Military expeditions (Saraya and Ghazawat)

Now that Allah had enjoined Muslims to fight in selfdefence, the Prophet moulded the formerly oppressed, meek community into a military organisation that would fight to survive and would no longer tolerate the depredations of every tribe that decided to prey on them. Archery and horsemanship were held out as activities to excel in. The Prophet organised the Muslims into cavalry units called Saraya. Sometimes he would accompany these squadrons, and the expeditions he took part in were called Ghazawat.

The cavalry units undertook four main tasks. Primarily they were to protect the outskirts of Madinah and to gather intelligence about any suspicious activities.

Secondly, they worked to intercept Makkan trade caravans passing through the area. Many Muslims had been forced to leave their wealth behind in Makkah when they migrated to Madinah; therefore, Muslims were allowed to retaliate by raiding caravans financed by the Quraysh.

Thirdly, it was the responsibility of these cavalry units to make covenants with other tribes outside Madinah. The Prophet saw the need to develop good relationships with these tribes so that they would not ally with the Quraysh.

Lastly, the units were entrusted with the task of spreading the message of Islam throughout Arabia.

The first Sariyya (singular form of Saraya) that the Prophet dispatched was called Sariyya Saif Al-Bahar. It took place in Ramadan, 1 A.H. (the first year of the Prophet’s migration or Hijrah: A.H. refers to After Hijrah). The Prophet’s uncle Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib led the squadron accompanied by thirty Muhajireen. They headed for the coast of the Red Sea on the outskirts of Ais and came across a caravan headed by Abu Jahl that was returning from Syria. A battle almost erupted when the two parties faced each other, but Majdi bin Amr Jahni intervened and matters subsided.

This was the first Sariyya in the history of Islam. The Muslims rode beneath a white standard (the first ever used by Muslims) borne by Abu Marthad bin Haseen Ghanwi .

In the following months, the Prophet sent a number of Saraya one after the other. Abu Ubaydah bin Harith led a party of sixty Muhajireen to Batn Rabi. They came across Abu Sufyan and two hundred Makkans. Arrows were shot from both sides but there was no combat. Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas was dispatched along with twenty Muhajireen to Rabigh near Kharar, but the men returned without having had to fight