The Expedtion to Tabuk

The First Hajj

The pilgrimage was enjoined in 9 A.H.1 where the Apostle sent Abu Bakr in command of the pilgrims. The polytheists were, during the year, at their pilgrimage stations.2 Abu Bakr then led a party of one hundred Muslims. The opening of Surah at-Taubah (9th Chapter of the Qur’an) were revealed after the pilgrims had left for Mecca. The Apostle sent for ‘Ali and directed him to proclaim the verse at Mina when all the pilgrims had assembled thereafter performing the sacrifice. It signified the end of idolatry in Arabia for no idolater was allowed to perform Haj nor to circle round the Ka'bah in a nude state after that year. The divine revelation also commanded that if the Apostle was liable to fulfill any obligation under a treaty with the polytheists it would be discharged up to a stipulated period after which the pact would then be deemed inutile and immaterial. ‘Ali went forth on the Apostle’s camel and overtook Abu Bakr along the way, who asked ‘Ali if he had come to give orders to him or whether he had something to convey them. ‘Ali replied that he had only been instructed to convey orders to him. Thereafter, both proceeded to Mecca where Abu Bakr managed the arrangements for Haj. When the day of sacrifice came, ‘Ali proclaimed what he had been ordered by the Apostle.3 Footnotes: 1 There are some scholars who hold the view that the command for Haj was received in the 6 A.H. Sheikh Muhammad al-Khudari takes this view in the Tarikh-al-Tashr’I-al-Islami (p. 25). 2 Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p..543 3 Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 543-46

The Expeditions At A Glance

The Expedition of Tabuk, which took place in the month of Rajab, 9 A.H., was the last crusade during the lifetime of the Apostle. The actual number of battles fought was twenty-seven while he is reported to have sent out sixty forays and expeditions1 although no fighting had taken place in many of them.

Never in the history of human conflict had any conqueror exhausted so little bloodshed yet achieved such a remarkable success. In all these clashes, only 1018 persons,2 made up of Muslims as well as non-Muslims lost their lives. But, it would be to usurp the impossible to gamble any guess as to how much blood of the ferocious Arabs was saved from being spilled or how many souls escaped degradation and debasement because of this negligible loss to human life. Such was the public tranquility and orderliness resulting from the Apostle’s campaigns that a woman pilgrim would go from Hira to Mecca and return after circumambulating the Ka'bah without any fear in her heart save that of God.3 Another report says that the women from Qadessia went alone on their dromedaries for pilgrimage to Mecca without the least anxiety or fear.4 This was the country in which, from time immemorial, fights and forays, or battles between nomadic tribes and raids on one another’s flocks and properties had been an acceptable part of the desert life. Even the caravans of neighbouring powerful kingdoms dared not cross the country in pre-Islamic days without powerful escorts and guides.

The missions of the Apostle were warranted by two universal truths as enunciated in the Qur’an, in which one of these says that ‘persecution is worse than slaughter’5 and the other declares, ‘there is life for you in retaliation, O men of understanding’.6 These twin principles, which aimed at the refusal to acquiesce in wrongdoing and urged to strive for the defense of honor and justice, soon established its most sought-after peace and order. This is at the minimum cost of labour and time on the part of the Muslims under the benevolent and altruistic guidance of the Apostle. The messenger of God was ever vigilant to secure the well-being and enlightenment of the enemy instead of allowing vindictiveness to govern over his campaigns. Whenever the Apostle sent out any detachment for forays or declared war against the enemy, he invariably issued strict instructions to his men to be God-fearing and kind to friends as well as foes. The directions he once gave to his troops were:

“I asked you to fear God and to be considerate to the Muslims with you. Fight in the name of God and slay those in his name who have disbelieved Him. Neither should you break your promise, nor pilfer the spoils, nor kill any child or woman nor man infirm and old or a priest who has withdrawn to seclusion. Never lay your hands on a date-palm, nor chop down a tree, nor yet pull down any building.”7

