharijites, so it was reported, might go out and with their swords into the markets while people would stand around not realizing what was happening; they would shout "no judgment except God!" and plunge their blades into whom ever they could reach and go on killing until they them selves were killed.[42] In 659 Ali's forces finally moved against the Kharijites and they finally met in the Battle of Nahrawan. Although Ali won the battle, the constant conflict had begun to affect his standing.[43] Tom Holland writes "Ali won a victory over them as crushing as it was to prove pyrrhic: for all he had done, in effect was to fertilise the soil of Iraq with the blood of their martyrs. Three years later, and there came the inevitable blowback: a Kharijite assassin.".[42] The Kharijites caused so much trouble that in both the early Sunni and the early Shia books Ali said:"With regard to me, two categories of people will be ruined, namely he who loves me too much and the love takes him away from rightfulness, and he who hates me too much and the hatred takes him away from rightfulness. The best man with regard to me is he who is on the middle course. So be with him and be with the great majority of Muslims because Allah’s hand of protection is on keeping unity. You should beware of division because the one isolated from the group is a prey to Satan just as the one isolated from the flock of sheep is a prey to the wolf. Beware! Whoever calls to this course [of sectarianism], kill him, even though he may be under this headband of mine."(Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 126) Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. On the 19th of Ramadan, while Praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, Ali was attacked by the Khawarij Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam. He was wounded by ibn Muljam's poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer.[44] Muawiyah's army also moved into other areas, which Ali's governors couldn't prevent and people didn't support him to fight with them. Muawiyah overpowered Egypt, Yemen and other areas.[45] Ali was later killed by a Kharijite Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa.[46] References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Esposito (2010, p. 38)

2. Jump up ^ Hofmann (2007), p.86

3. Jump up ^ Islam: An Illustrated History By Greville Stewart Parker Freeman-Grenville, Stuart Christopher Munro-Hay Page 40

4. Jump up ^ R. B. Serjeant, "Sunnah Jami'ah, pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrim of Yathrib: analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the so-called 'Constitution of Medina'", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (1978), 41: 1–42, Cambridge University Press.

5. Jump up ^ Watt. Muhammad at Medina and R. B. Serjeant "The Constitution of Medina." Islamic Quarterly 8 (1964) p. 4.

6. Jump up ^ "Madinah Peace Treaty". Retrieved17 December 2014.

7. Jump up ^ Lewis, Archibald Ross (1985). European Naval and Maritime History, 300–1500. Indiana University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780253320827. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

8. Jump up ^ Kroll, Leonard Michael (2005-03-16). History of the Jihad: Islam Versus Civilization. AuthorHouse. p. 123. ISBN 9781463457303. Retrieved 22 May2014.

9. Jump up ^ Gregory, Timothy E. (2011-08-26). A History of Byzantium. John Wiley & Sons. p. 183.ISBN 9781444359978. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

10. Jump up ^ Weston, Mark (2008-07-28). Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present. John Wiley & Sons. p. 61. ISBN 9780470182574. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

11. Jump up ^ Bradbury, Jim (1992). The Medieval Siege. Boydell & Brewer. p. 11. ISBN 9780851153575. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

12. Jump up ^ Karim M. S. Al-Zubaidi, Iraq, a Complicated State: Iraq's Freedom War, p. 32

13. ^ Jump up to: a b Hanna, Sami Ayad; Gardner, George H. (1969). Arab Socialism. [al-Ishtirakīyah Al-ʻ Arabīyah]: A Documentary Survey. Brill Archive. p. 271. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

14. Jump up ^ Khālid, Khālid Muhḥammad; Khalid, Muhammad Khalid (2005-02). Men Around the Messenger. The Other Press. p. 117. ISBN 9789839154733. Retrieved 22 May 2014. Check date values in:|date= (help)

15. Jump up ^ Holt, P. M.; Holt, Peter Malcolm; Lambton, Ann K. S.; Bernard Lewis (1977-04-21). The Cambridge History of Islam. Cambridge University Press. p. 605. ISBN 9780521291385. Retrieved 22 May2014.

16. Jump up ^ Ali, Maulana Muhammad (2011-08-09). The Early Caliphate. eBookIt.com. p. 101.ISBN 9781934271254. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

17. Jump up ^ Karim M. S. Al-Zubaidi, p. 32

18. Jump up ^ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tabari volume 5, p. 243

19. Jump up ^ Bewley, p. 22 from Ibn Hisham from Ibn Muzahim died 212 AH from Abu Mikhnaf died 170 AH

20. Jump up ^ Yaqubi, vol 2, p. 188. Tarikh Al-Yaqubi (Tarikh Ibn Wadih).

21. Jump up ^ William Muir, The Caliphate, its Rise and Fall(London, 1924) page 261 22. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ch. L, Pgs. 98-99. New York: Fred de Fau and Co. Publishers (1906).http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1436/0214-09_Bk.pdf Pgs. 116-117.

23. Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1848) volume 3, p.522

24. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ch. L, Page 98. New York: Fred de Fau and Co. Publishers (1906).http://files.libertyfund.org/files/1436/0214-09_Bk.pdf Pg. 116.

25. ^ Jump up to: a b Bewley, p. 22 from Ibn Hisham from Ibn Muzahim died 212 AH from Abu Mikhnaf died 170 AH

26. ^ Jump up to: a b Islamic Conquest of Syria A translation of Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Page 31 [1]

27. Jump up ^ Islamic Conquest of Syria A translation of Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi [2]

28. Jump up ^ "Asadul Ghaba" vol 3, p. 246. Name of book needed

29. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nahjul Balagha Part 1, The Sermons". Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

30. Jump up ^ Nahjul Balaagha - Letter 58

31. Jump up ^ Book: Mu'aawiyah Ibn Abee Sufyaan By Abdul-Muhsin Ibn Hamad Al-Abbaad Publisher Dar as- Sahaba Publications Page 48

32. Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Islam Volume VII, page 265 By Bosworth

33. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rahman, p. 59

34. ^ Jump up to: a b Rahman, p. 60

35. Jump up ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011-07-22). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 836.ISBN 9781598843378. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

36. Jump up ^ Sandler, Stanley (2002-01-01). Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 602.ISBN 9781576073445. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

37. Jump up ^ Modern Intellectual Readings of the Kharijites By Hussam S. Timani Page 61–65 about the writings of M. A. Shahban, In his Islamic History A.D. 600–750 (A.H. 132): A new Interpretation (1971) [3]

38. Jump up ^ Timani, p. 58

39. Jump up ^ Sowell, Kirk H. (2004). The Arab World: An Illustrated History. Hippocrene Books. p. 41.ISBN 9780781809900. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

40. Jump up ^ Modern Intellectual Readings of the Kharijites By Hussam S. Timani Page 46 [4]

41. Jump up ^ In the shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World By Tom Holland, ISBN 9780349122359 Abacus Page 389

42. ^ Jump up to: a b In the shadow of the sword, The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World By Tom Holland, ISBN 9780349122359 Abacus Page 399

43. Jump up ^ A Chronology of Islamic History 570-1000 CE By H U Rahman Page 59

44. Jump up ^ name="Tabatabaei 1979 192"

45. Jump up ^ See: Nahj Al-Balagha Nahj Al-Balagha Sermons 25, 27, 29, 39  Al-gharat (Plunders) which has written by Abi Mikhnaf is a detailed report about these raids.

46. Jump up ^ Tabatabae (1979), page 1

Battle of Khaybar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Khaybar (disambiguation).

Battle of Khaybar

Part of Campaigns of Muhammad

Ali slays Marhab

Date 629 Location Khaybar Result Muslim victory Belligerents

Muslim army Jews of Khaybar oasis

Commanders and leaders

al-Harith ibn Abu Zaynab † [1] Muhammad Marhab ibn Abu Zaynab † [1] Ali ibn Abi Talib

Strength

1,600 Khaybar 10,000[2]

Banu Ghatafan

4,000[2]

Casualties and losses

Less than 20 killed[3] 93 killed

50 wounded

[show]

 V

 T

 E

List of battles of Muhammad

The Battle of Khaybar was fought in the year 629 between Muslims and the Jews living in the oasis ofKhaybar, located 150 kilometers (93 mi) from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. According to Muslim sources, the Muslims attacked Jews who had barricaded themselves in a fort.[4] On the reasons for the attack, Scottish historian William Montgomery Watt notes the presence in Khaybar of theBanu Nadir, who were inciting hostilities among with neighboring Arab tribes against the Islamic community inMedina. Italian orientalist Laura Veccia Vaglieri, while giving full credence to Watt's theory, claims other motives might have included the prestige the engagement would confer upon Muhammad among his followers, as well the booty which could be used to supplement future campaigns.[5][6] The Jews of Khaybar finally surrendered and were allowed to live in the oasis on the condition that they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years until they were expelled by caliph Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews served as a precedent for provisions in the Islamic law requiring the exaction of tribute known as jizya from non-Muslims under Muslim rule, and confiscation of land belonging to non-Muslims into the collective property of the Muslim community.[5][7][8] In return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy, to be entitled to Muslim state's protection from outside aggression, and to be exempted from military service and the zakat, which is obligatory upon Muslim citizens.

Contents [hide]

 1 Background

o 1.1 Khaybar in the 7th century

o 1.2 Banu Nadir

o 1.3 Treaty of Hudaybiyya

o 1.4 Political situation

o 1.5 Failure of Banu Ghatafan

 2 Course of the Battle

o 2.1 Fall of al-Qamus fort

 3 Aftermath

 4 The battle in classic Islamic literature

 5 Islamic primary sources

 6 See also

 7 References

 8 Bibliography

Background[edit] Khaybar in the 7th century[edit] Main article: Jewish community of Khaybar In the 7th century, Khaybar was inhabited by Jews. The inhabitants had stored in a redoubt at Khaybar a siege-engine, swords, lances, shields and other weaponry. In the past some scholars attempted to explain the presence of the weapons, suggesting that they were used for settling quarrels among the families of the community. Vaglieri suggests that it is more logical to assume that the weapons were stored in a depôt for future sale. Similarly the Jews kept 20 bales of cloth and 500 cloaks for sale, and other luxury goods. These commercial activities as a cause of hostility, Vaglieri argues, are similar to the economic causes behind persecutions in many other countries throughout history.[5] The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural divisions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses or redoubts including homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. In order to improve their defensive capabilities, the fortresses were raised up on hills or basalt rocks.[5] Banu Nadir[edit] See also: Banu Nadir After they were sent into exile in 625 from Medina by Muslim forces, the Banu Nadir had settled in Khaybar. In 627, the Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab together with his son joined the Meccans and Bedouins besieging Medina during the Battle of the Trench.[9] In addition, the Nadir paid Arabian tribes to go to war against the Muslims. Bribing Banu Ghatafan with half of their harvest, Banu Nadir secured 2,000 men and 300 horsemen from the tribe to attack Muhammad,[10][11] and similarly persuaded the Bani Asad.[12] They attempted to get the Banu Sulaym attack the Muslims, but the tribe gave them only 700 men, since some of its leaders were sympathetic towards Islam. The Bani Amir refused to join them all together, as they had a pact with Muhammad.[13] Once the battle started, Huyayy ibn Akhtab persuaded the Banu Qurayza to go against their covenant with Muhammad and turn against him during the battle.[14] After the defeat of the confederates in the battle, and Qurayza's subsequent surrender, Huyayy (who was at that time in the Qurayza strongholds of Medina) was killed alongside the men of the Qurayza. After Huyayy's death, Abu al-Rafi ibn Abi al-Huqayq took charge of the Banu Nadir at Khaybar. Al-Huqayq soon approached neighboring tribes to raise an army against Muhammad.[15][16] After learning this, the Muslims, aided by an Arab with a Jewish dialect, assassinated him.[17]

Al-Huqayq was succeeded by Usayr ibn Zarim. It has been recorded by one source[18] that Usayr also approached the Ghatafan and rumors spread that he intended to attack the "capital of Muhammad". The latter sent Abdullah bin Rawaha with a number of his companions, among whom were Abdullah bin Unays, an ally of Banu Salima, a clan hostile to the Jews. When they came to Usayr, they told him that if he would come to Muhammad, Muhammad would give him an appointment and honour him. They kept on at him until he went with them with a number of Jews. Abdullah bin Unays mounted him on his beast until he was in al-Qarqara, about six miles from Khaybar. Usayr suddenly changed his mind about going with them. Abdullah perceived Usayr's bad intention as the latter was preparing to draw his sword. So Abdullah rushed at him and struck him with his sword cutting off his leg. Usayr hit Abdullah with a stick of shauhat wood which he had in his hand and wounded his head. All Muhammad's emissaries fell upon the thirty Jewish companions and killed them except one man who escaped on his feet.[19] Abdullah bin Unays is the assassin who volunteered and got permission to kill Banu Nadir's Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq at a previous night mission in Khaybar. Many scholars have considered the above machinations of the Nadir as a reason for the battle. According to Montgomery Watt, their intriguing and use of their wealth to incite tribes against Muhammad left him no choice but to attack.[20] Vaglieri concurs that one reason for attack was that the Jews of Khaybar were responsible for the Confederates that attacked Muslims during the Battle of the Trench.[5] Shibli Numani also sees Khaybar's actions during the Battle of the Trench, and draws particular attention to Banu Nadir's leader Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who had gone to the Banu Qurayza during the battle to instigate them to attack Muhammad.[15] Treaty of Hudaybiyya[edit] See also: Treaty of Hudaybiyya

In 628, when the Muslims attempted to perform the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage),[21] after much negotiations, the Muslims entered a peace treaty with the Quraysh, ending the Muslim-Quraysh wars. The treaty also gave Muhammad the assurance of not being attacked in the rear by the Meccans during the expedition.[5] Political situation[edit] As war with Muhammad seemed imminent, the Jews of Khaybar entered into an alliance with the Jews of Fadak oasis. They also successfully persuaded the Bedouin Ghatafan tribe to join their side in the war in exchange for half their produce. However, in comparison to the power of the North, Muhammad's army did not seem to pose enough of a threat for the Khaybar to sufficiently prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. Along with the knowledge that Muhammad's army was small, and in need of resources, the lack of central authority at Khaybar prevented any unified defensive preparations, and quarrels between different families left the Jews disorganized.[5] The Banu Fazara, related to the Ghatafan, also offered their assistance to Khaybar, after their unsuccessful negotiations with the Muslims.[22] Failure of Banu Ghatafan[edit] During the battle, the Muslims were able to prevent Khaybar's Ghatafan allies (consisting of 4,000 men) from providing them with reinforcements. One reason given is that the Muslims were able to buy off the Bedouin allies of the Jews. Watt, however, also suggests that rumors of a Muslim attack on Ghatafan strongholds might also have played a role.[23][24] According to Tabari, Muhammad's first stop in his conquest for Khaybar was in the valley of al-Raji, which was directly between the Ghatafan people and the Khaybar. In hearing the news of the Muslim army's position, the Ghatafan organized and rode out to honor their alliance with the Khaybar. After a day of travel, the Ghatafan thought they heard their enemy behind them and turned around in order to protect their families and possessions, thus opening the path for Muhammad's army.[25] Another story says that a mysterious voice warned the Ghatafan of danger and convinced them to return to their homes.[26]

