Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alipohakikishiwa kwamba jamii ya Kiislamu imesimama imara, na mara baada ya kuingia mikataba na makabila ya Kiyahudi yaliyokuwa jirani, alianza kuandaa mazingira mjini Madina kwa ajili ya Jihadi, kwani ni wajibu wa Dola ya Kiislamu kutekeleza Uislamu katika ardhi yote iliyo chini ya utawala wake, na kuufikisha Ujumbe wa Uislamu nje ya mipaka yake. Kuufikisha Ujumbe wa Uislamu hakufanani hata kidogo na kazi ya umishonari. Badala yake, unahitaji kuwaalika watu katika Uislamu, kuwazoesha dhana zake na kanuni zake, na kuondoa kikwazo chochote cha kimaada kilichoko njiani mwa utekelezaji wa Ujumbe huo kwa kutimiza mahitaji ya kimaada yanayohitajika.

When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was assured that the Islamic society was firmly entrenched, and once he had signed treaties with the neighboring Jewish tribes, he set about preparing the grounds in Madinah for Jihad, for it is the duty of the Islamic State to implement Islam in the whole of the land under its rule and to convey the Message of Islam beyond its borders. Conveying the Message of Islam is by no means comparable to missionary work. Instead, it dictates the invitation of the people to Islam, acculturating them with its concepts and rules, and the removal of any material obstacle that stands in the way of implementation of the Message through the necessary material requirements.

Kabila la Quraish daima lilikuwa kizuizi cha kimwili kinachozuia Ujumbe wa Uislamu. Kwa hiyo ilibidi kuandaliwa kikosi kazi cha kulishinda kizuizi hicho. Kwa kuzingatia hili, na kwa lengo la kueneza Uislamu nje ya Madina, Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alianza kujenga jeshi lake. Alichukua hatua kadhaa kwa kutuma misafara kadhaa iliyokusudiwa kuipinga Quraish na kuwatia hofu wanafiki pamoja na Mayahudi waliokuwa Madina na maeneo jirani. Ndani ya miezi minne, alituma vikosi vitatu nje ya Madina.

The Quraysh had always represented a material obstacle barring the Message of Islam. A task force thus had to be prepared to overcome it. Bearing this in mind, and with the objective of spreading Islam outside Madinah, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) began building his army. He (pbuh) took several steps by dispatching some expeditions designed to challenge the Quraysh and alarm both the hypocrites and the Jews in Madinah and nearby surroundings. In four months, he (pbuh) dispatched three units outside Madinah.

Alimtuma Hamzah pwani karibu na al-‘Is akiwa mkuu wa wapanda farasi thelathini kutoka miongoni mwa Muhajirina, bila hata mmoja wa Answari kushiriki. Hamzah alikutana na Abu Jahl ibn Hisham akiwa na wapanda farasi mia tatu ufukweni, na alikuwa karibu kupigana naye pale Majdi ibn ‘Amr al-Juhani alipoingilia kati baina yao, na watu wakatengana bila vita. Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alimtuma Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Harith pamoja na wapanda farasi sitini kutoka Muhajirina, bila hata mmoja wa Answari miongoni mwao. Alikutana na Abu Sufyan akiwa mkuu wa wapanda farasi zaidi ya mia mbili katika bonde la Rabigh. Tena, hakuna vita vilivyotokea isipokuwa Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas alirusha mshale siku hiyo. Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ pia alimtuma Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas pamoja na wapanda farasi ishirini kuelekea Makkah, lakini walirudi bila kupigana. Misafara hii ilisaidia kuunda hali ya vita huko Madinah, na pia ilitumika kuwatisha Quraysh, ambao walianza kuhisi kwa uzito tishio linalotoka kwa Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ. Yeye ﷺ hakuishia hapo, bali alitoka mwenyewe kwenda kushambulia. Miezi kumi na miwili baada ya kuwasili kwake Madinah, alitoka kwenda kushambulia akiwatafuta Quraysh na Banu Damrah hadi alipofika Waddan. Siku hiyo hakukutana na Quraysh, badala yake Banu Damrah walifanya sulhu naye. Baada ya hapo, Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alienda kushambulia akiwa mkuu wa kikosi cha wapanda farasi mia mbili kutoka Muhajirina na Answari, hadi walipofika Buwat karibu na Radwa. Walikuwa wakielekea kwenye msafara wa ngamia, ng’ombe na kondoo elfu mbili na mia tano, ukilindwa na wapiganaji mia moja chini ya uongozi wa Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Lakini hakufanikiwa kulikamata msafara huo kwa sababu ulikuwa umepita njia tofauti na ile iliyotumiwa kwa kawaida. Miezi mitatu baada ya kurejea kutoka msafara wa Buwat, Abu Salmah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad aliachiwa uongozi wa Madina, na Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ akaanza uvamizi mwingine akiongoza zaidi ya Waislamu mia mbili hadi alipofika al-‘Ushayrah katika bonde la Yanbu, ambako alisimama wakati wa mwezi wa Jumada al-Ula na kukaa humo hadi siku kadhaa za Jumada al-Akhirah zikapita. Hii ilikuwa mwaka wa pili wa Hijra. Sababu ya kambi yake pale ni kwamba alikuwa akimsubiri msafara ulioongozwa na Abu Sufyan, lakini mara nyingine tena hakufanikiwa kuupata. Juhudi hizo hata hivyo hazikupotea bure kabisa, kwa sababu Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alipata kutokana na safari hiyo mkataba wa amani na Bani Mudlaj na washirika wao kutoka Bani Damrah.

