The Fourth Year after the Hijrah

In Muḥarram of that year the Prophet dispatched an expedition under Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Asad against Tulayḥah al-Asadī. Abū Salamah marched until he reached a watering place called Qatan.

Al-Wāqidī reports: ʿUmar ibn ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd al-Yarbūʿī related to us, on the authority of Salamah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah and others, who said:

Abū Salamah had fought at Uḥud, where he was wounded in the upper arm. He spent a month being treated. When the new moon of Muḥarram appeared—thirty-five months after the Hijrah—the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned him and said, “Set out with this detachment; I have appointed you as its commander.” He tied a banner for him and instructed, “Proceed to the territory of Banū Asad and launch a raid against them.” He counselled him to fear God and to treat the Muslims who accompanied him well.

One hundred and fifty men went out with him. They advanced to the outskirts of Qatan, a watering place belonging to the Banū Asad. There Tulayḥah al-Asadī and his brother Salamah, the sons of Khuwailid, had assembled a number of their tribesmen intending to wage war against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One of their own came to the Prophet and informed him of their plot, whereupon he sent Abū Salamah with this expedition.

When the Muslims reached their lands, the enemy scattered, leaving behind a large herd of camels and sheep. Abū Salamah seized all of it and captured three of their slaves, then turned back toward Madinah. He gave the Asadī man who had guided them a generous share of the booty, set aside the Prophet’s chosen portion—a slave—deducted the statutory one-fifth, and distributed the remainder among his men before entering Madinah.

ʿUmar ibn ʿUthmān continues: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr related to me, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿīd ibn Yarbuʿ, from ʿUmar ibn Abī Salamah, who said:

“The man who wounded my father was Abū Usāmah al-Jushamī. My father was treated for a month and seemed to have recovered. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) then sent him, in Muḥarram of the fourth year, to Qatan. He was away for a little more than ten nights. When he re-entered Madinah, his wound reopened, and he died with three days remaining of Jumādā al-Ūlā.”

ʿUmar added: “My mother observed her waiting period until four months and ten days had passed. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) then married her and consummated the marriage with her in the last nights of Shawwāl. My mother used to say, ‘There is nothing amiss in marrying or consummating in Shawwāl, for the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) married me in Shawwāl and celebrated the wedding in that very month.’”