The Origins of the Islamic State/Part 1/Chapter 17

by Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyá al-Balādhurī

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 Christians made terms with al-ʿAlâʾ and this is a copy of the statement written between the two parties:

"In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. These are the terms agreed upon between al-ʿAlâʾ ibn-al-Ḥaḍrami and the people of al-Baḥrain. It is agreed that they will save us [the Moslems] the trouble of work, and divide with us the dates; and whosoever of them fails to keep this may the curse of Allah, the angels, and the world altogether be upon him." As for the poll-tax, al-ʿAlâʾ assessed one dînâr on every adult.

The letter of the Prophet. ʿAbbâs ibn-Hishâm from ibn-ʿAbbâs:—This is what the Prophet wrote to the people of al-Baḥrain:

"Greetings! If ye observe prayer, give zakât, remain loyal to Allah and his Prophet, pay the tithe of the dates and half the tithe of the grains, and do not bring up your children as Magians, then ye will be treated according to the terms agreed upon when ye became Moslem, with the exception of the fire-temple that is to be delivered to Allah and his Prophet. If, however, ye refuse, then tax will be incumbent on you."

The Magians and Jews prefer tax. The Magians and Jews, however, refused Islâm and preferred the payment of poll-tax. Upon this, the hypocrites among the Arabs remarked, "The Prophet pretended that he would accept poll-tax from none outside the 'People of the Book', but, here he is accepting it from the Magians of Hajar who are not 'People of the Book." On this occasion the text was revealed—"O ye that have believed! take heed to yourselves. He who erreth shall not hurt you when ye have the guidance."^[4] According to certain reports, the Prophet sent al-ʿAlâʾ at the time he sent his envoys to the kings in the year 6.^[5]

Al-ʿAlâʾ as a wall between them. Muḥammad ibn-Muṣaffa al-Ḥimṣi from al-ʿAlâʾ ibn-al-Haḍrami who said: "The Prophet sent me to al-Baḥrain (or perhaps he said 'Hajar') and I used to come as a wall between brothers [i. e. try to create discord] some of whom have been converted. From the Moslem among them, I would take the tithe, and from the 'polytheist,' kharâj."^[6]

The Prophet's letter. Al-Ḳasim ibn-Sallâm from ʿUrwah ibn-az-Zubair:—The Prophet wrote to the people of Hajar as follows:—^[7]

"In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. From Muḥammad the Prophet to the people of Hajar: ye are in peace. I praise Allah on your behalf, beside whom there is no god. Then I admonish you by Allah and by yourselves that ye do not go astray after having been guided, nor be misled after having the right pointed out to you. What ye have done has reached me, and now the offense of the guilty shall not be charged to him among you who behaves himself. When my commanders come to you obey them, reinforce them and help them in carrying out Allah's plan and his cause, for whosoever among you does the good deed, his deed shall not be lost before Allah or before me. Your delegation has come to me, and I did nothing for them but what was pleasing to them; although if I were to enforce all my right on you, I would expel you from Hajar. Thus did I accept intercession for the absent among you, and bestow favor on the present. Remember the grace of Allah upon you."

The tax imposed on al-Baḥrain. Al-Ḥusain ibn-al-Aswad from Ḳatâdah:—In the time of the Prophet, no fight took place in al-Baḥrain, for some of the people accepted Islâm, and others made terms with al-ʿAlâʾ, agreeing to give half the grains and dates.

Al-Ḥusain from az-Zuhri:—The Prophet took poll-tax from the Magians of Hajar.

What the Prophet wrote to the Magians. Al-Ḥusain from al-Ḥasan ibn-Muḥammad:—The Prophet wrote to the Magians of Hajar, inviting them to Islâm and providing that if they are converted, they will have the rights we have, and be under the obligations we are under; but those who refuse Islâm will have to pay the tax, and we will not eat what they slaughter nor marry their women.

Al-Ḥusain from Saʿîd ibn-al-Musaiyib:^[8]—The Prophet exacted tax from the Magians of Hajar, ʿUmar exacted it from those of Persia, and Uthmân from the Berbers.

A similar tradition was communicated by al-Ḥusain on the authority of az-Zuhri.

