Battle of al-Abwa'

Battle of al-Abwa'

Date	Safar, 2/623
Result	A peace treaty was signed
Strength
60 cavalry

Battle of al-Abwāʾ (Arabic: غزوة الأبواء) or Battle of Waddān (Arabic: غزوة وَدّان) was the first ghazwa (battle) of Prophet Muhammad (s) which occurred in Safar of 2/623. The battle was launched in order to overcome the threats of the Damra tribe. When the Damra tribe learned about the Prophet's (s) presence in the area, they asked for a peace treaty. On his way in the al-Abwa' station, the Prophet (s) made a peace treaty with them.

Al-Abwa'

Main article: Al-Abwa'

"Al-Abwa'" is a big village near Waddan between Mecca and Medina. Amina bt. Wahb, the Prophet's (s) mother, was buried in al-Abwa'.

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 of 2/623, and others hold that it occurred after 12 months of the Prophet's (s) stay in Medina.

The Prophet (s) appointed Sa'd b. 'Ubada as his successor in Medina and then left the city together with 60 cavalries of Muhajirun in order to attack the caravan of the Quraysh and tribes residing in the area, such as Banu Damra b. Kinana. No person from Ansar attended the battle. The flag of the Islamic army in this battle was held by Hamza b. 'Abd al-Muttalib.

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, the head of the tribe at the time, signed a peace treaty with Muslims.

Contents of the Peace Treaty

In the peace treaty, it was agreed that:

• They should not gather armies against each other.

• They should help each other's enemies.

Finally, after 15 nights from his travel, the Prophet (s) returned to Medina.