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depart from h is custom on this
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Ta book Exped ition
The Expedition of Hardship (Usrah)
(Rajab 9 A H )
The Tabook Expedition
After his return from H unayn and
at-Taa'if, Allah's Messenger � stayed in
M adeenah for a l most eight months,
from Dhui-Hijjah until Rajab of the ninth
year of the Hijrah . He then disclosed his
intention of marching aga inst the
Romans in Rajab. That was u n usual,
since it was the Prophet's habit n ot to
disclose h is military objectives
beforehand: that is to say, the direction
in which he would move and the enemy
with whom he woul d engage. In fact,
whenever he left M adeenah on a
-�. 1
The expedition of Tabook
was also unique, because the
distance was so great. Ta book
l ies in the north of the H ijaaz,
778 kilometres from
Madeenah by the modern
0
Yanbu • AI-Madinah road. Tabook was a part of the
territory under the control of
the Roman Em pire at that time. Al lah's
M essenger � called it Tabook, but it was
also known as the Expedition of
H a rdship (Ghazwat al-'Usrah), because of
the economic difficulties which the
M uslims faced during the cam paign.
Famine conditions prevailed in Arabia.
The scorching heat of summer was at its
peak. The season was a lways a hot one,
but that year there was d rought, and the
heat was more oppressive than usual.
The harvest season had just about
arrived. There was a shortage of material
resources needed to wage a war. I t was

in such testing circumstances that the
Prophet ::i ordered his people to
prepare to march to Ta book. On this
occasion, he did not conceal his intent.
H e declared that the Romans were h is RIU!I
target, and that he would march
towards Syria.
Reason for the Expedition
The Ta book Expedition took place in
Rajab in the year gAH . The immediate
cause for this expedition was the
information which the Prophet �
received to the effect that the Romans,
apprehensive of the rapid growth of
Islam in Ara bia, were assembling large
forces on the borders of the Ara bian
Peninsula with a view to marching
against Madeenah and overthrowing
the M uslims. The Romans remembered
the M u 'tah Expedition and were stil l a
threat. Allah's M essenger ::i, therefore,
decided to lead a Muslim a rmy into the
Roman territory before the Romans
crossed the Arab borders and
threatened the heart of Islam.
To guard against such an assault,
Al lah's M essenger � assembled the
strongest force possible and set out
towards the frontier, in the month of
Raja b.
The Contributors to the Army of
Tabook
Allah's M essenger � publicly
appealed to the M uslims to prepare for
war against the superpower of that
time.
Prophet Muhammad � (5) �
Orders were sent to M a kkah and to
the a l l ied tribes that they had to send to
Madeenah all their available a rms and
men at once for the Syrian campaign.
People set a bout ma king ready with a l l
speed. The richer m e n vied with each
other in their contributions of money.
M us l ims responded fervently to the
Prophet's call and bega n their war
preparations, each Muslim contributing
much more than his financial means
permitted.
H uge amou nts of money were
donated by 1 Uthmaan ibn Affa a n � and
Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Awf �. 1 U mar �
contributed half of a l l his belongings;
whereas Abu Bakr � placed a l l that he
had possessed at the feet of the Prophet
�. I n the same spirit, the companions
with low incomes brought their
hard-earned wages and donated them
to the Prophet �. Women generously
donated their jewellery to the war-fund.
M oved by the zeal of fighting in
Allah's ca use, thousands of M usl ims
flocked to M adeenah from far and wide,
ffi} Prophet Muhammad ii; (5)
a n d expressed their readiness to
sacrifice their l ives. Those who could not
be included in the M uslim army, because
of the acute shortage of caval ry and
other war provisions, wept bitterly a n d
lamented their exclusion so pathetica l ly
that the Prophet ::t was m oved. A
subsequent revelation in the G lorious
Qur'an has enshrined in memory these
weepers. They were seven in number -
five needy Helpers, and two Bedouins of
M u zaynah a n d Ghatafaan - whom the
Prophet � turned rel u ctantly away,
beca use he was unable to mount them,
and tears filled their eyes as they left his
presence.
The occasion, in fact, served as a
touchstone for distinguishing the
sincere from the hypocrites. The
moment was so crucial for Islam that not
going to the battl efront revealed the
hollowness of a man's claim to believe in
I slam. This is the reason why this
exped ition was a lso called by yet
a nother name 'al-Faadhihah', which can
roughly be tra nslated to mean 'The
U n masking'. The expedition was named
thus beca use it exposed the rea lity of
the hypocrites and unmasked them.
The bel ievers were eager to go out
on this expedition. Poverty did not
prevent Waathilah ibn al-Asqa' from
participating in the expedition . H e ran
out into the streets of Madeenah a n d
called out, ' I s there any man w h o will
carry me o n his riding a nimal in return
for which he can have my share of the
spoils.' An old man from the Helpers
responded, ' I will take his share, but he
will have to take turns riding with me,
and I will provide him with food.'
Waathilah agreed to the terms. In a later
expedition, the M uslim a rmy won spoils,
and Waathilah's share consisted of a
n um ber of camels. When he offered
them to the old man, he refused to take
them saying, ' Keep your camels, my
nephew, for it is not of yours that I
wa nted.'
Allah's M essenger � had left Al i ibn
Abee Taalib � to look after his family,
but the hypocrites spread the rumour
that the Prophet � found him a burden
a n d was rel ieved to be rid of his
presence. H earing this, Al i � was so
distressed that he put on his a rmour,
seized his a rms a n d overtook the
Prophet � at his fi rst halt, intending to
get h is permission to accompany him.
He told him what the people were
saying, a n d the M essenger of Al lah �
said, 'They l ie. I asked you to remain for
the sake of what I had left behind me. So
return and represent me in my family
and in yours. Are you not content, Ali,
that you shou l d be to me as Haaroon &f§l
was to M oosaa �1, except that after me
there is n o Prophet?'

