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During the expedition of Tabuk, in the year 9 AH, the army reached a spring that was almost dry. Muʿadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) reports the scene. The hadith is in Sahih Muslim, Book of Virtues (كتاب الفضائل), chapter on the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ, no. 706 (Abdel-Baqi numbering; sunnah.com: 706c):
« إِنَّكُمْ سَتَأْتُونَ غَدًا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ عَيْنَ تَبُوكَ وَإِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَأْتُوهَا حَتَّى يُضْحِيَ النَّهَارُ فَمَنْ جَاءَهَا مِنْكُمْ فَلاَ يَمَسَّ مِنْ مَائِهَا شَيْئًا حَتَّى آتِيَ ». فَجِئْنَاهَا وَقَدْ سَبَقَنَا إِلَيْهَا رَجُلاَنِ وَالْعَيْنُ مِثْلُ الشِّرَاكِ تَبِضُّ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ، فَسَأَلَهُمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: « هَلْ مَسَسْتُمَا مِنْ مَائِهَا شَيْئًا ». قَالاَ: نَعَمْ. فَسَبَّهُمَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَالَ لَهُمَا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَقُولَ. ثُمَّ غَرَفُوا بِأَيْدِيهِمْ مِنَ الْعَيْنِ قَلِيلاً قَلِيلاً حَتَّى اجْتَمَعَ فِي شَيْءٍ، وَغَسَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِيهِ يَدَيْهِ وَوَجْهَهُ ثُمَّ أَعَادَهُ فِيهَا فَجَرَتِ الْعَيْنُ بِمَاءٍ مُنْهَمِرٍ أَوْ قَالَ غَزِيرٍ، حَتَّى اسْتَقَى النَّاسُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: « يُوشِكُ يَا مُعَاذُ إِنْ طَالَتْ بِكَ حَيَاةٌ أَنْ تَرَى مَا هَا هُنَا قَدْ مُلِئَ جِنَانًا ».
Translation of the meaning: “Tomorrow, if Allah wills, you will reach the spring of Tabuk. You will not reach it before the day is well advanced. Whoever of you reaches it, let him not touch any of its water until I come.” We reached it. Two men had arrived before us. The spring was as thin as a sandal strap and let out a little water. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked them: “Have you touched any of its water?” They said: “Yes.” The Prophet ﷺ rebuked them and said to them what Allah willed him to say. Then they scooped from the spring with their hands, little by little, until a small amount gathered in a vessel. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ washed his hands and his face in it, then poured it back into the spring. The spring began to flow with gushing water (the narrator hesitates between “gushing” and “abundant”), and the people drew water. Then he said: “It may be, O Muʿadh, if your life is prolonged, that you will see this place here filled with gardens.”
According to Saudipedia, the caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab ordered in 17 AH that the spring of Tabuk be developed to give water to the pilgrims. Later, in the Mamluk era, two basins were built on the spring. They were restored several times in the Ottoman era and stand today next to the fort. The traveller Ibn Shujaʿ al-Maqdisi, who passed through Tabuk in 623 AH, speaks of “water that gushes out and a mosque that people visit”.
Today, the Tabuk region is covered with large irrigated farms. This modern landscape is not proof in itself; the hadith is enough.
What is certain and what is not
- Certain: the account of the spring of Tabuk and the words addressed to Muʿadh (Sahih Muslim, no. 706, Book of Virtues).
- Certain: the spring and its basins are a stop on the Syrian pilgrimage road (Saudipedia).
- Certain: the two basins of the fort were listed in the national register of built heritage in March 2022.
- Tradition: identifying today's ʿAyn as-Sukkar with the exact spring of the hadith. It is accepted locally, but no authentic source fixes the precise spot.
- Uncertain: the name of the mason ʿUmar tasked with lining the spring (“Ibn Gharid” or “Ibn ʿArid”, depending on the texts).
- To check on site: the present state of the spring (visible water or not) and public access.
- Sahih Muslim 706 (sunnah.com 706c), Book of Virtues, chapter on the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ: https://sunnah.com/muslim:706c
- Saudipedia, Syrian pilgrimage road (ʿUmar, 17 AH, عين تبوك): https://saudipedia.com/طريق-الحج-الشامي
- Saudipedia (English), Tabuk Archaeological Castle (fort next to ʿAyn as-Sukkar): https://saudipedia.com/en/tabuk-archaeological-castle
- Al-Watan, article of 27 July 2012: https://www.alwatan.com.sa/article/146190
- Al-Jazirah, T. al-Fayidi (quotes Ibn Shujaʿ al-Maqdisi, 623 AH): https://www.al-jazirah.com/2026/20260511/ld1.htm
- Areq, عين تبوك (supplementary, Mamluk and Ottoman basins): https://areq.net/m/عين_تبوك.html
- Sabq, listing of the fort's basins (7 March 2022): https://sabq.org/article/G6DyEiC