Moreover, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went to Qubā’, al-‘Awālī and Uhud, and when his Companions came from those places to Medina, they travelled through inhabited areas, among buildings and enclosed date-palm groves. These were places of residence, not places of travel. A traveller must emerge into the open country, for the word safar (travel) itself indicates this. The expression safarat al-mar’a ‘an wajhihā means that a woman has uncovered her face. Thus, unless someone emerges from among the dwellings into the open country, where he is exposed to view, he is not a traveller. Allah Most High says:
“Among the Bedouins around you are hypocrites, and among the people of Medina are those entrenched in hypocrisy.”
And He Most High says:
“It was not for the people of Medina and the Bedouins around them to remain behind the Messenger of Allah, nor to prefer their own lives to his.”
He thus divided the people into two groups: the people of Medina and the Bedouins. The Bedouins were tent-dwellers, whereas the people of Medina lived in mud-brick dwellings. Thus, anyone living in a mud-brick dwelling belonged to the people of Medina. Medina had no wall distinguishing its interior from its exterior; rather, it consisted of separate quarters.
A quarter was called a dār (abode). Such a quarter was a small village containing dwellings, surrounded by date palms and burial grounds; its buildings were not contiguous. Thus, in the village of Banū Mālik ibn al-Najjār, their properties and date palms surrounded their houses. The quarter of Banū ‘Adī ibn al-Najjār was likewise, as were those of Banū Māzin ibn al-Najjār, Banū Sālim, Banū Sā‘idah, Banū al-Hārith ibn al-Khazraj, Banū ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf, and Banū ‘Abd