Lost Details of Early Islamic Battles in the Shadow of Al-Maghazi

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), quoting the news headquarters of the 33rd period of the Islamic Republic of Iran Book Week, among the early biographers, Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi is a figure who, with historical precision and a narrative approach, endeavored to record and even reconstruct the battles of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). His book, ‘Al-Maghazi,’ like a vivid map of the battlefields, immerses the reader in the heart of the events.

Al-Waqidi was born in the year 130 AH in Medina. To write Al-Maghazi, in addition to relying on oral and genealogical accounts, he also traveled to battle regions and inquired about narratives from tribal elders. In his chain of narrations, names like Ibn Abbas, Jabir ibn Abdullah, and Anas ibn Malik shine.

In ‘Al-Maghazi,’ al-Waqidi not only presents the order and details of battles with unparalleled precision but also speaks of motivations, consultations, and even the anxieties on the night before battle. He narrates the moment when the Prophet (PBUH), in Badr, took dust in his hand and threw it towards the enemy army, and on the other hand, he also shows the anxiety in Abu Jahl’s heart. This narration is not merely history but the lived experience of battle.

Alongside the narratives of Al-Maghazi, al-Waqidi looks with admiration upon figures such as Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), Hamza, Zubayr, and Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas. In the Battle of Uhud, he recalls Hamza’s cry on the field and the Prophet’s sorrow over his body with a melancholic tone. In Khaybar, he speaks with passion and grandeur of Ali’s (AS) hands that opened the fortress gate.

In the modern era, the Arabic version of ‘Al-Maghazi’ was first published in 1966 CE by Marsden Jones in London, with a research introduction about al-Waqidi and his place in the tradition of biographical writing. Marsden Jones wrote in this introduction that al-Waqidi should be considered the founder of military historiography based on observation and field research in the Islamic tradition. He emphasizes, by referring to al-Waqidi’s travels to battle regions, that al-Waqidi did not merely rely on oral narrations, but rather, by being present in the historical geography, he meticulously examined the positions, distances, and natural features of the battlefields. This approach distinguishes him from contemporaries such as Ibn Ishaq.

Jones also points to the temporal and spatial order and precision in al-Waqidi’s reports. So much so that for each Ghazwa (battle), he recorded the exact date, the names of commanders, the number of forces, the Prophet’s successors in Medina, and even the battle cries of the Muslims. This unity of approach and the provision of a fixed pattern in reporting battles have made al-Waqidi’s Al-Maghazi a unique work and a model for historiography after him.

He also emphasized that al-Waqidi, contrary to the accusations of some hadith scholars in the field of historiography, employed a critical and analytical method, and in cases of conflicting narrations, he evaluated and selected accounts using phrases such as ‘in our opinion, this is more correct’ or ‘this statement is proven.’ This characteristic, not even seen in later works like Baladhuri’s, indicates al-Waqidi’s scientific spirit and relative impartiality in recording events.

However, the Persian translation of ‘Al-Maghazi’ by Mahmoud Mahdavi Damghani was published in 1362 (solar hijri calendar) by the University Publication Center and was introduced as the Book of the Year in the same year. Mahdavi Damghani, in his introduction, provided a detailed explanation of al-Waqidi’s method and praised his precision in the details of battles and events.

The following is an excerpt from the text, ‘The Battle of Raji’:

«In the month of Safar, the thirty-sixth month of Hijra

Musa ibn Ya’qub narrated from Abu al-Aswad, and he from Urwah, that the Prophet (PBUH) dispatched a group of companions to Mecca to gather news about the situation of the Quraysh. They set out via Najd, and as soon as they reached Raji’, the Banu Lihyan intercepted them.

Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Ma’mar ibn Rashid, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz, Abdullah ibn Ja’far, Muhammad ibn Salih, Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Sahl ibn Abi Hathma, Mu’adh ibn Muhammad, and another group whose names I do not know, each narrated a part of this story to me. Some of them had heard it from others, and I have collected what they narrated to me and I say: They say: When Sufyan ibn Khalid ibn Nubayh al-Hudhali was killed, the Banu Lihyan tribe went to the tribes of Adal and Qarah and offered them rewards to go to the Messenger of God (PBUH) and speak with him so that he would send some companions to them to invite them to Islam. And they had agreed to kill a group of companions who had been involved in Sufyan’s killing, and to take the others to Mecca and hand them over to the Quraysh, saying that they would receive a significant reward from the Quraysh; for nothing was more valuable to them than capturing one of Muhammad’s companions and killing and mutilating him in retaliation for those killed at Badr. Seven people from the Adal and Qarah tribes, who were branches of the great Khuzaymah tribe, while outwardly professing Islam, came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: ‘Islam has become manifest among us. Send a group of your companions to us to teach us the Qur’an and Islamic rulings.’ The Prophet (PBUH) sent seven people with them, who were: Marthad ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi, Khalid ibn Abi Bakir, Abdullah ibn Tariq al-Balawi (ally of Banu Zafar) and his maternal brother Mu’attab ibn Ubayd (also an ally of Banu Zafar), Khubayb ibn Adi ibn Balharith ibn Khazraj, Zayd ibn Dathina from Banu Bayadah, and Asim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah. It is also said that there were ten people, and their commander was Marthad ibn Abi Marthad; some also said that their commander was Asim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah.

They left Medina, and when they reached Abi from the Hudhayl tribe, which was near Hada and was called Raji’, suddenly a group emerged against them and also called for help from those whom the Lihyanis had prepared. The companions of the Prophet (PBUH) had no help or reinforcements, while the enemies numbered a hundred and were all armed with bows, arrows, and swords. The companions of the Messenger of God (PBUH) drew their swords and stood ready for battle. The enemies said: ‘We do not want to fight you, and we will make a covenant with you and take God as a witness that we will not kill you; rather, we want to hand you over to the people of Mecca and receive a reward.’ Khubayb ibn Adi, Zayd ibn Dathina, and Abdullah ibn Tariq surrendered; Khubayb said: ‘I have more right to good treatment from the people of Mecca.’ But Asim ibn Thabit, Marthad, Khalid ibn Abi Bakir, and Mu’attab ibn Ubayd did not accept the enemy’s protection and pledge. Asim ibn Thabit said: ‘I have vowed never to accept the protection or pledge of a polytheist,’ and began to fight them, reciting this war poem: ‘What is my motive? I am a swift sage, and my bow and arrow are fearsome; long arrows fall from my bowstring. Death is true, and life is false. What God has decreed will reach a person, and a man goes towards it. If I do not fight you, may my mother mourn me.’

Al-Waqidi says: ‘I have not seen any of his companions who did not consider this war poem correct.’ He says: Asim began shooting arrows until his arrows were finished; then, he began with his spear until his spear broke, and only his sword remained; then, he pleaded: ‘My Lord, I, at the beginning of the day, supported Your religion. You, at the end of the day, protect my flesh.’ And this was because the enemy would strip anyone they killed. He says: The hilt of his sword also broke, but he continued to fight until he was killed. He had wounded two enemies and killed one. While fighting, he recited this war poem: ‘I am Abu Sulayman, and there is no skilled archer like me. I have inherited greatness from a noble group, and I killed Marthad and Khalid while they stood there.’»