…until he went in to Abū Bakr, offered his apology, and Abū Bakr accepted it, pardoned him for what had happened, and paid the blood-money for Mālik ibn Nuwayrah. Khalid then came out while ʿUmar was sitting in the mosque. Khalid said, “Come over here, son of Umm Shamlah!” ʿUmar did not reply, for he knew that al-Ṣiddīq was now pleased with him. Thus Abū Bakr kept Khalid in command, even though he had exercised his own judgment in killing Mālik ibn Nuwayrah and had erred in doing so.

This was like what happened when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent him to the Banū Jadhīmah and he put to death those captives who kept saying, “ṣabaʾnā, ṣabaʾnā” (1)—they did not know how to say, “aslamnā.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ paid their blood-money, even returning to them the milgha (2) of a dog, then raised his hands and said, “O Allah, I disavow before You what Khalid has done.” Yet even then he did not remove Khalid from office.

The Slaying of Musaylima the Arch-Liar—may Allah curse him (3)

After al-Ṣiddīq had become satisfied with Khalid ibn al-Walīd and accepted his excuse, he dispatched him to fight the Banū Ḥanīfah at al-Yamāmah. The Muslims went out with him in full force (4), and over the Anṣār he set Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās. Khalid marched on, never passing any band of apostates without punishing them severely. He came upon the cavalry of Sajāḥ’s followers, scattered them, and ordered that they be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Ṣiddīq also sent a detachment after Khalid to serve as a rear support (5) for him. He had earlier sent ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl and Shurahbīl ibn Ḥasnah against Musaylima, but they could not withstand the Banū Ḥanīfah, who numbered about forty thousand fighting men. ʿIkrimah engaged them before his companion Shurahbīl arrived and was routed, so he waited for Khalid.

When Musaylima heard of Khalid’s advance, he encamped at a place called ʿAqrabāʾ on the edge of al-Yamāmah, with the farmland behind them. He mobilised the people and urged them on, so the inhabitants of al-Yamāmah flocked to him. He placed on the two wings of his army Muḥkam ibn al-Ṭufayl and al-Rajjāl ibn ʿUnfuwah ibn Nahshal.

This al-Rajjāl was his friend who claimed to have heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that Musaylima ibn Ḥabīb had been made his partner in the matter. This accursed man was one of the greatest causes of the misguidance of the people of al-Yamāmah, so that they followed Musaylima—may Allah curse them both.

The same al-Rajjāl had previously come as a delegate to the Prophet ﷺ and had recited Sūrat al-Baqarah. When the time of the apostasy arrived he came to Abū Bakr, who sent him to the people of al-Yamāmah to call them to Allah and keep them firm upon Islam, but he himself apostatised with Musaylima and bore witness to his prophethood.

Saif ibn ʿUmar (6) relates—through Ṭalḥah, from ʿIkrimah, from Abū Hurayrah—that he said: “One day I was with the Prophet ﷺ in a group that included al-Rajjāl (7) ibn ʿUnfuwah. The Prophet said, ‘Among you is a man whose molar tooth in the Fire will be greater than (Mount) Uḥud.’ The group perished, and I alone remained.”