Expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid (Banu Jadhimah)

Expedition of Khalid ibn al-Walid, to Mecca, against Banu Jadhimah, took place in January 630 AD, 8AH, 9th month, of the Islamic Calendar.

Khalid ibn al-Walid was sent to invite the Banu Jadhimah tribe to Islam. They accepted the invitation, but Khalid took all of them prisoners and executed a portion of the tribe anyway (before he was stopped).

Expedition against Banu Jadhimah
On his return from Nakhla expedition to destroy al-Uzza, Khalid bin Al-Waleed at the head of 350 horsemen of Helpers, Emigrants and Banu Saleem was dispatched once again in the same year 8 A.H to the habitation of Bani Khuzaimah bedouins, who used the term Sabians, those who left their former religion, to describe themselves.

His mission was to invite them to Islam. Many of the tribe members accepted the offer and converted to Islam. However Khalid ibn Walid had a history with this tribe.

Khalid ibn Walid tied them up and made them all prisoners and ordered their execution after he sensed their conversion to be a trick. A portion were put to death, before some other Muslims who were citizens of Medina came along and intervened, stopping Khalid.

News of bloodshed reached Muhammad. He was deeply grieved and raised his hands towards the heaven, uttering these words: "O Allâh! I am innocent of what Khalid has done," twice. He immediately sent ‘Ali to make every possible reparation to the tribes who had been wronged. After a careful inquiry, ‘Ali paid the blood-money to all those who suffered loss. The remaining portion was also distributed amongst the members of the tribe in order to alleviate their suffering. Khalid, had a disagreement with ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf. Hearing this, Muhammad got angry, and ordered Khalid to stop that altercation adding that as his Companions (meaning Khalid and ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf), they were too high in rank to be involved in such unnecessary arguments.

Islamic primary sources
An early written mention of this event is in the Sirat Rasul Allah (Life of Muhammad) by Ibn Ishaq, written just over 150 years after Muhammad's death. According to this work, Khalid was sent to the Banu Jadhimah tribe. Khalid persuaded them to disarm by acknowledging that they had become Muslims, and then killed some of them. When Muhammad heard of this, he declared to God that he was innocent of what Khalid had done, and sent 'Ali b. Abi Talilb to pay the survivors compensation.

The event is also mentioned by the later Muslim Scholar Ibn Sa'd in his book "Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir", as follows: SARIYYAH OF KHALID IBN AL-WALlD AGAINST BANU JADHlMAH, A BRANCH OF BANU KINANAH, RESIDING IN LOWER MAKKAH.

Then (occurred) the sariyyah of Khalid Ibn al-Walid against Banu Jadhimah. A branch of Banu Kinanah, residing in Lower Makkah, at the distance of a day's (journey) towards Yalamlam in Shawwal of the eighth year from the hijrah of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him. It was the day of Procyon. They (narrators) said ; When Khalid Ibn al-Walid came back after the demolition of al-'Uzza and the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, was still staying at Makkah, he sent him to Bana Jadhimah to invite them to embrace Islam ; he....

[pg 183]his father: he said: I was with the horsemen who attacked Banu Jadhimah under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid on the day of Procyon. We encountered one of their men with whom there were women. He began to fight us for them...

[pg 184]...related to me on the authority of his father; he said: The Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, sent us on the day of Nakhlah (when al-Uzza was demolished), and said: Slay the people as long as you do not hear a Mu'adhdhin or see a mosque

[Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir,By Ibn Sa'd, Pg 182-183] The Expedition is mentioned in the Sunni hadith collection Sahih al-Bukhari as follows:

The Prophet sent Khalid bin Al-Walid to the tribe of Jadhima and Khalid invited them to Islam but they could not express themselves by saying, "Aslamna (i.e. we have embraced Islam)," but they started saying "Saba'na! Saba'na (i.e. we have come out of one religion to another)." Khalid kept on killing (some of) them and taking (some of) them as captives and gave every one of us his Captive. When there came the day then Khalid ordered that each man (i.e. Muslim soldier) should kill his captive, I said, "By Allah, I will not kill my captive, and none of my companions will kill his captive." When we reached the Prophet, we mentioned to him the whole story. On that, the Prophet raised both his hands and said twice, "O Allah! I am free from what Khalid has done." Muhammad Muhsin Khan, said in his book "The Translation of the Meanings Of Sahih Al-Bukhari", that Muhammad sent Khalid to fight the Banu Jadhima, and used this hadith as a reference

Modern scholars
The Muslim scholar Muhammad Husayn Haykal (d. 1956), in his book "The Life of Muhammad" writes that Khalid intended to kill the people, he writes: His task accomplished, ibn al Walid proceeded to Jadhimah. There, however, the people took up arms at his approach. Khalid asked them to lay down their arms on the grounds that all people had accepted Islam.

One of the Jadhimah tribesman said to his people: "Woe to you, Banu Jadhimah! Don't you know that this is Khalid? By God, nothing awaits you once you have laid down your arms except captivity, and once you have become captives you can expect nothing but death." Some of his people answered: "Do you seek to have us all murdered? Don't you know that most men have converted to Islam, that the war is over, and that security is reestablished?" Those who held this opinion continued to talk to their tribesmen until the latter surrendered their arms.

Thereupon, ibn al Walid ordered them to be bound, and he killed some of them.[Haykal, The Life of Muhammad, Pg 443]

The late James A. Bellamy, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature at the University of Michigan, wrote: In the year 8 of the Hijrah Muhammad sent Khalid b. al-Walid against the Arabs of the lower Tihamah to summon them to Islam but not to fight them. Khalid exceeded his instructions. He persuaded the Banu Jadhimah to disarm and surrender, and then, after binding them, killed a number of the men in cold blood.