And, as to how successful these campaigns of the Apostle had turned out can be judged from the fact that within a brief period of ten years, more than a million square miles was won for Islam. Moreover, the Islamic state expanded at an average rate of some 274 square miles daily at the cost of one martyr a month.”8 This respect for human blood is unparalleled in the annals of man’s history. The truth of this assertion is better understood if the losses of these crusades are placed beside the casualties of the last two world wars, the first of which was fought from 1914 to 1918 and the second from 1939 to 1945. According to the computation of the Encyclopedia Britannica, 64 hundred thousand persons lost their lives9 in the first war whereas the number of casualties in the second ranged between 35 to 60 millions.10

Yet, none of these two blood-tainted wars can claim to have done any good to humanity nor did they solve any problem of the world at all.

The ecclesiastical tribunals known as Inquisitions established by the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages for the trial and punishment of heretics are reported to have claimed 12 million lives.11

Footnotes:

1. Estimate by Ibn Qayyim (Zad al-Ma’ad).
2. Qazi Muhammad Sulaiman Mansurpuri gives this figure after a detailed study. (Rahmatulil ‘Alamin)
3. Bukhari, Chap. ‘Alamat an-Nabawah
4. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 581
5. Qur’an 2:191
6. Qur’an 2:179
7. Waqidi, on the authority of Zayd b. Arqam in connextion with the expedition of Mu’ta.
8. Brig. Gulzar Ahmad, the Battles of the Prophet of Allah, Karachi (1975), p. 28
9. Encyclopedia Britannica, (1974) Vol. 19, p. 966.
10. Encyclopedia Britannica, (1974) Vol. 19, p. 1013.
11. John Devenport: Apology for Muhammad and Qur’an

