Describe the main events of the following battles fought during the lifetime of Holy

Prophet;
(i) Khyber Expedition
(ii) Battle of Mu’ta
(iii) Battle of Hunain
(iv) Tabuk Expedition

Battle of Khyber:
 Fought in 7 AH (628AD), against the Jews.
 Jews of Banu Nadir broke the Charter of Madina with the Muslims, and they were expelled from
Medina by Holy Prophet (PBUH).
 When the Muslims signed the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiya, the Jews took it as weakness of the Muslims
as the terms of the treaty were pro-Quraish. Therefore, they along with their allies like Banu Ghatfan
decided to attack Medina.
 When the Holy Prophet (PBUH) came to know of this, he (PBUH) gathered a small army of around
1600 Muslims and reached Khyber swiftly in a short period of 3 days.
 The Jews were unprepared for this surprise attack, and so they shut themselves in their fortresses for
defense.
 According to the historians, there was a force of about 20,000 Jews in the forts.
 Muslims attacked the first fort of Naim which was captured.
 Muslims also captured other small fortresses without much difficulty.
 Then Muslims went for the main fort of Qamus which was heavily guarded and was led by all-Arab
famous warrior Marhab, who was considered to be stronger than 1000 horsemen.
 The Muslims had been trying to capture it for many days (20 days) but were unsuccessful.
 When they complained to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) about their successive failures, he (PBUH)
consoled them and said, “By God, tomorrow I shall give it [the banner] to a man who loves God and
His Messenger, whom God and His Messenger love. Allah will bestow victory upon him”.
 Next morning the Holy Prophet (PBUH) gave the banner to Hazrat Ali (RA) & with his own hands
put the armor on him, handed him the sword and the staff and sent him as the commander of the
Muslim troops.
 Seeing Muslims under the command of Hazrat Ali, Jewish leader Marhab came out of the fort and
invited Hazrat Ali for a single combat.
 Marhab was killed by Hazrat Ali in the first attack.
 Then a fierce battle started and the Jews were forced to surrender.
 In this battle, Hazrat Ali (RA) moved a door by himself which would have taken 40–50 men to
move.
 He was given the title of ‘Lion of Allah’ by the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
 More than 90 Jews were killed and many were imprisoned whereas 20 Muslims were martyred.
 The Jews requested to stay at Khyber and in return gave half of their agricultural produce to the
Muslims.
 Holy Prophet (PBUH) was kind and he (PBUH) accepted their request. Their lives, properties,
women & children were left unharmed.
 Muslims gathered a lot of war spoils in this battle e.g. vast store of dates, honey, oil, flocks of sheep,
herd of camels & the spoils in treasure and jewels was very large.
 This battle strengthened the Muslims and their faith in Holy Prophet (PBUH)’s leadership.
Battle of Mu’tah:
 Fought in 629 A.D.
 This was the fiercest battle fought during the lifetime of Holy Prophet (PBUH).
 Holy Prophet (PBUH) had sent Hazrat Harith bin Umair who was carrying a letter to the ruler of Basra.
 When he reached Mu’ta, he was intercepted by Shurabil (governor of Al-Balqa) and killed.
 Killing an envoy was regarded as declaration of war.
 The Holy Prophet (PBUH) prepared an expedition of 3000 Muslim under Hazrat Zaid bin Haris.
 He (PBUH) said, “If Zaid (RA) is killed, Jafar bin Abu Talib (RA) will be your commander, and if he is
also martyred, then Abdullah bin Rawaha will take your command. If he too dies, then you can select a
commander from among your selves”. (Bukhari)
 Heraclius sent 100,000 troops with another 100,000 from tribes allied to the Byzantines.
 Upon reaching Syria, Muslims were surprised to see an army of 200,000 against them. However, Hazrat
Abdullah bin Rawaha gave them an enthusiastic speech and so all of them decided to meet the enemy at
all cost.
 Hazrat Zaid led the battle until he was fatally stabbed.
 Hazrat Jafar succeeded him. He intentionally disabled his horse to dispel any idea of returning home
from the battlefield. Both his hands were cut off but he fought to his death.
 Then Hazrat Abdullah took the banner and he too was killed.
 Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed stepped up as the leader of Muslims & showed his skills as a strategist. He
fought hard and in this process broke his nine swords.
 The Muslims gradually retreated and the Byzantines thought that they were trapped, stopped pursuing
the Muslims, causing minimal casualties to the Muslims i.e. 12.
 The Muslims did not avenge Hazrat Harith bin Umair’s murder but they proved they were a force to be
reckoned with.

