RECORD OF THE GOING OF KHÂLED TO YAMÂMAH AND OF
THE KILLING OF MOSEYLAMAH THE LIAR.

When Abu Bakr was satisfied with Khâled B. Alwolyd, he issued orders to him forthwith to attack Moseylamah the liar, and to make the removal of that wicked fellow his chief aim. Khâled hereon departed from Madinah on the wings of celerity, joined his army after traversing the necessary distance, engaged with all his might in prepara­tions for the campaign, and marched with a number of Mohâjer, Anssâr, and others to Yamâmah. On this Ghazâ he appointed Thâbet B. Qays to command the Anssâr, and ordered both these and the Mohâjer not to act contrary to the advice of Abu Khodayfah B. Ghatyah B. Rabya’h and of Zaid B. Al-Khattâb. On that march Khâled happened to catch sight of a number of men, who, holding the bridles of their horses in their hands, had fallen asleep. They were people of Yamâmah, who had gone in pursuit of a man who had slain one of the great men of Yamâmah and had fled to save his own life. The companions of Khâled took those men prisoners, asked them who they were and where they meant to go. After they had given explanations, they were taken to Khâled, who asked those misguided men about their religion, but on their replying, ‘Let there be one prophet on your part and another on ours,’ he gave the signal to strike off their heads. When the turn to be beheaded came to Sâryah B. A´amer and to Mujaa’h, who were grandees of Yamâmah and pillars of the government of Moseylamah, Sâryah said: ‘O Khaled, if thou art desirous to acquire supremacy and to obtain the govern­ment of the country, spare the life of Mujaa’h.’ Accord­ingly Mujaa’h was respited by the advice of Sâryah, but all the others were beheaded. Khâled B. Alwolyd thereon encamped at Ayâdz, which was one of the villages of Yamâmah, being desirous to engage in hostilities after duly considering the state of affairs, because at that time Mosey­lamah had become very powerful—on account of the false testimony of Nuhâdu-r-rejâl, who was, according to some chronicles, of the Bani A’fuh—and had collected an army of nearly forty thousand combatants. It is related that Nuhâdu-r-rejâl had during the lifetime of his holy and prophetic lordship come to Madinah, had made a profession of the Faith, and learnt the Surah of ‘The Cow’ by heart, but when he returned to Yamâmah he troubled the bright law by enrolling himself among the intimate friends of Moseylamah, at whose instigation he proclaimed in various meetings that he had heard Muhammad say that he had constituted Moseylamah his partner in the office of prophet, on account of which false testimony the Bani Hanifah thereon acknowledged the claims to prophecy of Mosey­lamah and believed him to be veracious. It is related that one of the confidants of Moseylamah having privately questioned him concerning the truth, he confessed to have received in the darkness of the night visits from a man who was telling him that he was a liar and Muhammad truthful. It has been accepted as authentic that Nuhâdu-r-rejâl instigated Moseylamah to place his hand on the heads of infants, and to insert his fingers into their mouths, to make their lives prosperous in the Bani Hanifah tribe by the blessing of his hand. Moseylamah acted according to the advice of that misguiding councillor, but every infant whom his unhallowed hand had touched on the head became bald from disease, and every child whose palate had been defiled by his ill-boding fingers became a stammerer, and these facts were made public after Mosey­lamah had perished.

After Khâled had terminated his campaign against Sajâh, he cast the anchor of his sojourn for some time in the country of Battâa’, waiting for directions from Abu Bakr. Mean­while the adherents of Moseylamah were day by day getting more numerous, and he encouraged them, saying that he should like to know why the Qoraish ought to be con­sidered more worthy of supremacy than themselves, as they excelled them neither in military appliances, nor in numbers, nor in power, nor in courage; moreover, their town was more cultivated and their wealth greater than that of the Qoraish. He also said: ‘Whenever I desire, Jebrâil comes down to me and honours me with a Divine revelation, in the same manner as he descends to Muhammad and brings him a message. Nuhâdu-r-rejâl and Muhakkam B. Alttofayl, both well-known chiefs of Yamâmah, are bearing testimony that Muhammad B. A’bdullah acknowledges me to be his partner in the office of prophecy, and agrees to this arrangement.’ Then a crowd of nobles of the Bani Hanifah paid a visit to those two old sinners, and said: ‘Moseylamah alleges that he is a prophet, and says that you are witnesses to the acknowledgment of his claim by the tongue of Muhammad, so that at present the truth or falsehood of this assertion will depend upon what you will say.’ They replied: ‘Moseylamah is speaking the truth, and we are witnesses to it.’ On account of this testimony the simple and the gentle of that country hastened to various meetings to make profession of this Faith, Mosey­lamah encouraging them till the time when Khâled approached the country of those impure men with his valiant army.

