The Raid of Fadak by Imam Ali
Time and location of the raid
This raid took place in the month of Shaban in the year 6 A.H. in the area of Fadak, a village nearby Khaybar which was a distance of six days of travel from the city of Madinah. [1]
Preparation for the raid
Waqidi reports that Bani Sad were residing in Fadak and the Prophet received news that a group of them were arriving to help the Jews of Khaybar to launch a battle against the Prophet. [1]
The event of the raid
The Prophet sent Imam Ali along with 500 people for this raid. This group traveled at night and hid during the day until they reached a place called Hamj (a watering hole near Fadak, located between Fadak and Khaybar).
While there, they came across a man from the tribe of Bani Sad whom they captured. Ali said to him,
“Do you have any information from the community of Bani Sad?”
The man replied,
“No, I do not.”
Ali applied pressure until the man finally confessed that he was a spy from Bani Sad and that had been sent to the Jews of Khaybar to tell them to give a portion of their palm trees to the tribe of Bani Sad, just how they had given some of their trees to others.
Ali asked him,
“Where are your people right now?”
He replied,
“When I had left them, 200 had gathered together and Wabr ibn Alim was in command of them.”
Ali said to him,
“Take us to them.”
To this, the man replied,
“Only on the condition that you grant me amnesty!”
Ali said,
“If you take us to the place where they are and also where they are protecting their livestock, you will have amnesty, otherwise there will be no amnesty for you!”
Once the man agreed to these conditions, he left along with the others. They passed through rocky and hilly areas causing some of the people to suspect him of betrayal (as this area did not seem like the place where the people would have been due to its rugged terrain). However after a while, they arrived at a field where they saw a large number of livestock. He said,
“This is their flock of sheep and over livestock, now free me.”
The Muslims replied saying,
“We will not free you until we remain safe from their pursuit.”
The Muslims proceeded to attack the livestock causing the shepherds to flee and (consequently) the shepherds went on to inform the residents and warn them of the presence of the Muslims.
As a result, the residents fled and by the time the Muslims arrived, they were not able to find anyone and thus, they then freed the man. [1] [2]
The situation after the raid
After the spoils of war had been gathered, Imam Ali separated the (amount due for) khums from it. Imam Ali kept a pregnant camel aside to give to the Prophet while the remainder of the spoils, which totaled 500 camels and 1,000 sheep, were divided up amongst the soldiers. [1] [2]
References