Rasulullah ﷺ menetap di Madinah, di mana baginda segera mula melaksanakan hukum-hukum Islam dalam masyarakat. Pada masa inilah turunnya Wahyu berkenaan perundangan. Baginda ﷺ memperkukuhkan asas-asas Negara Islam dan membina masyarakat di atas dasar Islam dan sistem-sistemnya. Baginda ﷺ mewujudkan persaudaraan di kalangan kaum Muslimin, dan ketika itulah Islam hidup sebagai satu sistem yang berasaskan Syariah, dianuti oleh satu masyarakat yang memikul tugas menyebarkan Risalahnya. Bilangan kaum Muslimin meningkat dengan ketara dan mereka menjadi kuasa yang perlu diperhitungkan; individu dan kumpulan memeluk Islam hampir setiap hari, di antara mereka termasuk orang Yahudi dan lain-lain.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) settled in Madinah, where he at once began to implement the Islamic rules in the society. It was at this time that the Revelation concerning legislation descended. He (pbuh) strengthened the fundamentals of the Islamic State and built the society on the basis of Islam and its systems. He (pbuh) created a brotherhood amongst the Muslims and it was then that Islam came to life as a system based on the Shari’ah, adopted by a society that took on the task of spreading its Message. The number of Muslims substantially increased and they became a force to be reckoned with, individuals and groups alike embraced Islam every other day, amongst them Jews and others.

Setelah Rasulullah ﷺ yakin akan kedudukan Islam di Madinah, baginda mula memikirkan untuk menyebarkan Risalah ke luar, kepada seluruh Semenanjung Arab. Namun, baginda tahu bahawa Quraisy merupakan halangan yang amat besar di jalan Dakwah, halangan yang bersifat material, di mana cara perbincangan intelektual tidak akan didengari. Oleh itu, halangan tersebut perlu diatasi dengan kekerasan.

Once the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was confident about the status of Islam in Madinah, he began to think about spreading the Message outside to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. However, he knew that Quraysh formed a formidable obstacle in the way of the Da’wah, a material obstacle where the means of intellectual discussion would fall on deaf ears. Therefore, the obstacle would have to be overwhelmed by force.

Rasulullah ﷺ tidak mampu menyingkirkan halangan material ini ketika baginda berada di Makkah kerana Islam belum mempunyai sebuah Negara yang mampu menjana kekuatan material yang diperlukan untuk menyingkirkan halangan tersebut. Namun, sejak tertubuhnya Negara Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ dapat berusaha menyingkirkan halangan-halangan material sedemikian dengan sarana yang besar yang kini berada di dalam genggaman baginda. Dengan sarana untuk menguatkuasakan dasar sedemikian kini tersedia baginda, yang perlu baginda ﷺ lakukan hanyalah menyediakan tentera dan peperangan, serta menerima pakai dasar baharu untuk menyebarkan Da’wah. Inilah sebabnya baginda ﷺ memulakan ekspedisi dan serbuan, sebahagian daripadanya baginda sertai sendiri, bagi menentang Quraysh dengan unjuk kekuatan. Ekspedisi yang terakhir ialah ekspedisi 'Abdullah ibn Jahsh, yang menjadi pendahuluan kepada Peperangan Badar.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was unable to remove this material obstacle when he was in Makkah because Islam did not have a State capable of generating the required material force necessary to remove that obstacle. However, since the establishment of the Islamic State, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was able to work to remove such material obstacles by considerable means now at his disposal. With the means to enforce such a policy now available to him, all he (pbuh) had to do was to prepare the army and war, and adopting a new policy to spread the Da’wah. This is the reason why he (pbuh) initiated expeditions and raids, some of which he took part in personally, so as to defy Quraysh with a show of force. The last expedition was that of ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh which served as an introduction to the battle of Badr.