When the the people of Yamâmah had been apprised of the arrival of Khâled B. Alwolyd, Muhakkam B. Alttofayl convoked the most prominent men of that country and said to them: ‘O ye people, be aware that Khâled intends to wage war against your country with warriors who make no account of their dear lives nor of death in order to gain Divine approbation and eternal life.’ The nobles of Yamâmah replied: ‘We shall on the day of battle so draw out our hands from the sleeve of bravery that Khâled will soon discover the grievous mistake he has committed; but if the grasp of fate spares him and he succeeds in escaping, we shall pursue him till he retraces his steps to Madinah.’ Then Mukakkam B. Alttofayl replied: ‘Well done; you are good men!’ When Khâled B. Alwolyd arrived in Madinah, he set apart two hundred men from his army, and said to them: ‘Enter this country without fear or appre­hension, and capture any inhabitants you can.’ They obeyed, and as they were roaming about they happened to meet a number of people whose chief was Mujaa’h B. Amrân, and there was with him also another man of the nobles of Yamâmah, Amâryah B. A´amer by name. The Musalmâns asked them: ‘Who are you?’ They replied: ‘We are of the Bani Hanifah.’ The professors of Islâm continued: ‘May your eyes be darkened, O ye foes of God!’ Then they made all of them prisoners and conveyed them to Khâled, who asked them: ‘What is your belief about Moseylamah?’ They said: ‘Our spokesman is Mujaa’h.’ Then he turned to Mujaa’h, who replied: ‘We went to Madinah in the lifetime of his holy and prophetic lordship, upon whom we had the felicity of attending, and made profession of the Faith, entering into a covenant. Dreading, however, to jeopardize our property and families, we assented to the claims of this liar, and never ventured to make overt resistance to him.’ Amâryah then continued: ‘O Amir, if it be thy intention to subjugate Yamâmah, thou must make me and Mujaa’h thy councillors in the administration.’ Khâled then gave these two individuals in charge of their guard, and ordered all the other prisoners to be killed. Then he continued to march quickly till he halted in a place called Ghafar; Moseylamah having been apprised of the state of affairs, likewise made haste to leave his fort, and marched till he encamped opposite to the army of Khâled. The next day he drew out his forces in lines, appointing experienced warriors to command the right and the left flank of the army, he himself taking his position in the centre with a number of men in whom he trusted. When Khâled had taken cognizance of the readiness and boldness of his opponent, he sent Zaid B. Alkhattâb to take charge of the right and Zaid B. Alkhamâr of the left flank. Thereon champions of both sides issued from their lines and, shouting, rushed against each other, and the first man of the opponents slain was Nuhâdu-r-rejâl, whom Zaid B. Alkhattâb despatched with his sword to the regions of perdition; and it is reported in some traditions that the first lucky man who issued from the ranks of the Musal­mâns was Khâled B. Alwolyd himself. He scattered the fire of his Yemani sword, and, having shed much blood of the foes of the religion, again resumed his position after a considerable time; let it, however, not remain unknown that this assertion is contrary to the statement of Tabari. After Khâled B. Alwolyd, O’mmâr B. Yaser sallied forth, challenging antagonists to duelling, in which he despatched a number of foes to the infernal regions; one of them, however, succeeded in slashing off the skin of his head and his ear: he slew him, nevertheless, and then returned to his party, despite so grievous a wound. Then Hâreth B. Alheshâm Al-Makhzûmi rushed against the right flank like a famished wolf, and after slaying a number of enemies or wounding them went back to his own post. In that battle Zaid B. Alkhattâb threw five of his antagonists from their saddles to the ground, and having at last himself been mortally wounded, departed to the gardens of paradise. On that day also Sâlem, the freed man of Abu Khodaifah, obtained the honour of martyrdom. In short, nearly three hundred of the defenders of Islâm tasted the potion of martyrdom. It is said that from the promulgation of Islâm till that time so great a battle had not been fought; and when some foresighted men had struck the drum of retreat despondency overcame the Musalmâns, so that many of them left the battlefield, whereon the enemies rushed into the camp of Khâled, and having hacked his tent to pieces with their swords, entered it with the inten­tion to tear asunder the limbs of Omm Tamym, whom he had married after killing Mâlek B. Nuyrah. Mujaa’h, however, who had been kept prisoner in the same tent, hindered them, saying: ‘I have never experienced anything but great mercy and kindness from this woman.’ Mean­while, Khâled attacked the intruders with the scimitar of vengeance, prostrating them on the ground of misery, and the carnage lasted till night, so that the blood-quaffing planet Mars was astonished at the atrocity of this contest. Every man in both armies, apprehending a night attack and a renewal of the battle in the morning, held the bridle of his charger in his hand, taking no rest till dawn.

