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The expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place in July AD 625 (or April 626, Muharram AH 5 of the Islamic calendar according to al-Waqidi),. or after the Battle of Khaybar in AD 628, i.e. AH 7 of the Islamic calendar. Two Quran verses, 5:11 and 4:101, are related to this event. Note: Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic, English translation availabl
here
/ref>Muḥammad Ibn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb, Mukhtaṣar zād al-maʻād, p. 345..


Background

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
learned that certain tribes of
Banu Ghatafan The Ghaṭafān ( ar, غطفان) were an Arab tribal confederation originally based northeast of Medina. The main branches of the Ghatafan were the tribes of Banu Abs, Banu Dhubyan and Ashja'. They were one of the Arab tribes that interacted wit ...
were assembling at
Dhat al-Riqa Dhat al-Riqa is a location in Saudi Arabia. During the Islamic Prophet Muhammad's era the Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place here because Muhammed received the news that certain tribes of Banu Ghatafan were assembling at Dhat al-Riqa with suspici ...
with suspicious purposes.


Battle

He proceeded towards Nejd leading 400-700 men after he had mandated
Abu Dhar Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari Al-Kinani (, '), also spelled Abu Tharr or Abu Zar, born Jundab ibn Junādah (), was the fourth or fifth person converting to Islam, and from the Muhajirun. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Kinanah tribe. No date of bir ...
to manage Madinah during his absence. In another version, Uthman ibn Affan, is given this honor. The
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
fighters penetrated deep into their land until they reached Nakhlah where they came across bedouins of Ghatfan. This is called the expedition of Dhat al-Riqa (the patchwork of mountains). Muhammad conducted a surprise raid to disperse them. The Ghatafan fled to the mountains, leaving their women behind. No fighting took place, but Muhammad attacked their habitations and captured their women. Other sources report Muhammad signed a treaty with the tribe.. When prayer time came, the Muslims worried that the Ghatafan men might descend from their mountain hideout and attack them while they were praying. Apprehending this fear,
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
introduced the ‘service of prayer of danger'. In this system, parties of faithful take turns standing guard while the other party prays. According to Muslim sources, God revealed verses 4:101 regarding shortening of a prayer. .


Aftermath

While Muhammad was resting under a shade tree at Dhat al-Riqa, a polytheist man came to him with the intention of killing him. The man was playing with Muhammad's sword and pointed it to Muhammad; asking him: Muhammad replied: The man asked: Muhammad said: The would-be assassin then sheathed the sword and returned it to Muhammad. Verse 5:11 was then revealed, proclaiming Allah's protection for Muhammad. After fifteen days Muhammad returned to Medina. However, he was not at peace; he apprehended that the Banu Ghatafan might attack to reclaim their women.


Timing

Some scholars claim that the expedition took place in Nejd (a large tableland in the Arabian Peninsula) in Rabi‘ Ath-Thani or Jumada Al-Ula, A.H. 4 (or beginning of AH 5). They claim that it was strategically necessary to carry out this campaign in order to quell the rebellious Bedouins to prepare for the encounter with the polytheists, i.e. minor Badr Battle in Sha‘ban A.H. 4. However, Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri claimed that Dhat Ar-Riqa‘ campaign took place after the fall of Khaibar (and not as part of the Invasion of Nejd). This is supported by the fact that Abu Hurairah and Abu Musa Ashaari witnessed the battle. Abu Hurairah embraced Islam only some days before Khaibar, and Abu Musa Al-Ash‘ari came back from Abyssinia (
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
) and joined Muhammad at Khaibar. The rules relating to the prayer of fear that Muhammad observed at Dhat Ar-Riqa‘ campaign, were revealed at the Asfan Invasion. Scholars say that this took place after Al-Khandaq (the Battle of the Trench).


Islamic sources


Quran 4:101 and 5:11

The Quran verse 4:101 was reportedly revealed in this event, regarding shortening of prayers, as was verse 5:11, regarding a man who was sent to kill Muhammad or threaten him which states:


Biographical literature

The event is mentioned by the Muslim jurist Tabari as follows: This event is mentioned in Ibn Hisham's biography of Muhammad. The Muslim jurist Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya mentions the event in his biography of Muhammad, ''
Zad al-Ma'ad ''Zad al-Ma'ad Fi Hadyi Khair Al 'Ibaad'' ( ar, زاد المعاد في هدي خير العباد) is a 5-volume book, translated as Provisions of the Hereafter in the Guidance of the Best of Servants, written by the Islamic scholar Ibn al-Qayyim. ...
''. Among the modern secondary sources that mention this is ''The Sealed Nectar''.


Discrepancy in dates

It is well documented that the Battle of Badr was fought on Friday, 17 Ramadan AH 2. In his book ''Essai sur l'histoire des arabes avant l'islamisme, pendant l'epoque de Mahomet'' Armand-Pierre Caussin de Perceval equates Ramadan with the Muslim month ending in January AD 624 and notes (correctly) that the seventeenth of that month was a Saturday (14 January). Again, it is well documented that the battle of Uhud was fought on Saturday, 7 Shawwal AH 3. Caussin de Perceval equates Shawwal with the Muslim month ending in February 625 and says that the seventh of that month was Tuesday. The new moon of that month fell on a Monday morning so would have become visible that evening. Thus the first would have been Tuesday and the seventh Monday. The reason why the dates do not agree is that Caussin de Perceval assumes an intercalation every three years (thus in AH 1, AH 4 and AH 7). This period is too long (the average is seven intercalations in nineteen years rather than seven in 21), which means that his dates become progressively more and more late moving back from the reform of the calendar in AD 632. Since the day of the week in the Muslim calendar advances by one or two days per month the discrepancy is resolved by pushing Caussin de Perceval's calculated dates back a month.


Hadith literature

The Sunni Hadith collection
Sahih Muslim Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century '' hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued b ...
also says about this event:


See also

* List of battles of Muhammad * Military career of Muhammad * Muslim–Quraysh War


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Expedition Of Dhat Al-Riqa 625 Campaigns led by Muhammad