Battle of Zhu Qissa, was a confrontation between the forces led by

Tulayha Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadi ( ar, طليحة بن خويلد بن نوفل الأسدي) was a wealthy Arab clan chief and military commander during the time of Muhammad; he belonged to the Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah tribe. In 625 he ...

and the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate.

Background

Abu Bakr received intelligence of the rebel movements, and immediately prepared for the defense of Medina. In July 632, As Usama's army was elsewhere, Abu Bakr scraped together a fighting force mainly from the Muhajireen and Ansar which consisted the earliest Muslim stalwarts like Ali ibn Abi Talib,

Talha ibn Ubaidullah Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh al-Taymī ( ar, طَلْحَة بن عُبَيْد اللّه التَّيمي, ) was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, he is mostly known for being among ('the ten to whom Paradise was ...

and Zubair ibn al-Awam. Each of them was appointed commander of one-third of the newly organised force. Before the apostates could do anything, Abu Bakr launched his army against their outposts and drove them back to Dhu Hussa.Laura V. Vaglieri in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.58

Siege of Medina

The siege of Medina was consisted of several phase. A week or two after the departure of Usama's army, the rebel tribes surrounded Medina, knowing that there were few fighting forces in the city. Meanwhile,

, a self-proclaimed prophet, reinforced the rebels at Dhu Qissa. In the third week of July 632, the apostate army moved from Dhu Qissa to Dhu Hussa, from where they prepared to launch an attack on Medina. The concentrations of rebels nearest Medina were located in two areas: Abraq, 72 miles to the north-east, and Dhu Qissa, 24 miles to the east. These concentrations consisted of the tribes of Banu Ghatafan, the

Hawazin ) , type = Qaysi , image = Hawazin Flag (20).png , image_size =170px , alt = , caption = Banner of the Hawazin at the Battle of Siffin , nisba = , location = , descended = Hawazin ibn Mansur ib ...

, and the

Tayy , location = 2nd century CE–10th century: Jabal Tayy and Syrian Desert 10th century–16th century: Jabal Tayy, Syrian Desert, Jibal al-Sharat, al-Balqa, Palmyrene Steppe, Upper Mesopotamia, Northern Hejaz, Najd , parent_tribe = Madh ...

. Abu Bakr sent envoys to all the enemy tribes, calling upon them to remain loyal to Islam and continue to pay their

Zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...

. The following day, Abu Bakr marched from Medina with the main army and moved towards Dhu Hussa. As the riding camels were all with Usama's army, he could only muster inferior pack camels as mounts. These pack camels, being untrained for battle, bolted when Hibal, the apostate commander at Zhu Hussa, made a surprise attack from the hills; as a result, the Muslims retreated to Medina, and the apostates recaptured the outposts that they lost a few days earlier. At Medina, Abu Bakr reorganised the army for battle and attacked the apostates during the night, taking them by surprise. The apostates retreated from Dhu Hussa to Dhu Qissa. The Rashidun commanders held until they were reinforced by

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

. The following morning, Abu Bakr led his forces to Dhu Qissa, defeated the rebel tribes, capturing Dhu Qissa on 1 August 632.

Aftermath

Tulayha and his forces were driven back to Zhu Hussa. The defeated apostate tribes retreated to Abraq, where more clansmen of the Ghatfan, the Hawazin, and the Tayy were gathered. Abu Bakr left a residual force under the command of An-Numan ibn Muqarrin at Dhu Qissa and returned with his main army to Medina. Later on,

gathered the forces again to fight the pursuing Muslim forces in the

Battle of Buzakha The Battle of Buzakha took place between Khalid ibn al-Walid and Tulayha, in September 632. Strength Khalid had 6,000 men under his disposal while Tulayha had 35,000 men. General Engagement Tuhlaya himself took up a position somewhere t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu Qissa Battles involving the Rashidun Caliphate 630s conflicts 632 630s in the Rashidun Caliphate

Primary sources

* History of the Prophets and Kings;

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya ''Al-Bidayah wa'an-Nihayah'' ( ar, "The Beginning and the End") or ''Tarikh ibn Kathir'' ("Ibn Kathir's ''History''") is a classic work by the Sunni scholar Ibn Kathir. Overview Ibn Kathir's work is considered to be one of the most authoritat ...

; Abu al-Fiḍā ‘Imād Ad-Din Ismā‘īl Ibn Kathīr

Background

Siege of Medina

Aftermath

See also

References

Primary sources