I made a rampart of the lashes of my eyes
That neither thy image may leave, nor sleep enter them.

In the morning, when the sovereign of the fourth climate rose with his golden scimitar from the eastern horizon, raising his standard to conquer the realm of the east, the first man who appeared on the battle-ground was Muhakkam B. Alttofayl, the commander-in-chief of Moseylamah. When Muhakkam was thus standing in front of the adherents of Islâm, he recited verses in the Rajaz measure, expatiating on the virtues, peculiarities and perfections of Moseylamah. Seeing this, Thâbet B. Qays, the Anssâri, who had no peer in bravery, hastened to encounter Muhak­kam, assaulted him repeatedly, and at last pierced him with his lance, tearing up the belt. Many chroniclers, however, allege that Muhakkam was slain either by Ebn Mâlek or by A’bdu-r-rahmin B. Abu Bakr after the army of Moseylamah had fled and entered the Hadikatu-l-maut [Garden of Death]. It will soon appear from the context that the author of these pages adduces contradictory statements so that envious persons who are on the watch for errors and finding deficiencies may not blame him, and the members of the exalted assembly of his patron may not charge him with having failed to record various traditions. But let us return to our narrative. The narrator of the first tradition states that after having slain Muhakkam, Thâbet B. Qays capered right and left about the battlefield jeopardizing his life till he lost it. After he had attained martyrdom Habbâb B. Thâbet Ala’wwâm hastened to the contest, but after striving for awhile departed to the gardens of Eden. Thereon Ebn Ghâreb, who will soon be again mentioned, assaulted the lives of the unbelievers and sent many of them to the abode of perdition with his bright scimitar, but again returned safely to his own post after his brave exploits. The opponents being aggrieved by this manœuvre, made an onslaught upon the Musalmâns, and succeeded in checking the advance of the army. Khâled, however, remained fixed in his place, and shouted: ‘O Musalmâns, fear God, and think of the day of requital, lest the shame of having fled might defile the skirts of your honour, and Abu Bakr could no longer meet you with a glance of approbation. If you follow the religion of Muhammad, you must not yield your position to the foe.’ The professors of Islâm who had heard the words of Khâled now perceived it would be best for the advantage of the religion and the world again to renew the strife, and shouting, ‘To return is more laudable!’ they repeatedly assailed the enemies and dismayed them. It is said that when the fire of the contest was ablaze one of those fearless warriors attacked Abu Dujjânah, but the accursed fellow was forthwith cut in twain by him, whereon another fleet rider of those obstinate caitiffs attempted to wreak vengeance, and turned towards Abu Dujjânah, but was at the sight of that lion of bravery so overpowered by fright that he hastened back towards his lines, and Abu Dujjânah ceased not to pursue him till he had maimed both his legs. Then Abu Dujjânah galloped about slaying champions in every direction, and shouting to encourage the Musalmâns: ‘Friends, pay your dues to valour; do not flee, but disperse these malefactors who are so con­ceited on account of their numbers.’ A number of the army of Islâm, whose hearts were bent on flight, having heard these words, were emboldened to attack the hypo­crites, who on their part likewise fought bravely. In short, the champions of each side had more than twenty times issued from their lines and again returned to them. Râfi’ B. Khudia’, the Anssâri, says that on the day when he witnessed this fighting of the Bani Hanifah the meaning of the verse ‘Ye shall be called forth against a mighty and a warlike nation’* became evident, and there was great probability that the enemies would by their valour and alacrity inflict a shameful defeat upon the Musalmâns which could not be remedied; by the aid of the Lord of lords, however, some who had been present at the battles of Ohod and of the Confederates, as well as other great companions [of the prophet], being determined to defeat and eradicate those accursed caitiffs, unanimously assailed them as if prepared to sacrifice their own lives, whereon the zephyr of Divine aid began to waft upon the standards of Islâm, and those of the unbelievers were turned upside down, so that number­less adherents of Moseylamah were slain, the remnant of them taking refuge in the garden named Hadikatu-l-rahman. There is a tradition that when Khâled B. Alwolyd perceived that some of the companions of the apostle were being killed, he averred that he had never witnessed a more atrocious and dangerous battle than this; but as he knew that the dust raised could not be laid except by shedding the blood of Moseylamah, he shouted, inciting the victory-boding army to renew the contest, whereon the combatants, ready to sacrifice their lives, drew forth the scimitars of vengeance from their scabbards, and the opponents, unable to resist their onslaught, retreated from the battlefield. When Muhakkam B. Alttofayl had perceived the marks of feebleness upon the pages of the demeanour of those who are travelling on the road to Jahannum [Gehenna—hell], he began to lament, urging them to take refuge in the Hadikat, whereon all the wicked fellows who had not been injured by swords followed Moseylamah to that locality and closed its gate, which, however, having been opened by Uns B. Mâlek, the Musal­mâns entered.

