The Unsuccessful Attack of Ban£-Asad
The Holy Prophet was informed of Ban£-Asad’s intention to attack Medina. He dispatched Ab£-Salamah with one hundred and fifty troops and ordered them to attack the enemy before they would have any chance. The troops arrived at the place of Ban£-Asad with tremendous speed. The tribesmen became overwhelmed and fled the scene. Ab£-Salamah returned to Medina with some prisoners and booties.[1]
This victory boosted the Muslims’ military credentials to some degree. The hypocrites, Jews and the tribes living around Medina realized that Muslims were not truly defeated.
The Event of Bi’r Ma`£nah
This event was even more disastrous than the event of Raj¢`. It took place in ¯afar, the 4th year of Hegira. Ab£-Bar¡', the chief of Ban£-`ªmir, came to see the Holy Prophet in Medina. Showing no inclination to Islam, he made the proposal that the Holy Prophet would send a group of his followers to Najd to invite people to Islam. The Holy Prophet replied, “I fear that the Najd people might hurt Muslims.” Ab£-Bar¡' said, “I will protect them.” The Holy Prophet, then, dispatched seventy[2] of the Qur'¡n instructors and true companions. Arriving at Bi’r Ma`£nah, this group sent a letter to `ªmir ibn ±ufayl, who killed the messenger without even looking at the letter. Then, he asked Ban£-`ªmir to kill the Holy Prophet’s envoy. They refused to do so thanks to Ab£-Bar¡’s promise of protection. `ªmir ibn ±ufayl, together with some branches of Ban£-Sulaym, charged at the Holy Prophet’s envoy who, in return, had to defend themselves and all were martyred except for Ka`b ibn Zayd and `Amr ibn Umayyah al-®amar¢[3] who had fallen captive to the enemy and then set free. On his return to Medina, he killed two members of Ban£-`ªmir, without knowing that they had been on a contract with the Holy Prophet.[4]
[1] Al-W¡qid¢, op cit, pp. 340-343: Mu¦ammad Ibn Sa`d. Al-±abaq¡t al-Kubr¡ 2:50.
[2] According to some accounts, it was forty people. See ±abar¢, T¡r¢kh al-Umam wa’l-Mul£k 3:34; Ibn Hush¡m al-S¢rah al-Nabawiyyah 3:194; al-W¡qid¢, al-Magh¡z¢ 1:347.
[3] ±abar¢, op cit, 3:33-34; ±abars¢, Majma` al-Bay¡n 2:533; Ibn Shahr¡sh£b, Man¡qib 1:195-196; al-Majlis¢, op cit, 20:147-148; al-W¡qid¢, op cit, pp. 346-348; Ibn Hush¡m, op cit, 3:193; Ibn Sa`d, al-±abaq¡t al-Kubr¡ 2:51-53.
[4] ±abar¢, op cit, pp. 34; Ibn Hush¡m, op cit, 3:195; Ibn Sa`d, op cit, pp. 53.
