War in Islam

Shurahbil Ibn Amr al-Ghassani, who asked him where he was heading. He replied that he was going to the ruler of Basra. When Shurahbil came to know that Al-Harith was sent by the Prophet, he ordered that he be killed. It is said that this murder was at the behest of the ruler of Basra. Shurahbil was a Christian and a Byzantine official. According to international custom, his action was an act of war. Hence, the Prophet marshalled an army of 3000 men, and, in the year 8 A.H., this army marched towards Syria. When Shurahbil got wind of the Muslim army’s departure, he got together an army of some 100,000 men to fight the Muslims. Along with this, the Byzantine Emperor sent a 100,000-strong army to help him. The balance of power, in terms of numbers between the Muslims and their opponents, was very unequal. The battle that ensued did not prove decisive, but the Muslims fought so bravely that the Byzantine soldiers were in awe of the Muslims’ military abilities. Washington Irving has written a scholarly work on the Prophet of Islam. He wrote that when, with the expansion of Islam, the scattered Arab tribes got united, the Byzantine Emperor felt this Arab unity to be a threat to him. So, he decided to prepare a large army to attack what he regarded as his potential foe and crush it. Accordingly, he began gathering his forces on the borders of Arabia. When the Prophet heard about the Byzantine army gathering on the Arabian border so that by attacking Arabia the doors of Islam could be shut, he immediately ordered that measures be taken in response. The Tabuk campaign took place after this. The Prophet exhorted the Muslims to join this campaign in large numbers. And so, despite difficult conditions, an army of 30,000 men was assembled. The Al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya relates that when the Prophet would step out on a military campaign against his opponents, he would often do so quietly. But it was different in the case of the Tabuk campaign. On this occasion, he clearly