After the defeat of the Muslims at Uhud by the Meccan Quraysh, the Prophet (p) and his Companions were faced with internal and external threats. The internal threats came from the Jews and hypocrites of Medina, who taunted and ridiculed them for their loss.
The external danger, however, was becoming more serious for many tribes considered that they had not much to fear from the Muslims and adopted a hostile attitude towards them. The Bedouin tribes in the area close to Medina became stronger and fearless of any great punishment.
The tribe of Asad were the first to contemplate such a looting raid. But their threat was neutralized by the Muslims. Then, Khalid bin Sufyan of the Banu Hudhayl started raising a large force to attack Medina, and he was killed in the process. They were embittered about the death of their leader and decided to avenge. They connived with two other tribes; Banu Adal and Banu al-Qarah who deceived the Prophet (p) by convincing him to give them some companions to teach them more about Islam. The 6 Muslims sent to them were then handed to the Hudhayl tribe, and they were all murdered, in different circumstances. Similar treacherous plots followed this. About 40 (or as much as 70) companions of the Prophet (p) were ambushed and murdered in cold blood, where only one of them was spared.
The Prophet (p) received information that the tribe of Banu Mustaliq, were preparing to launch an attack on Medina. A companion was sent to verify the reports, and it was confirmed to be true. In fact, Banu Mustaliq had already set out towards Medina but had settled for the night along the way. The Prophet (p) meanwhile quickly mobilized some of his men to pre-empt their attack and neutralize their military capabilities before they got fully organized and too close to Medina.
#DD2023
#Alameen
