Write about the main events of two of the following battles: Khaybar, Mu'ta, Hunain, Tabuk.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2015). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. (a) Khaybar: fought in 628 (7AH) against the Jews who had broken their agreements with the Muslims; Muslim army caught the city by surprise; 'Ali was given the banner to carry; Muslims attacked the first fort of Naim; this was taken and the Muslims carried on until they reached the most powerful fort, An-Nizar/Qamus; 'Ali is said to have moved a door by himself which would have taken many men to move; Jewish leader was killed; Jews requested they stay in the oasis and in return give half their produce to the Muslims; battle strengthened the Muslims and the Prophet's leadership.
2. Mu'ta: this was the fiercest battle during the Prophet's lifetime; fought in 629 (8AH); The Prophet had sent Al-Harith bin ‘Umair al-Azdi carrying a letter to the ruler of Basra; he was intercepted and killed by the governor of al-Balqa'; the Prophet mobilised an army of 3000 men; people near the scene of al-Harith's murder would be invited to Islam and if they accepted no battle would ensue; Zaid bin Haritha was to lead the army, Ja'far bin Abu Talib would replace him, and 'Abdullah bin Rawaha would replace Ja'far if he fell; Heraclius sent 100,000 troops with another 100,000 from tribes allied to the Byzantines; Khalid bin Walid stepped up to take leadership and showed his skills as a strategist; the Muslims gradually retreated and the Byzantines, thinking they were entrapped, stopped their pursuit allowing the Muslims to incur minimal casualties.
3. Hunain: The sects of Hawazin and Thaqif did not want to submit to Islam so they decided to fight against the Muslims; the Prophet marched to meet them with 12,000 men; the enemy were already waiting for the Muslim army, hiding and waiting to hurl stones and arrows at them; when this happened, the enemy attack became fierce and the Muslims started to retreat; the Prophet called his troops back and they went on to defeat the army; because their leader Malik bin 'Awf had told everyone to take their families and belongings with them, the Muslims captured huge spoils of war. This battle is mentioned in sura tawba, v25.
4. Tabuk: took place in 9AH; the Byzantines were wary of the growing Muslim power and wanted to defeat them before they became too big or powerful to conquer; the Nabateans brought news to Madina of a big and powerful army that Heraclius was preparing; the Prophet made a decision to go to war and meet the Byzantines on their border; they marched to Tabuk with 30,000 men; the Muslims had donated generously for this expedition; they faced many hardships on the way; once at Tabuk they stayed some days, but the Byzantine army did not arrive; the Prophet took control of some of the tribes on the border; on return to Madina the Muslim's reputation as a powerful force reached far and wide, and many delegations came to visit him after this event.
5. Not all of the above needs to be mentioned, but most of points should be made as well as development of the points to give depth to the answer.
6. (b) Candidates can choose any battle to write about, even if they have not written about it in part (a). They can offer a number of lessons for Muslim leaders, but they should try to give detail/ explain their answers in an evaluative manner.