ʿAmr an-Nâḳid from Mûsa ibn-ʿUḳbah:—The Prophet wrote to Mundhir ibn-Sâwa as follows:—

"From Muḥammad the Prophet to Mundhir ibn-Sâwa:—thou art at peace. I praise Allah in thy behalf, beside whom there is no god. Thy letter I received, and its contents I heard. Whosoever repeats our prayer, faces the ḳiblah as we do [in prayer] and eats what we slaughter, such one is a Moslem; but whosoever refuses will have to pay tax."

ʿAbbâs ibn-Hishâm al-Kalbi from ibn-ʿAbbâs:—The Prophet having written to al-Mundhir ibn-Sâwa, the latter accepted Islâm and called the people of Hajar to it, some of whom accepted and others did not. As for the Arabs, they became Moslems, but the Magians and Jews accepted the tax and it was exacted from them.

Al-ʿAlâʾ sends 80,000 dirhams. Shaibân ibn-Farrûkh from Ḥumaid ibn-Hilâl:—Al-ʿAlâʾ ibn-al-Ḥaḍrami sent from al-Baḥrain to the Prophet a sum of money amounting to 80,000 [dirhams], more than which sum the Prophet never received either before or after. The Prophet gave a part of it to his uncle al-ʿAbbâs.

Hishâm ibn-ʿAmmâr from ʿAbd-al-ʿAzîz ibn-ʿUbaidallâh:—The Prophet communicated with those in Hajar whom Kisra had settled there as hostages [waḍâʾiʿ], but they refused Islâm and tax was laid on them, one dînâr on every man.

Abân ibn-Saʿîd made governor and succeeded by abu-Hurairah. The Prophet dismissed al-ʿAlâʾ and assigned to al-Baḥrain Abân ibn-Saʿîd ibn-al-ʿÂṣi ibn-Umaiyah. According to other reports, al-ʿAlâʾ was assigned to one district of al-Baḥrain, a part of which was al-Ḳaṭîf, and Abân to another in which lay al-Khaṭṭ. The former report, however, is the more authentic. On the death of the Prophet, Abân left al-Baḥrain and came to al-Madînah. The people of al-Baḥrain, thereupon, asked abu-Bakr to send al-ʿAlâʾ back to them. This he did. Thus, according to this report, al-ʿAlâʾ held the governorship of al-Baḥrain until he died in the year 20. Then ʿUmar assigned to his place abu-Hurairah ad-Dausi. Others say that ʿUmar assigned abu-Hurairah before the death of al-ʿAlâʾ, who, thereupon, left for Tauwaj in Persia, intending to settle in it. Later, however, he returned to al-Bahrain where he died. Abu-Hurairah often repeated, "After we buried al-ʿAlâʾ, we wanted to lift a brick from the tomb. On lifting it we found al-ʿAlâʾ missing from the coffin."

ʿUthmân ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi made governor. Abu-Mikhnaf asserted that ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb wrote to al-ʿAlâʾ ibn-al-Ḥaḍrami, his ʿâmil in al-Baḥrain, calling him back, and assigned ʿUthmân ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi ath-Thaḳafi to al-Baḥrain and ʿUmân. On the arrival of al-ʿAlâʾ in al-Madînah, he was assigned by ʿUmar to the governorship of al-Baṣrah, in the place of ʿUtbah ibn-Ghazwân. No sooner had he arrived there, than he died. This took place in the year 14, or the beginning of 15. Then ʿUmar assigned Ḳudâmah ibn-Maẓʿûn al-Jumaḥi for the collection of taxes from al-Baḥrain, and gave abu-Hurairah authority over the military guard and charge of the conduct of prayer. Later he dismissed Ḳudâmah, inflicted on him the legal punishment for drinking wine,^[9] and gave abu-Hurairah authority over the military guard and charged him with the conduct of prayer. At last, he dismissed abu-Hurairah and confiscated a part of his wealth. Then he assigned Uthmân ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi to al-Baḥrain and ʿUmân.

Abu-Hurairah made governor after Ḳudâmah. Al-ʿUmari^[10] from al-Haitham:—Ḳudâmah ibn-Maẓʿûn had charge of tax-collecting and the military guard, and abu-Hurairah acted as leader of prayer and ḳâḍi. The latter gave witness against Ḳudâmah, and ʿUmar assigned him to al-Baḥrain after Ḳudâmah. Later ʿUmar dismissed him, confiscated a part of what he possessed and ordered him to return. This he refused to do. ʿUmar, thereupon, assigned ʿUthman ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi as governor, who still held the office at the death of ʿUmar. When ʿUthmân was in Persia, his substitute over ʿUmân and al-Baḥrain was his brother, Mughîrah ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi, others say Ḥafṣ ibn-abi-l-ʿÂṣi.

