The Battle of Yamama

وقعة اليمامة

c. 634 CE · 12 AH

al-Yamama → The Garden of Death (Hadiqat al-Mawt)

In al-Baladhuri — who reports it in the first part of his book — Abu Bakr sent Khalid ibn al-Walid (may God be pleased with him) to al-Yamama ordering him to fight Musaylima the Liar; the first to meet the Muslims, al-Rajjal ibn Unfuwa, was killed, the foremost Muslims and the Quran-reciters fell as martyrs, then the Muslims returned and stood firm and God sent down His aid; Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr shot Muhakkim ibn al-Tufayl — called 'the arbiter of al-Yamama' — with an arrow and killed him, and the unbelievers were driven into the Garden, that day named the Garden of Death, formerly called Ubad; Musaylima was killed in the Garden and they disputed his slayer: Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy say Khidash ibn Bashir, some Ansar Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Tha'laba who was shown the adhan, some Abu Dujana (may God be pleased with him) Simak ibn Kharasha who then fell, some Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Asim (may God be pleased with him) brother of Habib ibn Zayd whose hands and feet Musaylima had cut off, Wahshi ibn Harb — Hamza's slayer — used to claim it saying 'I killed the best of men and the worst', some held they all shared in it, and Mu'awiya and the Umayyads claimed it for him until Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan told a Hanafi who described the killer 'by God I have judged it for Mu'awiya'; the Muslims' cry was 'O companions of Sura al-Baqara'; some Ansar reproached Khalid's lone resolve to butt Musaylima then followed him; al-Sa'ib ibn al-Awwam stood the men at their baggage: 'no man may flee beyond his saddle'; when the war wore the Muslims down Mujja'a ibn Murara told Khalid most of Yamama's people had not come out to fight and offered peace for half the captives and half the gold, silver, armour and mounts, then armed the old men, boys and women on the fortresses, returned claiming they refused, and beat the terms down to a quarter of the captives and half the wealth — settled thus, until Khalid entered, saw who remained and said 'you deceived me, Mujja'a'; the people of al-Yamama embraced Islam and the alms were taken from them, Abu Bakr's letter reached Khalid ordering him to aid al-Ala ibn al-Hadrami so he marched to Bahrain leaving Samura ibn Amr al-Anbari over al-Yamama; its conquest was in year 12; they disputed the martyrs' count — least said seven hundred, most seventeen hundred, some twelve hundred — among them Zayd ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him), Umar's brother (killed by Abu Maryam al-Hanafi or per Ibn al-Kalbi Labid ibn Burghuth), Thabit ibn Qays the Prophet ﷺ's orator commanding the Ansar that day, Abu Hudhayfa ibn Utba (may God be pleased with him) and his mawla Salim, Abu Dujana, Abbad ibn Bishr (may God be pleased with him) and Salim; and Nusayba bint Ka'b — mother of Habib and Abdullah the sons of Zayd ibn Asim — fought that day and came away wounded, Musaylima having cut off her son Habib's hands and feet when the Prophet sent him with Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Aslami, whom he left unharmed.