Expedition of Abu Qatadah ibn Rab'i al-Ansari (Batn Edam)

Expedition

Muhammad was planning on attacking Mecca, with the view of securing a complete news black-out concerning his military intentions, then Muhammad despatched an 8 man platoon under the leadership of Abu Qatadah bin Rab‘i in the direction of Edam, a short distance from Madinah, in Ramadan 8 A.H, in order to divert the attention of people from his main target of attacking Mecca, with which he was pre-occupied.

According to Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Hisham, and many Sunni hadith collections, a Bedouin caravan passed by and they greeted the Muslims with “Assalamu Alaikum.” But Muhallam bin Juthamah (who was with Abu Qatadah) attacked the caravan anyway and killed the leader. They returned to Muhammad with the flock they captured and told him the story.

Muhammad then revealed the verse 4:94.Ibn Kathir interprets this as, God asking Muslims to be more careful when fighting "in the way of Allah", as to reduce the chance of killing Muslims accidentally, as happened in this incident.

Islamic primary sources

The event is mentioned in the Quran verse 4:94:

The famous Muslim scholar Ibn Kathir's commentary of the verse in his Tafsir is as follows:

(O you who believe!), until the end of the Ayah." At-Tirmidhi recorded this in his (chapter on) Tafsir, and said, "This Hadith is Hasan, and it is also reported from Usamah bin Zayd." Al-Hakim also recorded it and said, "Its chain is Sahih, but they did not collect it." Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas commented;

(and say not to anyone who greets you: "You are not a believer;"), "A man was tending his sheep and the Muslims caught up with him. He said, As-Salamu Alaykum.' However, they killed him and took his sheep. Allah revealed the Ayah;

(And say not to anyone who greets you: "You are not a believer; seeking the perishable goods of the worldly life)." Ibn `Abbas said; "The goods of this world were those sheep." And he recited,

(Peace) Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Qaqa bin Abdullah bin Abi Hadrad narrated that his father Abdullah bin Abi Hadrad said, "The Messenger of Allah sent us to (the area of) Idam. I rode out with a group of Muslims that included Abu Qatadah, Al-Harith bin Rabi and Muhallam bin Juthamah bin Qays. We continued on until we reached the area of Idam, where Amr bin Al-Adbat Al-Ashjai passed by us on his camel. When he passed by us he said Salam to us, and we did not attack him. Because of some previous problems with him, Muhallam bin Juthamah killed him and took his camel. When we went back to the Messenger of Allah and told him what had happened, a part of the Qur'an was revealed about us,

(O you who believe! When you go (to fight) in the cause of Allah)

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Commentary on 4:94] The event is also referenced in the Sunni Hadith collection, Sahih Muslim as follows:

Notes

References

1. "Atlas Al-sīrah Al-Nabawīyah".
2. "List of Battles of Muhammad".
3. "The Sealed Nectar".
4. [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch6s6.html "Preparations for the Attack on Makkah", Witness-Pioneer.com] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2011)
5. {{Hadith-usc. muslim. 43. 7176
6. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 5 (Part 5)".
7. [http://abdurrahman.org/character/salam-you-are-not-a-believer.html Say not to anyone who greets you: "You are not a believer;", Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Text Version]
8. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 5 (Part 5)".
9. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 5 (Part 5)".
10. [http://abdurrahman.org/character/salam-you-are-not-a-believer.html Say not to anyone who greets you: "You are not a believer;", Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Text Version]