Sariyyah of ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Ḥārith(ra)- Rabī‘ul-Awwal 2 A.H.

Upon his return from the Ghazwah of Waddān, in the month of Rabī‘ul-Awwal, the Holy Prophet(sa) dispatched a company of the Muhājirīn, comprising of seventy men mounted on camels, in the leadership of a close relative, ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Ḥārith Muṭṭalibī(ra). The objective of this campaign as well was to forestall the attacks of the Quraish of Makkah. As such, when ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Ḥārith(ra) and his companions covered some ground and arrived close to Thaniyyatul-Murrah, they suddenly noticed that 200 armed young men had set up camp in the command of ‘Ikramah bin Abī Jahl. The two parties encountered one another and a few arrows were exchanged in a confrontation.1 However, this group of idolaters then stood down from further conflict due to the fear that the Muslims probably had hidden reinforcements at their disposal and consequently, the Muslims did not pursue them.2 Albeit, two individuals from the army of the idolaters named Miqdād bin ‘Amr(ra) and ‘Utbah bin Ghazwān(ra) fled from the command of ‘Ikramah bin Abī Jahl and joined the Muslims. It is written that they set out with the Quraish for this very purpose, so that they could find an opportunity to join the Muslims.3 The reason being, that they were Muslims at heart, but could not migrate out of fear of the Quraish due to their weakness. Moreover, it is possible that this very occurrence caused them to lose heart and they decided to step back considering this to be an evil omen. History has not recorded whether this army of the Quraish, which was definitely not a trade caravan and regarding which Ibni Isḥāq has used the words (i.e., a grand army), set out in this direction with a specific objective. However, it is definite that their intentions were not favourable. It was due to the Grace of God that upon finding the Muslims vigilant and upon witnessing some of their own men joining the Muslims, they lost courage and retreated. Moreover, a practical benefit which the Companions derived from this campaign was that two Muslim souls were delivered from the tyranny of the Quraish.