The Excuse of ai-Jadd ibn Qays
One of the leaders of the hypocrites,
a l-J a d d ibn Qays, came to see the
M essenger of Allah �. Al lah's M essenger
� asked him to join the exped ition but
a l-Jadd had the most extraordinary
excuse. 'M essenger of Allah', he said
'nobody loves women more than I do,
and they say that the women of the
Romans a re so beautiful, so I a m afraid
that I may be infatuated by them.' Allah's
Messenger � accepted his apology, but
Allah did not. The Qur'an condemned the
man in severe terms in Soorat at-Tawbah,
9 = 49·
Another group of hypocrites asked
the Prophet � to excuse them from
fighting beca use of the scorching heat.
The Qur'an also rejected their excuse as
unacceptable in the same soorah, verses
81-82.
The evil intentions of the hypocrites
Prophet Muhammad � (5) n;J
came to l ight d u ring this expedition.
They d iscouraged the people, saying,
'Don't go forth in the heat.' M ost of the
hypocrites stayed behind and did not join
the expedition, but some of them joined
the a rmy with the intent of making plots
and spreading rumours.
The Three Devout Muslims who
Failed to Join the Expedition
The hypocrites came to the Prophet
� with various excuses, asking
permission to stay behind, and many of
the Bedouins who had newly converted
to Islam d id the same. There were also
three men of good faith - Ka'b ibn
Maalik, M u raara h ibn a r-Rabee, and
H ilaal ibn U m ayyah - who did not
deliberately decide to remain at home,
nor d id they proffer excuses. B ut it
seemed to them so u ndesirable to leave
Madeenah at that season, that they

/ Why did Al l a h's M essenger � reveal h is intention of

marching against the Romans?
/ What other names did the Battle of Tabook have a n d why?
/ What d ifficulties did the M uslims face d u ring the Tabook
Expedition?
/ What factors led the Prophet � to march against the
Romans?
/ H ow did the M uslims react to the appeal of the Prophet �
to prepare for war?
/ What happened to those who coul d n ot be accommodated
in the army?
/ Why d id the Prophet � ask Ali � to stay behind?
({!;) Prophet Muhammad � (5)
could not bring themselves to make
preparations, and they put off the task
from one day to the next until the day
dawned when it was too l ate and the
troops had gone.
M ore than eighty other men also
stayed behind. Accord ing to some
schola rs, this number consisted of
Madeenah hypocrites, the Bedouins
from Banu G h ifaar and other tribes who
stayed behind numbering eighty-two
men in addition to Abdullaah ibn U bayy
and his fol l owers. Everyone who stayed
behind thought that no one would
notice his absence from the army.
Al lah's Messenger � singled out those
who had stayed behind with a valid
excuse beca use their intention had been
good. H e said, 'There are people in
Madeenah who are with you wherever
you go and whenever you cross a valley.'
The companions asked, 'M essenger of
Al lah, are they in M adeenah?' H e
a nswered, 'They are i n Madeenah. They
were prevented from joining us for a
valid reason.'

