The Attack of Ibn Sa’d on Fadak
Time and place
This attack took place in the month of Sha’ban in the year 7 A.H. in the region of Fadak. [1]
Background of the war
Fadak – the Prophet’s property
Allah had given the villages of Fadak to the Prophet as the spoils of war and this was something which the general Muslim population had no share in as it was not taken through a war or killings which they were involved with. Allah gave the Prophet ownership of this region, the villages and the farms on that land and they were all in the domain of the Prophet. [2]
Bani Murrah’s aggression towards Fadak
The Prophet was informed that some of the desert-dwellers of Bani Murrah, who had possibly been those who had taken part in wars against the Prophet, were grazing their livestock on the land of Fadak and the order of the Prophet for this land was being ignored – that as this was his property, these individuals were guilty of trespassing. [2]
Account of the war
Bani Murrah’s attack on the Muslim army
Waqidi writes,
“The Prophet sent Bashir ibn Sad along with thirty others towards Bani Murrah in Fadak. He moved towards them and reached their livestock and despatched them and their shepherds towards Medina. Their guardsman became aware of the situation and called everyone to attention by letting out a loud cry. They moved quickly and surrounded the Muslims at night and shot at them until the morning, at which time they began the main attack. Bashir ibn Sad fought passionately until he was injured and fell to the ground and Bani Murrah seeing him in that state, believed that he had been killed. A large number of the Muslims were killed however some escaped. After gathering their livestock, the people of Bani Murrah returned to their locale. After they left, Bashir returned to Medina, however Ulbah ibn Zayd al-Harithah, who had returned to Medina before Bashir, went and informed the Prophet of what had transpired.” [2]
The Prophet orders an attack on Bani Murrah
In this time, Ghalib ibn Abdullah had returned from the attack when the Prophet gave him the military banner and sent two hundred men along with him and said, “Proceed until you reach the place where Bashir and his companions were attacked. If Allah makes you dominant over them, do not leave a single one of them alive!”
The Muslims attack on Bani Murrah
Ghalib and the soldiers with him proceeded until they approached the area of the Bani Murrah and at first, he sent a vanguard towards them. Ulbah ibn Zayd saw a group of them and returned immediately and informed Ghalib. Ghalib continued on travelling at nights until they came very close, such that they could be seen by the naked eye. He saw them near a watering hole, washing and giving water to the camels and resting. Ghalib rose and took the pledge of companionship between his soldiers between every two men and addressed them, saying,
“No one should be separated from his companion. Woe be unto him if when he returns and I ask, ‘Where is your companion?’ and he replies, ‘I do not know!’”
Thereafter he said to them,
“When I say the takbir, you repeat after me.”
Ghalib said the takbir and his companions duly repeated after him pronouncing the greatness of Allah. They pulled their swords from their sheaths and surrounded all of the enemy forces who were present. They put up a fight, however all of them were killed quickly. [2]
The post-war account
The spoils of war
The Muslim army took the women, children and livestock as spoils and divided them amongst themselves. Each person received ten camels or its equivalent in sheep with every camel being the equivalent of ten sheep. [2]
The killing of a person who had declared Islam at the hands of Usamah
After gathering together, they realised that Usamah ibn Zayd had not come back to the camp as he had gone in pursuit of a man named Nahik ibn Mirdas. A portion of the night passed before he returned and upon his arrival, the commander of the Muslims, Ghalib ibn Abdullah, severely reprimanded him, saying,
“Do you not remember the pledge I made with you?”
He replied,
“I went in pursuit of a man who was making fun of me, but when he saw the point of the sword on his throat, he said, ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’”
The commander asked, ‘Did you sheath your sword (and spare his life)?’ He replied, ‘No, by Allah, I did not sheath my sword until I killed him!’ The Muslims said, ‘By Allah, you have committed a bad action! You killed a man who said ‘There is no God but Allah!’ Usamah was then remorseful of his actions. [2] In his commentary, al-Qummi believes this man to be Mirdas ibn Nahik al-Fadaki who was a Jew. He said, When he felt that the Prophet’s soldiers were coming, he gathered his wealth and family and took shelter in a cave. Usamah ibn Zayd passed by him and he started to say,
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”
, but Usamah plunged his sword into him and killed him. [3]
The news of Usamah’s crime reaches the Prophet
When Usamah returned to Medina, he told the Messenger of what transpired to which the Prophet asked,
“Did you kill a man who said, ‘There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’?! He replied, ‘O’ Prophet of Allah, he only said this to save himself from death!’ The Prophet said, ‘You had not removed the curtain of his heart to know what was in it. You did not accept what his tongue said, while you did not know what intention was inside of him!!’ Usamah swore that after this he would never kill anyone who said, ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’” [4]
The revelation of a verse of the Quran in response to this crime
Allah has said in this respect, “O you who have faith! When you issue forth in the way of Allah, try to ascertain: do not say to someone who offers you peace, ‘You are not a believer,’ seeking the transitory wares of the life of this world. Yet with Allah are plenteous gains. You too were such earlier, but Allah did you a favour. Therefore, do ascertain. Allah is indeed well aware of what you do.” (Quran, Surah al-Nisa (4), Verse 94) [4]