the Byzantine army. Though not a battle in the typical sense, if historical the event would represent the opening conflict in the coming Byzantine-Arab wars. There is no contemporary Byzantine account of the events, and much of the details come from later Muslim sources. Noting this, as well as the fact that the armies never met, some Western scholars have questioned the authenticity of the details surrounding the event; though in the Arab world it is widely held as historical. Ghassanids The Ghassanids were a group of South Arabian Christian tribes that emigrated in the early 3rd century from Yemen to the Hauran in southern Syria, Jordan and the Holy Land where some intermarried[dubious – discuss] with Hellenized Roman settlers and Greek-speaking Early Christian communities. The term Ghassān refers to the kingdom of the Ghassanids. Thaqif adopts Islam Thaqif, the main tribe of the town of Ta'if, adopted Islam in 632, which was exciting since they were beaten in the battle of Hunayn against the Muslims. 632 Thursday, June 4 — Muhammad's will Muhammad became ill and his health took a serious turn on a Thursday. He summoned his companions and announced that he wanted to write a will, he asked for writing materials to write a statement that would "prevent the Muslim nation from going astray for ever". The first person to reply was Umar, answering that there was no need for any will, arguing that Muhammad was ill and that Umar had the Qur'an which was sufficient for him. Saturday, June 6 — Usama's dispatchment Muhammad had earlier sent an expedition against the Byzantine Empire (Roman) that resulted in what was known as the Battle of Mut'ah. The leader of that expedition was the dark-colored Zayd ibn Haritha, Muhammad's former adopted son. Zayd died during that expedition. Monday, June 8 — death He died on Monday, June 8, 632 A.D/ 12 Rabi' ul-Awwal, 11 A.H. Aftermath This period was followed by the period of the Succession to Muhammad. See also History of Islam Timeline of Islamic history References Life of Muhammad