Course of the Battle[edit]

The Muslims set out for Khaybar in May 628, Muharram 7 AH.[27] According to different sources, the strength of Muslims army varied from 1,400 to 1,800 men and between 100 and 200 horses. Some Muslim women (including Umm Salama) also joined the army, in order to take care of the wounded. [28] Compared to the Khaybarian fighting strength of 10,000, the Muslim contingent was small, but this gave Muslims advantages. It allowed Muslims to swiftly and quietly march to Khaybar (in only three days[29]), catching the city by surprise. It also made Khaybar overconfident in themselves.[30] As a result, the Jews failed to mount a centrally organized defense, leaving each family to defend its own fortified redoubt.[5][23] This underestimation of the Muslims allowed Muhammad to conquer each fortress one by one with relative ease, claiming food, weapons, and land as he went.[31] One Muslim reported:"We met the workers of Khaybar coming out in the morning with their spades and baskets. When they saw the apostle and the army they cried, 'Muhammad with his force,' and turned tail and fled. The apostle said, 'Allah Akbar! Khaybar is destroyed. When we arrive in a people's square it is a bad morning for those who have been warned.'"[32] The Jews, after a rather bloody skirmish in front of one of the fortresses, avoided combat in the open country. Most of the fighting consisted of shooting arrows at a great distance. On at least one occasion the Muslims were able to storm the fortresses. The besieged Jews managed to organize, under the cover of darkness, the transfer of people and treasures from one fortress to another as needed to make their resistance more effective.[5] Neither the Jews nor the Muslims were prepared for an extended siege, and both suffered from a lack of provisions. The Jews, initially overconfident in their strength, failed to prepare even enough water supplies for a short siege.[33] Early in the campaign, the Muslims' hunger caused them to slaughter and cook several asses which they had taken during their conquest. Muhammad, who had determined that the eating of horse, mule, and ass meat was forbidden, made the exception that one can eat forbidden foods so long as scarcity leaves no other option.[26] Fall of al-Qamus fort[edit] After the forts at an-Natat and those at ash-Shiqq were captured, there remained the last and the heavily guarded fortress called al-Qamus, the siege of which lasted between thirteen and nineteen days.[31]

Several attempts by Muslims to capture this citadel in some single combats failed.[34] The first attempt was made by Abu Bakr who took the banner and fought, but was unable to succeed. Umar, then charged ahead and fought more vigorously than Abu Bakr, but still failed. That night Muhammad proclaimed, "By God, tomorrow I shall give it [the banner] to a man who loves God and His Messenger, whom God and His Messenger love. Allah will bestow victory upon him."[35] That morning, the Quraysh were wondering who should have the honor to carry the banner, but Muhammad called out for Ali ibn Abi Ț alib.[36] All this time, Ali, son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was ill and could not participate in the failed attempts. Ali came to Muhammad, who cured him of his ophthalmia, an inhibitive inflammation of the eyes, by applying his saliva in them. Ali, with new vigor, set out to meet the enemy, bearing the banner of Muhammad. When Ali reached the Citadel of Qamus, he was met at the gate by Marhab, a Jewish chieftain who was well experienced in battle. Marhab called out: "Khaybar knows well that I am Marhab, whose weapon is sharp, a warrior tested. Sometimes I thrust with spear; sometimes I strike with sword, when lions advance in burning rage".[37] The two soldiers struck at each other, and after the second blow, Ali cleaved through Marhab's helmet, splitting his skull and landing his sword in his opponent's teeth.[38] After his victory in single combat, the battle commenced, allowing Ali to move closer to taking the citadel. During the battle, Ali lost his shield. In need of a substitute, he picked up a door from the wall and used it to defend himself. When the time came to breach the fortress, he threw the door down as a bridge to allow his army to pass into the citadel and conquer the final threshold. The door was said to be so heavy that it took eight men to replace it on its hinges.[26] "The Apostle revived their (his followers) faith by the example of Ali, on whom he bestowed the surname of the Lion of God" (Asadullah).[39]

The Jews speedily met with Muhammad to discuss the terms of surrender.[34] The people of al-Wat ḥī and al-Sulālim surrendered to the Muslims on the condition that they be "treated leniently" and the Muslims refrain from shedding their blood. Muhammad agreed to these conditions and did not take any of the property of these two forts.[40]

Aftermath[edit]

Muhammad met with Ibn Abi al-Huqaiq, al-Katibah and al-Watih[41] to discuss the terms of surrender. As part of the agreement, the Jews of Khaybar were to evacuate the area, and surrender their wealth. The Muslims would cease warfare and not hurt any of the Jews. After the agreement, some Jews approached Muhammad with a request to continue to cultivate their orchards and remain in the oasis. In return, they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims.[41]According to Ibn Hisham's version of the pact with Khaybar, it was concluded on the condition that the Muslims "may expel you [Jews of Khaybar] if and when we wish to expel you." Norman Stillman believes that this is probably a later interpolation intended to justify the expulsion of Jews in 642.[40] The agreement with the Jews of Khaybar served as an important precedent for Islamic Law in determining the status of dhimmis, (non-Muslims under Muslim rule).[5][7][8] After hearing about this battle, the people of Fadak, allied with Khaybar during the battle, sent Muhḥayyisa b. Masūd to Muhammad. Fadak offered to be "treated leniently" in return for surrender. A treaty similar to that of Khaybar was drawn with Fadak as well.[40] Among the captives was Safiyya bint Huyayy, daughter of the killed Banu Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab and widow of Kenana ibn al-Rabi, the treasurer of Banu Nadir. The companions informed Muhammad of Safiyya's good family status, and requested him to accept her as his wife so as to preserve her prestige and status. Muhammad acceded to the request, and freed and married her. [42] Thus, Safiyya became one of the Mother of the Believers. Kenana ibn al-Rabi, when asked about the treasure they brought with them at the time of leaving Medina, denied having any such treasure. He was told that in case the treasure could be found hidden, he would face death-penalty for his false promise. Kenana agreed to this. A Jew told Muhammad that he had seen Al-Rabi near a certain ruin every morning. When the ruin was excavated, it was found to contain some of the treasure. Kenana was executed as a result.[43][44] [42] Shibli Nomanirejects this account, and argues that Kenana was killed because he had earlier murdered Mahmoud ibn Maslamah, brother of Muhammad ibn Maslamah.[45]Nomani's conclusion is in contradiction to Waqidi's account, in which it was Marhab who killed Mahmoud in the course of the battle, only to be killed himself a few days later.[46] According to several Muslim traditions, a Jewish woman, Zeynab bint Al-Harith, attempted to poison Muhammad to avenge her slain relatives. She poisoned a piece of lamb that she cooked for Muhammad and his companions, putting the most poison into Muhammad's favorite part, the shoulder. This assassination attempt failed because Muhammad recognised that the lamb was poisoned and spat it out, but one companion ate the meat and died.[47][48] The victory in Khaybar greatly raised the status of Muhammad among his followers and local Bedouin tribes, who, seeing his power, swore allegiance to Muhammad and converted to Islam. The captured booty and weapons strengthened his army, and he captured Mecca just 18 months after Khaybar.[5][23]

The battle in classic Islamic literature[edit] According to mainstream Sunni opinion, the battle is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, in which Muhammad is reported to have said "Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man with whose leadership Allah will grant (the Muslim) victory." Afterwards, he gave the flag to Ali.[49] According to a Shia tradition, Muhammad called for Ali, who killed a Jewish chieftain with a sword-stroke, which split in two the helmet, the head and the body of the victim. Having lost his shield, Ali is said to have lifted both of the doors of the fortress from its hinges, climbed into the moat and held them up to make a bridge whereby the attackers gained access to the redoubt. The door was so heavy that forty men were required to put it back in place. This story is the basis for the Shi'ites viewing Ali as the prototype of heroes.[5][50] On one occasion, Muslim soldiers, without Muhammad's opinion and permission, killed and cooked a score of donkeys, which had escaped from a farm. The incident led Muhammad to forbid to Muslims the meat of horses, mules, and donkeys, unless consumption was forced by necessity. The Jews surrendered when, after a month and a half of the siege, all but two fortresses were captured by the Muslims.[5]

Islamic primary sources[edit] Muslim scholars suggest that capturing Khaibar had been a divine promise implied in the Quran verse below:

“ "Allâh has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture, and He has hastened for you this."

[51][52]

The event is mentioned in many Sunni Hadith collections. The Muslim scholar Saifur Rahman al Mubarakpuri mentions that the hadith below regarding Amir's accidental suicide is related to Khaibar: It has been reported on the authority of Salama b. Akwa' who said: On the day of the Battle of Khaibar my brother fought a fierce fight by the side of the Messenger of Allah. His sword rebounded and killed him. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah talked about his death and doubted (whether it was martyrdom). (They said): (He is) a man killed by his own weapon, and expressed doubt about his affair. Salama said: When the Messenger of Allah returned from Khaibar, I said: Messenger of Allah, permit me that I may recite to you some rajaz verses. The Messenger of Allah permitted him. 'Umar b. Khattab said: I know what you will recite. I recited: By God, if God had guided us not, We would hive neither been guided aright nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. The Messenger of Allah said: What you have said is true, 'I (continued): And descend on us peace and tranquillity And keep us steadfast if we encounter (with our enemies) And the polytheists have rebelled against us. When I finished my rajaz, the Messenger of Allah said: Who composed these verses? I said: They were composed by my brother. The Messenger of Allah said: May God show mercy to him! I said: By God, some people are reluctant to invoke God's mercy on him (because) they say he is a man who died by his own sword. (Hearing this) the Messenger of Allah said: He died as God's devotee and warrior. Ibn Shihab has said: I asked one of the sons of Salama (b. Akwa') about (the death of 'Amir). He related to me a similar tradition except that he said: When I said some people were reluctant invoke God's blessings on him, the Messenger of Allah said: They lied. ('Amir) died as God's devotee and warrior (in the cause of Allah). For him there is a double reward, and he pointed out this by putting his two fingers together. Sahih Muslim, 19:4450 [51][52] Allah's Apostle offered the Fajr prayer when it was still dark, then he rode and said, 'Allah Akbar! Khaibar is ruined. When we approach near to a nation, the most unfortunate is the morning of those who have been warned." The people came out into the streets saying, "Muhammad and his army." Allah's Apostle vanquished them by force and their warriors were killed; the children and women were taken as captives. Safiya was taken by Dihya Al-Kalbi and later she belonged to Allah's Apostle go who married her and her Mahr was her manumission. Sahih al-Bukhari, 2:14:68

See also[edit]

 Jihad in Hadith

 Muhammad as a warrior

 Jihad

 Rules of war in Islam

References[edit]

غزوة-خیبر- Jump up to: a b http://www.islamstory.com/ 2 -1 ^ .1

2. ^ Jump up to: a b Lings (1983), p. 264

3. Jump up ^ Lings (1983), p. 255-6

4. Jump up ^ "Ali". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar",Encyclopaedia of Islam

6. Jump up ^ Stillman 19

7. ^ Jump up to: a b Stillman 18–19 8. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis 10

9. Jump up ^ Stillman 14, 16-17

10. Jump up ^ Watt, Muhammad at Medina, p. 34-37.

11. Jump up ^ Nomani, Sirat al-Nabi, p. 368-370.

12. Jump up ^ al-Halabi, Sirat-i-Halbiyyah (Vol. II, part 12), p. 19.

13. Jump up ^ Lings, Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources, p. 215-6.

14. Jump up ^ Peterson, Muhammad: the prophet of God, p. 127.

15. ^ Jump up to: a b Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 156

16. Jump up ^ Urwa, Fath al-Bari, Vol. VII, pg. 363

17. Jump up ^ Stillman 17

18. Jump up ^ Zurqani, Ala al-Mawahib, Vol. II, p.196, Egypt

19. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume, p. 665-666

20. Jump up ^ Watt 189

21. Jump up ^ Lings (1987), p. 249

22. Jump up ^ Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 159

23. ^ Jump up to: a b c Stillman 18

24. Jump up ^ Watt (1956), pg. 93

25. Jump up ^ al-Tabari (1997). The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. Albany : State University Of New York. p. 116.

26. ^ Jump up to: a b c P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, Editors. "Khaybar".Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online. Retrieved April 18, 2012.

27. Jump up ^ Watt 1956, pg. 341

28. Jump up ^ Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 162

29. Jump up ^ Haykal, Muhammad Husayn. Ch. "The Campaign of Khaybar and Missions to Kings". The Life of Muhammad. Shorouk International, 1983.

30. Jump up ^ Lings (1983), pg. 263

31. ^ Jump up to: a b al-Tabari (1997). The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. Albany : State University Of New York. p. 117.

32. Jump up ^ Spencer, Robert (14 August 2006). "'Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews.'". Human Events 62 (27): p12–12.

33. Jump up ^ Watt (1956), pg. 219 34. ^ Jump up to: a b Watt (1956), pg. 218

35. Jump up ^ "Sahih Bukhari". Retrieved 24 May 2013.

36. Jump up ^ al-Tabari (1997). The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. Albany : State University Of New York. pp. 119–121.

37. Jump up ^ al-Tabari (1997). The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. Albany : State University Of New York. p. 120.

38. Jump up ^ al-Tabari (1997). The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. Albany : State University Of New York. p. 121.

39. Jump up ^ Gibbon, D&F of Roman Empire Vol V. page 365

40. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of Muhammad). English translation in Guillame (1955), pp. 145–146

41. ^ Jump up to: a b Watt 1956), pg. 218

42. ^ Jump up to: a b Haykal (2008), p. 400

43. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq, Guillaume, p. 515.

44. Jump up ^ Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi. Kitab al-Maghazi. Translated by Faizer, R., Ismail, A., & Tayob, A. (2011). The Life of Muhammad, pp. 330-331. Oxford & New York: Routledge.

45. Jump up ^ Nomani (1979), vol. II.

46. Jump up ^ Waqidi/Faizer pp. 317, 323-324, 344.

47. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume, pp. 515-516.

48. Jump up ^ Ibn Saad/Haq, pp. 133, 143-144, 251-252.

49. Jump up ^ Companions of Muhammad Bukhari :: Book 5 :: Volume 57 :: Hadith 51

50. Jump up ^ Jafri_

51. ^ Jump up to: a b The Conquest of Khaibar, Witness-Pioneer.com

52. ^ Jump up to: a b The Sealed Nectar, by Saifur Rahman al Mubarakpuri, pg 433 Battle of Hunayn From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Hunayn (disambiguation).

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. (December 2013) This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficientinline citations. (December 2013) This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.

