Ridda Wars

In May 632, Muhammad ordered a large expedition to be prepared against the Byzantine Empire in order to avenge the so-called martyrs of the Battle of Mu'tah. He appointed Usama ibn Zayd, the son of Zayd ibn Harithah who was killed in the Battle at Mu'tah, as commander of this force so he could avenge the death of his father.^[5][6][7] However, as Muhammad was ailing, the expedition was delayed. In June 632, Muhammad died and Abu Bakr was chosen as the caliph at Saqifah.

On the first day of his caliphate, Abu Bakr ordered the army of Usama to prepare to march into battle. Abu Bakr was under great pressure regarding this military expedition due to rising rebellion, with many regions across Arabia withholding zakat^[8] and leaving Islam.^[2] Before his march into battle, Usama sent Umar to Abu Bakr and is reported to have said:

Go to the Caliph, ask him to permit the army to remain at Medina. All the leaders of the community are with me. If we go, none will be left to prevent the infidels from tearing Medina to pieces.^[9]

Abu Bakr however refused his demands. On June 26, 632, the army of Usama broke camp and moved out. After leaving Medina, Usama marched to Tabuk where most of the tribes in the region opposed him fiercely, but were defeated. Usama raided far and wide in the region of Northern Arabia, starting with the Quza'a, and then made his way to Dawmatu l-Jandal (modern Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia). Usama next marched to Mu'tah, attacked the Christian Arabs of the tribes of Banu Kalb and the Ghassanids in a small battle. Then he returned to Medina, bringing with him a large number of captives and a considerable amount of wealth, part of which comprised the spoils of war and part taxation of the re-conquered tribes. The Islamic army remained outside of Medina for 40 days. This expedition became notable in Islamic history as the eighteen year old Usama had been appointed as overall commander, leading veterans and high ranked Companions of the Prophet such as Umar, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa'id ibn Zayd, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, and Qatada ibn al-Nu'man.^{[Notes 1]}

Usama's expedition succeeded in forcing several rebel tribes to resubmit to Medinan rule and rejoin Islam. The Quza'a remained rebellious and unrepentant, but 'Amr ibn al-'As later attacked them and forced them to surrender again.^[1]

Meanwhile, the rebels of the Ghatafan clan from Qays's tribe made several attempts to capture Mecca, which was still loyal to Islam, before joining the rebel from the north, Tulayha of the Banu Asad, who was seen by many as a rival prophet to Muhammad.^[12]

In the fourth week of August 632, Abu Bakr moved to Zhu Qissa with all available fighting forces. There he planned his strategy, in what would later be called the Campaign of Apostasy, to deal with the various rebel groups across Arabia.^[13] The battles which he had fought recently against the rebel concentrations at Zhu Qissa and Abraq were, according to tradition, defensive actions to protect Medina and discourage further offensives by the enemy. These actions enabled Abu Bakr to secure a base from which he could fight the major campaign that lay ahead, thus gaining time for the preparation and launching of his main forces.

Abu Bakr had to fight not one but several opponents: Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadi at Buzakha, Malik bin Nuwaira at Butah, and Musaylima at Yamamah. He had to deal with widespread renouncement of Islam on the eastern and southern coasts of Arabia: in Bahrain, in Oman, in Mahra, in Hadhramaut and in Yemen. There were similar movements renouncing Islam in the regions south and east of Mecca and by the Quza'a in northern Arabia.

Abu Bakr formed the army into several corps, the strongest of which was commanded by Khalid ibn Walid and assigned to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to subdue the less dangerous rebel tribes, and were dispatched after Khalid, according to the outcome of his operations. Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear west-central Arabia (the area nearest to Medina), then tackle Malik bin Nuwaira, and finally concentrate against his most dangerous and powerful enemy: Musaylima, leader of the Banu Hanifa tribe and rival prophet claimant to Muhammad.

