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Then he raised his head up and accelerated his strides till he passed the valley out.”
Shortage of water and the army’s need to it made them complain to the Messenger of Allâh (peace
be upon him) about that. So he supplicated Allâh, who sent a rainful cloud. It rained and so all
people drank and supplied themselves with their need of water.
When they drew near Tabuk, the Prophet said: “If Allâh will, tomorrow you will arrive at Tabuk
spring. You will not get there before daytime. So whoever reaches it should not touch its water; but
wait till I come.” Mu‘adh said: “When we reached the spring it used to gush forth some water. We
found that two men had already preceded us to it. The Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him)
asked them: ‘Have you touched its water?’ They replied: ‘Yes’. He said what Allâh inspired him to
say, then he scooped up little water of that spring, thin stream which gathered together, he washed
his face and hand with it and poured it back into it; consequently plenty of water spouted out of it
so people watered. ‘Mu‘adh’, said the Messenger of Allâh, ‘if you were doomed to live long life you
will see in here fields full of vegetation.’
On the way to Tabuk, or as soon as they reached Tabuk, the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon
him) said: ‘Severe wind will blow tonight, so none of you should stand up. Whoever has a camel
should tie it up.’ Later on when the strong wind blew, one of the men stood up and the wind carried
him away to Tai’ Mountain.
All the way long the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) was intent on the performance of the
combined prayer of noon and the afternoon; and so did he with sunset and evening prayers. His
prayers for both were either pre-time or post-time prayers.
The Army of Islam at Tabuk:
Arriving at Tabuk and camping there, the Muslim army was ready to face the enemy. There, the
Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) delivered an eloquent speech that included the most
inclusive words. In that speech he urged the Muslims to seek the welfare of this world and the world
to come. He warned and cherished them and gave them good tidings. By doing that he cherished
those who were broken in spirits, and blocked up the gap of shortage and mess they were suffering
from due to lack of supplies, food and other substances.
Upon learning of the Muslims’ march, the Byzantines and their allies were so terrified that none of
them dared set out to fight. On the contrary they scattered inside their territory. It brought, in itself,
a good credit to the Muslim forces. That had gained military reputation in the mid and remote lands
of Arabian Peninsula. The great and serious political profits that the Muslim forces had obtained,
were far better than the ones they could have acquired if the two armies had been engaged in
military confrontation.
The Head of Ailah, Yahna bin Rawbah came to the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him), made
peace with him and paid him the tribute (
Al-Jizya
). Both of Jarba’ and Adhruh peoples paid him
tribute, as well. So the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) gave each a guarantee letter,
similar to Yahna’s, in which he says:
·
“In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
This is a guarantee of protection from Allâh and Muhammad the Prophet, the Messenger of
Allâh, to Yahna bin Rawbah and the people of Ailah; their ships, their caravans on land and
sea shall have the custody of Allâh and the Prophet Muhammad, he and whosoever are with
him of Ash-Sham people and those of the sea. Whosoever contravenes this treaty, his
wealth shall not save him; it shall be the fair prize of him that takes it. Now it shouldnot be
lawful to hinder the men from any springs which they have been in the habit of frequenting,
nor from any journeys they desire to make, whether by sea or by land.”
The Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) dispatched Khalid bin Al-Waleed at the head of four
hundred and fifty horsemen to ‘Ukaidir Dumat Al-Jandal and said to him: “You will see him hunting
oryxes.” So when Khalid drew near his castle and was as far as an eye-sight range, he saw the
oryxes coming out rubbing their horns against the castle gate. As it was a moony night Khalid could
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