The Campaign of Tabuk | Year 9AH

A short while after the conquest of Makkah growing rumours began to

spread in Madinah thatHeraclius had advanced a years salary to his
army in view of a lengthy campaign against Madinah. However, the
Prophet was also expecting his armies to open up Syria to Islam and so he
too set about mustering by far the largest and best equipped army which he
had led.
This time there was no attempt at secrecy with Muhammad ordering even
the Makkans and the allied tribes to send at once to Madinah all their
available armed and mounted men for the Syrian campaign.
The season was always a hot one, but that year there was a drought and the
heat was more oppressive than usual. These were testing times for the
believers with many of the hypocrites approaching the Prophet with various
excuses to stay behind. There were however three men of good faith, Kab
ibn Malik and two other, who did not deliberately decide to remain home,
nor did they proffer excuses; but it seemed to them so undesirable to leave
Madinah with the rest of the army that they put off preparations until the
last minute when it dawned on them that it was too late.
The army arrived at al Hijr where the rock-hewn remains of Thamud stood,
and the Prophet commanded the army to dismount for watering and a brief
rest. Then, when the army reached the spring of Tabuk they encamped for
twenty days. It was evident that the rumours of danger from the Byzantines
had been unfounded; perhaps the news of the Muslim armys approach had
already reached the Byzantines who had withdrawn to the safety of their
vicinity. The Prophet chose not to pursue the Byzantines, but instead
invited all of the tribes to join in allegiance to the Muslims.
Before the Muslim army was to return, the Prophet intended to put to a
stop any future attack, and so, he sent Khalid ibn al Walid with five
hundred cavalrymen to deal with Ukaydir, the Christian king of Dumah
who was suspected of preparing to launch an attack as soon as the
Byzantine forces could return. The rest of the army was commanded to
return to Madinah.
Khalid hurried to Dumah and, discovering that the king was out on a
hunting trip with his brother, sought to attack them decisively, and killed
Hassan, the kings brother, while capturing Ukaydir. However, Khalid was
unable to penetrate the city, but by threatening to kill Ukaydir the city
yielded. After seizing two thousand camels, eight hundred goats, four
hundred loads of grain, and four hundred coats of arms, Khalid brought
them, together with his captive, King Ukaydir, to Madinah. In Madinah

Ukaydir was offered Islam to which he converted. Upon his submission to

God, he was reinstated as the king of his people and an ally of the
Prophet. Upon the armys return, those who failed to enlist came
forth to offer their excuses. Many a Hypocrite presented his excuse;
the Prophet listened and let them go free pending Gods final judgment.
However, there were three believers who truthfully stated their reasons;
Kab ibn Malik, Murarah, and Hilal. The Muslims were ordered to boycott
them for fifty days after which they were forgiven by divine decree and
reintegrated within the community to the joy of the Muslims.
Lessons & Wisdoms
After the recent conquest of Makkah the Prophet was certain that God
would open up Syria to his armies; and whether because he thought the
time had come or whether because he wished to give his troops some
training for the inevitable northern campaign, he now announced an
expedition against the Byzantines, and set about mustering by far the
largest and best equipped army which he had led.
The Quran discusses the Battle of Tabuk in more detail than any other
conflict of the prophets life. In many respects the battle was quiet unique to
any other. The season was always a hot one, but that year there was a
drought and the heat was more oppressive than usual. It was also the time
when much ripe fruit was to be eaten, so that there were two reasons for not
wanting to take part in the expedition; and a third reason was the
formidable reputation of the imperial army. The Quranic narrative
concerning the battle contains the following themes:
1. The great error on the part of those who stayed behind from the
expedition. God not only obliged the Muslim community to participate in
the battle but also reproached those who did not. Even the prophet was
warned of being overly forgiving to those who had stayed behind.
2. God spoke of the difficult nature of the battle and the severe hardship it
entailed calling the battle The time of Distress.
3. God reproached the hypocrites for mocking those who gave seemingly
little in charity. In the eyes of God what is great is not the amount but
rather the sincerity and giving according to ones means.
4. Part of the revelation spoke of the seven weepers five needy Helpers
and two bedouins whom the prophet turned reluctantly away because he
was not able to provide military equipment to them and so they parted with
tears filling theirs eyes.

