Al-Abwa'

Al-Abwa' ٱَلْأَبْوَاء
Village
A grave to the right of that of Muhammad's mother Aminah
Al-Abwa' Location of Al-Abwa' in Saudi Arabia Show map of Saudi Arabia Al-Abwa' Al-Abwa' (Middle East) Show map of Middle East Al-Abwa' Al-Abwa' (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 23°6′33.34″N 39°5′39.59″E
Country	Saudi Arabia
Region	Makkah
Government
• Provincial Governor	Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud
Time zone	UTC+3 (AST)

Al-Abwā'^[1] (Arabic: ٱَلْأَبْوَاء) is a Hejazi village between Mecca and Medina belonging to the area of Rabigh, on the western coast of Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad entered it before the Battle of Badr, in 2 Safar A.H.^{[clarification needed]}

Significance in Islamic history

Grave of Aminah

• The place where Muhammad's mother, Aminah bint Wahb ibn Abd Manaf, died.^[2][3]
• It was here that Muhammad's cousin, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, adopted Islam.^[1]
• The Seventh Twelver Shi'ite Imam and direct descendant of Muhammad, Musa al-Kadhim, was born in this town.^[4][5]
• In 744 C.E., after the assassination of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walīd II, Al-'Abdallah met the Hashimites in the village of al-Abwā', when an oath of allegiance was pledged to his son Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya as the new Mahdi.^[6]

Military campaigns of Muhammad

Main article: List of expeditions of Muhammad

The fourth caravan raid that Muhammad ordered, known as the invasion of Waddan, was the first offensive in which Muhammad took part personally with 70 troops, mostly Muhajirun.^[7]

It is said that twelve months after moving to Medina, Muhammad himself led a caravan raid to Waddan (Al-Abwā). The aim was to intercept the caravans of the Quraysh. The raid party did not meet any Quraysh during the raid.^[8][9] However, the caravan of the Banu Damrah was raided. Negotiations began and the two leaders signed a treaty of non-aggression. Banu Damrah pledged not to attack Muslims or side with the Quraysh; and Muhammad pledged not to attack, or seize the goods of, the caravans of the Banu Damrah.^[7][8]

See also

• Hijaz Mountains
• List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia

References

1. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, archived from the original on 2009-05-28 on MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts
2. Daniel Howden (18 April 2006). "Shame of the House of Saud: Shadows over Mecca". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2016-07-27. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
3. Ondrej Beranek; Pavel Tupek (2009). "From Visiting Graves to Their Destruction: The Question of Ziyara through the Eyes of Salafis" (Crown Paper). Waltham, Massachusetts, the U.S.A.: Brandeis University. OCLC 457230835.
4. A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum, Iran: Ansariyan Publications. 2004. p. 131. ISBN 964-438-127-0.
5. "Hazrat Imam Musa Kazim a.s". Archived from the original on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
6. Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, "Kitāb al-Maqātil aṭ-Ṭālibīyīn" (مقاتل الطالبيين), Book of Tālibid Fights
7. Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar p. 127
8. Haykal, Husayn (1976), The Life of Muhammad, Islamic Book Trust, p. 217, ISBN 978-983-9154-17-7
9. Hawarey, Dr. Mosab (2010). The Journey of Prophecy; Days of Peace and War (in Arabic). Islamic Book Trust. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2014-10-04. Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic. English version here