12 ISLAM AT WAR
of the Muslims so impressed the Byzantines that they decided to leave
this hornet’s nest alone. The most reasonable source claims that the shat-
tered remnant of Muhammad’s force retreated to Medina after losing three
commanders.
When sources conflict on such issues we must attempt to evaluate the
possible motives that might result in such divergent opinions. The great
problem is that ancient history is not the complete record that we would
like. Journalism did not exist, official records were either not kept or did
not survive, and what has come down to us must be examined for self-
serving intent. Simply put, we can conjecture, but not know.
Bearing all of this in mind, Muhammad would likely have known of
the power of the Byzantines. A force of 3,000 men might have made a
useful raiding party, but would have been too few for a major attack. The
Byzantines had a high military reputation, and such a small force would
have been too weak to seriously hinder a full-bore Byzantine effort. It
might reasonably be considered a suicide mission. On the other hand, at
the time the Byzantines almost certainly had their hands full with their
long-time Persian opponents, and the proposed imperial threat was just a
sideshow. In this case, 3,000 men might have been enough. It is certainly
not reasonable to think that 3,000 Muslims prevailed against 100,000
Byzantines.
We do know that Muhammad’s total armed force was certainly larger
than 3,000 men, so it could not have been a serious effort to attack and
defeat an enemy. This would violate the first and most obvious rule of
war—concentration of force and effort. Muhammad’s many engagements
clearly indicate that he understood this principle. If one looks at it cal-
lously, the sacrifice of 3,000 men who were expected to fight with fanatic
ferocity might well encourage an enemy to think twice about the damage
possible from engaging the entire force of such an enemy. Whatever the
result of this abortive Syrian adventure, Muhammad did not suffer from
it, nor did his rule.
InA.D. 630 once again rumors arrived in Arabia that the Byzantines
planned an invasion of Arabia. The Muslims mobilized to face the ru-
mored invasion and preparations for a jihad were made. A force, reputed
to be 30,000 strong, was organized and dispatched north to Tabuk, where
the Byzantines were rumored to be massing. When they arrived, the Mus-
lims found no Byzantines. After waiting a few days, they returned to
Arabia.
After the Banu-Qurayzah were slaughtered, particularly between 630
and 631, there came what was known as the “year of delegations”(sanat
al-wufud).Delegations from the various tribes of Arabia flocked to him