
MUHAMMAD THE BEST OF CREATION
The third year after the Migration
In Ramadan, Hasan ibn ‘Ali AlaihisSalam was born.
Also, in Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ consummated his marriage with Ḥafṣah [‘Umar’s daughter] and Zaynab bint Khuzaymah al- ‘Amiriyyah, who was nicknamed ‘the Mother of the Destitute.’
‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan married Umm Khulthum, the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ [other] daughter.
Wine was prohibited.
On a Saturday in mid-Shawwāl there was the Expedition (Ghazwah) of Uḥud.106 He ﷺ mobilised his ﷺ Companions and prepared them for the battle, and ordered the archers in the army to remain in their positions on the mountain and said to them, ‘Remain in your position whether we are victorious or defeated.’ The Muslims started to gain such an overwhelming advantage that albia the majority of the archers on the mountain perceived that victorym was imminent and the war almost over, while in reality this was not the case. [The majority of the archers vacated their positions,] and the polytheists seized the opportunity presented by the Muslim archers’ backs being exposed and ended up killing them. They then attacked the Muslims from behind, so the Muslim lines crumbled; and the Quraysh, after their [initial] defeat, had fully regrouped. The enemy [passed through the Muslim ranks until
they] finally reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and threw stones at him, until he ﷺ fell on his side, with his molar tooth broken and his lower lip and cheek wounded. Rumour spread that he ﷺ had been Marty, while [in fact] he,Hazrat Ali AlaihisSalam together with a group of Muslims, had simply stood their ground. When it became widely known that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was alive, the Muslims turned towards him and rallied around him, and the war took another turn, with the polytheists suffering defeat. Seventy Muslims were martyred in the battle, including the Chief of the Martyrs, Ḥamzah, the paternal uncle of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ
The Expedition of Hamra’ al-Asad also occurred. This happened after news reached Allah’s Messenger ﷺ that Abu Sufyān and the majority of those with him were intending to return to eradicate those of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ alive; upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to set out in pursuit of the enemy. Ḥamra’ al-Asad is the name of a place eight miles from Medina on the left side of the route who were still exhorted them if one were travelling to Dhu al-Hulayfah. He stayed there on albia Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then returned to Medina om without confrontation.
On the new moon of Muharram [signifying the beginning of the month], there was the expedition (sariyyah) of Abū Salamah ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad, together with one hundred and fifty men towards Qațan – a mountain next to Fayd¹07 – to hunt down Tulayḥah and Salamah, the two Asadi sons of Khuwaylid. The Muslims, however, did not find them but instead found camels and sheep; hence, again, there was no confrontation.
– On Monday the fifth of Muharram, there was the expedition (sariyyah) of ‘Abd-Allāh ibn Unays, by himself, to Sufyan ibn Khālid al-Hudhalī in ‘Uranah. a valley beside ‘Arafah – as news reached him that he [Sufyan] was amassing troops to wage war against him. So ‘Abd-Allāh said to him, ‘I have come to you to be on your side.’ It then transpired that he was lying and plotting, so he killed him. He remained absent for eighteen nights and arrived on Saturday, seven days before the end of the month.
107 This location was the name of a well in the Bani Asad territory in Najd.
The Third Expedition (Ghazwah) of Badr, which is named the Lesser Badr, occurred. The reason behind it was that when Abū Sufyān left Uḥud, he promised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that they were to again meet at Badr 108 – which used to be one of the markets in Jahiliyyah [the Era of Ignorance]. So, Abū Sufyān set out [to Badr], together with whoever was with him, until he reached ‘Usfān; he then returned. He set out and proceeded until he eventually alighted at Badr and happened to come across the market. So they sold, bought and profited, gaining two dirhams for every single dirham [spent], and then safely departed to Medina, and that was the confirmation of Allah Most High’s words, ‘So they returned with grace and bounty from Allah; they were not afflicted by harm’ [Qur’an 3: 174].
108 On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told ‘Umar to reply to him in the affirmative: that Badr would be the next encounter the following year. Abū Sufyān, however, turned back after initially travelling towards the location of the agreed encounter, though the Prophet ﷺ fulfilled his promise and came and waited for him for eight days.



