Ibn Lahīʿah (1) transmitted—through Abū al-Aswad, from ʿUrwah—who said:

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq sent him—meaning al-ʿAlāʾ—at the head of an army toward al-Baḥrayn, whose inhabitants had apostasized. He advanced against them, though a stretch of sea—namely the calm, shallow water—lay between him and them, until they actually walked across it on foot, traversing a channel in which ships used to sail (and in which they still sail today). He fought them, and Allah granted him victory, whereupon they resumed paying the zakāt.

He died in 21 AH.

It is narrated from Abū Hurayrah: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me with al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī and instructed him to look after me, so I served as his caller to prayer.” (2)

Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah said: “The Prophet ﷺ dispatched al-ʿAlāʾ to al-Baḥrayn, then removed him and appointed Abān ibn Saʿīd in his place.”

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd stated: “Abū Bakr sent al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī out; he left Madinah with sixteen mounted men, and Abū Bakr wrote him a letter instructing that every Muslim he met on the way was to march out with him against their enemy.

Al-ʿAlāʾ proceeded with those who joined him until he reached the fortress of Jawāthā (3). He fought its defenders, and not one of them escaped. He then moved on to al-Qaṭīf, where a host had gathered; he engaged them, they were routed, and the