Israelites those whom he expelled, and carried away those whom he carried into captivity, some Israelites fled away to al-Ḥijâz and settled in Wâdi-l-Ḳura, Taimaʿ, and Yathrib. At that time there lived in Yathrib a tribe of Jurhum and a remnant of al-ʿAmâlîḳ who lived on date-planting and wheat-growing. Among these, the Israelites settled and associated with them, and kept increasing in number, as Jurhum and al-ʿAmâlîk were decreasing, until the former drove the latter from Yathrib and established their authority over it, taking possession of their cultivated and pasture lands. This was their condition for a long time. Then it came to pass that those of the people of al-Yaman descended from Saba ibn-Yashjub ibn-Yaʿrub ibn-Ḳaḥṭân were filled with the spirit of oppression and tyranny and ignored the grace of their God in regards to the fertility and luxury he bestowed on them. Consequently, Allah created rats that began to bore the dam, which stood between two mountains and had pipes which the people could open when they wished and get as much water as they wanted. This is the ʿArim dam.[1] The rats went on working on the dam until it was broken-through. Thus did Allah let their gardens sink and their trees disappear, changing them into khamt,[2] tamarisk and some few jujube trees.[3]
The wanderings of al-Azd. Seeing what happened, Muzaiḳîyah i. e. ʿAmr ibn-ʿÂmir … ibn-Amruʾi-l-Ḳais … ibn-Yaʿrub ibn-Ḳaḥṭân sold all the property and cattle he possessed, summoned the Azd and started together to the land of the tribe of ʿAkk. There they settled. ʿAmr remarked: "To seek herbage before knowledge is weakness." The tribe of ʿAkk were distressed at the fall of their best
