Expedition of al-Kudr

Only seven days after the Prophet's return from Badr, Medina's intelligence reported that the tribes of Banu Sulaym and Ghatafan were mustering forces to raid; the Prophet went out with two hundred riders in Shawwal 2 AH to surprise them. ¹

The Prophet left Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum in charge of Medina; the expedition's banner was with Ali ibn Abi Talib. The army pressed on swiftly until it reached a water called Qarqarat al-Kudr. ^{1 2}

When the polytheists sensed the Muslims' approach they scattered and fled into the mountaintops and valley gorges; the Muslims drove off five hundred camels of their herds. The Prophet set aside the fifth and divided the rest among the fighters — two camels to each man — and returned to Medina after an absence of three days without fighting. ^{3 4}