In July 632, Abu Bakr sent envoys to the enemy tribes, calling upon them to remain loyal to Islam and continue to pay their zakat. This demand was rejected by the rebel tribes. Tulayha, who was also acknowledged as a prophet by many Arabian tribes, reinforced an army at Zhu Qissa, a city about thirty miles east of Medina. From there, Tulayha and his forces were preparing to launch an attack on Medina.^[14][13][15]

Abu Bakr received intelligence of the rebel movements, and immediately prepared for the defence of Medina. Ibn Kathir recorded that Abu Bakr immediately formed organised elite guard units al-Ḥaras wa al-Shurṭa to defend Medina.^[16] Veteran companions like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam were appointed as commanders of these units.^[15] The Haras wa'l Shurta troops rode their camels to the mountain passes of Medina at night, intercepting the rebel coalition assault forces, until the enemy retreated to Dhu Qisha.^[15][17]

On 4 August 632, Usama's army returned to Medina. Abu Bakr ordered Usama to rest and resupply his men there for future operations. Meanwhile, in the second week of August 632, Abu Bakr moved his army to Zhu Qissa. The following day, Abu Bakr marched the garrison troops from Medina with the main army and moved towards Dhu Hussa.^[1]

Since all horses and trained camels were brought by main army to Balqa, tradition has it that Abu Bakr and the rest of the Haras forces that were left in the capital had to resort to fighting the rebels with only untrained camels.^[18] As the rebels retreated to the foothills on the outskirts of the city, Abu Bakr and the Medinan army could not catch up to the battle in the outskirts of Medina due to their untrained camels, so they had to wait until the next day to gather momentum for the second strike.^[19] These pack camels, being untrained for battle, bolted when Hibal, the rebel commander at Zhu Hussa, made a surprise attack from the hills; as a result, the Muslims could not control their untrained camels and decided to retreat toward Medina, and the rebels recaptured the outposts that they lost a few days earlier.^[15] The Medinans then regrouped their forces to prepare to engage the rebels in the Battle of Zhu Qissa the next day.^[20] Abu Bakr merged An-Numan ibn Muqarrin's remaining forces with his own,^[20], with Abu Bakr leading from the center, while Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin rode on the right flank, Abdullah ibn Muqrin on the left flank, and Suwaid ibn Muqrin was positioned in the rear.^[21] The surprise attack from the Medinans caused chaos among the rebel forces, and during the height of the battle, Ukasha ibn al-Mihsan managed to kill the rebel leader Hibal, the brother of Tulayha.^[21] The Medinan forces finally capturing Dhu Qissa on 1 August 632.^[21][19]

The defeated rebel tribes retreated to Abraq, where more clansmen of the Ghatfan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy were gathered. Abu Bakr left a residual force under the command of An-Numan ibn Muqarrin at Dhu Qissa and returned with his main army to Medina.^[15] The remaining rebels retreated to Buzakha, where rival prophet claimant Tulayha had moved with his army from Samira.^[15] Then, after the rebels retreated from the outskirts of Medina, the caliph went further to the north to crush another Bedouin rebellion in Dumat al-Jandal.^[22]

As soon as the expedition of Usama ibn Zayd had returned, Abu Bakr immediately started preparing his forces for further combat against the rebels close to Medina. Before dispatching Khalid against Tulayha, Abu Bakr sought to reduce the latter's strength. Nothing could be done about the tribes of Bani Assad and Banu Ghatafan, which stood solidly behind rival prophet claimant Tulayha, but the Tayy were not so staunch in their support of Tulayha, and their chief, Adi ibn Hatim, was a devout Muslim. Adi was appointed by Abu Bakr to negotiate with the tribal elders to withdraw their contingent from Tulayha's army. The negotiations were a success, and Adi brought with him 500 horsemen of his tribe to reinforce Khalid's army. Khalid next marched against another rebel tribe, Jadila. Here again Adi ibn Hatim offered his services to persuade the tribe to submit without bloodshed. Bani Jadila submitted, and their 1000 warriors joined Khalid's army.

