Battle of al-Abwāʾ (Arabic: غزوة الأبواء) or Battle of Waddān (Arabic: غزوة وَدّان) was the first battle (ghazwa) of Prophet Muhammad (s) which occurred in Safar, 2/August, 623. The battle was launched in order to overcome the threats of Banu Damra (Arabic: بنو ضمرة). When the Damra tribe learned about the Prophet's (s) presence in the area, they asked for a peace treaty. On his way, the Prophet (s) made a peace treaty with them in al-Abwa'.
 Al-Abwa' | |
| Date | Safar, 2/August, 623 |
|---|---|
| Place | Al-Abwa' and Waddan |
| Coordinates | 23°06′32″N 39°04′19″E / 23.108780°N 39.071972°E |
| Cause | To defeat the threat of Quraysh and Banu Damra |
| Result | A peace treaty between Prophet (s) and Banu Damra |
| Belligerents | |
| Army of Islam Banu Damra | |
| Commanders | |
| Prophet Muhammad (s) Mukhashshi b. 'Amr al-Damri | |
Al-Abwa'
"Al-Abwa'" is a village near Waddan between Mecca and Medina.[1] Amina bt. Wahb, the Prophet's (s) mother, was buried in al-Abwa'.[2]
Date of the Battle
The battle, which is also known as Waddan, was the first battle between the Prophet (s) and polytheists which occurred in 2/623. Some people believe that the battle occurred in Safar, 2/August, 623,[3] and others hold that it occurred after 12 months of the Prophet's (s) stay in Medina (about rabi' I, 2/September, 623).[4]
The Prophet (s) appointed Sa'd b. 'Ubada as his successor in Medina and then left the city together with 60 cavalries of Muhajirun. No person from Ansar attended the battle.[5] The flag of the Islamic army in this battle was held by Hamza b. 'Abd al-Muttalib.[6]
When the Prophet (s) arrived in al-Abwa', there was no one from the Quraysh there. However, Banu Damra had arrived in the area in order to make a peace treaty with the Prophet (s). Mukhashshi b. 'Amr al-Damri (Arabic: مخشي بن عمرو الضمري), the head of the tribe at the time, signed a peace treaty with Muslims.[7]
Contents of the Peace Treaty
In the peace treaty, it was agreed that:
- They should not gather armies against each other.
- They should not help each other's enemies.
Finally, after 15 nights from his travel, the Prophet (s) returned to Medina.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Aḥmad b. Rusta, vol. 7, p. 178.
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 177.
- ↑ Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, 1369 Sh, p. 8.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā bi-aʿlām al-hudā, p. 72.
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 392; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 288.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 19, p. 187.
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 392; Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 7, p. 125.
- ↑ Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 12. 1409 AH.
References
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Suhayl Zakār & Riyāḍ al-Ziriklī. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
- Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Abī l-Karam. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Translated to Farsi by Abu l-Qāsim Ḥālat. Tehran: Muʾassisa Maṭbūʿāti ʿIlmī, 1371 Sh.
- Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Ḥāshimī al-Baṣrī. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1410 AH-1990.
- Ibn Hishām, ʿAbd al-Malik. Al-Sīra al-nabawīyya. Edited by Sayyid Ḥāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī. 5th edition. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Kitābchī, 1375 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Wafāʾ, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Iʿlām al-warā bi-aʿlām al-hudā. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, [n.d].
- Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Edited by Marsden Jones. London: [n.d].
- Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. 3rd edition. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Aʿlamī. 1409 AH.
- Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Translated to Farsi by Maḥmūd Mahdawī Dāmaghānī. 2nd edition. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Dānishgāhī, 1369 Sh.
- www.pajoohe.com.