The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 68
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 68 he found that owing mainly to the activities of some of the disaffected elements, the leading figure among whom was Abu ‘Amir of the Khazraj, there was serious apprehension of an attack from the north. Abu ‘Amir and his associates had been active in creati ng tension between the Muslims and the Christian tribes of Syria. They went to and fro spreading rumors on each side that the other was preparing to attack. These rumors became so persistent that the Prophet considered it necessary to lead in person an arm y against Syria. In Medina itself the disaffected element tried to scare the Muslims by painting dreadful pictures of the sufferings and destruction that surely awaited any force that might dare to challenge the great might of Byzantium, while yet hoping t hat the Prophet would go north at the head of a group so small and weak that none of them would be suffered to return. Medina was at that time in the grip of a famine and the season was at its hottest, so that marching through the desert involved terrible suffering. Some of the desert Arabs sought to make excuses why they could not join the expedition. Others who were eager to join could not find mounts, nor even shoes to protect their feet against the burning sands of the desert (9:90 - 96) Nevertheless, a f orce was got ready, and marched to the border of Syria. Arriving there, the Prophet dispatched parties in different directions to report on the situation. These returned and reported that they had not observed any concentrations anywhere. Being assured tha t in fact no preparations were going forward in Syria for an attack against the Muslims, the Prophet decided to return to Medina, stopping only for a few days near the border to conclude peace treaties with some of the tribes on the border. There was no fi ghting at all. The expedition involved the