Military Operations in the Era of Prophet Mohammed (SAW)

The Prophet of Allah: Mohammed, Peace be Upon Him (SAW), arrived at Al-Madinah Al-Monawwarah in the 3rd month (Rabii Awwal) of first Hijri Year (September 622 CE) - No military operation had occured before that

No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
Military Operations in the Era of Prophet Mohammed (SAW)
First Hijri Year
1	The Prophet (SAW)'s Uncle: Hamza	Offensive	Sariyyah composed entirely of Muhajirs	Quraysh camels at Sayf Al-Bahr	9th	No Fight
2	The Prophet (SAW)'s Cousine: Obaidah bin Al-Harith	Offensive	Sariyyah composed entirely of Muhajirs	Quraysh camels at Thanayyat Al-Murrah	10th	No fight but Saad bin Abi Waqqas was hit by the first arrow in Islam
3	The Prophet (SAW)'s Cousine: Saad bin Abi Waqqas	Offensive	Sariyyah composed entirely of Muhajirs	Quraysh camels at Al-Kherar	11th	No Fight
Second Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
4	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Al-Abwaa (Waddan) - The army is entiely composed of Muhajirs	Quraysh and Beni Dhomrah bin Bakr bin Abd Manah bin Kananah	2nd	Alliance treaty with Beni Dhomra
5	The Prophet (SAW)	Defensive Offensive	Ghazwah of Safwan (first Bader Ghazwah)	Karz bin Jabr Al-Fahri attacked Al-Madinah, thus the Prophet (SAW) went after him	3rd	Karz bin Jabr Al-Fahri escaped and no fight took place
6	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Al-Bawat	After Quraysh	3rd	No Fight
7	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Al-Asheera	Quraysh camels	5th & 6th	The camels were missed, treaty of no aggression was done with Beni Medlej
8	Abdullah bin Jahsh Al-Asadi	Reconnaissance	Sariyyah	Recon of Quraysh camels between Makkah and Taif	7th	They killed the Hadhramite and brought two captives in Al-Haram Month
9	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Giant Bader	Initially Quraysh camels, then fight erupted	9th	Victory of Muslims
10	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Beni Selim of Ghatafan	Beni Selim gathered to attack Al-Madinah, thus he surprised them	9th	Stayed for 3 days to scare them, then returend without a fight
11	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Beni Qaynoqaa	Jews of Beni Qaynoqaa because they preached the treaty	10th	Expulsion from Al-Madinah
12	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Al-Soweeq	Going after the infidels upon a sudden attack on Al-Madinah by Abu Sofyan	12th	The polytheists escaped and threw the Soweeq from their hands
Third Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
13	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Thi Amr	Ghatafan in Najd	1st - 2nd	Returned after 1 month without a fight
14	Mohammed bin Maslamah Al-Awsi	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Assassination of Kaab bin Al-Ashraf	3rd	Assassination was successful
15	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Bahran	After Quraysh in Bahran	4th & 5th	Stayed for 2 months they returned without a fight
16	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Quraysh camels coming through Najd	6th	The convoy was taken as booty as Maa Al-Qeradah: big strike against Quraysh
17	The Prophet (SAW)	Defensive	Ghazwah of Ohod	Defending Al-Madinah against Quraysh and its allies	10th	Deficient victory of Quraysh, because they didn't stay to celebrate as the convention was, and they didn't take captives or anything as booty
18	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Hamraa Al-Asad	Showing the strength of Muslims	1 day after Ohod War	Quraysh got scared and returned to Makkah, giving up the idea of attacking Al-Madinah
Fourth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
19	Abu Salamah	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Deterrence of Beni Asad bin Khozayma, who considered an attack on Al-Madinah	1st	They escaped, thus he got booty and returned
20	Abdullah bin Onays	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Deterrence of Khaled bin Sofyan Al-Hathali, who considered an attack on Al-Madinah	1st	Abdullah brought the head of Khaled to the Prophet (SAW)
21	Asim bin Thabet	Dawah	Tragedy of Al-Rajee	Teaching Islam to people in Adl and Qarah	2nd	The infidels of Beni Lahyan betrayed the Muslims: 10 martyrs
