Richard A. Gabriel - Muhammad: Islams First Great General

CAMPAIGNS AND COMMANDERS

GENERAL EDITOR

Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University, Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania

ADVISORY BOARD

Lawrence E. Babits, East Carolina University, Greenville

James C. Bradford, Texas A & M University, College Station

Robert M. Epstein, U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies,

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

David M. Glantz, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Jerome A. Greene, National Park Service

Victor Davis Hanson, California State University, Fresno

Herman Hattaway, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Eugenia C. Kiesling, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York

Timothy K. Nenninger, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington

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Copyright 2007 by Richard A. Gabriel. Published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gabriel, Richard A.

Muhammad: Islams first great general / Richard A. Gabriel.

p. cm. (Campaigns and commanders; v. 11)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8061-3860-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-8061-8332-9 (eBook-mobipocket)

ISBN 978-0-8061-8333-6 (eBook-epub)

1. Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632Military leadership. I. Title. II. Series.

BP77.7.G34 2007

297.63dc22

2007000690

Muhammad: Islams First Great General is Volume 11 in the Campaigns and Commanders series.

This eBook was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at .

For pretty Susan,

the one who sees the dream

and whom I love beyond all measure

and

In memoriam

Professor John Daniel Windhausen (19322006)

Here is your servant John...Take him, Lord. But never take him lightly.

All well-armed prophets have conquered and the unarmed failed.

Machiavelli, The Prince

The number of combatants in Muhammads battles never exceeded a few thousand, but in importance they rank among the worlds most decisive battles.

Alfred Guillaume, Islam

No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.

Carlyle, On Heroes

570	Birth of Muhammad
610	First Revelation
613	Muhammads Ministry Begins
621	First Pledge of Aqaba
622	Second Pledge of Aqaba
June 622	Muhammad Arrives in Medina
January 623	First Muslim Raids against Meccan Caravans
February 623	Raid near Rabigh
June 623	Beni Dhamra Raid
JuneOctober 623	Other Muslim Raids
October 623	First Break with Jewish Tribes
November 623	Nakhla Raid
March 15, 624	Battle of Badr
April 624	Attack on Beni Qaynuqa Jewish Tribe
April 624	Abu Sufyans Porridge Raid
June 624	Raid of Dhu Amr
August 624	Bahran Raid
September 624	Capture of Meccan Caravan at Qarda
March 625	Battle of Uhud
May 625	Incident at al-Raji
June 625	Massacre of Muslims at Bir Maoona
AugustSeptember 625	Siege and Exile of Beni an-Nadir
March 626	Second Battle of Badr
June 626	Dhat al Riqa Raid
August 626	Dumat al-Jandal Raid
MarchApril 627	Siege of Medina
April 627	Extermination of Beni Qurayzah
January 628	Beni Lihyan Raid
March 628	The Truce of Hudaibiya
September 628	Conquest of Kheibar
September 629	Battle of Muta
February 629	Muhammads Omra Pilgrimage to Mecca
January 630	Capture of Mecca
February 630	Battle of Hunayn
FebruaryMarch 630	Siege of Taif
SeptemberOctober 630	Expedition to Tabuk
631	Year of Deputations
632	Muhammads Farewell Pilgrimage
June 632	Death of Muhammad
632633	The Riddah

I am indebted and deeply grateful to the following individuals who gave graciously of their time and expertise in reading the manuscript and offering their advice and criticism. Joe Spoerl, professor of philosophy at St. Anselm College and an expert on Muslim religion and philosophy, deserves a special note of thanks for his efforts on my behalf. It was he who first suggested the idea for a military biography of Muhammad. His substantive comments were indispensable to my understanding of the currents of Muslim religious and philosophical thought that provided the larger context against which the military events of Muhammads life must be understood. Jim Coyle, my old friend and colleague from our days together at the U.S. Army War College, was invaluable in making certain that I was attentive to the sensitivities of Muslims in the manner in which I addressed certain controversial aspects of Muhammads life. Before assuming his position at Chapman College in California, Jim spent more than twenty years as an analyst for one of the countrys premier intelligence agencies. He is fluent in Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu, and a student of Arab and Muslim history for more than thirty years. Joel Klein, who holds a doctorate in ancient languages and also is fluent in Arabic and Hebrew, helped me improve the accuracy of the Arabic terms contained herein. David Lufkin, a professional writer and author, did much to tighten and focus the manuscript making it accessible to both academic and general readers. Steve Weingartner, military history editor for Greenwood-Praeger and a fine writer in his own right, also read and edited the manuscript. I am especially grateful to Salem Jubran, a Christian Arab living in Nazareth, and to Col. Salim Al-Salmy of the Army of Oman, a devout Muslim, for their valuable advice and insight into the complexities of Arab and Muslim culture and psychology. While this book could never have been written without the aid and comfort of all these fine people, responsibility for any errors rests with me alone.