with the messenger [pbuh]’s return from badr, peace and security prevailed the whole area; and the islamic headquarters, madinah, enjoyed full security. the prophet [pbuh] then deemed it fit and appropriate to head for the most distant areas of arabia in order to subdue all hostile elements in order to force undisputed recognition out of friend and enemy alike.

after a six-month lull of military activities, the prophet [pbuh] was reported that some tribes, in the vicinity of doumat al-jandal, on the borders of syria, were involved in highway robbery and plundering, and were on their way to muster troops and raid madinah itself. he immediately appointed siba‘ bin ‘arfatah al-ghifari to dispose the affairs of madinah during his absence, and set out at the head of 1000 muslims in late rabi‘ al-awwal, 5 a.h. taking with him a man, named madhkur, from bani ‘udhrah, as a guide.

on their way to doumat al-jandal, they used to march by night and hide by day, so that they might take the enemy by surprise. when they drew near their destination, the muslims discovered that the highway men had moved to another place, so they captured their cattle and shepherds. the inhabitants of doumat al-jandal had also fled in all directions for their lives and evacuated their habitations. the prophet [pbuh] stayed there for 5 days during which he despatched expeditionary forces to hunt for the enemy personnel but they detected none. he then returned to madinah but en route he entered into a peace treaty with ‘uyainah bin hisn. doumat al-jandal is located at about a distance of fifteen days march from madinah and five from damascus.

with this decisive and steady progress and wise strict plans, the prophet [pbuh] managed to spread security, control the situation and make peace prevail the whole area. he also succeeded in shifting the course of events for the welfare of the muslims by reducing the incessant internal and external troubles. the hypocrites were silenced, a tribe of the jews evacuated while the other continued to fake good neighbourliness and seemingly faithful adherence to the covenants, the desert bedouins subdued and finally the archenemy quraish no longer keen on attacking the muslims. this secure strategic attitude created optimum circumstances for the muslims to resume their logical course in propagating islam and communicating the messages of the lord to all worlds.