Musaylima ( ar, مُسَيْلِمَةُ), otherwise known as Maslama ibn Ḥabīb ( ar, مَسْلَمَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ) d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the

Banu Hanifa Banu Hanifa ( ar, بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abd ...

tribe. He claimed to be a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

in 7th-century Arabia. He was a leader during the

Ridda wars The Ridda Wars ( ar, حُرُوْبُ الرِّدَّةِ, lit=Apostasy Wars) were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic proph ...

. He is considered by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

to be a

false prophet In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneou ...

( ar, اَلْكَذَّابُ ''al-Kadhāb''). He is commonly called Musaylima al-Kadhdhāb (Musaylima the Arch-Liar).

Etymology

Musaylima's real name was Maslama ibn Habib, but Muslims altered his name to Musaylima, which is the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

of Maslama (i.e., 'Little Maslama').

Early life

Musaylima was the son of Habib, of the tribe

, one of the largest tribes of Arabia that inhabited the region of

Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the ...

. The Banu Hanifa were a Hanafite Christian branch of

Banu Bakr The Banu Bakr bin Wa'il ( ar, بنو بكر بن وائل '), or simply Banu Bakr, were an Arabian tribe belonging to the large Rabi'ah branch of Adnanite tribes, which also included Abd al-Qays, Anazzah, Taghlib. The tribe is reputed to have e ...

and led an independent existence prior to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. Among the first records of him is in late 9th Hijri, the Year of Delegations, when he accompanied a delegation of his tribe to

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

. The delegation included two other prominent Muslims. They would later help Musaylima rise to power and save their tribe from destruction. These men were Nahar Ar-Rajjal bin Unfuwa (or Rahhal)The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya By Ibn Kathir, Trevor Le Gassick, Muneer Fareed, pg. 69 and Muja'a bin Marara. In Medina, the deputation stayed with the daughter of al-Harith, a woman of the Ansar from the Banu Najjar. When the delegation arrived at Medina the camels were tied in a traveler's camp, and Musaylima remained there to look after them while the other delegates went in. They had talks with Muhammad. The delegation before their departure embraced Islam and renounced

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

without compunction. As was his custom, Muhammad presented gifts to the delegates, and when they had received their gifts one said, "We left one of our comrades in the camp to look after our mounts." Muhammad gave them gifts for him also, and added, "He is not the least among you that he should stay behind to guard the property of his comrades." On their return they converted the tribe of

to Islam. They built a mosque at

al-Yamama Al-Yamama ( ar, اليَمامَة, al-Yamāma) is a historical region in the southeastern Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia, or sometimes more specifically, the now-extinct ancient village of Jaww al-Yamamah, near al-Kharj, after which the rest ...

and started regular prayers.

Proclaiming prophethood and teachings

Musaylima's followers survived at least till the 17th century. At the Mughal ruler Akbar's council of religions, a discussion of Musaylima religion also took place with the help of its priests. His teachings were almost lost but a neutral review of them does exist in

Dabestan-e Mazaheb The ''Dabestān-e Mazāheb'' ( fa, دبستان مذاهب) "school of religions" is a Persian language work that examines and compares Abrahamic religions, Dharmic religions and sects of the mid-17th century Southern Eurasia. The work, whose au ...

. Muslim writers often portray Musaylima negatively. But he gives a fascinating picture into 7th century Arabia where religious reformations were taking place and people were eager to accept new ideas, including that of Muhammad and his contemporary Musaylima. Musaylima claimed he received numerous revelations from God just like Muhammad did. Musaylima gathered an army of 40,000 followers. According to the account of Musaylima in the Dabestan-e Mazaheb (authored mid-17th century), he taught 3 daily prayers to God, facing any direction. He criticized Muslims for selecting the Ka'aba as the direction of prayers, arguing that God is not limited to one direction. Musaylima declared that the Ka'aba was not the House of God, because an all-powerful God has no house. Musaylima said fasting should be at night instead of daytime during Ramadan. He prohibited circumcision. Musaylima considered men and women equal, and allowed premarital sex. Musaylima prohibited

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...

and cousin marriage. Musaylima declared that any slave who converted to his religion would become free. Musaylima stated that

Iblis Iblis ( ar, إِبْلِيس, translit=Iblīs), alternatively known as Eblīs, is the leader of the devils () in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven, after he refused to prostrate himself before Adam. Regarding the ori ...

did not exist, because a fair and merciful God would not allow a being like Iblis to throw people into error. Musaylima also said it was wrong to include his name or any prophet’s name in worship to God. Musaylima, who is alleged as having been a skilled magician by Muslim historians, dazzled the crowd with miracles. He could put an egg in a bottle; he could cut off the feathers of a bird and then stick them on so the bird would fly again; and he used this skill to persuade the people that he was divinely gifted. Musaylima shared verses purporting them to have been revelations from God. Thereafter, some of the people accepted him as a prophet alongside Muhammad. Gradually the influence and authority of Musaylima increased with the people of his tribe. He gathered an army of 40,000 followers. He also took to addressing gatherings as a messenger of Allah just like Muhammad, and would compose verses and offer them, as Qur'anic revelations.

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 ...

in his

History of the Prophets and Kings The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ar, تاريخ الرسل والملوك ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' ( fa, تاریخ طب� ...

chronicles that Musaylima also proposed to share power over Arabia with Muhammad. Then one day, in late 10 Hijri, he wrote to Muhammad: Muhammad, however, replied back:

Personal life

During the

which emerged following the death of Muhammad, Sajah bint al-Harith declared that she was a prophetess after learning that Musaylima and

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 ...

had declared

prophethood In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

. 4,000 people gathered around her to march on

. Others joined her against Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned that the army of

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...

had defeated Tulayha al-Asadi (another self-proclaimed prophet).The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya By Ibn Kathir, Trevor Le Gassick, Muneer Fareed, pg. 36. Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylima to oppose the threat of Khalid. A mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylima. Later, the two married and she accepted his self-declared prophethood. Khalid then defeated the remaining rebellious elements around Sajah, and then moved on to defeat Musaylima.

Death

Musaylima fought and was killed in the

Battle of Yamama The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 as part of the Ridda Wars against a rebellion within the Rashidun Caliphate in the region of al-Yamama (in present-day Saudi Arabia) between the forces of Abu Bakr and Musaylima, a self-procla ...

References