Expulsion from the Tribes

Seerah as a Movement when he reached Roha, he realized his mistake, and made plans to turn once again on the Muslims’ stronghold. But even at this time of utter disarray, the Prophet’s information system was still working very effectively. He heard about Abu Sufyan’s intention and decided to go out to meet him. Immediately he reassembled his shaken army and set off towards Makkah. Contrary to his normal practice, which was to maintain a veil of the utmost secrecy over military manoeuvres, this expedition was given a fanfare of publicity. When the Muslims reached Hamra al-Asad, eight miles from Madinah, Abu Sufyan heard of the pursuit. Thinking that fresh reinforcements must have arrived, he gave up his idea of attacking Madinah and returned to Makkah. The Prophet turned back to Madinah once he was sure of the withdrawal of Abu Sufyan’s army. One year after the Battle of Mutah, which occurred in the month of Jumada al-Awwal, 8 a.h., the Byzantine emperor started gathering his forces on the Syrian border. The Ghassanids, along with other Roman allies among Arab tribes in the region, followed the emperor’s lead. In response, the Prophet advanced to Tabuk with an army of 30,000. The expedition to Tabuk was really a military pre-emptive strike designed to awe the enemy, so that they would lose heart and abandon their hostile intentions. When the Prophet reached Tabuk, he heard that Caesar was no longer advancing to meet the Muslims but, instead, was beginning to withdraw his forces from the frontier. There was now no question of a battle, and Caesar’s very withdrawal had assured the Prophet of a moral victory, which he decided to turn to his own political advantage. During his 20-day stay in Tabuk, he established contact with the neighbouring Arab tribes, who were at that time under Roman influence. The Christian chieftain of Daumat al-Jandal, Ukaidir ibn Abdul Malik Kindi, Yohanna ibn Ruya from Ayla, along with Christians of Maqna, Jarba and Azruh, agreed to pay jizya, a tax paid by non-Muslim states as a sign of submission to the Muslim rule, and to buy protection and freedom to practice their religion and culture.