The word · History
الغَزْوَة
Ghazwah
A military expedition the Prophet led in person, as opposed to one he sent out under another.
Also written · Ghazwa · Ghazawat · Ghazwat · Gazwah · Ghazve · Maghazi · Sariyyah · Sariya · Expedition · Battles of the Prophet · Ghazawaat · Ghazwah list
The meaning
What Ghazwah means in Islam
An expedition he dispatched without going himself is a sariyyah. Historians count the ghazawat in the twenties and the sariyyah in the dozens, though the lists differ, and in most of them no fighting actually occurred. The genre of books recording them is called maghazi, and it is the oldest layer of sirah writing. The word by itself means a raid; it carries no ruling, and it is not a synonym for jihad.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- BadrThe first major battle, in year two, where about three hundred Muslims defeated a much larger force.بَدْر
- UhudThe battle at the mountain outside Madinah where an early Muslim advantage collapsed into losses.أُحُد
- KhandaqThe siege of Madinah in year five, met by digging a trench across the city's open side.الخَنْدَق
- SirahThe life story of the Prophet Muhammad, told in order, from birth to death.السِّيرَة
More from History
- Abu BakrThe Prophet's closest friend, his companion in the cave, and the first caliph.أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيق
- Battle of Mu'tahThe first clash with Byzantine forces, in year eight, where three appointed commanders fell in turn.مُؤْتَة
- HijrahThe Prophet's migration from Makkah to Madinah in 622, the start of the Muslim calendar.الهِجْرَة
- Imam MalikThe imam of Madinah, who taught in the Prophet's mosque and wrote the Muwatta.مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَس
- Khulafa RashidunThe four caliphs after the Prophet: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.الخُلَفَاءُ الرَّاشِدُون
- Safa and MarwahTwo small hills in Makkah, now enclosed in a corridor, walked between during hajj and umrah.الصَّفَا وَالمَرْوَة