The hypocrites' ambush at the pass on the return from Tabuk
مكر المنافقين بالعقبة في رجوع تبوك
c. January 631 CE · Ramadan 9 AH
On the return from Tabuk, twelve hypocrites — faces veiled — attempted to frighten the Prophet's camel at a steep pass; Ammar was holding its halter and Hudhayfa driving it, and Hudhayfa struck the ambushers' mounts with his staff until God terrified them into flight; the Prophet told Hudhayfa their names and their plot, whence Hudhayfa was called 'keeper of the Prophet's secret'.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Summary
The account of the pass
The Prophet was crossing that pass with Ammar leading his she-camel by the halter and Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman driving it, while the people took the belly of the valley; they heard the men's movement behind them as they crept up muffled. Hudhayfa struck the faces of their mounts with a staff he had, and God terrified them so they fled quickly until they caught up with the company 1.
The Prophet told Hudhayfa their names and what they had intended — for which Hudhayfa was called the keeper of the Messenger of God's secret; and in it is His word: "they purposed what they did not attain" 1.
For young visitors
Some hypocrite men hid in a narrow mountain pass to frighten the Prophet's camel by night; his companion Hudhayfa defended him bravely and drove them off, and the Prophet rewarded him by entrusting him with his secret.
Connections
- Had participant
- MuhammadHudhayfa ibn al-YamanAmmar ibn Yasir
- Part of
- The expedition to TabukThe Prophetic Era
- Revealed in
- Qur'an 9:74
People and things also explored
The Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)The Expedition of Dhat al-Riqa'A group of hypocrites mock the army, then excuse themselvesThe second migration to AbyssiniaMedinaThe expedition to TabukThe Conquest of KhaybarThe Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, p. 436
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The hypocrites' ambush at the pass on the return from Tabuk”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/hypocrites-ambush-at-the-pass/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.