ʿUmar confiscates abu-Hurairah's wealth. Shaibân ibn-Farrûkh from abu-Hurairah who said:—"ʿUmar made me his ʿamil over al-Baḥrain. There I gathered 12,000 [dirhams]. On my return to ʿUmar, he addressed me saying: 'O thou the enemy of Allah and of the Moslems (he may have said 'and of his Book'), thou hast stolen the money of Allah!' To this I replied, 'Neither am I the enemy of Allah, nor of the Moslems, (he may have said 'nor of his Book'); rather am I the enemy of him who has enmity against them. The money, I have got from horses that multiplied in number and from different shares that mounted up.' ʿUmar then took from me 12,000. In my morning prayer I repeated, 'Lord forgive ʿUmar.' After this, ʿUmar used to take from the people of al-Baḥrain and give them back more than what he would take. At last ʿUmar asked me, 'Wouldst thou not act as ʿâmil, abu-Hurairah?' and I replied 'No,' to which he answered, 'And why not? Better men than thou were made ʿamils, for instance Joseph,^[11] who said, " Set me over the granaries of the land." To this I replied, ' Joseph was a prophet and the son of a prophet, whereas I am abu-Hurairah, son of Umaimah, and I am afraid of three things and of two things that thou mayest bring upon me.' 'And why,' said ʿUmar, 'didst thou not say five ?' 'I fear that thou dost whip my back, defame my honor, and take my money; and I hate to speak without meekness and to rule without knowledge.'"

Al-Ḳasim ibn-Sallâm and Rauh ibn-ʿAbd-al-Muʾmin from abu-Hurairah:—When abu-Hurairah returned from al-Baḥrain, ʿUmar said to him, "O thou enemy of Allah and enemy of his Book; hast thou stolen the money of Allah?" "Neither am I", replied abu-Hurairah, "the enemy of Allah, nor of his Book; rather am I the enemy of him who has enmity against them. I did not steal the money of Allah." "How then," said ʿUmar, "did 10,000 dirhams come to thee?" "Through horses" said abu-Hurairah, "that reproduced and stipends that came in successions and shares that mounted up." ʿUmar took the money from him. The rest of the tradition is similar to what is reported by abu-Hilâl.^[12]

The apostasy of al-Ḥuṭam. On the death of al-Mundhir ibn-Sâwa, a little after the death of the Prophet, those in al-Baḥrain descended from Ḳais ibn-Thaʿlabah ibn-ʿUkabah apostatized under al-Ḥuṭam from Islâm. This al-Ḥuṭam was Shuraiḥ ibn-Ḍubaiʿah ibn-ʿAmr ibn-Marthad, one of the sons of Ḳais ibn-Thaʿlabah. He was nicknamed Ḥuṭam for saying,

 

"The night found her in the company of a strong driver who does not drive gently [Ar. ḥuṭam]".^[13]

 

Together with these there apostatized from Islam in al-Baḥrain all the Rabîʾah tribe with the exception of al-Jârûd, i. e. Bishr ibn-ʿAmr al-ʿAbdi^[14] and those of his people who followed him. For a leader, they chose a son of an-Nuʿmân ibn-al-Mundhir, named al-Mundhir. Al-Ḥuṭam followed the Rabîʿah and joined them with his men. Having received this information, al-ʿAlâʾ ibn-al-Ḥaḍrami marched at the head of the Moslems until he came to Juwâtha, which was the fortification of al-Baḥrain. As Rabîʿah advanced towards him, he set out towards them with his Arabs and non-Arabs and led a heavy fight against them. Then the Moslems took refuge in the fortification where they were besieged by the enemy. It was in reference to this occasion that ʿAbdallâh ibn-Ḥadhaf al-Kilâbi said:

 

"Wilt thou carry this message
to abu-Bakr and all the youths of al-Madînah?
Hasten to the aid of some young men of your number,
who are invested as captives in Juwâtha."^[15]

 

At last al-ʿAlâʾ made a sally with the Moslems and fell upon the Rabîʿah during the night. A fierce battle ensued in which al-Ḥuṭam was killed.