22	Al-Monther bin Amr	Dawah	Tragedy of Bir Maona	Inviting people of Najd to Islam, upon invitation by Abi Baraa Amer bin Malek and under his protection	2nd	The infidels of Beni Lahyan betrayed the Muslims: all 70 martyrs. The Prophets (SAW) made supplication against them for 1 complete month
23	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Beni Al-Nadhir	Jews of Beni Al-Nadhir because they preached the treaty	3rd	Expulsion from Al-Madinah
24	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Najd	Deterrence of Bedouins of Beni Mohareb and Beni Thaalabah of Ghatafan	4th or 5th	The Prophet (SAW) scared them and returned to Al-Madinah safe and sound
25	The Prophet (SAW)	Defensive Offensive	Scheduled Ghazwah of Bader	The date with Quraysh at Bader	8th	He stayed 8 days waiting for Quraysh, but they got scared and didn't come
Fifth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
26	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Dawmat Al-Jandal	Tribes of Dawmat Al-Jandal for piracy	3rd	Peace was made with Oyaynah ben Hesn Al-Fazari
27	The Prophet (SAW)	Defensive	Ghazwah of Al-Khandaq (trench): Al-Ahzab	Defending Al-Madinah against Quraysh and its allies	10th & 11th	The polytheists were defeated and turned back to their homes
28	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Beni Quraythab	Jews of Beni Al-Quraythah because they preached the treaty	11th	Men were killed, women, children and moneys were captured
29	Abdullah bin Ateek Al-Khazraji	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Assassination of Abi Rafii: Salam bin Abi Haqiq	11th or 12th	Assassination was successful
Sixth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
30	Mohammed bin Maslamah Al-Awsi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Hanifah in Najd	1st	Mohammed caputred their head: Thomamah bin Athal, who became Muslim later on in Al-Madinah
31	Okashah bin Mohsen	Offensive	Sariyyah	Water of Beni Asad called Al-Ghamr	3rd	The infidels escaped and he took 200 camels as booty back to Al-Madinah
32	Mohammed bin Maslamah Al-Awsi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Thu Al-Qassah at Diyar Thalabah	4th	Ambush took place and all Muslims were martyred except Mohammed bin Maslamah, who pretended to be dead
33	Abu Obaidah Amir bin Al-Jarrah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Revenge for the Sariyyah of Mohammed bin Maslamah	4th	The infidels escaped and he returned to Al-Madinah with the booties
34	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Al-Jomom Water of Beni Selim	4th	Muslims took booties and returned to Al-Madinah
35	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Al-Ees, after Quraysh camels	5th	Muslims took booties and returned to Al-Madinah
36	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Beni Lahyan	Revenge for the betrayal in Al-Rajii	5th	The infidels espaced, thus he returned to Al-Madinah
37	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Beni Thalabah	6th	The infidels espaced, thus he took booties and returned to Al-Madinah
38	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Wadi Al-Qura	7th	Nine Muslims were martyred
39	Abu Obaidah Amir bin Al-Jarrah	Offensive	Sariyyah	Watching Quraysh camels	7th	The brigade starved: ate a plant, so Allah (SWT) sent them a whale from the sea to eat
40	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Beni Al-Mostaleq (Ghazwah of Mereseea Water)	The gathering of Benu Al-Mostaleq, commander: Al-Harith bin Abi Dherar	8th	Beni Al-Mostaleq were defeated, the Prophet (SAW) married Al-Harith's daughter, Beni Al-Mostaleq all became Muslims, the incident of Efk (false accusation against our Mother: Aisha RA)
41	Abdur-Rahman bin Awf	Offensive	Sariyyah	Diyar Beni Kalb at Dawmat Al-Jandal	8th	Abdur-Rahman married the daughter of their king after they became Muslims
42	Ali bin Abi Taleb	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Saad at Fidk for supporing the Jews of Khaybar	8th	They escaped, thus he took booties and returned
43	Abu Baker As-Siddiq	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Fazarah at Wadi Al-Qora for conspiring to assassinate the Prophet (SAW)	9th	He defeated them, took booties and captives and returned to Al-Madinah
