The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 108
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 108 sent to ascertain intelligence on the movements of the Muslims and to acquire information on the Holy Prophet sa. It would not be surprising if this scheme was also a grounds for some other bloodthirsty conspiracy of the Quraish. However, it was by the Grace of God, that Umaiyyah ra and Salmah ra learned of their espionage, upon which they desired to attack and imprison them, but they fought back. Consequently, in this battle, one spy was killed while the other was taken prisoner and brought back to Madīnah. 1 There is a disagreement amongst historians with regards to the date of this expedition. Ibni Hishām and Ṭabarī have recorded it in 4 A. H. but Ibni Sa‘d has written it to be in 6 A. H. ‘Allāmah Qusṭalānī and Zurqānī have given precedence to the narration of Ibni Sa‘d, therefore, I have also mentioned it among the accounts of 6 A. H. Indeed, Allāh knows best. Baihaqī has also supported the details of the account mentioned by Ibni Sa‘d, 2 but from this account one cannot establish the period in which it took place. Treachery of the Tribes of ‘Ukl and ‘Urainah & its Terrible Outcome - Shawwāl 6 A. H. These were very threatening days for the Muslims, because the whole land was ablaze with the fire of animosity, inflamed by the Quraish and the Jews. Moreover, according to their new policy, they had decided that instead of systematically attacking Madīnah, it should be harmed by secret methods. Furthermore, since deceit and treachery were inherent in the uncivilized tribes of Arabia, they were adamant in hurting the Muslims by any means possible. As such, the incident we are about to mention is but a link in this very nefarious chain of events, which came to an end in a terrible manner. The 1 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, pp. 296-297, Sariyyatu ‘Amr-ibni Umaiyyataḍ-Ḍamri, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, pp. 167-168, Ba‘thuḍ-Ḍamriyyi Li-Yaghtāla Abā Sufyān, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, pp. 885-886, Ba‘thu ‘Amr- ibni Umaiyyataḍ-Ḍamrī Li-Qitāli Abī Sufyān-abni Ḥarbin. . . , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, pp. 83-85, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatur-Rābi‘atu Minal-Hijrah/Dhikrul-Khabari ‘An ‘Amr-ibni Umaiyyataḍ-Ḍamri, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 2 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, p. 166, Ba‘thuḍ-Ḍamriyyi Li-Yaghtāla Abā Sufyān, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)