Battle of Hunain:
 Fought in 630AD.
 The Conquest of Makkah was shocking for the neighboring pagan tribes and so they were looking for an
opportunity to undo the efforts of Holy Prophet (SAW).
 The two warring and brave tribes of Taif, (Hawazin and Banu Thaqeef) along with their allies camped in
the valley of Hunain to fight the Muslims.
 They were not ready to submit to Islam because they saw it as a threat to their religion & economic
interests.
 Malik bin Auf, who was the chief of Hawazin’s gathered an army of 20,000 which was very well
equipped. They were accompanied by their families, wealth & with their livestock. They came to fight
till death.
 The Holy Prophet (PBUH) met them with 12,000 troops, 10000 those who accompanied him from
Medina and 2000 new converts from Makkah.
 Banu Hawazin was known for their skill in archery. Their leader Malik bin Auf appointed his best
archers on the surrounding hills of the narrow pass, where the Muslim army had to cross before reaching
the other side.
  As the Muslims advanced, they were showered with arrows from all sides while the main portion of the
Hawazin’s army attacked from the front.
 Surprised by the sudden attack the Muslims retreated in confusion.
 Despite this a group a Muslims stood firm with Holy Prophet (PBUH) e.g. Hazrat Ali (RA), Hazrat Abu
Bakr (RA) and Hazrat Umar (RA).
 However, with great effort, Holy Prophet (PBUH) & Hazrat Abbas (RA) reassembled the fleeing
Muslims.
 Therefore initially, the Muslims faced some losses, but quickly managed to control the enemy.
 The enemy fled to Taif and shut themselves behind its strong walls.
 The Muslims were victorious in the battle.
 Hawazin’s had to suffer heavy losses. Enormous war spoils were captured (including 24000 camels,
40,000 sheep) and the Muslim came with an abundant wealth.
 70 pagans were killed and 6000 were taken as prisoners. They were released by the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) as many of them belonged to the tribe of his foster mother Hazrat Halima Saadia.
 The Holy Quran mentions this battle in the following words:
 “Certainly. Allah did help you in many battle-fields and on the day of Hunain. Behold! Your great
numbers elated you, but it availed you nothing and the land being so vast, became straitened to you.
Then you turned your backs, retreating. But Allah did pour His calm on the Messenger and upon the
Muslims, and sent down forces which you did not see. He punished the Infidels. And that is the
punishment of Infidels.”
 Muslims laid siege to the city of Taif for 40 days. Then the Muslims returned back without conquering
it. After sometime Banu Thaqeef sent a delegation to Medina and they accepted Islam.

Tabuk Expedition:
 Fought in 630 A.D.
 The Muslims had become powerful and the Romans wanted to defeat them before they grow too
powerful.
 The Nabateans brought news to Madina that Heraclius was preparing a big and powerful army.
 The Prophet made a decision to go to war and meet the Byzantines on their border.
 He (PBUH) called for an expedition of volunteers to march towards Tabuk.
 Thus, the Muslims marched towards Tabuk with 30,000 men
 The companions displayed great sacrifices at this time again. Firstly, it was the most important time of
the year, as the harvest were ready for picking, yet they volunteered to leave and fight.
 Hazrat Usman (RA) donated war equipment and gold worth about 50,000 Dirham's for this battle.
Hazrat Umar (RA) gave half of his belongings. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) gave all of his belongings.
 Muslims camped for 20 days at Tabuk and Holy Prophet (PBUH) took control of some of the tribes on
the border.
 However, the Roman army was so stricken with awe that they did not show up for the combat.
 Hence, Muslims came back to Medina victorious & their reputation as a powerful force reached far and
wide, and thus many delegations came to visit him after this event.