44	Karz bin Jaber Al-Fahri	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Al-Arnis for apostasy and betrayal of camels shepherd	10th	He captured them and took them to Al-Madinah, so the Prophet (SAW) punishes them
45	The Prophet (SAW)	Peacemaking	Al-Hodaybiyah Peace Treaty	Peacemaking to neutralize Quraysh and its allies to eradicate the presence of Jews in Khaybar in particular and the Arabian Peninsula in general	11th	Al-Ridwan Pledge of Allegiance under the trea after the rumor that Othman bin Affan was killed, the peace treaty of Hodaybiyah, Khozaa'a and its Habashi's joined the camp of Islam, became able to deal with northern regions full time, nine messages to kings and leaders
46	The Prophet (SAW)	Defensive Offensive	Ghazwah of Thi Qerd	Oyaynah bin Hesn Al-Fazari attacked camels of the Prophet (SAW), killing a man of Ghafar and kidnapped his wife	12th	Salamah bin Al-Akwaa chased them, then others, then the Prophet (SAW), until they rescued the Muslim woman and took the goods back
Seventh Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
47	Abban bin Saeed	Offensive	Sariyyah	To scare the bedouins in Najd not to attack Al-Madinah during the conquest of Khaybar	1st	Mission was successful and Abban followed the Prophet (SAW) to Khaybar
48	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah: The Conquest of Khaybar	Eradication the presence of Jews in Khaybar (army composed only of Al-Ridwan Pledge of Allegiance givers)	1st	Victory of Muslims and conquest of Khaybar
49	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Fidk	Jews of Fidk	2nd	Peace treaty without a fight
50	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Wadi Al-Qura	Jews of Wadi Al-Qora	2nd	Victory of Muslims and peace treaty
51	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Taimaa	Jews of Taima	2nd	Peace treaty
52	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of That Al-Riqaa	Deterrence of Beni Thalabah and Mohareb of Ghatafan	3rd	He ran into group of Ghatafan and made treaty with them. Later on they all became Muslims
53	Ghaleb Al-Laythi	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Al-Molawweh at Al-Qidid for killing the companions of Beshir bin Sowayd	3rd	He attacked them during night and defeated them, took booties and returned, after Allah (SWT) protected them from huge army with floods
54	Zayd bin Harithah	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Jotham at Hosma for their piracy against Dahya bin Khalifah Al-Kalbi: the carrier of the Prophet (SAW)'s message to Caesar	6th	Attacked them off guard, inflected wounds all over them, took booties and returned
55	Omar bin Al-Khattab	Offensive	Sariyyah	Hawazen at Torba	8th	They escaped, thus he returned without a fight
56	Beshir bin Saad Al-Ansari	Offensive	Sariyyah	Benu Marra at Fidk	8th	All got martyred but Beshir, who returned to Al-Madinah after his wounds were healed at the Jews of Fidk
57	Ghaleb Al-Laythi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Benu Awwal and Benu Abd ben Thalabah at Mayfaa'a	9th	He defeated them, took booties and returned
58	Abdullah bin Rawahah	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Aseer bin Zoram was gathering Ghatafan against the Muslims, at Khaybar	10th	he deafted them and killed them all
59	Beshir bin Saad Al-Ansari	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Yemen and Jabbar at Ghatafan lands	10th	The infidels escaped and the Muslims took booties and returned with 2 captives
60	Ibn Abi Al-Awjaa	Dawah	Sariyyah	Calling Beni Selim to Islam	12th	They refused Islam and fought
Eighth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
61	Ghaleb Al-Laythi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to those who killed the companions of Beshir bin Saad Al-Ansari of Beni Morra at Fidk	2nd	The Muslims were victorious, took booties and returned
62	Kaab bin Omayr Al-Ansari	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Qodhaa'a gathering in Sham lands to attack the Muslims	3rd	All Muslims were martyred, except one who pretended to be dead
63	Shojaa bin Wahb Al-Asadi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Hawazen for their repetitive support to enemies of Muslims	3rd	The Muslims were victorious, took booties and returned
