Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa'

Historical overview

The Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa' occurred in 4 AH (625 CE) when Prophet Muhammad led a force of 400 to 700 Muslims into the Najd region toward Nakhl. Reports had reached Medina that the hostile Bedouin tribes of Ghatafan—specifically Banu Muharib and Banu Tha'labah—were gathering forces to launch a raid against the Muslims. As the Muslim army advanced into the sharp, rugged, volcanic terrain, the Bedouin fighters dispersed into the surrounding mountains to avoid direct confrontation. The expedition received its name because the soldiers tied rags around their torn feet injured by the harsh, jagged rocks. While encamped under potential threat of surprise attacks, the revelation for Salat al-Khawf (the Prayer of Fear) was practiced, allowing soldiers to pray in shifts while remaining armed. The operation successfully neutralized the threat to Medina without major bloodshed.

Historical context and how to read this record

This record presents Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa', dated in the archive as 4 AH / 625 CE and associated with Dhat al-Riqa', Najd, Arabia. The date, place, summary, named groups, terrain features, and references shown here come from the bundled or published event record. They provide a concise entry point for study, while the linked source notes remain the place to check what each historical or religious text actually reports. A label in the archive is not, by itself, proof that every chronology, number, or interpretation is agreed across historians.

The timeline on this page is deliberately limited to information attached to the record: its displayed event date and era, its named location, and the geographic markers that the map author normalized for the scene. These map markers are not a minute-by-minute sequence of movements. They do not claim to reconstruct every decision, speech, or formation. Where historians preserve differing accounts, the distinction matters: a conventional date can help readers orient themselves, but a date recorded in a database should not be mistaken for a universally settled day or for a primary-source quotation.

The terrain is a deterministic educational model. A shared height function keeps water, formations, landmarks, and ground visually aligned; the normalized coordinates make the same record render consistently when the optional cloud archive is unavailable. This approach supports comparison of broad relationships—such as a camp in relation to a water feature, a fortified settlement against a highland, or a route beside a valley—without presenting synthetic elevation as archaeological survey data. Lighting, camera angle, and visual scale are choices for legibility, not evidence about the historical scene.

Read the forces and commanders panel as a record of the labels supplied for this map, not as an independently verified census. Estimates in classical narratives can differ because authors preserve separate transmissions, use rounded totals, or describe groups in different ways. This page keeps uncertainty notes attached to the relevant record when they are available. A missing strength estimate means the archive does not make one here; it should not be filled by inference from the size of a marker or from the appearance of the 3D scene.

The source dossier names the references bundled with this event, including Qur’anic passages or classical works where supplied. Numbering, chapter divisions, translations, and pagination can vary by edition, so a careful citation should identify the edition and translator consulted. A source title in the list is a research lead, not a claim that the entire event is established by that work alone. Compare the passages in context, separate a source’s wording from later commentary, and consult qualified scholarship when a question concerns creed, law, or a contested historical conclusion.

For an efficient study sequence, begin with the short overview, note the event date and place, then select each geographic marker in the dual reader. The camera will move to the schematic coordinate while the corresponding source note is brought into view. Next compare the land and water features, read any force labels and their uncertainty notes, and return to the source dossier before drawing conclusions. This order helps distinguish what the archive records, what the visualization illustrates, and what a reader may need to verify in a primary edition. The purpose is source-aware orientation and respectful learning, not a substitute for historical fieldwork or a scholar’s judgment.

Record timeline and tactical markers

1. Archive date: 2026-10-03 · 4 AH / 625 CE
2. Recorded setting: Dhat al-Riqa', Najd, Arabia
3. Map feature 1: Rugged basalt volcanic stone fields
4. Map feature 2: Narrow rocky passes and ravines
5. Map feature 3: Arid highland plateaus of Najd
6. Schematic marker 1: Muslim Expeditionary Force · Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) · 400 - 700 men
7. Schematic marker 2: Banu Muharib & Banu Tha'labah · D'athur ibn al-Harith & Tribal Chiefs · Unknown (~600-800 scattered Bedouin)

Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.

Forces and commanders

• Muslim Expeditionary Force — Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (400 - 700 men)
• Banu Muharib & Banu Tha'labah — D'athur ibn al-Harith & Tribal Chiefs (Unknown (~600-800 scattered Bedouin))

Geography: water and landscape

• Nakhl Oasis Spring (oasis)
• Dhat al-Riqa' Water Pit (well)
• Rugged basalt volcanic stone fields
• Narrow rocky passes and ravines
• Arid highland plateaus of Najd

Sources

• Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Vol. 2
• Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, Vol. 7
• Al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi, Vol. 1

More 3D maps

• Karbala · The Plain of 61 AH
• Battle of Badr · Wells and Two Slopes
• Khaybar · Basalt Harrat and Fortified Oases
• Hijrah Route · Makkah to Madinah
• Najaf & Kufa · The Historic Plain
• Siffin · Euphrates Campaign Landscape