ON the strength of the revelation in the Qur’an 9:36, the Prophet (SAW) with his faithful followers strategised to checkmate the enemies, particularly the Quraesh traders from Mecca. The Muslims discovered that the Mushriqkun, having finished trading in Sham (the region comprising Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan today), would return to Mecca en route Al-Madinah. As they went back to Mecca, they took advantage of their going through Al-Madinah to mobilise more enemies against the Muslims from among the people of Al-Madinah.
The Mushriqkun from Mecca deliberately deployed resources in fuelling troubles for the Prophet (SAW) and the Muslims in Al-Madinah. And they intensified this measure so much that the Muslims had to come up with a novel idea. And the idea worked perfectly against the enemies of Islam, not only the Quraesh Mushriqkun of Mecca, but also other raging forces against the Prophet (SAW) and his followers in Al-Madinah. The idea was that on each occasion the enemies from Mecca set out on their journey back home from Sham after trading, the Prophet (SAW) would raise an army of the Muslims to waylay them en route Al-Madinah, confiscating their consignment. The main objective of the novel operation was to cripple the Quraesh Mushriqkun and render them unable to induce more enemies financially against the Muslims in the city of Al-Madinah.
The approach with which the Muslims jihadists embarked on onslaughts against the enemies without the Prophet’s (SAW) physical presence is known as Sariyyah. The other one, Ghazwah, was the jihad consisting of a large army unit with the Prophet (SAW) himself leading the army. The first ever Sariyyah took place with a 30-man Muhajirun army among whom was the Prophet’s uncle, Hamzah Ibn Adul-Muttalib (R.A.). This army of Muslims faithful was to go and launch attacks on the infidels of Mecca on their way from Sham. The enemies were well over 300 men, and the notorious Abu Jahli was among them. The fight was just under way when a man whose name was Majdiyy ibn Amru al-Jahniy brokered a temporary truce between the Muslims and the enemies. When the news of this development reached the Prophet (SAW), he was highly impressed by Majdiyy’s feat. The Prophet (SAW) would not expect 30 Muslims to overpower a much greater number of the enemy forces. This particular Sariyyah was in the month of Ramadan.
About a month later, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) dispatched 80 men led by Ubaedah ibn Harith (R.A.). Musatah ibn Asasatu held the symbolic white flag for the Muslims. Their mission remained the same: the Quraesh traders from Mecca who had gone to trade in Sham should not be allowed to infiltrate the city of Al-Madinah against the interest of Islam and Muslims in the city. The enemies this time were 200 strong. Both camps met at a spot known as Rabiga. As soon as the onslaught began, when only a few arrows had been released, the Quraesh infidels could not sustain the heat; they fled. But the Muslims did not chase after them. Two of the fleeing Quraesh chose to defect to the Muslims’ camp. The two men were Miqdad ibn Aswad and Atabath ibn Gazwan. The duo elected to fight on the side of the Muslims in Al-Madinah.
This was the second Sariyyah. It was recorded that it was same year when one of the maternal brothers to the Prophet (SAW), Uthman ibn Math-un (R.A.), died. Upon his janazah (funeral rites), the Prophet (SAW) ordered that the tomb be moistured with water. He planted a pebble on the tomb to signpost the place whenever any other of his relations would be buried at the grave yard. This act of the Prophet (SAW) simply indicates to the ummah that all sorts of decorations, plastering, painting and paving the tomb with ceramics and marble should be discouraged. All forms of inscriptions on the tomb of a dead Muslim are not part of the Islamic doctrine (sunnah).
Two years after the Prophet’s Hijrah to Al-Madinah, a number of battles against the infidels and enemies of Islam (jihad) were prosecuted. Some of these battles took place in cities such as Wadan, Bawat and Ashirat. The three holy jihad mentioned here were all Ghazwah by nature. But there was an abortive battle which could have been dubbed the first of the holy jihad episodes that were prosecuted in Badr (a place about 150 kilometers to the south of Al-Madinah, where the first great battle in Islamic history took place between the early Muslims and the infidels of Quraesh).
A particular man of evil intent whose name was Karazu ibn Jabiru al-Karaziy went out of his way to harm and kill herds of sheep and rams belonging to the people of Al-Madinah and fled. The Prophet (SAW) decided to give him a chase to wherever he took refuge. Zaedu ibn Harithata (AS) was assigned to be in-charge of the fort while the Prophet (SAW) and others were on the trail of karazu ibn Jabiru al-Karaziy. Aliy ibn Abu Talib (AS) held the symbolic white flag for Islam on that mission. The notorious Karazu was trailed down to a suburb known as Safwan where he further escaped. Eventually, a holy jihad which would have escalated was averted in Badr. The event was dubbed “GazwatuBadril-Ula” (the first holy jihad in Badr) by historians.
There was yet a recorded history of another Sariyah. The Prophet (SAW) raised an eight-man team to embark on espionage mission against some enemies where they hid. He requested that the spies should return with their findings to Al-Madinah. This assignment was communicated in a sealed written message. The Prophet (SAW) asked the team of spies not to look at the content of the message until they had covered a two-day journey. The instruction was personally given t the leader of the team, Abdul-Lahi ibn Jahsh (R.A.). The instruction was followed to the letter. As they were mounting their horses on their way back to Mecca, Abdul-Lahi ibn Jahsh (R.A.) and his men attacked the enemies. Two of the enemies were killed as others fled. This Sariyyah was in the month of Rajab.
The Prophet (SAW) used to observe his solat in the direction of Bait-ulMaqdis (the famous mosque in Jerusalem which is regarded as the third sacred mosque in Islam). He practised this while in Mecca and prior to his migration to Al-Madinah for a period of 16 months. He would rather have his prayers towards the direction of Al-Masjid-al-Haram in Mecca (the most sacred mosque in Islam). For this purpose, the Prophet (SAW) used to invoke Allah (SWT) for his wish and prayers to be granted. The invocation came to fruition on a particular hour the Prophet (SAW) was in the middle of a congregational solat. The revelation came that the Prophet (SAW) should turn towards Ka’bah (a square stone building in al-Masjid-al-Haram in Mecca towards which all Muslims face in solat). And the Prophet (SAW) spontaneously obeyed the revelation. The congregation praying behind him followed suit. This event later turned out to become a cheap blackmail against the Prophet (SAW) from the enemies’ camp with the connivance of the hypocrites within the Muslims’ fold to further persecute the faith of Al-Islam and the Muslims in the city of Al-Madinah. But Allah (SWT) had guided the Prophet (SAW) to the right path.
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