The Expedition of Usama bin Zayd was a military expedition of the early Muslim

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

led by Usama ibn Zayd that took place in June 632, in which Muslim forces raided

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 31. The expedition came three years after the

Battle of Mu'tah The Battle of Mu'tah (, or ') took place in September 629 (1 Jumada al-Awwal 8 AH), between the forces of Muhammad and the army of the Byzantine Empire and their Ghassanid vassals. It took place in the village of Mu'tah in Palaestina Sa ...

. After the

Farewell Pilgrimage The Farewell Pilgrimage () refers to the one Hajj pilgrimage that Muhammad performed in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca. Muslims believe that verse 22:27 of the Quran brought about the intent to perform Hajj in Muhammad tha ...

, the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

appointed Usama ibn Zayd as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade the region of Balqa in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. Muhammad sent Usama to Syria to avenge the Muslim martyrs of the

, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son,

Zayd ibn Harithah Zayd ibn Ḥāritha al-Kalbī () (), was an early Muslim, Sahabi and the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He is commonly regarded as the fourth person to have accepted Islam, after Muhammad's wife Khadija, Muhammad's cousin Ali, a ...

, had been killed. Usama's campaign was successful and his army was the first Muslim force to successfully invade and raid

territory, thus paving the way for the subsequent

Muslim conquest of the Levant The Muslim conquest of the Levant (; ), or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab–Byzantine wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and develope ...

and

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman Egypt, Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broa ...

, both of which took place during Usama's lifetime.

Background

The

was fought in September 629 near the village of

Mu'tah Mu'tah (, ') is a town in Karak Governorate in Jordan. Mutah University is located in the city. History In Islamic Hadith, tradition, it is known for the Battle of Mu'tah in 629 Common Era, CE, the first military engagement between the Arab Mus ...

, east of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

and Karak, between the forces of Muhammad and the forces of the

and their Arab Christian

Ghassanid The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...

vassals. In Islamic historical sources, the battle is usually described as the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s' attempt to take retribution against the

Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...

after a Ghassanid official executed Muhammad's emissary who was en route to

Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...

. During the battle the Muslim army was routed. After three Muslim leaders (including Usama's father,

), were killed, the command was given to

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

and he succeeded in saving the rest of the forces. The surviving Muslim forces retreated to

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. After the

in 632, Muhammad appointed Usama ibn Zayd as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade the region of Balqa in the

. The stated aim of this expedition was to avenge the Muslim losses at the

, in which Usama's father and Muhammad's adopted son,

, had been killed. Usama gathered a force of approximately 3000 men, of which 1000 were cavalry soldiers, and

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

had intended on joining Usama on campaign. Usama had also sent spies ahead of him, from which he learned that the enemy were still unaware of the imminent approach of his army.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, p. 32. However, due to Muhammad's death on 8 June, the campaign was delayed and

was elected as

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. With the death of Muhammad, some Muslim leaders and citizens resisted going under the command of Usama because they thought that he, who was 20 at the time, was too young to lead an army. Muhammad dismissed these concerns.Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar (Free Version), p. 303 This incident is also mentioned in the

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

. Certain

companions of the prophet The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

tried to persuade

, who succeeded Muhammad as leader of the Islamic community, to replace Usama as commander of the army with

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...

, due to Usama's youth. Abu Bakr was under great pressure regarding this expedition due to rising rebellion and

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

across

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, but he was determined. reaffirmed the decision of Muhammad and dispatched the expedition under Usama's leadership.Gil, A history of Palestine, 634-1099, pp. 31-32.

Expedition

According to

Al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

, before Usama headed out and raided the inhabitants of

commanded Usama to follow ten rules of war. The tradition of the ten rules of Abu Bakr is also mentioned in the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

collection of Al-Muwatta.: Al-Muwatta; Book 21, Number 21.3.10.Aboul-Enein, H. Yousuf and Zuhur, Sherifa, ''Islamic Rulings on Warfare'', p. 22, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, Diane Publishing Co., Darby PA, Tabari states that the expedition was successful, and Usama reached

and became the first Muslim force to successfully raid

territory, thus paving the way for the subsequent Muslim conquests of Syria and Egypt from the Byzantine Empire. This expedition became notable in Islam history due to how the still eighteen year old Usama was appointed as overall commander, leading veterans and high ranked companions of Muhammad such as

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...

, Sa'id ibn Zayd, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, and Qatada ibn al-Nu'man.

References

Notes

Sources

Bibliography