64	Zayd bin Harithah, then Jafer bin Abi Taleb, then Abdullah bin Rawahah, then the Muslims selected Khalid bin Al-Walid	Defensive Offensive	Ghazwah of Motah (the Prophet witnessed it through Angel Jibril, thus it's called Ghazwah)	Preparation of conquest of Christian lands, stopping the gatherings of Romans, Giving lesson to Sharhabeel bin Amr Al-Ghassani: governor of Caesar, for killing the messenger of the Prophet (SAW): Al-Harith bin Omayr Al-Azdi	5th	No victorious side, all three commanders were martyred, Khaled retreated the army to Al-Madinah, the Romans and their Arab agents didn't chase the retreating Muslim army, Arab tribes were overwhelmed by the shocking battle: tribes of Beni Salim, Ashjaa, Ghatafan, Thobyan, Fazarah and others became Muslims
65	Amr bin Al-Aas	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah of Muhajirs and Ansar, with help from tribes of Beli, Othra, and Belqin: That Al-Salasel Ghazwah	Repulsion of Qadhaa'a: ally of Romans, which gathered again in the North to attack Al-Madinah	6th	Majority of infidels escaped, except one tribe that fought, no decisive result
66	Abu Qatadah	Offensive to Defend	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Ghatafan in Najd for their gathering and intention to attack Al-Madinah	8th	Muslims were victorious, took booties and captives and returned
67	Abu Qatadah	Deceptive Maneuver	Sariyyah	Mystification of the real target of the army heading to Makkah, thus Abu Qatadah marched away from Makkah to Batn Adhm	9th	Abu Qatadah changed route and joined the army of the Prophet (SAW) during its march to Makkah
68	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah: Conquest of Makkah	Conquest of Makkah	9th	Muslims were victorious and the conquest of Makkah was completed
69	Khalid bin Al-Walid	Offensive	Sariyyah	Demolition of Al-Ozza at Nakhla, between Makkah and Al-Taif	9th	Demolished
70	Amr bin Al-Aas	Offensive	Sariyyah	Demolition of Sowaa, idol of Hatheel	9th	Demolished
71	Saad bin Zayd Al-Ash-hali	Offensive	Sariyyah	Demolition of Manat	9th	Demolished
72	Khalid bin Al-Walid	Dawah	Sariyyah	Beni Jatheema of Kananah	10th	Killing took place by mistake, thus the Prophet (SAW) paid blood money to people and returned their moneys to them
73	Abdullah Al-Aslami	Reconnaissance	Sariyyah	Recon of infidels forces at Wadi Awtas	10th	Intel came back to the Prophet (SAW)
74	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Honayn	Confrontation with the gatherings of Hawazen, Thaqeef, and Qays in Wadi Awtas	10th	The infidels, under the commandership of Malek bin Awf Al-Nadhri, ambushed the Muslims at Honayn valley, Muslims were defeated at the beginning, but the Prophet (SAW) stood fast they they gathered around him then became victorious
75	Abu Aamer Al-Ash-ari	Offensive	Sariyyah	Chasing the infidels in Awtas	10th	Abu Aamer was martyred
76	Abu Mosa Al-Ash-ari (Abu Aamer's brother)	Offensive	Sariyyah	Chasing the infidels in Awtas	10th	The Muslims were victorious, Malek bin Awf escaped with his men to Al-Taif
77	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive	Ghazwah of Al-Taif (Thaqeef)	Thaqeef and Hawazen in Al-Taif	10th	After 18-day siege, the Prophet (SAW) turned back
Ninth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
78	Oyaynah bin Hesn Al-Fazari	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to Beni Tamim	1st	He defeated them, took captives and returned, Beni Tamim came after him to Al-Madinah, after lengthy poetic and speech challenges they adopted Islam
79	Qotbah bin Aamer	Offensive	Sariyyah	Group of people of Khatha'am	2nd	Qotbah was martyred, the Muslims were victorious and took booties
80	Al-Dhahhak bin Sofyan Al-Kilabi	Offensive	Sariyyah	Benu Kilab	3rd	Muslims were victorious
81	Ali bin Abi Taleb	Offensive	Sariyyah	Demolition of Al-Qals: idol of Tayi'	3rd	Demolished, some fighting took place with tribe of Tii, Muslims took booties and returned to Al-Madinah
82	Alqamah bin Mejazzez Al-Medlaji	Offensive	Sariyyah	Giving lesson to some Habashi's gathered at Jeddah coast for piracy against Makkah	4th	Habashi's escaped
