Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), with every step he took, was shifting the balance in Medina in favor of the Muslims. This situation led to changes in the attitudes and behavior of those who opposed him. Despite neither believing in Islam nor the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad, a hypocritical group emerged that portrayed themselves as believers. This was a new and significant problem the Prophet faced in Medina.
The hypocrites were disturbed by the strengthening and spread of Islam in Medina and lamented their inability to prevent this progress. They observed with dismay how, after Bilal al-Habashi’s call to prayer, the believers would line up in rows at the Masjid al-Nabawi, with their unity and solidarity growing stronger. They would sadly remark that there was nothing they could do but watch as the number of believers attending the Prophet’s gatherings continued to increase.
The leader of the hypocrisy movement was Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayy ibn Salul, the chief of the Khazraj tribe. This man had been agreed upon to assume leadership of Yathrib after the wars between the Aws and Khazraj tribes. His supporters had even prepared an ornate crown for him. However, this plan was thwarted by the Prophet’s emigration to Medina. As a result, from the very first years of the hijrah, the Prophet (saw) faced the opposition of Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayy and his followers, who harbored enmity towards him until the end of his life. The group of hypocrites led by Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayy constantly warned their fellow townspeople not to support the Muhajirun, aiming to force the Prophet and all the emigrants to leave the city.
Measures against external threats: permission for jihad, the first expeditions, and battles
The negative attitude and behavior displayed by the hypocrites toward the Prophet (saw) and the Muhajirun created an environment that the Jews living in the city and the Qurayshi polytheists in Mecca sought to exploit. The enmity of the Meccan polytheists had not diminished; in fact, it likely intensified due to their concerns about the future. For this reason, they secretly encouraged and incited the Jews and hypocrites in Medina to expel the Muslims from the city. At the same time, they entered into agreements with the surrounding polytheist Arab tribes and began preparing to launch raids on Medina. During this period, they even sent a letter to Abd Allah ibn ‘Ubayy, the leader of the hypocrites, threatening the polytheists and the hypocrites of Medina. To intimidate the people of Medina and discourage them from supporting the Prophet, they once raided the Muslims’ grazing fields under the command of Kurz ibn Jabir, driving away their livestock.
As a result of these pursuits and harassments, the Prophet (saw) and the Muslims began to face security issues in Medina shortly after the Hijrah. However, by this point, leaving Medina for another place was no longer an option.
As tensions between the two sides continued to escalate, verses permitting Muslims to engage in armed defense were revealed during the first year of the hijrah.
“Permission ‘to fight back’ is ‘hereby’ granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged. And Allah is truly Most Capable of helping them ‘prevail’. ‘They are’ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: ‘Our Lord is Allah.’” (Hajj, 22:39-40)
During the Meccan period, the Prophet (saw) did not retaliate against the Qurayshi polytheists who were hostile toward him and the Muslims. He did not seek revenge and advised the Muslims who were subjected to insults, torture, and hardships to remain patient. The verses revealed during that time continually emphasized patience. However, with the revelation of the verse permitting jihad, the situation changed. Following this verse, the Prophet took measures for the defense of Medina. Relying on the agreements he had made with the Jews of Medina and the surrounding polytheist Arab tribes, he sent out small military units known as “sariyya” in which he himself did not participate. In the first year of the hijrah, there was a need to resort to such precautions on three separate occasions.
The first sariyya aimed at reconnaissance and control of the Quraysh caravans on the trade route to Sham was led by the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, with a group of 30 men. In this expedition, the first banner in Islamic history was given. The second sariyya was led by Ubayda, the son of his uncle Harith, while the third was under the command of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas. Through these expeditions, the Prophet (saw) monitored the movements of the enemy. Additionally, to guard against the possibility of a night raid, he ordered night patrols to be conducted in the streets of Medina.
After some time, the Prophet (saw) personally led certain military expeditions, which were called “ghazwah”. In the second year of the hijrah, based on intelligence reports, he organized the ghazwahs of Abwa’, Buwat, Badr al-Ula, and Dhu Al-Ushairah. Although no battles took place during these expeditions, the Prophet secured treaties with some tribes, such as the Banu Damrah, who lived between Medina and Mecca, ensuring their neutrality.
About two months after the last ghazwah he participated in, the Prophet (saw) sent a sariyya under the command of Abd Allah ibn Jahsh to Batn Nakhlah (Rajab 2 / January 624). This sariyya was dispatched in the final days of the month of Rajab to gather intelligence on the Quraysh’s activities, as they were preparing for a raid on Medina. At Batn Nakhlah, the expedition encountered a Quraysh caravan returning from Ta’if. The expedition killed the leader of the caravan, Amr ibn Hadrami, and returned to Medina with two captives and the seized goods. However, the Prophet (saw) disapproved of the incident because they had not been granted permission to engage in combat. Moreover, the event occurred during the sacred month of Rajab, in which shedding blood was forbidden according to Arab tradition. The Meccan polytheists used the killing of Amr ibn Hadrami as a pretext to accelerate their war preparations. They spread propaganda throughout the Arab tribes, claiming that the Prophet showed no respect for the sanctity of the sacred months. This situation worsened the relations between the Muslims in Medina and the surrounding tribes.