The Number of the Troops of the Tabook Expedition

When a l l the contingents had arrived, the army was thirty thousand
strong, with ten thousan d horses. It was by far the largest and best
equipped army that the Prophet � had led. A camp was made outside
the town. Abu Bakr � was put in charge of it until everyone was ready
for the march. Then Al lah's M essenger � rode forth and took command.
During the northward march, it happened one day at dawn that
Al lah's Messenger � was delayed in making his ablution. The
com panions were in l ines for the prayer and they waited for him until
they feared that the sun would rise before they had offered their prayer.
Then it was agreed that Abd ur-Rahmaan ibn Awf should lead them, and
they had already performed one of the two prayer units when Al lah's
M essenger � a rrived . Abd ur-Rahmaan was about to d raw back, but the
Prophet � motioned him to remain where he was, and he himself joined
the congregation. When they had uttered the final greeting of peace,
the Prophet � rose and offered the prayer unit he had missed.

Abu Khaythamah's Faith in Action
M ea nwhile, in M adeenah, a bout a
few days after the a rmy had marched
out, one of the bel ievers who had
stayed behind, Abu Khaythamah � of
the Khazraj, went out into his orchard
amid shades of trees on a day of intense
heat. There were two tents there, and
he found that both his wives had
sprinkled each with water, and in each a
meal was made ready for him a n d water
had been cooled in earthen jars for him
to drink. He stood at the threshold of
one of the tents and said to himself,
1AIIah's M essenger � is in the glare of
the sun, blown on by hot winds, a n d Abu
Khaythamah is in cool shade with food
prepared for him, and two bea utifu l
wives, serving him in his orchard.' Then
he turned to his wives and said, 1 By
Al lah, I will not enter either of your tents
u ntil I have fi rst caught up with the
Prophet :i, so make ready provisions for
me.' So they saddled his camel, and he
set off with all speed in his attempt to
catch up with the M uslim a rmy. When
the lone rider approached the a rmy a
few days after they had reached
Ta book, but before he was
d istinguishable, Allah's M essenger �
said, 1 Be Abu Khaythamah!' Then when
the man rode u p and greeted him, he
sa id, 1Ai as for you, Abu Khaythamah!'
But when he informed him of what had
happened, Allah's M essenger :i forgave
him and prayed for him.
Prophet Muhammad � (5) [;}
The Story of Abu Dharr ai-Ghifaaree
Abu Dharr a l-G h ifaa ree -t� was not
a b l e to keep u p with the pace of the
advancing a rmy to Ta book beca use his
camel was wea k and o l d . Eventua l l y, he
abandoned it, loading his things o n his
back a n d went off wal king in the tracks
of the M essenger of Al lah :i. The
Prophet � sto pped at one of his ha lting
places when a man ca l led h is attention
to someone wa l king o n the roa d alone.
Th e Prophet � said that he hoped it was
Abu Dha rr, a n d when his compa nions
l ooked carefu l l y, they said that it was
indeed Abu D h a rr. Al lah's M essenger :1
said, 1 M a y Al l a h have m ercy o n Abu
Dharr! He wa l ks a lone, h e will die a l one,
and he wil l be res u rrected a lo n e . ' I n
rea l ity, Abu Dharr � died alone. Only
h is wife a n d a servant were with h i m at
a pl ace in the d esert cal l ed a r-Ra b d h a h .
Al l a h 's M essenger's prophecy for Abu
Dharr � was fu lfilled. The Prophet :1
once pra ised Abu Dharr a n d said a bout
him, 1Th e earth has not borne, nor the
heaven has under its roof a nyone m ore
truthfu l than Abu Dharr.'
fu) Prophet Muhammad :1 (5)
A Miracle and the Spring of Tabook
During the march, the Prophet �
said one n ight, 'Tomorrow, Allah willing,
you will come to the spring of Ta book.
Whoever comes to it let him not touch
its water until I myself arrive there.' But
the fi rst men, two hypocrites, to reach it
d ra n k from the spring, and when the
main part of the army reached, the
water had become less than a trickle.
Al l ah's M essenger � severely rebuked
the two men. He then sent some others
to scoop u p what water they could, in
the hol lows of their hands and to empty
it into an old skin. When enough water
had been col lected, he washed his hands
and face in it, and poured it over the
rock, which covered the mouth of the
spring. H e then supplicated as Al l a h
willed h i m t o suppl icate. Then, with a
sound as that of thunder, the water
gushed forth and continued to flow
plentifu lly even after a l l the men had
satisfied their needs. H e then turned to
M u'aadh who was beside him and said,
' M u'aadh, I pray that you wil l l ive to see
this place as a vale of many gardens.'
And it happened as he had said . The
effects of the Tabook spring a re felt even
this very day. Tabook is noted for its
wonderful gardens, vegetation a n d
crops, all o f which attest to t h e
truthfulness o f t h e Prophet � and his
m essage.
No fighting took place against the
Romans d u ring this expedition. The
M uslims reached Tabook and did not
meet the Romans and their a ll ies. The
rulers of the region made peace with the
Prophet � and agreed to pay the jizyah ­
the Protection Tax. The result was that
the I slamic State now extended to the
borders of the Roman Empire. The
bloodless victory of Tabook shattered
the power of both the unbelievers and
the hypocrites.
The Return from Tabook
The army stayed in Ta book for
twenty days and then returned to
M adeenah. On the homeward journey,
the M uslims passed through al-H ijr, the
territory of the Thamood who, a ccording
to the Glorious Qur' a n, were tested with
the mare camel and had slain her, so a
mighty blast had overtaken them

