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In reply the Holy Prophet
wrote to Musailima:
"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful. From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah, to Musailima the
Liar. Salutations to whosoever follows the Guidance. Lo! The earth
belongs to Allah. He gives it to whomsoever He chooses from among
His servants. And the Hereafter is for the virtuous." 1
The impostor was henceforth known as Musailima
the Liar!
Now Nahar Ar-Rajjal, whom we have mentioned
earlier as a member of the Bani Hanifa delegation, came into action.
This man had stayed behind at Madinah when the rest of the delegation
returned home; and had attached himself to the Holy Prophet, from
whom he acquired a great deal of knowledge about Islam. He learnt
the Quran and rose in stature as a close and respected Companion
of the Prophet. In a few months he had built up an enviable reputation
as a devout and virtuous Muslim, and so he became known over most
of Arabia.
When reports of the spread of Musailima's
mischief became more alarming, the Holy Prophet began to consider
ways and means of countering the influence of the Liar. Yamamah
was too far away for a military operation, so he decided to send
a man to work against Musailima amongst the people. And who could
be better suited to this task than Rajjal? He was a chief of the
Bani Hanifa, he had learnt the Quran; he had acquired wisdom and
grace at the feet of the Prophet. And so Rajjal was sent by the
Prophet to undo the mischief that Musailima had wrought at Yamamah.
As soon as he arrived at Yamamah, the rascal
declared that Musailima was indeed a prophet. "I have heard
Muhammad say so", he lied 2 and
who could doubt the words of this respected Companion! The arrival
of the renegade proved a windfall for Musailima, and the Bani Hanifa
came in even larger numbers to swear allegiance to 'Musailima, Messenger
of Allah!'
Musailima and Rajjal now formed an evil
and accursed partnership. Rajjal became the right hand man of Musailima,
and the impostor made no important decision without consulting him.
With the death of the Holy Prophet, Musailima's
hold over the Bani Hanifa became total. People flocked to him, and
Musailima began making his own rules in matters of moral and religious
conduct. He made alcohol lawful. He also ordered that once a man
had fathered a son he would live in celibacy unless the son died,
in which case women were permitted to him until he got another son.
His people began to believe that Musailima
had miraculous powers, and Rajjal helped foster this image. Once
Rajjal suggested that he stroke the head of every newborn babe,
as Prophet Muhammad used to do as a form of blessing. Orders were
issued accordingly. Thereafter every newborn babe in Yamamah was
brought to Musailima to have its head stroked. Historians narrate
that when these infants had grown to full manhood or womanhood,
they did not have a single hair on their heads! But it this was
not, of course, known till after Musailima's death. Many are the
instances of Musailima emulating the acts of Muhammad with opposite
and disastrous results.
Though all the Bani Hanifa followed him,
not all believed in his divine mission, certainly not the intelligent
ones. Some accepted him for political convenience or for reasons
of personal advancement while many were motivated by feelings of
tribal loyalty. One day Musailima appointed a new man as Muazzin,
to call the men to prayer. This man, Jubair bin Umair, was a doubter.
Instead of the words "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah", in which the name of Musailima had to be substituted
for that of Muhammad, this new muazzin 3
called, at the top of his voice: "I bear witness that Musailima
thinks he is the messenger of Allah." 4
Once a man-a clear headed fellow-who had
never seen Musailima before came to visit the impostor. When he
got to the door of Musailima's house, he asked the guard "Where
is Musailima?" "Silence!" replied the guard.
"He is the messenger of Allah." "I shall not accept
him as such until I have seen him", asserted the visitor,
whose name was Talha.
1. Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 600-1
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 505.
3. One who calls the Adhan - the call to
prayer
4. Balazuri: p. 100.
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