When did Muraysi occur?

Its a theoretical difference, a historical question - it

dosen't really change things. The two major positions is 5th year and 6th year.
The contraversy occurs because two names are mentioned both in Bhukari with aut
hentic isnaad, that clash and simply could not have been at the same time. One i
s Sa'ad ibn Mu'ad. Sa'ad ibn Mu'ad dies right after Khandak - he would not have
been alive in the 6th year Sha'ban because Khandak takes place 5th year Shawwal.
So if you say this incident took place 5th year Sha'ban is fine. Now, Zainab bi
nt Jahsh: she did not become his wife except at the of the 5th year. Thus if we
say, this incident took place 5th year Sha'ban, Zainab isn't his wife so they sa
y it must have been 6th year Sha'ban. This problem of making events a chronology
is very difficult for the scholars of seerah to agree on. We are following 5th
year Sha'ban. The majority of seerah books say 6th year Sha'ban as they took ibn
Ishaaq as the main authority. But most modern researchers are more critical of
this issues, and they have concluded Murayshi took place in the 5th year. The me
ntion of Sa'ad was correct, and therefore it most likely was a mistake regarding
Zainab.
The second of the three incidents involved the return journey of Muraysi. As we
said the the hypocrites joined the muslim army for this batle: why? It was a gua
ranteed win. Thus all of the hypocrites participated in Muraysi, including the h
ead Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salool. This was the largest concentration ever in any
expidition of hypocrites so tensions are bound to rise and things are bound to
happen. The story is as follows. Abdullah ibn Ubay had converted reluctantly aft
er Badr, when it was clear there was no point in remaining a pagan. And before h
e converted he had very harsh statements, that once the prophet PBUH passed by r
iding his donkey, and Abdullah ibn Ubay said "don't bring this stench next to me
". He would also tell the prophet PBUH to lower his voice when they recited the
Quran and the azaan. After Badr he and his followers was forced to accept Islam.
We know what happened in Uhud and now in Muraysi he is burning inside and somet
hing took place.
It is mentioned one ansari and one muhajir amongst the young men went to collect
water for the caravan. And on the way they began disputing so one of them kicke
d the other; and the other responded with a punch. And they began having a fist
fight. At this the muhajir immediately said "Oh muhajiroon come and help me". An
d the ansari said "On Ansar come and help me". So both groups came to see what h
appened and each one sided with their own youth member. We don't even know the d
ispute (this is of the wisdom of the sahabah - they don't record the pety detail
s). So the muhajiroon and ansar began disputing. And tempers flared, weapons wer
e about to be drawn. The prophet PBUH heard all of this commotion, rushes out of
his tent and he sees the Ansar on one side, the muhajiroon on teh other side, a
ll lined up yelling, shouting, screaming and ready to battle. And he asks "what
is going on?!" And they tell him the story that "these young boys had a fight an
d now we are resolving the dispute". So the prophet PBUH said "you are going bac
k to Jaheleya? Leave it because it is disgusting - throw it away!". He used a ve
ry harsh word.
Before we move on, look at how weak human nature is. This is best of humans - an
d two youth began fighting. Whatever the story is it must have been petty. But s
till tempers are so easy to flare, and Iblees is waiting to divide the muslim um
mah up. Even for the best of the muslims, the sahabah, they can get angry. And i
ndeed after the death of the prophet PBUH multiple fights between them do occur.
We also see that the prophet PBUH called ethnic divisin 'rotting' and 'filthy'.
This shows us dividing ourselves up is something completely filthy. This divisi
on, ansar and muhajir, was unknown to the both of them four years ago - its a di
vision the Quran itself sanctions. Its an Islamic division. Yet it can be misuse
d and abused as it was right now. If this is the case with something that has Qu
ranic origin, muhajir and ansar, how about something with human division? Arab,
non arab, pakistani and indian etc. SubhanAllah. This shows us the filth and inh
erant un Islamic concept of racism and social divide. How did the prophet PBUH s

olve it? He didn't get involved in the details "who said what? who started it?"
