The Rightly Guided Caliphs

False prophets and their eradication by

Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A
(i) Aswad al ‘Ansi:

His name was Abhal ibn ka’ab al-ansi.

He was the leader of the Ans tribe in Yemen.
His dark complexion had earned him the title al-aswad i.e. the black man.
He was also known as veiled prophet as he always covered his head and face to create an
air of mystery and used tricks to convince people of his miracles and he was given the
nickname ‘’The possessor of the veil’’
Of these false prophets, he was the first to rise in Yemen.
Before claiming prophet hood, al-aswad had tried his hand at soothsaying and magic.
When the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬returned from Farewell Pilgrimage, aswad ansi an imposter
appeared in Yemen as a false prophet and even gave himself the title ‘’the merciful one
of Yemen’’ but he didn’t deny the Prophet hood of Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.
He claimed to have received divine guidance and inspiration through two angels.
He was popular and had strong following due to huge physique, strong and brave
personality.
He was eloquent of his speech; his words would captive the hearts of his audience.
He gathered considerable followers and invaded Najraan and most of Yemen, killed the
ruler Shahr bin Baadhan R.A(he and his father embraced Islam and were good practicing
Muslims), and married his widow forcefully and declared himself the ruler of Yemen and
the leader of the ans tribe.
An expedition was organized against him in the lifetime of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and was led by
Firuz Al-Dhalaymi, a Persian Muslim, who succeeded in killing al-aswad on his bed by
the help of a woman Aazaad Al-Faarisiyah R.A (wife of Shahr R.A, the ruler of Yemen).
The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had already predicted about the death of aswad ansi before his own
demise.
The news of aswad death reached Madinah, when Companions were preparing for the
rites of the Prophet’s ‫ ﷺ‬funeral.
However, after Prophet’s ‫ ﷺ‬demise, al-aswad’s followers regrouped and revolted under a
man called qais ibn abd yaghus (a former general of aswad’s army).
He gathered man and captured sanaa,the capital of Yemenand became its master.
They were once again defeated by Firuz during the Caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr
Siddique R.A and they surrendered along with their leader.
Qais and his chief supporter amr bin maadi karb zuberi were went to Madinah and
repented for their sin and were forgiven.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

(ii) Tulayha-ibn-Khuwaylid-ibn-Nawfal al-Asadi:

The second false prophet.
He belonged to the Banu Asad tribe in Northern Arabia.
He was a wealthy chief and renowned warrior.
He was a soothsayer and embraced Islam in 630 soon to rebel and proclaimed himself as
a prophet during the last years of the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬in 9th A.H.
Upon hearing the claims of aswad, The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬sent Dirar bin Al-Azwar R.A to punish
him but the task was not completed because he hurried back to Madinah on hearing the
sad news of the demise of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.
When he claimed prophet hood, his entire tribesman became his followers.
The tribes of Tay and Ghatafan were the allies of Banu Asad. They also joined him.
The acknowledgement of tribes with him made him strong and powerful to lead a
confederacy of numerous tribes to raise a formidable force against Islam.
He encamped at the Buzakha, the well-known stream of Najd.
Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed R.A was sent to put down this revolt and at the battle of
Buzakha, in September 632, Tulayha was defeated and escaped to Syria with his wife and
took refuge with the Qudaa tribe while most of his followers submitted and accepted
Islam.
When Syria was later conquered by the Muslims, and his tribes and other tribes came
back to Islam, Tulayha came to Madinah during the Caliphate of Hazrat Umar R.A and
embraced Islam
He fought alongside the Muslims in many significant battles like Jalula, Qadisiyah and
Nihawand.

(iii)Sajah-bint-al-Harith:
Her full name is sajah bint harith bin suwaid.
She was an Arab Christian of Banu taghlib tribe.
She was a soothsayer with a strong following.
After the demise of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, she declared herself a prophetess soon she succeeded
in mustering a large following from among the tribe of her mother.
Collecting a force of 4000, she marched on Madinah, but on hearing of tulayha’s defeat
at the hands of Khalid bin Waleed R.A, this news was quite disturbing for her and she
changed her plan.
Moreover sajah and musylimah were afraid of each other, as both of them had claimed
prophet hood.
Their anxiety multiplied when they came to know that Ikrimah and Shurahbil R.A had
reached Yamama with Muslim detachments. Thus both of them were practicing caution.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Musailamah wrote a letter invited sajah to Yamam. She replied ‘’I wanted to invade
Madina. Since both us are prophets, let us launch a joint attack’’
Musailamah offered her half of his prophethood as he offered to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and asked
her to come alone to discuss concerning the division of the prophet hood and the invasion
of Al-Madina.
Immediately after receiving the message of Musailmah, she left to meet him.
He welcomed her and after a secret conversation, sajah accepted his prophethood and
married with him.
She stayed with him for three days and then came back to her camp.
Khalid bin Waleed R.A led the army against her.
The soldiers of sajah became so terrified and left her alone.
She could barely save her life and joined her tribe and passed the rest of life in obscurity.
After the death of musailamah, when Muslims conquered Iraq, she embraced Islam along
with other members of her tribe.

