Hmmmmm!

Salams to jello and others,

InShah Allah, jello is feeling better.

I have a source in Lebanon who is an Alim (scholar). I will email him tonight and should have an answer soon regarding the Commander of the Tabuk expedition. I will also ask if he knows who is recorded in the well know sources such as Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, Ibn Hanbal, etc.

Salam

I am not feeling well for the time being, so I will make my reply short...

Mister Abu Hadi said that he had not been able to find reliable sources about the Tabuk expedition from the Internet. Could I ask where are the reliable Saheeh Shia narrations about the various things that occured during that expedition (and to stay bogged down with this incident only) and of other military assignments the Prophet led or instructed the Muslims to participate in.

Of course, there may be "Arabic only" books on this matter, but Insha Allah I will ask an Arab brother to look into them, if the books are given in this respect...

Sorry that I was unable to answer the other issues for the time being, but I suppose it is important for us to have the Saheeh history as seen by Shia narrators, etc., before we say any other thing.

Salams,

I have also been doing some research online regarding the expedition of Tabuk. I have not been able to find information from any reliable source regarding the placement of commanders in certain positions and who fulfilled those positions. I agree with br. jello that it was the practice of the Prophet(p.b.u.h) to appoint generals, commanders, leuitenants, etc. in military campaigns as is done in modern military structures. I am not familiar with sources where these positions are recorded, except when the Prophet(p.b.u.h) wanted to distinguish one of the companions by praising them.

A General point regarding the Companions (Sahaba) from the Jaafari perspective

There is an obvious point here that I believe is being lost in the discussion. There were many of the Companions(Sahaba) who had meritous qualities worthy of being praised. They were the first people who accepted the religion of Islam and supported the Prophet(p.b.u.h) and made all sorts of sacrifices and endured hardship for many years for the cause of Al Islam. Amoung this group is Abu Bakr,  As Siddiq, Umar Al Khattib, Jafar At Tayyar, Sommayya(the first women martyr),  As Shahhid Hamza AssadAllah, Abu Talib, father of Imam Ali, Imam Ali, Sayyida Khaddija, who was the first women to accept Islam,  etc. All this is well known and not disputed.

All of the above muslims had special qualities. But amoung this group there was one who was unique, in the following ways

- None of the other companions were designated as 'mawla' in a general sense, as Imam Ali was on the day of Ghadeer

- None of the other companions above were considered 'purified', i.e. granted immunity from error (Hadith Qisa)

- None of the other above companions had their authority joined with the authority of the Prophet himself(p.b.u.h)(You are to me as Haron was to Musa... and other hadith)

- None of the other companions had as many (in terms of quantity and quality) authentic hadith narrated in their praise as Imam Ali(a.s.). When I say authentic hadith, I mean hadith narrated from multiple independent lines of transmission, and the chain of narrators does not include anyone who was know to fabricate fake hadith.

Salaam Jello,

I have read several accounts, however, I am not able to determine that there was a particular person that was considered the "head of the expedition". There is two possible reasons for this 1.) Since the prophet was with them, noone held the position of Imam other than the Prophet (a.s.) himself 2.) Since there was no battle (as the Romans had left before the Muslims arrived), there was noone designated as "standard bearer", which is usually recognized as the commander of the army (after the Prophet, of course, if he is present).

Is this what you wanted?

Salam