According to other authorities, al-Ḥuṭam came to the Rabîʿah as they were in Juwâtha, whose inhabitants had all forsaken Islam, and had chosen for leader al-Mundhir ibn-an-Nuʿmân. Al-Ḥuṭam took up his abode with them. Al-ʿAlâʾ pressed the siege until he reduced Juwâtha and dispersed the crowd, killing al-Ḥuṭam. Of the two reports, however, the former is more authentic. Describing the death of al-Ḥuṭam, Mâlik ibn-Thaʿlabah-l-ʿAbdi says:

 

"We left Shuraiḥ with the blood covering him
like the fringe of a spotted Yamanite garment.
It was we that deprived unum-Ghaḍbân of her son,
and broke our lance in Ḥabtar's eye.
It was we that left Mismaʿ prostrate on the ground,
at the mercy of hyenas and eagles that will attack him."

 

Al-Mundhir ibn-an-Nuʿmân. It is reported that al-Mundhir ibn-an-Nuʿmân was nicknamed al-Gharûr, but when the Moslems won the victory he said, "I am not al-Gharûr^[16] [the deceitful] but al-Maghrûr [the deceited]." This al-Mundhir went with the remnant of Rabîʿah as far as al-Khaṭṭ, which al-ʿAlâʾ moved against and conquered, killing al-Mundhir and those in his company. According to others, al-Mundhir escaped, entered al-Mushaḳḳar and let in the water around him, making it impossible to be reached. Finally he made terms, agreeing to leave the city, which he did. He then joined Musailimah with whom he was killed. Some claim that al-Mundhir was killed in the battle of Juwâtha; others that he surrendered and then fled away but was pursued and put to death. Al-ʿAlâʾ having written to abu-Bakr for reinforcement, the latter wrote to Khâlid ibn-al-Walîd ordering him to hasten from al-Yamâmah to the reinforcement of al-ʿAlâʾ. Al-Ḥuṭam, however, was killed^[17] before the arrival of Khâlid. So Khâlid with al-ʿAlâʾ laid siege to al-Khaṭṭ. Later, Khâlid received a letter from abu-Bakr ordering him to leave for al-ʿIrâḳ, to which he started from al-Baḥrain, in the year 12.

Al-Wâḳidi says, "According to our companions, Khâlid came first to al-Madînah, whence he started for al-ʿIrâḳ."

ʿAbdallâh ibn-Suhail suffers martyrdom. ʿAbdallâh ibn-Suhail ibn-ʿAmr of the banu-ʿÂmir ibn-Luʾai, whose surname was abu-Suhail and whose mother was Fâkhitah daughter of ʿÂmir ibn-Naufal ibn-ʿAbd-Manâf, suffered martyrdom at Juwâtha. This ʿAbdallâh was one of those who came with the "infidels" to the battle of Badr, but then he joined the Moslem side and embraced Islâm. He took part with the Prophet in the battle of Badr. On the receipt of the news of his death, his father, Suhail ibn-ʿAmr, said, "I expect Allah's renumeration for his loss." On a pilgrimage to Makkah Suhail was met by abu-Bakr who consoled him, and Suhail replied, "I am informed that the Prophet said, 'A martyr can intercede for seventy of his relatives,' and it is my hope that my son will begin with no one before me." When ʿAbdallâh suffered martyrdom, he was 38 years of age.

ʿAbdallâh ibn-ʿAbdallâh suffers martyrdom. Another martyr of the battle of Juwâtha was ʿAbdallâh ibn-ʿAbdallâh ibn-Ubai. According to others than al-Wâḳidi, his martyrdom took place during the battle of al-Yamâmah.

Al-ʿAlâʾ reduces az-Zârah, as-Sâbûn and Dârîn. Al-Mukaʿbar al-Fârisi,^[18] who was the friend of Kisra and was once sent by him to annihilate the banu-Tamîm for interfering with his camels (and whose full name was Fairûz ibn-Jushaish^[19]), fortified himself in az-Zârah. There, many Magians who had assembled in al-Ḳaṭif^[20] and had refused to pay tax joined him. Al-ʿAlâʾ invested az-Zârah but failed to reduce it in the caliphate of abu-Bakr. In the early part of the caliphate of ʿUmar, however, he reduced it. In the course of the caliphate of ʿUmar, al-ʿAlâʾ conquered by force as-Sâbûn^[21] and Dârîn where there is [today] a spot known as Khandaḳ al-ʿAlâʾ [the trench of al-ʿAlâʾ].

