Al-Abwā'
[ on MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts] ( ar, ٱَلْأَبْوَاء) is a
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
i village between
Mecca and
Medina belonging to the area of
Rabigh
Rabigh ( ar, رَابِغ, translit=Rābigh) is a city and governorate in the Province of Makkah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea, around northwest of Mecca in the historic Hejazi region. The city had an estim ...
, on the
western coast of
Saudi Arabia. The
Islamic Prophet
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad entered it before the
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
, in 2 ''
Safar
Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppr ...
''
A.H.
Significance in Islamic history
* The place where
Muhammad's mother,
Aminah bint
Bent ( fa, بنت, also Romanized as Bint) is a city in Bent District, Nik Shahr County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in West ...
Wahb ibn Abd Manaf, died.
* It was here that
Muhammad's cousin,
Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith, adopted
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.
* The
Seventh Twelver Shi'ite Imam and direct
descendant of Muhammad,
Musa al-Kadhim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...
, was born in this town.
* In 744
C.E., after the assassination of the
Umayyad Caliph
Al-Walīd II, Al-'Abdallah met the
Hashimites
The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (19 ...
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.
[ Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, "Kitāb al-Maqātil aṭ-Ṭālibīyīn" (), Book of Tālibid Fights]
Military campaigns 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
The ''Muhajirun'' ( ar, المهاجرون, al-muhājirūn, singular , ) were the first converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated with him from Mecca to Medina, the event known in Islam as the ''Hijr ...
''.
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 Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
. The raid party did not meet any Quraysh during the raid.
[ Book contains a list of battles of Muhammad in Arabic. English versio]
here
/ref> 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.[Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar p. 127]
See also
*Hijaz Mountains
The Hijaz Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحِجَاز, Jibāl al-Ḥijāz ()) or "Hejaz Range" is a mountain range located in the Hejazi region of western Saudi Arabia. The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, a ...
*List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia
The following is a list of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia.
Alphabetical list of cities and towns
References
Central Department of Statistics and Information
{{Portal, Saudi Arabia
Lists of cities by country, Saudi Arabia, List of ...
References
Populated places in Mecca Province
{{SaudiArabia-geo-stub