The Expedition of Hamra al-Asad and the Retreat of the Disbelievers

This announcement was made to frighten the Quraysh, so that they would realize that the Noble Prophet ﷺ was coming after them. At the same time, they would also realize that the Muslims still had strength and that they had not become weak because of their defeat at Uhud.

Everyone was wounded, but no one paid any attention to his wounds.

The condition was such that forty men from Banu Salimah were wounded. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself was also wounded, yet he set out with the Companions in that very condition.

The wounds of the Prophet ﷺ were as follows: his blessed face was injured because the links of his helmet had become embedded in it. There was also a wound on his blessed face caused by a stone. His lower lip was wounded from the inside. One narration also mentions an injury to his upper lip.

In addition to these wounds, his right shoulder was also injured. Ibn Qami’ah had struck this shoulder when the Prophet ﷺ fell into the pit.

Because of falling into the pit, both of the Prophet’s ﷺ knees were also injured.

In this condition, the Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah رضي الله عنه:

«“Talhah, where are your weapons?”»

He replied:

«“They are here, O Messenger of Allah!”»

He then went, put on his armor and weapons, and returned.

He had only nine wounds on his chest, while he had seventy wounds over his entire body.

Allah is the Greatest!

The army of the Prophet ﷺ continued moving forward until it reached Hamra al-Asad.

This place is approximately twelve kilometers from Madinah Munawwarah.

The Muslims stayed there for three days.

Every night, the Companions رضي الله عنهم kept lighting fires at various places throughout their camp so that the enemy could see the lights from a distance.

Through this strategy, the enemy assumed that the Muslims had come in a very large number.

Consequently, they became intimidated by the Muslims.

This expedition is known as the Battle of Hamra al-Asad.

Hazrat Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah رضي الله عنه said that during this expedition, the Muslims had only dates to eat, or they would slaughter camels for food.

When the disbelievers heard that the Muslims were once again present in the field, fully prepared, they returned toward Makkah.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ received this information, he also returned toward Madinah.

At Hamra al-Asad, the Muslims captured Abu ‘Azzah, a poet.

He used to compose poetry against the Muslims.

He had also been captured at the time of the Battle of Badr.

After being captured and brought before the Noble Prophet ﷺ, he had begun pleading for mercy.

The Prophet ﷺ had released him on the condition that he would never again compose poetry against the Muslims.

However, he broke his promise and continued composing poetry against the Muslims.

On this occasion, he was captured again.

Once again, he began crying and pleading for mercy.

He said:

«“O Muhammad! Release me! Show me kindness! Release me for the sake of my daughters. I promise you that I will never do such a thing again.”»

The Noble Prophet ﷺ said:

«“No. You will no longer be able to cause harm to the Muslims.”»

He was then executed.

On this occasion, the Noble Prophet ﷺ also said:

«“A believer is not stung twice from the same hole.”»

The scholars have also explained this saying of the Prophet ﷺ by writing that a believer should remain cautious if someone deceives him and should not fall into the same person’s deception again.

In the same year, 3 AH, wine was declared unlawful.

In 4 AH, the Battle of Banu Nadir took place.

The reason for this was that the Noble Prophet ﷺ went to the neighborhood of Banu Nadir.

The Prophet ﷺ needed to discuss and settle an important matter with Banu Nadir.

They were a Jewish tribe.

The Prophet ﷺ had made an agreement with them that if the Muslims ever had to pay blood compensation, Banu Nadir would also assist them in this matter.

When the Noble Prophet ﷺ went to their neighborhood, a small group of Companions was also with him.

There were fewer than ten of them.

Among them were Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Hazrat ‘Umar, and Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنهم.

When the Noble Prophet ﷺ arrived and began speaking with them, they said:

«“Yes, yes, why not? We will pay the amount immediately. But first, please eat something.”»

Thus, they met the Prophet ﷺ apparently with great happiness.

In reality, however, they had already prepared a plan to kill him.

They made the Prophet ﷺ sit beside a wall.

Then one of the Jews climbed onto the roof of the house.

He intended to drop a large stone from the roof onto the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

He was just about to do so when Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام.

He informed the Prophet ﷺ of this plot.

The Prophet ﷺ immediately rose from there.

His manner was as though he had suddenly remembered something.

He left his companions sitting there and returned to Madinah Munawwarah.

When the Prophet ﷺ took longer than expected to return, the Companions became worried.

They went out in search of him.

They saw a man coming from the direction of Madinah Munawwarah.

The Companions رضي الله عنهم asked him about the Prophet ﷺ.

He told them that he had seen the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah and was coming from there.

The Companions رضي الله عنهم immediately reached Madinah.

The Noble Prophet ﷺ then informed them about the plot.

The Prophet ﷺ sent Muhammad ibn Maslamah رضي الله عنه to Banu Nadir and gave him this message:

«“Leave my city—that is, Madinah. You can no longer remain in this city because the plan you made was an act of treachery.”»

All the Jews were also informed about the plot they had made against the Prophet ﷺ, because not everyone had known about it.

After hearing the details of the conspiracy, the Jews remained silent.

No one could utter even a single word.

Then Hazrat Muhammad ibn Maslamah رضي الله عنه said to them:

«“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has ordered that you leave this place within ten days. After this period, whoever is found here will be killed.”»

Upon hearing the command of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, the Jews began preparing to leave.

They started arranging camels and other means of travel.

But at that moment, they received a message from the hypocrites:

«“Do not leave your homes and homeland under any circumstances. We are with you. If it comes to war, we will help you. And if you must leave this place, then we will also leave with you.”»

The person who made the greatest effort to prevent Banu Nadir from leaving was the leader of the hypocrites, ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy.

He sent the Jews this message:

«“Do not leave your homes. Remain firmly in your strongholds. I have two thousand brave men with me. Among them are members of my own people as well as men from other Arab tribes. When the time comes, they will enter your fortresses and fight until the very end. They will not allow any harm to reach you. They will give their lives before you do.»

«“We also have the people of Banu Qurayzah and the people of Ghatafan with us. All of them extend a helping hand toward you.”»

When Banu Nadir received these messages, they abandoned the idea of exile.

They therefore sent a message to the Noble Prophet ﷺ:

«“We will never leave our homeland. Do whatever you wish.”»

Upon hearing this message, the Prophet ﷺ raised the words of Takbir.

The Muslims with him also said:

«“Allah is the Greatest!”»

Then the Prophet ﷺ said:

«“The Jews are prepared for war, so prepare for Jihad.”»

The Muslims began preparing for Jihad.

At that time, the person encouraging the Jews to go to war was Huyayy ibn Akhtab.

His daughter was Hazrat Safiyyah رضي الله عنها, who later married the Noble Prophet ﷺ and received the honor of becoming one of the Mothers of the Believers.

Huyayy ibn Akhtab was the chief of Banu Nadir.

Another leader of Banu Nadir, Salam ibn Mishkam, made great efforts to persuade him and prevent him from going to war.

However, Huyayy ibn Akhtab, encouraged by the hypocrites, refused to listen and remained determined to fight.

Salam ibn Mishkam then said to him:

«“You did not listen to me. Now you will see what happens. We will be driven out of our homeland, our honor will be brought to ruin, our families will be taken captive, and our young men will be killed in this war.”»

Even these words had no effect on Huyayy ibn Akhtab.