The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA~EL IBN KATHIR 239
Ihn Hishzm commented, "He left d-Ss'ib h. Wthmm b. Mqciin in charge
over Medina."
Al-Wnqidi stated, "He left Sa'd h. Mu%dh in charge of it. The Messenger of
God (SAAS) was accompanied by 200 mounted men. His banner was entrusted
to Sacd b. Aha Waqqns. His purpose was to interfere with a Quraysh caravan
which consisted of Umayya h. Khalaf with 100 men and 2,500 camels."
Ihn Ishaq stated, "He proceeded until he reached Buwn~, near Radwa. He
then returned to Medina without engaging in battle. He remained there for the
remainder of Rabi' al-Akhir and part of Jumndn d-El%."
THE EXPEDITION TO AL-'USHAYRA.
He then made an expedition against Quraysh. This refers to the expedition
known by the name "al-'Ushayra" or "al-cUsayra".
Ibn Hishzm commented that he left Aha Salama h. 'Ahd al-Asad in charge of
Medina.
Al-Waqidi stated that his banner was carried by Hamza h. 'Abd d-Muttalib
and stated, "The Messenger of God (SAAS) went forth to interrupt the Quraysh
caravans going to Syria."
Ihn Ish~q stated, "He made his way through the territory of the Bana Din*,
then past Fayfa' al-Khayy*, and made camp beneath a tree in the Ibn Azhar valley
at a place called Dhnt al-Saq. He said his prayers there, where his mosque is
now. Food was prepared for him there which he ate, and the others ate there
with him. The remains of the supports used for his cooking pot are still known
there. He used the water from a place called al-Mushayrih.
"He then moved on, leaving al-Khala'iq to his left and traversed the 'Abd
Allah defile. From there he kept left, coming down the Yalyal trail till it meets
that of al-Daha'a. He then crossed the Malal plain until he met the road at
Sukhayrst al-Yam- and then went on along it till he reached al-Wshayra, in
the Yanhur valley.
"There he remained for Jumndz al-El2 and some nights ofJumndn al-Akhira;
there he made peace with the Bana Mudlij and their allies of the Bana Damra,
then returned to Medina, without having engaged in hattle."
Al-Bukhai stated, "'Ahd All& related to us, quoting Wahb, quoting Shu'ba,
from Aba Ishaq, who said, 'I was standing next to Zayd h. Arqam when he was
asked, "In how many military expeditions did the Messenger of God (SAAS)
take part?" He replied, "Nineteen." "And on how many did you accompany
him?" "Seventeen," he replied. LLWhi~h of them came first?" I enquired. "AI-
Wshayr - or al-Wsayr," he replied. I told this to Qat~d and he said it was
"al-Wshayr"."'
This hadith is clear in stating that the first of the military expeditions was at
al-Wshayra, which can also he spelled "al-Wsayra", and that in both of these
spellings the final feminine ending, the "a" may be dropped or a lengthened "a"