G ABR L the traditional way of fighting—as hat Muhammad succeeded individuals and clans—with a new as a prophet is undeniable; a I command structure. He also relates E T prominent military historian now Muhammad’s masterful use of suggests that he might not have done so nonmilitary methods—bribery, alliance had he not also been a great soldier. building, and political assassination—to Best known as the founder of a major strengthen his long-term position, even religion, Muhammad was also a military at the expense of short-term military ISLA leader—Islam’s first great general. While considerations. MUHA there have been numerous accounts of Muhammad’s transformation of Arab Muhammad the Prophet, this is the first “To think of Muhammad as a military man will come as something of a new warfare enabled his successors to defeat M military biography of the man. experience to many. And yet Muhammad was truly a great general. He was the armies of Persia and Byzantium and ’ S F In Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General, establish the core of the Islamic empire— a military theorist, organizational reformer, strategic thinker, operational-level MUHA mm AD Richard A. Gabriel shows us a type of an accomplishment that, Gabriel argues, combat commander, political and military leader, heroic soldier, revolutionary, and I RST GREAT GENERAL warrior never before seen in antiquity—a would have been militarily impossible inventor of the theory of insurgency. It was Muhammad who forged the military leader of an all-new religious movement without Muhammad’s innovations. instrument of the Arab conquests that began within two years of his death by who in a single decade fought eight Richard A. Gabriel challenges existing major battles, led eighteen raids, and scholarship on Muhammad’s place bringing into being a completely new kind of army not seen before in Arabia.” mm planned thirty-eight other military in history and offers a viewpoint not FROM THE INTRODUCT I ON ISLA M ’ S F I R S T operations. Offering more detailed previously attempted. descriptions of battles than those found Volume 11 in the Campaigns and in other accounts, Gabriel’s study Commanders series. GREAT GENERAL portrays Muhammad as a revolutionary AD who introduced military innovations riChard a. gabriel is a military that transformed armies and warfare historian and Distinguished Adjunct throughout the Arab world. Professor in the Department of History and War Studies at the Royal Military Gabriel analyzes the social, economic, College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. and cultural environment in which He is a retired U.S. Army officer and the Muhammad lived and the religion he author of forty books. inspired as they relate to his military achievements. Gabriel explains how Jacket design by Tony Roberts Muhammad changed the social Ri C H A R D A . G A B R I EL composition of Arab armies by replacing (continued on back flap) Muhammad CAMPAIGNS AND COMMANDERS General Editor Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Advisory Board Lawrence E. Babits, East Carolina University, Greenville James C. Bradford, Texas A & M University, College Station Robert M. Epstein, U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas David M. Glantz, Carlisle, Pennsylvania Jerome A. Greene, National Park Service Victor Davis Hanson, California State University, Fresno Herman Hattaway, University of Missouri, Kansas City Eugenia C. Kiesling, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York Timothy K. Nenninger, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington Muhammad Islam’s First Great General Richard A. Gabriel University of Oklahoma Press : Norman Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gabriel, Richard A. Muhammad : Islam’s first great general / Richard A. Gabriel. p. cm. — (Campaigns and commanders ; v. 11) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN–13: 978-0-8061-3860-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632—Military leadership. I. Title. II. Series. BP77.7.G34 2007 297.6'3—dc22 2007000690 Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General is Volume 11 in the Campaigns and Commanders series. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞ Copyright © 2007 by Richard A. Gabriel. Published by the University of Okla- homa Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 For pretty Susan, the one who sees the dream and whom I love beyond all measure and In memoriam Professor John Daniel Windhausen (1932–2006) “Here is your servant John . Take him, Lord. But never take him lightly.” All well-armed prophets have conquered and the unarmed failed. Machiavelli, The Prince The number of combatants in Muhammad’s battles never exceeded a few thousand, but in importance they rank among the world’s most decisive battles. Alfred Guillaume, Islam No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men. Carlyle, On Heroes Contents List of Maps xi Important Dates xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii 1. The Land of Arabia 3 2. The Strategic Setting 11 3. Arab Warfare 23 4. Muhammad 53 5. Insurgency 67 6. Battle of Badr 86 7. Battle of Uhud 108 8. Battle of the Ditch 131 9. Battles of Kheibar and Mu’ta 152 10. Conquest of Mecca 166 11. Battle of Hunayn 178 12. The Tabuk Expedition and the Death of Muhammad 191 13. Muhammad’s Military Legacy 205 Notes 221 Bibliography 241 Index 245 ix Maps 1. Important Places in Muhammad’s Arabia 2 2. Arabia: The Land 4 3. Strategic Setting during Muhammad’s Life, 570–632 c.e. 16 4. Arab Conquests after Muhammad’s Death, 632–652 c.e. 20 5. Muhammad’s Raids, 623 c.e. 78 6. Battle of Badr, 624 c.e. 94 7. Battle of Uhud, 625 c.e. 112 8. The Battlefield of Uhud 116 9. Battle of the Ditch, 627 c.e. 134 10. The Conquest of Mecca, 630 c.e. 174 11. Battle of Wadi Hunayn, 630 c.e. 183 12. Military Campaigns of the Riddah, 632–633 c.e. 209 xi Important Dates 570 Birth of Muhammad 610 First Revelation 613 Muhammad’s Ministry Begins 621 First Pledge of Aqaba 622 Second Pledge of Aqaba June 622 Muhammad Arrives in Medina January 623 First Muslim Raids against Meccan Caravans February 623 Raid near Rabigh June 623 Beni Dhamra Raid June–October 623 Other Muslim Raids October 623 First Break with Jewish Tribes November 623 Nakhla Raid March 15, 624 Battle of Badr April 624 Attack on Beni Qaynuqa Jewish Tribe April 624 Abu Sufyan’s “Porridge Raid” June 624 Raid of Dhu Amr August 624 Bahran Raid September 624 Capture of Meccan Caravan at Qarda March 625 Battle of Uhud May 625 Incident at al-Raji June 625 Massacre of Muslims at Bir Maoona xiii xiv IMPORTANT DATES August–September 625 Siege and Exile of Beni an-Nadir March 626 Second Battle of Badr June 626 Dhat al Riqa Raid August 626 Dumat al-Jandal Raid March–April 627 Siege of Medina April 627 Extermination of Beni Qurayzah January 628 Beni Lihyan Raid March 628 The Truce of Hudaibiya September 628 Conquest of Kheibar September 629 Battle of Mu’ta February 629 Muhammad’s Omra Pilgrimage to Mecca January 630 Capture of Mecca February 630 Battle of Hunayn February–March 630 Siege of Ta’if September–October 630 Expedition to Tabuk 631 Year of Deputations 632 Muhammad’s Farewell Pilgrimage June 632 Death of Muhammad 632–633 The Riddah Acknowledgments am indebted and deeply grateful to the following individuals who I gave graciously of their time and expertise in reading the manu- script and offering their advice and criticism. Joe Spoerl, professor of philosophy at St. Anselm College and an expert on Muslim religion and philosophy, deserves a special note of thanks for his efforts on my behalf. It was he who first suggested the idea for a military biography of Muhammad. His substantive comments were indispensable to my understanding of the currents of Muslim religious and philosophical thought that provided the larger context against which the military events of Muhammad’s life must be understood. Jim Coyle, my old friend and colleague from our days together at the U.S. Army War College, was invaluable in making certain that I was attentive to the sensitivities of Muslims in the manner in which I addressed certain controversial aspects of Muhammad’s life. Before assuming his posi- tion at Chapman College in California, Jim spent more than twenty years as an analyst for one of the country’s premier intelligence agen- cies. He is fluent in Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, and a student of Arab and Muslim history for more than thirty years. Joel Klein, who holds a doctorate in ancient languages and also is fluent in Arabic and Hebrew, helped me improve the accuracy of the Arabic terms contained herein. David Lufkin, a professional writer and author, did much to xv xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS tighten and focus the manuscript making it accessible to both aca- demic and general readers. Steve Weingartner, military history editor for Greenwood-Praeger and a fine writer in his own right, also read and edited the manuscript. I am especially grateful to Salem Jubran, a Christian Arab living in Nazareth, and to Col. Salim Al-Salmy of the Army of Oman, a devout Muslim, for their valuable advice and insight into the complexities of Arab and Muslim culture and psychology. While this book could never have been written without the aid and comfort of all these fine people, responsibility for any errors rests with me alone.