Rasulullah ﷺ telah mengutus ‘Abdullah bin Jahsh bersama sekumpulan kaum Muhajirin pada bulan Rejab tahun kedua Hijrah. Baginda ﷺ menulis sepucuk surat kepadanya, dan memerintahkannya supaya tidak membacanya sehingga dia telah berjalan selama dua hari, kemudian barulah dia hendaklah bertindak mengikut arahannya, tetapi dia tidak boleh memaksa mana-mana sahabatnya. Apabila ‘Abdullah telah berjalan selama dua hari, dia membuka surat itu dan membacanya. Inilah kandungannya: “Apabila engkau telah membaca surat aku ini, teruskan perjalanan sehingga engkau sampai ke Nakhlah, yang terletak di antara Makkah dan Ta’if. Berkuboh di sana untuk memerhatikan orang Quraisy dan cari tahu untuk kami apa yang sedang mereka rancangkan.” Dia kemudian memberitahu sahabat-sahabatnya tentang surat itu dan tugas yang diamanahkan kepadanya, dan dia juga memaklumkan kepada mereka arahan Rasulullah ﷺ supaya tidak memaksa sesiapa pun.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh out with a group of Muhajireen during the month of Rajab in the second year of Hijra. He (pbuh) wrote him a letter, and ordered him not to look at it until he had journeyed for two days whereupon he should act on its instructions, but he should not put pressure on any of his companions. When ‘Abdullah had traveled for two days he opened the letter and read it, this is what it said, “When you have read this letter of mine, proceed until you reach Nakhlah between Makkah and Ta’if. Lie there for the Quraysh and find out for us what they are up to.” He told his companions about the letter and the task assigned to him, he also informed them about Allah’s Messenger’s instructions not to put any pressure on anyone.

Mereka semua bersetuju untuk meneruskan perjalanan, lalu baginda ﷺ berangkat bersama para sahabatnya. Mereka mengembara bersama-sama sebagai satu kumpulan sehinggalah Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri dan 'Utbah ibn Ghazwan terpisah ketika mereka pergi mencari unta yang telah hilang. Akhirnya mereka tertawan oleh kaum Quraysh. 'Abdullah ibn Jahsh berkemah di Nakhlah sambil mengintai kaum Quraysh, dan ketika berada di situ, sebuah kafilah mereka yang membawa barang dagangan melintasi tempat itu. 'Abdullah dan para sahabatnya bermesyuarat sesama sendiri untuk memutuskan apa yang perlu dilakukan kerana hari itu adalah hari terakhir bulan Rajab yang suci, dan Rasulullah ﷺ tidak pernah mengeluarkan arahan mengenai peperangan. Mereka berkata antara satu sama lain, "Demi Allah, jika kamu membiarkan mereka malam ini, mereka akan memasuki kawasan suci dan akan selamat daripada kamu, dan jika kamu membunuh mereka, kamu membunuh mereka dalam bulan yang suci." Pada mulanya mereka ragu-ragu dan takut untuk menyerang mereka. Kemudian mereka saling memberi semangat dan memutuskan untuk berperang. Seorang daripada orang Islam memanah ketua kafilah, 'Amr ibn al-Hadrami, lalu membunuhnya. Orang Islam menawan dua orang tawanan dan membawa kafilah itu ke Madinah.

They all agreed to continue and so he proceeded with his companions. They traveled together as a group until Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri and ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwan became separated when they went to look for the camel they had lost. Eventually they were to fall prisoners to the Quraysh. ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh camped in Nakhlah watching out for the Quraysh and while there one of their caravans carrying merchandise passed by. ‘Abdullah and his companions took council among themselves to decide what to do because this was the last day of the sacred month of Rajab and Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) had not issued any instructions about fighting. They said to each other, “By Allah, if you leave them alone tonight they will get into the sacred area and will be safe from you, and if you kill them, you will kill them in the sacred month.” At first they were hesitant and feared to attack them. Then they encouraged each other and decided to fight. One of the Muslims shot the leader of the caravan ‘Amr ibn al Hadrami and killed him. The Muslims took two prisoners and escorted the caravan to Madinah.

