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"There was not born
to Adam among his descendants anyone better than Abu Bakr, after
the Prophets and Messengers. Abu Bakr took a stance in the Days
of Apostasy which was like the stance of one of the Prophets."
[Abu Husain]1
What remained of the apostasy
in the less vital areas of Arabia was rooted out by the Muslims
in a series of well planned campaigns within five months.
Amr bin Al Aas had been sent with his corps
to the Syrian border to subdue the apostates in that region. The
most important tribes that needed chastisement were the Quza'a and
the Wadi'a, the latter being a section of the large tribe of Kalb.
While Khalid was fighting in Central Arabia, Amr struck at the apostates
in the north, but achieved only limited success. He was not able
to beat the tribes into submission.
When the Battle of Yamamah was over, Shurahbil
bin Hasanah proceeded with his corps, on the orders of the Caliph,
to reinforce Amr, and the two commanders operated in unison to bring
about the subjugation of the northern tribes. Most of the apostates
were concentrated in the region of Tabuk and Daumat-ul-Jandal, and
it was here that Amr and Shurahbil struck their hardest blows. In
a few weeks the apostasy was destroyed and the tribes re-entered
Islam. Peace returned to Northern Arabia.
The main tribe inhabiting Oman was the Azd.
The chief of this tribe was Laqeet bin Malik, known more commonly
as Dhul Taj, the Crowned One. These Arabs, like those whose apostasy
is described later in this chapter, had embraced Islam in the time
of the Prophet and agreed to abide by the terms imposed by the Muslim
State.
On hearing the news of the Holy Prophet's death, the
bulk of the Azd, led by Dhul Taj, revolted and renounced Islam. It is
not certain that this man was an impostor. Going by a brief comment of
Tabari that he "claimed what prophets claim",
2 we could assume that he probably did make some claim to prophethood.
Be that as it may, while Abu Bakr was busy dealing with the immediate
threat to Madinah, Dhul Taj declared himself King of Oman and established
himself as its undisputed ruler with his headquarters at Daba. (See Map
7)
After Khalid had left Zhu Qissa to seek
Tulaiha, the Caliph despatched Hudaifa bin Mihsan (one of the corps
commanders) to tackle the apostasy in Oman. Hudaifa entered the
province of Oman, but not having strong enough forces to fight Dhul
Taj, he decided to await reinforcements. He wrote to the Caliph
accordingly, who, as has already been noted, instructed Ikrimah
to march from Yamamah to the aid of Hudhaifa. On his arrival, the
two generals combined their forces and set out to fight Dhul Taj
at Daba.
The Battle of Daba was fought towards the
end of November 632 (early Ramadan, 11 Hijri). At first the battle
went badly for the Muslims; but at a critical moment a force of
local Muslims, who had clung to their faith in spite of Dhul Taj,
appeared on, the battlefield in support of their co-religionists.
With this fresh addition to their strength the Muslims were able
to defeat the infidel army. Dhul Taj was killed in battle.
Being appointed governor of Oman, Hudaifa
next set about the re-establishment of law and order. Ikrimah, having
no local administrative responsibility, used his corps to subdue
the neighbourhood of Daba; and in a number of small actions, succeeded
in breaking the resistance of those of the Azd who had continued
to defy the authority of Islam. Thereafter the Azd once again became
peaceful, law-abiding Muslims and gave no further trouble to Madinah.
1. Tarikh Al-Khulafaa of As-Suyuti
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 529.
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