beca use of their rebellion. The M uslims
rushed to enter the ruined houses of
a i-H ijr, but Alla h's M essenger � forbade
them from doing so. H e said, ' Do n ot
enter the dwelling places of those who
were unjust to themselves unless you
enter in a weeping state, lest the same
calamity as theirs befa l l you. ' He then
covered his head and ga lloped away till
he crossed the va l l ey. He a lso forbade
them to drink the water from its wel ls or
to use its water for a b l ution. H e told
them to feed their camels with a ny
dough they had made with the water
and not to eat it themselves.
When the M us l ims complained to
the Prophet � of the exha ustion of their
camels on the way back, he prayed '0
Lord, enable the camels to carry their
burdens. You can enable the weak and
the strong, the wet and the d ry, to carry
burdens o n land a n d sea.' N o sooner
had he thus prayed than the camels
rega ined their strength and brought
their burdens to Madeenah. The
M uslims did not complain a bout them
again.
Those hypocrites who had not taken
part in the expedition now went to
Allah's M essenger � and made their
excuses, which he a ccepted, while
reminding them that Al lah, M ost H igh,
knew their most secret thoughts. H e,
however, told the three bel ievers who
had stayed behind to depart from him
u ntil Al l a h decided their case, and he
gave orders that no one should speak to
Prophet Muhammad � (5) lli}
them. For fifty days, they l ived as
outcasts. But after the dawn prayer, on
the fiftieth day, Al lah's M essenger 3%
announced in the M osque that Al l a h had
forgiven them. (Soorat at-Tawbah, g:
1 1 8). The congregation rejoiced. Many
M us l ims hastened from the Mosque to
inform the three men of the good news.
The return from Tabook had been at
the beginn ing of Ramadhaan in the year
gAH . When the men returned from
Tabook, they said amongst themselves
that their days of fighting were now at
an end, and this idea was strengthened
by the coming of various del egations,
which continued throughout the tenth
year. But the Prophet :j warned, 'A body
of my people will not cease to fight for
the truth until the coming forth of the
Antichrist*.' He also said, ' If you knew
that which I know, you would laugh l ittle
....�.,��---
and weep much.'
He warned them
llff.!i��anti chri�t is a
,
��
. blmd m .
,mankwho ts
that his people
right eye m
wou l d surely
':wliich· all light ts
.
follow the J ews
extin�;uished, as if it
and the Christians
-:were , � grape.
upon the path of
d egeneration. H e said, 'You will fol l ow
the ways of those that were before you
span by span a n d cubit by cubit until,
when they go down the hole of a l izard,
you would fol low them d own; yet Allah
will send to this community, at the head
of every hundred years, a person who
will renew for it its rel igion.'
ffi') Prophet Muhammad � (5)
Review
A. Fil l in the b l a n ks.

1. The march against the Romans is called the

------
Expedition.

2. The weepers were ______ in n um ber.

3· The and many of the

stayed behind in the M u'tah Expedition.

4. The effects of the ------

Tabook spring are felt

until this very day.

B. Think-up

1. What made Abu Khaythamah � finally join the army?

2. Even though formal wars may have been over, what must

M us l ims continue d oing?

3· What else d o you know about the Antichrist?

/ Looking to the Prophet's example, how should one

complete a two-rak'ah prayer if one joins the congregation
l ate?
/ What d id Abu Dharr � do when he was left behind?
/ Why d id water d ry u p at the Spring of Tabook?
/ H ow was the Tabook Exped ition a blood less victory for the
M us l im s?
/ Why d id the Prophet :i l eave the va l ley of a i-H ijr q uickly?
/ What beca m e of the three believers who had stayed behind?