Khalid, now much stronger than when he had left Zhu Qissa, marched towards Buzakha. There, in mid-September 632 CE, he defeated Tulayha in the Battle of Buzakha.^[23] Khalid led a fast column in pursuit of rebel commander Uyaina, who had fled to the south-east with his clan of Bani Fazara and some elements of the Bani Asad led by Uyaina as far as Ghamra, 60 miles away.^[23] After several clashes, Islamic tradition has it that Uyaina at this point became disillusioned regarding the prophethood of Tulayha, even though he supposedly remained defiant and unrepentant at the same time.^[23] It is alleged that Khalid personally engaged the bodyguards of Uyaina in combat, before he had Uyaina taken as prisoner.^[23] The remnants of rival prophet claimant Tulayha's army retreated to Ghamra, 20 miles from Buzakha, and were defeated in the Battle of Ghamra in the third week of September.^[23] After the action at Ghamra, Khalid set off for Naqra where certain clans of the Bani Sulaim had gathered to continue the rebellion.^[23] As the rest of the rebel tribes surrendered, Khalid moved south from Buzakha, and Naqra in October, with an army now 6,000 strong,^[23] he defeated the rebel tribe of Banu Saleem in the Battle of Naqra. In the third week of October, Khalid defeated a tribal chieftess, Salma, in the battle of Zafar. Afterwards he moved to Najd against the rebel tribe of Banu Tamim and their Sheikh Malik ibn Nuwayrah.^[24] As part of his campaignst against the resistance of the Banu Tamim tribe, Khalid sent Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar to quell this rebellion.^[25] Dhiraar was one of the Arabian chieftains of the Asad clan who had stayed loyal to the Islamic government in Medina by pledging allegiance to the newly appointed caliph, Abu Bakr,^[26] Dhiraar showed his loyalty by warning and chastising the conduct of the peoples who rebelled against the caliphate.^[27]

The caliph distributed the available manpower among 11 main corps, each under its own commander, and bearing its own standard. The available manpower was distributed among these corps, and while some commanders were given immediate missions, others were given missions to be launched later. The commanders and their assigned objectives were:^[20]

• Khalid Ibn Walid: Move against Tulaiha bin Khuwailad Al-Asdee (طُلیحة بن خویلد الاسدی) from the Asad Tribe (بنو اسد) at Buzaakhah (بزاخة), then Banu Sulaim .
• Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl: Confront Musaylima at Yamamah but not to engage until more forces were built up.
• Amr ibn al-As: The rebel tribes of Quza'a and Wadi'a in the area of Tabuk and Daumat-ul-Jandal.
• Shurahbil ibn Hasana: Follow Ikrimah and await the Caliph's instructions.
• Khalid bin Saeed: Certain rebel tribes on the Syrian frontier.
• Turaifa bin Hajiz: The rebel tribes of Hawazin and Bani Sulaim in the area east of Medina and Mecca.
• Ala bin Al Hadhrami: The rebels in Bahrain.
• Hudhaifa bin Mihsan: The rebels in Oman.
• Arfajah: The rebels in Mahra.
• Muhajir bin Abi Umayyah: The rebels in Yemen,^[28][29] then the Kinda in Hadhramaut.
• Suwaid bin Muqaran: The rebels in the coastal area north of Yemen.

As soon as the organisation of the corps was complete, Khalid marched off, to be followed a little later by Ikrimah and 'Amr ibn al-'As. The other corps were held back by the caliph and dispatched weeks and even months later, according to the progress of Khalid's operations against the hard core of enemy opposition.^[1]

Before the various corps left Zhu Qissa, however, envoys were sent by Abu Bakr to all rebel tribes in a final attempt to induce them to submit.