Battle of Hunayn

Date 630 (8 AH) Location Hunain, near al-Ta'if in south-westernArabia Result Decisive Muslim victory

Belligerents

Muslims, Hawazin,

Quraysh Thaqif,

Qais

Nasr,

Jusham,

Sa‘d bin Bakr,

Bani Hilal,

Bani 'Amr bin Amir,

Bani 'Awf bin Amir

Commanders and leaders

Muhammad, Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri

Ali

Strength

12,000 20,000

Casualties and losses

Unknown 70 killed[1] 6,000 prisoners taken[2]

24,000 camels captured as

booty.[2]

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 E The Battle of Hunayn was fought between Muhammad and his followers against the Bedouin tribe of Hawazinand its subsection the Thaqif in 630 in a valley on one of the roads leading from Mecca to al-Ta'if. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Muslims, who captured enormous spoils. The Battle of Hunayn is one of only two battles mentioned in the Qur'an by name, in Sura Tawba.[3]

Contents [hide]

 1 Preparations

o 1.1 Background

o 1.2 Equipment Of The Muslims

o 1.3 Spy

 2 Course of the battle

 3 Aftermath

 4 Islamic Primary sources

 5 See also

 6 References

 7 External links

Preparations[edit] Background[edit] The conquest of Mecca astounded both the Arabs and other tribes. The Hawazins had been long-standing enemies of Meccans. They were located north-east of Mecca and their territory sat beside the trade route to Hira in Iraq. The Hawazins were allied with the Thaqifs of Ta'if which was located south-east of Mecca and whose trade routes ran through Hawazin territory. The alliance had engage in several wars probably concerning trade routes between Ta'if and Mecca. Given this history they saw Muhammad as another powerful Quraish leader who had come to lead his people. They thought among themselves that a war with Muslims was imminent and that the once persecuted minority of Muslims had gained an upper hand against their non-Muslim Arab enemies. Some tribes favoured fighting him and the Muslims. Ahead of these were the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif. According to the Muslim scholar Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri "They thought that they were too mighty to admit or surrender to such a victory". So, they met Malik bin ‘Awf An-Nasri and made up their minds to proceed fighting against the Muslims. Malik persuaded other tribes to fight and gathered them before him. The confederation of tribes consistiing of Nasr, Jusham, Sa‘d bin Bakr, Bani Hilal, Bani 'Amr bin Amir and Bani 'Awf bin Amir gathered at Autas along with the Thaqif and Hawazin.[4][5][6][7] On that day Muhammad had twelve thousand armed soldiers under his standard. Out of them ten thousand were those, who had accompanied him from Medina and had taken part in the conquest of Mecca, and the other two thousand were from amongst Quraysh, who had embraced Islam recently. The command of this group rested with Abu Sufyan. In those days such an army was hardly found anywhere and this numerical strength of theirs became the cause of their initial defeat. It was because, contrary to the past, they prided themselves on the large number of their soldiers and ignored the military tactics and principles of war. When Abu Bakr's eyes fell on the large number of men he said: "We shan't at all be defeated, because our soldiers far outnumber those of the enemy[8] Equipment Of The Muslims[edit] Muhammad was aware of the strength and the obstinacy of the enemy. Before leaving Mecca, therefore, he called Safwan bin Umayyah and borrowed one hundred coats of mail from him and guaranteed its return. He personally put on two coats of mail, put a helmet on his head, mounted a white mule, which had been presented to him, and moved on behind the army of Islam in the rear guard. Meanwhile, the tribe of Bani Salim arrived in the passage of Hunayn under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid before the day had yet fully dawned.[9] Spy[edit] The Hawazin and their allies, the Thaqif, began mobilizing their forces when they learnt from their spies that Muhammad and his army had departed from Medina to begin an assault on Mecca. The confederates apparently hoped to attack the Muslim army while it besieged Mecca. Muhammad, however, uncovered their intentions through his own spies in the camp of the Hawazin, and marched against the Hawazin just two weeks[1][10][11] after the conquest of Mecca with a force of 12,000 men.[3] Only four weeks had elapsed since quitting Medina.[12]

Course of the battle[edit] On Wednesday night, the tenth of Shawwal, the Muslim army arrived at Hunain. Malik bin ‘Awf, who had previously entered the valley by night, gave orders to his army to hide inside the valley and lurk for the Muslims on roads, entrances, and narrow hiding places. His orders to his men were to hurl stones at Muslims whenever they caught sight of them and then to make one-man attacks against them. When Muslims started camping, arrows began showering intensely at them. Their enemy’s battalions started a fierce attack against the Muslims, who had to retreat in disorder and utter confusion. It is reported that only a few soldiers stayed behind and fought, including Ali bin Abu Talib, the standard bearer, Abbas bin Abdullah, Abu Fadl Al-Abbas, Usamah, and Abi Sufyan bin Hirith[13][14] "Come on, people! I am the Messenger of Allah. I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah." Then Muhammad said "O, Allah, send down Your Help!", later Muslims’ returned to the Battlefield. Muhammad, then Picking up a handful of earth, he hurled it at their faces while saying: "May your faces be shameful." Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter confusion, according to the Muslim scholar Safi-ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri[1][15] After the enemy was defeated. About seventy men of Thaqif alone were killed, and the Muslims captured all their riding camels, weapons and cattle. The Quran verse 9:25 was also revealed in this event according to Muslim scholars:

Assuredly Allah did help you in many battle-fields and on the day of Hunain: Behold! your great numbers elated you, but they availed you naught: the land, for all that it is wide, did constrain you, and ye turned back in retreat. “ But Allah did pour His calm on the Messenger and on the Believers, and sent down forces which ye saw not: He punished the Unbelievers; thus doth He reward those without Faith.

[Quran 9:25]

[1][15]

Some of the enemies fled, and Muhammad chased after them. Similar battalions chased after other enemies, Rabi‘a bin Rafi‘ caught up with Duraid bin As-Simmah who was an old man and killed him. Durayd was an important asset of the pagan forces due to his great number of experiences in battle and knowledge of terrain and war tactics[16] .[15] This is mentioned by the Muslim jurist Tabari as follows:

The Messenger of God's cavalry followed those who went to Nakhlah, but not those who took to the narrow passes. Rabia b. Rufay' b. Uhban b. Tha'labah b. Rabi'ah b. Yarbu' b. Sammal119 b. 'Awf b. Imr al- [1666] Qays, who was called Ibn Ladh'ah after his mother, overtook Durayd b. al-Simmah and seized his camel by its halter, thinking that he was a woman because he was in a howdah. But lo, it was a man. He made the camel kneel down beside him and [found that] the man was very old. He was Durayd b. al-Simmah, [but] the young man did not know him. Durayd asked him what he wanted to do with him. The young man replied that he wanted to kill him. Durayd asked him who he was, and he replied that he was Rabi'ah b. Rufaya al-Sulami. He then struck him with his sword, but to no effect. Thereupon Durayd said, "What a poor weapon your mother has armed you with! Take this sword of mine that is at the rear of the saddle in the howdah and strike me with it above the spine but below the brain, for I used to slay men in that way. Then when you go to your mother, tell her you killed Durayd b. al-Simmah. By God, how many times I protected your women."

“ [Tabari, The Last Years of the Prophet, Pg 16][17]

Aftermath[edit] Because Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri had brought the families and flocks of the Hawazin along, the Muslims were able to capture huge spoils. 6,000 prisoners were taken prisoners and 24,000 camels were captured. Some Bedouins fled, and split into two groups.[2] One group went back, resulting in the Battle of Autas, while the larger group found refuge at al-Ta'if, where Muhammad besieged them.[1][15][3] William Montgomery Watt remarks that Muhammad took on the role as the hero of Meccans by facing their Bedouin arch-enemies, the Hawazins and the Thaqifs of the city of al-Ta'if. This played a major role in integrating the Meccans into theumma while at the same time setting the stage for Arab tribes to join the Islamic movement.[18]

Islamic Primary sources[edit] The event is mentioned in the Sunni Hadith collection Sahih Bukhari as follows: We set out in the company of Allah's Apostle on the day (of the battle) of Hunain. When we faced the enemy, the Muslims retreated and I saw a pagan throwing himself over a Muslim. I turned around and came upon him from behind and hit him on the shoulder with the sword He (i.e. the pagan) came towards me and seized me so violently that I felt as if it were death itself, but death overtook him and he released me. I followed 'Umar bin Al Khattab and asked (him), "What is wrong with the people (fleeing)?" He replied, "This is the Will of Allah," After the people returned, the Prophet sat and said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has a proof of that, will possess his spoils." I got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and then sat down. The Prophet again said, "Anyone who has killed an enemy and has proof of that, will possess his spoils." I (again) got up and said, "Who will be a witness for me?" and sat down. Then the Prophet said the same for the third time. I again got up, and Allah's Apostle said, "O Abu Qatada! What is your story?" Then I narrated the whole story to him. A man (got up and) said, "O Allah's Apostle! He is speaking the truth, and the spoils of the killed man are with me. So please compensate him on my behalf." On that Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, "No, by Allah, he (i.e. Allah's Apostle ) will not agree to give you the spoils gained by one of Allah's Lions who fights on the behalf of Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Abu Bakr has spoken the truth." So, Allah's Apostle gave the spoils to me. I sold that armor (i.e. the spoils) and with its price I bought a “ garden at Bani Salima, and this was my first property which I gained after my conversion to Islam.

Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:53:370

The event is also in Imam Maliks Al-Muwatta as follows:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said that he had heard a man asking ibn Abbas about booty. Ibn Abbas said, "Horses are part of the booty and personal effects are as well." Then the man repeated his question, and Ibn Abbas repeated his answer. Then the man said, "What are the spoils which He, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned in His Book?" He kept on asking until Ibn Abbas was on the verge of being annoyed, then Ibn Abbas said, "Do you know who this man is like? Ibn Sabigh, who was beaten by Umar ibn al-Khattab because he was notorious for asking foolish questions." Yahya said that Malik was asked whether someone who killed one of the enemy could keep the man's effects without the permission of the Imam. He said, "No one can do that “ without the permission of the Imam. Only the Imam can make ijtihad. I have not heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever said, 'Whoever kills someone can have his effects,' on any other day than the day of Hunayn."

See also[edit]

 Muhammad as a warrior

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e The Sealed Nectar. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

2. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lammens, H. and Abd al-Hafez Kamal. "Hunayn". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online Edition. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573- 3912.

4. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books? id=xJL6gxPUV4EC&pg=PA259&dq=battle+of+hunayn&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Msv6VMmLBY2jugTb94CAAg&ved=0CCI Q6AEwAQ

5. Jump up ^ The sealed nectar, By S.R. Al-Mubarakpuri, Pg356

6. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books? id=XijHtLgO6gMC&pg=PA305&lpg=PA737&dq=banu+salim+hunayn&output=html_text

7. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=uTJoiXp3pS4C&pg=RA1- PA50&dq=battle+of+hunayn&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OeH6VOzWKJfkuQSJ7IHoAQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAw

8. Jump up ^ Sha'rani, Ahmad Abdul Wahab Bin Ahmad. "alkitab.com-Source for Arabic Books: Tabaqat al-Kubra - ."History - Islamic - Sufi Studies: By Sha'rani, Ahmad Abdul Wahab Bin Ahmad :الطبقات الكبرى - Sha'rani Retrieved 17 December 2014.

9. Jump up ^ [1]

10. Jump up ^ "Reconnoitering the Enemy’s Weapons", Witness-Pioneer.com

11. Jump up ^ Revelation and Empire

12. Jump up ^ Muhammad: Victory 13. Jump up ^ Akramulla Syed. "The battle of Hunayn, Battle at Hunain, Military History of Islam, Khalid bin Al-Waleed". Retrieved 17 December 2014.

14. Jump up ^ ln Mughazi, vol. III, page 602

15. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Battle of Hunayn, Witness-Pioneer.com

16. Jump up ^ Safiur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri (2005), The Sealed Nectar, Darussalam Publications, p. 262

17. Jump up ^ Tabari, Al (25 September 1990), The last years of the Prophet (translated by Isma'il Qurban Husayn), State University of New York Press, p. 16, ISBN 978-0-88706-691-7

18. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books? id=EOZZCcXbc5QC&pg=PA418&dq=battle+of+hunayn&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UNH6VMvBFoOpuQSg44DwBA&ved=0C DUQ6AEwBTgK

Battle of Uhud From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Uhud

Part of the Muslim–Quraish Wars

Date March 19, 625 AD (3 Shawwal, 3 AH) Location Valley by Mount Uhud Result Failure of siege; Meccans retreated

Belligerents

Muslims of Medina Quraish of Mecca

Commanders and leaders

Muhammad Abu Sufyan Umar ibn al-Khattab Khalid ibn al-Walid

Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib ⱶ 'Amr ibn al-'As

Musab ibn Umayr ⱶ

Strength

700 infantry; 50 archers, 4 3,000 infantry; 3,000 camels,

cavalry 200 cavalry

Casualties and losses

70-75 killed Light

[show]

 V

 T

 E

List of battles of Muhammad

Ġazwat ‘Uhudḥ ) was fought on Saturday, March 19, 625 غزوة أحد :The Battle of Uhud (Arabic (3 Shawwal 3 AH in the Islamic calendar) at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia.[1] It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from which many of the Muslims had previously emigrated. The Battle of Uhud was the second military encounter between the Meccans and the Muslims, preceded by the Battle of Badr in 624, where a small Muslim army had defeated a larger Meccan army. Marching out from Mecca towards Medina on March 11, 625 AD, the Meccans desired to avenge their losses at Badr and strike back at Muhammad and his followers. The Muslims readied for war soon afterwards and the two armies fought on the slopes and plains of Mount Uhud. Whilst outnumbered, the Muslims gained the early initiative and forced the Meccan lines back, thus leaving much of the Meccan camp unprotected. When the battle looked to be only one step away from a decisive Muslim victory, a serious mistake was committed by a part of the Muslim army, which altered the outcome of the battle. A breach of Muhammad's orders by the Muslim archers, who left their assigned posts to despoil the Meccan camp, allowed a surprise attack from the Meccan cavalry, led by Meccan war veteran Khalid ibn al-Walid, which brought chaos to the Muslim ranks. Many Muslims were killed, and even Muhammad himself was badly injured. The Muslims had to withdraw up the slopes of Uhud. The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims further, but marched back to Mecca declaring victory. For the Muslims, the battle was a significant setback: although they had been close to routing the Meccans a second time, their breach of Muhammad's orders in favor of collecting Meccan spoils reaped severe consequences. The two armies would meet again in 627 AD at the Battle of the Trench.[2] Contents [hide]

 1 Background

o 1.1 Reason for battle

 2 Meccan force sets out

 3 Encounter at Uhud

 4 Aftermath

o 4.1 Muslim reaction

o 4.2 Further conflict

 5 Islamic primary sources

o 5.1 Quran

o 5.2 Hadith

o 5.3 Biographical literature

 6 Battle of Uhud in warfare

 7 Modern references

 8 See also

 9 Notes

 10 References

 11 External links

Background[edit] Muhammad had preached the religion of Islam in Mecca from 613 to 622. He had attracted a small community of followers, but also drew staunch opposition from the rest of the Quraysh, the tribe that ruled Mecca and to which he belonged. The Muslims fled Mecca in 622 after years of persecution and established themselves at Medina (formerly known as Yathrib; Medina means City). The Quraysh had seized the properties and families of Muslims in Mecca and dispatched caravans toDamascus which the Muslims intercepted and raided. The Meccans sent out a small army to punish the Muslims and stop their raiding. At the Battle of Badr in 624, a small Muslim force defeated the much larger Meccan army.[3] Many Muslims considered this unexpected victory a proof that they had been favored by God and believed they were assured such victories in the future.[4] A number of the leading tribesmen of Quraysh had been killed at Badr and so leadership passed to Abu Sufyan. He forbade the mourning of the losses at Badr, for he was eager to exact revenge upon Muhammad, vowing to conduct a retaliatory raid on the city of Medina. Several months later, Abu Sufyan accompanied a party of 200 men to the city, obtaining temporary residence with the chief of the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir and learning more of the current situation in Medina. He and his party then left Medina, burning down two houses and laying waste to some fields in fulfillment of his vow. Further skirmishes between the Meccans and the Muslims would occur thereafter.[5] Reason for battle[edit]

The reason for the battle was to get back at the Muslims for the battle of badar [6]

Meccan force sets out[edit]

Ravine of Mount Uhud (bifurcated mount just seen below in line of tower structure) where Muhammed was taken for rest after injury

The following year on March 11, 625, with Abu Sufyan at the helm, the Meccans—anxious to avenge their defeat at Badr—raised another force numbering 3,000 and set out for the Muslim base in Medina. Rather than attacking Medina itself, which was populated by numerous strongholds that would have required long sieges to overcome, they camped on the pastures north of the city, hoping that the Muslims would come out to meet them.[7][8] According to the early Muslim historian Ibn Ishaq, a number of Meccan women are said to have accompanied Abu Sufyan's army to provide vocal support, includingHind bint Utbah, his wife.[9] A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers late on Thursday March 21. The next morning, a Muslim conference of war convened, and there was dispute over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many of the senior figures suggested that it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of its heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying their crops, and that huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the wishes of the latter, and readied the Muslim force for battle.

