The Battle of Tabuk

The Battle of Tabuk was the final battle of the Prophet which happened in the month of Rajab in the ninth year in the region of Tabuk. The lofty and strong fort, which had been built by the side of a spring on the road leading from Hijr to Damascus in the border area of the territory of Syria, was called Tabuk. It was indeed one of the most difficult trials and expeditions for Muslims.

In those days Rome was the only powerful adversary of Iran and possessed the greatest political and military strength. It was very proud on account of the victories which it had achieved against Iran and the defeat that it had inflicted on the Iranian army.

The Roman army, which consisted of 4000 mounted soldiers and infantrymen and was equipped with the armour of the latest model available in those times, encamped in the frontier strip of Syria. The tribes residing in the border areas (like the tribes of Lakham, ‘Amilah, Ghassan and Jazam) also joined them and the vanguard of the army advanced up to Balqa’[1].

News about the encampment of a group of Roman soldiers in the frontier strip of Syria reached the Prophet through the caravans, which were travelling between the Hijaz and Syria in connection with trade. He found no alternative except to give a reply to the aggressors with a big army and to protect, from the surprise attacks of the enemy, the religion, which had spread at the cost of the lives of the dear ones of Islam, and of his personal sacrifices, and had since taken root, and was about to spread throughout the world.

This unpleasant news reached him at a time when the people of Medina had not yet properly collected their produce, the dates were about to ripen, and Medina and its suburbs were, so to say, in the grip of a sort of famine. However, for godly persons, the spiritual life, the protection of high ideals, and jihad in the path of Allah are preferable to everything else.

Invitation of Warriors

The Prophet was aware to some extent of the capability and experience of the enemy and was sure that besides necessitating spiritual capital (viz. faith in Allah and fighting for the sake of Allah), victory in this battle also depended on a big army. Keeping this fact in view he sent men to Makkah as well as to the areas adjoining Medina to invite Muslims to fight in the path of Allah and also to ask well-to-do Muslims to provide for the expenses of war by making payment of zakat.

Soon after the proclamation made by the Prophet, 30,000 persons declared their readiness to participate in the battle and gathered in the camping ground of Medina (Thaniyya tul Wida’). The expenses of the war were provided by collecting zakat. Out of these 30,000 men, 10,000 were mounted soldiers and the remaining 20,000 were infantry-men. Later the Prophet ordered that every tribe should choose a standard for itself[2].

People who refused to participate in the Battle

The Battle of Tabuk was the best occasion on which the self-sacrificing persons and the pretenders and hypocrites could be recognized because general mobilization was ordered when the weather was very hot and the business community of Medina was ready to harvest the palm dates. Refusal of some of them, on various pretexts, to take part in the battle cast off the veil from their real faces and Qur’anic verses were revealed condemning their action.

Some persons declined to take part in this sacred jihad for the following reasons:

1. When the Prophet proposed that Jadd ibn Qays, who was an influential man, join the army against the Romans, he replied thus: “I have a fanatical attachment with women. I am, therefore, afraid that I may chance to see Roman women and may not be able to control myself”. On having heard this childish excuse of his the Prophet decided to leave him alone and to contact others. Jadd was condemned by Allah in verse 49 of Qur’an 9.

2. The hypocrites: Those persons, who had ostensibly embraced Islam but had, in fact, no interest in it, were preventing the people on different pretexts from taking part in this jihad. At times they put forth the excuse that the weather was very hot. The Divine revelation replied to their objection in verse 81 of Qur’an 9.

There were some persons who frightened the Muslims of participation in this battle and said: “The Arabs are not competent to fight with the Romans and consequently all the participants in the battle will be tied with ropes and sold in the free markets “[3].

3. Another group consisted of persons like Ka’b, Hilal and Mararah who had full faith in Islam and were also desirous of participating in jihad, but as they had not yet collected their produce they decided that after collecting the produce they would join the warriors of Islam. In the terminology of the Holy Qur’an (vide Surah al-Tawbah, 9:118) they are the same three violators who were severely reprimanded by the Prophet on return from Tabuk and the rebuke administered to them also served as an example for others.

