The Tragedy at Bi'r Ma'unah

Abu Bara Amir ibn Malik, a chief of Banu Amir, came to the Prophet and asked him to send teachers to Najd to teach Islam. The Prophet hesitated, fearing for their safety, but Abu Bara personally guaranteed their protection. The Prophet then sent seventy of the finest Quran reciters (qurra'), led by al-Mundhir ibn Amr. When they reached Bi'r Ma'unah (the well of Ma'unah), Amir ibn al-Tufayl (Abu Bara's nephew) rallied the clans of Banu Sulaym to attack them. The Muslims were surrounded and massacred, with all seventy being martyred except Ka'b ibn Zayd, who was found wounded among the dead and survived. Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri and al-Mundhir ibn Muhammad, who had been out grazing the group's camels, discovered the carnage. The Prophet was profoundly grieved and supplicated against the treacherous tribes for thirty consecutive days in his prayer (qunut al-nazilah). This was one of the greatest losses the Muslims suffered.