Encounter at Uhud[edit] Map of the battle, showing the Muslim and Meccan lines respectively.

A group of approximately 1,000 Muslim men set out on late Friday from Medina and managed to circle around the Meccan forces. Early the next morning, they took a position on the lower slopes of the hill of Uhud. Shortly before the battle commenced, 'Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy (the chief of the Khazraj tribe) and his followers withdrew their support for Muhammad and returned to Medina, with reports suggesting Ibn Ubayy's discontent with the plan to march out from Medina to meet the Meccans. Ibn Ubayy and his followers would later receive censure in the Qur'an for this act.[10] What ye suffered on the day the two armies Met, was with the leave of Allah, in order that He might test the believers,- And the Hypocrites also. These were told: "Come, fight in the way of Allah, or (at least) drive (The foe from your city)." They said: "Had we known how to fight, we should certainly have followed you." They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts but Allah hath full knowledge of all they conceal. (They are) the ones that say, (of their brethren slain), while they themselves sit (at ease): "If only they had listened to us they would not have been slain." Say: "Avert death from your own selves, if ye speak the truth."

—Qur'an, sura 3 (Al-i-Imran), ayat 166-168[11] The Muslim force, now numbering around 700, was stationed on the slopes of Uhud, facing Medina with the rear being protected by the towering mount itself. Before the battle, Muhammad had assigned 50 archers on a nearby rocky hill at the West side of the Muslim camp. This was a strategic decision in order to shield the vulnerable flanks of the outnumbered Muslim army; the archers on the hill were to protect the left flank, while the right flank was to be protected by the Mount of Uhud situated on the east side of the Muslim camp. Protecting the flanks of the Muslim army meant that the Meccan army would not be able to turn around the Muslim camp, and thus the Muslim army wouldn't be surrounded or encircled by the Meccan cavalry, keeping in mind that the Meccan cavalry outnumbered the Muslim cavalry with a 50:1 ratio. Muhammad ordered the Muslim archers to never under any circumstances leave their positions on the hill unless ordered to do so by him only, he made this order very clear by uttering these words to the archers, "If you saw us prevail and start to take spoils, do not come to assist us. And if you saw us get vanquished and birds eat from our heads, do not come to assist us."[12] The Meccan army positioned itself facing the Muslim lines, with the main body led by Abu Sufyan, and the left and right flanks commanded by Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahland Khalid ibn al-Walid respectively. 'Amr ibn al-'As was named the commander of cavalry and his task was to coordinate attack between the cavalry wings.[13][14] The Meccans attacked with their initial charge led by the Medinan exile Abu ‘Amir. Thwarted by a shower of stones from the Muslims, Abu ‘Amir and his men were forced to retire and tend to the camps behind the Meccan lines. The Meccan standard-bearer, Talhah ibn Abi Talhah al-‘Abdari, advanced and challenged the enemy to a duel. Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib), the young cousin of Muhammad, rushed forth and struck Talhah down in a single blow. Talhah's brother, `Uthman, ran forward to pick up the fallen banner — the Meccan women willing him on with songs and the loud beating of timbrels. Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib emerged from the Muslim ranks, bringing him to a similar fate as Talhah. It was their family that was responsible for the Meccan army's standard- bearing, and thus one by one, Talhah's brothers and sons went to retrieve the Meccan banner and fight unsuccessfully, until they all eventually perished.[15] Following the duels, general engagement between the two armies commenced. Meccan confidence quickly began to dissolve as the Muslims swept through their ranks. The Meccan army was pushed back, and repeated attempts by its cavalry to overrun the left Muslim flank were negated by the Muslim archers.[16] Enjoying the best of these early encounters, the Muslims pierced through the Meccan lines, with victory appearing certain. However, it was the detachment of the Muslim archers, disobeying Muhammad's strict orders to remain stationary, that would shift the outcome of the battle, as they ran downhill to join in the advance and despoil the Meccan camp, leaving the flank vulnerable.[7][14]

Grave of Hamza, Mount Uhud, Medina

At this critical juncture, the Meccan cavalry led by Khalid ibn al-Walid exploited this move and attacked the remaining minority of Muslim archers who refused to disobey Muhammad's orders and were still positioned on the hill. From there, the Meccans were then able to target and overrun the Muslim flank and rear. Confusion ensued, and numerous Muslims were killed.[7][14] Most notably was Hamza, who had been thrown down in a surprise attack by the javelin of the Ethiopian slave of Hind, Wahshi ibn Harb. While the Meccan riposte strengthened, rumors circulated that Muhammad too had perished. It emerged, however, that Muhammad had only been wounded—due to missiles of stone which resulted in a gash on his forehead and lip. It is recorded that Ali ibn Abi Talib alone remained, fending off the assaults of Khalid's cavalrymen. According to Ibn Atheer, "The Prophet became the object of the attack of various units of the army of Quraish from all sides. Ali attacked, in compliance with Muhammad's orders, every unit that made an attack upon him and dispersed them or killed some of them, and this thing took place a number of times in Uhud."[17] Muslim archers positioned on a hill during the Battle of Uhud, as depicted in Moustapha Akkad's 1976 film The Message

After fierce hand-to-hand combat, most of the Muslims managed to withdraw and regroup higher up on the slopes of Uhud. A small faction was cut off and tried to make its way back to Medina, though many of these were killed. The Meccans' chief offensive arm, its cavalry, was unable to ascend the slopes of Uhud in pursuit of the Muslims, and so the fighting ceased. Hind and her companions are said to have mutilated the Muslim corpses, cutting off their ears and noses and making the relics into anklets. Hind is reported to have cut open the corpse of Hamza, taking out his liver which she then attempted to eat.[18] Abu Sufyan, after some brief verbal exchanges with Muhammad's companion, Umar (Umar ibn al-Khattab),[19]decided to return to Mecca without pressing his advantage.[7][14] The battle is generally believed by scholars to be a defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans. Chase F. Robinson, writing in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, states the notion that "the Muslims suffered a disheartening defeat is clear enough."[7] Other scholars such as William Montgomery Watt disagree, noting that while the Muslims did not win, the Meccans had failed to achieve their strategic aim of destroying Muhammad and his followers; and that the Meccans' untimely withdrawal indicated weakness on their part.[20] The battle is also noted for the emergence of the military leadership and tactical military genius of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who would later become the most famous of all Arab generals during the Islamic expansion era, in conquering the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine held Syria.[21]

Aftermath[edit] Muhammad and the Muslims buried the dead on the battlefield, returning home that evening. The Meccans retired for the evening at a place called Hamra al-Asad, a few miles away from Medina. The next morning, Muhammad sent out a small force to harry the Meccan army on their way home. According to Watt, this was because Muhammad realized that a show of force was required to speed the Meccans away from Medinan territory. The Meccans, not wanting to be perceived as being chased away, remained nearby for a few days before leaving.[22] Muslim reaction[edit] For the Muslims, the battle held a religious dimension as well as a military one. They had expected another victory like at Badr, which was considered a sign of God's favor upon them. At Uhud, however, they had barely held off the invaders and had lost a great many men. A verse of the Qur'an revealed soon after the battle cited the Muslims' disobedience and desire for loot as the cause for this setback:[2][23] Allah did indeed fulfil His promise to you when ye with His permission Were about to annihilate your enemy,-until ye flinched and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed it after He brought you in sight (of the booty) which ye covet. Among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then did He divert you from your foes in order to test you but He forgave you: For Allah is full of grace to those who believe.

—Qur'an, sura 3 (Al-i-Imran), ayah 152[24] According to the Qur'an, then, the misfortunes at Uhud — largely the result of the rear guard abandoning their position in order to seek booty — were partly a punishment and partly a test for steadfastness.[23] Firestone observes that such verses provided inspiration and hope to the Muslims, sacralizing future battles that they would experience. He adds that rather than demoralizing the Muslims, the battle seemed to reinforce the solidarity between them.[25] Further conflict[edit] Abu Sufyan, whose position as leader was no longer undisputed, set about forging alliances with surrounding nomadic tribes in order to build up strength for another advance on Medina. The success of the Meccans' rousing of tribes against Muhammad reaped disastrous consequences for him and the Muslims with two main losses: one was where a Muslim party had been invited by a chieftain of the Ma'unah tribe, who were then killed as they approached by the tribe of Sulaym; while the other was when the Muslims had sent out instructors to a tribe which stated it wanted to convert to Islam — the instructors had been led into an ambush by the guides of the would-be Muslim tribe, and were subsequently killed.[26] Soon thereafter, Muhammad became convinced that the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir harbored enmity towards him and were plotting to kill him. The Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina after a fifteen-day siege, with some relocating to the oasis of Khaybarand others to Syria.[27] Abu Sufyan, along with the allied confederate tribes, would attack Medina in the Battle of the Trench, two years after the events at Uhud (in 627).[2]

Islamic primary sources[edit] Quran[edit]

The event is mentioned in the Quran verse [Quran 8:36] according to the Muslim scholar Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri,[28] as well as [Quran 3:122], [Quran 3:167].[29] The Muslim Mufassir Ibn Kathir's commentary on this verse in his book Tafsir ibn Kathir is as follows:

Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated that Az-Zuhri, Muhammad bin Yahya bin Hibban, `Asim bin `Umar bin Qatadah, and Al-Husayn bin `Abdur-Rahman bin `Amr bin Sa`id bin Mu`adh said, "The Quraysh suffered defeat at Badr and their forces went back to Makkah, while Abu Sufyan went back with the caravan intact. This is when `Abdullah bin Abi Rabi`ah, `Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Safwan bin Umayyah and other men from Quraysh who lost their fathers, sons or brothers in Badr, went to Abu Sufyan bin Harb. They said to him, and to those among the Quraysh who had wealth in that caravan, `O people of Quraysh! Muhammad has grieved you and killed the chiefs among you. Therefore, help us with this wealth so that we can fight him, it may be that we will avenge our losses.' They agreed. bin Ishaq said, "This Ayah was revealed about them, according to Ibn `Abbas, “ (Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth...) until, (they who are the losers. ) Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hakam bin `Uyaynah, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Abza said that this Ayah was revealed about Abu Sufyan and his spending money in Uhud to fight the Messenger of Allah . Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was revealed about the idolators of Badr. In any case, the Ayah is general, even though there was a specific incident that accompanied its revelation. Allah states here that the disbelievers spend their wealth to hinder from the path of truth. However, by doing that, their money will be spent and then will become a source of grief and anguish for them, availing them nothing in the least. They seek to extinguish the Light of Allah and make their word higher than the word of truth. However, Allah will complete His Light, even though the disbelievers hate it. He will give aid to His religion, make His Word dominant, and His religion will prevail above all religions. This is the disgrace that the disbelievers will taste in this life; and in the Hereafter, they will taste the torment of the Fire. Whoever among them lives long, will witness with his eyes and hear with his ears what causes grief to him. Those among them who are killed or die will be returned to eternal disgrace and the everlasting punishment.

Hadith[edit] Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri mentions that this incident is also mentioned in the Sunni Hadith collection Sahih al-Bukhari.[31] Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:276 mentions:

The Prophet appointed 'Abdullah bin Jubair as the commander of the infantry men (archers) who were fifty on the day (of the battle) of Uhud. He instructed them, "Stick to your place, and don't leave it even if you see birds snatching us, till I send for you; and if you see that we have defeated the infidels and made them flee, even then you should not leave your place till I send for you." Then the infidels were defeated. By Allah, I saw the women fleeing lifting up their clothes revealing their leg-bangles and their legs. So, the companions of 'Abdullah bin Jubair said, "The booty! O people, the booty “ (i.e. the enemy) and collect our share from the war booty." But when they went to them, they were forced to turn back defeated. At that time Allah's Apostle in their rear was calling them back. Only twelve men remained with the Prophet and the infidels martyred seventy men from us.

It is also mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, 3:30:108 that Quran verse [Quran 4:88] was revealed about this event:

“ When the Prophet went out for (the battle of) Uhud, some of his companions (hypocrites) returned (home). A party of the believers remarked that they would kill those (hypocrites) who had returned, but another party said that they would not kill them. So, this Divine Inspiration was revealed: "Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties concerning the hypocrites." (4.88) The Prophet said, "Medina expels the bad persons from it, as fire expels the impurities of iron."

The event is also mention in Sahih Muslim, 4:2050 Biographical literature[edit]

This event is mentioned in Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad.[30] Most of the information available about the events is derived from the sira—maghazi traditions (biographical narratives and documentation of military campaigns) of the early centuries of Islam. The general sequence of the events gained consensus early on, as demonstrated in the text of Ibn Ishaq, an early biographer of Muhammad. Accounts of the battle are derived mainly from descendants of the participants. Much of the basic narrative and chronology, according to Robinson, is reasonably authentic, although some of the more elaborate details — such as the exact scale of the Muslim defeat — may be doubtful or difficult to ascertain.[7]

Battle of Uhud in warfare[edit] Though strategically indecisive, the conduct of the battle was sufficient proof of the military awareness of the Arabs even before their campaigns in Persia and Syria. The basic assumption that Arabs were generally raiders and learned warfare from the Persians and Syrians is proved wrong here. Abu Sufyan made full use of his cavalry by deploying them as two mobile wings. The infantry based centre provided the base upon which the cavalry would operate. He intended to pull the celebrated "Double Envelopment" maneuver. He deployed his forces in the same manner as a Persian or Byzantine general would have done. Muhammad on the other hand showed his ability as a general by choosing the battlefield of Uhud. He decided according to the will of Muslims to fight in open country but he was aware of the superior mobility of the Meccans. He knew an encounter in open country would expose the infantry wings to envelopment, so to neutralize the Meccan mobility factor, he decided to hold high ground with Mount Uhud in their rear, which provided security from any attack from the rear. Moreover as the front was of approximately of 800 to 900 yd (730 to 820 m)[32] and on one flank he rested Mount Einein and on other flank were the defiles of Mount Uhud so in military language he refused both wings to the Meccan cavalry. The only approach from which they could be taken from the rear was protected by the deployment of archers. This battle is a specimen of how an infantry based entity should fight against a cavalry dominated arm. The comparison of this battle with the Battle of Guadalete fought by Tariq ibn Ziyad against the Visigothic Kingdom is indeed striking.

