what I had been shown.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once saw in a dream that two golden bracelets were upon his wrists, and he became concerned about them. In the dream Allah inspired him, “Blow on them.” When he blew, they flew away. He interpreted them as two impostors who would arise—the rebel of Ṣanʿāʾ and the rebel of Yamāmah. And so it happened: both vanished and their cause was cut off. Al-Aswad was slaughtered in his own house, while Musaylimah was struck down by Allah at the hands of Wahshī ibn Ḥarb, who hurled his spear and ran it clean through him as camels are lanced. Abū Dujānah then dealt him a blow on the head that split it open. All this took place in the very courtyard of his residence, in the orchard that came to be called “the Garden of Death.”(1)

Khalid ibn al-Walīd stood over his prostrate body—Mujjāʿah ibn Murārah had pointed him out among the dead.

Some said he was yellow-skinned and flat-nosed; others said he was a big, dark man, like a gray camel. It is also reported that he died at the age of 140. Allah knows best.

His two ministers and advisers—may Allah curse them—were slain before him:

• Muḥakkam ibn al-Ṭufayl, known as Muḥakkam al-Yamāmah. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr killed him with an arrow while he was addressing his people, urging them on in war.

• The other was Nahār ibn ʿUnfuwa, called al-Rajjāl ibn ʿUnfuwa. He had once accepted Islam, then apostatized and affirmed Musaylimah’s claim—may both be cursed. Allah granted Zayd ibn al-Khaṭṭāb the honor of killing him before Zayd himself was martyred, may Allah be pleased with him.

The very necessities of Islamic doctrine prove al-Rajjāl’s testimony to be false. Moreover, al-Bukhārī and others relate that Musaylimah wrote to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
From Musaylimah, the Messenger of Allah, to Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah. Peace be upon you. To proceed: I have been made your partner in this matter. For you is the dry land and for me the pasture”—another version reads: “For you half the earth and for us half—“but Quraysh are a people who transgress.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
From Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Musaylimah the Liar. Peace be upon those who follow guidance. To proceed: The earth belongs to Allah; He gives it in heritage to whomever He wills of His servants, and the good end is for the God-fearing.”

We have already cited the drivel Musaylimah—may Allah curse him—used to compose and recite, claiming it was revelation from the All-Merciful. Exalted is Allah, far above what he and those like him say.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, Musaylimah claimed sole authority and belittled his people, who then obeyed him. He used to chant:

Beat the tambourine, woman, beat it loud,
Proclaim the virtues of this “prophet” proud;
The prophet of Banū Hāshim has gone from sight,
The prophet of Banū Yaʿrub now stands upright.

Yet Allah gave him little respite after the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ before He loosed upon him a sword from among His swords and a doom from among His dooms.