THE FOURTH YEAR OF HIJRAH
A military operation led by Abu Salamah Ibn Abdul Asad Abi Tulaihah Al-Asadi took place in Muharram in the fourth year. The contingent advanced as far as the watering place known as Qatan.
Al-Waqidi related from Salamah Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar Ibn Abi Salamah and others that Abu Salamah took part in the Battle of Uhud and his upper arm was injured, which he kept nursing for a month. At the outset of the month of Muharram, exactly thirty-five months after the Hijrah, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, called upon him and said: “Set out with this contingent; I have appointed you to command it.” He gave him the war standard and said: “Advance till you reach the territory of the Banu Asad and raid them.” He recommended him to have the awe of Allah and to be good to the Muslims accompanying him. One hundred and fifty warriors marched forth with him till they reached the lower part of Qatan which is Banu Asad’s watering place. Meanwhile, Taleehah Al-Asadi and his brother, Salamah, the sons of Khuwailid, had mobilized a military contingent from the various allies of Banu Asad with the intent of attacking the Prophet. A man had come from them to inform the Prophet of their collaboration against him. Thus Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent with him Abu Salamah at the helm of this military contingent.
When they got to their territory, the Muslims took them by surprise and they dispersed in confusion and abandoned large herds of camels and goats. Abu Salamah gathered them as booty and also captured three of their men and returned to Madinah.
‘Umar Ibn Abu Salamah said, Abu Usamah Al-Jushami was the one who injured my father and he kept nursing the wound for a whole month and he was healed. When he got well, Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent him to Qatan in Muharram of the fourth year of Hijrah. He was away (on the military expedition) for about ten nights. However, on his return to Madinah, his wound relapsed and he died three days to the end of the month of Jumadal-Oola.
My mother observed the iddah till the conclusion of four months and ten days and then Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married her and consummated the marriage in the last few nights of the month of Shawwal. My mother used to say: “There is no harm in marrying and consummating the marriage in the month of Shawwal. The Prophet married me in Shawwal and consummated with me in the same month.” He added: Umm Salamah died in Dhul-Qa‘dah in the 59th year. This is related by Al-Baihaqi.
I say: we shall mention again the Prophet’s marriage to Umm Salamah in Shawwal in the close of the discussion of the events of this year.
The Ghazwat of Ar-Rajee‘
“Allah’s Messenger sent a contingent of ten men as spies under the leadership of ‘Asim Ibn Thabit They proceeded till they reached Hadah, a place between Usfan and Makkah, and their news reached a branch of the tribe of Hudhail called Banu Lihyan. About one hundred men, who were all archers, hurried to follow their tracks till they found the place where they had eaten dates at their stopover. They said, “These are the dates of Yathrib (i.e. Madinah),” and they continued to follow their tracks.
When Asim and his companions saw their pursuers, they went up on a high place and the people encircled them. They said to them, “Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee that we will not kill any one of you.”
‘Asim Ibn Thabit, the leader of the contingent, said, “By Allah! I will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet.” Then they shot arrows at them till they killed ‘Asim along with six others, and a group came down accepting their promise and covenant, and they were Khubaib Zaid Ibn Ad-Dathinah and another man. When they captured them, they untied the strings of their bows and bound them with it.
Then the third (of the captives) said, “This is the first betrayal. By Allah! I will not go with you. No doubt these have set a good example for me. Namely the martyred.”
So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him. They took Khubaib and Zaid Ibn Dathinah with them and sold them (as slaves) in Makkah.
The sons of Al-Harith Ibn ‘Amir Ibn Nawfal bought Khubaib for he was the person who had killed (their father) Al-Harith Ibn ‘Amr on the day (of the Battle) of Badr. Khubaib remained imprisoned by them till they decided unanimously to kill him. One day Khubaib asked to borrow, from a daughter of Al-Harith, a razor to shave his pubic hair, and she lent it to him.
Inadvertently, while she was inattentive, her going son went to him (i.e. Khubaib) and she saw that Khubaib had seated him on his thigh while the razor was in his hand. She was so much terrified that Khubaib noticed her fear and said, “Are you afraid that I will kill him? Never would I do such a thing.”
Later on (while narrating the story) she said, “By Allah, I had never seen a better captive than Khubaib. By Allah, one day I saw him eating from a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was fettered with iron chains and (at that time) there were no fruit in Makkah.” She used to say, “It was food Allah provided Khubaib with.” When they took him from the sacred precinct of Makkah to Al-Hill (outside the sanctuary) to kill him, Khubaib requested them. “Allow me to offer two Rak‘ahs of prayers.” They allowed him and he prayed two Rak‘ahs and then said, “By Allah! Had I not been afraid that you would think that I was worried, I would have prayed more.” Then he (invoked evil upon them) said, “O Allah! Count them and kill them one by one, and do not leave any of them.” Then he recited:
As I am killed as a Muslim, I do not care in what way I receive my death for Allah’s Sake, for this is for the Cause of Allah. If He wishes,
He will bless the cut limbs of my body
Then ‘Uqbah Ibn Al-Harith went up to him and killed him. It was Khubaib who set the tradition of a Muslim praying while in to captivity (before he is executed).
Later on, when some polytheists from Quraish were informed that ‘Asim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e. his head) by which he would be recognized. (That was because) ‘Asim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the Battle) of Badr. So, a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, were sent to hover over ‘Asim and protect him from their messenger and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.”
By: Ibn Katheer
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