(iv) Musailimah al-Kadhdhab (The Liar):

His name was Musailamah ibn Thumaamah.

He was a member of the large and influential tribe ‘’Banu Haneefah’’ in Yamama region
of central Arabia.
He was born and raised in Yamamah.
He travelled far and wide throughout both Arab and foreign lands to influence the people
by magic, soothsaying, sorcery, fortunetelling and other similar arts.
He was extremely wealthy and influential man used his resources to misguide the people.
Of all the imposters and false prophets, he was the most dangerous one who made a great
loss of Islam.
In the 9th year of Hijra, he had visited the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in Madina with a delegation of banu
hanifa tribesman and spent time in his company.
On return from Madina, he proclaimed as a false prophet and claimed to have received
divine revelations.
He founded a new creed in which he reduced the numbers of daily Prayers, relieved his
followers from the practice of Fasting and giving Zakat and legalized drinking and
adultery.
He parodied the verses of the Quran; predict future events for his people, composed
verses of poetry and decree laws based on his whims and desires.
In the 10th A.H during the illness of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, musailamah had the audacity to claim
his right to sharing the Messenger Muhammad’s ‫ ﷺ‬Prophet Hood and wrote to him to
divide the Arabian Peninsula into two halves, one for the Muslims and other for his
followers.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬addressed him: In the Name of Allah, the Most beneficent, the Most
Merciful. This is from Muhammad, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to musailamah, the liar. To proceed:
Verily, the earth belongs to Allah, and He gives it to whomsoever He pleases from
among His servants. And the good ending is for those who fear Allah. And so peace be
upon those who follow the true guidance”.
However, with the demise of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, musailamah’s influence grew stronger and
he gained universal and instant support from his fellow tribesman and other hostile tribes
to Islam.

Battle of Yamama
In Dhul-Hijjah 11 A.H (December 632), a significant event took place that decided the
musailamah’s fate.
Musailamh challenged the Caliphate of Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A in 632.
The Caliph sent two forces against him, one under the command of Ikramah R.A and the
other under the command of Shurahbil bin Hasnah R.A.
The instructions to both the commanders were to join forces and then launch a combined
attack on musailamah.
Musailamah was commanding a strong force of 40,000 Bedouins of the Rabiah tribe,
some of whom did not believe him but had joined forces to support their tribe.
At first, Ikramah R.A reached the Yamama Valley and invaded the musialamah’s army
before the arrival of the reinforcement and defeated.
Shurahbil R.A, also proceeded to attack musailamah’s force and met with the same fate
as Ikramah R.A
The defeat of the Muslim forces emboldened musailamah and he boasted of his
invincibility.
It was at this critical juncture that Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A asked Khalid bin
Waleed R.A to lead an attack against musailamah.
Khaid bin Waleed R.A marched south from Butaha to the valley of Yamama with a force
of 13,000 men among whom the troops sent by the Caliph Abu Bakr R.A were included
to protect Khalid’s R.A force.
The two armies marched towards one another; musialamah delivered a quick speech,
encouraging his soldiers to save their families and lineages.
A very furious and dreadful fight broke out. The Muslim fighters sustained the fierce
attack of the enemy with exemplary patience and firmness.
Khalid bin Waleed R.A stopped on the way and built a makeshift military command post
on a hill that overlooked Yamama.
Musailamah’s soldiers gained an early advantage, to the degree that they were able to
enter Khaalid’s R.A command post.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Soon after they collected themselves at the center and fell on the enemy like hungry
tigers and routed them thoroughly.
The advantage that was enjoyed by musailamah’s army was short-lived, for Muslim
fighters were quickly able to repel them and force them to retreat.
The flag-bearer of the Ansaar, Thabit bin Qais R.A was honored with martyrdom.
Hazrat Zaid bin Al-Khattab R.A displayed a similar degree of bravery and plunged into
the ranks of enemy, forcing them to retreat; in doing so, he suffered serious wounds.
The apostates fled the field but gathered at the gate of the garden and the fugitives closed
the gates.
Al-Baraa R.A showed an act of bravery and jumped over the gate of garden to open it and
the ground turned into the battlefield.
In that frightened moment, musailamah was moving secretly towards the exit and Wahshi
threw his spear; it pierced right through musailamh’s body, exiting from the other side.
Panic and terror overtook the enemy and in a short while there was none left to be seen
on the battleground other than the Muslims.
Khalid bin Waleed R.A and his force fought this battle with determination and bravery.
This battle took a heavy toll on the enemy force leaving 17,000 dead while one thousand
from the Muslim were honored with martyrdom among them were a large number of
Huffaz.
The people of banu hanifa surrendered, accepted the offered terms and readmitted to the
fold of Islam.
This battle is also known with “The battle of death’’ as the garden filled with the blood of
enemies and turned into the Garden of death.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Compilation of the Quran

