—it was Qays—who climbed the rampart of the fortress and cried out their watchword. Muslims and unbelievers alike gathered around the stronghold. Qays—some say it was Wabr ibn Yuhannis—then gave the call to prayer, declaring:

“I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that ʿAbhala is a liar.”

He hurled the impostor’s head down to them. His followers scattered in panic, and the townsfolk pursued them, lying in wait on every road and taking them captive. Islam and its adherents now prevailed; the deputies of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned to their posts. The three conspirators then argued over the governorship, but finally agreed that Muʿadh ibn Jabal should lead the people in prayer. They wrote with the news to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—yet Allah had already informed him of it that very night, as related by Sayf ibn ʿUmar al-Tamimi (1) on the authority of Abū’l-Qāsim al-Shanawī, from al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Ziyād (2) from Ibn ʿUmar:

“News came to the Prophet ﷺ from heaven on the night al-ʿAnsi was killed to give us glad tidings. He proclaimed: ‘Al-ʿAnsi was slain last night; a blessed man from a blessed household killed him.’ They asked, ‘Who is he?’ He replied, ‘Fayrūz, Fayrūz.’”

It is said that the length of al-ʿAnsi’s reign, from his first appearance until he was slain, was three months; others say four—Allah knows best.

Sayf ibn ʿUmar (3) also transmitted, from al-Mustanir, from ʿUrwah, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from Fayrūz, who said: “We killed al-Aswad, and affairs in Ṣanʿāʾ returned to what they had been, except that we sent for Muʿadh ibn Jabal and were unanimously content with him. He led us in prayer in Ṣanʿāʾ, and, by Allah, he had led us for only three days when the news of the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached us. Matters collapsed, much of what we had known became unfamiliar, and the land was thrown into turmoil.”

We have already mentioned that the report of al-ʿAnsi reached al-Ṣiddīq near the end of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, after he had dispatched the army of Usāmah; others maintain that the glad tidings reached Madinah on the very morning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, though the first view is more widely accepted—Allah knows best.

In sum, no one came to them to look after their affairs, unite their ranks, reconcile their hearts, and hold them fast to Islam except al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him). Presently we shall describe how he sent envoys to set right the disorders in their lands, strengthen the hands of the Muslims, and consolidate the pillars of Islam among them (may Allah be pleased with her).

Section: Al-Ṣiddīq’s determination to fight the apostates and those who withheld zakāt

We have already noted that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, many tribes among the Bedouins apostatized; hypocrisy re-emerged in Madinah; the Banū Ḥanīfah and a great multitude in al-Yamāmah rallied to Musaylimah the Liar; Banū Asad, Ṭayy, and many others gathered around Tulayḥah al-Asadī, who likewise claimed prophethood as Musaylimah had done. The calamity became grave and the situation dire. Al-Ṣiddīq had already dispatched Usāmah’s army, leaving but few troops in Madinah, so many Bedouins cast covetous eyes upon the city and sought to storm it.