Trial Of Ka'b B. Malik

Some of the Muslims who had stayed behind in the expedition of Tabuk, not for any doubt or disaffection, were Ka'b b. Malik, Murara b. al-Rab’I and Hilal b. Umayya. All of them had accepted Islam in the earlier stage of the Prophet’s mission and had undergone hardships for the sake of their faith. Murara b. al-Rab’i and Hilal b. Umayya had also taken part in the battle of Badr. Actually, none of them had ever been languid in accompanying the Apostle in the previous battles. Therefore, their failure to do so in the expedition of Tabuk could have been brought about by the will of the providence who must have wanted to set another example of severe trial to test the strength of their faith for the benefit of the coming generations. They had been held back on this occasion partly on account of indolence and indecision and partly because of their reliance on worldly means and objects, or, perhaps, they had not given importance to the urgency of the matter as it warranted. These are common human shortcomings, which have very often frustrated those who have been second to none in the sincerity of their faith in God and the love of His Apostle. In fact, this is the moral so pointedly illustrated by these words of Ka'b b. Malik. "Everyday, I would go out to get ready for the journey so that I might leave with them, but I would come back not having done anything. I would say to my self, “I can do that whenever I want to’, but continued procrastinating until the time for departure came and the Apostle of God left with the Muslims. And, I had still not made necessary preparations. I thought that I could go after a day or two and then join them. I went to make the preparations after they had left but again returned without having done what was necessary. Days passed by until I became sluggish while the army had gone far ahead at full speed. I still thought of leaving Medina to overtake them and I wish that I had done so, but I did not.”1 All the three companions were called upon to prove, in a way unknown to the history of any religion, the sincerity of their faith in God and their love for the Apostle. It was undoubtedly an excruciating trial of their loyalty to Islam, of their perseverance and tenacity in times of serenity as well as in difficulty, in cheer as well as despondency. There is also no doubt that all these true-spirited companions spoke the truth when the hypocrites had offered excuses for justifying their absence from the expedition. The incidents as related in the Traditions, on the authority of Ka'b b. Malik, are included in a narrative which speaks of his sincerity: "Those who had stayed behind came and began to make excuses with oaths - there were about eighty of them - and the Apostle accepted their pleas, administered oaths to them and asked divine forgiveness for them, leaving what they had concealed in their hearts to God. Then I came and saluted him and he smiled as one who is angry. He said, ‘come nearer.’ I went and sat before him. Then he asked, ‘what had kept you back? Did you not purchase a mount? I replied, ‘true to God, it was exactly so. O Apostle of God, were I sitting with anyone else in the world I would have thought of offering some excuses for saving myself from His anger as I know how to defend and justify myself. But truly, I know that if I were to satisfy you by telling a lie, God will soon make you angry with me. And if I displease you now by telling the truth, I have hopes that God would excuse me in the end. Honest to God, I have no excuse at all and I was never stronger and richer than when I stayed behind.” The hour of trial came at last. The Apostle forbade everyone to speak to the three who had made a clean breast. Such were those Muslims, who knew nothing but to listen and obey the Apostle, that not even the members of their own families would convey a word to these men. All the three felt forsaken and abandoned, and were confronted with loneliness akin to that when one is in a foreign land, having been treated as aliens in their own country. They endured it for fifty nights. Murara b. al-Rab’i and Hilal b. Umayya shut themselves up in their house, lamenting and shedding tears all the while. Ka'b b. Malik on the other hand, being young and sturdy, used to go out and join the prayer with others, then roam around in the market, but nobody seemed eager to keep him company much more accost him. But such indifference did not widen the distance between them and the Apostle of God; nor was there any diminution in the loving regard that the Apostle had for them. The admonition by the Apostle rather gave rise to a still acute longing in them to regain the affection of the Prophet. The narration of Ka'b b. Malik, which bears freshness of the plain truth, goes on to say: “And I would go to the Apostle and salute him when he sat with others after the prayer, thinking whether his lips had moved in returning my salutation or not; then I would pray near him and see him with half an eye. I am sure that he set his eyes on me when I was busy in prayers but then turned away from me as soon as I tried to take a look at him. The wide world seemed to have closed in on these men. Ka'b b. Malik relates about the behavior of one whom he considered to be his inseparable friend. “When the harshness of the people became unbearable, I scaled the wall of Abu Qatada’s orchard and went to him. He was my cousin and held dearest by me. I greeted him, but, by God, he did not even return my salutation. I said: “O Abu Qatada, I adjure you by God, do you not know that I love God and His Apostle?” But he still kept quite, so I repeated my question again. He remained silent for a while and then said: “God and His Apostle know best!” At that juncture, my eyes gave way to tears and I jumped over the wall to go back.”2 The ordeal, however, did not come to a close just like that. The ban was extended even to their wives such that the three were ordered to sever themselves from their respective spouses through divorce. All of them obediently yielded to the command. The faith and loyalty as well as firmness of Ka'b b. Malik was brought to a yet more delicate and crucial test when the King of Ghassan tried to angle him with a silver hook. He was the ruler of a kingdom, which had exercised a deep influence upon the Arabs. In fact, the Arab nobles and chieftains vied with one another to be among the circle of his entourage or even to be invited to attend his court, in the same way that even eminent poets composed splendid eulogies in honor of the Ghassanid kings.3 A Nabataean courier of the King contacted Ka'b b. Malik when the Apostle’s aloofness and the coolness of the people to him had become agonizing enough to drive him mad. The courier delivered him a letter from the King in which he had written: “we have learnt that your master has treated you badly. God has not destined you to be humiliated and wasted, so come to us and we shall deal kindly with you.” Ka'b took the letter to be a challenge to his integrity, but his conscience smote him to the point of tantalizing his love for God and His Apostle and so he took the letter to an oven and burnt it. Their test was over at last. None of the three was found wanting. Then came the revelation from God, which illustrated their personal example to make it a general lesson, good for all times to come. They had demonstrated by their action that they could not flee from God, but could only find solace and refuge in coming back to Him. The spacious earth of God had become straightened for them; in their own souls they had a feeling of constraint, but they did not falter from the right path. Then it was that God forgave them and took them back to His grace. But, a noteworthy feature of the verse revealed on this occasion was that the Most Gracious God did not make mention of the repentance of these three persons or lest they might feel singled out and humiliated. Their penitence was spoken of after mentioning the contrition of the Apostle and other Muhajirins and Ansars who had been ready and willing to take part in the expedition. The revelation goes to show that whatever sufferings and hardships they had endured only raised the degree of their spirituality. “Allah hath turned in mercy to the Prophet, and to the Muhajirin and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of hardship. After the hearts of a multitude of them had almost swerved aside, then turned He unto them in mercy. Lo! He is Full of Pity, Merciful for them. (Qur’an 9:117) “And to the three also (did He turn in mercy) who were left behind, when the earth, vast as it is, was straightened for them, and their own souls were straightened for them till they bethought them that there is no refuge from Allah save toward Him. Then turned He unto them in mercy that they (too) might turn (repentant unto Him). Lo! Allah! He is the Relenting, the Merciful.” (Qur’an 9:118) Footnotes: 1 Bukhari, Kitab ul-Maghazi 2 Bukhari 3 Hassan b. Thabit and other poets have immortalized the Ghassanid Kings through their glowing eulogies.

