The Battle of Tabuk
At this, Shaima demanded the release of the prisoners from her tribe. There were six thousand prisoners. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ handed all these prisoners over to Shaima, and she set them all free. This was an extremely noble act. In this way, Shaima proved to be immensely blessed for her people.
After this, the other prisoners of Banu Hawazin were also released. Malik ibn Awf had fled from the battlefield and gone to Ta’if, while his family members had been taken prisoner. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ released them as well. When Malik ibn Awf رضي الله عنه learned about the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ kind treatment of his family, he too left Ta’if and came into the presence of the Prophet ﷺ. At that time, the Prophet ﷺ was at the place of Ji‘ranah. Malik accepted Islam. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed him as the leader of those people of Banu Hawazin who had accepted Islam.
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was about to leave Ji‘ranah for Makkah, he entered into the state of Ihram for Umrah. From there, he departed and entered Makkah at night. The Prophet ﷺ continuously recited the Talbiyah, saying, “Labbayk.” After completing the Umrah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned to Madinah on the 27th of Dhul-Qa‘dah.
After the Conquest of Makkah, Islam became firmly established in the hearts of all the Arab tribes, and they began accepting Islam in large numbers.
In Rajab of 9 AH, the Battle of Tabuk took place.
Through his spies, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ received information that the Romans had gathered a very large army in Syria and had spread their advance forces as far as the region of Balqa’. Balqa’ was a well-known place.
Based on this information, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered preparations for war. Whenever the Prophet ﷺ instructed the Companions رضي الله عنهم to prepare for a military expedition, he normally did not tell them where they were going. In other words, he kept the destination secret. However, in the case of the Battle of Tabuk, he did not keep it secret because the Roman army was very far away. It was not appropriate to set out without knowing the difficulties of the journey. Moreover, the enemy’s numbers were extremely large, so preparations had to be made accordingly.
The Battle of Tabuk was the last battle in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ personally participated. After this, he could not personally go on any other military expedition. However, he continued sending the Companions رضي الله عنهم on military missions.
For weapons and other necessary supplies, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced that people should contribute. As soon as the Companions رضي الله عنهم heard this announcement, they began spending their wealth generously, as if they were pouring out water.
Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه gave so much wealth that no other person could equal him in quantity. He gave nine hundred camels, one hundred horses, ten thousand dinars, and countless provisions for the journey.
Seeing the generosity of Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“O Allah! I am pleased with ‘Uthman, so You also be pleased with him.”
According to one narration, the Prophet ﷺ continued praying for him until quite late at night.
He also said about him:
“After today, no deed of ‘Uthman can harm him.”
While saying these words, the Prophet ﷺ was turning those dinars over and over.
Besides Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه, the other wealthy Companions also made tremendous contributions toward preparing the army.
Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه went ahead of everyone in sacrifice. He brought everything that was in his house. Its value amounted to four thousand dirhams.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him:
“Abu Bakr! Have you left anything for your family?”
He replied:
“I have left Allah and His Messenger for them.”
Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه brought half of his wealth. Hazrat ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه also brought a great deal of wealth. Hazrat ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib رضي الله عنه also contributed a large amount. The women removed their jewelry and sent it as well.
Hazrat ‘Asim ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنه gave seventy awsaq of dates. One wasq refers to a quantity of weight that can be loaded onto one camel. This weight is approximately three and three-quarter tons.
Eventually, the preparations for the expedition were completed.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out with an army of thirty thousand men. There were ten thousand horses in this army. He appointed Muhammad ibn Maslamah رضي الله عنه as his deputy in Madinah.
Some hypocrites also joined this army. Among them was ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the leader of the hypocrites.
Because this expedition was extremely difficult and involved a long journey, most of the hypocrites did not support it from the beginning. Even among those who set out, many lost courage and returned after traveling only a short distance. In this way, their hypocrisy became exposed.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had several flags prepared for this expedition. The largest flag was given to Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه.
The Prophet ﷺ instructed Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه to remain in Madinah. Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه felt somewhat troubled by this. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said:
“Are you not pleased that your position with me is like the position of Harun عليه السلام with Musa عليه السلام, except that Harun عليه السلام was a prophet, whereas there will be no prophet after me?”
Upon hearing this, Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه became satisfied.
Apart from the Battle of Tabuk, there was no other battle in which Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه did not participate.
During this journey, while traveling toward Tabuk, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Companions رضي الله عنهم passed by the ruins of the homeland of the people of Thamud, whom Allah Almighty had destroyed through His punishment.
While passing that place, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ covered his blessed head with a cloth and increased the speed of his riding animal so that they could pass through the area as quickly as possible.
The Prophet ﷺ said to the Companions رضي الله عنهم:
“Pass through these ruins while weeping, lest you too be afflicted by the calamity that afflicted these people.”
He also announced:
“Tonight, a powerful windstorm will come upon them. Whoever has a camel or horse should tie it securely.”
Along with this, the Prophet ﷺ instructed:
“Tonight, no one should go outside his camp alone. If someone must go outside, he should take someone with him.”
It so happened that one man went outside alone because of some need. As a result, he became unable to breathe.
Another man went out in search of his camel. The result was that the wind carried him away and threw him onto the mountains.
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ learned about these two incidents, he said:
“Did I not tell you that no one should go out alone? If you have to go outside, take someone with you.”
During this journey, one day the water supply completely ran out. The people became extremely troubled by thirst. Eventually, they mentioned their condition to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands to pray. He continued keeping his hands raised until rain came. So much rain fell that everyone became satisfied and refreshed, and the army also filled its containers with water.
In these circumstances, the Prophet’s ﷺ she-camel went missing.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered the Companions to search for it.
Some hypocrites still remained with the army. They had not returned. On this occasion, they began saying:
“Muhammad ﷺ claims that he is a prophet and tells these Muslims news from the heavens, yet he does not even know where his own she-camel is.”
These words immediately reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
He said before the people:
“I have been informed that some people are saying this. By Allah! I only know those things which Allah Almighty informs me of. Regarding the she-camel, Allah Almighty has just informed me that it is in such-and-such a valley, and its reins have become entangled in the branch of a tree. Go there and bring the she-camel to me.”
The people went there and found the she-camel exactly as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had described.
The journey continued.
One day, the camel of Hazrat Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه became exhausted. When the camel could no longer continue walking, Hazrat Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه became distressed. He removed the luggage from the camel, placed it on his head, and began walking on foot until he reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The people had already informed the Prophet ﷺ that Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه had fallen behind because his camel had become exhausted.
Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Leave him as he is. If there is goodness in Abu Dharr, Allah Almighty will bring him to you; and if there is evil instead of goodness, then understand that Allah has given you protection from him.”
Then the people saw someone approaching from a distance and informed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“It will be Abu Dharr. May Allah have mercy upon him. He is coming alone on foot; he will die alone.”
That is, his death would occur in a deserted place, and he would be resurrected and raised alone on the Day of Judgment.
This prophecy of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning Hazrat Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه was fulfilled word for word.
During the caliphate of Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه, he went to the deserted place of Rabadhah, and he died there.
Eventually, the Islamic army reached the region of Tabuk and established its camp there.