The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 30
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 30 the wealth acquired in spoils as well. 1 With regards to the date of this expedition, there is one ambiguity, the mention of which is necessary. Ibni Sa‘d and in his following, other scholars of Sīrat have recorded the date of this expedition to be in Jamādi’ul-Ākhir 6 A. H. , and have declared this as authentic. However, Allāmah Ibni Qayyim has elaborated in Zādul-Ma‘ād that this expedition occurred in 7 A. H. after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah. 2 Perhaps the basis of Ibni Qayyim’s claim is because the account states that the reason for this expedition was that Diḥyah 3 Kalbī was returning to Madīnah after meeting with Caesar, and the Banū Juzām looted him en-route. It is affirmed that the Holy Prophet sa sent Diḥyah ra to Caesar with a letter after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah. This is why this incident could not have occurred prior to the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah in any case. This evidence is in itself fully clear and apparent, and in light of this, the narration of Ibni Sa‘d is worthy of dismissal. However, in the opinion of this humble one, there is one explanation which Allāmah Ibni Qayyim has not taken notice of, and that is - perhaps Diḥyah ra journeyed to Syria to meet Caesar more than once. In other words, the first time, that is, prior to the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah, he went on his own accord for the purpose of trade and also met Caesar. The second time, after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah, he journeyed there with the letter of the Holy Prophet sa , and the Holy Prophet sa sent him as an ambassador, selecting him on the basis that he had already met Caesar. This explanation is also supported by the fact that Ibni Isḥāq has written that during the first journey, Diḥyah ra was in the possession of trade goods, but in the journey after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah, there seems to have been no apparent relation with trade goods. It is also possible that this journey of Diḥyah ra was merely for the purpose of trade and the narrator of Ibni Sa‘d mixed up the second journey with the first and combined the mention of the meeting with Caesar and his gifts to this narration by conjecture. Allāh knows best. 1 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, pp. 293-294, Sariyyatu Zaid-ibni Ḥārithata Ilā Ḥismā, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, pp. 130-132, Sariyyatuhū Ilā Ḥismā, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Zādul-Ma‘ādi Fī Hadyi Khairil-‘Ibād, By Shamsuddīn Abū ‘Abdillāh Muḥammad bin Abī Bakr (Ibnu Qayyim Al-Jauziyyah), p. 426, Sariyyatu Zaid-ibni Ḥārithata Ilā Ḥismā Wa Hiya Ba‘dal-Ḥudaibiyyah, Mu’assisatur-Risālah, Beirut, Lebanon (2006) 3 This name is pronounced Diḥyah as well as Daḥyah