This expedition took place on the 8th Shawwal in 3 A.H., in the area of Hamrah Al-Asad, 20 km south of Medinah.
To chase Quraish away and stop them from from returning to attack the Muslims in Medinah. To lift the morale of the Companions after the battle of Uhud, and to punish the Jews and the enemies of Allah who were happy about what happened to the Muslims at Uhud.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was the leader. It is said that the Messenger of Allah gave the standard to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). It is also said that Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was the flag-bearer. As for the Meccan army, their leader was Abu Sufyan ibn Harb.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called the people, telling them to pursue and meet the enemy. That was the following morning after the battle of Uhud, i.e Sunday, 8th Shawwal. He said, However, he allowed Jabir ibn Abdullah to come, as an exception, as his father had asked him not to leave for Uhud to stay with his sisters in his (the father’s) absence. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) refused to let Abdullah ibn Ubai leave with them, because of how he deceived the Muslims at Uhud. The Muslims responded to the Messenger of Allah’s order to pursue the enemy, although they had severe wounds. They replied, “We hear and obey.”
On Saturday night, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) slept in the mosque with his Companions guarding him. When it was time for Dawn Prayer, the Messenger of Allah ordered Bilal to announce that the Messenger of Allah had ordered the people to pursue the enemy. Many of the people were injured. The tribe of Banu Abdul-Ash-hal were all injured. Saad ibn Muadh (may Allah be pleased with him) went to them to tell them about the Messenger of Allah’s order. Aseed ibn Hadeer (may Allah be pleased with him), who had seven wounds which he was treating, replied, “We hear and we obey Allah and His Messenger.” He took his weapons but did not take the medicine for his wounds. This was the case for all the Muslim fighters, especially Banu Salamah; they obeyed the Messenger of Allah, although they had severe wounds, meeting him at the well of Abu Anabah with their weapons. They formed rows. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw them and their many wounds, he prayed for them to receive Allah’s mercy. Abdullah ibn Sahl and his brother Rafa came, crawling because they were so weak after the battle and they did not have any riding animal. Moreover, Talhah had 9 wounds which he totally forgot about due to his wish to participate in fighting in Allah’s cause. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also left Medinah, although he had been wounded
on his face, his forehead had been cut, his incisor tooth broken, and was weak due to the blows he received from Ibn Qami’a. He (peace be upon him) prayed two rakats (unit of Prayer) with them in the mosque. Talhah announced the good news that nothing like what the Muslims experienced at Uhud would happen to them again until Allah liberates Mecca for them. They then left, heading towards Hamra Al-Asad. They lit fires at night in order to scare the enemy. A total of 500 fires were lit at one time.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to Uwra regarding the ayah (Quranic verse), {There were those who responded to the call of Allah and the Messenger after injury had smitten them; for all those who do good and fear Allah, there is a mighty reward} [Surah Al-Imran: 172],
