approach the nearest part of Syria so as to overawe Caesar, and he had been informed that at Dūmat al-Jandal a large force was assembled there who oppressed every traveller; the town hosted a market and numerous merchants. Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out with one thousand men, travelling by night and lying low by day. His guide was Madhkur al-ʿUdhri, who led them off the usual route. When only a hard day’s ride still lay between him and Dūma, Madhkur said, “O Messenger of Allah, their herds are grazing close by you; remain here while I reconnoitre.”

Madhkur went on until he discovered the tracks of the livestock; he returned, now sure of their whereabouts. The Prophet ﷺ then launched a surprise raid on their cattle and herdsmen, capturing whom he could. When the news reached Dūma, the people scattered, and the Prophet ﷺ turned back.

Dūmat al-Jandal is sixteen days from Medina; between it and Damascus is a five-night journey for a swift traveller, and between it and Kūfa seven nights. The land is rich in date-palms; they cultivate barley and other crops, irrigating them with water-wheels, and a spring flows there.

The Campaign of al-Muraysiʿ

Also known as the Campaign against the Banū al-Muṣṭaliq, it occurred in Shaʿbān of year five AH—the sound and indeed definitive dating. Al-Wāqidī states that on this expedition the Prophet ﷺ appointed Zayd ibn Ḥāritha as his deputy over Medina. Shuʿayb ibn ʿAbbād narrated from al-Miswar ibn Rafāʿa: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out with seven hundred men.”

Yūnus ibn Bukayr reported that Ibn Isḥāq said: Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ḥibbān, ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr told me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ marched after hearing that the Banū al-Muṣṭaliq were massing against him under the command of al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Ḍirār, the father of Juwayriya (Mother of the Believers). The Prophet ﷺ advanced until he camped at al-Muraysiʿ, one of their watering places. They prepared to confront the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; the two forces drew up and fought. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ routed the Banū al-Muṣṭaliq, killing those who were killed and allotting their women, children, and property as spoils. He remained in their territory along the Qudayd coastal route.

Al-Wāqidī further related—through Maʿmar and others—that the Banū al-Muṣṭaliq, a clan of Khuzaʿa, used to camp in the region of al-Furʿ. They were allies of the Banū Madlij, and their chief was al-Ḥārith ibn Abī