Muhammad’s Expeditions to Byzantine Frontiers

Abstract Chapter 7 examines the traditions of Muhammad’s expeditions to the Christian Byzantine frontiers. It highlights several Muslim attempts to raid Christian tribes in northern Hijaz and even to attain the Byzantine Empire’s superpower, and focuses on three important encounters: the raid to Mu’ta, the raid to Tabūk, and Usāma’s incursion to Greater Syria. In the analyses of these stories, the sectarian inclinations and political leanings of Muslim historians are clear. A pro-Shīᶜite historian insists on portraying ᶜAlī and Banū Hāshim as the most crucial warriors for Muhammad, while ᶜAbbāsid historians do not hesitate to magnify the image of al-ᶜAbbās as the major aid of Muhammad. This strengthens one of the overall arguments of this study: Muslim traditionists never relinquish their sectarian commitment or political sympathies when they design their narratives. Still, these accounts emphasize Muhammad as the military commander of the Muslims until his last breath.