He sent Hamzah to the seashore in the neighborhood of al-‘Is at the head of thirty riders from the emigrants, with none of the helpers taking part. Hamzah met Abu Jahl ibn Hisham with three hundred riders on the shore and was about to fight him when Majdi ibn ‘Amr al-Juhani intervened between them, causing the people to separate without fighting. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Harith with sixty riders from the Muhajireen, there not being a single one of the Ansar among them. He encountered Abu Sufyan at the head of more than two hundred riders in the valley of Rabigh. Again, no fighting took place except that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas shot an arrow on that day. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) also sent Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas with twenty riders towards Makkah, but they returned without fighting. These expeditions helped create an atmosphere of war in Madinah, and they also served to frighten the Quraysh, who began to seriously feel the threat coming from Allah’s Messenger (pbuh). He (pbuh) did not stop at that, but went out raiding himself. Twelve months after his arrival in Madinah he (pbuh) went forth on a raid looking for the Quraysh and Banu Damrah until he reached Waddan. He (pbuh) did not meet the Quraysh that day, and instead Banu Damrah made peace with him. After that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) went raiding at the head of a contingent of two hundred riders from the Muhajireen and Ansar, until they reached Buwat in the neighborhood of Radwa. They were making for a caravan composed of two thousand five hundred cattle protected by one hundred fighters led by Umayyah ibn Khalaf. But he (pbuh) failed to intercept the caravan due to the fact that it had traversed a different route than the one normally used. Three months after returning from the expedition to Buwat, Abu Salmah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad was left in charge of Madinah and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) undertook another raid at the head of two hundred plus Muslims until he reached al-‘Ushayrah in the valley of Yanbu where he stopped during the month of Jumada al-Ula and resided until some days of Jumada al-Akhirah had passed. This was in the second year of Hijrah. The reason for his camping there was that he (pbuh) was waiting for a caravan headed by Abu Sufyan, but once again he missed his target. It was not entirely a wasted effort though, because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gained from his trip a peace treaty with Bani Mudlaj and their allies from Bani Damrah.

Hakukuwa na zaidi ya siku kumi tangu arejee Madina, ﷺ, pale Kurz bin Jabir al-Fahri alipovamia ngamia waliokuwa wakichungwa nje ya Madina. Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alitoka kumtafuta, kwa kuwa Kurz alikuwa mmoja wa washirika wa Quraysh. Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alifika bonde la Safwan karibu na Badr, lakini Kurz alimponyoka. Huu ndio uvamizi wa kwanza wa Badr.

He (pbuh) had only been back in Madinah for ten days when Kurz ibn Jabir al- Fahri raided the pasturing camels of Madinah. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) went out in search of him, Kurz being one of the allies of the Quraysh. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) reached the valley of Safwan in the neighborhood of Badr, but Kurz eluded him. This was the first raid of Badr.

Hivyo ndivyo Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alivyoanza kuwapinga Quraysh kwa jeshi lake, kwa kuzunguka Peninsula na kutuma misafara ya kijeshi. Ingawa hakuna mapigano yaliyotokea, Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alipata faida kubwa ambazo zilitengeneza njia kwa vita vikubwa zaidi, kwa sababu hizi operesheni zilitumika kama mazoezi ya kijeshi kwa jeshi la Waislamu na kuwaandaa kwa vita. Pia ziliwatia hofu Mayahudi na wanafiki wa Madinah na kuwazuia kufikiria kusababisha fitina. Alifanikiwa kuwavunja moyo Quraysh kwa kuwapinga, huku akiinua sana ari ya Waislamu. Pia aliweka na kutekeleza kizuizi dhidi ya misafara ya Quraysh iliyokuwa ikielekea al-Sham, kwa kuingia mikataba na makabila yaliyokuwa yamepiga kambi kati ya Madinah na pwani ya Bahari Nyekundu, kama Banu Damrah, Banu Mudlaj na wengineo.

That is how Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) began defying the Quraysh with his army, by roaming the Peninsula and sending out expeditions. Although no fighting took place, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) achieved considerable gains which paved the way for still greater battles, since these raids served as military exercises for the Muslim army and prepared them for war. They also sent shivers down the spines of the Jews and the hypocrites of Madinah and discouraged them from entertaining any thoughts about causing trouble. He (pbuh) succeeded in demoralizing the Quraysh by defying them while boosting the morale of the Muslims a great deal. He (pbuh) also formed and enforced a blockade on the caravans of the Quraysh on their way to al-Sham by signing treaties with the tribes encamped between Madinah and the Red Sea coast, such as Banu Damrah, Banu Mudlaj and others.