Its his wisdom that it will cause even more worse problems. He just said "forget
it!" He made them feel foolish and just said "you are all brothers, don't go ba
ck to Jaheleya" and the matter is forgotten.
When Abdullah ibn Ubay heard this he became angry. He was of course happy to see
the division and he wanted something to take place. When the fitnah was quenche
d he became irritated. He said "they have competed with us in their number and q
uantities. And this is exactly like 'fatten your dog only so that it will come b
ack to eat you'". He is mentioning her a filthy arabic phrase - meaning the very
person you are helping will be an enemy. Therefore he is comparing the muhajir
to dogs. And he says "by Allah when we come back to Madinah, the ones who have m
ore honour will expel the ones who have no honour". Thus he is threatening the m
uhajir. "You have allowed them to come into your land, you have shared your weal
th, if only you withheld all of those they would have been forced to go back to
their own homes". This shows us the number of muhajiroon from all over the place
now is rivalling the ansari. So he is saying this to his men but there was a yo
ung man, Zaid ibn Arkam, full of imaan among them. And he could not believe what
he heard. It was clear kufr! So he rushes to his uncle, and he said "I heard su
ch and such". And the uncle takes him to the prophet PBUH and the young boy tell
s the prophet PBUH exactly what Abdullah ibn Ubay said.
Abdullah ibn Ubay is called by the prophet PBUH and confronted "did you just say
this?" And he begins giving cusum after cusum, the most strongest cusums imagin
able that he didn't. He is lying outright that he never said this. And so the pr
ophet PBUH accepted the excuse of Abdullah ibn Ubay - after all it was very vulg
ar things that were said, and he is giving cusum after cusum. After this event,
there were huge tensions between the munafiqun and Ansar of Madinah. Umar RA sai
d "let me just get rid off him!" as they all knew he is a munafiq. But the proph
et PBUH said "leave him, don't kill him - I do not want the people to say that M
uhammad kills his own companions". And he immediately ordered all of the sahabah
to pack their bags, stop all of the chattering and rush back to Madinah. And he
marched NON STOP all the way to Madinah, 20 hours straight. Why? Because as soo
n as their heads hit the pillow, this were so tired they fell asleep. Why did he
do this? To stop all this gossip and chit-chat and forget everything that happe
ned. Its human nature for gossiping and chinese whispers to spread. So the proph
et PBUH stopped all this by just marching for 20 hours straight.
Zaid ibn Arkam became very depressed - he said it was the worst day of his life.
Because the prophet PBUH has rejected his testimony; in essence he's accepted A
bullah ibn Ubays testimony over his. He said "its the worst day of my life". Rig
ht that morning Allah revealed the entire surah Munafiqun!
"When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muhammad], they say, "We testify that you a
re the Messenger of Allah ." And Allah knows that you are His Messenger, and All
ah testifies that the hypocrites are liars."
And in the surah Abdullah ibn Ubay is quoted by EXACT expression:
"They say, "If we return to al-Madinah, the more honored [for power] will surely
expel therefrom the more humble." And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His
Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know."
When this surah was revealed, the prophet PBUH calls Zaid ibn Arkam, held him by
the ear and said "Allah has confirmed this has heard the truth" i.e. to calm hi
m down. So the prophet PBUH cheered him up. And the news had spread in Madinah w
hat is happening. Again when the army was coming a crier comes to tell the peopl
e the army is coming, get ready and also to spread information. And Abdullah ibn
Ubays son hears of this, Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Ubay. When he heard of this,
he went outside to meet the prophet PBUH and says to him "it has reached me you

are considering to execute my father. If you do it, I don't think I can see ano
ther man walking around in Madinah except that I kill him in return, and then I
will go into Jahanam. So you should command me to do the execution." SubhanAllah
its amazing. He is worried about his jaheleya tribal loyalty - and is saying "g
ive me the commandment and I will kill my own father". This is a real sign of ob
ediance to Allah and His messenger. And the prophet PBUH said to him "NO rather
your duty is to be a good son and companion to him". And he promised him "we sha
ll be good and gentle with him". When he got this news his was relieved but was
still very angry with his father. He said "I won't allow you to come back to Mad
inah until the prophet PBUH gives you permission". Therefore Abdullah ibn Ubay h
ad to wait until he got permission to enter the city. And its just an amazing st
ory.
Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Ubay, he was the one who went to the prophet PBUH and
said "give me one your cloaks and I will use as a cuffin for my father, perhaps
Allah will forgive him". And so not only did he give the cuffin, he went to the
cementry and prayed janazah for him. This was before Allah revealed surah Tawbah
. At the death of Abdullah ibn Ubay Allah revealed "NEVER ask forgiveness for th
em, if you were to ask 70x Allah would never forgive, and never ever go to their
graves, never stand and pray for them". This was all revealed AFTER the prophet
PBUH himself went into the grave to lower the body and he gave his own shroud.
SubhanAllah he wanted even this person to be forgiven - but Allah revealed Surah
Tawbah. And Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Ubay died a shaheed in the battles of Rid
dah in the time of Abu Bukr RA.
The main outcome of this incident was that the true nature of Abdullah ibn Ubay
was fully exposed by the testimony of the Quran in a way that was far more expli
cit than the verses of Badr. Therefore many of the munafiqun abadoned Abdullah i
bn UBay and became true muslims. The prophe PBUh later remarked to Umar RA that
"what do you think oh Umar? Indeed if I had commanded him to be killed the day y
ou told me, I would have turned many people (his followers) away. But those same
people, if I were to tell them to kill him, they would be the ones doing it". H
e is telling Umar "you wanted to kill him - but look what happened now! The muna
fiqun all embraced Islam. If I had killed him they all would have remained munaf
iq." Their imaan had increased and they are true believers. And Umar RA responde
d "walahi I know the opinion of the prophet PBUH is always more blessed than min
e". This is one of the main evidences (among dozen) for maslahah - which means p
ublic welfare (the good of the people). That the muslim ruler, judge and fuqaha
look at what is good for the ummah, and then base laws on that.
Many books and organisations are being written on maslahah right now. It is inde
ed a source of law. Why? The prophet PBUH took into account what would be reprec
uations if I killed Abdullah ibn Ubay now? If I were to kill him, the perception
would be that "Muhammad is killing his own people". Even though he deserved the
punishment, the negatives outweighed the positives. This also shows its apart o
f our religion to have a good image in front of others. We must think about the
image we are giving Islam out. This is why the muslim has to always be extra car
eful etc. Not for our sake but for the sake of Islam. Many progressives believe
maslahah can be used to trump Islamic law. That is the Quran says X they say "Oh
no no X dosen't make sense, we will use maslahah". But they fail to realise: ma
slahah is an action in the absence of Islamic text. Even in this incident Umar s
aid "the opinion of the prophet PBUH is the best". Therefore maslahah is used wh
en the text is silent - only in areas where the shariah dosen't say anything. As
for something explicit in the Quran or sunnah, the 'maslahah' is obeying the co
mmand. One organisation has released over 10 books in english in the last few ye
ar. Why? The goal is to chip away from text of the Quran and sunnah - but we com
pletely disagree with this.
The third and last incident that arised from this expidition is the very long st
ory of the slander of Aisha RA. It is one of the most traumatic stories in the s

eerah because it deals with the extremely personal bond of the prophet PBUH with
his wife. It deals with the honour and sanctity of manner. And it shows us how
low the munafiqun went - that you simply cannot go lower than this. And one of t
he interesting things about this story is that it has been preserved in vivid de
tail in the first person by Aisha RA herself, in the most authentic books. There
are hadith that are 2, 3 pages long in Bhukari! That Aisha RA is describing the
whole story of the slander. Therefore its even more beneficial because we see i
t in the perspective of the actual person under attack. The story is indeed narr
ated in Bhukari and Muslim therefore its the most authentic. We will simply look
at the very long narration by Aisha RA herself in Bhukari.