Renouncement of and rebellion against Islam in central Arabia was led by Musaylima, a rival prophet, in the fertile region of Yamamah. He was mainly supported by the powerful tribe of Banu Hanifa. At Buzakha in north central Arabia, another rival prophet, Tulayha, a tribal chief of Banu Asad, led the rebellion against Medina aided by the allied tribes of Banu Ghatafan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy.^[30]

At Najd, on learning of Khalid's decisive victories against rebels in Buzakha, many clans of Banu Tamim hastened to visit Khalid, but the Bani Yarbu', a branch of Bani Tamim, under their chief, Malik ibn Nuwayrah, hung back. Malik was a chief of some distinction: a warrior, noted for his generosity, and a famous poet. Bravery, generosity, and poetry were the three qualities most admired among the Arabs.

At the time of Muhammad, he had been appointed as a tax collector for the tribe of Banu Tamim. As soon as Malik heard of the death of Muhammad, he gave back all the tax to his tribespeople, saying, "Now you are the owner of your wealth."^[31] Most scholars agreed that he was adhering to the normal beliefs of the Arabs of his time in which they could cease to pledge their allegiance to a tribe upon the death of its Sheikh.

His riders were stopped by Khalid's army at the town of Buttah. Khalid asked them about the pact they signed with the rival prophetess Sajjah; they responded it was merely for revenge against their enemies.^[32]

When Khalid reached Najd he found no opposing army. He sent his cavalry to nearby villages and ordered them to call the Azaan (call to prayer) to each party they met. Zirrar bin Azwar, a squadron leader, arrested the family of Malik, claiming they did not answer the call to prayer. Malik avoided direct contact with Khalid's army and ordered his followers to scatter, and he and his family apparently moved away across the desert.^{[33][full citation needed]} He refused to give zakat, differentiating between prayer and zakat.

Nevertheless, Malik was accused of rebellion against the state of Medina. He was also to be charged for his entering into an alliance with Sajjah against the caliphate.^{[34][full citation needed]} Malik was arrested along with those of his clan.^{[35][full citation needed]}

Malik was asked by Khalid about his crimes, and responded, "your master said this, your master said that", referring to Muhammad. Khalid declared Malik a rebel apostate and ordered his execution.^[36]

Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl, one of the corps commanders, was instructed to make contact with Musaylima at Yamamah, but not to engage until Khalid joined him. Abu Bakr's intention in giving Ikrimah this mission was to tie Musaylima down at Yamamah, thereby freeing Khalid to deal with the rebel tribes of north-central Arabia without interference.

Meanwhile, Abu Bakr sent Shurhabil's corps to reinforce Ikrimah at Yamamah. Ikrimah, however, in early September 632, attacked Musaylima's forces before the reinforcements arrived, and was defeated. He reported his actions to Abu Bakr, who, both pained and angered by the rashness of Ikrimah and his disobedience, ordered him to proceed with his force to Oman to assist Hudaifa; once Hudaifa had completed his task, he was to march to Mahra to help Arfaja, and thereafter go to Yemen to help Muhajir.^[37]

Meanwhile, Abu Bakr sent orders to Khalid to march against Musaylima. Shurhabil's corps, stationed at Yamamah, was to reinforce Khalid's corps. In addition to this, Abu Bakr assembled a fresh army of Ansar and Muhajireen in Medina that joined Khalid's corps at Butah before the combined force set out for Yamamah.

Though Abu Bakr had instructed Shurhabil not to engage Musaylima's forces until Khalid's arrival, Shurhabil engaged Musaylima's forces anyway and was defeated. Khalid linked up with the remnants of Shurhabil's corps early in December 632.

The combined force of Muslims, now 13,000 strong, finally defeated Musaylima's army in the Battle of Yamama, which was fought in the third week of December. The fortified city of Yamamah surrendered peacefully later that week.^[37]

Khalid established his headquarters at Yamamah, from which he despatched columns throughout the plain of Aqraba to subdue the region around Yamamah. Thereafter, all of central Arabia submitted to Medina.

What remained of the multiple rebellions in the less vital areas of Arabia was rooted out by the Muslims in a series of well-planned campaigns within five months.