Imam Ali Did Not Participate In This Battle

One of the distinctions of the Commander of the Faithful is that he accompanied the Prophet and was his standard-bearer in all Islamic battles except in the Battle of Tabuk, he stayed in Medina and did not participate in jihad under the orders of the Prophet himself. The Prophet took this decision because he knew very well that the hypocrites and some persons from amongst Quraysh were seeking an opportunity to bring about disorder and topple the newly established Islamic Government in his absence.

Tabuk was the farthest point to which the Prophet travelled in connection with the battles in which he participated. He realized perfectly that it was possible that during his absence anti-Islamic groups might create disturbance and might call their sympathizers from different places to join them for the success of their nefarious schemes. Hence, although he had nominated Muhammad bin Maslamah to act as his representative in Madina during his absence, he also said to Ali: “You are the guardian of the Ahl al-Bayt and my kinsfolk and the group of the Muhajirs, and none except myself and you are suited for this task”.

The stay of the Commander of the Faithful in Medina upset the conspirators very much because they realized that they could not put their schemes into practice in the presence of Ali who was continuously vigilant.

Hence, in order to ensure the exit of Ali from Medina, they decided upon another plan and circulated the rumour that the Prophet had asked Ali very earnestly to take part in jihad but the latter had declined to participate in this sacred battle on account of the very long journey and excessively hot weather. In order to contradict these people Ali saw the Prophet and placed the matter before him. At this moment the Prophet uttered his historical sentence which is a clear proof of Ali’s Imamate and his immediate succession as Caliph after the demise of the Prophet. He said: “O my brother! Return to Madina, because none is more suited to preserve the dignity and position of Madina than myself and you. You are my representative amongst the Ahl al-Bayt and my kinsfolk. Don’t you feel happy when I say that your relationship with me is similar to the one which existed between Harun and Musa except that no prophet will come after me. Just as Harun was the immediate successor of Prophet Musa you are my successor and Caliph after me[4]“

The Army of Islam proceeds towards Tabuk

The usual practice of the Prophet was that, while performing a journey to chastise a people, who obstructed the advancement of Islam, intended to attack the Muslims, or had evil designs against them, he did not make his aims and objects known to the officers and the soldiers, and made the army march through comparatively unfrequented routes. Thus he did not let the enemies become aware of his intentions and came upon them absolutely unawares[5].

However, in order to rout the Roman forces, who had collected on the frontiers of Syria to attack the Muslim territories, he made his aim clearly known to all concerned on the very day the general mobilization was proclaimed. The point in doing so was that the mujahids (warriors) should become aware of the importance of the journey and the hardships involved on the way, and should carry sufficient provisions with them.

Furthermore, in order to strengthen the army of Islam, the Prophet was obliged to seek help from the tribes of Tamim, Ghatfan and Tayyi’ and they were residing at far-off places from Madina. In view of this, the Prophet wrote letters to the chiefs of these tribes and also wrote a letter to ‘Atab bin Usayd, the young Governor of Makkah, and invited the tribes as well as the Makkans to partake in this sacred jihad8 as an extension of such a general invitation was not possible secretly.

Hence he needed to make the particulars of the expedition and its importance clearly known to the chiefs of the tribes so that they might place sufficient provisions and animals for riding at the disposal of their mujahids.

Extracted from the book titled “The Message” by Ayatollah Ja’far Subhani

References:

[1] . Tabaqat, vol.II, page 165.

[2] . Tabaqat, vol. II, page 166.

[3] . Mughazi-i Waqidi, page 1003.

[4] . Seerah-i Ibn Hisham, vol. II, page 520; Bihar, vol. XXI, page 207.

[5] . Mughazi-i Waqidi, vol. III, page 990.