The Battle of Banu Al-Mustaliq - I

18/04/2010| IslamWeb

Who was Banu Al-Mustaliq? When Did the Battle Take Place? What Were the Causes Behind It?

 
1-    Banu Al-Mustaliq were a sub-tribe of Khuzaa‘ah and Al-Mustaliq was their forefather. He was Juthaymah bin Sa‘d bin ‘Amr bin Rabee‘ah bin Haarithah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Aamir bin Maa’is-Samaa’.
 
2-     The Date of the Battle
 
Scholars differ regarding the date of the Battle. Their views may be summed up as follows: Ibn Is’haaq, Khaleefah bin Khayyaat and Ibn Jareer At-Tabari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them said that it took place during the month of Sha‘baan in the 6th year AH. Others, such as Al-Mas‘oodi  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him said that it took place during the month of Sha‘baan in the 4th year AH. A third group of the scholars are of the view that it took place during the month of Sha‘baan in the 5th year A.H. Of the earlier scholars who adopted the third view are: Moosa bin ‘Uqbah, Ibn Sa‘d, Ibn Qutaybah, Al-Balaathuri, Ath-Thahabi, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalaani and Ibn Katheer  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them. Of the modern scholars who adopted this view are: Al-Khudhari Bik and Al-Ghazaali  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them and Al-Booti, may Allah preserve him.
 
Sa‘d bin Mu‘aath, may Allah be pleased with him, died following the Battle of Banu Quraythah, which took place during the month of Thul-Qa‘dah in the 5th year A.H., according to the most preponderant view. This means that the Battle of Banu Al-Mustaliq took place before it.
 
3-    The reasons behind the Ghazwah of Banu Al-Mustaliq
 
The following are the most important reasons behind this Battle
 
A- The tribe of Banu Al-Mustaliq supported Quraysh and joined it during the Battle of Uhud against the Muslims. It was among the block of Ahaabeesh tribes who participated in the battle supporting Quraysh.
 
B-   The tribe of Banu Al-Mustaliq governed the main road leading to Makkah. It was a strong barrier that prevented the Muslims from reaching Makkah.
 
C-   News came to the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) that Banu Al-Mustaliq were mobilizing an army to fight him under the leadership of Al-Haarith bin Abi Dhiraar. Having heard about that, the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) set out and met them in one of their watering areas called Al-Muraysee‘ in the direction from Qadeed to the sea coast. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) made them taste a bitter defeat there.
 
4-    Events of the Battle of Banu Al-Mustaliq
 
Having learnt about the notorious mobilization of Banu Al-Mustaliq, the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) dispatched Buraydhah bin Al-Husayb Al-Aslami, may Allah be pleased with him, to verify the reports, and he told Banu Al-Mustaliq that he wanted to support them. He stayed with them until he verified their intention, then returned and told the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and informed him about that.
 
On a Monday two nights of the month of Sha‘baan, in the 5th year AH., the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) left Madeenah along with 700 fighters and thirty horses and moved towards Banu Al-Mustaliq. Banu Al-Mustaliq had been informed about Islam and invited to embrace it. They had also joined the polytheists in the Battle of Uhud. They were mobilizing allies to fight the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) attacked them while they were heedless and their cattle were watering. He killed their fighters and captured their children. Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, was among the captives. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
 
The Marriage of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) to Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, May Allah Be Pleased with Her
 
The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) distributed the captive women of Banu Al-Mustaliq. Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, was among the captives and she was a blessing for her people. Let us know about her story from ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. It was narrated that she said, “When the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) distributed the captive women of Banu Al-Mustaliq, Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith belonged to the share of Thaabit bin Qays bin Shammaas or one of his cousins. She held a manumission contract with him. She was a beautiful and attractive woman. Anyone who saw her admired her. She came to the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) in order to help her in paying her manumission.”
 
‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with him, continued
 
By Allah, as soon as I saw her at the door of my room, I hated her. I knew that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) would admire her. She entered to see the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and said “O Messenger of Allah, I am Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith bin Abi Dhiraar, the chief of his people. I have been afflicted with an adversity that you know [i.e. that she had become a slave woman after she was a free woman and the first lady of her people]. I belong to the share of Thaabit bin Qays bin Shammaas, or a cousin of his, and I hold a manumission contract with him. Here I am seeking your help for the manumission.” The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: “Would you want what is better than this?” She said, “What is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “I shall pay your manumission and marry you.” She agreed, and then the news spread among people.
 
