Dealing with the Hypocrites

On the occasion of the Battle of Tabuk, the Holy Prophet (sa) learnt of the news that some of the hypocrites were gathering at the house of a Jew named Suwailam, which was near Jasum. Jasum was also known as Bir-e-Jasim, which was in the direction of Syria near Ratij and was a well that belonged to Abu Haitham bin Tayyihan. The water of this well was of extremely good quality and the Holy Prophet (sa) also drank from it. In any case, they were all gathering at his house and he was conspiring against the Holy Prophet (sa) by urging them to not go along with him for battle to Tabuk. The Holy Prophet (sa) sent Hazrat Talha (ra), along with some other companions, towards his house and instructed them to set Suwailam’s house alight. Hazrat Talha (ra) acted accordingly. During this, Zihak bin Khalifa broke his leg whilst trying to escape from the back of the house. Similarly, the other men also fled.

(al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 517, Ghazwah Tabuk, Maktabah Matba’ah Mustafa Albani, Egypt, 1955) (Farhang Sirat, p. 84, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi, 2003)