Expedition of Bir Maona

Expedition of Bir Maona
Date 625, 4 AH Location Bir Maona Result Muhammad sends missionaries to preach islam Missionaries were set up and killed
Belligerents
Muslims	Banu Lahyan tribe
Strength
40 or 70	Unknown
Casualties and losses
40-70 Muslims killed	2

The Expedition of Bir Maona (also spelt Ma'una), took place four months after the Battle of Uhud in the year 4 A.H of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad sent missionaries to preach Islam, at the request of Abu Bara. Forty (as per Ibn Ishaq) or seventy (as per Sahih Bukhari) of the Muslim missionaries sent by Muhammed were killed.

Four months after the Uhud battle, a delegation of Banu Amir came to Muhammad and presented him with a gift. Abu Bara stayed in Medina. Muhammad declined to accept that gift because it was from a polytheist and asked Abu Bara to embrace Islam. He requested Muhammad to send some Muslims to the people of Najd to call them to Islam. At first, Muhammad was quite apprehensive of this, as he feared that some harm might befall on these Muslim missionaries. On Muhammad’s hesitation, Abu Bara guaranteed the safety of the emissaries of Muhammad.

The Muslim scholar Tabari describes the event as follows:

him, explained its advantages for him and God's promises to the believers, and recited the Qur'an to him. He did not accept Islam, but was not far from doing so, saying, "Muhammad, this matter of yours to which you call me is good and beautiful. If you were to send some of your companions to the people of Najd to call them to your religion, I would hope that they would respond to you." The Messenger of God said, "I fear that the people of Najd would do them some harm." Abu Bara' replied, I will guarantee their protection, so send them to call people to your religion. The Messenger of God thereupon sent al-Mundhir b. `Amr [Tabari Volume 7, p. 151]

Ibn Ishaq's Biography claims that forty men were sent to them; but Sahih al-Bukhari states that there were 70— Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr, one of Banu Sa‘ida, nicknamed ‘Freed to die’ — commanded that group, who were the best and most learned in the Qur'an and jurisprudence.

At Bir Maunah, the Muslims sent a messenger(Haram bin Milhan) with a letter of Muhammad to Amir bin Tufayl, the cousin of Abu Bara and the chief of Banu Amir. Amir did not read the Message but rather ordered a man to spear Haram bin Milhan in the back. Amir bin Tufayl then requested the Banu Amir people to help him fight the Muslims. They refused to his request, as they were reluctant to betray the promise of safety by Abu Bara to the Muslims. So, Amir bin Tufayl took the help of Banu Sulaym against the Muslims. Together, they attacked the Muslims. The Muslims fought back, but in the end, all of them were killed except for Ka‘b bin Zaid bin An-Najjar who was carried wounded from among the dead. He later died in the Battle of the Trench.

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