An Islamic Treasury of Virtues
14. Unity
~ 287 ~
A GRIEVANCE AT HOME SHOULD NOT MEAN
DESERTION TO THE ENEMY
Kaab ibn Malik, having failed to join in the
expedition to Tabuk, explains that the Prophet
announced the expedition just when the dates
were ripening and it was a great pleasure to sit
in the shade. “I was lethargic in my
preparations, but it occurred to me that having
all the necessary means at my command I could
set out whenever I pleased. The time came for
the army to set out, but I was still not ready to
go. I met the Prophet on his return from Tabuk
and he asked me why I had failed to join the
campaign. Unable to tell a lie, I admitted that I
had no excuse; I had been quite capable of
making the journey. The Prophet then gave
orders that no one was to speak to me, nor to
Hilal ibn Umayyah and Murarah ibn Rabie. This
state of affairs went on and on for fifty days. The
Qur’an described the agony of those days: “...
when the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for
them and their own souls were straitened for
them till they knew there was no refuge from
God except in Him.” (9:118) Kaab recalls how, at
