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The Month of Safar

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

category: Special Months & Times

source: Islam-QA.com

reads: 23061

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Whoever attributes this prayer and the things that are mentioned with it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or to any of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) is fabricating serious lies, and Allaah will give him the punishment for liars which he deserves. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 2/354)

Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Salaam al-Shuqayri said:

The ignorant have the habit of writing down the verses of salaam such as "Salaam (peace) be upon Nooh (Noah) (from Us) among the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)!"" [al-Saafaat 37:79 – interpretation of the meaning] etc. on the last Wednesday of the month of Safar, then they put them in vessels and drink it and seek blessings from it, and they give it as gifts to one another, because they believe that this will take away bad things. This is a false belief and a blameworthy superstition, a reprehensible innovation which must be denounced by everyone who sees it. (al-Sunan wa’l-Mubtada’aat, p. 111, 112)

What happened in this month of military campaigns and important events in the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

There are many such events, some of which we will refer to below:

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Then he himself [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] went on the military campaign of al-Abwaa’, also known as Waddaan. This was the first military campaign in which he took part himself. It happened in Safar, twelve months after the Hijrah. The banner, which was white, was carried by Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib. He appointed Sa’d ibn 'Ubaadah in charge of Madeenah (in his absence), and he went out with the Muhaajireen only, to intercept a caravan of Quraysh, but there was no fighting.

During this campaign, he made a peace treaty with Makhshiy ibn 'Amr al-Dumari, who was the leader of Bani Dumrah at his time, agreeing that he would not attack Bani Dumrah and they would not attack him, that they would never join any group to attack him and that they would never help any enemy against him. The treaty between them was written down, and the Prophet was away for fifteen nights. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/164, 165)

And he said:

When Safar came (in 3 AH), some people from 'Adal and al-Qaarah came to him and said that there Muslims among them, and they asked him to send with them someone who would teach them Islam and the Qur’aan. So he sent six people with them, according to the report of Ibn Ishaaq. According to al-Bukhaari, the number was ten. He put Marthad ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi in charge of them, and among them was Khubayb ibn 'Adiy. They went with them, and when they reached al-Rajee’ – which is water belonging to Hudhayl, somewhere in the Hijaaz – they betrayed them and sought the help of Hudhayl against them. So they came and surrounded them; they killed most of them and took Khubayb ibn 'Adiy and Zayd ibn al-Dathinah prisoner. They took them to Makkah and sold them there, because they had killed some of the leaders of Quraysh at Badr. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/244)

And he said:

In the same month of Safar, in 4 AH, there was the battle of Bi’r Ma’oonah (the well of Ma’oonah), which may be summed up as follows:

Abu Baraa’ 'Aamir ibn al-Maalik, who was known as Mulaa’ib al-Asinnah, came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah. He invited him to Islam but he did not become Muslim, but neither did he seem far away from doing so.

He said, "O Messenger of Allaah, why do you not send your companions to the people of Najd to call them to your religion? I hope that they would respond."

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "I fear that the people of Najd may harm them."

Abu Baraa’ said: "They will be under my protection."

So he sent forty men with him, according to the report of Ibn Ishaaq. According to al-Saheeh, the number was seventy, and what is narrated in al-Saheeh is correct. He put al-Mundhir ibn 'Amr, one of the tribe of Bani Saa’idah which was known as al-Mu’annaq, in charge of them. They were among the best, most virtuous and foremost Muslims. They travelled until they stopped at Bi’r Ma’oonah – which is between the land of Bani 'Aamir and the harrah (lava field) of Bani Sulaym – where they camped. Then they sent Haraam ibn Milhaan, the brother of Umm Sulaym, with the letter of the Messenger of Allaah to the enemy of Allaah, 'Aamir ibn al-Tufayl.

He did not look at it, and he commanded a man to stab him in the back with a spear. When he was stabbed and he saw the blood, he said, "I have won, by the Lord of the Ka’abah [i.e., attained martyrdom]."

Then the enemy of Allaah immediately urged Banu 'Aamir to kill the rest (of the Muslims), but they did not respond, because of the protection of Abu Baraa’. Then he urged Bani Sulaym, and 'Asiyah, Ra’l and Dhakwaan responded to him. They came and surrounded the companions of the Messenger of Allaah, and they fought until they were all killed, except for Ka’b ibn Zayd ibn al-Najjaar, who was found wounded among the dead. He lived until he was killed at the battle of al-Khandaq. 'Amr ibn Umayyah al-Dumari and al-Mundhir ibn 'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir were looking after the animals of the Muslims, and they saw a bird hovering over the battle field. Al-Mundhir ibn Muhammad came and fought the mushrikeen until he was killed along with his companions, and 'Amr ibn Umayyah al-Dumari was taken prisoner. When he told them that he was from Mudar, 'Aamir shaved his head and released him on behalf of his mother who was obliged to free a slave.

'Amr ibn Umayyah went back and when he reached al-Qarqarah min Sadr Qanaah (a place), he rested in the shade of a tree. Two men from Bani Kilaab came and rested there with him, and when they slept 'Amr killed them. He thought that he had avenged the deaths of his companions, but they had a treaty with the Messenger of Allaah, of which he was unaware. When he came (to Madeenah) he told the Messenger of Allaah what he had done, and he said, "You have killed two people for whom I will certainly pay the diyah (blood money)." (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/246-248)

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

When he set out for Khaybar, it was the end of Muharram, not the beginning, and he conquered it in Safar. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/339-340)

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