The Expedition of Bir Mauna

Shining stars

The Expedition of Biʾr Maʿūna

Mawlanā Adnān Ahmad Attāri

Safar 4 AH was marked by two major events, the Incident of Rajīʿ and the Expedition of Biʾr Maʿūna, which led to the martyrdom of several Companions. It was a painful month for Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم who was deeply grieved by the loss of life. Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ mentioned, “I had never seen the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم more angered with anyone than how angered he was with the disbelievers ˹responsible for the killing˺.” At Fajr salah, for a whole month, Allah’s Emissary صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم supplicated for the culprits to be destroyed.^[1]

Participants

70 Companions were present in the Expedition of Biʾr Maʿūna.^[2] Four of them were from the Muhājirūn while the rest were from the Anṣār.^[3] They included esteemed people such as:

*   Hārith b. Simma

*   Ḥarām b. Milḥān

*   ʿUrwa b. Asmāʾ al-Sulamī

*   Nāfiʿ b. Budayl

*  ʿĀmir b. Fuhayra, the emancipated bondsman of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq.^[4]

رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْھُم.

Their daily affairs

They were dedicated to the Quran, reciting it in abundance every night in a designated area of Madina. They were aptly hailed as “the reciters” (qurrāʾ).^[5]  When morning arrived, they would collect water in the masjid for those coming to pray. During the day, they would gather and sell wood, spending the profits on food for the Companions of the Bench and the needy.^[6]

How the incident began

Abū al-Barāʾ ʿĀmir bin Mālik, a polytheist, gifted two horses and camels to the Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم . The noble Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم replied, “I do not accept the gift of a polytheist,” and invited him to Islam. ʿĀmir bin Mālik neither accepted nor rejected Islam and said, “I consider your way to be exemplary. My entire nation follows me, so if you were to dispatch a few of your companions to go with me, I expect them to accept your invitation and adopt your way.” The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم replied, “I fear for my companions' ˹wellbeing˺ among the people of Najd.” “Do not fear,” ʿĀmir bin Mālik said, “I guarantee that the residents of Najd will not harm them.”^[7]

The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم sent a delegation, including senior Companions, under the leadership of Sayyidunā Mundhir bin ʿAmr.^[8] He also had a letter despatched to the Banū ʿĀmir and leaders of Najd and appointed al-Muṭṭalib al-Sulamī to guide the delegation.^[9] These sacred personalities then travelled until they reached the well (biʾr) of Maʿūna, located in Harah, shared by the ʿĀmir and Salīm tribes. After the delegation stopped here, Sayyidunā Ḥarām bin Milḥān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was given the responsibility of taking the beloved Prophet’s blessed letter to ʿĀmir bin Ṭufayl, a local non-Muslim leader.^[10]

Practical wisdom

Sayyidunā Ḥarām bin Milḥān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was joined by two friends, one of whom had an impaired leg. Addressing them, he said, “Remain close to me until I return. If these people grant me refuge, you will also be given refuge. If they murder me, you are to return to the other Companions.”^[11]

However, when Sayyidunā Ḥarām b. Milḥān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ went to ʿĀmir bin Ṭufayl, the latter did not even attempt to read the letter.^[12]

The first martyrdom of many

Sayyidunā Ḥarām bin Milḥān رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ conveyed the noble Prophet’s letter to the disbelievers and was talking with them when a person was gestured to take a spear from the corner of the room and stab him. As the spear punctured his body and ripped through the other side, he cried “Allah is the greatest! By the Lord of the Kaʿba, I have succeeded,” and he was martyred.^[13]

One of Sayyidunā Harām bin Milhān’s friends was also martyred by the disbelievers, but the Companion with an impaired leg had scaled a mountaintop and remained out of their reach.^[14]

ʿĀmir bin Ṭufayl now intended to kill the remaining delegation. He asked the tribe of ʿĀmir for assistance, but they declined and said, “Abū al-Barāʾ promised their safety; we will never violate his promise.” However, he found support in the R’il, Dhakwān, and ‘Usayyah clans of the Salīm tribe. The disbelievers gathered in great numbers and encircled the tents of the small delegation of Companions.

