Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
Campaigns ordered by Muhammad
Expedition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb or the Demolition of al-Lat, occurred in the same year as the Battle of Tabuk (which occurred in October 630 AD ). Muhammad sent Abu Sufyan with a group armed men to destroy the Idol Allāt (also referred to as al-Tagiyyah) that was worshipped by the citizens of Taif. The destruction of the idol was a demand by Muhammad before any reconciliation could take place with the citizens of Taif.The event is also mentioned in the Quran verse 17:73.
Quran 17:73
According to the Muslim scholar Al-Suyuti, the Quran verse 17:73 was revealed about this event, after the tribe asked Muhammad to be excused from the daily prayers
Islamic primary sources
Quran
The event is mentioned in the Quran (according to al-Suyuti):
And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in our name something quite different; (in that case), behold! they would certainly have made thee (their) friend! [Quran 17:73]
Al Suyuti's commentary on the verse is as follows:
The following was revealed regarding the [tribe of] Thaqīf, for they had asked him [the Prophet] (s) to declare their valley inviolable and implored him [to grant them this request]: And indeed (wa-in, [the particle in is] softened) they were about to, they nearly did, beguile you away from that which We revealed to you, so that you might invent against Us [something] other than that; and then, had you done that, they would have taken you as a friend.
[Tafsir al Jalayn on 17:73]
Early Muslim sources
The event is mentioned by the Muslim jurist Tabari (he refers to al-Lat as Tagiyyah, which is an alternate name). He wrote:
When they left the messenger of God turned down their homeland, the Messenger of God dispatched Abu Sufyan b. Harb and al- Mughirah b. Shu'bah to demolish al-Taghiyyah.
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