Thereupon, the Muslims released all Banu Al-Mustaliq’s captives as they had become relatives through the marriage of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ).
 
‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The marriage of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) to Juwayriyah, may Allah be pleased with her, was the cause of the setting free of one hundred families of the Banu Al-Mustaliq. I do not know of a woman who was greater in blessing to her people than she was. Following the incident, Al-Haarith bin Abi Dhiraar, Juwayriyah’s father, came to Madeenah with the ransom of his daughter. The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) invited him to embrace Islam, and he did.”
 
The Battle of Al-Muraysee‘ is considered one of the unique and blessed Battles in Islam. Following that Battle, a whole tribe embraced Islam. The reason behind their conversion to Islam was that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with him, freed and returned the captives that were their shares of the booties. They hated to enslave the relatives of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). Due to that communal emancipation and unique generosity, the whole tribe embraced Islam.
 
The far reaching cause of this historical event was the love that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had for the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) honoring him and exalting his great personality. As such, love of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) gives these fine fruits and produces such unique incidents in history.
 
There were far reaching aims behind the marriage of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) to Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, and these aims were achieved when her people embraced Islam. The conversion of her people to Islam was one of the goals behind that marriage. In this way the number of Muslims increased, and Islam became more exalted; thus the hopes behind that marriage were achieved. Allah The Exalted facilitated the marriage, blessed it and realized the goal behind it, as Juwayriyah, may Allah be pleased with her, as well as her father embraced Islam, and then the whole tribe embraced Islam as well. This marriage resulted in blessing and power for Muslims as well as the material and moral support altogether for Islam and the Muslims.
 
Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, became a wife of the Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and one of the Mothers of the Believers. She would learn well what she would hear of the teachings of Islam and would act according to what she learned. She was well-versed in Fiqh (jurisprudence), a sincere worshipper, pious and God-conscious. She enjoyed a pure heart, illuminated reason, and a shining spirit. She loved Allah The Almighty and His Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and wished the best for all Muslims.
 
She narrated some of the Hadeeths of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and conveyed some of the facts of religion which were revealed to the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). Prominent scholars from among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated these Hadeeths on her authority and spread them among the Muslim community in order for those Hadeeths to be known and applied, and among the general human community as a part of Da'wah (propagation) and guidance.
 
Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, ‘Ubayd bin As-Sabbaaq and Kurayb (the slave of Ibn ‘Abbaas), Mujaahid and Abu Ayyoob (Yahya bin Maalik Al-Azdi)  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  them narrated some Hadeeths on the authority of Juwayriyah, may Allah be pleased with her. In his collection of Hadeeths, Baqiyy bin Makhlad  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him narrated seven Hadeeths on her authority; four of these Hadeeths are reported by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah. Al-Bukhari  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him narrated one Hadeeth on her authority, and Muslim  may  Allah  have  mercy  upon  him narrated two.
 
Her Hadeeths discussed the topics of disallowing fasting on Friday in particular; the reward for glorifying and supplicating to Allah The Almighty, the permission of giving a gift to the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) even if its owner had obtained it through charity, and the emancipation of slaves. With these seven noble Hadeeths, Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, eternalized her name in the world of Hadeeth narration to add to the honor of accompanying the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and being one of the Mothers of the Believers, the honor of conveying as much as she could of the guidance of the Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ).
 
The Mother of the Believers, Juwayriyah bint Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, was one of those who is described in the Qur’an as being (what means) {and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so.} [Qur’an 33:35] She was obedient to Allah The Almighty, and persevering in entreating Allah The Almighty, praising Him, exalting Him and glorifying Him. About this she said
 
The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) left my place for the morning prayer while I was sat [mentioning Allah] at my place of prayer and returned while I was in the same position. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said to me: “You have been in the same place since I left you.” I said, “Yes.” Thereupon he said: “I recited four statements three times after I left you, and if these were to be weighed against what you have recited during the time you have sat here then they would outweigh them: ‘Subhaanallaahi wa-bihamdihi, ‘adada khalqihi, wa-ridha-Nafsihi, wa-zinata ‘Arshihi, wa-midaada kalimaatihi [Glorified be Allah and praise be to Him as many times as the number of His creatures; as much as would please His Self, (as much as would) equal the weight of His Throne and (as much as) the ink to write His words.]’” [Muslim]
 
She died in the year 50 or 56 A.H – may Allah be pleased with her.

The Battle of Banu Al-Mustaliq - II

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