The Battle of al-Muraysi’
Reports reached Medina in 5 or 6 AH that al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar was gathering his Banu Mustaliq tribesmen and rallying Arab allies for an attack on Medina. The Prophet moved preemptively: the Muslim army surprised the Banu Mustaliq at the water source of al-Muraysi’ (a desert well in the Hijaz).
The battle was brief. The Banu Mustaliq were defeated; prisoners and livestock were taken. Among those captured was Juwayriya bint al-Harith, the chief’s daughter, who initially fell to the lot of a Companion as a captive.
Juwayriya and the Mass Release
Juwayriya asked the Prophet to help her buy her freedom (kitaba). Instead, the Prophet proposed marriage. She accepted; he paid her ransom and they were married.
The political consequence was immediate: when the Muslims learned the Prophet had married al-Harith’s daughter, they voluntarily released all the Banu Mustaliq prisoners in their care — “they are now the Prophet’s in-laws.” The number of released captives was reportedly around 100 households.
Juwayriya — the Prophet’s wife, Umm al-Mu’minin — said about herself: “I do not know of any woman who was more of a blessing to her people than I was.”
Al-Harith’s Conversion
Al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar came to Medina after the battle to negotiate or ransom his daughter. He converted to Islam during that visit. His conversion, along with the voluntary release of prisoners, and his daughter’s position as Mother of Believers, meant the entire Banu Mustaliq relationship with Medina was transformed from enmity to alliance.
See also: Seerah Umm Haram, Seerah Zainab Bint Ali, Seerah Al Khansa, Abu Bakr Al Siddiq, Seerah Sad Ibn Muadh