CAMPAIGN OF KHALID AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHET TOLEIHA.
A.H. XI. NOV. A.D. 632.
[Sidenote: Materials for the first epoch imperfect.]
The materials for our story at this point are few, obscure, and
disconnected. The scene of confusion that reigned throughout Arabia is
presented to our view in but dim and hazy outline. With the Prophet’s
life, _Tradition proper_ ends. The prodigious stores of oral
testimony, which light up in minutest detail the career of Mahomet,
suddenly stop. The grand object of tradition was, from the oral
teaching and example of the Prophet, to supplement by authoritative
rulings what was wanting in the Corân. That motive ceased with the
death of Mahomet, and with it tradition, as such, ceases also.[24]
What history we have for the period immediately succeeding is in the
form of loose fragments--the statements, it may be, of eyewitnesses,
or gathered as hearsay from the memory of Arab tribes, or from legends
in the neighbouring conquered lands. Hence it is that, after the death
of Mahomet, we are left for a time to grope our way by evidence always
scanty and often discrepant. The further back we go, the obscurity is
the greater; and it is most so while, in the first year of Abu Bekr’s
Caliphate, Islam was struggling for existence. There was little room
then for thought beyond the safety of the moment; and when at length
the struggle was over, nothing was left but the sense of relief from
a terrible danger, and the roughest outline of the way in which it had
been achieved. No date is given for any one of the many battles fought
throughout the year. Here and there we may be guided by the apparent
sequence of events; but as the various expeditions were for the most
part independent of one another, and proceeding simultaneously all over
the peninsula, even this indication too often fails.[25]
[Sidenote: Arrangement of narrative of campaigns against apostate
tribes.]
Such being the case, the thread of our narrative here must run an
arbitrary course. Taking Tabari as our guide, we begin with the
campaign of Khâlid against Toleiha in the north-east, and follow
him thence southward to Yemâma. We shall then take up the provinces
assigned to other leaders, as they lie geographically around the
coasts--Bahrein, Omân, Hadhramaut and Yemen.
[Sidenote: KHÂLID ibn Welîd.]
After Abu Bekr and Omar, the most prominent figure in the story of the
early Caliphate is without doubt that of KHÂLID, son of Welîd.
More to him than to any other is it due that Islam spread with such
marvellous rapidity. A dashing soldier, and brave even to rashness, his
courage was tempered by a cool and ever-ready judgment. His conduct
on the battle-fields which decided the fate of the Persian empire and
of the Byzantine rule in Syria, must rank him as one of the greatest
generals of the world. Over and again he cast the die in crises where
loss would have been destruction to Islam, but always with consummate
skill and heroism which won the victory. The carnage following his
arms gained for him the title of _The Sword of God_; and so
little regard had he for loss of life even amongst his own followers,
that he could wed the freshly-made widow of his enemy on the field
yet moistened by his people’s blood. He had already distinguished
himself in the annals of Islam. Fighting, at the first, on the side of
the Coreish, the defeat of the Prophet at Ohod was due mainly to his
prowess. At the capture of Mecca, now in the ranks of the faithful,
his was the only column which shed blood; and shortly after, the cruel
massacre of an unoffending tribe brought down upon him the stern
reproof of Mahomet.[26] At the battle of Mûta, three years before, he
had given a signal proof of his generalship, when, the Moslem army
having been routed by Roman legions, and its leaders one after another
slain, he saved the shattered remnants by skilful and intrepid tactics
from destruction.[27] It was this Khâlid whom Abu Bekr now sent forth
against the rebel prophets Toleiha and Moseilama.
[Sidenote: Khâlid marches towards the Beni Tay.]
His column, by far the strongest of the eleven, was composed of the
flower of the Refugees from Mecca, as well as of the men of Medîna,
which latter marched under their own officer, Thâbit son of Cays.[28]
To divert the enemy’s attention, Abu Bekr gave out that the destination
was Kheibar, and (to strike the greater terror into the insurgents)
that he intended himself to join it there with a fresh contingent.