Modern references[edit] The battle of Uhud is the second of the two main battles featured in Moustapha Akkad's 1976 film centering on the life of Muhammad, Mohammad, Messenger of God. The other battle featured is the battle of Badr.[33] The battle of Uhud is also depicted in the 2004 animated film, Muhammad: The Last Prophet, directed byRichard Rich,[34] and in the 2012 TV series Farouk Omar. The cave in Mount Uhud where Muhammad rested temporarily during the battle has also received recent media attention in the light of proposals by some Islamic scholars for it to be destroyed.[35]

See also[edit]

 Battle of Badr

 Abu Dujana

 Umm Hakim

 Hammanah bint Jahsh  Nusaybah bint Ka'ab

 List of Sahaba

 List of battles of Muhammad

 Umm Ayman (Barakah) the woman who was present at the Battle of Uhud

Notes[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) p. 136

2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cambridge History of Islam 1A (1977) pp. 47-48

3. Jump up ^ Peters (1994) pp. 211—214

4. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) pp. 142—143

5. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) pp. 132—135

6. Jump up ^ Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, p. 181. (online)

7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Uhud", Encyclopedia of Islam Online

8. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) p. 135

9. Jump up ^ Guillaume 813

10. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) p. 137

11. Jump up ^ Quran 3:166–168

12. Jump up ^ Review: The lesson of Uhud defeat (in Arabic)

13. Jump up ^ Muir; Weir (1912) p. 258

14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Watt (1974) pp. 138—139

15. Jump up ^ Muir; Weir (1912) p. 259

16. Jump up ^ Muir; Weir (1912) p. 260

17. Jump up ^ Reasons for the battle of Uhud

18. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq (1955) 380—388, cited in Peters (1994) p. 218

19. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq records this exchange as follows: When (the Quraysh leader) Abu Sufyan wanted to leave, he went to the top of the mountain and shouted loudly, saying, "You have done a fine work. Victory in war goes by turns: today is in exchange for the day of Badr. Show your superiority, Hubal", that is, vindicate your religion. The Messenger told Umar to go up and answer him and say, "God is most high and most glorious. We are not equal: our dead are in paradise, yours are in hell." At this answer Abu Sufyan said to Umar, "Come up here to me." The Messenger told him to go and see what Abu Sufyan was up to. When he came Abu Sufyan said, "I adjure you by God, Umar, have we killed Muhammad?""By God, you have not, he is listening to what you are saying right now", Umar replied. Abu Sufyan said, "I regard you as more truthful and reliable than Ibn Qami'a", referring to the latter's claim that he had killed Muhammad. —cf. Ibn Ishaq (1955) 380—388, cited in Peters (1994) p. 219

20. Jump up ^ See:

 Cambridge History of Islam 1A (1977) pp. 47—48

 Firestone (1999) p.132

21. Jump up ^ See:

 Andrae; Menzel (1960) p. 150;

 Nafziger; Walton (2000) pp. 16-18;

 Watt (1974) p. 200

22. Jump up ^ See:

 Watt (1981) p. 432;

 An early Muslim historian, al-Waqidi, records 'Amr ibn al-'As (a Meccan commander) as saying: When we renewed the attack against them, we smote a certain number of them, and they scattered in every direction, but later a party of them rallied. Quraysh then took counsel together and said, The victory is ours, let us depart. For we had heard that Ibn Ubayy had retired with a third of the force, and some of the Awsand the Khazraj had stayed away from the battle, and we were not sure that they would not attack us. Moreover we had a number of wounded, and all our horses had been wounded by the arrows. So they set off. We had not reached ar- Rawha until a number of them came against us and we continued on our way.

—cited in Peters (1994) p. 219.

23. ^ Jump up to: a b Watt(1974) p. 144

24. Jump up ^ Quran 3:152

25. Jump up ^ Firestone (1999) p. 132

26. Jump up ^ Watt (1974) pp. 147—148

27. Jump up ^ Nadir, Banu-l. Encyclopedia of Islam Online

28. Jump up ^ Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet , p. 292.

29. Jump up ^ Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet , pp. 299-300.

30. ^ Jump up to: a b Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman, Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 9 (Part 9): Al-A'Raf 88 to Al-Anfal 40, p. 226, MSA Publication Limited, 2009, ISBN 1861795750. (online)

31. Jump up ^ Mubarakpuri, The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet , p. 296 (footnote 2).

32. Jump up ^ Akram, Agha Ibrahim (2004), Khalid bin al-Waleed - His Life and Campaigns, Oxford University Press: Pakistan, ISBN 0-19-597714-9

33. Jump up ^ Review: The Message. Mark Campbell, 24 April 2004. 34. Jump up ^ "Muhammad The Last Prophet": A Movie Below Expectations. Islamonline.net.

35. Jump up ^ Call to destroy Uhud cave rejected. 23 January 2006, ArabNews . Retrieved 2007-06-07.

References[edit] Books and journals

 Andrae, Tor; Menzel, Theophil (1960). Mohammed: The Man and His Faith. New York: Harper Torchbook. OCLC 871364.

 Firestone, Rueven (1999). Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512580-0.

 Holt, P. M.; Bernard Lewis (1977a). Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1A. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29136- 4.

 I. Ishaq and A. Guillaume (October 2002). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press, USA; New Impression edition. ISBN 0-19-636033-1.

 Muir, William; Weir, T. H. (1912). The Life of Mohammad. Edinburgh: John Grant. OCLC 5754953.

 Nafziger, George F.; Walton, Mark W. (2003). Islam at War: a history. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-98101-0.

 Peters, F.E (1994). Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. Albany: SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.

 Watt, W. Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19- 881078-4.

 Watt, W. Montgomery (1981). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press; New edition. ISBN 0-19-577307-1. Encyclopedias

 Robinson, C. F. "Uhud". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.

 Vacca, V. "Nadir, Banu-l". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.

Battle of Badr From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Badr Part of the Muslim-Quraish Wars

Scene from Siyer-i Nebi Hamza and Ali leading the Muslim

armies at Badr.

Date 13 March 624 CE/17 Ramadan, 2 AH Location At the wells of Badr, 70 mi (110 km) southwest of Medina Result Decisive Muslim victory

Belligerents

Muslims of Medina Quraish of Mecca

Commanders and leaders

Muhammad Abu Jahl ⱶ

Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib Utba ibn Rabi'ah ⱶ

Ali ibn Abi Talib Umayyah ibn Khalaf ⱶ

Hind al-Hunnud

Strength

313 infantry and cavalry: 2 950 infantry and cavalry: 100

horses and 70 camels horses and 170 camels

Casualties and losses

14 killed 70 killed

[show]

 V

 T

 E

List of battles of Muhammad

fought on Saturday, 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH in ,(غزوة بدر :The Battle of Badr (Arabic the Islamic calendar) in the Hejaz region of western Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia), was a key battle in the early days ofIslam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish [1] in Mecca. The battle has been passed down in Islamic history as a decisive victory attributable to divine intervention, or by secular sources to the strategic genius of Muhammad. It is one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Quran. Most contemporary knowledge of the battle at Badr comes from traditional Islamic accounts, both hadiths andbiographies of Muhammad, recorded in written form some time after the battle.[2] Prior to the battle, the Muslims and the Meccans had fought several smaller skirmishes in late 623 and early 624. Badr, however, was the first large-scale engagement between the two forces. Advancing to a strongdefensive position, Muhammad's well-disciplined force broke the Meccan lines, killing several important Quraishi leaders including the Muslims' chief antagonist Abu Jahl.[3] For the early Muslims the battle was the first sign that they might eventually defeat their enemies among the Meccans. Mecca at that time was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Arabia, fielding an army three times larger than that of the Muslims.[4] The Muslim victory also signaled to the other tribes that a new power had arisen in Arabia and strengthened Muhammad's position as leader of the often fractious community in Medina.[5]

Contents [hide]

 1 Background

 2 Battle

o 2.1 The march to Badr

o 2.2 The Muslim plan

o 2.3 The Meccan plan

o 2.4 The day of battle

 3 Aftermath

o 3.1 Implications

 4 Islamic primary sources

o 4.1 Badr in the Quran

o 4.2 Hadith literature

o 4.3 Biographical literature

 5 Executions

o 5.1 Quran verse about the beheading of al-Nadir ibn al harith

 6 In modern culture

 7 See also

 8 Footnotes  9 References

o 9.1 Books and articles

o 9.2 Online references

 10 External links

Background[edit] Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 CE into the Quraish tribe. In 622, to escape persecution of Muslims by the Meccans, Muhammad and many of his followers migrated from Mecca to the neighboring city of Medina. This migration is called the Hijra.[6] Following the Hijra, tensions between Mecca and Medina escalated and hostilities broke out in 623 when the Muslims began a series of raids on Quraishi caravans in order to put economic pressure on Mecca, since its chiefs were plotting and gaining allies against Medina. Since Medina was located just off Mecca's main trade route, the Muslims were in an ideal position to do this. Even though many Muslims were Quraish themselves, they believed that they were entitled to such raids because the Meccans had expelled them from their property, homes and tribes, a serious offense in hospitality-oriented Arabia.[7] The Meccans obviously took a different view. Their caravans had always been under protection since many tribes saw them as the "Custodians" or "Keepers" of "The House of God"[8] and they saw the Muslim raids as banditry at best, as well as a potential threat to their livelihood and prestige.[9] In late 623 and early 624, the Muslim ghazawāt grew increasingly brazen and commonplace. In September 623, Muhammad himself led a force of 200 in an unsuccessful raid against a large caravan. Shortly thereafter, the Meccans launched their own "raid" against Medina, although its purpose was just to steal some livestock which belonged to the Muslims.[10] In January 624, the Muslims ambushed a Meccan caravan near Nakhlah, only forty kilometers outside of Mecca, killing one of the guards and formally inaugurating a blood feud with the Meccans.[11] Worse, from a Meccan standpoint, the raid occurred in the month of Rajab, a trucemonth sacred to the Meccans in which fighting was prohibited and a clear affront to their pagan traditions.[9]

Battle[edit] A map of the Badr campaign

The march to Badr[edit] Muhammad's forces included Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Hamza, Mus`ab ibn `Umair, Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwam, Ammar ibn Yasir, and Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. The Muslims also brought seventy camels and two horses, meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel.[12] However, many early Muslim sources indicate that no serious fighting was expected,[13] and the future Caliph Uthman stayed behind to care for his sick wife Ruqayyah, the daughter of Muhammad. [14] Salman the Persian also could not join the battle, as he was still not a free man.[15] Many of the Quraishi nobles, including Amr ibn Hishām, Walid ibn Utba, Shaiba, and Umayah ibn Khalaf, joined the Meccan army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Ibn al-Hadrami, the guard killed at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims.[16] Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble, Umayah ibn Khalaf, into joining the expedition. [17] By this time Muhammad's companions were approaching the wells where he planned to either waylay the caravan, or to fight the Meccan army at Badr, along the Syrian trade route where the caravan would be expected to stop or the Meccan army to come for its protection. However, several Muslim scouts were discovered by scouts from the caravan[18] and Abu Sufyan made a hasty turn towards Yanbu.[19] The Muslim plan[edit]

Behold! Allah Promised you one of the two (enemy) parties, that it should be yours: Ye “ wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah Willed to justify the Truth according to His Words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers; ” —Quran: Al-Anfal 8:7

Behold! Allah Promised Me that He would definitely help me. I'm taking an oath by “ Allah's Excellent Name, Here will be the grave of Abu Jahl, and here will lay Utba ibn Rabiah (Prophet mentioned 14 different unbeliever leaders' names and signed they graves before the battle). ”

—Muhammad - Sahih Muslim

When the word reached the Muslim army about the departure of the Meccan army, Muhammad immediately called a council of war, since there was still time to retreat and because many of the fighters there were recent converts (called Ansar or "Helpers" to distinguish them from the Quraishi Muslims), who had only pledged to defend Medina. Under the terms of the Constitution of Medina, they would have been within their rights to refuse to fight and leave the army. However, according to tradition, they pledged to fight as well, with Sa'd ibn Ubadah declaring, "If you [Muhammad] order us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would do so."[20] However, the Muslims still hoped to avoid a pitched battle and continued to march towards Badr. By 11 March both armies were about a day's march from Badr. Several Muslim warriors (including, according to some sources, Ali) who had ridden ahead of the main column captured two Meccan water carriers at the Badr wells. Expecting them to say they were with the caravan, the Muslims were horrified to hear them say they were with the main Quraishi army.[20] Some traditions also say that, upon hearing the names of all the Quraishi nobles accompanying the army, Muhammad exclaimed "Mecca hath thrown unto you the best morsels of her liver."[21] The next day Muhammad ordered a forced march to Badr and arrived before the Meccans. The Badr wells were located on the gentle slope of the eastern side of a valley called "Yalyal". The western side of the valley was hemmed in by a large hill called 'Aqanqal. When the Muslim army arrived from the east, Muhammad initially chose to form his army at the first well he encountered. Hubab ibn al-Mundhir, however, asked him if this choice was divine instruction or Muhammad's own opinion. When Muhammad responded in the latter, Hubab suggested that the Muslims occupy the well closest to the Quraishi army, and block off the other ones. Muhammad accepted this decision and moved right away. The Meccan plan[edit]

[The] Arabs will hear how we marched forth and of our mighty gathering, and they will “ stand in awe of us forever. ”

—Abu Jahl

By contrast, while little is known about the progress of the Quraishi army from the time it left Mecca until its arrival just outside Badr, several things are worth noting: although many Arab armies brought their women and children along on campaigns both to motivate and care for the men, the Meccan army did not. Also, the Quraish apparently made little or no effort to contact the many allies they had scattered throughout the Hijaz.[22] Both facts suggest the Quraish lacked the time to prepare for a proper campaign in their haste to protect the caravan. Besides it is believed since they knew they had outnumbered the Muslims by three to one, they expected an easy victory. When the Quraishi reached Juhfah, just south of Badr, they received a message from Abu Sufyan telling them the caravan was safely behind them, and that they could therefore return to Mecca.[23] At this point, according to Karen Armstrong, a power struggle broke out in the Meccan army. Abu Jahl wanted to continue, but several of the clans present, including Banu Zuhrah and Banu Adi, promptly went home. Armstrong suggests they may have been concerned about the power that Abu Jahl would gain from crushing the Muslims. The Banu Hashim tribe wanted to leave, but was threatened by Abu Jahl to stay.[24] Despite these losses, Abu Jahl was still determined to fight, boasting "We will not go back until we have been to Badr." During this period, Abu Sufyan and several other men from the caravan joined the main army.[25] The day of battle[edit] Further information: List of participants at the Battle of Badr At midnight on 13 March, the Quraish broke camp and marched into the valley of Badr. It had rained the previous day and they struggled to move their horses and camels up the hill of 'Aqanqal. After they descended from 'Aqanqal, the Meccans set up another camp inside the valley. While they rested, they sent out a scout,Umayr ibn Wahb to reconnoitre the Muslim lines. Umayr reported that Muhammad's army was small, and that there were no other Muslim reinforcements which might join the battle.[26] However, he also predicted extremely heavy Quraishi casualties in the event of an attack (One hadith refers to him seeing "the camels of [Medina] laden with certain death").[27] This further demoralized the Quraish, as Arab battles were traditionally low-casualty affairs, and set off another round of bickering among the Quraishi leadership. However, according to Arab traditions Amr ibn Hishām quashed the remaining dissent by appealing to the Quraishi's sense of honor and demanding that they fulfill their blood vengeance.[28]