It is related as an authentic fact that whenever Irah, the brother of Uns B. Mâlek, heard the beginning of an affray, and the sounds of clashing arms struck his ears, he became subject to a fit of trembling, whereon he urinated, fell asleep, and people sat around him, but as soon as he awoke from his trance he threw himself like a furious lion into the mêlée and fought. He was in this condition also on the present occasion, and when he had done urinating per­ceived rivers of blood flowing on the battlefield. When the foes of the religion had entered the Hadikat, barring its gate, Irah exclaimed: ‘O ye Musalmâns, throw me into the Hadikat and perhaps I shall be able to open the gate.’ This having been done, he engaged with several friends in fighting till other Musalmâns succeeded in opening the door, whereon the oven of the conflict again became heated, and the victorious army caused nearly ten thousand men to surrender their lives to the owner of hell. Among the slain was Muhakkam B. Alttofayl, who, while he was inciting his people to fight, was struck by an arrow which A’bdu-r-rahman B. Abu Bakr had shot at him so that he expired. On that occasion also Moseylamah was slain, whereon the locality became known by the name of Hadikatu-l-maut [Garden of Death].

It is related that Wahshy [the freed slave] said: ‘Having, some time after killing Hamzah [the uncle of the prophet], returned to Madinah, I was made happy by waiting on the apostle of Allah and making profession of the Faith; but as the sight of me was distasteful to his lordship, I spent some time in grief, and forbore from approaching him. When the apostle of Allah had departed from the mansion of frailty to the upper paradise, and the army of Islâm marched to Yamâmah, I took up my javelin, which I had thrown aside, and followed the combatants till we arrived in that country. On the occasion when the antagonists had been routed, and had found an asylum in the Hadikat, I likewise entered that locality in the train of the Musal­mâns, and observed in the contest Moseylamah standing with a drawn sword, and inciting the men to fight. When my eyes alighted upon that accursed fellow, I approached him, and he likewise advanced towards me. At that moment, also, Ebn A’m O’mmârah, the Anssâri, came from another direction, and turned towards Moseylâmah; whereon I balanced my javelin, projected it at that liar, and struck him in a tender spot. Ebn A’m O’mmârah also brought his sword down upon him, and it is not hidden from God the Most High that no other men have slain Moseylamah except we two; and praised be Divine predestination, that after I had in the time of ignorance slain one who was the best of men after the apostle of Allah—namely, Hamzah— I also killed in the time of Islâm the worst of men—namely, Moseylamah.’

