The Expedition of Tabuk — the Army of Hardship

The Prophet ﷺ set out with thirty thousand to Tabuk in the far north to face the Byzantines, in severe heat and evident hardship. He met no fighting; it was his last expedition and the greatest lesson in truthfulness and sacrifice.

News reached the Prophet ﷺ of the Byzantines massing on the edges of Syria, so — contrary to his custom — he declared his destination openly, given the distance, the fierce heat and the ripe fruits. He urged giving, so ʿUthman equipped a third of the army, Abu Bakr brought all his wealth, and ʿUmar half of his.

The Army of Hardship, thirty thousand strong, marched squeezing dates for moisture and taking turns on a single camel. The hypocrites stayed behind, and among the truthful three stayed behind whose repentance Surat al-Tawba immortalized in the famous account of Kaʿb ibn Malik.

He ﷺ stayed at Tabuk about twenty nights and met no fighting with the Byzantines. He made peace with the people of Ayla, Adhruh and Dumat al-Jandal on payment of the jizya, so the expedition firmly established the awe of the Muslim state on the Byzantine frontier and paved the way for the conquest of Syria after him.