a watering place called al-Muraysī‘, near Qudayd on the coastal side. Some were killed, and the women and children were taken captive. It is also said that they had mustered their forces against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, intending to attack him. When he learned of this, he marched against them and encountered them at a watering place called al-Muraysī‘. They fought, and Allah defeated them. The first account—that he raided them while they were off guard—is more authentic.
Among the captives was Juwayriyah, daughter of al-Hārith ibn Abī Dirār, the chief of Banū al-Mustaliq. She fell to the share of Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās, who contracted with her to grant her freedom in return for payment. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, paid on her behalf and married her. ‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “I have never seen a woman bring greater blessings to her people. As soon as the Muslims learned that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had married her, they freed all the captives of Banū al-Mustaliq in their possession, saying, ‘They are the relatives by marriage of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.’” The rest of Banū al-Mustaliq embraced Islam.
During this expedition, the verse on dry ablution was revealed. It was also during this expedition that those responsible for the slander said what they said about ‘Ā’ishah, and Allah exonerated her in His Book. During it, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl said:
“If we return to Medina, the mightier will surely expel the lowlier from it.” [al-Munāfiqūn: 8]
We have already related the account of this in full, as well as the account of al-Walīd ibn ‘Uqbah, whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent to them as a zakat collector two years after they embraced Islam: what happened between him and them, and how Allah revealed concerning it:
“O you who believe, if an evildoer brings you news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance.” [al-Hujurāt: 6]
All of this is in the fourth part of the commentary on the Miscellany section of al-‘Utbiyyah, for anyone wishing to consult it. It has been said that this expedition took place before the expeditions of the Trench and against Qurayzah, but the correct view is that it took place after them.
In the same year, the lesser pilgrimage of al-Hudaybiyyah took place. The account of what happened during it is lengthy, and I have related it in full in the fourth part of the commentary on the Miscellany section of al-‘Utbiyyah. At the beginning of our commentary on Ibn al-Qāsim’s transmitted reports in its Book of Trade in Enemy Territory, we also explained the meaning of the condition in the agreement between him and the unbelievers of Quraysh requiring him to return to them anyone who came from them as a Muslim, for anyone wishing to consult that discussion.