View source for Raid of Dhat al-Salasil

{{Orphan|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Expedition of Amr ibn al-As
| partof            = the [[Arab-Byzantine wars]]
| date              = September 629 AD, 8AH, 6th month<ref name="List of Battles of Muhammad">{{Cite web |url=http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.htm |title=List of Battles of Muhammad |access-date=2011-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726142128/http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.htm |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZmBkoDa9fcC&pg=PA218|title=Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah|year=2004|publisher=Darussalam |isbn=9789960897714|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref>
| place             = [[Dhatas Salasil]]
| result            = Decisive Muslim victory
| image             = 
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = 
| combatant1        = [[Muslims]]
| combatant2        = Banu Quda
| commander1        = [[Amr ibn al-As]]
| commander2        = Unknown
| strength1         = 300 initially,<ref name="Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZmBkoDa9fcC&pg=PA218|title=Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah|year=2004|publisher=Darussalam |isbn=9789960897714|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> 500 during battle<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA247|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501133017/https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA247|archive-date=1 May 2016|title=The Sealed Nectar|isbn = 9798694145923|access-date=17 December 2014|url-status=dead|last1 = Mubarakpuri|first1 = Safiur Rahman|date = 6 October 2020| publisher=Independently Published }}</ref>
| strength2         = Thousands
| casualties1       = Very light
| casualties2       = Heavy
}}
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Muhammad}}
'''Expedition of Amr ibn al-As''',<ref name="Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZmBkoDa9fcC&pg=PA218|title=Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah|year=2004|publisher=Darussalam |isbn=9789960897714|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref> also known as the '''Campaign of Dhatas Salasil''',<ref name="witness-pioneer.org">[http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s5.html Dhat As-Salasil Campaign, Witness-Pioneer.com]</ref> took place in September 629 AD, 8AH, 6th month, of the Islamic Calendar.<ref name="List of Battles of Muhammad" /><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Feo9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA104|title=The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira|access-date=17 December 2014|last1=Muir|first1=Sir William|year=1861}}</ref>

==Background==
After a prior defeat of the [[Muslims]] at the [[Battle of Mu’tah]], many [[Ghassanids|Ghassanid]]-affiliated tribes sensed an opportunity to make their own move. The Banu Qudah began planning a massive invasion against the Muslims in the capital of [[Medina]].<ref name="Ibn Hisham Sirah Nabawi">{{cite book |last1=Al-Mishri |first1=Shaykh Mahmud |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gCqhtQEACAAJ&q=mahmud+mishri+sahabat |title=Sahabat-Sahabat Rasulullah |publisher=Pustaka Ibnu Katsir |year=2010 |isbn=978-9791294393 |access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref> Muslim spies immediately alerted [[Muhammad]], causing an emergency [[Shura|council]] to be summoned.<ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites">{{cite web |last1=Basalamah, Lc., M.A. |first1=Dr, Khalid Zeed Abdullah |title=Al Sirah As Sahabah by Shaykh Mahmud Al Mishri book commentary public lecture 20th session |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q40CIaFMdM&list=PLoqAVhucvEsZAcZPG5yfu9YLH0Qh3GYY2&index=10 |website=Khalid Basalamah official site |publisher=Pustaka Al Kautsar |access-date=24 January 2020 }}</ref>

Muhammad appointed [[Amr ibn al-As]] to lead a preemptive expedition against the tribe of [[Banu Quda'a]].<ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites"/> He was chosen presumably of his relations with the [[Bali (tribe)|Bali]] tribe, who were located near the theatre of operations.<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="The Sealed Nectar">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA247|title=The Sealed Nectar|isbn=9798694145923|access-date=17 December 2014|last1=Mubarakpuri|first1=Safiur Rahman|date=6 October 2020|publisher=Independently Published }}</ref>

The contingent consisted of three hundred men and thirty horses with Amr ibn al-As as commander.<ref name="The Sealed Nectar"/><ref name="witness-pioneer.org"/> Muslim chroniclers also recorded the participation of [[Usama ibn Zayd]] whose father, [[Zayd ibn Haritha]] died earlier in the Battle of Mu'tah. Aside from many war veterans, a number of new Muslim converts joined the contingent.<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.withprophet.com/ar/-سرية-عمرو-بن-العاص-رضي-الله-عنه-إلى-ذات-السلاسل_475 |title = مع الحبيب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكبر موقع للسيرة النبوية}}</ref><ref>https://www.alsirah.com/سرية-عمرو-بن-العاص-رضي-اللّٰه-عنه-إلى-ذا/ {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>The Life of Muhammad, Ibn Hisham</ref><ref name="The Life of Muhammad, Ibn Hisham">[http://www.al-eman.com/الكتب/سيرة%20ابن%20هشام%20المسمى%20بـ%20«السيرة%20النبوية»%20**/غزوة%20عمرو%20بن%20العاص%20ذات%20السلاسل/i109&d73358&c&p1 The Life of Muhammad, Ibn Hisham]</ref>