After Moseylamah had departed to the infernal regions, the Bani Hanifah made a breach in the wall of the Hadikat and fled out from it. All historians agree that seventy thousand [sic] of the opponents without, and seventy thousand [sic] within the Hadikat, departed on the path of annihilation.—It is related that a man of Yamâmah, having cast a glance at the body of Moseylamah, said: ‘I testify that thou art one of the prophets, but of the miserable ones.’—One of the most prominent Musâlmans slain in this conflict was E’bâd B. Bashir, the Anssâri, who had fought in the battle of Bedr; and some chroniclers consider also Abu Dujjânah, the Anssâri, to have been one of the martyrs of Yamâmah, whilst others assert that he was [afterwards] present at the battle of Ssafyn, under the command of A’li, the Amir of the true believers.—According to the first tradition, one thousand two hundred men, three hundred and fifty of whom were Anssâr and Mohâjer, attained the high dignity of martyrdom in the battle of Yamâmah. In this terrible catastrophe also numerous memorizers and readers of the Qurân perished; and it may be adduced, in confirmation of this statement, that when Abu Bakr received this news, he apprehended that in course of time the words of the Lord Most High might gradually be blotted out from the minds of the people, and ordered the Qurân to be published in the form in which it has remained current down to the present time.

When Khâled B. Alwolyd had learnt for a certainty that Moseylamah had departed to hell, he desired to identify his corpse; therefore he summoned Mujâa’h, and walked about with him among the slain. Whilst thus searching, Khâled’s attention was arrested by a very pleasing and corpulent body, and he asked Mujâa’h whether it was not that of his master. He replied in the negative, but added that it was the corpse of one far more excellent—namely, Muhakkam B. Alttofayl. At last they found a man of yellow complexion and weak appearance, whereon Mujâa’h said: ‘This is Moseylamah, who has done good neither to himself nor to us.’ Khâled replied: ‘Woe betide you, as you have abandoned the religion of Islâm for this despicable fellow, and fallen into such a calamity and misery!’ Mujâa’h continued: ‘O Amir, it will be proper for thee to make peace with the Bani Hanifah, because the men who have waged war against you were hasty and precipitate; but this fort is yet replete with warriors.’ While Khâled was meditating upon this suggestion, Mujâa’h despatched a secret message to the garrison of the fort to man the ramparts, and that not only the combatants, but also the women, must appear with drawn swords and bucklers; which having been done, Khâled looked at the scene, and took into consideration that as most of his people were wounded, it would be difficult to lay siege to the place. He therefore determined to conclude peace, and asked Mujâa’h to propose the conditions of it. Mujâa’h said: ‘I am acquainted with the circumstances of the people of this fort, and I know that they will agree to surrender to you all their silver and gold, with their arms, one-third of their cattle, and one-half of their servants and slaves, if you grant them peace.’ Khâled having agreed to this condition, Mujâa’h departed to the fort which was their greatest citadel; and beholding on the rampart a woman lamenting for those who had been slain in the contest, he said to her: ‘Be quiet! I have beguiled Khâled to make peace. Now, tell all the women to remain at their posts till the negotiations for peace have been terminated.’ Mujâa’h then returned, and said to Khâled: ‘The people of the fort are at variance with me concerning the slaves, of whom they are to surrender one-half; but if thou wilt accept one-fourth, they will agree to a treaty of peace, or else remain enemies.’ Khâled, believing the words of Mujâah, assented; but the gate of the place having been opened, he saw on entering it no other garrison besides women and children. He thereon reproached Mujâa’h for having deceived him and uttered lies; but he excused himself, stating that as the majority of his people had been destroyed, he had no other means but this to save the lives of those whom the sword had spared.