The death of Abu Jahl, and the casting of the Meccan dead into dry wells

The battle began with champions from both armies emerging to engage in combat. Three of the Ansar emerged from the Muslim ranks, only to be shouted back by the Meccans, who were nervous about starting any unnecessary feuds and only wanted to fight the Quraishi Muslims. So Hamza approached forward and called on Ubayda and Ali to join him. The Muslims dispatched the Meccan champions in a three-on-three melee. Hamza killed his opponent Utba ibn Rabi'ah; Ali killed his opponent Walid ibn Utba; Ubayda was wounded by his opponent Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah, but eventually killed him. So this was a victorious traditional 3 on 3 combat for the Muslims. Now both armies began striking arrows at each other. A few Muslims and an unknown number of Quraish warriors were killed. Before the real attack began, Muhammad had given orders for the Muslims to attack with their ranged weapons, and only engage the Quraish with melee weapons when they advanced.[29] Now he gave the order to charge, throwing a handful of pebbles at the Meccans in what was probably a traditional Arabian gesture while yelling "Defaced be those faces!" [30] [31]The Muslim army yelled "Yā mansūrḥ amit!"[32] "O thou whom God hath made victorious, slay!" and rushed the Quraishi lines. The Meccans, understrength and unenthusiastic about fighting, promptly broke and ran. The battle itself only lasted a few hours and was over by the early afternoon.[30] The Quran describes the force of the Muslim attack in many verses, which refer to thousands of angels descending from Heaven at Badr to terrify the Quraish.[31][33] Muslim sources take this account literally, and there are several hadith where Muhammad discusses the Angel Jibreel and the role he played in the battle.

Aftermath[edit]

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 E Implications[edit] The Battle of Badr was extremely influential in the rise of two men who would determine the course of history on the Arabian peninsula for the next century. The first was Muhammad, who was transformed overnight from a Meccan outcast into a major leader. Marshall Hodgson adds that Badr forced the other Arabs to "regard the Muslims as challengers and potential inheritors to the prestige and the political role of the [Quraish]." Shortly thereafter he expelled the Banu Qaynuqa, one of the Jewish tribes at Medina that had been threatening his political position, and who had assaulted a Muslim woman which led to their expulsion for breaking the peace treaty. At the same time Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, Muhammad's chief opponent in Medina, found his own position seriously weakened. Henceforth, he would only be able to mount limited challenges to Muhammad.[34] The other major beneficiary of the Battle of Badr was Abu Sufyan. The death of Amr ibn Hashim, as well as many other Quraishi nobles[35] gave Abu Sufyan the opportunity, almost by default, to become chief of the Quraish. As a result, when Muhammad marched into Mecca six years later, it was Abu Sufyan who helped negotiate its peaceful surrender. Abu Sufyan subsequently became a high- ranking official in the Muslim Empire, and his son Muawiya would later go on to found the Umayyad Caliphate. In later days having fought at Badr became so significant that Ibn Ishaq included a complete name- by-name roster of the Muslim army in his biography of Muhammad. In many hadiths, veterans who fought at Badr are identified as such as a formality, and they may have even received a stipend in later years.[36] The death of the last of the Badr veterans occurred during the First Islamic civil war.[37] As Paul K. Davis sums up, "Mohammed's victory confirmed his authority as leader of Islam; by impressing local tribes that joined him, the expansion of Islam began."[38]

Islamic primary sources[edit]

The angelic host is sent to assist the Muslims

Badr in the Quran[edit] The Battle of Badr is one of the few battles explicitly discussed in the Quran. It is even mentioned by name as part of a comparison with the Battle of Uhud.

Quran: Al Imran 3:123–125 (Yusuf Ali). "Allah had helped you at Badr, when ye were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus May ye show your gratitude. Remember thou saidst to the Faithful: "Is it not enough for you that Allah should help you with three thousand angels (Specially) sent down? "Yea, – if ye remain firm, and act aright, even if the enemy should rush here on you in hot haste, your Lord would help you with five thousand angels Making a terrific onslaught." According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the term "gratitude" may be a reference to discipline. At Badr, the Muslim forces had allegedly maintained firm discipline, whereas at Uhud they broke ranks to pursue the Meccans, allowing Meccan cavalry to flank and rout their army. The idea of Badr as a furqan, an Islamic miracle, is mentioned again in the same surah.

Quran: Al Imran 3:13 (Yusuf Ali). "There has already been for you a Sign in the two armies that met (in combat): One was fighting in the cause of Allah, the other resisting Allah; these saw with their own eyes Twice their number. But Allah doth support with His aid whom He pleaseth. In this is a warning for such as have eyes to see." Badr is also the subject of Sura 8: Al-Anfal, which details military conduct and operations. "Al-Anfal" means "the spoils" and is a reference to the post-battle discussion in the Muslim army over how to divide up the plunder from the Quraishi army. Though the Sura does not name Badr, it describes the battle, and several of the verses are commonly thought to have been from or shortly after the battle. Hadith literature[edit] This battle is also mentioned in the Sunni Hadith collection Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan Abu Dawud. Sahih al-Bukhari mentions that Uthman did not join the battle:

“ Narrated Ibn 'Umar: 'Uthman did not join the Badr battle because he was married to one of the daughters of Allah's Apostle and she was ill. So, the Prophet said to him. "You will get a reward and a share (from the war booty) similar to the reward and the share of one who has taken part in the Badr battle." Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:53:359

It also mentions the war booty that each fighter who participated in the battle received in Sahih al- Bukhari, 5:59:357. Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:53:369 also mentions how Abu Jahl was killed:

Narrated 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf: While I was standing in the row on the day (of the battle) of Badr, I looked to my right and my left and saw two young Ansari boys, and I wished I had been stronger than they. One of them called my attention saying, "O Uncle! Do you know Abu Jahl?" I said, "Yes, what do you want from him, O my nephew?" He said, "I have been informed that he abuses Allah's Apostle. By Him in Whose Hands my life is, if I should see him, then my body will not leave his body till either of us meet his fate." I was astonished at that talk. Then the other boy called my attention saying the same as the other had said. After a while I saw Abu Jahl walking amongst the people. I said (to the boys), "Look! This is the man you asked me about." So, both of them attacked him with their “ swords and struck him to death and returned to Allah'S Apostle to inform him of that. Allah's Apostle asked, "Which of you has killed him?" Each of them said, "I Have killed him." Allah's Apostle asked, "Have you cleaned your swords?" They said, "No. " He then looked at their swords and said, "No doubt, you both have killed him and the spoils of the deceased will be given to Muadh bin Amr bin Al-Jamuh." The two boys were Muadh bin 'Afra and Muadh bin Amr bin Al-Jamuh. Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:53:369

It is also mentioned in the Sunni hadith collection Sunan Abu Dawood, 14:2716 Biographical literature[edit]

The incident is also mentioned in Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad.[39]

Executions[edit] A painting from Siyer-i Nebi, Ali beheading Nadr ibn al-Harith in the presence of Muhammad and hiscompanions.

After the battle Muhammad decided to return to Medina. While Muhammad was returning to Medina, he reportedly received a revelation regarding the distribution of war booty. This was the Quran verse [Quran 8:41] [40] According to the Muslim Mufassir Ibn Kathir, who wrote in his book Tafsir ibn Kathir, that Muhammad said the following about this verse:

This is also a part of the war booty you earned. Verily, I have no share in it, except my own share, the fifth designated to me. Even that fifth will be given to you (indicating the Prophet's generosity). Therefore, surrender even the needle and the thread, and whatever is bigger or smaller than that (from the war spoils). Do not cheat with any of it, for stealing from the war booty before its distribution is Fire and a shame on its people in this life and the Hereafter. Perform Jihad against the people in Allah's cause, whether they are near or far, and do not fear the blame of the blamers, as long as you are in Allah's cause. Establish Allah's rules while in your area and while traveling. Perform Jihad in Allah's cause, for Jihad is a tremendous door leading to Paradise. Through it, Allah saves (one) from sadness and “ grief [Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 8:41] [41]

According to Muslim scholar Safiur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, two captives – Nadr bin Harith and ‘Uqbah ibn Abū Mu‘ayt ḥwere executed by Ali. Mubarakpuri says that this incident is also mentioned in the Sunan Abu Dawud no 2686 and Anwal Ma'bud 3/12[42] Quran verse about the beheading of al-Nadir ibn al harith[edit] Ibn Kathir also mentions this incident in his book Tafsir ibn Kathir and states the Quran verse [Quran 8:31] was revealed about al-Nadir ibn al Harith. Ibn Kathir's commentary on [Quran 8:31] and [Quran 8:5] is as follows:

An-Nadr visited Persia and learned the stories of some Persian kings, such as Rustum and Isphandiyar. When he went back to Makkah, He found that the Prophet was sent from Allah and reciting the Qur'an to the people. Whenever the Prophet would leave an audience in which An-Nadr was sitting, An-Nadr began narrating to them the stories that he learned in Persia, proclaiming afterwards, "Who, by Allah, has better tales to narrate, I or Muhammad “ (. ..tales of the ancients)[43] [Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 8:31] In modern culture[edit] "Badr" has become popular among Muslim armies and paramilitary organizations. "Operation Badr" was used to describe Egypt's offensive in the 1973 Yom Kippur War as well as Pakistan's actions in the 1999 Kargil War. Iranian offensive operations against Iraq in the late 1980s were also named after Badr.[44] During the 2011 Libyan civil war, the rebel leadership stated that they selected the date of the assault on Tripoli to be the 20th of Ramadan, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Badr.[45] The Battle of Badr was featured in the 1976 film The Message, the 2004 animated movie Muhammad: The Last Prophet, and the 2012 TV series Farouk Omar.

See also[edit]

 Islamic military jurisprudence

 Military career of Muhammad

 Pre-Islamic Arabia

 List of expeditions of Muhammad

Footnotes[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Quraish refers to the tribe in control of Mecca. The plural and adjective are Quraishi. The terms "Quraishi" and "Meccan" are used interchangeably between the Hijra in 622 and the Muslim Conquest of Mecca in 630.

2. Jump up ^ The development of exegesis in early Islam: the authenticity of Muslim ... By Herbert Berg.

3. Jump up ^ The Sealed Nectar, Page 274

4. Jump up ^ Noor Muhammad, Farkhanda. "Islamiat".Fifth Revised Edition,2008,p.61

5. Jump up ^ Dr. Iftikhar ul Haq and Maulvi Jahangir."O' Level Islamiyat [Endorsed by CIE]", Bookland Publishers,2008,p.74

6. Jump up ^ Nigosian, S. A. (2004). Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices. Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 10. ISBN 0-253-21627-3.

7. Jump up ^ Quran: Sura 22:39–40. "To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight),and also in sura 2:190 prmession of jihad is given by Allah because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid; those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is Allah.. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will)."

8. Jump up ^ Dr.Iftikhar ul Haq and Maulvi Jahangir."O'Level Islamiyat[Endorsed by CIE],Bookland Publishers,p.63

9. ^ Jump up to: a b Hodgson, pp.174–175.

10. Jump up ^ Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) at the Wayback Machine

11. Jump up ^ Though the Muslims would claim it had started when they were expelled. 12. Jump up ^ Lings, pp. 138–139

13. Jump up ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 59, Number 287". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

14. Jump up ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 53, Number 359". Usc.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

15. Jump up ^ "Witness-pioneer.org". Witness-pioneer.org. 16 September 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.

16. Jump up ^ Martin Lings, p. 139–140.

17. Jump up ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 59, Number 286". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

18. Jump up ^ Ibn Ishaq says that Abu Sufyan himself rode ahead to reconnoiter the area and discovered the Muslim scouts via the dates left in their camels' droppings

19. Jump up ^ Martin Lings, p. 140

20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sahih Muslim: Book 19, Number 4394". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

21. Jump up ^ Martin Lings, p. 142

22. Jump up ^ Lings, p. 154.

23. Jump up ^ Lings, p. 142.

24. Jump up ^ Armstrong, p. 174

25. Jump up ^ Lings, pp. 142–143.

26. Jump up ^ Lings, pp. 143–144.

27. Jump up ^ Armstrong, pp. 174–175.

28. Jump up ^ Lings, pp. 144–146.

29. Jump up ^ "Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 14, Number 2658". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

30. ^ Jump up to: a b Armstrong, p. 176.

31. ^ Jump up to: a b Lings, p. 148.

32. Jump up ^ "O thou whom God hath made victorious, slay!"

33. Jump up ^ Quran: Al-i-Imran 3:123–125 (Yusuf Ali). "Allah had helped you at Badr, when ye were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus May ye show your gratitude. Remember thou saidst to the Faithful: "Is it not enough for you that Allah should help you with three thousand angels (Specially) sent down? "Yea, – if ye remain firm, and act aright, even if the enemy should rush here on you in hot haste, your Lord would help you with five thousand angels Making a terrific onslaught."

34. Jump up ^ Hodgson, pp. 176–178.

35. Jump up ^ Including the elderly Abu Lahab, who was not at Badr but died within days of the army's return. 36. Jump up ^ "Sahih al-Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 59, Number 357". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.

37. Jump up ^ Sahih Al-Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 59, Number 358.

38. Jump up ^ Paul K. Davis, 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The World's Major Battles and How They Shaped History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 95–96.

39. Jump up ^ Ibn Hisham , Ibn Ishaq, Alfred Guillaume(translator) (1998). The life of Muhammad: a translation of Ish ḥāq's Sīrat rasūl Allāh. Oxford University Press. p. 304.

40. Jump up ^ Husayn Haykal, Muhammad (2008). The Life of Muhammad. Selangor: Islamic Book Trust. p. 250.ISBN 978-983-9154-17-7.

41. Jump up ^ Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman, Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 10 (Part 10): Al-Anfal 41 to At-Tauba 92 2nd Edition, p.20, ISBN 1-86179-700-1, MSA Publication Limited, 2009

42. Jump up ^ Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar (Free Version), p. 129

43. Jump up ^ Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman, The Meaning and Explanation of the Glorious Qur'an (Vol 3) 2nd Edition, p. 412, ISBN 1861797699, MSA Publication Limited, 2009. (online)

44. Jump up ^ Wright, Robin (1989). In the name of God: The Khomeini decade. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 133. ISBN 9780671672355.

