THE BATTLE OF AQRABA
From Madeenah the Muslim army proceeded to Bitaah. Here contingents from the Muslim tribes joined the force. From there the Muslim army marched south to the valley of Yatnaamah under the command of Khalid Ibn Al-Walced. In the way the Muslim army came across some men of Banu Haneefah led by Majaa’ah Ibn Maraarah. Under the orders of Khalid, all of them were put to death except Majaa’ah, whom Khalid kept in custody to serve as a hostage, because he was well aware of the tricks and tactics of war. He was put in chains, and entrusted to the custody of Layla, the new wife of Khalid, who accompanied him 10 the battle field. Khalid ordered him to care for her.
Musaylamah intercepted the advance of the Muslim army at the plain of ‘ Aqraba. Here the two opposing armies arranged their ranks for the encounter. The battle that followed was hotly contested. The forces of Musaylamah numbered over 4.000, while the strength of the Muslim army did not exceed 13,000. Besides being outnumbered the Muslim forces suffered from certain disabilities. There were differences between the tribes, the Anxaar and the Muhajreen.
When the battle of ‘Aqraba Hared up there was MusayI amah’s eloquent son, Sharhabeel, to egg the troops on and boost their morale. Me reminded them of Khalid ‘s cruelty and warned them that unless they fought bravely their women would be taken captives.
A dust storm blew across the valley against the faces of the Muslims. Taking advantage of this, the forces of Musaylamah increased their pressure, and the Muslims had to fall back. Some men of the Banu Haneefah even reached the tent of Khalid where Majaa’ah was in chains guarded by Layla. These men wanted to kill Layla, and rescue Majaa’ah. Mujaa’ah called upon them to desist from raising their hands against a woman. He wanted them to go and kill some men. These men left the camp, and said that they would return after some time to rescue Majaa’ah. In the confusion that followed, the party could not come back, and in the meantime the Muslims were able to take precautionary measures.
When the battle for the first day ended, there was jubilation in the camp of Musaylamah. Though Khalid had been forced to withdraw he refused to admit defeat. He regrouped his army in tribal commands and exhorted the various tribes to show their valor on the battlefield. From within the Makkah and Madinite horsemen he created a reserve force of a thousand cavalrymen and kept them under his personal command.
When the battle began on the next day, the forces of Musaylamah elated by the pride of victory on the first day made the bid to push forward. Al-Baraa’was the commander of one of the Muslim wings. There was a strange peculiarity of Al- Baraa’. Whenever he would go to light, his whole body would shake necessitating others to hold him. After some time his body would stop shaking, and he would feel electrified. He would then rush forward against the enemy and fight like a lion. At the battle of ‘Aqraba he had his fit of shivering, and thereafter he plunged into the thick of the battle crying, “O Muslims, where do you go? Here am I, Al-Baraa1 Ibn Malik: come to me.” Al-Baraa’ and his men made a determined charge.
Abdur Rahmaan Ibn Abi Bakr shot an arrow from his bow that killed Muhhkam Ibn At-TufayI who commanded the forces of Musaylamah.
At this stage the two armies encountered each other in a headlong combat. As the forces of Musaylamah were larger in number, such a state of affairs was advantageous to them. While the front ranks of the two armies grappled with each other in hand to hand fight, Khalid collected his cavalry reserves, and carrying out a wide outflanking movement, dashed for the mounds where the camp of Musaylamah was located. The boldness of the move of Khalid took Banu Haneefah completely unaware. The bodyguard of Musaylamah fought valiantly, but they could not hold ground for long. As Khalid increased his pressure, Musaylamah lost his nerves, and retreated to a neighboring fortified garden.
The Battle of the Garden
With the withdrawal of Musaylamah, his army lost the will to fight, and they too found safety in seeking refuge in the garden. A huge wall surrounded the garden, and the fugitives closed the gate thus shutting access to the pursuing Muslims. Al-Baraa’ Ibn Malik asked his companions to lift him to the top of the garden wall, and from there he jumped into the garden. Some other Muslims did likewise. Thus, hazarding their lives, this group of Muslims rushed to the gate and opened it. With the opening of the gate, the Muslim army rushed into the garden, and let loose a reign of slaughter on the Banu Haneefah. The Banu Haneefah fought desperately for sheer survival, but theirs was a crushing defeat. All advantages now lay with the Muslims. The men of Banu Haneefah were cut to pieces in large numbers, and the garden was virtually drenched with blood. So bloody was the battle of the garden that in the Arab annals it came to be known as the “Battle of the Garden of Death.”
In the “Garden of Death” Wahshi, the Negro slave who had fought on the side of the Quraysh against the Muslims at the battle of Uhud, and had killed Hamzah, the uncle of the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, threw in a javelin at Musaylamah, while at the same time Abu Dujaanah rushed forward and fell on Musaylamah with his sword, until he fell dead, and his severed head was hoisted for all to see. Thereupon the Banu Haneefah formally surrendered.
With such surrender the valley of Yamaamah which had so long defied Islam lay prostrate at the feet of the Muslims.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.)
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.