—by His bounty and gracious kindness—sent them reinforcements at that very hour: warriors from the Banū Nājiyah and ʿAbd al-Qays under a number of commanders. Once they reached the field, victory was granted and the idolaters turned to flee. The Muslims pursued them, striking them from the rear, and killed ten thousand fighting men. They captured the women and children, seized the wealth, and took control of the market in its entirety. One-fifth of the spoils was dispatched to al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) with one of the commanders, ʿArfajah, who then rejoined his troops.

As for the people of Mahra, once the campaign in ʿUmān was concluded, ʿIkrimah marched his forces—including those already with him and the new contingents that had arrived—to their territory. He entered the land of Mahra and found its people divided into two armies. The larger host was led by a commander named al-Muṣbaḥ, of Banū Muḥārib, while the second army was under a commander called Shakhrīt. The two leaders were at odds, and this discord proved a mercy for the believers. ʿIkrimah opened negotiations with Shakhrīt; he responded favorably and joined ʿIkrimah, thereby strengthening the Muslims and weakening al-Muṣbaḥ’s resolve. ʿIkrimah then sent a summons to al-Muṣbaḥ, calling him to Allah and to obedience. Relying on the size of his own following and determined to oppose Shakhrīt, al-Muṣbaḥ persisted in his rebellion. ʿIkrimah therefore advanced with his troops, and the battle that ensued was fiercer than the earlier fighting at Dabā. Allah then bestowed triumph: the idolaters broke and ran, al-Muṣbaḥ was killed, and great numbers of his people perished. The Muslims captured their property, including one thousand prime camels. ʿIkrimah divided all the spoils, set aside the one-fifth, and sent that share to al-Ṣiddīq with Shakhrīt, informing him of the victory; the bearer of the glad tidings was a man named al-Sāʾib, of Banū ʿĀbid of the Makhzūm.

On that occasion a man called ʿAljūm composed the following verses:

May Allah reward Shakhrīt and the clans of Hāshim (1)
and Firḍam, when the marauders advanced upon us,
with the recompense due one who failed to honor a pact,
nor hoped for it as kinfolk are wont to hope.
O ʿIkrimah, had it not been for my people’s ranks and their deeds,
the wide open desert would have left you no escape.
We were like a hand that has seized its own sister-hand,
and the calamities of the ages descended upon us.

With regard to the people of Yemen, we have already noted that al-Aswad al-ʿAnsī—may Allah curse him—rose in Yemen and led many of weak intellect and weak faith astray until a great number, even the majority, apostatized from Islam. When the three commanders—Qays ibn Makshūḥ, Fayrūz al-Daylamī, and Dādawayh—killed him, as previously mentioned, and news of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ death reached them, some of the Yemenis sank even deeper into confusion and doubt—may Allah protect us from such trial. Qays ibn Makshūḥ coveted authority over Yemen, worked toward it, apostatized from Islam, and was followed by the common folk of Yemen. Al-Ṣiddīq wrote to the commanders and notable leaders of Yemen, instructing them to support Fayrūz and the Abnāʾ (2) against Qays ibn Makshūḥ until his own troops could reach them swiftly. Qays strove to kill the last two commanders, but managed only to slay Dādawayh; Fayrūz al-Daylamī kept clear of him, for he had taken