Ketika mereka datang kepada Rasulullah (ﷺ), baginda bersabda kepada mereka, "Aku tidak pernah memerintahkan kamu untuk berperang pada bulan haram." Kemudian baginda ﷺ menangguhkan urusan kafilah dan kedua tawanan itu serta enggan mengambil apa pun daripada mereka. Itulah kesudahan ekspedisi ‘Abdullah bin Jahsh yang telah diutus oleh Rasulullah ﷺ untuk mengintai kaum Quraisy, tetapi sebaliknya membawa kepada pertempuran, pembunuhan, dan penawanan sebahagian daripada orang mereka, serta merampas kafilah itu sebagai harta rampasan pada bulan haram. Maka apakah hukum Islam terhadap tindakan ini? Inilah yang membimbangkan Rasulullah ﷺ, dan sebab itulah baginda menahan tawanan dan harta rampasan itu, menunggu hukum daripada Allah (SWT) mengenai perkara tersebut. Kaum Quraisy mengambil peluang ini untuk dijadikan sumber propaganda terhadap Islam dan Muhammad ﷺ. Mereka mewar-warkan di kalangan semua orang Arab bahawa Muhammad ﷺ dan para sahabatnya telah melanggar kehormatan bulan haram, menumpahkan darah, merampas harta, dan memenjarakan orang. Perdebatan timbul di Makkah antara kaum Quraisy dan orang Islam yang masih tinggal di sana, dan sebagai balasan, orang Islam berkata bahawa saudara mereka menyerang kafilah itu pada bulan Sya‘ban, bukan Rejab, tetapi jawapan mereka tidak mencukupi dan gagal memadamkan propaganda yang dilancarkan oleh kaum Quraisy terhadap Islam. Orang Yahudi turut menyertai kempen ini, lalu mula mencela dan memfitnah tindakan ‘Abdullah bin Jahsh. Propaganda tersebut memberi kesan buruk kepada orang Islam, sementara Rasulullah ﷺ terus diam menanti Wahyu dan keputusan Allah mengenai perkara ini, sehingga Allah (SWT) menurunkan dalam Surah al-Baqarah:

When they came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) he said to them, “I did not order you to fight in the sacred month.” Then he (pbuh) put on hold the issue of the caravan and the two prisoners refusing to take anything from them. That was the conclusion of ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh’s expedition whom the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had sent to watch the Quraysh, but instead had led to fighting, killing, and imprisoning some of thier men and taking the caravan as booty during the sacred month. So what would be the Islamic verdict on this action? This is what concerned Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and hence that is the reason why he held the prisoners and the booty in suspense, to wait for the verdict from Allah (swt) on the matter. The Quraysh grabbed the opportunity of using the issue as a source of propaganda against Islam and Muhammad (pbuh). They trumpeted among all the Arabs that Muhammad (pbuh) and his Sahabah had violated the sacred month, shed blood, seized properties and imprisoned people. Arguments arose in Makkah between the Quraysh and the Muslims who had remained there, and in reply the Muslims said that their brothers had attacked the caravan in Sha’ban and not Rajab, but their response was not enough and failed to quell the propaganda launched by the Quraysh against Islam. The Jews picked up on the campaign as well and began disgracing and slandering ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh’s action. The propaganda took its toll on the Muslims, meanwhile Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) kept silent awaiting the Revelation and Allah’s verdict on the affair until Allah (swt) revealed in Surah al-Baqarah:

"Mereka bertanya kepadamu tentang berperang pada bulan haram. Katakanlah, “Berperang dalam bulan itu adalah dosa besar, tetapi menghalang-halangi (manusia) dari jalan Allah, kufur kepada-Nya, menghalang-halangi (masuk) Masjidil Haram, dan mengusir penduduknya dari sana, itu lebih besar dosanya di sisi Allah. Dan fitnah itu lebih kejam daripada pembunuhan.” Dan mereka tidak henti-henti memerangimu sampai mereka (dapat) mengembalikanmu dari agamamu (Islam), seandainya mereka sanggup." [Al-Baqarah, 2:217].

“They ask you concerning fighting in the sacred months. Say, “Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) in the sight of Allah is to prevent mankind from following the way of Allah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid-al-Haram, and to drive out its inhabitants, and ‘Al-Fitnah’ is worse than killing. And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your deen (Islam) if they can.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:217].

