The Incident of Raji’ and Bi’r Ma’unah

When the Noble Messenger ﷺ had departed for Tabuk, a group of hypocrites had remained behind in Madinah. Their number was around eighty. They had made various excuses for not participating in the expedition.

However, besides them, there were three Muslims who had stayed behind merely because of laziness. They were Hazrat Ka‘b ibn Malik, Murarah ibn ar-Rabi‘, and Hilal ibn Umayyah رضي الله عنهم.

The Muslims stopped speaking to these three men.

When they came into the presence of the Noble Messenger ﷺ and presented their respective excuses, he ﷺ said to them:

“Go away. Allah will decide your matter.”

A few days later, the Prophet ﷺ also ordered them to remain separate from their wives.

They sent their wives to their parents’ homes.

However, Hazrat Hilal ibn Umayyah رضي الله عنه was elderly. Because of his old age, he was permitted to have his wife remain in the house to serve him, but they were to remain separate from each other.

In this way, fifty days passed.

Everyone had stopped speaking to these three Companions.

After fifty days, Allah Almighty accepted their repentance.

The people congratulated them.

All three came into the presence of the Noble Messenger ﷺ, and he ﷺ also congratulated them.

In their happiness, these Companions gave a large portion of their wealth in charity.

After the Battle of Tabuk, the Noble Messenger ﷺ did not personally participate in any further battle.

However, he continued sending the Companions رضي الله عنهم on various military expeditions.

The expeditions in which the Noble Messenger ﷺ did not personally participate are called Saraya.

Saraya is the plural of Sariyyah.

Such Saraya took place both before and after the Battle of Tabuk.

During his blessed lifetime, the Prophet ﷺ sent the Companions رضي الله عنهم on approximately forty-seven such expeditions.

Among them, the incidents of Raji‘ and Bi’r Ma‘unah are particularly painful and famous.

First, read the details of the incident of Raji‘.

A group from the tribes of ‘Adal and Qarah came into the presence of the Noble Messenger ﷺ.

They said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Send some of your Companions to our region to teach us the religion.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent six of his Companions with them.

Their names were:

• Mirthad ibn Abi Mirthad al-Ghanawi
• Khalid ibn Bukayr al-Laythi
• ‘Asim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aflah
• Khubayb ibn ‘Adi
• Zayd ibn Dathinah
• ‘Abdullah ibn Tariq رضي الله عنهم

The Noble Messenger ﷺ appointed Mirthad ibn Abi Mirthad as their leader.

They set out with those people.

Eventually, they reached the place of Raji‘.

Raji‘ was located in a district of the Hijaz.

When they reached there, the people of ‘Adal and Qarah called out to the tribe of Hudhayl.

The people of Hudhayl immediately came.

It was as though the entire conspiracy had already been prepared.

These people had brought the Companions there as part of a planned plot.

There were approximately one hundred men from the tribe of Hudhayl.

They surrounded the Companions.

The Companions also drew their swords.

Thus, the fighting began.

As a result of this battle, Hazrat Mirthad, Khalid ibn Bukayr, Hazrat ‘Asim, and ‘Abdullah ibn Tariq رضي الله عنهم were martyred.

Zayd ibn Dathinah and Khubayb ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنهم were captured.

Hazrat Zayd ibn Dathinah رضي الله عنه had killed Umayyah ibn Khalaf during the Battle of Badr.

His son Safwan purchased Zayd from those people in order to avenge the death of his father, and had him killed.

As for Khubayb ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنه, he was taken outside Makkah to the place of Tan‘im so that he could be executed.

At that time, Hazrat Khubayb ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنه said to them:

“If you consider it appropriate, allow me to perform two rak‘ahs of prayer before I am killed.”

They gave him permission.

Hazrat Khubayb رضي الله عنه performed two rak‘ahs with great calmness and peace of mind.

Then he said to those people:

“I wished to make these two rak‘ahs longer, but I thought you might assume that I was lengthening my prayer because of fear of death.”

In Islamic history, Hazrat Khubayb ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنه was the first person to perform two rak‘ahs before being killed.

After that, he was placed on the execution platform and firmly bound.

At that time, he said:

“O Allah! I have conveyed the message of Your Messenger, so convey to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ the news of what these people have done to me.”

He then recited this supplication:

“O Allah! Count these disbelievers and kill them one by one, and do not leave even one of them.”

After this, the disbelievers martyred him.

Two sons of a woman of Makkah named Sulafah had been killed by Hazrat ‘Asim رضي الله عنه.

She had vowed that if someone brought her the head of ‘Asim رضي الله عنه, she would use his skull as a drinking vessel.

Hazrat ‘Asim رضي الله عنه knew about this vow.

