…Dhubyān and ʿAbs turned on the Muslims in their midst and killed them; those tribes that stood behind them did exactly the same. Abū Bakr therefore swore an oath that he would slay, from every tribe, a number equal to—or even greater than—their tally of murdered Muslims.

On that occasion Ziyād ibn Ḥanẓalah al-Tamīmī recited:

That morning Abū Bakr pressed upon them
As one would press toward a lawful death.
He loosed ʿAlī upon their bawling mounts,
And Ḥabāl spilled out his very life-blood for them.

He also said:

We met them full in the face with the north wind, and they toppled (1)
Like idolaters flung headlong (2) when they alight upon plenty.
They could not stand fast when battle rose up—
On the morning Abū Bakr lifted men to glory.
We struck the Banū ʿAbs at the nearest point of Nibāj (3),
And we checked Dhubyān with a blow that broke the back (4)(5).

This engagement proved one of the greatest aids to the triumph of Islam and its people: in every tribe the Muslims were honored and the unbelievers humbled. Abū Bakr returned to Madinah strengthened and victorious, safe and laden with spoils. That very night three caravans bearing the charity-tax collected by ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim, Ṣafwān, and al-Zibrqān reached the city—one early in the night, another in its middle, and the third toward its end. Each was heralded by a messenger from the commanders of the city approaches: the good news of Ṣafwān was brought by Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, that of al-Zibrqān by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and that of ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd—some say it was Abū Qatādah al-Anṣārī (may Allah be pleased with him) (6).

All this took place exactly sixty nights after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

A few nights later Usāmah ibn Zayd arrived. Abū Bakr appointed him governor over Madinah and told the people to rest their mounts. Then, together with those who had fought beside him in the previous battle, he mounted and set out for Dhū al-Qaṣṣah. The Muslims said to him, “Would that you returned to Madinah and sent someone else in your place.” He replied, “By Allah, I shall not. I will share with you the hardship.”

Thus he rode at the head of his array toward Dhū Ḥusāʾ and Dhū al-Qaṣṣah, with al-Nuʿmān, ʿAbd Allāh, and Suwayd—the sons of Muqarrin—holding the same posts as before. They came down upon the people of al-Rabadhah at al-Abarq, where a force of Banū ʿAbs, Banū Dhubyān, and a contingent of Banū Kinānah had gathered. Fighting broke out, and Allah routed al-Ḥārith and ʿAwf; the poet al-Ḥuṭayʾah was captured, while Banū ʿAbs and Banū Bakr scattered in flight. Abū Bakr remained at al-Abarq for some days, having wrested the territory from Banū Dhubyān.

He declared, “It is forbidden for Banū Dhubyān to own this land now that Allah has granted it to us and placed it under His protection—”