sourceFile: Sirah Transcript by Yasir QadhiShaban
But there were 2 issues: (i) The Prophet ﷺ told them to get information. He didn't say 'don't fight' but the purpose was information. But this is a lot of money; it's a fortune. So they are wondering, "This is a fortune for the ummah, but the Prophet ﷺ didn't tell us to attack." (ii) A bigger problem is that it's the 30th of Rajab i.e. it's the Sacred Month. And of course in the Sacred Month you are not supposed to fight. However, what makes it so difficult was that there was literally just 1-2 hours left until Maghrib, and after Maghrib it's Shaban! So they began discussing what is to be done. They said, "If we wait until the sun sets, they will be gone - but if we fight them now, we will be guilty of fighting in the Sacred Month." And by the way, up until this point, the Muslims had not been successful with any capture missions. But this was an opportunity to get 8-9 camels loaded with spices/goods etc. So this was a lot of benefit and blessings for the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims. So they went and attacked; one of the herdsmen was killed and two of them they captured and took them as prisoners of war. As they came, they went back the same way to Madinah. Allah had willed this.
As we mentioned, right at the end of the Battle of Uhud, Abu Sufyan had said, "We will meet again one year from now at Badr!" Uhud took place in the 3rd year of the Hijrah, thus in the month of Shaban in the 4th year of the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ left with around 1,500 sahaba and camped once again at Badr. And the Prophet ﷺ camped there for more than a week waiting for the Quraysh's army to show up —and he assigned Ali b. Abi Talib to be the flag bearer— but no army showed up. And it shows us the Quraysh were not able to live up to their promise. What happened? They in fact did gather an army of ~2,000 strong, but they were half-hearted and not into it — they marched out of Makkah, but a lot of talk and back and forth took place so they just called it quits. They gave an excuse and said, "This year has been difficult, it's been a year of drought, there has been little rain, we need to take care of our families and be strong to fight but it has been a difficult year." Of course the Muslims did not complain, they were there at Badr waiting. But in any case the Quraysh abandoned the entire fight and we see from this the tide is shifting: The Muslims are getting stronger and the Quraysh are getting weaker.
Ghazwa Dhat al-Riqa (غزوة ذات الرقاع) was another ghazwa — no fighting took place but it was important. Ibn Ishaq places this ghazwa right now i.e. in the 4th year during Shaban. However, people such as Bukhari said it occurred after the Battle of Khaybar [7 AH]. And there is evidences of both sides. But one of the main evidences that is used to say it took place right now is the story of Jabir (discussed in detail below): and in it Jabir says, "My father was martyred at Uhud, and I got married. And the Prophet ﷺ did not know I was married." So the Prophet ﷺ does not know Jabir is married, and Jabir got married right after Uhud — so this suggests this ghazwa took place now.
Another incident that happened at around this time was the birth of the first grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, al-Hasan b. Ali b. Abi Talib (الحسن بن علي بن أبي طالب) RA. Most authorities say Hasan was born in Shaban of the 5th year of the Hijrah, but some say no, it was Husayn (حسين) who was born in Shaban 5th year of the Hijrah, which means Hasan was born Ramadan 4th year of the Hijrah, and they deduce this from narrations that say: Between Hasan and Husayn was 10-11 months. Literally as soon as Fatima RA finished her postpartum bleeding from giving birth to Hasan, she became pregnant with Husayn. When Hasan was born, the Prophet ﷺ said to Ali RA, "Show me my son," and then he asked, "What did you name him?" Ali RA said, "Harb (حرب)" meaning "War." It's a common pre-Islamic name, but the Prophet ﷺ said, "No, he is not War, rather he is Beauty (i.e. Hasan)."
When did this occur? Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari, and Ibn al-Athir say Shaban 6th year Hijrah. Others say 4th year. Ibn Sa'd, al-Zuhri, Ibn Hajar, and Ibn Kathir all say 5th year, same month as Hasan was born. And Ghazwat al-Muraysi' was important not because of the battle, but because of the incident of the Slander of Aisha RA. The Slander of Aisha RA occurred on the return from Muraysi'. So when did it happen? Huge controversy: There are classical scholars on each side. Ibn Ishaq says 6th year, but this is problematic because in the incident of the Slander, Sa'd b. Muadh has a very important statement in it, but we know that he died right after the Battle of Khandaq [5 AH]. So most likely Muraysi' occurred in 5th year. As for the opinion that says 4th year: Some of the earliest scholars counted the first year as being one year after the Hijrah took place (i.e. 1 AH for us is 0 AH to them; so their 1 AH is our 2 AH) — thus maybe those scholars who say it took place in the 4th year, they really mean 5th year. So the strongest position is in the 5th year — Sa'd b. Muadh simply could not have been a part of Muraysi' if it took place in the 6th year. Thus we say Muraysi' and the incident of Aisha RA took place in the 5th year of the Hijrah. (But make a note because most of the Sirah books followed Ibn Ishaq and say it occurred in the 6th year.)
As we said the battle was not important. The Prophet ﷺ attacked them, most likely on Monday 2nd Shaban 5 AH. He left Madinah and surprise attacked them right after Fajr. They were so unprepared that the women were collecting the water, children going outside to play, etc. And when they saw the Muslims coming, they almost immediately surrendered. The bulk of the tribe, over 2,000 camels, 5,000 sheep, and 1,000 people were taken prisoner of war/captives. Most of them were women and children. Only a handful of the Banu al-Mustaliq died. As for the Muslims, there was not a single casualty except for one accidental misfiring. One of the Ansar mistaken a Muhajir, Hisham b. Subaba (هشام بن صبابة), for an enemy and killed him.
When did Muraysi' occur? It's a theoretical difference, just a historical anomaly — it doesn't really change things. The two major positions are 5th year and 6th year of the Hijrah. The problem comes that the sahaba are remembering narratives many years after they happened; and piecing together all of the narratives, there's two individual mentioned in Bukhari with authentic isnad, both of which could not have been alive/present in the story in the same year. Both of these names are clashing with each other in terms of chronology. (i) One is Sa'd b. Muadh. Sa'd b. Muadh dies right after Khandaq — he would not have been alive in the 6th year Shaban because Khandaq takes place 5th year Shawwal. And that's why some scholars say Muraysi' must have occurred 5th year Shaban. (ii) The other is Zaynab bint Jahsh. She did not become the wife of the Prophet ﷺ until at the end of the 5th year. Thus if we say this incident took place 5th year Shaban, Zaynab isn't his wife yet. And that's why some scholars say Muraysi' must have occurred 6th year Shaban. But then how does Sa'd b. Muadh come into the story? So historically, one of the two figures is incorrect. The memories of the people narrating got messed up and confused.
We are following the 5th year Shaban, but take note the majority of Sirah books say 6th year Shaban as they took Ibn Ishaq as the main authority. But most modern researchers —with many other evidences— have concluded that Muraysi' took place Shaban of the 5th year. The mention of Sa'd was correct, and therefore either (i) Zaynab was mentioned only as a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ and not his wife, OR (ii) it was just a mistake — it wasn't actually her, it was somebody else.
"Verily, time has returned to its rightful place as it was on the day that Allah created the heavens and the earth. A year is 12 months, four of which are sacred: three of them are consecutive: Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram; and the Rajab of Mudar which is between Jumada and Shaban."