Khâlid, however, was not long in quitting the northern route. Striking
off to the right, he made direct for the mountain range of Ajâ and
Salmâ, the seat of the Beni Tay, and not distant from the scene of
Toleiha’s revolt among the Beni Asad.
[Sidenote: _Toleiha_, the false prophet.]
Of the doctrines of Toleiha, as of the other pretenders to the
prophetic office, we know little, nor indeed anything at all to show
wherein the secret of influence lay. A few doggrel verses and dark or
childish sayings are all that the contemptuous voice of tradition has
transmitted of their teaching, if such it can be called. So far as
appears, it was a mere travesty of Islam. Toleiha forbad prostration
during worship. ‘The Lord,’ he said, ‘hath not commanded that ye
should soil your foreheads in the dust, neither that ye should double
up your backs in prayer.’ Similarly Moseilama and Sajâh remitted two
of the five daily times of prayer. That four pretenders (for Sajâh
the prophetess was also such) should have arisen in different parts
of Arabia, and, even before the death of Mahomet, drawn multitudes
after them, would seem to imply something in their doctrine deeper
than senseless rhymes and more specious than petty variations of the
Moslem rite.[29] So much is clear, that the spiritual sense of Arabia
had been quickened by the preaching of Mahomet, and that his example
had not only suggested the claims of others, but also contributed to
their success. Jealousy of Mecca and Medîna, moreover, and impatience
of the trammels of Islam, were powerful incentives for Bedouins to
cast in their lot with these pretenders. Thus the Beni Ghatafân, who
before their submission to Mahomet were in league with the Tay and
Asad tribes, had recently fallen out with them and lost some of their
pasture-lands. Oyeina,[30] chief of the Ghatafân, now counselled a
return to their old relations with the Beni Asad. ‘Let us go back,’ he
said, ‘to our ancient alliance which we had before Islam with them,
for never since we gave it up have I known the boundaries of our
pasture-lands. A prophet of our own is better than a prophet of the
Coreish. Besides, Mahomet is dead, but Toleiha is alive.’ So saying,
Oyeina, followed by 700 warriors of his tribe, joined the false prophet
at Bozâkha.
[Sidenote: Khâlid reclaims the Beni Tay.]
When first he heard of the heresy, Mahomet had deputed Dhirâr to the
Beni Asad, with instructions to rally the faithful amongst them, and
with their aid to crush Toleiha. The two encountered one another, and
the sword of Dhirâr, we are told, glanced off from the person of his
adversary. On this, a rumour spread abroad that Toleiha led a charmed
life, and thenceforward his cause prospered. After their defeat at
Abrac, the insurgents, as we have seen, flocked to Toleiha at Bozâkha,
and he was further strengthened by the adhesion of two influential
branches of the Beni Tay.[31] Dhirâr found his position at last so
insecure that he fled to Medîna. The great family of the Beni Tay,
however, was not wholly disloyal, for Adî (as above mentioned) had
already presented the legal dues to Abu Bekr on behalf of some part
of it. Adî therefore was now sent forward by Khâlid to his people, in
the hope of detaching them from Toleiha’s cause. He found them in no
friendly humour. ‘The Father of the Foal!’ they cried (for such was
the sobriquet contemptuously used for Abu Bekr[32]); ‘thou shalt not
persuade us to do homage to him.’ ‘Think better of it,’ replied Adi;
‘an army approacheth which ye cannot withstand. Ye shall know full
soon that he is no foal, but a lusty stallion. Wherefore see ye to
it.’ Alarmed at his words, they begged for time that they might recall
the two branches which had joined Toleiha, ‘For,’ said they, ‘he will
surely hold them hostages, or else put them to death.’ So Khâlid halted
three days, and in the end they not only tendered submission, but
joined him with 1,000 horse, ‘the flower of the land of Tay, and the
bravest of them.’
