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Smarting under the shame
of his ignominious repulse at the hands of Musailima and the harsh
words of the Caliph, Ikrimah took his corps and, bypassing Yamamah,
marched to Oman.
Shurahbil remained in the region of Yamamah.
To ensure that he did not fall into the error of Ikrimah, Abu Bakr
wrote to him: "Stay where you are and await further instructions."
1
Having ordered the payment of blood money
to the heirs of Malik bin Nuwaira, the Caliph sent for Khalid and
gave him the mission of destroying the forces of Musailima the Liar
at Yamamah. In addition to his own large corps, Khalid would have
under command the corps of Shurahbil. Another body of Ansars and
Emigrants was being scraped together by Abu Bakr at Madinah, and
this too would be sent to Butah shortly to join the forces of Khalid.
Thus Khalid would command the main army of Islam.
Khalid rode to Butah where his old corps
awaited him. Meanwhile the Caliph wrote to Shurahbil: "You
will come under Khalid's command as he joins you. When the problem
of Yamamah has been solved, you will proceed with your men to join
Amr bin Al Aas and operate against the Quza'a." 2
This was the apostate tribe, which Usama had punished but not
subdued, near the Syrian frontier.
Khalid waited at Butah until the arrival
of the Ansars and Emigrants from Madinah, then marched for Yamamah.
He was glad to think that the fresh troops of Shurahbil would also
be available to him. He did take them under his command, but they
were not all that fresh. A few days before Khalid's arrival Shurahbil
had given in to the same temptation as Ikrimah, seeking glory, he
had advanced and clashed with Musailima. Feeling sorry about the
whole affair, Shurahbil expressed his regrets to Khalid, who rebuked
him severely.
Khalid was still some distance from Yamamah
when his scouts brought word that Musailima was encamped in the
plain of Aqraba, on the north bank of the Wadi Hanifa through which,
the road led to Yamamah. Not wishing to approach his enemy through
the valley, Khalid left the road a few miles west of Aqraba, moved
from the south and appeared on the high ground which rose a mile
south of the wadi opposite the town of Jubaila. 3
From this high ground Khalid could see the entire plain of Aqraba,
on the forward border of which stretched the camp of the Bani Hanifa.
Khalid established his camp on the high ground. The strength of
his army amounted to 13,000 men.
Khalid had not gone many days from Butah
when Musailima's agents informed him of the march of the Muslims
and of the fact that this was the main army of Islam. The route
from Butah to Yamamah came through the Wadi Hanifa, and on the north
bank of this wadi, behind Jubaila, lay the plain of Aqraba which
marked the outer limit of the fertile region that stretched from
Aqraba to Yamamah and further south-east. It was a region of farms
and orchards and cultivated fields. Yamamah itself, to be more accurate,
was a province rather than a place, with its capital at Hijr, which
was also generally, called Yamamah. The Hijr of old stood where
Riyadh stands today. 4
Musailima had no intention of letting the
Muslims play havoc with the towns and villages of his people. Consequently
he took his army forward to Jubaila, 25 miles north?west of Yamamah,
and established his camp near Jubaila, where the plain of Aqraba
began. From this location Musailima could not only defend the fertile
plains of Yamamah but also threaten Khalid's route of advance, so
that should Khalid blunder through the Wadi Hanifa, the Bani Hanifa
would fall upon his left flank. And Khalid could not avoid battle
here and proceed to Yamamah, because Musailima would then pounce
upon his back. (The principle here was the same as applied by the
Holy Prophet at Uhud.)
Musailima was ready for battle on the plain
of Aqraba with an army of 40,000 warriors, all eager for combat.
The two successful actions fought by them against Ikrimah and Shurahbil,
both of whom had recoiled from the blows of Musailima, had increased
their confidence in themselves and created an aura of invincibility
around the Liar. His men were now prepared to sacrifice their very
lives in defence of their leader and his cause. And Musailima had
no doubt that he would inflict the same punishment upon Khalid as
he had inflicted upon his two predecessors.
1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 522.
2. Ibid: Vol. 2, p. 509.
3. Jubaila is now a small village. According
to local tradition, it was then a large town.
4. The village of Yamamah which exists about
50 miles south-east of Riyadh, near Al Kharj, is not the Yamamah
of history; not the Yamamah of this battle.
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