83	The Prophet (SAW)	Offensive to Defend	Ghazwah of Tebuk	Stopping the confrontation of Romans and their Arab agents of Ghassan tribe with Islam and Islamic State	7th	The Romans and their agents were scared and left the battle field; Muslims didn't find any army to fight against, Muslims reached Al-Madinah after 50 days in Ramadhan
Tenth Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
84	Prophet's governors in Yemen	Defensive	Skirmish with Al-Aswad Al-Ansi	Restoring the governance of Islam over Yemen after being taken over by imposter Al-Aswad Al-Ansi who claimed to be prophet	12th thru 3rd	The ordeal of Al-Aswad Al-Ansi lasted 3 or 4 months, until Fayruz Al-Daylami killed him prior to the death of the Prophet (SAW)
Eleventh Hijri Year
No.	Commander	Operation Nature	Operation Description	Target	Hijri Month	Outcome
85	Osama bin Zayd	Offensive to Defend	Army of Osama	Giving lesson to Romans for killing Farwah Al-Jothami: their governor on Maa'an, after adopting Islam and refusing to go back to Kufr. Target, as set by the Prophet (SAW): "Attack Abna at Dawn and Burn".	2nd & 3rd	The army paused at Al-Jarf outside Al-Madinah awaiting for the news about the sickness of the Prophet (SAW), until Caliph Abu Baker sent it late Rabii Awwal. The army achieved its target under fog and returned to Al-Madinah. Many tribes kept their faith due to this offensive. Caesar was shocked: what's wrong with those people; their Man dies and they attack us!!
The Prophet of Allah; Mohammed (SAW), passed away in the 3rd month of the 11th Hijri year (June 632 CE) in Al-Madinah
	Nature of Military Operations	No.	Percentage		Hijri Year	Number of Military Operations
	All Operations	85	1		1	3
	Offensive	49	0.5765		2	9
	Offensive to Defend	21	0.247		3	6
	Defensive Offensive	4	0.047		4	7
	Dawah	4	0.047		5	4
	Defensive	3	0.0353		6	17
	Reconnaissance	2	0.0235		7	14
	Peacemaking	1	0.0118		8	17
	Deceptive Maneuver	1	0.0118		9	6
					10	1
Military operations commanded directly by the Prophet (SAW)		31	0.3647		11	1
All praise be to Allah (SWT) for this. Historians disagreed on the timings of some of the military operations, thus it was necessary to make preference at certain places, after investigation. 25 Ramadhan 1426 H, 28 October 2005 CE
EXCEL FILE: http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.xls
Hijri (lunar) Months:
1	Moharram	1. The word (Ghazwah) is used for a battle that was witnessed by the Prophet (SAW) himself.
2	Safar	2. The word (Sariyyah) is used for small military unit (e.g. brigade) not accompanied by the Prophet (SAW).
3	Rabii Awwal	3. The word (Muhajir) means (immigrant): it indicates the Muslims who immigrated to Al-Madinah from Makkah, generally.
4	Rabii Thani	4. It's highly essential to understand that Hijrah (immigration) was decided on, in time and place, by Allah (SWT) Himself.
5	Jomada Awwal	5. Notice the approach of the Prophet (SAW) of using Muhajirs only for military operations during early stage of state construction.
6	Jomada Thani	6. Hijri months are lunar months, in contrast to Gregorian months (solar). The Hijri calendar was first implemented by Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab, and the Hijrah of the Prophet was selected as the landmark to start it. An attempt to start the calendar on the day of the Prophet's arrival at Al-Madinah was unsuccessful, because he arrived on the 12th. Thus, it was satisfactory to select the year of the incident of Hijrah as the first year of the lunar calendar. Relevant to the difference between the two calendars is seen in Surat Al-Kahf (18), verse (25), where Allah (SWT) mentions 309 years, but the Jews disagreed claiming it's only 300 years, from their knowledge of past nations: they were counting solar years while Allah (SWT) mentioned the count in lunar years, distinguishing in that verse between the 300 years and the added 9 years.
7	Rajab
8	Shaaban
9	Ramadhan
10	Shawwal
11	Tho Al-Qidah
12	Tho Al-Hijjah	7. The Hijrah has pivotal importance in the establishment of the state, keeping in mind remarks 4 & 5 above.
		8. Ansar (supporters) are the Muslims of Al-Madinah who adopted Islam and invited the Prophet (SAW) to leave Makkah and join them there as a head of state. They were composed of two sides: Al-Aws & Al-Khazraj.