Funeral Of Poor Muslim

Abdullah Dhu’l-Bijadayn died at Tabuk. He had been too eager to accept Islam but his tribesmen had prevented him from his eventual conversion. At last they turned him over with only one coarse sheet of cloth in which he repaired to call upon the Apostle. By the time he came to the Apostle the sheet of cloth had been torn into two pieces, one of which was used by him as a loincloth and the other he had wrapped over him. Since the day he appeared before the Apostle in that condition, he came to be known as Dhu’l-Bijadayn.

When he died at Tabuk the Apostle attended his burial rites along with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. By the light of a torch, a grave was dug for him and the Apostle himself went down into it to put him to rest. While Abu Bakr and ‘Umar lowered down the corpse of ‘Abdallah Dhu’l Bijadyan, the Apostle said to them, “bring your brothers nearer to me.” After the Apostle had laid ‘Abdallah to his grave site, he said, “O God, I am pleased with him; be Thou pleased with him!” ‘Abdallah b. Mas’ud used to say thereafter, “would that I had been the man in that grave.”1

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 527-8

Back To Medina

There was no commotion in Byzantium. When the Apostle saw that there was no movement of troops by the enemy who seemed to have abandoned the border towns, he gave orders for the return march. The expedition's objective having been achieved, the prophet did not consider it necessary to advance further in the enemy’s territory to carry on the hostilities. Only a Christian chief, Ukaydir b. ‘Abdul Malik, who was the ruler of Dumatul Janda1 and enjoyed the patronage of the Byzantines, was reported to be harboring hostile designs. The Apostle sent Khalid with five hundred troops who captured Ukaydir and brought him to the Apostle. The Prophet, however, spared his life on the condition that he must surrender unconditionally and agree to pay the poll tax.2

After staying for a few nights in Tabuk, the Apostle returned to Medina.3

Footnotes:

1. Dumatul Jandal was a populous town near Tabuk where the Arabs used to go for transacting business in olden time. Duma had been forsaken and was deserted when Ukaydir again developed the town and started olive plantations. The town thus regained its past importance. The place enclosed by a surrounding wall had a strong fort which made it an importanct outpost at the northern border. The town was populated cheifly by the tribe of Kalab and Ukaybir was known as the King of the town, He professed Christianity.
2. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 526
3. Ibid. p. 527

Treaty Of Peace With Aylah’s Ruler

Yuhanna B. Ru’ba, the governor of Aylah called upon the Apostle at Tabuk. Yuhanna made a treaty of peace and also paid the poll tax. So did the people of Jarba’ and Adhruh, and they were all granted peace as well as guaranteed safety of their territory and their ships and caravans by land and sea. The treaties were written by the Apostle and delivered to the respective parties. Yuhanna was cordially received by the Apostle and was given due respect.1