5. Though no fighting actually took place the Romans perception of the

Arabs had now changed drastically. They were previously looked upon as
insignificant and unworthy of a challenge. Conversely the Arabs had always
feared the Romans as a mighty superpower. But all that changed with the
battle of Tabook, when Roman forces fled from the Muslim army, the Arabs
began to realize that it would be the Muslims that would soon defeat them.
As a result many of the christian tribes around the Tabook area broke off
their alliances with the Romans and formed treaties with the Muslims.
6. The strategy of the prophet in seeking out a non-Arab military target
reinforces the notion of the universality of his message- The goal of the
prophet and his followers is to spread Islam to the furthest parts of the
world.
The heart-rending story of Kab Ibn Malik was narrated by none
other than himself in a lengthy, though wholly eloquent narrative. It is
full of great wisdoms and lessons:
1. The greatest lesson Kab learnt was mentioned at the end of his narration,
By God, after He guided me to Islam, He never bestowed on me a blessing
as immense as guiding me to be truthful to the messenger; for by not lying,
I was saved from being destroyed. He learnt that the only path to safety
in this life and the next was through honesty; regardless of the possible dire
consequences. For this reason it makes a telling tale for educating children.
2. In accepting the excuses of the hypocrites, although they were nothing
but lies, the prophet taught us to only judge by what is visible to us on the
outside. As for what is in the hearts, Allah is the only Judge. The rulings of
this life are based on what appears to us, as for the reward or punishment
of the hereafter, it is the result of what lies in the hearts.
3. The powerful effect a publicly orchestrated boycott has in reforming
individuals. The prophet would employ every allowable means to help
cultivate and reform his society, even if it meant temporarily severing ties
of kinship. It should be dully noted that large scale boycotting of this nature
can only be employed in communities with similar grounding in Islam as
that of the Muslim community in Madinah at the time of the prophet.
4. The joyful manner in which the Muslims received their three brethren
illustrates the difficulty and discomfort they endured in having to censure
their fellow companions. Yet they all obeyed the prophetic command, even
the wife of Kab ibn Malik and his dearest friend Abu Qataadah would show
animosity towards him. It was the strong ties of brotherhood, a faith-based
bond, upon which the fabric of society was made.
5. Kabs reaction upon receiving the letter from the Christian king Gassaan
bears testimony to his faith and loyalty to the prophet.

The day a believer receives glad tidings of forgiveness from God is a day of
immense joy; for Kab it was the best day of his life and he fell into
prostration when he first heard it. The entire community participated in
congratulating The Three, because such a blessing from God outweighs
any other worldly blessing and the disciples of the prophet understood this
best. The prophets statement to Kab, Rejoice for this is the best day you
have had since the day your mother gave birth to you indicates that it was
even better than the day on which he converted to Islam.
We learn from the story three ways in which a Muslim can offer
thanks to God upon receiving a favour from Him.
1) To perform the prostration of thankfulness (which can also be done when
one is saved from a calamity 2) Rewarding the bearer of glad tidings, as
Kab gave him his set of clothes
3) To give money in charity.
Edicts & Ruling
In the year 630, the ninth year of the Islamic calendar, Hajj was made
obligatory upon the muslims.
The prophet ordered that no polytheist would ever enter Makkah again, nor
could a male or female undress and circumambulate the Kabah.
In this year there was an incident in which the prophet prayed behind
Abdur Rahman bin Awf as a way of honoring him. The scholars derive
from this the permissibility of a more qualified person opting to be led by
one of a lesser standing for a certain reason.
The prophet sent out his first ever zakat collectors in this year. The
following verse was revealed in the Quranic chapter al-Hujarat relating to
an incident that took place between one of the collectors and the tribe of
banu al-mustaliq:
You who have faith! if a deviator brings you a report, scrutinize it carefully
in case you attack people in ignorance and so come to greatly regret what
you have done.