[Sidenote: Battle of Bozâkha.]
Thus reinforced, Khâlid advanced against Toleiha. On the march his army
was exasperated by finding the bodies of two of their scouts--one a
warrior of note named Okkâsha--who had been slain, and left by Toleiha
to be trampled on the road.[33] The armies met at Bozâkha, and the
combat is said to have been hot and long. At last (so we are told) the
tide of battle was turned by certain utterances of Toleiha, who was on
the field in his prophetic garb of hair. Oyeina fought bravely with his
700 of the Beni Fezâra.[34] The situation becoming critical, he turned
to Toleiha, saying, ‘Hath any message come to thee from Gabriel?’
‘_Not yet_,’ answered the prophet. A second time he asked, and
received the same reply. ‘Yes,’ said Toleiha, a little after, ‘a
message now hath come.’ ‘And what is it?’ inquired Oyeina eagerly.
‘Thus saith Gabriel to me, _Thou shalt have a millstone like unto
his, and an affair shalt happen that thou wilt not forget_.’ ‘Away
with thee!’ cried Oyeina scornfully; ‘no doubt the Lord knoweth that
an affair will happen that thou shall not forget! Ho, ye Beni Fezâra,
every man to his tent!’ So they turned to go; and thereupon the army
fled. Toleiha escaped with his wife to Syria. His subsequent history
proved him a brave warrior; but he had a poor cause, and the combat
could hardly have been very severe, as no mention is made of loss on
either side.
[Sidenote: Toleiha’s sequel.]
His sequel is curious. At the first, Toleiha took refuge with the Beni
Kelb on the Syrian frontier; then when the Beni Asad were pardoned, he
returned to them and again embraced Islam. Passing Medîna soon after
on pilgrimage, he was seized and carried to Abu Bekr, who set him at
liberty, saying, ‘Let him alone. What have I to do with him? The Lord
hath now verily guided him into the right path.’ When Omar succeeded to
the Caliphate, he presented himself to take the oath of allegiance. At
first Omar spoke roughly to him: ‘Thou art he that killed Okkâsha and
his comrade. I love thee not.’ ‘Was it not better,’ answered Toleiha,
‘that they by my hand should obtain the crown of martyrdom, rather than
that I by theirs should have perished in hell-fire?’ When he had sworn
allegiance, the Caliph asked him concerning his oracular gift,[35] and
whether anything yet remained of it. ‘Ah,’ he replied, ‘it was but a
puff or two, as from a pair of bellows.’ So he returned to his tribe,
and went forth with them to the wars in Irâc, where, in the great
struggle with Persia, he became a hero of renown.
[Sidenote: Beni Asad and other tribes received back into Islam.]
After the battle of Bozâkha, the Beni Asad, fearing lest their families
should fall into the conqueror’s hand, tendered their submission. The
Beni Aámir, Suleim, and Hawâzin, tribes which had stood aloof watching
the event, now came in, and received from Khâlid the same terms as
the Beni Asad. They resumed the profession of Islam with all its
obligations, and in proof thereof brought in the tithe. A full amnesty
was then accorded, on condition only that those who during the apostasy
had taken the life of any Moslem should be delivered up. These were now
(to carry out the Caliph’s vow) put to the like death as that which
they had inflicted. If they had speared their victims, cast them over
precipices, drowned them in wells, or burned them in the fire, the
persecutors were now subjected to the same barbarous and cruel fate.
[Sidenote: A body of malcontents under Omm Siml discomfited.]
Khâlid stayed at Bozâkha for a month, receiving the submission of the
people in the vicinity and their tithes. Troops of horse scoured the
country, and struck terror into the vacillating tribes around. In only
one direction was serious opposition met. Certain malcontents from
amongst the penitent and returning people, unable to brook submission,
gathered themselves together in a defiant attitude. They had yet to
learn that the grip of Islam was stern and crushing. Their restless
and marauding spirit preferred, perhaps, even as a forlorn hope, to
hold their enemy at bay; or they had sinned beyond the hope of grace.
