CHAPTER XVII
Al-Baḥrain
Al-Mundhir ibn-Sâwa, governor of al-Baḥrain. The land of al-Baḥrain formed a part of the Persian kingdom. In its desert lived a great many Arabs from the tribes of ʿAbd-al-Ḳais, Bakr ibn-Wâʾil and Tamîm. At the time of the Prophet, the one who ruled the Arabs in it in the name of the Persians was al-Mundhir ibn-Sâwa[1] one of the sons of ʿAbdallâh ibn-Zaid ibn-ʿAbdallâh ibn-Dârim ibn-Mâlik ibn-Ḥanẓalah. This ʿAbdallâh ibn-Zaid was surnamed al-Asbadhi after a village in Hajar called al-Asbadh. Others claim that he was named after the al-Asbadhi people, who were worshippers of horses in al-Baḥrain.
Al-ʿAlâʾ delegated by the Prophet. At the beginning of the year 8, the Prophet delegated al-ʿAlâ ibn-ʿAbdallâh ibn-ʿImâd al-Ḥaḍrami, an ally of the banu-ʿAbd-Shams, to al-Baḥrain, giving its people the choice between following Islâm or paying tax. With him, the Prophet sent a letter to al-Mundhir ibn-Sâwa and Sibukht the satrap[2] of Hajar,[3] giving them the choice between following Islâm or paying tax. They both were converted and, together with them, all the Arabs living there and a few Persians. The rest of the population, however, including Magians, Jews and
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