In mid-September 632, Abu Bakr dispatched Hudaifa bin Mihsan's corps to tackle the rebellion in Oman, where the dominant tribe of Azd had revolted under their chief Laqeet bin Malik, known more commonly as "Dhu'l-Taj" ("the Crowned One"). According to some reports, he also claimed prophethood.^[38]

Hudaifa entered Oman, but not having sufficient strength to fight Dhu'l-Taj, he requested reinforcements from the Caliph, who sent Ikrimah from Yamamah to aid him in late September. The combined forces then defeated Dhu'l-Taj at a battle at Dibba, one of Dhu'l-Taj's strongholds, in November. Dhu'l-Taj himself was killed in the battle.^[39]

Hudaifa was appointed governor of Oman, and set about the re-establishment of law and order. Ikrimah, having no local administrative responsibility, used his corps to subdue the area around Daba, and, in a number of small actions, succeeded in breaking the resistance of those Azd who had continued to defy the authority of Medina.^[1]

Some time in October 632, Amr's corps was dispatched to the Syrian border to subdue the rebel tribes—most importantly, the Quza'a and the Wadi'a (a part of the Bani Kalb)--in the region around Tabuk and Daumat-ul-Jandal (Al-Jawf). Amr was not able to beat the tribes into submission until Shurhabil joined him in January after the Battle of Yamamah.

Yemen had been the first province to rebel against the authority of Islam when the tribe of Ans rose in arms under the leadership of its chief and rival prophet Al-Aswad Al-Ansi, the Black One. Yemen was controlled then by Al-Abna', a group descended from the Sasanian Persian garrison in Sanaa. When Badhan died, his son Shahr partially became governor of Yemen but was killed by Al-Aswad. Al-Aswad was later killed by Fayruz al-Daylami, also an abna' member, who was sent by Muhammad, and thereafter Fairuz acted as governor of Yemen at San'a.^[13][40]

In the later phase after the death of Aswad al-Ansi, two Yemenite chieftains, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib and his nephew, Qays ibn Makshuh revolted against Fairuz.^[41] At first, Amr and Qays supported the caliphate suppression of Aswad rebellion.^[41] However, both Amr and Qays later revolted against the caliphate as both did not agree with new administrator appointed by the caliph, thus they seceded from leadership of Farwah, who acted as their region's governor at the time.^[42] Amr and Qays ibn Maksuh then conspired to kill three caliphate deputies in Yemen.^[43][41]

A caliphate commander Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya led the Al-Abna' opposing Qays.^[44] Ultimately, the forces of Qays and Amr were defeated by the force of Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl.^[43] Amr and Qays were said to be captured by Fayruz al-Daylami.^[45] According to the record of Usd al-ghabah fi marifat al-Saḥabah, Amr came to Medina as a prisoner, guarded by a caliphate soldier named Al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya.^[46] Amr was then brought before Caliph Abu Bakr, who invited him to rejoin Islam, to which Amr agreed.^[47] Thus, Amr was pardoned by the caliph.^[48]

From Oman, following the orders of Abu Bakr, Ikrimah marched to Mahra to join Arfaja bin Harthama. As Arfaja had not yet arrived, Ikrimah, instead of waiting for him, engaged the local rebels on his own.

At Jairut, Ikrimah met two rebel armies preparing for battle. Here he persuaded the weaker to embrace Islam and then joined up with them to defeat their opponents. Having re-established Islam in Mahra, Ikrimah moved his corps to Abyan, where he rested his men and awaited further developments.

After the Battle of Yamamah, Abu Bakr sent Ala bin Al Hadhrami's corps against the rebels of Bahrain. Ala arrived in Bahrain to find the rebel forces gathered at Hajr and entrenched in a strong position. Ala mounted a surprise attack one night and captured the city. The rebels retreated to the coastal regions, where they made one more stand but were decisively defeated. Most of them surrendered and reverted to Islam. This operation was completed at about the end of January 633.^{[citation needed]}

The last of the great revolts against Islam was that of the powerful tribe of Kinda, who inhabited the region of Najran, Hadhramaut, and eastern Yemen. They did not revolt until January 633.^[36]

