The Ghazwah of Gābe (Zūkarid)

The background of the Gābe Expedition can be summarized as follows: Due to drought near Medina, the Prophet's milking camels were being grazed in the Gābe area along the city's road to Syria. The care of the animals was entrusted to Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. In the month of Rabi' al-Akhir in the 6th year of Hijra (September 627 CE) — according to some narrations, in Dhu al-Hijjah or at the beginning of the 7th year — Uyayna b. Hisn, the chief of the Banu Ghatafan's Fazara clan, launched a night raid with forty horsemen. Zarr b. Abu Dharr, who was herding Abu Dharr's camels, was martyred; Abu Dharr's wife Layla and the camels were also taken. It is reported that part of the raid was led by Abdurrahman b. Uyayna, and that Uyayna later joined or that the raid was actually organized by a woman named Ummu Kirfa. Upon receiving news of the raid, Salama b. Akwa' immediately followed them, shouting and trying to slow down the enemy. A Muslim who conveyed the situation to Medina informed the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet immediately sent an advance cavalry unit of eight men under the command of Sa'd b. Zayd; then he personally set out with a force of 400 men. He left Ibn Umm Maktum as his deputy in Medina and assigned Sa'd b. Ubadah to protect Medina with 300 men. While the advance unit was pursuing the raiders, Abu Qatada killed Abdurrahman b. Uyayna; however, Muhriz b. Nadle and Waqqas b. Mujazziz were martyred. The raiders had to flee without being able to utilize the Zūkarid water point on their way; the polytheists left their spears and cloaks on the roads to move faster. The Prophet established his headquarters on a hill in Zūkarid and waited for one day and one night. Only ten camels could be rescued. When it became clear that the raiders were avoiding confrontation, the Prophet returned from this five-day expedition. This expedition is referred to by two different names: "Zūkarid Expedition" in reference to the water point where the camp was established, and "Gābe Expedition" in reference to the forest area where the Prophet's camels were grazed. [Source: "Gābe Expedition", TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gabe-gazvesi; "Ghatafan (Banu Ghatafan)", TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gatafan-beni-gatafan]