Tālib—and even to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—[of the same sort as what Abū al-Hasan al-Bakrī, the author of Tanaqqulāt al-Anwār (The Passing of the Lights), recounts in the prophetic biography he concocted (1). It is akin to the legends fabricated by liars about Dāhima, champions (2), rogues, and the like] (3).

For the military expeditions of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—are well known and accurately documented among scholars. They numbered twenty-odd expeditions, but fighting took place in only nine of them: Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Banū al-Mustaliq, al-Ghāba, the conquest of Khaybar, the conquest of Mecca, Hunayn, and al-Tā’if, which was the last expedition involving combat. However, when he besieged al-Tā’if (4).... It was followed by the expedition to Tabūk, which was the last of the expeditions, the largest in number, and the most arduous for the people. During it, Allah revealed Sūrat Barā’a, but no fighting took place.

What ignorant pilgrims relate about a siege of Tabūk is a baseless lie, for there was neither a fortress nor any fighting at Tabūk. The Messenger of Allah (5)—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—remained there