Ziyad bin Lubaid, Muslim governor of Hadhramaut, operated against them and raided Riyaz, after which the whole of the Kinda broke into rebellion under al-Ash'ath ibn Qays and prepared for war.^[49] However, the strength of the two forces, i.e. the rebel forces and Muslim forces, was so well balanced that neither side felt able to start serious hostilities. Ziyad waited for reinforcements before attacking the rebels.^{[citation needed]}

Al-Ash'ath at first managed to defeat the larger Muslim army, whose ranks included many Kindites from the large Sakun division, at the valley of Zurqan.^[49] Afterward, the arrival of further Muslim forces under Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl prompted al-Ash'ath to lead his men and their families to barricade in the fortress of al-Nujayr,^[50] where they were besieged by the Muslim forces.^[51] Al-Ash'ath secured safe passage for a number of his relatives, but the rest of the besieged fighters were executed.^[52] He was spared but taken captive and sent to Caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), who agreed to release him after he repented. He thereafter took up residence in Medina, capital of the caliphate, where he was married to Abu Bakr's sister, Umm Farwa.^[53] This was a rare honour, and none of the other leaders of the Ridda wars were similarly treated.^[54] As al-Ash'ath's principal wife, Umm Farwa bore him five children, including his oldest son, Muhammad.^[54]

Reinforcements were on the way. al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya, the last of the corps commanders to be dispatched by Abu Bakr, defeated some rebel tribes in Najran, south-eastern Arabia, and was directed by Abu Bakr to march to Hadhramaut and join Ziyad against the Kinda. The Caliph also instructed Ikrimah, who was at Abyan, to join Ziyad and Muhajir's forces.^[28][29]

In late January 633, the forces of Muhajir and Ziyad combined at Zafar, capital of Hadhramaut, under the overall command of the former, and defeated al-Ash'ath, who retreated to the fortified town of Nujair.

Just after this battle, the corps of Ikrimah also arrived. The three Muslim corps, under the overall command of Muhajir, advanced on Nujair and laid siege to the fortified city.

Nujair was captured some time in mid-February 633. With the defeat of the Kinda at Nujair, the last of the great rebel movements collapsed. Arabia was re-established as predominantly Islamic.

The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the 11th year of the Hijra. The year 12 Hijri dawned on March 16, 633, with Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina.

With the collapse of the rebellions, Abu Bakr gained control of the entire Arabian Peninsula.^[3] He decided to expand the caliphate. It is unclear whether his intention was to mount a full-scale expansion, or preemptive attacks to secure a buffer zone between the Islamic state and the powerful Sasanian and Byzantine empires. This set the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia.^[36] Khalid was sent to Persia with an army consisting of 18,000 volunteers, and conquered the richest province of Persia: Iraq. Thereafter, Abu Bakr sent his armies to invade Roman Syria, an important province of the Byzantine Empire.^[55]

At some point during the rule of Umar ibn al-Khat'tab, the second caliph, the people of Yemen revolted once again under the leadership of a man named Ghayth ibn Abd Yaghuth. The avowed aim of the rebels was to drive the Muslims out of Yemen by assassinating Fairuz and other key Muslim leaders. Fairuz somehow escaped and took shelter in the mountains in June or July 632. For the next six months, Fairuz remained in his stronghold, during which time he was joined by thousands of Yemeni Muslims.^[36] When he felt strong enough, Fairuz marched to San'a and defeated Qays, who retreated with his remaining men northeast to Abyan, where they all surrendered and were subsequently pardoned by the caliph.^[13] On the other side, Uthman ibn Abi al-As also dispatched a force from Ta'if against rebel clans from the tribes of Azd and Bajila in Yemen. He later also contributed a twenty-man force from the city under the command of his brother to assist Medina's war efforts in Yemen. Abu Bakr kept Uthman in his post as did his successor Caliph Umar^[29]

• Arab-Byzantine wars
• Jahiliyyah
• Pre-Islamic Arabia
• Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia

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• A brief history of the Ridda wars^[usurped]