The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) took to bed on his return from Makkah. However, sometimes his condition improved temporarily. In Syria, where some rich ruled in subordination to the Roman Empire there spread a rumour that Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had expired. Therefore, the king of Rome decided to invade the Arabian Peninsula through the Syrian route to punish the Muslims.

When this news reached the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he decided to face the enemy himself. Although he was not well, yet he ordered preparations for battle. At this instance the Bayt-Al-Mal of the Muslims was not in a good condition, for drought had caused scarcity of eatables. Intensity of heat was also adding to the problems. In spite of such conditions, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that every Muslim should help the Islamic army according to his capacity and if he could afford it, provide weapons for himself.

One of the Muslims Abd-ur-Rahman bin Auf brought four thousand Dirhams for the Islamic army and said, "O Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah, I had eight thousand Dirhams, I have left four thousand Dirhams for my wife and children and brought the rest in your service so they could be used for the Muslim army".

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prayed that might Allah grant him prosperity in the wealth he had brought for the Muslim army as well as to the wealth, which he had left for his family. Afterwards, Abd-ar-Rahman bin Auf became so rich that when he died, each of his wives received eighty thousand Mithqal gold, whereas each wife’s share was one-eighth of the inheritance. It should be known that he had four wives. Eighty thousand Mithqal of gold, seems an exaggeration, but there is no doubt that Abd-ar-Rahman bin Auf was considered among the richest people of his period.

Umar^R.A also brought half of his wealth whereas Abu Bakr^R.A gathered whatever he had and presented it to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked him what he had left for his family, Abu Bakr^R.A replied that he had left in his house the names of Allah and His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Another Muslim, Asim bin Uddi, who had no cash money, presented one hundred "Wasq" dates. Abu Aqeel, who belonged to the Ansar brought one "Say" of dates and said, "O Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah, I had only two Say of dates, one of which I have brought in your service so they could be availed by my Muslim brethren". ("Say" was a weighing measurement, that is equivalent to today’s 3 KGs. One "Wasq" was equal to sixty "Say").

The Muslims thus presented an unmatched example of sacrifice and selflessness. In spite of the needs of their families, they sacrificed whatever they had in the cause of Islam. Hence evolved a powerful and faithful army of thirty thousand soldiers. This included ten thousand cavalrymen. It was a unique sight to watch this magnanimous army of Islam dispatched from Madinah towards Syria in disciplined columns. The Muslims had never witnessed such a graceful sight before.

When this army reached the borders of Syria, the local rulers and the rich who had been thinking of invading Islamic territories with the help of the Roman army, took to their heels in terror and entered the Syrian territories to save their lives. The Roman army, which had come to attack the Muslims at provocation of the local rulers, was also compelled to retreat. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stayed for some time near the Syrian borders where he subdued the various local tribal heads, who were generally Christians. They were required to pay ‘Jizyah’ to the Muslims in return for Muslim protection.

At the Battle of Tabuk, some Muslims due to their laziness did not go with the Islamic army. They were Abu Lababah, Aus bin Thalba and Wadea bin Haram. They regretted their decision after the army’s departure. When Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) returned to Madinah, they tied themselves to the pillars of the Mosque and said that they would not untie themselves unless the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) forgave them.

It was a habit of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to offer two rak’ats of Namaz (prayer) in the Mosque whenever he returned from a journey. On that day after his return from Tabuk, when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) entered the Mosque for Namaz, he saw three men tied to the pillars of the Mosque. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked them, "Why have you people tied yourself to the pillars?" They replied, "We are sinful, O Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah because we did not go to the battlefield, therefore we will not untie ourselves until you pardon us".

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "It is only Allah who pardons the sins of people. Who am I to do so?" At this a verse was revealed:

According to the above verse, the sin of these three people was forgiven. They also told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that they were ready to submit all of their wealth to the Bayt-al-Mal as token of their gratitude; but another verse was revealed (again included in Surah Tauba) according to which Allah asked His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to deduct only Zakat from their wealth and return the rest.

After this expedition of Tabuk, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not take part in any other battle. But he did not show a single moment of laxity for the propagation and development of Islam. Even in his illness he tried to dispatch an army under Usama bin Zayd^R.A to Syria, but he died before he could do so. One day after the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had gone to the Mosque and addressed the Muslims, his condition deteriorated. He told his relatives, "The real cause of my illness is the same poison that was given to me at Khaybar by that Jew woman. It was because of this poison that sometimes I fell ill but not so seriously. But it seems now that I will never rise again".