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The most powerful single
supporter of Tulaiha was Uyaina bin Hisn, the one-eyed chief of
the Bani Fazara-a powerful clan of the Ghatfan. This was the man
who had commanded the Ghatfan contingent at the Battle of the Ditch
and whom the Holy Prophet had nicknamed the Willing Fool. Now he
lived up to that name by following Tulaiha. He did not, however,
believe whole-heartedly in the impostor, for he is known to have
said, "I would rather follow a prophet from an allied tribe
than one from the Quraish. Anyway, Muhammad is dead and Tulaiha
is alive." 1 His support proved
invaluable, for he brought the entire tribe of Ghatfan under the
sway of Tulaiha.
Tulaiha gathered the Bani Asad at Samira.
The Ghatfan lived in the neighbourhood of the Bani Asad and would
join him soon. The Tayy also accepted him as chief-of-chiefs and
prophet, but remained in their own region north and northeast of
Khaibar, except for a small contingent, which joined him at Samira.
Here Tulaiha began his preparations to fight the power of Islam.
When he heard of the gathering of the clans
at Abraq and Zhu Qissa, he sent a contingent from his tribe to reinforce
them under his brother, Hibal. The Muslim operations against Zhu
Qissa and Abraq have already been described. While these operations
were in progress, Tulaiha moved with his army to Buzakha, where
he was joined some time later by the remnants of the apostates driven
from Abraq.
At Buzakha, Tulaiha's preparations progressed
rapidly. He sent couriers to many clans, inviting them to join him,
and many clans responded to the call. Uyaina brought 700 warriors
from the Bani Fazara. The largest groups were from the Bani Asad
and the Ghatfan. There also was a contingent from the Tayy, but
the main part of the Tayy did not come to Buzakha.
Tulaiha was ready for battle when Khalid
set out from, Zhu Qissa.
Before launching Khalid against Tulaiha, Abu Bakr sought ways and
means of reducing the latter's strength, so that the battle could
be fought with the maximum prospects of victory. Nothing could be
done about the tribes of Bani Asad and Ghatfan which stood solidly
behind Tulaiha; but the Tayy were another matter. They were not
nearly so staunch in their support of the impostor, and their chief,
Adi bin Hatim, was a devout Muslim. (A man, who was to live to the
incredible age of 120 years, Adi was so tall that when he sat on
his horse, his feet would touch the ground! 2)
When Adi had tried to prevent the apostasy of the Tayy, they had
renounced him, with the result that he had left the tribe, along
with a group of his faithful supporters, and joined the Caliph.
Abu Bakr now decided to make an attempt at drawing the Tayy away
from Tulaiha. And if they could not be persuaded to abandon the
impostor, they should be fought and crushed quickly in their present
location before they could join him at Buzakha. Thus Tulaiha would
be denied the support of the Tayy.
Abu Bakr sent the Tayy chief to work on his tribe. With
him marched Khalid, whose corps numbered about 4,000 men. "If
the efforts of Adi are not successful", Abu Bakr instructed Khalid,
"fight the Tayy in their present location." 3
After dealing with the Tayy, Khalid was to, march on Buzakha. (See Map
8.)
Setting off from Zhu Qissa, Khalid marched
in a northerly direction, making for Buzakha. When still a few marches
from Buzakha, he turned left and approached the area south of the
Aja Mountains, where the tribe of Tayy was gathered. Here Adi went
forward and addressed the tribe: he spoke of Allah and His Messenger,
of the fire of hell, of the futility of resistance; but in spite
of his great eloquence he made no headway. The tribal elders rejected
him, whereupon Adi warned them: "Then prepare to meet an
army that comes to destroy you and take your women. Do as you please."
The warning had the desired effect. The
elders reflected for a while and then said, "Keep this army
away from us until we have extricated our brethren who are with
Tulaiha. We have a pact with him. If we break it, he will either
kill our brethren or hold them as hostages. We must get them away
from Tulaiha before openly renouncing him."
1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 487.
2. Ibn Qutaiba: p. 313.
3. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 483.
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