ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Battle of Harrah The Itinerary of the Syrian Army Historians have recorded their itinerary stage by stage, although there are minor differences between various sources.

Istakhrī has noted the distance between Syria and Medina to be twenty stages ( manzil ),[^1] without recording the names of the stages; but Ibn Rusta has named some of the stages and regarded them to be twelve.[^2] Ibn Batūta has named seventeen stages between Syria and Medina,[^3] but since Ibn Batūta has written his book in 779 A.H. (1377 C.E.), and Ibn Rusta wrote his in 290 A.H.

(902 C.E.), Ibn Rusta's view seems to be more authentic in terms of its chronological proximity to the time of the incidence. He has not pointed out to all the names, though.

Ibn Khurdādhbih has also considered the itinerary to be the same as what Ibn Rusta noted.[^4] Due to the long period between these two sources, we will proceed to give a brief list of the stages between Syria and Medina as follows: Kuswa (the first township which was at a 12 mile[^5] distance from Damascus), Jāsim (24 miles from Damascus), Fīq (or Afīq, 24 miles from Jāsim), Sanamayn (12 miles from Fīq), Zar'a (15 or 18 miles from Sanamayn), Busrī (4 stages from Damascus and the same place where the Prophet (s), before his mission and during his business travel to Syria, met the Christian Monk and the latter recognized on his features, the signs of prophethood),[^6] Karak, Ma'ān, Hismī, Dhāt al-Manār (the beginning of Syrian territory from Medina), Lajūn, Saragh (a village near Tabūk), Dhāt Haj, Taymā' (name of a river north of Tabūk), Hajar, Wādī al-Qurā, 'Ulmā, Junayna, Janāb, Ruhba, Dhī al-Marwa, Marr, Jurf, Suwaydā, 25 Hudayya, Dhī Khushub.

Obviously, the above-mentioned stages are the known villages and townships on the way between Syria and Medina and it does not mean that the distance between each one of them is a day's journey. However, when the Syrian army reached Wādī al-Qurā, they met with the Umayyids who were expelled or had escaped from Medina. Muslim b.

'Uqba first inquired about the military preparedness and spiritual conditions of the people of Medina and the number of their fighters in order to plan how to penetrate into Medina and triumph over the people. Muslim b. 'Uqba asked Marwān b. Hakam how to triumph over the people of Medina. Marwān answered: “The number of Medinans is more than your troops, but not all of them have enough arms.