Aisha RA begins and she says "the prophet PBUH would cast lots among his wife wh
enever he went on a journey". The meaning here is that the prophet PBUH was fair
: for one journey, he cannot take all his wifes so he would draw lots and whoeve
r got the longest would come. This shows us drawing lots in this manner is somet
hing the fuqaha allow - and there are many cases in fiqh that allow this. This a
lso shows the prophet PBUH would sometimes take his wife: only in situations whe
re the victory is confirmed such as Al Muraysi. It was a complete given they wou
ld win so there was no problem in taking a wife this time. And Aisha RA said "my
name came up. So I travelled with the prophet PBUH and this was after the verse
s of hijaab were revealed". The verses of hijaab were revealed at the end of the
4th year of the Hijrah (Dhul Qa'da). And they were of the last commandments to
be revealed. After salah, zakat, ramadan etc. Many of us make hijab more importa
nt than salah! But it was revealed at the end of the 4th year. Salah was pre hij
rah.
Nonetheless Aisha RA continues: "therefore I would travel in a hojud (mini tent
put on a camel)". Now note the hijab of the prophet PBUHs wives was extra: they
had to be covered not just in their personal body, but their space aswell. Only
for the wives of the prophet PBUH and this is explicit in the Quran. The Quran s
ays "if you ask the wives of the prophet PBUH for anything, speak to them from b
ehind a hijab". So this is what Aisha RA is saying - Muraysi took place after th
ese verses. "Hijab" in the Quran dosen't mean headscarf - this is modern arabic.
Quranic arabic dictates 'hijab' meant a physical curtain that seperates the ent
ire body between you and the speaker. And this applied only to the prophet PBUH.
As for the headscarf the Quran references this with the term 'qimaar'. The wome
n of jaheleya would always wear a headscarf. Impossible for a dignified lady. Ev
ery single lady of respect and middle class would wear a headscarf. But it would
be thrown back and the dresses get lower and lower. So Allah said NO "when you
wear the headscarf, cover the bozzom (i.e. chest)". On top of this the jilbab is
mentioned for all women. For the wives there is the hijab. These days we hear p
rogessives say "the hijab is only for the wives of the prophet PBUH" - this is a
true statement, but something evil is intended through it. These people are say
ing the hijab how we understand it is only for the wives of the prophet PBUH, an
d this is walahi foolishness that shows a complete ignorance of the Quran. "Tell
your wives, and your daughters, and the believing women, they should all cover
themselves with a jilbab". Its in the Quran! And Aisha RA had an extra layer - t
he figure of Aisha RA could not be seen in public, even completely covered. In h
er house aswell no one can speak to her except behind the curtain. Therefore the
main narrator from Aisha RA is her nephew Uruwa RA.
So she said "after the expidition finished and we were on the way back, the prop
het PBUH gave orders to camp outside of Madinah". Now this is the night the muna
fiqun have lost. Why is this happening now? Why are the hypocrites going to stoo
p to such a low level? Its the night when the Quran has been revealed and Abdull
ah ibn Ubay has been exposed. Now he is exacting revenge in a manner that is so
unmanly and so unbecoming it shows the depth of evil in his heart. The one night
before Madinah this happened. So Aisha RA says "when the oders were given to ca
mp, I stood up and walked away from the army to relieve myself. On the way back,
I felt my chest, and my necklace had been broken. I panicked and went back to f

ind it, and I spent a long time trying to find the necklace". SubhanAllah she is
the most beloved wife of the beloved prophet PBUH, and what is she wearing? Sim
ple quartz stone and its sentimental - its the prophet PBUH gift to her and she
wants to hold onto it.
