The event of Fazari’s attacking Bani Tamim

The Time And Place Of The Attack

This attack took place in the year 9 A.H. in the month of Muharram in a place called Saqya which was the region inhabited by Bani Tamim

The Background Behind The Attack

The refusal of Bani Tamim to pay zakat

After Prophet Muhammad participated in the conquest of Mecca, the battle of Hunayn, and performed the umrah al-mufarada in the month of Dhu al-Qa’dah, he returned home to Medina. When he saw the crescent moon to herald in the new month of Muharram, he sent a number of people to the surrounding areas in order for them to gather the zakat.

The Prophet sent someone from Khuza’a to Bani Ka’b. He saw them either in Usfan or by a pond near Hudaybiyya. Some people from the Bani Juhaym, a sub-group from the Bani Tamim and some people from Bani Amr, a sub-group also from the tribe of Bani Tamim had also gathered by that pond. He gave the order that they should bring their animals so that he may take the zakat from their total worth. The Khuza’i’s gathered all of their zakat and gave it to him. However, someone from Bani Tamim said,

“He is taking your wealth based on falsehood!”

The Khuza’i’s replied,

“We have accepted the religion of Islam and this is from the laws of our religion.”

In response, some from the tribe of the Tamimi replied,

“By Allah, we will not give them even one baby camel!”

Because of this, they gathered, armed themselves with weapons, and took their swords out of their sheaths! When the person in charge of gathering the zakat came and saw them in that state, he became scared and fled. This zakat collector went back to the Prophet and said,

“O Messenger of Allah, I was with three individuals – the Bani Tamim refused to pay the zakat and because of this, the Khuza’i’s attacked them and they drove them out of their land and said, ‘If it was not for you being our relatives and for our relationship, we would not have let you return back to your land safely. Quickly leave our land because due to your enmity towards Muhammad and your non-payment of the zakat, we will attack you!’ Then, the Bani Tamim left towards their homes.”

The Event Of The Attack Of The Fazari’s

The decision of the Prophet to attack Bani Tamim

After this transpired, the Messenger of Allah said,

“Who of you will go to these people because of what they have done?”

Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari was the first person to accept the appeal of the Prophet and said,

“By Allah, I am able to do this task. I will pursue them, even if they have reached the land of Bani Sa’d! I will - by the wish of Allah – bring them to you so that you may make a decision about them"

(Note: This act of refusing to pay the zakat which the Bani Tamim had done was an act of defiance and rebellion in the territory of an Islamic government and therefore, it was not considered as a military expedition, and it taking place in Muharram is acceptable – as Muharram is considered as one of the four sacred months in Islam in which warfare and fighting are generally prohibited.)

Departure of the Muslims towards Bani Tamim

The Messenger of Allah sent him to Bani Tamim with 50 Arab horse-riders that were not from the Ansar or the Muhajirin. They would move in the night and hide somewhere – normally in the day. They continued until they reached al-Arj and once there, they found out that the Bani Tamim had actually moved to the land of Bani Sulaym. They continued to pursue them and saw that after reaching to an area in the desert called Saqya, they had put up a tent and left their animals alone to graze.

Taking people of the Bani Tamim captive

When the Bani Tamim saw the Muslims approaching, they began to flee, however eleven men, eleven women, and thirty children were taken as prisoners. The Muslims brought them to Medina and imprisoned them in a house.

Events after the attack on Bani Tamim

The arrival of the leaders of Bani Tamim to Medina

Ten individuals, the leaders of the tribe of Bani Tamim, entered the mosque of the Prophet in Medina just before noon searching for their kindred who had been taken as captives. They were informed that the captives were imprisoned in the house of Ramla, the daughter of Harith. They went to see them and then shortly thereafter, returned back to the mosque where they found that Bilal had just proclaimed the adhan for the zuhr prayers. On that day, the Messenger of Allah was staying at the house of Aisha.

The disrespect of the leaders of Bani Tamim and the silence of the Prophet

The people from the tribe of Bani Tamim were waiting for the Messenger of Allah to come out of the house and because they were in a hurry, they shouted:

“O Muhammad, come outside!”

Bilal went to them and said:

“The Messenger of Allah will come out now, do not rush!”

The Prophet came out, went towards the masjid and Bilal read the iqama to initiate the prayers. The leaders from the Bani Tamim flocked towards the Prophet saying,

“We have brought our speaker and poet! Have patience and listen to our speech!”

