…after having acknowledged Islam and acted upon it, out of misplaced confidence in Allah, ignorance of His command, and obedience to Satan.

Allah the Exalted says:
“Remember when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ and they all prostrated except Iblīs. He was one of the jinn and he rebelled against the command of his Lord. Will you, then, take him and his offspring as patrons instead of Me while they are enemies to you? How wretched a substitute for the wrongdoers!” ⦗Al-Kahf 50⦘

And He says: “Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy. He only calls his faction so that they may become companions of the Blaze.” ⦗Fāṭir 6⦘

I have therefore dispatched to you So-and-so at the head of an army drawn from the Muhājirūn, the Anṣār, and those who have followed them with excellence. I have instructed him to accept from no one anything but faith in Allah, and not to kill anyone until he has first invited him to Allah—Exalted is He. If the person responds, confesses, and performs righteous deeds, that will be accepted from him and he will be helped. If he refuses, he is to be fought until he returns to Allah’s command; after that he is to spare none of those over whom he gains power, to burn them with fire, to slay them by every manner of killing, to take the women and children captive, and to accept from no one anything other than Islam. Whoever follows him, that will be better for him; whoever turns away will never frustrate Allah.

I have further ordered my envoy to read his letter in every gathering of yours. The summons will be the adhān (call to prayer). When the Muslims pronounce the adhān, pronounce it yourselves and refrain from fighting them. If they do not make the call, ask them about their obligations; should they refuse, strike them at once. If they acknowledge, then exact from them what is due to them.”

This was related by Sīf ibn ʿUmar, from ʿAbdullāh ibn Saʿīd, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik.

Section: The march of the commanders from Dhū al-Qaṣṣah in accordance with the charge given to them

The chief of the commanders and the foremost of the valiant champions was Abū Sulaymān Khālid ibn al-Walīd.

Imām Aḥmad narrated (1), through the chain of Waḥshī ibn Ḥarb, that when Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq appointed Khālid ibn al-Walīd to fight the apostates, he said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘How excellent a servant of Allah and clansman he is—Khālid ibn al-Walīd, a sword from among the swords of Allah that Allah has unsheathed against the disbelievers and the hypocrites.’”

When Khālid (2) set out from Dhū al-Qaṣṣah and took leave of al-Ṣiddīq, the latter promised that he would meet him from the direction of Khaybar together with the other commanders—a declaration they made public in order to strike fear into the Bedouins. He instructed him to go first to Ṭulayḥah al-Asadī and then to the Banū Tamīm.

Ṭulayḥah ibn Khuwaylid was with his own people, the Banū Asad, and with Ghatafān; the Banū ʿAbs and Dhubyān had joined them as well. He sent word to the Banū Jadīlah, al-Ghawth, and Ṭayyʾ inviting them to join him, and they dispatched detachments ahead of them so that they might catch up quickly.

Al-Ṣiddīq had already sent ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim ahead of Khālid ibn al-Walīd and had said to him, “Reach your people before they join Ṭulayḥah, lest their ruin be sealed.” ʿAdī went to his tribe, the Banū Ṭayyʾ, and ordered them to pledge allegiance to al-Ṣiddīq and to return to Allah’s command. They said, “We will never pledge allegiance to Abū al-Faḍl”—meaning Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). He replied, “By Allah, an army will surely come upon you that will continue to fight you until you realise that he is the greatest of stallions.” ʿAdī kept pressing them with every argument…