Expedition of Wadi al-Qura
غزوة وادي القرى
غزوہ وادی القریٰ
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58 local-first recordsHistorical overview
In 7 AH (628 CE), immediately following the victory at Khaybar, the Prophet Muhammad led the Muslim army to Wadi al-Qura, a fertile valley inhabited by a Jewish community and Arab allies. Upon their arrival, the local defenders ambushed the vanguard with arrows before formal negotiations could begin, killing Mid'am, a servant of the Prophet. The Muslim forces aligned in battle formation and offered terms of peace, which were rejected. Individual duels took place at the valley entrance, where Muslim champions including Zubayr ibn al-Awwam defeated several defender commanders. The Muslim army then besieged the fortifications for one to two days. Realizing resistance was futile, the defenders surrendered. They negotiated terms identical to Khaybar, agreeing to cultivate their lands and yield half of their annual agricultural produce to the Muslim state, thereby securing the northern trade route to the Levant.
Historical context and how to read this record
This record presents Expedition of Wadi al-Qura, dated in the archive as 7 AH / 628 CE and associated with Wadi al-Qura (near Al-'Ula), Hijaz. 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.
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Record timeline and tactical markers
- Archive date: 2026-10-03 · 7 AH / 628 CE
- Recorded setting: Wadi al-Qura (near Al-'Ula), Hijaz
- Map feature 1: Narrow basalt canyon walls
- Map feature 2: Fertile oasis valley floor with palm groves
- Map feature 3: Fortified stone outcroppings along cliffs
- Schematic marker 1: Muslim Main Body & Infantry · Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) · 1,400 companions
- Schematic marker 2: Muslim Cavalry & Duellists · Zubayr ibn al-Awwam · 200 cavalrymen
- Schematic marker 3: Defenders of Wadi al-Qura · Local Tribal Chiefs · Several hundred archers & warriors
Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.
Forces and commanders
- Muslim Main Body & Infantry — Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (1,400 companions)
- Muslim Cavalry & Duellists — Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (200 cavalrymen)
- Defenders of Wadi al-Qura — Local Tribal Chiefs (Several hundred archers & warriors)
Geography: water and landscape
- Wadi al-Qura Oasis Springs (oasis)
- Central Settlement Well (well)
- Narrow basalt canyon walls
- Fertile oasis valley floor with palm groves
- Fortified stone outcroppings along cliffs
Sources
- Al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi, Vol. 2, Ghazwat Wadi al-Qura
- Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, Vol. 8, Events of 7 AH
- Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Vol. 2, The Expedition to Wadi al-Qura