45. Jump up ^ Laub, Karin (21 August 2011). "Libyan Rebels Say They Are Closing In on Tripoli". Associated Press(via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Retrieved 21 August 2011.

References[edit] Books and articles[edit]

 Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1987). The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary. Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an; Reissue edition. ISBN 0-940368-32-3.

 Armstrong, Karen (1992). Muhmmad: Biography of the Prophet. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06- 250886-5.

 Crone, Patricia (1987). Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. Blackwell.

 Hodgson, Marshall (1974). The Venture of Islam: The Classical Age of Islam. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-34683-8.

 Lings, Martin (1983). Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. Inner Traditions International. ISBN 0-89281-170-6.

 Mubarakpuri, Safi-ul-Rahḥmān (2002). Ar-Raheeq Al Makhtum: The Sealed Nectar. Darussalam. ISBN 9960-899-55-1.

 Nicolle, David (1993). Armies of the Muslim Conquest. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532- 279-X.

 Ramadan, Tariq (2007). In the Footsteps of the Prophet. United States of America: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-530880-8.  Watt, W. Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press. Online references[edit]

 "Translation of Malik's Muwatta.". USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved September 2010.

 "Translation of Sahih Muslim.". USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved September 2010.

 "Translation of Sahih al-Bukhari.". USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved September 2010.

 "Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud.". USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved September 2010.

Islamic military jurisprudence From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Rules of war in Islam)

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Islamic jurisprudence ( fiqh )

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 V

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 E Islamic military jurisprudence refers to what has been accepted in Sharia (Islamic law) and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) by Ulama (Islamic scholars) as the correct Islamic manner which is expected to be obeyed by Muslimsin times of war.

Contents [hide]

 1 Development of rulings

 2 Ethics of warfare

 3 Criteria for soldiering

 4 Legitimacy of war

o 4.1 Defensive conflict

o 4.2 Offensive conflict

 5 International conflict

o 5.1 Declaration of war

o 5.2 Conduct of armed forces

. 5.2.1 Civilian areas

o 5.3 Negotiations

o 5.4 Ceasefire o 5.5 Prisoners of War

 6 Internal conflict

 7 See also

 8 Notes

 9 References

 10 Further reading

 11 External links

Development of rulings[edit] See also: Jihad, List of battles of Muhammad and Muhammad as a diplomat The first military rulings were formulated during the first century after Muhammad established an Islamic state in Medina. These rulings evolved in accordance with the interpretations of the Qur'an (the Muslim Holy scriptures) and Hadith (the recorded traditions of Muhammad). The key themes in these rulings were the justnessof war, and the injunction to jihad. The rulings do not cover feuds and armed conflicts in general.[1] Jihad (Arabic for "struggle") was given a military dimension after the oppressive practices of the Meccan Quraish against Muslims. It was interpreted as the struggle in God's cause to be conducted by the Muslim community. Injunctions relating to jihad have been characterized as individual as well as collective duties of theMuslim community. Hence, the nature of attack is important in the interpretation—if the Muslim community as a whole is attacked jihad becomes incumbent on all Muslims. Jihad is differentiated further in respect to the requirements within Muslim- governed lands (Dar al-Islam) and non-Muslim lands (Dar al-Harb).[1] According to Shaheen Sardar Ali and Javaid Rehman, both professors of law, the Islamic military jurisprudence are in line with rules of modern international law. They point to the dual commitment of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states (representing most of the Muslim world) to Islamic law and the United Nations Charter, as evidence of compatibility of both legal systems.[2]

Ethics of warfare[edit] See also: Islamic ethics The basic principle in fighting in the Qur'an is that other communities should be treated as one's own. Fighting is justified for legitimate self-defense, to aid other Muslims and after a violation in the terms of a treaty, but should be stopped if these circumstances cease to exist.[3][4][5][6] The principle of forgiveness is reiterated in between the assertions of the right to self-defense.[3] During his life, Muhammad gave various injunctions to his forces and adopted practices toward the conduct of war. The most important of these were summarized by Muhammad's companion and first Caliph, Abu Bakr, in the form of ten rules for the Muslim army:[7]

“ O people! I charge you with ten rules; learn them well! Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone. According to Tabari, the ten bits of "advice" that Abu Bakr gave was during the Expedition of Usama bin Zayd.[8] Imam Shaffi (founder of the Shaffi school of thought) reportedly did not consider the tradition, about the 10 rules of Abu Bakr as authentic.[9] Abu Yusuf also countered the tradition about the instructions of Abu Bakr with hadith which claimed Abu Bakr ordered his commanders to lay waste to every village where he did not hear the call to prayer.[10] During the Battle of Siffin, the Caliph Ali stated that Islam does not permit Muslims to stop the supply of water to their enemy.[11] In addition to the Rashidun Caliphs, hadiths attributed to Muhammad himself suggest that he stated the following regarding the Muslim conquest of Egypt that eventually took place after his death:[12]

“ You are going to enter Egypt a land where qirat (money unit) is used. Be extremely good to them as they have with us close ties and marriage relationships. When you enter Egypt after my death, recruit many soldiers from among the

These principles were upheld by 'Amr ibn al-'As during his conquest of Egypt. A Christian contemporary in the 7th century, John of Nikiû, stated the following regarding the conquest of Alexandria by 'Amr:

On the twentieth of Maskaram, Theodore and all his troops and officers set out and proceeded to the island of “ subjugation of Egypt by the Moslem. And 'Amr became stronger every day in every field of his activity. And he exacted the taxes which had been determined upon, but he took none of the property of the Churches, and he committed no act of spoliation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days.

The principles established by the early Caliphs were also honoured during the Crusades, as exemplified by Sultans such as Saladin and Al-Kamil. For example, after Al-Kamil defeated the Franks during the Crusades, Oliverus Scholasticus praised the Islamic laws of war, commenting on how Al-Kamil supplied the defeated Frankish army with food:[14]

“ Who could doubt that such goodness, friendship and charity come from God? Men whose parents, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, had died in agony at our hands, whose lands we took, whom we drove naked from their homes, revived us with their own food when we were dying of hunger and showered us with kindness even when we were in their power.

The early Islamic treatises on international law from the 9th century onwards covered the application of Islamic ethics, Islamic economic jurisprudence and Islamic military jurisprudence to international law,[16] and were concerned with a number of modern international law topics, including the law of treaties; the treatment ofdiplomats, hostages, refugees and prisoners of war; the right of asylum; conduct on the battlefield; protection of women, children and non- combatant civilians;contracts across the lines of battle; the use of poisonous weapons; and devastation of enemy territory.[14]

Criteria for soldiering[edit] Muslim jurists agree that Muslim armed forces must consist of debt-free adults who possess a sound mind and body. In addition, the combatants must not beconscripted, but rather enlist of their free will, and with the permission of their family.[17] Traditionally, "adults" have been defined as post-pubescent individuals above the age of 15.

Legitimacy of war[edit] See also: Defensive jihad and Offensive jihad Muslims have struggled to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate wars. Fighting in self- defense is not only legitimate but considered obligatory upon Muslims, according to the Qur'an. The Qur'an, however, says that should the enemy's hostile behavior cease, then the reason for engaging the enemy also lapses.[18] Some scholars argue that war may only be legitimate if Muslims have at least half the power of the enemy (and thus capable of winning it). Other Islamic scholarsconsider this command only for a particular time.[19] Defensive conflict[edit] The Hanafi school of thought holds that war can only be launched against a state that had resorted to armed conflict against the Muslims. War, according to the Hanafis, can't simply be made on the account of a nation's religion.[18] Sheikh Abdullah Azzam considers the defense by Muslims of their territory as one of the foremost obligations after faith.[20] Abdulaziz Sachedina argues that the original jihad according to his version of Shi'ism was permission to fight back against those who broke their pledges. Thus the Qur'an justified defensive jihad by allowing Muslims to fight back against hostile and dangerous forces.[21] Offensive conflict[edit]

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List of battles of Muhammad

Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (d. 820), founder of the Shafi'i school of thought, was the first to permit offensive jihad. He limited this warfare against pagan Arabs only, not permitting it against non- Arab non-Muslims.[18] Javed Ahmad Ghamidi believes that after Muhammad and his companions, there is no concept in Islam obliging Muslims to wage war for propagation or implementation of Islam. The only valid basis for military jihad is to end oppression when all other measures have failed. Islam only allows jihad to be conducted by a government.[22][23][24] According to Abdulaziz Sachedina, offensive jihad raises questions about whether jihad is justifiable on moral grounds. He states that the Qur'an requires Muslims to establish just public order, increasing the influence of Islam, allowing public Islamic worship, through offensive measures. To this end, the Qur'anic verses revealed required Muslims to wage jihad against unbelievers who persecuted them. This has been complicated by the early Muslim wars of expansion, which he argues were although considered jihad by Sunni scholars, but under close scrutiny can be determined to be political. Moreover, the offensive jihad points more to the complex relationship with the "People of the book".[21]

International conflict[edit] International conflicts are armed strifes conducted by one state against another, and are distinguished from civil wars or armed strife within a state.[25] Some classical Islamic scholars, like the Shafi'i, classified territories into broad categories: dar al-islam ("abode of Islam"), dar al- harb ("abode of war), dar al-ahd ("abode of treaty"), and dar al-sulh ("abode of reconciliation"). Such categorizations of states, according to Asma Afsaruddin, are not mentioned in the Qur'an and Islamic tradition.[18] Declaration of war[edit] The Qur'an commands Muslims to make a proper declaration of war prior to the commencement of military operations. Thus, surprise attacks are illegal under the Islamic jurisprudence. The Qur'an had similarly commanded Muhammad to give his enemies, who had violated the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, a time period of four months to reconsider their position and negotiate.[26] This rule, however, is not binding if the adversary has already started the war.[27] Forcible prevention of religious practice is considered an act of war.[28] Conduct of armed forces[edit] During battle the Qur'an commands Muslims to fight against the enemy. However, there are exceptions to such combat. Torturing the enemy, and burning the combatants alive is strictly prohibited.[29] The mutilation of dead bodies is also prohibited.[30] The Qur'an also discourages Muslim combatants from displaying pomp and unnecessary boasting when setting out for battle.[31] According to professor Sayyid Dāmād, no explicit injunctions against use of chemical or biological warfare were developed by medieval Islamic jurists as these threats were not existent then. However, Khalil al-Maliki's Book on jihad states that combatants are forbidden to employ weapons that cause unnecessary injury to the enemy, except under dire circumstances. The book, as an example, forbids the use of poisonous spears, since it inflicts unnecessary pain.[32]

Civilian areas[edit] According to all Muslim scholars it is not permissible to kill women or children unless they are fighting against the Muslims. According to the Hanafi, Hanbali , Maliki , and Shafi'i schools it is not permissible to kill old men, monks, peasants, employees and traders (this meaning male non- combatants).

Harming civilian areas and pillaging residential areas is also forbidden,[33] as is the destruction of trees, crops, livestock and farmlands.[29][34] The Muslim forces may not loot travelers, as doing so is contrary to the spirit of jihad.[35] Nor do they have the right to use the local facilities of the native people without their consent. If such a consent is obtained, the Muslim army is still under the obligation to compensate the people financially for the use of such facilities. However, Islamic law allows the confiscation of military equipment and supplies captured from the camps and military headquarters of the combatant armies.[33][36] Negotiations[edit] Commentators of the Qur'an agree that Muslims should always be willing and ready to negotiate peace with the other party without any hesitation. According toMaududi, Islam does not permit Muslims to reject peace and continue bloodshed.[37] Islamic jurisprudence calls for third party interventions as another means of ending conflicts. Such interventions are to establish mediation between the two parties to achieve a just resolution of the dispute.[38] Ceasefire[edit] In the context of seventh century Arabia, the Qur'an ordained Muslims must restrain themselves from fighting in the months when fighting was prohibited by Arabpagans. The Qur'an also required the respect of this cease-fire, prohibiting its violation.[27] If, however, non-Muslims commit acts of aggression, Muslims are free to retaliate, though in a manner that is equal to the original transgression.[39] The "sword verse", which has attracted attention, is directed against a particular group who violate the terms of peace and commit aggression (but excepts those who observe the treaty). Crone states that this verse seems to be based on the same above-mentioned rules. Here also it is stressed that one must stop when they do.[3][5] Ibn Kathir states that the verse implies a hasty mission of besieging and gathering intelligence about the enemy, resulting in either death or repentance by the enemy.[40] It is read as a continuation of previous verses, it would be concerned with the same oath-breaking of "polytheists".[3] Prisoners of War[edit] Main article: Prisoners of war in Islam See also: Islamic views on slavery Men, women, and children may all be taken as prisoners of war under traditional interpretations of Islamic law. Generally, a prisoner of war could be, at the discretion of the military leader, freed, ransomed, exchanged for Muslim prisoners,[41][42] or kept as slaves. In earlier times, the ransom sometimes took an educational dimension, where a literate prisoner of war could secure his or her freedom by teaching ten Muslims to read and write.[43] Some Muslim scholars hold that a prisoner may not be ransomed for gold or silver, but may be exchanged for Muslim prisoners.[44] Women and children prisoners of war cannot be killed under any circumstances, regardless of their religious convictions,[45] but they may be freed or ransomed. Women who are neither freed nor ransomed by their people were to be kept in bondage and referred to as malakah,dispute however exist among scholars on its interpretation. Islamic law does not put an exact limit on the number that can be kept in bondage.

Internal conflict[edit] Internal conflicts include "civil wars", launched against rebels, and "wars for welfare" launched against bandits.[25] During their first civil war, Muslims fought at the Battle of Bassorah. In this engagement, Ali (the caliph), set the precedent for war against other Muslims, which most later Muslims have accepted. According to Ali's rules, wounded or captured enemies should not be killed, those throwing away their arms should not be fought, and those fleeing from the battleground should not be pursued. Only captured weapons and animals (horses and camels which have been used in the war) are to be considered war booty. No war prisoners, women or children are to be enslaved and the property of the slain enemies are to go their legal Muslim heirs.[46] Different views regarding armed rebellion have prevailed in the Muslim world at different times. During the first three centuries of Muslim history, jurists held that a political rebel may not be executed nor his/her property confiscated.[47] Classical jurists, however, laid down severe penalties for rebels who use "stealth attacks" and "spread terror". In this category, Muslim jurists included abductions, poisoning of water wells, arson, attacks against wayfarers and travellers, assaults under the cover of night and rape. The punishment for such crimes were severe, including death, regardless of the political convictions and religion of the perpetrator. Further, rebels who committed acts of terrorism were granted no quarter.[47]

See also[edit]

 Islam and war

 Geneva Conventions

 Hague conventions  Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)

 Itmaam-i-hujjat

 Laws of war

 Opinion of Islamic scholars on Jihad

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to: a b Aboul-Enein and Zuhur (2004), p. 3-4

2. Jump up ^ Ali, Shaheen Sardar; Rehman, Javaid. (Winter, 2005) "The Concept of Jihad in Islamic International Law". Journal of Conflict & Security Law. 10 (3) pp. 321–43.