Thus they assembled in a great multitude around Omm Siml, daughter of
a famous chieftain of the Ghatafân. This lady’s mother, Omm Kirfa,
had been captured and put to a cruel death by Mahomet. She herself
had waited upon Ayesha as a captive maid in the Prophet’s household;
but the haughty spirit of her race survived the servitude. Mounted on
her mother’s war-camel, she led the force herself, and incited the
insurgents to a bold resistance. Khâlid proclaimed the reward of one
hundred camels to him who should maim her camel. It was soon disabled;
and, Omm Siml slain, the rout was easy.[36]
[Sidenote: Oyeina, Corra, and Alcama released by Abu Bekr.]
In this campaign the only persons taken captive were those who had
deeply compromised themselves as leaders in rebellion. They were sent
by Khâlid to Abu Bekr. The chief were Oyeina, Corra, and Alcama. The
story of this last, a chief of the Beni Aámir, is curious. After the
surrender of Tâyif he had fled to Syria. On the death of Mahomet he
returned, and incited his people to rebellion. An expedition sent in
pursuit of him had seized his family, and carried them off captive to
Medîna. He fled; but as all the country-side had now submitted, there
was no longer any way of escape, and he was seized and delivered up to
Khâlid. Corra, of the same tribe, was one of those whom Amru, on his
journey from Oman, had found vacillating, and of whom he brought an
evil report to Abu Bekr. Oyeina, the marauding chieftain of the Fezâra,
had often been the terror of Medîna. When the city was besieged by the
Coreish, he offered his assistance on certain humiliating terms, which
the Prophet was near accepting; and he was one of the many influential
leaders ‘whose hearts,’ after the battle of Honein and siege of Tâyif,
‘had been reconciled’ by the Prophet’s largesses. He was now led into
Medîna with the rest in chains, his hands tied up behind his back.
The citizens crowded round to gaze at the fallen chief, and the very
children smote him with their hands, crying out, ‘Enemy of the Lord,
and apostate!’ ‘Not so,’ said Oyeina bravely; ‘I am no apostate; I
never was a believer until now.’[37] The Caliph listened patiently
to the appeal of the captives. He forgave them, and commanded their
immediate release.
[Sidenote: Fujâa, a freebooter, burned alive.]
Abu Bekr, as a rule, was mild in his judgments, and even generous to
the fallen foe. But on one occasion the treachery of a rebel chief
irritated him to an act of barbarous cruelty. Fujâa, a leader of some
note amongst the Beni Suleim, under pretence of fighting against the
insurgents in his neighbourhood, obtained from the Caliph arms and
accoutrements for his band. Thus equipped, he abused the trust, and,
becoming a freebooter, attacked and plundered Moslem and Apostate
indiscriminately. Abu Bekr thereupon wrote letters to a loyal chief
in that quarter to raise a force and go against the brigand. Hard
pressed, Fujâa challenged his adversary to a parley, and asserted that
he held a commission from the Caliph not inferior to his. ‘If thou
speakest true,’ answered the other, ‘then lay aside thy weapons and
accompany me to Abu Bekr.’ He did so, and followed, without further
resistance, to Medîna. No sooner did he appear than the Caliph, enraged
at his treachery, cried aloud: ‘Go forth with this traitor to the
burial-ground, and there burn him with fire.’ So, hard by in Backî,
the graveyard of the city, they gathered wood, and heaping it together
at the _Mosalla_, or place of prayer, kindled the pile, and cast
Fujâa on it.
[Sidenote: Abu Bekr regrets the act.]
If the charges were well founded, which we have no ground for doubting,
Fujâa deserved the fate of a bandit; but to cast him alive into the
flames was a savage act, for which Abu Bekr was sorry afterwards. ‘It
is one of the three things,’ he used to say, ‘which I would I had not
done.’[38]