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p..255-26

Demoralized Hypocrites

Some of the hypocrites kept abreast with the Apostle. While the Muslim army was headed for Tabuk, one of them said to another, but alluding to the Apostle, “do you think that the executioners of the Romans will deal with you in the same way as the Arabs do? By God, we seem to see you bound with ropes tomorrow.”1

Footnotes:

1. Ibid

Army’s Departure For Tabuk

The Apostle proceeded to Tabuk with a strong army of 30,000 from Medina. In no other drive, earlier to Tabuk, had such a large number of persons carried arms. Before the departure, the Apostle ordered the men to secure their camp at Thaniyatul-Wada. He put Muhammad b. ‘Maslama al-Ansari in charge of Medina and left behind Ali to look after his family. When Ali complained to the Apostle that the hypocrites were trying to spread false rumors about him, he replied, “Are you not content, “Ali that you are to me as Haroon1 was to Musa2, except that there will be no prophet after me?”3

When the Apostle encamped at al-Hjir, the land of Thamud, he told the companions that it was the country of those who were being tortured for their sins. He said, “if you enter the houses of those who did wrong to themselves, enter tearfully with the fear that you may also meet the same fate that befell them.4 He also instructed his men, “do not drink any of its water nor use it for ablutions. If you have used any for dough, then feed it to the camels and eat none of it.”

The journey was extremely arduous, and scarcity of water added to the misery of the army. When the people complained to the Apostle about their distress, he prayed to God and a cloud came down in torrents until every man had quenched his thirst and stored enough water to satisfy one's needs.5

Footnotes:

1. Aaron
2. Moses
3. Bukhari, Ghazwah Tabuk
4. Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. pp. 3-4; Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 522.
5. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 522

Enthusiasm Of The Muslims:

The Apostle took particular care to make preparations for the expedition. He urged upon the affluent companions to donate considerably for the campaign resulting in the outpouring of donations that they had thus accumulated. Uthman spent one thousand dinars on the force known as “The Brigade of Distress” or “Jaish al-‘Usr” and the Apostle invoked God’s blessings for him. A number of companions who were unable to raise money for their participation requested the Apostle to arrange the same for them. As their requests could not however be met for want of funds, the Apostle told them that their demands cannot be granted and so they went back disconsolate and disheartened. Some of them were so sorrow-stricken and depressed that God sent down the revelation exempting them from the obligation of joining the expedition:

“Nor unto those (is any blame) whom, when they came to thee (asking) that thou shouldst mount them, thou didst tell: I cannot find whereon to mount you. They turned back with eyes flowing with tears, for sorrow that they could not find the means to spend.” (Qur’an 9:92)

There were still others who could not make up their mind to participate in the campaign although their indecision was not because of any doubt or misgiving.

The Time Of Expedition

The Tabuk campaign was undertaken in the month of Rajab, 9A.H.1 It was the time when the date palms had ripened and their shades were very pleasant. The Apostle undertook a long journey for the Tabuk expedition and traversed deserts and arid plains to face an enemy immensely great in numbers. As the Muslims were then passing through a period of drought, the Apostle told the companions beforehand, unlike in previous occasions, that he intended to fight with the Byzantines so that they might make suitable preparations.2

The hypocrites fell out on different pretexts. They either disliked strenuous wars against the powerful enemy or disliked going out in the oppressive heat. They even doubted the truth and had little interest in fighting for the sake of God, so they refrained from accompanying the Apostle on this occasion. God admonished such disaffected persons as is related in this Quranic verse:

"Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the messenger of Allah, and were aversed to striving with their wealth and their lives in Allah’s way. And they said: go not forth in the heat! Say: The heat of hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood.” (Qur’an 9:81)

Footnotes:

1. It is difficult to determine the period of Tabuk campaign according to the solar calendar. Some of the Prophet’s biographers have computed that Rajab 9 A.H. coincided with November as computed by Habibur Rahan Khan in his Miftah-ulut-Taqwim. ‘Allama Shibli also holds this view. But the internal evidence furnished by reliable Traditions included in the Sahihain and other trustworthy books of Traditions shows that the expedition was undertaken in the summer season. K’ab b. Malik says: “God’s Messenger undertook it in extreme heat, facing a long journey, desert country and a teaaming enemy.” Musa b. Uqba describes the journey to have been undertaken during “autumn nights in severe heat when the people take shelter under the date-palm trees…” Also, the plea of the hypocrites and its contradiction in the chap. Repentance (And they said: Go forth in the heat! Say: The heat of the hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood) leaves no doubt that the journey was undertaken during the summer season. Be that as it may, the internal evidence is so strong and irrefutable that it cannot be brushed aside, as certain historian have done, to hold the view that the expedition was undertaken in November instead of July-August, merely for the reason that it is now difficult to compute the dates given by the earlier biographers with the Gregorian calendar.
2. Sahihain, on the authority of Ka’b b. Malik

The Expedition To Tabuk1

Some of the tribes were still trapped in the delusion that the rise of Islam was transient like a cloudburst, which tide would be stemmed before long. It was therefore necessary to warn or even threaten such people before they device an opportunity to strike at the Muslims. The expedition of Tabuk had the desired effect on such lukewarm tribes much in the same fashion as the conquest of Mecca had gone a long way in eradicating the clouds of opposition. This expedition against the Byzantine Empire whose might and magnificence was well-known to the Arabs, virtually meant that the muslims were ready to throw down the gauntlet even to the greatest seat of power of the time. As to how much respect the Arabs had for the Byzantines whom they called Romans, is well illustrated by the remarks made by Abu Sufyan after he had seen Heraclius rendering honor to the Apostle’s letter sent through Dihya b. Khalifa al-Kalbi. He had heard Heraclius saying that he, too, expected a prophet to be born. Abu Sufyan had then gotten up, as he related later on, rubbing his hands and saying that the affair of Ibn Abi Kabsha2 (i.e. the Prophet) had become so great that the King of t he Romans dreaded him. Abu Sufyan further says that he was then convinced that the Apostle would ultimately emerge victorious and this was how Islam originated in his heart.3

The Arabs could not then dream of attacking the Byzantine Empire, they themselves feared Byzantine invasion or rather did not rate themselves so high as to be capable of standing up against any great power. Whenever the Muslims of Medina were threatened or their safety was imperiled, their immediate action was to seek the aid of the Gassanid King who was a plylarch of East Syria under the rule of Caesar. What ‘Umar said during the affair of Aylah, which took place in the beginning of 8 A.H., shed sufficient light on the state of affairs during those days. He said that he had an Ansari friend who agreed with him to alternately remain in attendance upon the Prophet and inform each other about the incidents transpiring in one another's absence. ‘Umar further said that in those days they were alarmed by a rumor that the Gassanid King intended to invade Medina and were thus constantly agitated by it. Once, when his Ansari friend came to his house and knocked at his door so he could enter, ‘Umar inquired of his friend if the Gassanids had attacked Medina.4

The Byzantine star was on the ascent in those days. Its armies had, under Heraclius, dealt a deathblow to the Iranian forces and carried their arms to the Iranian capital. The glorious victory was celebrated by the Emperor’s stately march from Hims5 to Ayleh6 in the seventh year of the Hijra. Heraclius himself carried, in the guise of a penitent pilgrim, the True Cross retrieved from the Persians while carpets were spread and rose water sprinkled beneath his feet all over the path by the people who went forth to meet their hero with tears and acclamations.7 Hardly two years had passed after the Emperor of the Romans won this splendid victory, when the Apostle led an army to confront him. The Apostle’s daring venture left an indelible impression in the minds of the Arabs that it would be no exaggeration to claim that the expedition of Tabuk served as prelude to the conquest of Syria during the reign of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The Tabuk Expedition really afforded the Muslims to a chain of victories, which eventually catapulted them as the masters of Syria.

