War on Imposters It was now time to strike at the imposters. Usamas army had rested and was ready to go into action again. Abu Bakr marched the army about twelve miles along the road to Nejd. Here he divided it into eleven battalions. Each battalion was put under the command of an experienced commander. The commanders were then told to march against different imposters. Before these armies left, a general warning was given to the imposters and their followers. They were assured of pardon if they came back to Islam. The Caliph gave the following instructions to his commanders: I request the soldiers of Islam to fear Allah, under all conditions. They should do their best to obey the commandments of Allah. They should fight against those who have left Islam and have fallen in the trap of the devil. But before taking out swords, they must declare the message of Islam. If the apostates accept it, they must at once hold back their hands. But if the message is rejected, they must attack and fight till these people give up disbelief. When the apostates re-enter the fold of Islam, the commander of the Muslim army must explain to them their rights and duties under Islam. They should be given their rights and should be made to do their duties. The commander should keep his men from hasty action and mischief. He should avoid a headlong plunge into enemy settlements. He should rather enter them after making sure of all precautions, lest Muslims suffer a loss. Whether he is on the march of in the camp, the commander should be kind and considerate towards his men. He should look to their comfort and should be gentle in speech. The Caliph explained these instructions to the commanders. Then they led their battalions against the several imposters. Abu Bakr then came back to Medina. He had already forced the waverers among Muslims to pay Zakat (the poor-rate). Now he launched an all-out attack on imposters and their followers. Talaiha Taliaha was one of the imposters. He belonged to the tribe of Banu Asad. On return from the last pilgramage, he laid claim to prophethood. All his tribesman became his followers. The tribes of Tay and Ghatfan were the allies of Banu Asad. They also joined the imposter. With his huge following, Talaiha was encamping at the Bazakha spring in Nejd. Khalid bin Walid defeated the imposter who fled to Syria. Afterwards, he again became a Muslim. He served in the Muslim army during the Iraqi campaign and tried to make amends for his past sins. Malik bin Nawirah Khalid next marched against Malik bin Nawirah. He was the chief of the trib of Banu Tamim. He had stopped the payment of the poor-rate and had made war on the Muslims of his tribe. Hearing of Khalids approach, he disbanded his men. Khalid put him and his men under arrest. The night happened to be unusually cold and the prisoners started shivering. The matter was reported to Khalid who ordered that they be warmed up. But the Arabic phrase for warming up also means salying. Misunderstanding the order, the guards put Malik and his men to the sword. In the morning when Khalid came to know of Malikss fate, he felt very sorry. But there was nothing he could do about it. When Allah has ordained a thing, he said, it does come to pass. Complaints reached the Caliph that Khalid had not acted on his instructions in this particular case. There was a demand that Khalid be punished for the hasty act. Abu Bakr himself paid bloodmoney for Malik bin Nawirah. Khalid is the sword of Allah, he said. This sword has flashed against the disbelievers. Who am I to make it disappear? Musailma the Liar Musailma was the most cunning of all imposters. He belonged to Yamama. When he learnt of the serious illness of the holy Prophet, he wrote him a letter, saying, Allah has made me your partner in prophethood. Let us divide the earth between ourselves. To this the holy Prophet replied, To Musailma the Liar! Surely the earth belongs to Allah. He grants possession of it to those of His servants whom He likes. The death of the holy Prophet gave Musailma the oppurtunity. He collected a large army. This army had first to deal with an impostress - Sajah by name. She ws a Christian. After the death of the holy Prophet, she laid claim to prophethood, why should all prophets be men? she said. In me Allah has now sent a woman prophet. She raised a big army and was marching towards Medina. On the way she came across Musailmas forces. The shrewd imposter at once saw that Sajah was a serious rival. He also felt that he could not defeat her on the battlefield. So he started a love affair, Sajah easily fell into the trap. The two were married. Now Musailma had a huge army, 4,000 strong, under his command. The battalion under Ikrama bin Abu Jahl was to attack Musailma. The battalion under Shurjil was to reinforce it. Ikrama had orders to wait for the reinforcement. But, hoping to get the whole credit for himself, Ikrama did not wait for Shurjil. He attacked Musailma and was badly beaten. The news made Abu Bakr sad. He at once wrote to Khalid bin Walid to deal with Musailma. The combined battalions of Khalid and Shurjil now fell upon the imposter. Musailma fought desperatley. Once his men reached the very tent of Khalid. But Khalid kept his nerve. He rallied his men and himself led a final attack. Confounded by the suddenness of the attack, Musailmas men took to flight. The imposter and a few of his companions hid themselves in a fortified garden but the Muslim warriors threw open the gates. The infamous imposter and his friends were all put to the sword. Among those who killed Musailma was Wahshi, the negro slave who had killed Hamza, the uncle of the holy Prophet at Ohud. He had done this to win his freedom. Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, had promised to buy him his freedom if he slew Hamza. After the fall of Mecca, Wahshi became a Muslim. The Holy Prophet forgave him but said, Please Wahshi, keep out of my sight. You remind me of my dear uncle. Wahshi had always felt sorry for his sin. He wanted to wash it out. The battle against Musailma gave him his chance. His javelin was in search of the imposter. With great skill he sank the poisoned end of his javelin into the imposter. The wretch gave a yell and fell to the ground. The next moment his head was cut off. Thank Allah! exclaimed Wahshi, I have been able to make some amends for my sin. Musailma belonged to the tribe of Banu Hanifa. Orders were received from the Caliph that all mean of the tribe who had taken up arms against Islam should be put to death. But Khalid had already promised to spare their lives. So his wod was honored and the whol tribe re-imbraced Islam. Bahrain The people of Bahrain embraced Islam in the lifetime of the holy Prophet. After his death a powerful tribe, Banu Bakr, threw off the yoke of Islam and started fighting against Muslims. Abu Bakr sent a battalino under Ala bin Hadrami, to deal with the rebel tribe. The Banu Bakr were defeated. Their leader, Hatim, was killed. Bahrain was once again secure under Muslim rule. Some tribes of Omman also gave up Islam. The generals of Abu Bakr brought them all back into the fold of Islam. Thus in a few months Abu Bakr was able to put down the country-wide rising caused by imposters. Khalid bin Walid did more than any other man to make this possible. The Era of Conquest Begins The kings of Iran had done all they could to crush Islam. In fact, the infamous Khusro Parvez had ordered the arrest of the holy Prophet. But a few days after, he was killed by his own son, Sharuya. Since that day, Iran had known no peace. Abu Bakr had to take account of the ever-present danger on the eastern frontiers. In the first month of the year 12 A.H., Khalid bin Walid was sent with an army to challenge the might of Iran. Another army under Qaqaa bin Amr was to reinforce him. Khalid was to attack Kamla, the southern outpost of the Iranian empire..
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:18:59 +0000
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