The expedition of Banu Lihyan

In Usfan, in the heart of Hijaz, lived Banu Lihyan, the tribe that had ambushed the seventy Muslims at Raj’i. The memory of that tragic incident filled the Prophet with the desire to punish Banu Lihyan, but he was forced to deal with several emergencies that demanded his attention, the Battle of the Trench was one among them. Soon, however, the calm following the failed coilition gave him the opportunity to claim retribution. With an army of two hundred men and twenty cavaliers, he marched upon the murderous Banu Lihyan in Rabi’ Al-Awwal, 6 A.H.

The party reached Batn Gharan, a valley between Amj and Usfan, the site of the massacre. There the Prophet prayed for the martyrs and halted for two days. When Banu Lihyan heard of the march against them, they took refuge in the hills and eluded capture, so the Prophet went on to Usfan with a squad of ten cavaliers in the vanguard. They moved up to Karaa’ Al-Ghamaim. After fourteen days, the Muslim forces returned to Madinah.

Abul Aas accepts Islam

In Jamadi Al-Awwal, 6 A.H., the Prophet received news of a Qurayshi caravan returning from Syria, and dispatched 170 cavaliers headed by Zayd bin Haritha to ‘Is. The caravan was led by Abul Aas, the husband of Zaynab, one of the Prophet’s four daughters. Husband and wife had been estranged for three years, since Zaynab had migrated to Madinah with her father after her husband refused to accept Islam. The Muslims rounded up the entire caravan except for Abul Aas, who fled to Madinah and took shelter with Zaynab. He asked her to intervene and to request her father for the return of the caravan’s cargo. The Prophet granted Zaynab’s request.

Abul Aas, known for his trading skills and his integrity, went back to Makkah, returned the goods to their rightful owners, and then embraced Islam. He then migrated to Madinah, where he was reunited with Zaynab. Since the verse forbidding marriage between unbelievers and Muslim women had not yet been revealed, the marriage was kept intact.

The Prophet sent a number of cavalry units (Saraya) during this period. They were significant in that they quelled enemy uprisings and established peace an order in far off areas.