In the meantime the orders are being told to move. Everyone is dead tired and cr
ashed - the city is one day away, its the last step and so they just want to go.
At this they pick up the hojud of Aisha RA and leave for Madinah, without reali
sing she isn't in it. And Aisha RA says "I myself was a young girl, I was very l
ight, so when they picked up the hojud without realising I was not in it - so it
s not their fault". She is thus making excuses for the people who didn't notice
her. The men didn't question the lightness and put the hojud on the camel, and t
hey went off. And Aisha RA says "when I returned to the camp, there was not a si
ngle person in sight!" SubhanAllah. The whole camp had gone. Which shows us she
really did panick about the necklace. But she said that lo and behold the neckla
ce was underneath the camel.
The men in Aisha's hojud would not converse with her. So there's no question of
asking "Aisha are you there?" There is huge protocol of respect! No talking, no
nothing. You just let her be. So Aisha RA said "I stayed in my place and I presu
med as soon as they discovered I am missing, they would come back for me. While
I was sitting, I fell asleep". SubhanAllah look at her bravery. Completely alone
in the desert; not a drop of food or water, she just falls asleep. She has conf
idence that Allah will take care of her. And she narrates "I only woke up when I
heard a man say 'La howla wa la quita illah bilalh'. And it was Safwan bin Muat
tal." And subhanAllah it was Safwans kudr that he was soo tired that he fell asl
eep through the command of leaving. Everyone left and he was still asleep. And h
e is way behind. So he takes his camel and makes his way back to Madinah. But of
course he sees this figure all alone and lo and behold it is Aisha RA. And Aish
a RA says "he had seen me before the verse of 'hijab' came down so he recognised
me". So when I woke up and I saw him, she said "I covered my face with my jilba
b". It shows the intellegance of Aisha RA. We need to make it apart of our fitra
h to say adhkaar in place of curse words or slander. This is the way of the sunn
ah. When we make it our habit, when something happens a word of praise comes out
. It's also a positive thing of dawah aswell. So Safwan ibn Muattal from the tri
be of As-Soolami.
Aisha RA said "I swear by Allah he did not speak one word to me. All he did is t
hat he lowered the camel, walked away and then he guided the camel with his hand
s all the way back to Madinah". SubhanAllah this is a true sahabah. He turned hi
s back so he didn't even see Aisha RA get on and then went forward. And they cau
ght up with the group, but of course who is at the back of the group? Abdullah i
bn Ubay ibn Salool. Its the standard place of the hypocrites, right at the back
of the army. Aisha RA said "that was when the rumours began to spread by Abdulla
h ibn Ubay". Safwan bin Muattal was a very noble companion. He wasn't even marri
ed yet - he got married after this event. And he died a shaheed in the reign of
Umar RA. Aisha RA said "when I came to Madinah, I felt sick with a fever for one
whole month, and I did not hear anything". In this one month, the rumours becam
e bigger and bigger and Aisha RA is completely oblivious to what is happening. T
he fact that she is cut off contributed to the rumours being spread.
SubhanAllah the books of the seerah never mention the actual rumours being sprea
d. And it shows that it was so disgusting you don't even want to hint at it. Its
just called 'the slander'. No books ever mentions the actual rumour. And this s
hows the incredible adhab and wisdom of our early scholars. That they understood
its not worth even mentioning what was said. Therefore its just 'the slander'.
Compare this to modern society: ever minute detail wants to be spread on the fro
nt page news. SubhanAllah. Islam teaches that even if something happens, so what
just forget it. Because the more you spread voilence and vulgarity, the more di
sincetivised people become. What happens when you raise a generation decencitise

d to evil? They will accept the evil and raise the bar. The early Islamic schola
rs didn't even mention what the rumours were or anything - its just 'the slander
of Aisha RA'.