The Holy Quran was revealed orally and preserved on parchments, leather, tree bark,
camel shoulder blades, on bones and in the heart of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and his companions
instead of a book.
In the battle of Yamama in 11 A.H against musailamah the liar, approximate 660 Huffaz
gained martyrdom.
It signified a possible tragedy that would, if it occurred, outweigh all other tragedies: the
loss of the Quran or at least the loss of some of its verses and chapters.
The first person to perceive not only the danger of the situation but also the necessity of
taking immediate and decisive action was Umar bin Al-Khattab R.A
He therefore, proposed the Caliph for the compilation of the Quran but his immediate
reaction was negative.
After convincing with the suggestion of Umar R.A, Caliph Abu Bakr R.A summoned
Zaid bin Thabit R.A, one of the Scribes of the divine revelation to compile the Quran.
He said to Zaid R.A, ‘’Verily Umar R.A came to me and said, many of the Huffaz have
died on the day of Yamama, and I fear that many other Huffaz will die in future battles
and conflicts, and the dangerous result of that will be the loss of much of the Quran.
Therefore, I think that you should order someone to gather the Quran. I said to Umar
R.A, How can I do something that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬didn’t do himself? Umar
R.A said, By Allah, this is something good. And Allah opened my heart to the same idea
to which Allah had opened Umar’s R.A heart.
Zaid bin Thabit R.A assigned to accomplish the greatest and most important mission of
his life by Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A as a chief of the commission.
Zaid R.A said to the Caliph, “By Allah, had you charged me with the task of moving a
mountain from one place to another, you would not have placed a greater burden than
you place upon me now by ordering me to gather the Quran”.
Zaid R.A was very strict and careful in his methodology of gathering the Quran. as The
term of references were as follows: to bring together each and every part of the Holy
Quran on the basis of all written materials and with the help of Huffaz. The reliable and
authentic material was only being acceptable. The testimony of two witnesses was
required for accepting any verse. Zaid R.A ensured that every verse which is memorized
by any companion, it also had to have been written in the presence of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬. In
short, he did everything that was necessary in order to ensure the correct and authentic
compilation of the Holy Quran.
The compiled scrolls of the Quran handed over to the Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A by
Zaid bin Thabit R.A, after him to the Caliph Umar R.A then passed on to Umm-ul-
Momineen Hafsa R.A.
This compilation came to be known as Mushaf-e-Hafsa.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Past Papers with Mark Schemes