Seeing the disbelievers, the Muslims at once drew their swords and fought valiantly.^[15] One by one, each Companion joined the ranks of the martyrs, choosing death over disgrace. Eventually, only Sayyidunā Mundhir bin ʿAmr رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ , the leader of the delegation, remained standing. The disbelievers offered peace, but he continued fighting until he too was martyred.^[16]

Supplication of the final moments

The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم gave news of this incident in the following manner:

“Your brothers have become martyrs whilst ˹defensively˺ fighting the polytheists. As they were martyred, they prayed, ‘Our Lord! Relay this message from us to our nation: We are pleased with Allah, and He is pleased with us!’” The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم added, “I am relaying their message to you: They are pleased with Allah and He is pleased with them.”^[17]

Sayyidunā ʿAmr bin Umayya al-Ḍamrī and Sayyiduna Mundhir b. Muhammad رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمَا were also a part of this delegation, but before they were martyred, the other Companions had sent them with the camels so that they could graze in a nearby area.^[18] According to another narration, three Companions had set out in search of a lost camel.^[19]  Due to being away from the rest of the group, these honourable Companions were unaware of the tragic event that had occurred in their absence. When they beheld large birds flying in the sky with drops of blood falling from their mouths, the Companions understood their comrades had been martyred.^[20]

When ʿAmr bin Umayya al-Ḍamri and Mundhir bin Muhammad returned, they found the Companions’ bodies drenched in blood while the polytheists were still there on their horses. The Anṣārī Companion, Sayyidunā Mundhir bin Muhammad asked Sayyidunā ʿAmr bin Umayya , “What do you make of this?” He replied, “We should convey this heart-wrenching incident to the Messenger of Allah  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم .” Mundhir bin Muhammad then exhaled, “Mundhir bin ʿAmr was martyred here, and I do not wish to leave.”^[21]

One narration mentions that the Ansārī Companion was Sayyiduna Ḥārith bin Simma. Thus, the remaining two Companions then fought fearlessly against the disbelievers, and Sayyiduna Ḥārith killed two of them. However, the enemies were in much greater number, and the Companions were eventually captured. The disbelievers then asked Sayyiduna Ḥārith, “How would you like for us to deal with you?” Issuing an astonishing reply, he declared, “Wash me in blood, just as Mundhir and Ḥarām bin Milḥān are drenched in it.” The disbelievers released him, upon which he killed two more of them. Fighting valiantly, he too was martyred, and the disbelievers began to stab his blessed body with spears.^[22]

The chief of the disbelievers went to the other captured Companion, ʿAmr bin Umayya, and asked, “Do you know about your friends?” When the great Companion said yes, the chief went around the bodies of the martyred, inquiring of their familial backgrounds from him. “Are any of your companions missing here?” the chief asked. “Yes,” ʿAmr bin Umayya replied, “the freed slave of Abū Bakr رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ . His name is ʿĀmir bin Fuhayra.” Hearing this, the chief asked, “What was his rank amongst you?” to which the Companion replied, “He was the most superior among us. He was from those who believed in the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم from the very beginning.”

Whilst speaking with ʿAmr bin Umayya, ʿĀmir bin Ṭufayl pointed to Jabbār bin Salmā, who hailed from the Kilāb tribe, saying, “He (Jabbār) stabbed your friend with a spear. After pulling it out of his body, your friend began to levitate towards the sky, going higher and higher until we could not see him anymore.” Hearing this, ʿAmr bin Umayya said, “That was indeed ʿĀmir bin Fuhayra.”^[23]

The chief of the disbelievers then said, “My mother is bound to free a slave. So, you are freed on her behalf.” He then cut some of the Companion’s hair from the front.^[24] Sayyidunā ʿAmr bin Umayya returned to the Prophet   صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and explained the entire incident.^[25]

Who remained alive?

Three Companions survived the incident:

1.   Sayyiduna Kʿab bin Zayd al-Badrī, whom the disbelievers had considered to have passed away and thus left alone. He was found heavily wounded amongst the bodies of other martyred Companions. He recovered from his wounds and went on to participate in the Exepedition of Khandaq in Dhul Qadah 5 AH where he was martyred.^[26]

2.   Sayyiduna ʿAmr bin Umayya, who conveyed news of this tragic event to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم . He lived a long life, passing away in Madina in 55 AH.^[27]

3.   The third was the Companion who accompanied Sayyidunā Ḥarām bin Milhan, who had physical disability in their leg. He had climbed a mountain to avoid the disbelievers.

The martyrdom of Sayyidunā ʿĀmir bin Fuhayra رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ led to Sayyidunā Jabbār bin Salmā becoming Muslim.^[28]