The Siege of al-Nujayr

حصار النجير

c. 632 CE · c. 11 AH

al-Nujayr

In al-Baladhuri: the apostasy of Banu Wali'a and al-Ash'ath ibn Qays al-Kindi — Ziyad ibn Labid al-Bayadi, the Prophet's agent over Hadramawt with Kinda joined to him, took a young she-camel from some Kindis for the alms and branded it with the alms-brand, and when they asked him to take another he refused, saying 'I will not return what the brand has fallen on', whereupon all Kinda rose against him save al-Sukun who stood firm with him; Banu Amr ibn Mu'awiya massed against him and he struck them by night, killing men including Mikhwas, Mishrah, Jamid and Abda'a sons of Ma'di Karib — called the four kings, who had come in delegation to the Prophet then apostatized — their sister al-Marada being killed by one who took her for a man; as Ziyad brought back the captives and goods al-Ash'ath's pride burned and he attacked with a company of his people, and Ziyad routed them, whereupon the chiefs of Kinda joined al-Ash'ath; seeing this Ziyad wrote to Abu Bakr for reinforcement and Abu Bakr ordered al-Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya to aid him, and they scattered his gathering and wrought a great slaughter, the remnant taking refuge in al-Nujayr, their fortress, which the Muslims besieged until they were exhausted; al-Ash'ath asked safety for a number of them, leaving himself out of the count — al-Khifshish al-Kindi, Ma'dan ibn al-Aswad, having held him to his claim saying 'include me in the count' — and came down to Ziyad and al-Muhajir, who sent him to Abu Bakr, who spared him and married him to his sister Umm Farwa bint Abi Quhafa (some say his sister Qurayba), who bore him Muhammad, Ishaq, Qurayba, Hubaba and Ja'da; the caliph asked the Muslims to let him share in al-Nujayr's booty and they did, and ordered the hands and feet cut of women of al-Nujayr who had gloated at the Prophet's death, among them al-Thabja' al-Hadramiyya and Hind bint Yamin the Jewess; al-Nujayr's captives were ransomed back at four hundred dirhams a head, al-Ash'ath borrowing from Medina's merchants to redeem them and then repaying it; Abu Bakr had reinforced them with Ikrama ibn Abi Jahl after his return from Oman, who arrived to find al-Nujayr already taken; among Abu Bakr's three regrets: 'I wish that the day al-Ash'ath ibn Qays was brought to me I had struck off his head, for it came to me that he sees no evil but he hastens to it and aids it'; Khawlan had also apostatized, and Abu Bakr sent Ya'la ibn Munya who fought them until they yielded and affirmed the alms — some say he met no fighting and they returned to Islam — leaving Yemen between three: al-Muhajir (San'a and its districts), Ziyad (what was in his hands) and Ya'la.