Invasion of Dumatul Jandal
Encyclopedia
The Invasion of Dumatul Jandal, took place in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, 5 A.H i.e. in June, 626 AD, or July 626 AD.
According to the Sealed Nectar, Dumat Al-Jandal
is located at about a distance of fifteen days march from Madinah and five from Damascus. According to William Montgomery Watt
, it is 500 miles from Medina.
, due to a famine in the area, some tribes were attacking travellers and threatened to raid Medina.
According to The Sealed Nectar
, after a six-month lull of military activities, Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes, in the vicinity of Dumat Al-Jandal, on the borders of Syria
, were involved in highway robbery and plundering, and were on their way to muster troops and raid Madinah itself. He immediately appointed Siba‘ bin ‘Arfatah Al-Ghifari to dispose the affairs of Madinah during his absence, and set out at the head of 1000 Muslims, a man named Madhkur, from Bani ‘Udhrah, was his guide.
On their way to Dumat Al-Jandal, they used to march by night and hide by day, so that they might take the enemy by surprise. When they drew near their destination, the Muslims discovered that the highway men had moved to another place, so they captured their cattle and shepherds. Muhammad
stayed there for 5 days during which he dispatched expeditionary forces to hunt for the enemy personnel but they detected none. He made a treaty with ‘Uyainah bin Hisn while returning to Madinah.
William Muir
states that the "robbers fled without offering any opposition".
claims that this was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in the primary sources. Duma was 500 miles from Medina, and Watt says that there was no immediate threat to Muhammad, other than the possibility that his communications to Syria and supplies to Medina being interrupted. Watt says "It is tempting to suppose that Muhammad was already envisaging something of the expansion which took place after his death", and that the rapid march of his troops must have "impressed all those who heard of it".
William Muir
also believes that the expedition was important as Muhammad followed by 1000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had now learnt to fear his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended. He also claims that the lust of the Muslim's to plunder was extended to a far wider range.
According to the Sealed Nectar, Dumat Al-Jandal
Dumat Al-Jandal
Dumat al-Jundal , is the name for an ancient city of ruins located in North Western Saudi Arabia in the Al Jawf province its located 37KM away from Sakakah. The name Dumat al-Jandal means literally "Dumah of the Stone", since this was the territory of Dumah, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael...
is located at about a distance of fifteen days march from Madinah and five from Damascus. According to William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
, it is 500 miles from Medina.
Invasion
According to William MuirWilliam Muir
Sir William Muir, KCSI was a Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator.-Life:He was born at Glasgow and educated at Kilmarnock Academy, at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, and at Haileybury College. In 1837 he entered the Bengal Civil Service...
, due to a famine in the area, some tribes were attacking travellers and threatened to raid Medina.
According to The Sealed Nectar
The Sealed Nectar
Ar-Raheeq-ul-Makhtum is a book of Sira of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, written in Arabic and Urdu by Safi-ur-Rehman Mubarakpuri...
, after a six-month lull of military activities, Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes, in the vicinity of Dumat Al-Jandal, on the borders of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, were involved in highway robbery and plundering, and were on their way to muster troops and raid Madinah itself. He immediately appointed Siba‘ bin ‘Arfatah Al-Ghifari to dispose the affairs of Madinah during his absence, and set out at the head of 1000 Muslims, a man named Madhkur, from Bani ‘Udhrah, was his guide.
On their way to Dumat Al-Jandal, they used to march by night and hide by day, so that they might take the enemy by surprise. When they drew near their destination, the Muslims discovered that the highway men had moved to another place, so they captured their cattle and shepherds. Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
stayed there for 5 days during which he dispatched expeditionary forces to hunt for the enemy personnel but they detected none. He made a treaty with ‘Uyainah bin Hisn while returning to Madinah.
William Muir
William Muir
Sir William Muir, KCSI was a Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator.-Life:He was born at Glasgow and educated at Kilmarnock Academy, at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, and at Haileybury College. In 1837 he entered the Bengal Civil Service...
states that the "robbers fled without offering any opposition".
Analysis
William Montgomery WattWilliam Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
claims that this was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in the primary sources. Duma was 500 miles from Medina, and Watt says that there was no immediate threat to Muhammad, other than the possibility that his communications to Syria and supplies to Medina being interrupted. Watt says "It is tempting to suppose that Muhammad was already envisaging something of the expansion which took place after his death", and that the rapid march of his troops must have "impressed all those who heard of it".
William Muir
William Muir
Sir William Muir, KCSI was a Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator.-Life:He was born at Glasgow and educated at Kilmarnock Academy, at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, and at Haileybury College. In 1837 he entered the Bengal Civil Service...
also believes that the expedition was important as Muhammad followed by 1000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had now learnt to fear his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended. He also claims that the lust of the Muslim's to plunder was extended to a far wider range.