Burning of Suwaylim's house
تحريق بيت سويلم
October 630 CE · Rajab 9 AH
Ibn Hisham reports from 'a trusted source' that the Prophet was told that some of the 'hypocrites' were gathering in the house of Suwaylim the Jew at Jasum, discouraging people from him on the Tabuk campaign, so he sent Talha ibn Ubaydullah with a party and ordered him to burn the house down on them; he did so, and al-Dahhak ibn Khalifa rushed out of the back of the house and broke his leg while his companions escaped.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Summary
Ibn Hisham transmits from "the trusted authority" that word reached the Prophet that men of the "hypocrites" were gathering in the house of Suwaylim the Jew near Jasum, discouraging the people from him on the Tabuk campaign; he sent Talha ibn Ubaydullah with a party and ordered him to burn the house down on them. Talha did so; al-Dahhak ibn Khalifa broke out through the back of the house and broke his leg, while his companions escaped. 1
The account
Ibn Hisham relates from "the trusted authority", from one who told him, from Muhammad ibn Talha ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdullah ibn Haritha, from his father, from his grandfather, that word reached the Prophet that men of the hypocrites were gathering in the house of Suwaylim the Jew, which stood near Jasum. 1
The report says they were discouraging the people from the Prophet on the Tabuk campaign; so the Prophet sent Talha ibn Ubaydullah with a party of his Companions and ordered him to burn Suwaylim's house down on them, and Talha did so. 1
Al-Dahhak ibn Khalifa broke out through the back of the house and broke his leg, and his companions broke out and escaped; al-Dahhak spoke verses on it. 1
Markers of weakness and doubt
- The whole report is one of Ibn Hisham's additions, with a chain containing "the trusted authority told me, from one who told him" without naming the first; it is not from Ibn Ishaq's account (p. 160).
- Describing the gathering as "hypocrites" and their act as discouragement is the narrator's wording; it is attributed to him and the museum reaches no verdict.
Connections
- Had participant
- Al-Dahhak ibn KhalifaSuwaylim the JewTalha ibn UbaydullahMuhammad
- Occurred at
- Jasum
- Part of
- The expedition to Tabuk
- Mentioned in
- al-Dahhak ibn Khalifa's verses after the burning of Suwaylim's house
People and things also explored
Abu Dharr lags behind and follows on footAbu Khaythama catches up with the ProphetAbu Ruhm and the stragglers of Ghifar and AslamThe three years of the secret callal-Jadd ibn Qays asks leave to stay behindAli is left in charge of the Prophet's familyThe burial of Dhu al-Bijadayn at TabukThe army camps at al-Hijr and the Prophet bans its water
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/160
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Burning of Suwaylim's house”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/burning-of-suwaylims-house/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.