The Platoons

 we could in this context mention some of these incidental skirmishes which pointed markedly to the ever-growing power of the muslim society.

1. a platoon headed by ghalib bin ‘abdullah al-laithi in safar or in rabi‘ al-awwal 7 a.h. was despatched to muffle the provocative behaviour of bani al-muluh. the muslims managed to kill a large number of the enemy soldiers and captured a great deal of booty. a large army of polytheists rushed in their heel but floods hindered the pursuit, and the muslims managed to withdraw in safety.
   
2. ‘umar bin al-khattab, at the head of a 30-soldier group, set out to a spot called turbah in sha‘ban 7 a.h. to discipline the people of hawazin. he no longer arrived at their habitation that they fled for their lives.
   
3. thirty men with basheer bin sa‘d al-ansari headed for bani murrah in sha‘ban 7 a.h. in fadak area. he killed a large number of the enemy and seized a lot of their camels and cattle. on his way back, the enemy gathered up forces and overtook the muslims at night. they showered basheer and his men with arrows, and killed all the muslims except basheer, who took refuge in fadak and stayed with the jews there until his wounds healed.
   
4. ghalib bin ‘abdullah al-laithi at the head of a platoon of 130 men launched an attack against bani ‘awâl and bani ‘abd bin tha‘lbah in ramadan 7 a.h. they killed some of the enemy’s men and captured their cattle and camels. ‘usama bin zaid killed mardas bin nahik, a polytheist, but after he had pronounced the testimony of allâh’s oneness to which incident the prophet [pbuh] commented addressing his companions: "would you rip open his heart to discern whether he is truthful or a liar?"
   
5. a thirty-horseman group headed by ‘abdullah bin rawaha marched towards khaibar on reports that aseer (or basheer bin razam) was rallying the ranks of bani ghatfan to attack the muslims: they managed to persuade that jew to follow them to madinah encouraging him that the prophet [pbuh] would institute him as a ruler of khaibar. on their way back there occurred a sort of misunderstanding that gave rise to fierce fighting between the two parties resulting in the death of aseer and the thirty men with him.
   
6. in shawwal 7 a.h., basheer bin sa‘d al-ansari marched towards yemen and jabar at the head of 300 muslim fighters to subdue a large mob of polytheists who gathered to raid the outskirts of madinah. basheer and his men used to march at night and lurk during the day until they reached their destination. having heard about the advent of the muslims, the polytheists fled away leaving behind them a large booty and two men who later embraced islam on arrival in madinah.
   
7. in the year 7 a.h., shortly before the compensatory ‘umrah (lesser pilgrimage), a man called jashm bin mu‘awiyah came to a spot called ghabah where he wanted to gather the people of qais and entice them into fighting the muslims. the prophet [pbuh], on hearing these reports, despatched abu hadrad with two men to see to the situation. abu hadrad, through a clever strategy, managed to rout the enemy and capture a lot of their cattle. [za'd al-ma'ad 2/149, 150; rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 2/229, 230; mukhtasar seerat ar-rasool p.322-324]