The Expedition of Qarqarat al-Kudr
historical❧Overview
Approximately seven days after the Battle of Badr, subsections of the Banū Sulaym and Ghaṭafān tribes, both large Arabian confederations, dispatched a force of around 200 men to harass and probe the Muslims near Madinah. Their motive was economic: the Muslim threat to the Quraysh trade route had cut off the business of smaller tribes that depended on buying, selling, and providing services to the passing caravans.
❧The Skirmish
When the Prophet ﷺ was informed of the approaching force, he launched an immediate offensive against them. When the pagan force saw the Muslims advancing, they turned and fled, despite outnumbering the Muslims, abandoning all of their tents, belongings, and animals.
Dr. Qadhi notes: the Muslims did not even need to fight. The enemy simply fled at the sight of them.
❧The Booty
The Muslims acquired all of the abandoned property. It is reported that every Companion who participated received two camels, a significant economic gain.
❧Yasār's Conversion
Among those left behind by the fleeing pagans was an Abyssinian slave named Yasār. He was captured by the Muslims. Over the days that followed, as the Prophet ﷺ camped at the location for the customary three days, Yasār witnessed the Muslims up close and was moved by what he saw. He accepted Islam.
The Ṣaḥābī who had captured him came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, he is yours, he is a good Muslim now." The Prophet ﷺ freed Yasār immediately (it was his established practice never to keep a male slave). However, Yasār chose to remain with the Prophet ﷺ as a servant (khādim) and became part of his household.
❧The Hadith of ar-Ruʿb
When explaining why the enemy had fled without a fight, the Prophet ﷺ told the Companions, and this hadith is recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
❧"نُصِرْتُ بِالرُّعْبِ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ"
"I have been granted victory by ar-ruʿb (terror/awe) at a distance of a month's journey."
This is one of the distinctive qualities (khawāṣṣ) given to the Prophet ﷺ that his enemies would feel fear of him even at great distance, without a battle ever occurring.
❧Why This Expedition Matters
Dr. Qadhi uses this incident to illustrate that the Madinan seerah was not only about battles, Islam was spreading simultaneously through daʿwah, trade interactions, and the sheer moral force of the Muslim community. The episode of Yasār is a microcosm of this: an Abyssinian slave in a pagan army witnesses the Muslims and voluntarily converts. The Prophet ﷺ frees him. He stays out of love.