By the hands of men who have emigrated toward their Lord—His true helpers, and by the hands of the angels as well.
Should you descend to the lowland by way of the valley of ʿĀlij,
then say to it, “That route is no longer open.”

Ibn Hishām remarks: These verses belong to a long poem by Ḥassān, to which Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith composed a reply.

Al-Wāqidī states: Zayd ibn Ḥārithah set out on this raid at the very beginning of Jumādā al-Ūlā, in the twenty-eighth month after the Hijrah. The head of the caravan was Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah. The reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Zayd was that Nuʿaym ibn Masʿūd arrived in Madinah with news of the caravan while still following the religion of his people. He met with Kinānah ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq of Banū al-Naḍīr, and with them was Sulayṭ ibn al-Nuʿmān, who had already embraced Islam. They drank wine together—this was before wine had been declared unlawful—and Nuʿaym spoke of the caravan, of Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah’s presence in it, and of the large sums of money it carried. Sulayṭ immediately left and informed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who at once sent out Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. Zayd and his men encountered the caravan, seized its wealth, and the men escaped; only one or two captives were taken. They brought the caravan to the Prophet, who took one-fifth as khums—amounting to twenty thousand—then distributed the remaining four-fifths among the raiding party. Among the captives was the guide, Furāt ibn Ḥayyān, who accepted Islam—may Allah be pleased with him.

Ibn Jarīr reports: Al-Wāqidī claims that in Rabīʿ of this same year, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān married Umm Kulthūm, daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and that she joined him in Jumādā al-Ākhirah.

The Killing of Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf, the Jew

Kaʿb was from Banū Ṭayy, specifically the clan of Banū Nabhān, though his mother belonged to Banū al-Naḍīr. Ibn Isḥāq recounts his story in this position—before the expulsion of Banū al-Naḍīr—whereas al-Bukhārī and al-Bayhaqī locate it after that episode. The correct ordering is what Ibn Isḥāq recorded, as will be clarified, for the affair of Banū al-Naḍīr occurred only after the Battle of Uḥud, and it was during their siege that wine was prohibited, as we shall explain in its proper place, God willing.

Al-Bukhārī relates in his Ṣaḥīḥ, in the chapter “The Killing of Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf”: ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh told us—Sufyān—on the authority of ʿAmr, who said: I heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Who will deal with Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf? For he has caused harm …”