The Battle of Fijār – Did the Prophet ﷺ Participate? A Critical Examination
Compiled by: Abu Abdul Aziz Muhammad Yusuf Madani
✦ Introduction
Some well-known sīrah books narrate that during his youth, the Prophet ﷺ participated in the Battle of Fijār, handing arrows to his uncles. This story is popular in public lectures, but scholars of ḥadīth and sīrah have scrutinized its authenticity and sanad.
✦ Report Mentioned
➊ The battle was called Fijār (“Immorality”) because it violated the sanctity of both the sacred months and the Ḥaram.
➋ It is claimed that the Prophet ﷺ attended, passing arrows to his uncles.
References: Ibn Hishām (1/84–86), Qalb Jazīrat al-‘Arab (p. 360), Tārīkh Khudrī (1/63), Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtūm (p. 91), Sīrat an-Nabī (1/115)✦ Scholarly Analysis
✔ The report is not established with authentic sanad.
▣ Dr. Akram al-‘Umari (As-Sīrah aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥah 1/111):
“It is not established that the Prophet ﷺ participated in this battle.”
▣ Editor of Sīrah Ibn Hishām (1/24, Dār aṣ-Ṣaḥābah ed.):
The chain is mu‘ḍal (two or more narrators missing).
▣ Ibn Kathīr (Al-Bidāyah wa-n-Nihāyah 2/189):
Narrates via Ibn Isḥāq and Ibn Hishām with weak isnād.
▣ Ibn Sa‘d (Ṭabaqāt 1/126–128):
Mentions it through al-Wāqidī, who is abandoned (matrūk).
✦ Other Scholars
– Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله: In his notes on Fiqh as-Sīrah (p. 71), he remained silent, but he excluded the story from his Ṣaḥīḥ as-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah, showing he did not consider it authentic.
– Shaykh Muhammad ibn Rizq aṭ-Ṭarhūnī: Also omitted it from Ṣaḥīḥ as-Sīrah (1/111).
– Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh al-‘Awshan: In Mā Shā‘a wa Lam Yathbut fi-s-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah (p. 16), declared it weak.
✦ Conclusion
① The story of the Prophet ﷺ participating in the Battle of Fijār is widely mentioned in sīrah works but all its isnāds are weak and unreliable.
② Ibn Hishām, Ibn Kathīr, and Ibn Sa‘d included it, but only through weak narrators.
③ Leading contemporary scholars (Akram al-‘Umari, al-Albānī, aṭ-Ṭarhūnī) reject its authenticity.
Therefore, it is incorrect to claim definitively that the Prophet ﷺ took part in the Battle of Fijār. At most, it may be described as a popular sīrah story, not one that meets the standards of historical authenticity.