Apabila ayat ini diturunkan, kaum Muslimin bergembira, dan Rasulullah ﷺ kemudian meneruskan dengan membahagikan harta rampasan daripada kafilah itu serta menukarkan dua tawanan dengan Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri dan 'Utbah bin Ghazwan. Ayat-ayat ini datang sebagai tamparan hebat terhadap propaganda Quraisy menentang Islam. Al-Qur'an menjawab soalan Quraisy mengenai berperang pada bulan haram, dengan mengakui bahawa berperang adalah dosa, tetapi menghalang orang daripada jalan Masjid yang suci dan mengusir penduduknya daripadanya adalah jauh lebih besar dosanya daripada berperang dan membunuh pada bulan haram.

When this verse was revealed the Muslims rejoiced and Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) then proceeded to distribute the booty from the caravan and exchange the two prisoners for Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri and ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwan. These verses came as a slap in the face of the Quraysh’s propaganda against Islam. The Qur’an answered the Quraysh’s question concerning fighting in the sacred month, agreeing that fighting is a sin, but keeping people back from the way of the sacred Masjid and driving its people away from it was far more serious than fighting and killing in the sacred month.

Penindasan yang dilakukan oleh kaum Quraisy terhadap kaum Muslimin kerana agama mereka, dengan cara mengugut, menyeksa dan menganiaya mereka, adalah jauh lebih buruk daripada berperang dan membunuh di bulan haram, mahupun di mana-mana bulan lain. Kaum Quraisy tanpa henti memerangi mereka dalam usaha untuk memalingkan mereka daripada agama mereka. Oleh itu, kaum Muslimin berhak memerangi kaum Quraisy di bulan haram, dan tiada sebarang tuduhan boleh dikenakan ke atas mereka. Kaum Quraisylah yang melakukan kesalahan yang lebih besar, kerana mereka menghalang dakwah Islam, menjauhkan manusia daripada jalan Allah, kufur kepada Allah, mengusir penduduk dari Masjid Haram dan menganiaya kaum Muslimin. Mereka patut diperangi pada setiap bulan, sama ada bulan haram atau selainnya. Oleh itu, peperangan yang dimulakan oleh ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh terhadap kaum Quraisy bukanlah satu aib bagi dirinya mahupun bagi kaum Muslimin.

The Quraysh’s actions of oppressing the Muslims for their Deen by threatening, torturing and persecuting them was far worse than fighting and killing in the sacred month, or any other month for that matter. The Quraysh had relentlessly fought them in an attempt to turn them back from their Deen, therefore the Muslims were entitled to fight the Quraysh in the sacred month and nothing could be held against them. It was the Quraysh who were committing the graver offense by standing in the way of the Islamic Da’wah, by keeping people back from the way of Allah, by disbelieving in Allah, driving out the people from the sacred Masjid and persecuting the Muslims. They deserved to be fought in any and every month, sacred or otherwise. The fight that ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh initiated against the Quraysh was therefore neither a disgrace to him nor to the Muslims.

Oleh itu, ekspedisi ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh merupakan satu titik perubahan dalam sejarah Islam. Ia menandakan perubahan dasar yang besar dalam cara Da’wah Islamiyah harus dijalankan. Waqid ibn ‘Abdullah al-Tamimi menembak ketua kafilah itu dan membunuhnya. Inilah darah pertama yang ditumpahkan oleh orang Islam di jalan Allah (swt). Sehingga turunnya ayat-ayat Jihad yang memerintahkan orang Islam untuk berperang, peperangan bersenjata dalam bulan-bulan haram tidak dibenarkan. Sejak masa itu, peraturannya pun berbeza. Maka larangan sebelumnya untuk berperang dalam bulan-bulan haram telah dimansukhkan oleh ayat yang disebut di atas secara khusus.

Thus, the expedition of ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh was a turning point in the history of Islam. It marked a profound change of policy in the way that the Islamic Da’wah was to be conducted. Waqid ibn ‘Abdullah al-Tamimi shot the leader of the caravan and killed him. This was the first blood the Muslims shed in the way of Allah (swt). Until the verses of Jihad were revealed commanding the Muslims to fight; armed combat during the sacred months had been unauthorized. From that time on though the rules were different. Thus the previous prevention against fighting in the sacred months was abrogated by the specificity of the above mentioned verse.