The Expedition of Abi Salamah to Bani Asad

Time and Place of this Expedition

This expedition occurred in the month of Muharram in the year 4 A.H. (With regards to the fact that Muharram is one of the sacred months and as such, wars and fighting of an offensive nature are forbidden, it must be noted that defensive war and preventative measures are permitted.) This expedition took place in the mountainous region of Qatan belonging to the Bani Asad.

Background of this Expedition

The plot of the Bani Asad against the Prophet

A man by the name of Walid ibn Zuhayr entered Medina and went to his son-in-law’s home – a man who was a companion of the Prophet of Allah, and said to him, “Salamah and Tulayhah have left the sons of Khuwaylid and are preparing their tribe for war with the Prophet of Allah and they have said, ‘We will move towards Muhammad in Medina, then we will loot the cattle that is on the outskirts of the city and while still mounted on our animals, we will return back so if they figure out what happened, they will not be able to catch us, and if we are caught by them we will still be victorious because we have taken up arms and provisions to fight against them. Also, we are mounted on steeds and they are on foot and after their defeat at the hands of the Quraysh, they do not have the necessary readiness for war.’” They took this man to the Prophet and informed the Prophet of Allah of this news.

The Prophet’s measure for the prevention of this plot

The Prophet of Allah called Abu Salamah and told him, “Be ready to lead this expedition of 150 people, because I have chosen you to command it. You will go to the land of Bani Asad and before they attack you, surprise them with a sneak attack.” The Prophet ordered him to observe Divine piety, and to be good and righteous with the Muslims who were with him, and then gave him the s. Abu Salamah was one of the companions of the Prophet of Allah who took part in the Battle of Uhud, where his arm was wounded. After Uhud, he returned home and rested for a month until he felt that his wound had healed, but unbeknownst to him, the wound had festered from the inside.

The Events of the Expedition

The Muslims’ movement towards Bani Asad

The group of Muslims under the leadership of Abu Salamah went forth quickly and travelled day and night so that they could reach the land of Bani Asad before news of their arrival could reach them through the word of spies. Walid ibn Zuhayr also went with them as a guide and returned to his hometown with them.

The Muslims’ invasion of the region of Qatan

It took the Muslims four days and nights to reach Qatan which was one of the watering holes belonging to Bani Asad. There, they saw sheep which had been let out to graze by the slaves of the tribe. The Muslims took three of the slaves captive while the others managed to escape, and they also managed to take the sheep. The slaves which escaped went back to Bani Asad and informed them of the invasion of Abu Salamah and his men.

The Muslims skirmish with Bani Asad

In the morning, Abu Salamah gathered his men and advised them to maintain piety and encouraged them towards the battle. He also emphasized that they must pay attention to their roles and paired them in two’s to safeguard one another. On the other side, the tribe of Bani Asad became aware of the situation before they were attacked, and armed and readied themselves for war. Abu Salamah attacked them and the polytheists were defeated and they scattered while the Muslims chased after them.

The Events after the War

The gathering of spoils of war

Abu Salamah stopped chasing the enemies and returned to his base. He and his army took any spoils of war that were light enough to be transported. Of course, the family of the tribe were not present in that area and so they were not able to take any war captives. The people then divided themselves into three groups: one group stayed at their base, while the other two groups were sent to collect the spoils on the condition that they did not act with greed in collecting the spoils of war and that they return back to the base quickly. They went and returned but only collected one camel and several sheep and did not encounter anyone.

The Muslims return to Medina

Abu Salamah returned to Medina with Walid and they gave him a few sheep as a gift on the way to compensate him for the lack of spoils of war. Thereafter, they picked a good servant for the Prophet of Allah and calculated the one-fifth levy (khums). Then they divided the rest of the spoils amongst the people present and returned to Medina.