Beni Murra Expedition

The Beni Murra tribe resided near Fedek, two days' distance from Medina. This tribe had acted in alliance with the polytheists of Quraysh after the Hijra and had particularly participated in the ranks of the polytheist army during the Battle of the Trench (5 AH/627 CE). In the month of Sha'ban in the 7th year AH (December 628), the Prophet Muhammad sent a thirty-man expedition under the command of Bashir ibn Sa'd to break the alliance of this tribe with the Quraysh. Bashir set out to capture the herds that had retreated to the valleys of the tribe. However, the members of Beni Murra, having learned of the situation, caught up with the Muslim soldiers and attacked. In the ensuing conflict, twenty-eight Muslims were martyred. Among the survivors, Ulba ibn Zayd conveyed this news to the Messenger of Allah; the severely wounded Bashir managed to reach Medina after receiving treatment from a Jew in Fedek. After this heavy loss, the Prophet prepared a second unit. Initially, he appointed Zubair ibn al-Awwam as the commander, but later assigned Ghalib ibn Abdullah, who was more familiar with the region and had returned victorious from another expedition. This second unit of 200 men set out in the month of Safar in the 8th year AH (June 629) and reached the place where the tribe was encamped; they launched a raid, killing many and capturing numerous prisoners and spoils. A critical incident occurred during this expedition: Usama ibn Zayd, despite declaring the testimony of faith, killed Mirdas ibn Nahik from the enemy ranks. Upon hearing about this incident, the Prophet Muhammad was extremely saddened and asked Usama, "Did you split open the man's heart to see whether he said this out of fear of death or truly believed?" Usama ibn Zayd replied, "This incident became one of the heaviest things for me." (Bukhari, Maghazi 45; Muslim, Iman 155) [Source: Hüseyin Algül, "Mürre Seriyyesi" article, TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/murre-seriyyesi; Bukhari, Maghazi 45; Waqidi, al-Maghazi, II, 443, 723-725]