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36 THE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT

I would fight them over it."87 Abu Bakr stood alone in his resolve, like an
unshakable mountain, till every sincere person sided with him.
To combat these heretics Abu Bakr hurried to Dhul-Qassa, six miles
from Madinah.P' He summoned all the available forces of the Muslim army
and, distributing them into eleven regiments, appointed a distinguished
commander for each, along with a banner and a specific target: Khalid bin
al-WalId to Tulaiha bin Khuwailid; 'Ikrima son of AbUJahl, with Shurahbil,
to Musailama; Muhajir son of Abu Umayya to the remnants of al-Aswad
al-(Ansi, then to Hadramout; Khalid bin Sa'Id bin al-(~ to al-Hamqatain,
near the Syrian border; 'Amr bin al-'A~ to Quzu'ah and others; Hudhaifa
bin Mihsinal-Ghalafanl to Daba, on the Gulf of Oman; 'Arfaja bin Harthama
to Mahara; Turaifa bin !:lajiz to Bani Sulaim; Suwaid bin Muqarrin to
Tahama of Yemen; Al-(Ala' bin al-Hadrami to Bahrain; and Shurahbil b.
Hasana to Yamama and Quda'a."
Of these, perhaps the largest and fiercest battle was waged in Yamama
against Musailama, whose forces exceeded forty thousand and enjoyed
very strong tribal ties in the area. 'Ikrima was initially sent to finish him,
but because of his limited success he was dispatched to some other region.
Shurahbll, who had been sent to assist 'Ikrima, was now told to wait for
the arrival of a new commander, Khalid bin al-Walld, who by the grace
of Allah successfully vanquished Musailama's imposing army.
Following the suppression of these rebellions and the return of the Arabian
Peninsula to Muslim control, Abu Bakr next ordered Khalid bin al-Walid
to march towards Iraq." There he encountered and defeated the Persians
at Ubulla, Lady's Castle, Mazar, Ullais (Safar 12A.H./May 633 C.E.), Walajah
the river of blood (in the same month), Amghisia, and Hfra (Dhul Qj'da
12 A.H./January 634 C.E.),91 where he established his headquarters.P? After
Htra he advanced to Anbar (12 A.H./Autumn 633 C.E.) and discovered a
fortified city with protective ditches. His terms for peace being accepted
however, he proceeded to 'Ain at-Tamr, a town straddling the desert three
days west of Anbar. 93 Here the enemy was a potent mixture of Persians
and Arab Christians, some belonging to the Christian prophetess Sajal).;94

87 Muslim, Sa1J1J;, Iman:32.
88 At-Tabari, Tiirikh, iii:248.
89 At-Tabari, Tiirikh, iii:249; see also W. Muir, Annals rf the Early Caliphate, pp. 17-18.
90 According to the historian Khalifa bin Khayyat this was in 12 A.H. [Tarikh, i:100.J
91 H. Mones, Atlasrf the History rf Islam, az-Zahra' for Arab Mass Media, Cairo,
1987, p. 128.
92 W. Muir, Annals rf the Early Caiiphaie, p. 81.
93 ibid, p. 85.
94 ibid,p. 85.