3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Patricia Crone, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, War article, p.456. Brill Publishers

4. Jump up ^ Micheline R. Ishay, The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era, University of California Press, p.45

5. ^ Jump up to: a b Sohail H. Hashmi, David Miller, Boundaries and Justice: diverse ethical perspectives, Princeton University Press, p.197

6. Jump up ^ Douglas M. Johnston, Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik, Oxford University Press, p.48

7. ^ Jump up to: a b Aboul-Enein, H. Yousuf and Zuhur, Sherifa, Islamic Rulings on Warfare, p. 22, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, Diane Publishing Co., Darby PA, ISBN 1-4289-1039-5

8. Jump up ^ Tabari, Al (1993). The conquest of Arabia. State University of New York Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0- 7914-1071-4

9. Jump up ^ Tasseron, Ella Landau. "Non-combatants in Muslim Legal Thought" (PDF).Hudson Institute. p. 6. Retrieved 3 July 2011. Regarding monks, two contradictory opinions are attributed to ShÁfi‘Ð. On one occasion, he accepts the tradition attributed to AbÙ Bakr prohibiting the killing of monks. Their lives are forfeit only if they actively fight against Muslims; but if they assist the enemy in other ways, they are to be punished but not executed. Elsewhere in the same book, ShÁfi‘Ð states that all infidel men without exception must convert to Islam or be killed; all men of the protected religions (ahl al-kitÁb) must pay jizya or be killed. He emphasizes that this rule applies to monks as well and denies the authenticity of the tradition attributed to AbÙ Bakr, which he himself had accepted on another occasion. Alternatively, he explains that even if the tradition from AbÙ Bakr is authentic, this does not mean that monks may not be killed. AbÙ Bakr’s intention, according to ShÁfi‘Ð, was that monasteries be left aside temporarily in order to concentrate on more important military targets first. ShÁfi‘Ð thus concludes that monks are not included in the lists of “non- combatants,” and they most definitely may be fought and killed. An archive of the page is available here

10. Jump up ^ Joseph Schacht (1959). Origins of Muhammadan jurisprudence. Clarendon Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-59740-474-7. Abu Bakr instructed one of his commanders to lay waste every village where he did not hear the call to prayer.

11. Jump up ^ Encyclopaedia of Islam (2005), p.204

12. Jump up ^ El Daly, Okasha (2004). Egyptology: The Missing Millennium : Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 1-84472-063-2.

13. Jump up ^ John of Nikiû (7th century). "CXX.72-CXXI.3". Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-03-31.Check date values in: |date= (help)

14. ^ Jump up to: a b Judge Weeramantry, Christopher G. (1997). Justice Without Frontiers. Brill Publishers. p. 136. ISBN 90-411-0241-8. 15. Jump up ^ Judge Weeramantry, Christopher G. (1997). Justice Without Frontiers. Brill Publishers. pp. 136– 7. ISBN 90-411-0241-8.

16. Jump up ^ Kelsay, J. (March 2003). "Al-Shaybani and the Islamic Law of War". Journal of Military Ethics (Routledge) 2 (1): 63–75. doi:10.1080/15027570310000027.

17. Jump up ^ Aboul-Enein and Zuhur, p. 12-13

18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Afsaruddin, Asma (2007). Views of Jihad Throughout History. Religion Compass 1 (1), 165– 169.

19. Jump up ^ Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, Tafhim al-Qur'an.[1]

20. Jump up ^ Azzam, Abdullah. "DEFENCE OF THE MUSLIM LANDS".

21. ^ Jump up to: a b Sachedina, Abdulaziz (1988). The Just Ruler In Shi'ite Islam. Oxford University Press US. p. 106. ISBN 0-19-511915-0.

22. Jump up ^ Sahih Bukhari, 2957, A Muslim ruler is the shield [of his people]. An armed struggle can only be carried out under him and people should seek his shelter [in war].

23. Jump up ^ Ghamidi, Mizan.

24. Jump up ^ Misplaced Directives, Renaissance, Al-Mawrid Institute, Vol. 12, No. 3, March 2002.[2]

25. ^ Jump up to: a b Dāmād (2003), p.261

26. Jump up ^ Maududi (1967), p. 177, vol. 2

27. ^ Jump up to: a b Maududi (1998), p. 36

28. Jump up ^ Mohammad, Noor (1985). "The Doctrine of Jihad: An Introduction". Journal of Law and Religion (St. Paul: Journal of Law and Religion, Inc.) 3 (2): 387.doi:10.2307/1051182.

29. ^ Jump up to: a b Ali ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, Vol.3, p.227

30. Jump up ^ Ghamid (2001), referring to Sahih Bukhari 3016, and Sahih Bukhari 2613

31. Jump up ^ Ghamidi (2001), referring to Quran 8:47

32. Jump up ^ Dāmād(2003), p. 266

33. ^ Jump up to: a b Maududi (1998), p. 35

34. Jump up ^ Ali (1991), p. 79, quoting Quran 2:190

35. Jump up ^ Ghamidi (2006), refers to Sahih Bukhari 2629

36. Jump up ^ Ghamidi (2001), refers to a hadith "plundered [food] is not better than dead meat [forbidden in Islam]" Sahih Bukhari 2705

37. Jump up ^ Maududi (1967), p. 151-4, vol.2

38. Jump up ^ Abu-Nimer(2000-2001), p. 246.

39. Jump up ^ Ali (1991), p. 81 40. Jump up ^ This is the Ayah of the Sword by Ibn Kathir

41. Jump up ^ Tafsir of the Qur'an by Ibn Kathir [3]

42. Jump up ^ Brunschvig. 'Abd; Encyclopedia of Islam

43. Jump up ^ Ibrahim Syed, Education of Muslims in Kentucky Prisons. Louisville: Islamic Research Foundation International

44. Jump up ^ 'Abu Yusuf Ya'qub Le Livre de l'impot foncier,' translated from Arabic and annotated by Edmond Fagnan, Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1991, pages 301-302. Abu Yusuf (d. 798 CE)

45. Jump up ^ Patricia Crone (2004), pp. 371-72

46. Jump up ^ Madelung (1997), p.179

47. ^ Jump up to: a b Abou El Fadl, Khaled. [Commentary: Terrorism Is at Odds With Islamic Tradition]. Muslim Lawyers

References[edit]

 Aboul-Enein, H. Yousuf; Zuhur, Sherifa, "Islamic Rulings on Warfare", Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, Diane Publishing Co., Darby PA, ISBN 1-4289-1039-5

 Abu-Nimer, Mohammed (2000–2001). "A Framework for Nonviolence and Peacebuilding in Islam". Journal of Law and Religion 15 (1/2). Retrieved on 2007-08-05.

 Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1991). The Holy Quran. Medina: King Fahd Holy Qur-an Printing Complex.

 Dāmād, Sayyid Mustafa Muhaqqiq et al. (2003). Islamic views on Human Rights. Tehran: Center for Cultural-International Studies.

 Crone, Patricia (2004). God's Rule: Government and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press.

 Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Mizan (2001). The Islamic Law of Jihad, Dar ul- Ishraq. OCLC 52901690

 Nicola Melis, Trattato sulla guerra. Il Kitāb al-ğihād di Molla Hüsrev, Aipsa, Cagliari 2002.

 Madelung, Wilferd (1997). The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64696-0.

 Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala (1967). The Meaning of the Quran. Lahore: Islamic publications.

 Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala (1998). Human Rights in Islam. Islamabad: Da'wah Academy.

 M. Mukarram Ahmed, Muzaffar Husain Syed, ed. (2005). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. ISBN 81-261-2339-7.  Islam Question and Answer, "[4]", Ruling on having intercourse with a slave woman when one has a wife

 Islam Question and Answer, "[5]", Husband forcing his wife to have intercourse

Further reading[edit]

 Khadduri, Majid (1955). War and Peace in the Law of Islam. Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 1- 58477-695-1.

 Hashmi, ed., Sohail H. (2002). Islamic Political Ethics: Civil Society, Pluralism, and Conflict. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11310-6.

 Malik, S. K. (1986). The Quranic Concept of War (PDF). Himalayan Books. ISBN 81-7002- 020-4.

 Swarup, Ram (1982). Understanding Islam through Hadis. Voice of Dharma. ISBN 0-682- 49948-X.

 Trifkovic, Serge (2006). Defeating Jihad. Regina Orthodox Press, USA. ISBN 1-928653-26- X.

 Phillips, Melanie (2006). Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within. Encounter books. ISBN 1-59403-144-4.

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Islamic military jurisprudence

 Islamic Texts on the rules of war

 The Qur'an and War: Observations on Islamic Just War

 Defending The Transgressed By Censuring The Reckless Against The Killing Of Civilians

 Islam Q&A: Treatment of prisoners-of-war in Islam

 Islamtoday.net: Islamic Law and Prisoners of War

 Directives of Islam Regarding Jihad

 The Rules of War According to Islam - hWeb.org.uk  Does the Quran Really Sanction Violence Against 'Unbelievers'? by Shaikh Kabir Helminski, The Huffington Post

 Jihad and the Islamic Law of War

Jihad in Hadith From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Hadith are narrations originating from the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by thetraditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for understanding the Qur'an and in matters of jurisprudence. Jihadis an Islamic term which is a religious duty of Muslims. As in other matters of Islam, there are many Hadith explaining the concept of Jihad.

Sahih al-Bukhari[edit] Sahih al-Bukhari is one of the six canonical Hadith collections of Sunni Islam. Sunni Muslims regard it as being the most authentic of the six, and is considered to be the most authentic book after Qur- an.[1] Sahih al-Bukhari contains a chapter "Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihad)".[2] According to a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari, participating in Jihad is the third best deed for man, after offering prayers at their stated times and being dutiful to one's parents[3] whereas another Hadith in the same collection has Jihad as the second best deed, after belief in Allah and Muhammad.[4] In another Hadith in Bukhari, it is said that there is no migration after the Conquest of Mecca, but Jihad and good intention remain; and if one is called by the Muslim ruler for fighting, one should go forth immediately.[5] Jihad for women is different from that of men. In 4:42:42, Muhammad is reported to have said that the best Jihad for women is Hajj.[6] Another Hadith (4:52:44) says that no deed equals Jihad in reward, and that the Mujahid is rewarded even for the footsteps of his horse while it wanders about.[7]

See also[edit]

 Sahih al-Bukhari  Muhammad

 Historicity of Muhammad

References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salah, pg. 160-9 Dar al-Ma’aarif edition

2. Jump up ^ Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 52: Fighting for the Cause of Allah (Jihaad)

3. Jump up ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:41

4. Jump up ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:2:25

5. Jump up ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:42

6. Jump up ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:42:43

7. Jump up ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:44

Francis Edward Peters From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from F.E. Peters)

Francis Edward Peters (born June 23, 1927, New York City),[1] who generally publishes as F.E. Peters, is Professor Emeritus of History, Religion and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University (NYU). Peters was born in New York City and graduated from Regis High School in Manhattan in 1945. He entered the Jesuits that summer and spent four years at their novitiate at St. Andrew on Hudson in Hyde Park, N.Y. He then studied at St. Louis University for three years, earning his B.A. in 1950 and his M.A. in Latin and Greek in 1952, as well as a licentiate in philosophy awarded by a Pontifical Institute in Rome. He taught for two years from 1952 to 1954 at Canisius High School in Buffalo, N.Y., and was released from his Jesuit vows in 1954.[2] He earned a degree in Russian language studies from Fordham University in 1956 and complete his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at Princeton University in 1961. He taught at NYU from 1961 to 2008. Trained in both Islamic studies and in classical Greek and Roman studies, he considers himself a scholar of religion, particularly the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At NYU he has served as chairperson of both the Classics and the Middle Eastern Studies departments. He has been a visiting professor at a number of other institutions, including several in the Middle East as well as the General Theological Seminary in New York City.

He has participated in curating exhibitions at the College of the Holy Cross,[3] The British Library, and the New York Public Library.

Contents [hide]

 1 Selected works

 2 See also

 3 References

 4 External links

Selected works[edit] Author

 Greek Philosophical Terms: A Historical Lexicon, New York University Press (1967)

 Aristotle and the Arabs: The Aristotelian Tradition in Islam, New York University Press (1968)

 Aristoteles Arabus. The Oriental Translations and Commentaries of the Aristotelian Corpus, E. J. Brill, Leiden (1968)

 Harvest of Hellenism: A History of the Near East from Alexander the Great to the Triumph of Christianity, Simon and Schuster, New York, ISBN 0-671-20658-3(1971)

 Allah's Commonwealth: A History of Islam in the Near East, 600–1100 A.D., Simon and Schuster, New York, ISBN 0-671-21564-7 (1973)

 Jerusalem: Holy City/Holy Places, New York University, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York (1983)

 Jerusalem: The Holy City in the Eyes of Chroniclers, Visitors, Pilgrims, and Prophets from the Days of Abraham to the Beginnings of Modern Times, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0- 691-07300-7 (1985)

 Distant Shrine: The Islamic Centuries in Jerusalem, AMS Press, New York, ISBN 0-404- 61629-1 (1993)

 Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-02120-1 (1994)

 Jerusalem and Mecca: The Typology of the Holy City in the Near East, New York University Press, ISBN 0-8147-6598-X (1986)  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The Classical Texts and Their Interpretation, Princeton University Press

 Volume I: From Covenant to Community, ISBN 0-691-02044-2 (1990)

 Volume II: The Word and the Law and the People of God, ISBN 0-691-02054- X (1990)

 Volume III: The Works of the Spirit, ISBN 0-691-02055-8 (1990)

 "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad", in International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3. (August 1991), pp. 291-315

 Muhammad and the Origins of Islam, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914- 1875-8 (1994)

 Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691- 03267-X (1994)

 The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Princeton University Press

 Volume I: The Peoples of God, ISBN 0-691-11460-9 (1994)

 Volume II: The Words and Will of God, ISBN 0-691-11461-7 (1994)

 Judaism, Christianity and Islam: the Monotheists, Recorded Books, Prince Frederick, MD, ISBN 1-4025-3900-2 (2003)

 Islam, A Guide for Jews and Christians, (2003)

 Jerusalem: The Contested City, Recorded Books, Prince Frederick, MD, ISBN 1-4025-3909- 6 (2003)

 Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, with a foreword by John L. Esposito, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-07267-1 (2004)

 The Voice, the Word, The Books. The Sacred Scriptures of the Jews, Christians and Muslims, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-13112-0 (2007)

 Jesus and Muhammad. Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 978-0-19-974746-7 (2010) Autobiography

 Ours, The Making and Unmaking of a Jesuit, Penguin Books, New York, N.Y., ISBN 0-14- 006317-X (1982) Editor  Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam, Aldershot, Brookfield, Vt., ISBN 0-86078-702-8 (1999)

 Reader on Classical Islam, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-03394-3 (1994)

See also[edit]

 Islamic scholars

 Jack Miles

References[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Directory, Foreign Area Fellows, 1952-1972 (Foreign Area Fellowship Program, 1973), p. 141.

2. Jump up ^ Peters, F.E. (1981). Ours: The Making and Unmaking of a Jesuit. NY: Richard Marek Publishers. pp. 15, 29, 161–3, 190, 192, 211, 214. ISBN 0-399-90113-2.

3. Jump up ^ "Pilgrimage and Faith: Buddhism, Christianity and Islam". Cantor Art Gallery. College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved December 2, 2014.