The Prophet smiled, went forward, and performed the zuhr prayer with the people and afterwards, he went home. After some time, he came out and sat in the courtyard of the assembly. It has been mentioned that in regards to this event, the fourth verse of Surah al-Hujurat was revealed, stating,

“Indeed those who call you from behind the apartments, most of them do not apply reason. Had they been patient until you came out for them, it would have been better for them, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful”

The pride of Bani Tamim due to their wealth and numbers

The leaders of the Bani Tamim came to the Prophet, and their spokesman, Utarid ibn Hajib, stood up and spoke, saying,

“All praise and thanks is due to Allah who gave us bounty and made us of the kings of the earth. It is He who has bestowed with tremendous amounts of wealth which we spend with wisdom. He has made us the dearest of the people in the east, and made us the most in number and the richest of them. Who is like us? Whoever wants to boast with us must count their virtues like what we have been given, and if we wanted to, we could have said much more about ourselves, however we have modesty when speaking about that which Allah has bestowed upon us. I said what I have said so that you may say something to prove that you are more virtuous than us!”

The pride of the Muslims in having the Messenger of Allah as their Prophet and due to their guidance to Islam

Utarid ibn Hajib then sat down and the Messenger of Allah told Thabit ibn Qays - whose had the loudest voice of all of those present – to stand and respond to the words of Utarid. Thabit stood up and uttered the following speech extemporaneously, saying,

“Al praise and thanks is due to Allah, the skies and the earth are from His creation and they obey His order. His knowledge encompasses everything and there is no blessing except that it is from His bounty. It was from the decree of Allah that He made us of the kings, and from amongst His servants, He chose and sent for us a messenger that has the best genealogy, the most beautiful character, and the most truthful speech. Allah revealed His book to him and made him trustworthy amongst His servants, and he was from the best servants. He invited everyone towards faith and a number of his tribe and relatives believed in him and also migrated. He is the most beautiful of people and is the best in his etiquette. We were the first people that responded to him. We are the helpers of Allah and His Messenger. I say this speech and seek the forgiveness of Allah for all of the believing men and women.”

He then sat down.

Poetry recitation of Bani Tamim and the response of the Muslims

The delegation from the Bani Tamim then said,

“O Messenger of Allah, permit our poet to recite his words of poetry.”

The Prophet gave permission and Zabriqan stood and recited his poetry.

Afterwards, the Prophet became aware that Hasan ibn Thabit was present and so he asked him to respond to them (with his own poetry). Hasan stood and spontaneously recited 10 verses of poetry in response.

The Messenger of Allah was elated because of the words and poetry of Hasan ibn Thabit and said the following in regards to him,

“Allah has supported Hasan with the Holy Spirit as long as he is defending his Prophet.”

Afterwards, Aqra’ ibn Habis recited poetry, which Hassan responded to on the command of the Prophet.

Admitting the superiority of the Muslims

Aqra’ stood up and said,

“I do not know what has happened! Their speaker was more eloquent than our speaker, and their poet was stronger than our poet!”

He then went closer to the Messenger of Allah and said,

“I bear witness that there is no Allah other than Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet said,

“Why did you not reach this conclusion sooner?”

The Prophet offered gifts to Bani Tamim

The Prophet ordered that the Muslims give them gifts and to cover them.

Waqidi has written in detail about the gifts which the Messenger of Allah gave and has stated, When a delegation would enter where the Prophet was, he would give all of them all gifts based on their status and position. The Prophet gave the women and captives of Bani Darim from Bani Tamim to them and ordered that they be given gifts. Each one was given 12.5 silver uqiya (each uqiya is equivalent to 213 grams of silver)

After he distributed the gifts to those present, the Prophet asked,

“Is there anyone left amongst you whom I have not given a gift to?”

They said,

“There is a youth who has been left with the goods who has not received anything.”

The Prophet said,

“Send him here so that he may get a gift too.”

Qays ibn Asim said,

“He is a youth who has no honor nor virtue!”

The Prophet said,

“In any case, he was a part of your delegation and he has a right (to also be given a prize)!”

They sent for this young man, named Amr ibn Ahtam, and the Prophet gifted him five silver uqiya.

The appointment of the head of Bani Tamim and Abu Bakr and Umar

Bukhari, with his own chain of narrators from Ibn Jurayh narrates from Ibn Zubayr that, The Prophet wanted to appoint one of the members of Bani Tamim as the head of the tribe. Abu Bakr suggested the Prophet places Qa’qa’ ibn Ma’bad as the head, however Umar asked for ‘Aqra ibn Habis to be appointed as the head of the tribe. Abu Bakr said to Umar, ‘You want to oppose my view?’ Umar replied, ‘It is not as you think! I was not seeking to oppose you.’ Their argument with one another became louder and due to this, the following verse of the Quran was revealed which states, “O you who have faith! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak aloud to him as you shout to one another, lest your works should fail without your being aware. Indeed those who lower their voices in the presence of the Apostle of Allah —they are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for God-wariness. For them will be forgiveness and a great reward.’”