Expedition of al-Qarada

The detachment of al-Qarada was the last and most successful Muslim fighting patrol before the battle of Uhud; it took place in Jumada al-Akhira 3 AH (November 624 CE) under Zayd ibn Haritha with a hundred riders to intercept a great Quraysh trade caravan bound for al-Sham. ¹

The Prophet's treaties with the coastal tribes (Juhayna, Banu Damra and Banu Mudlij) had closed the traditional coastal trade route to Quraysh, so al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Muttalib proposed to Safwan ibn Umayya that they take the long Iraq route running through Najd east of Medina; they hired Furat ibn Hayyan al-Ijli, a guide expert in the route. ^{2 3}

Word of the caravan and its itinerary leaked to Medina through Salit ibn al-Nu'man, so the Prophet at once fitted out a hundred riders under Zayd ibn Haritha, who pressed the march until he surprised the caravan as it halted at the water of al-Qarada in the land of Najd. ²

Safwan and the caravan's guard fled leaving the goods without a fight; the Muslims seized the whole caravan and captured its guide Furat ibn Hayyan. It carried vessels and silver valued near a hundred thousand dirhams; the Prophet took the fifth and divided the rest among the detachment's men, and Furat ibn Hayyan became Muslim in Medina. ²