According to Maʿmar ibn-al-Muthanna, al-ʿAlâʾ with ʿAbd-al-Ḳais invaded, in the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb, certain villages in as-Sâbûn and reduced them. He then invaded the city of al-Ghâbah and killed those in it who were Persians. Thence he moved to az-Zârah in which al-Mukaʿbar stayed, and besieged him. The satrap of az-Zârah challenged him to a duel, and Barâʾ ibn-Mâlik accepted the challenge and killed him, taking spoils from him which amounted to 40,000 [dirhams] . Under safe conduct, one of the people of az-Zârah came forth to point out the drinking water, and showed al-ʿAlâʾ the spring that issues from az-Zârah. This spring al-ʿAlâʾ filled up. The people seeing that, came to terms, agreeing to offer him one-third of the city and one-third of the gold and silver in it, together with one-half of what they owned outside the city. Then came al-Akhnas al-ʿÂmiri to al-ʿAlâʾ and said, "They have not made terms regarding their children who are now in Dârin." Karrâz an-Nukri pointed out to al-ʿAlâʾ the ford by which he could cross over to them. Thus did al-ʿAlâʾ with a band of Moslems plunge into the sea; and the first thing the people of Darin knew of was the exclamation, "Allah is great!" The people of Dârin sallied forth and attacked them from three sides, but the Moslems killed their fighters and gained possession of the children and captives. Seeing that, al-Mukaʿbar became Moslem. On this occasion Karrâz said:

 

" Al-ʿAlâʾ feared the basin of the sea as he plunged into it, but I have of old crossed it over to the ' unbelievers ' of Dârin."

 

Khalaf al-Bazzâr and ʿAffân from Muḥammad ibn-Sîrîn:—In the duel between Barâʾ ibn-Mâlik and the satrap of az-Zârah, the former stabbed the latter above his spine, and he fell dead. Then Barâʾ went down and cut off his hands and took his bracelets, a furred coat he had on, and a belt. This booty, being so large, ʿUmar took one-fifth of it. It was the first booty in Islâm of which the fifth was taken.

Footnotes

1. Ḥajar, vol. iii, p. 943.
2. marzubân; Ibn-Ḥajar, vol. i, p. 213, in quoting al-Balâdhuri gives his name thus: "Usaikhit (Usaikhib)"; cf. Ibn-Saʿd in Wellhausen, Skizzen, vol. iv, p. 15; Yâḳût, vol. i, p. 508.
3. Another name for Baḥrain, hence the Greek: Gerrha; Caetani, vol. ii, p. 194.
4. Kor., 5: 104.
5. Yaʿḳûbi, vol. ii, p. 84.
6. Yâḳût, vol. i, p. 509; Ḥajar, vol. iii, p. 943; Caetani, vol. iii, p. 202.
7. Wellhausen, Skizzen, vol. iv, pp. 15–16.
8. Duraid, p. 62: "Musaiyab".
9. Flogging with 80 stripes; see Muwaṭṭa, p. 357.
10. i. e., abu-ʿUmar Ḥafṣ ibn-ʿUmar ad-Dûri.
11. Kor., 12: 55.
12. One of the intermediate authorities of the preceding tradition whose final authority is abu-Hurairah himself.
13. Ṭabrizi, Ḥamasah, vol. i, p. 173.
14. Hishâm, p. 944; Duraid, pp. 186 and 197.
15. Ṭabari, vol. i, p. 1962.
16. Hishâm, p. 945; Ṭabari, vol. i, p. 1970; Ḥajar, vol. iii, p. 385; Athîr, vol. ii. p. 281.
17. Aghâni, vol. xiv, p. 48.
18. Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber, pp. 259 seq.
19. Perhaps Jushnas, see Skizzen, vol. vi, p. 33. note 2; Nöldeke, Perser, p. no, note 3; Athîr, vol. ii, p. 256.
20. Yâḳût, vol. iv, p. 143.
21. Yâḳût gives "as-Sâbûr".