Al-Abwā' on MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts ( ar, ٱَلْأَبْوَاء) is a Hejazi village between

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...

and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

belonging to the area of

Rabigh Rabigh ( ar, رَابِغ, translit=Rābigh) is a city and governorate in the Province of Makkah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea, around northwest of Mecca in the historic Hejazi region. The city had an esti ...

, on the western coast of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. The

Islamic Prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets a ...

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 monot ...

entered it before the

Battle of Badr The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH), near the present-day city of Badr, Al Madinah Provin ...

, in 2 ''

Safar Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppre ...

'' A.H.

Significance in Islamic history

* The place where

's mother,

Aminah Aminah bint Wahb ( ar, آمِنَة ٱبْنَت وَهْب, ', ), was a woman of the clan of Banu Zuhrah in the tribe of Quraysh, and the mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Early life and marriage Aminah was born to Wahb ibn Abd Manaf an ...

bint Bent ( fa, بنت, also Romanized as Bint) is a city in Bent District, Nik Shahr County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in West ...

Wahb ibn Abd Manaf Wahb ibn 'Abd Manaf ( ar, وهب بن عبد مناف) ibn Zuhrah ibn Kilab ibn Murrah, was the chief of Banu Zuhrah, and the father of Aminah bint Wahb. He was thus the grandfather of Islamic prophet Muhammad. Family Wahb's grandfather wa ...

, died. * It was here that Muhammad's cousin,

Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ( ar, أبو سفيان بن الحارث بن عبد المطلب), born al-Mughīra (), was a companion and first cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Abdalmalik ibn Hisham. ''Notes to ...

, adopted Islam. * The Seventh Twelver Shi'ite Imam and direct descendant of Muhammad,

Musa al-Kadhim Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after h ...

, was born in this town. * In 744 C.E., after the assassination of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

Caliph Al-Walīd II, Al-'Abdallah met the Hashimites in the village of al-Abwā', when an oath of allegiance was pledged to his son

Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al- Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al- Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakīyya ( ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن الحسن بن الحسن بن علي الملقَّب ...

as the new

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Iṣfahānī ( ar, أبو الفرج الأصفهاني), also known as Abul-Faraj, (full form: Abū al-Faraj ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥaytham al-Umawī al-Iṣfahānī) (284–356 AH / 897 ...

, "Kitāb al-Maqātil aṭ-Ṭālibīyīn" (), Book of Tālibid Fights

Military campaigns of Muhammad

The fourth caravan raid that Muhammad ordered, known as the invasion of Waddan, was the first offensive in which Muhammad took part personally with 70

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

, mostly ''

Muhajirun The ''Muhajirun'' ( ar, المهاجرون, al-muhājirūn, singular , ) were the first converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated with him from Mecca to Medina, the event known in Islam as the '' Hij ...

''. It is said that twelve months after moving to Medina, Muhammad himself led a caravan raid to Waddan (Al-Abwā). The aim was to intercept the caravans of the

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Q ...

. The raid party did not meet any Quraysh during the raid. Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic. English versio
here
/ref> However, the caravan of the

Banu Damrah The Banu Damrah were a tribe from around the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. They were involved in a conflict with him during the Invasion of Waddan and resided around al-Abwa area of Saudi Arabia. See also *List of expeditions of Muhammad ...

was raided. Negotiations began and the two leaders signed a treaty of non-aggression. Banu Damrah pledged not to attack Muslims or side with the Quraysh; and Muhammad pledged not to attack, or seize the goods of, the caravans of the Banu Damrah.Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar p. 127

References

Populated places in Mecca Province {{SaudiArabia-geo-stub