The Daybul Pirates and the Cry 'ya Hajjaj'

قراصنة الديبل وصرخة يا حجاج

Pirates of Daybul seized the ship bearing the gifted women; one, of Banu Yarbu', cried 'ya Hajjaj' — 'ya labbayk' he answered, and wrote Dahir demanding their release: 'pirates beyond my power' came the reply. Al-Hajjaj's man Ubaydallah ibn Nabhan fell to Daybul, and Budayl ibn Tahfa al-Bajali, sent from Uman, was ringed and killed when his horse shied — some say the Zutt of al-Budha killed him. The island is called Jazirat al-Yaqut for its women's beauty.

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The Storming of Daybul

Muhammad reached Daybul on a Friday with the fleet behind him — trench, spears, banners, and the mangonel 'al-Arus' worked by five hundred men against the great budd whose tall mast bore a revolving red banner. Al-Hajjaj's letters, exchanged every three days, ordered the eastern arm shortened and the crew told to break the mast he described; broken, the kafirs' defiance sank, the sally was driven back, and ladders went up — a Muradi of Kufa first over — the city stormed, three days of killing, the temple's sadin slain, Dahir's agent fled; Muhammad marked out a Muslim quarter, built the mosque, and settled four thousand. Mansur ibn Hatim saw the broken mast, and al-Mu'tasim's governor Anbasa ibn Ishaq al-Dabbi razed the minaret's top for a prison before his removal; his successor Harun ibn Abi Khalid was killed there.

The Daybul Pirates and the Cry 'ya Hajjaj'

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The Storming of Daybul