Therefore, before being martyred, he prayed:

“O Allah! Do not allow my body to fall into their hands.”

Thus, when he was martyred and those people came forward to take his body, a swarm of bees attacked them.

They fled.

They then decided that they would take the body at night, because there would be no bees at night.

But during the night, Allah Almighty sent a flood of water that carried the body away.

In this way, Allah Almighty protected his body.

The supplication of Hazrat Khubayb رضي الله عنه was also fulfilled.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ was informed through revelation of what had been done to him.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ also informed the Companions of this incident.

Around the same days as the incident of Raji‘, the incident of Bi’r Ma‘unah took place.

Its details are as follows:

The chief of the tribe of Banu ‘Amir came to the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

The Prophet ﷺ invited him to Islam.

Instead of accepting Islam, he said:

“I consider your message to be extremely noble and good.

It would be better if you sent some of your Companions toward the people of Najd.

The tribes of Banu ‘Amir and Banu Sulaym live there.

They can invite them toward the religion.

I hope that the people of Najd will accept your invitation.”

The Noble Messenger ﷺ said:

“I fear something from the people of Najd.

I am afraid that they may harm my Companions.”

The Prophet ﷺ said this because Abu ‘Amir’s uncle, ‘Amir ibn Tufayl, was one of the greatest enemies of Islam, and the people of that region were also strongly opposed.

Hearing this, Abu ‘Amir said:

“Your Companions will be under my protection. They will be under my responsibility.”

The Prophet ﷺ accepted his assurance.

After giving this assurance, Abu ‘Amir departed.

The Prophet ﷺ then sent Hazrat Mundhir ibn ‘Amr رضي الله عنه with forty or seventy men.

All of them were extremely devoted and ascetic Companions.

The Noble Messenger ﷺ also gave them a letter.

They departed from Madinah and stopped at Bi’r Ma‘unah.

Bi’r Ma‘unah was situated between the lands of Banu ‘Amir and Banu Sulaym.

Bi’r means a well.

Thus, Bi’r Ma‘unah means the well of Ma‘unah.

This region was called Harrrah.

There were many black stones in this area.

Upon reaching there, these Companions gave the letter of the Noble Messenger ﷺ to Hazrat Haram ibn Milhan رضي الله عنه and sent him toward ‘Amir ibn Tufayl.

Hazrat Haram رضي الله عنه reached him and handed him the letter of the Noble Messenger ﷺ.

He did not even agree to read the letter.

While giving him the letter, Hazrat Haram رضي الله عنه said:

“O people! I have come to you as a messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So believe in Allah and His Messenger.”

He had hardly spoken these words when ‘Amir ibn Tufayl signaled to a man.

That man came from behind Hazrat Haram رضي الله عنه and struck him with a spear in his side.

The spear passed through his body.

Immediately, these words came from his lips:

“Allah is the Greatest! By the Lord of the Kaaba, I have succeeded.”

After having him martyred, ‘Amir ibn Tufayl said to his people:

“Now kill the rest of his companions as well.”

They refused to do so because they knew that these men who had come were under the protection of Abu ‘Amir.

Upon hearing their refusal, ‘Amir ibn Tufayl called upon Banu Sulaym.

At his call, the people of the tribes of ‘Usayyah, Ri‘l, and Dhakwan immediately came.

All of them advanced toward the Muslims and surrounded them.

When the Muslims saw the situation, they immediately drew their swords.

The fighting began.

Eventually, while fighting, these Companions were martyred.

Only Ka‘b ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه remained alive among them.

He was severely wounded.

The disbelievers thought that he was dead.

Later, he was taken away from the battlefield, and he recovered from those wounds.

Besides him, Hazrat ‘Amr ibn Umayyah رضي الله عنه and another Companion also survived the battle.

When the polytheists surrounded the Muslims, these two Companions had gone out to tend the camels.

While the Companions were being martyred there, the Noble Messenger ﷺ was delivering a sermon in Madinah.

After being surrounded, the Muslims prayed:

“O Allah! We have no means other than You by which we can inform Your Messenger on our behalf.”

Allah Almighty accepted their supplication.

Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام immediately informed the Noble Messenger ﷺ of the incident.

The Prophet ﷺ conveyed this news to the Companions رضي الله عنهم during the sermon itself:

“Your brothers have encountered the polytheists. The polytheists have martyred them.”

Meanwhile, ‘Amr ibn Umayyah ad-Damri رضي الله عنه and his companion had gone out to tend the camels.

The two of them saw carrion-eating birds circling over the camp from a distance.

They became worried and understood that some extraordinary event had taken place.

Therefore, they immediately set out toward their companions.

At that time, the killers of the Companions were still there.