Question # 1
(a) Write a detailed account of the four false prophets, and how the caliph Abu Bakr
defeated them. [10] (May/june14 21)
The candidates need to write in detail about the four false prophets who threatened Islam
and how Caliph Abu Bakr defeated them during his caliphate. There is no need for
candidates to write about other aspects of Abu Bakr’s caliphate as it would not be
relevant to the question. The false prophets were; Al-Aswad Al-Ansi, Tulayha Al-Asadi,
Sajah bint Harith and Musailamah the liar. Details of the battle of Yamama, etc. will help
candidates get higher levels.
(Question: the action he took against any two of the false prophets) (Oct/Nov 19 22)
Candidates need to select any two from the four false prophets who posed a threat in
the time of the caliphate of Abu Bakr and write an account of them and say how they
were dealt with by Abu Bakr and what the outcome was. The mark is not divided
between the two parts but will be read as a whole.
(Question: how he dealt with the false prophets during his reign) (Oct/Nov 2012 21)
In answering the second part of the question the candidates could simply say that
Abu Bakr dealt very effectively with the false prophets who were a great threat to
the unity of the Muslims.
Names of the prominent false prophets and the tribes they belonged to need to be
given.
Better answers will also give details of how Abu Bakr sent forces against all of
them and write about the fighting against Musaylima in the battle of Yamama
which was the fiercest, and one in which many memorizers of the Qur'an were
killed.
Candidates should not be credited for writing about the ridda wars or Abu Bakr's
contribution in compiling the Qur’an as the question is focusing on his election and
how he dealt with the false prophets. It must be noted that marks are not divided
between the two parts of the answer equally but are given on the overall answer.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Question #2 (a) Describe Abu Bakr's activities against the false prophets and
apostate tribes. [10] (Oct/Nov 2009)
Answers could have basic references to the false prophets, the tribes withholding zakat
and the apostate tribes. Some could go on to give fuller accounts of these challenges,
faced by Abu Bakr.
Note: This question is about two activities against false prophets and apostate tribes to
discuss so candidate will give detailed account of both activities.
The mark is not divided between the two parts but will be read as a whole.
Question # (b) Why was defeating the false prophets so important to the stability of
the Islamic state during Abu Bakr’s caliphate? [4] (Oct/Nov 2020 22)
 What was the most serious danger faced by the Islamic state during Abu Bakr’s
caliphate? (Oct/Nov 2019 22)
 Which was his greatest contribution as caliph? Give reasons for your answer.
(Oct/Nov 2019 21)
 In your opinion, what was the greatest service performed by Abu Bakr during
his caliphate? (Oct/nov17 22)
 Why did Abu Bakr think it of great importance to defeat the false prophets?
(May/june14 21)
 In your opinion what was the most important task that faced Abu Bakr on
becoming caliph? Briefly discuss. (Oct/Nov 2011 21)

Note: In these questions the greatest service or serious danger or important task faced by
Caliph or defeating the false prophets has been asked. These all question could be used
for a defining the defeat of false prophets by Caliph Abu Bakr Siddique R.A. However
the other services and task could be addressed.
 Candidates will discuss why in their opinion the greatest threat to the Islamic state
were false prophets and state it clearly.
 They need to go on to give a clear explanation of why the task they have selected
to discuss was important,
 What benefit came out of it and perhaps what may have happened it had not been
dealt with effectively by Abu Bakr.
 This is an evaluative answer which gives the candidate a chance to show their
understanding of the topic.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

An evaluative response giving the dangers of what could have happened if the false
prophets were not defeated by Abu Bakr should be cited.
Levels attained will depend on the evaluation given in the answers which could
include points like the teachings of Islam could have been corrupted;
The purity of the religion would have been lost and many who called themselves
Muslims in reality would be following a man-made faith.
They could say that by fighting the false prophets he ensured that the Muslims were
not led astray.
The first pillar of Islam would have been challenged as the second part of the
shahada which deals with the risala and finality of the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬
would be contradicted if one believed in the so-called prophets after Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.
Hence it was essential to defeat them so that Muslims and future generations of
them could practice Islam correctly.

The above answer is guidance. All valid answers to be credited.

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 The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Question: 3 (a) Write a detailed account of the battle of Yamama, and of the
compilation of the Qur’an during the caliphate of Abu Bakr. [10] (May/june16 22)

In response to this question, a detailed account of when and what happened in the battle
of Yamama, with names of commanding generals and outcome, etc.

Need to be given along with how Abu Bakr was persuaded to compile the Qur’an by
‘Umar and how he went about doing it.
Answers could state that the Battle of Yamama was fought against the false prophet
Musaylima, who belonged to a central Arabian tribe of Banu Hanifa and had
claimed prophethood during the Prophet’s ‫ ﷺ‬lifetime and had been accepted as one
by his tribe.
In December 632, he was in command of 40000 Bedouin, some of whom did not
believe his claims but had joined forces with him to support their tribe.
Abu Bakr first sent Shurhbeel bin Hasanah and ‘Ikrimah to crush the rebellion and
instructed them to wait for each other to launch a combined attack on Musaylimah.
They disobeyed him and hence were defeated. Abu Bakr then sent a larger force
under the command of Khalid bin Waleed to Yamama.
The Muslims, numbering 13000, fought a long-drawn-out battle with many
casualties as they met with a strong resistance.
Eventually Musaylima was killed by Wahshi.
In this battle, many hundreds of Muslims were martyred; amongst them were
360 huffaz.
‘Umar therefore advised Abu Bakr to take the necessary steps needed to preserve
the Qur’an lest it be lost, forgotten or corrupted.
Abu Bakr, though hesitant at first, finally saw the importance of carrying out this
task and appointed Zayd ibn Thabit along with a group to collect the texts of all the
verses from the surviving huffaz and companions of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.
These were then compared, authenticated and compiled into a single volume.

The mark is not divided between the two parts; the answer needs to be read as a
whole and a global mark for both parts of the answer should be given.

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