with a delegation from the Azd. The Prophet placed him in command of the believers from his clan, instructing him to wage jihad against the hostile tribes nearby.

The Conversion of the Kings of Yemen

Ibn Isḥāq said: While the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was returning from Tabūk, a letter from the kings of Ḥimyar reached him, conveyed by their envoy to announce their acceptance of Islam. They were: al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd Kulāl, Naʿīm ibn ʿAbd Kulāl, al-Nuʿmān—said to be Dhū Raʿīn—as well as the notables of Maʿāfir and Hamdān. Likewise, Dhū Yazan, Mālik ibn Murrah al-Rahāwī, wrote declaring their Islam. The Prophet answered them with a letter in which he set out the obligation of the zakāh (alms-tax), and he dispatched Muʿādh ibn Jabal with a company of Companions, saying: “I am sending you one of the best of my household, the most devout and most knowledgeable among them. Treat them well. Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.”

Ibrāhīm ibn Yūsuf ibn Abī Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī narrated—through his father, from his grandfather, from al-Barāʾ—that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd to the people of Yemen to invite them to Islam. Al-Barāʾ said: I was among those who accompanied Khālid. We stayed there for six months while he called them to Islam, but they did not respond. The Prophet then dispatched ʿAlī—may Allah honour his face—and ordered him to replace Khālid. Whoever had set out with Khālid but wished to remain with ʿAlī was free to do so. I was among those who stayed.

When we drew near to the tribe, they came out to meet us. ʿAlī led us in prayer, after which we formed a single rank. He stepped forward, read out the letter of the Messenger of Allah—peace be upon him—and the entire clan of Hamdān embraced Islam. ʿAlī wrote to inform the Prophet, and when he read the letter he fell in prostration; then he raised his head and said, “Peace be upon Hamdān, peace be upon Hamdān.” This is an authentic ḥadīth.