==Expedition==
Amr ibn al-As encamped at a spring called Salasil after marching for ten days, where he found the Banu Quda had assembled in large numbers. He sent a letter to Muhammad asking for reinforcements to bolster the army. Muhammad sent an additional two hundred soldiers which included [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]], headed by [[Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah]].<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="The Life of Muhammad, Ibn Hisham"/>

Abu Ubaidah and Amr ibn al-As disagreed to who should lead this contingent. Amr ibn al-As despite being a new convert, refused to step down and Abu Ubaidah relented for the sake of unity .<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Feo9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA105|title=The Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira|access-date=17 December 2014|last1=Muir|first1=Sir William|year=1861}}</ref><ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites"/>

The Muslims began sending scouts. Amr ibn al-As upon realizing his opponent heavily outnumbered his own army,<ref name="Ibn Hisham Sirah Nabawi" /><ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites" /> decided not to launch an attack during daylight and instructed his soldiers to encamp until night.<ref name="witness-pioneer.org" /><ref name="List of Battles of Muhammad" />

==Battle==
The Muslims launched a night raid under the cover of darkness.<ref name="books.google.com"/> Amr ibn al-As instructed his soldiers that for every two men fighting to stay close together, even as far as tying their horses together so as to not separate.<ref name="The Sealed Nectar" /><ref name="witness-pioneer.org" /><ref name="List of Battles of Muhammad" /> During the battle, Usama bin Zayd recalled a well-known account of one of his engagements.<ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites of Sirah Nabawi 38th session">{{cite web |last1=Basalamah, Lc., M.A. |first1=Dr, Khalid Zeed Abdullah |title=صور من حياة الصحابة: المجلد الأول shuwar min hayatus sahaba by Dr. 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat Pasha commentary public lecture 38th session: Usama ibn Zayd |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyxGJqoqwpc&list=PLoqAVhucvEsZAcZPG5yfu9YLH0Qh3GYY2&index=17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211218/oyxGJqoqwpc |archive-date=2021-12-18 |access-date=24 January 2020 |website=Khalid Basalamah official site |publisher=K}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0| The Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) sent us to Huraqat, a tribe of Juhaina. We attacked that tribe early in the morning and defeated them and I and a man from the Ansar caught hold of a person (of the defeated tribe). When we overcame him, he said: There is no god but Allah. At that moment the Ansari spared him, but I attacked him with my spear and killed him. The news had already reached the Apostle (peace be upon him), so when we came back he (the Apostle) said to me: Usama, did you kill him after he had made the profession: There is no god but Allah? I said. Messenger of Allah, he did it only as a shelter. The Prophet observed: Did you kill him after he had made the profession that there is no god but Allah? He (the Holy Prophet) went on repeating this to me till I wished I had not embraced Islam before that day.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshān al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī |first1=Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim |title=The Book of Faith كتاب الإيمان |url=https://sunnah.com/muslim/1/184 |website=Saheeh Muslim Sunnah |publisher=Saheeh Muslim |access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref>{{Hadith-usc|muslim|usc=yes|1|184}}}}

The night raid was successful as it caused mass desertions from the enemy with very minimal losses.<ref name="ابن سعد">الطبقات الكبرى، [[محمد بن سعد البغدادي|ابن سعد]]، ج2، ص131، دار صادر، [[بيروت]].</ref>

==Aftermath==
Amr ibn al-As would later explain the reasoning behind his course of action. The soldiers were told to stay together to give an illusion of superior numbers and for them to maintain cohesion fighting in the dark. Umar concurred.<ref name="The Life of Muhammad, Ibn Hisham"/> The incident regarding Usama was also told to Muhammad in which Usama became deeply lamented after he is admonished regarding his conduct towards a surrendered combatant who has professed conversion to Islam.<ref name="Khalid Basalamah Official lecture video sites of Sirah Nabawi 38th session" />

The battle discouraged any further intentions by Ghassanid and Byzantine-affiliated tribes to attack the Muslims.<ref name="Ibn Hisham Sirah Nabawi" />

==Islamic Primary sources==
{{Primary sources|section|date=March 2016}}
The Expedition is referenced in the Sunni [[hadith]] collection [[Sahih al-Bukhari]] as follows:

{{cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0| Allah's Apostle sent 'Amr bin Al As as the commander of the troops of Dhat-us-Salasil. 'Amr bin Al-'As said, "(On my return) I came to the Prophet and said, 'Which people do you love most?' He replied, 'Aisha.' I said, 'From amongst the men?' He replied, 'Her father (Abu Bakr)'. I said, 'Whom (do you love) next?' He replied, "Umar.' Then he counted the names of many men, and I became silent for fear that he might regard me as the last of them."{{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|5|59|644}}}}

==See also==
*[[Military career of Muhammad]]
*[[List of expeditions of Muhammad]]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:629]]
[[Category:Campaigns ordered by Muhammad]]