PROPHET MUḤAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) AND ‘UYAYNAH B. ḤIṢN (R.A.): A CASE STUDY OF EARLY ISLAMIC INTERTRIBAL DIPLOMACY

Abstract

This source-critical article examines the political and interpersonal dynamics that defined the relationship between Muḥammad (The Final Prophet of Allah, Peace be upon him, his Progeny and Companions) and the Najdī chieftain ‘Uyaynah b. Ḥiṣn al-Fazārī (Allah be pleased with him). Methodologically, it compares parallel and conflicting reports within the sīra–maghāzī and historical traditions, distinguishing where possible between what the sources explicitly attest and what their evidence permits historians reasonably to infer. Although ‘Uyaynah  (Allah be pleased with him) is repeatedly depicted as a disruptive and opportunistic figure — raiding the Prophet’s camel herds, opposing Islam in the Battle of the Trench, and threatening armed resistance at Khaybar — he also emerges as a man whose allegiance the Prophet (peace be upon him) actively courted and whose presence was tolerated even in symbolically charged moments such as the conquest of Mecca. This study argues that dealings of Muḥammad (The Final Prophet of Allah, Peace be upon him, his Progeny and Companions) with ‘Uyaynah (Allah be pleased with him) highlight a crucial aspect of the Medinan polity: its pragmatic engagement with powerful tribal actors who remained outside or on the margins of Islam until very late. By reconstructing ‘Uyaynah’s political trajectory from pre-Islamic sayyid of the Banū Fazārah and a GhaÏafānī commander to a late convert included among “those who hearts are to be reconciled”, the article sheds light on the strategies through which Muḥammad (The Final Prophet of Allah, Peace be upon him, his Progeny and Companions) sought to neutralize threats, secure alliances, and extend authority into the Najd. In turn, the case of ‘Uyaynah challenges simplistic binary categories of Muslim and unbeliever, revealing instead a fluid diplomatic situation in which negotiation, inducement, and symbolic inclusion operated alongside religious persuasion.