The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

IMAM ABO AL-FIDA' ISMA'IL IBN KATH~R 113
Ihn Hishim commented, "(It is so named) because they patched up their
banners there. Others say it is so named because there was a tree there known
as Dhat al-Riqa'."
Al-Waqidi stated that it was named after a mountain there that had patches
of red, black and white.
In the hadith of Aha Mas% it is said that it was so named because of the
rags they tied to their feet on account of the excessive heat.
Ihn Ishaq stated, "There he encountered a force of Ghatafm. The forces came
close together without engaging in battle, each side being wary of the other; then
the Messenger of God (SAAS) performed the ~alat al-khawf prayer."
For his account here of the :al&t al-khawf prayer, Ibn Hisham relies upon
one line of transmission from 'Abd al-W%ith b. Sacid al-Tanniiri, from Yanus
h. Whayd, from al-Hasan, from Jabir h. 'Ahd Allah, and on another from 'Ahd
al-Warith, from Ayyiib, from Aha al-Zubayr, from Jabir, and on a third from
'Ahd al-Warith, from Ayyiib, from N&', from Ibn 'Umar. However, in these
three lines he makes no reference to either the expedition to Najd or to that to
Dhat d-Riqac. Nor did he hlrn attention to any (particular) time or place.
There is, moreover, dispute over whether or not the expedition to Dhat
d-RiqZC, which was in Najd and against Bans Muharih and Bana Tha'laha b.
Ghatafm, came before the hattle of al-khandaq.
Al-Bukhari took the position that that took place after the expedition against
Khaybar. As evidence for that, he refers to Aha Masa al-Ash'ari's presence
there, as will he shown. His arrival occurred only during the nights of the
Khayhar campaign, in the company of Jacfar and his men. The same is true of
Aha Hurayra. He stated, "I prayed the jaliit al-khawf in the presence of the
Messenger of God (SAAS), at the expedition to Najd."
Evidence that it occurred after the hattle of al-khandaq is that Ibn 'Umar
was first authorized by the Messenger of God (SAAS) to participate in the
fighting at that hattle. It is established of him (Ibn Wmar) in the rahih collection
that he stated, "I participated in a military expedition with the Messenger of
God (SAAS) before that to Najd during which he prayed the plat al-khawp
Also there is al-Waqidi's statement, "The Messenger of God (SAAS) went
forth to Dhat al-Riqa' with a force of 400 (it is also said 700) of his Companions
on Saturday, ten days before the end of al-Muhamam, 5 AH." But there is dispute
over this.
Moreover, there is no escaping the fact that the salrtt al-khawf was only
instituted after the hattle of al-khandaq because that battle took place in
Shawwd of 5 AH, as is widely known (though some date it as in Shawwal of
4 AH), this being substantiated by the gist of the hadith from Ibn 'Umar.
However, the hadith of Aha Masa and that of Aha Hurayra do not (suggest this).