“ Army of Muhammad (PBUH) ” was the title of a nationwide dispatch of Basij forces to the war fronts, which began at the start of Azar 1365 (November 1986) on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the founding of the Basij-e Mostaz’ afin Organization, and concluded on 13‌^thAzar of that year (4 December 1986) with a gathering of one hundred thousand Basij members at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

The year 1365 (1986/1987), the sixth year of the Imposed War, began with Iran’ s military forces intending to carry out a major annual operation.⁠[1]At the same time, the counter-revolution had spread rumors that combatants were tired of the war and that the battlefronts were empty of military forces; and by raising issues such as the necessity of young people’ s education, it tried to dissuade them from going to the war fronts. Under these circumstances, on the initiative of the Basij-e Mostaz’ afin Organization and on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the organization’ s founding, during the days marking the birth of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH), a plan was launched to dispatch one hundred thousand Basij members to the war fronts under the name “ Army of Muhammad (PBUH) ”; under this plan, each of the 21,500 Basij resistance bases across the country dispatched five of its members to take part in the ceremony on 12‌^th  Azar at Azadi Stadium⁠[2]so that after the ceremony they would be sent to the front.⁠[3]

The announcement of this news had a wide impact across the country, and officials, organizations, and various institutions of the country — including the Army,⁠[4]the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis),⁠[5]the Ministry of Education,⁠[6]the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,⁠[7]Friday prayer leaders, the Supreme Judicial Council,⁠[8]the Combatant Clergy Association,⁠[9]the Martyr Foundation,⁠[10]and the Office for Strengthening Unity⁠[11] — welcomed it.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (President), in a meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Tehran, said that the dispatch of the Army of Muhammad (PBUH) stemmed from the people’ s eagerness to be present at the fronts and Iran’ s determination to achieve victory in the war.⁠[12]

Hojjat al-Islam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, at the farewell ceremony for the vanguard forces of the Army of Muhammad (PBUH) from East Azerbaijan Province, announced that the soldiers of Muhammad (PBUH) would, through their decisive blows, avenge the blood of the martyrs and would soon return victoriously to their cities.⁠[13]

On 3‌^th Azar 1365 (24 November 1986), it was announced that more than one hundred thousand Basij members had registered.⁠[14]At the invitation of Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq,⁠[15]more than ten thousand Iraqi opponents of Saddam and Iraqi volunteer prisoners of war also joined this force.⁠[16]

Starting several days before the gathering of Basij members at Azadi Stadium, volunteers for the war fronts held rallies in various cities across the country to declare their readiness to join the Army of Muhammad (PBUH). Some volunteers were also dispatched to operational areas before the 12‌^th Azar gathering, under the title of the vanguard battalions of the Army of Muhammad (PBUH).⁠[17]

Coinciding with the launch of this plan, the press greeted the gathering of Basij members at Azadi Stadium in Tehran with slogans such as “ The Land of Karbala Counts Down the Moments Awaiting the Army of Muhammad (PBUH), ”⁠[18] “ Karbala, the Army of Muhammad (PBUH) Is Coming, ”⁠[19] “ Onward to the Fronts with the Soldiers of Muhammad (PBUH), ”⁠[20] “ Pilgrimage to Karbala with the Army of Muhammad (PBUH), ”⁠[21] and “ Basij Sisters, Supporters of the Army of Muhammad (PBUH). ”⁠[22]

Holding the Great Exposition of the Soldiers of Muhammad (PBUH) in Tehran⁠[23]and producing the song “ The Army of Muhammad (PBUH) Is Coming” by the choir of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) were among the other promotional activities concerning this force.

On 12‌^th   Azar 1365 (3 December 1986), despite the possibility of an Iraqi air attack,⁠[24]one hundred thousand Basij members, organized under the Army of Muhammad (PBUH), gathered at Azadi Stadium in Tehran. At this ceremony, following the performance of an anthem, Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Ali Rahmani (Basij Commander), Hojjat al-Islam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei delivered speeches, in that order.⁠[25]Simultaneously with this ceremony, volunteer forces were also dispatched to the war fronts in other provinces and counties.⁠[26]

The forces dispatched to Azadi Stadium remained in Tehran for 48 hours; Gilan Province supplied 25 tons of rice, Mazandaran Province supplied fruit, and Khorasan Province supplied vegetable oil to feed these forces.⁠[27]The head of the Foundation for the Oppressed (Bonyad-e Mostaz’ afan) also instructed the foundation’ s subsidiary bodies to cooperate in meeting the needs of this force.⁠[28]

Twenty-one days after the Army of Muhammad (PBUH) was dispatched to the southern operational areas, Operation Karbala-4 was carried out; because the enemy had learned of it in advance, the operation was halted in less than 24 hours.⁠[29]However, fifteen days later, the forces of the Army of Muhammad (PBUH) succeeded in defeating the enemy and achieving their intended objectives in Operation Karbala-5.⁠[30]It was after Operation Karbala-5 (9 January 1987) that the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 598, recognizing, for the first time, Iran’ s demands for ending the war.⁠[31]