What was the genesis of this expedition? It is related that the Apostle got reports of Byzantine forces converging in the northern frontiers of Arabia with the intention of mounting an attack on the Muslims. Ibn Sa'ad and Waqidi had reported that the Apostle was informed by the Nabataeans that Heraclius was intending to come upon him and that his advance party had already reached Balqa’.8 This was after storing one year’s provision for his army and drafting the pro-Byzantine tribes of Lakhm, Jodham, ‘Amla and Ghassan under his banner.

Even if we ignore this report, it cannot be denied that the purpose of the expedition was to strike terror into the neighboring force, which was a potential threat to the rising power of Islam. The Apostle intended to forewarn the Byzantines that they should not consider the Muslims weak nor should they take any precipitate action to violate their territorial sovereignty. The expedition was thus considered a precautionary measure since one that does not have enough strength could neither dare shake one’s fist at a great power nor could one take the risk of descending on its borders. It is certain, at all events, that the true purpose of the expedition was what the revelation in this connection had explained in these words:

“O Ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).” (Qur’an 9: 123)

This objective was more than achieved as was subsequently borne out by the far-reaching consequence of the expedition. No retaliatory action was taken nor any detachments were moved to their borders by the Byzantines to drive back the Muslim army. The Emperor, exhausted by his Persian campaigns, remained an impotent spectator to the raids on his confederate border tribes or perhaps he thought it fit to wait and see before taking up the cudgels against the new power rising up in the East.

The first rattle of the new Arabian power impressed the pro-Byzantine Christian tribes in northern Arabia. This was a great advantage accruing from the expedition of Tabuk for it made these tribes shift their allegiance from Constantinople to Medina which eventually led them to accept the religious aspects akin to the Islamic power. The Expedition also went as far as proving that the rise of Islam was for real and not just meteoric, or not one, which is designed to burst like a bubble as some of the Arabs had hitherto been thinking about it. Moreover, the expedition showed that its climb to power was solid as a rock with a great future lying ahead of it. In fact, severance of the ties between these border tribes and the Byzantium was a prerequisite before they could concentrate on Islam, their new source of power and strength which was taking roots and shaping up in their own homeland. The divine revelation, too, makes an allusion to this aspect of the expedition as culled from a verse of Surah at-Taubah:

“Nor step they any step that angereth the disbelievers, nor gain they from enemy a gain, but a good deed is recorded for them therefore.” (Qur’an 9:120).

The battle of Mu’tah was still fresh in the minds of the Byzantines who had failed to humble the Muslim army in spite of their numerous soldiers. The Muslims, on the other hand, having once traded swords with the Byzantines, had overcome their traditional terror of the impregnable Roman legions. In short, the expedition of Tabuk was a landmark in the life of the Prophet as well as in the continuity of the Islamic mission for it provided better opportunities on the future course of events leading to the glorious conquest of Islam evolving throughout the course of time.

Footnotes:

1. Tabuk is half-way between Medina and Damascus lying to the south-east of Aylah, the biblical Elath or ‘Aqabah. Yaqut writes, quoting Abu Zayd, in the M’ojamm al-Buldan that Tabuk is the fourth destination on the road from Hijr to Syria. It is reported that the Prophet Shu’eyb was sent to the people living there. Tabuk is at a distance of six days’ journey from Red sea and lies between two mountains known as Hismy and Shibravi (Da’iratul Ma’arif Lil-Bustani). It is now a military cantonment in the district of Medina at a distance of 700 Km. From it.
2. Abu Sufyan had used the name sarcastically since a man of that name belonging to Khuza’a had given up idol worship, or perhaps, someone going by that name was among the forefathers of the Prophet. (Majm’a Bahar al-Anwar).
3. Bukhari
4. Bukhari and Muslim
5. Emessa or Edessa
6. Elath or ‘Aqabah
7. Muslim,Kitab ul-Jihad
8. Al-Zurqani, Commentary on Al-awahib, Vol. III, pp. 63-64.