Islamica

False Claimants of Prophethood

During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him), a handful of Arabs claimed prophethood for themselves. The significance of their claims was fully realized after the demise of the Prophet. Aswad Ansi in Yemen, Musaylamah, Sajah and Tulayha around Medina, rose to a military opposition against the government set up in Medina, and either all died or fled to other lands

False Prophets – Crisis After the Prophet

During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and after his demise, a number of individuals claimed to be false Prophets from God. The claims of these individuals were mostly motivated by popularity and reputation, seeking power and due to tribal rivalry. They had seen that Muhammad brought a religion and eventually ended up becoming a leader of a government, hence they saw that as an opportunity for themselves to reach a similar position. After the demise of the Prophet (peace be upon him), they presumed that the event had resulted in the weakness of the army and as well as the belief of people, these claims began to spread. Combating and facing these false prophets was one of the earliest challenges of the Islamic government after the Prophet himself. In this article, we will discuss who some of these false Prophets were and what they did.

Musaylamah

Musaylamah bin Thamamah was popularly known as Aba Thumamah. During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he came to Medina with his tribe and declared Islam. During his meeting with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he said to the Prophet, ‘If you make things in such a way that I will be the one managing the affairs after you, then I will follow you.’ The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to him, while he had a branch of a palm tree in his hands, ‘Even if you ask me for something like that which is in my hands, I will not give it to you. Do not possess enmity with respects to that which God has considered for you, and if you turn away from God, God will cut you off.[1]

After returning back from Medina, Musaylamah began thinking about the matter of Prophethood. In a sermon he gave to his tribe, he said,

‘Why should the Quraysh have more right to Prophethood and leadership than you? While you are more than them in terms of quantity, and your land is greater than theirs, you have more wealth than them, and you are more courageous than them. Just like Gabriel descends down upon Muhammad, he always descends down upon me.[2][3] He claimed Prophethood afterwards, and wrote a letter to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), saying ‘I have partnered with you in your role as a Messenger, half of the land is mine and the other half belongs to the Quraysh, however the Quraysh are a violent people.’

The Prophet replied back with verse 128 of Surah A’raf: Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.[4][5][6][7]

In some reports, the Prophet sends a person by the name of Habib bin Zuhd towards Musaylamah. Musaylamah said to him, ‘Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?’. He replied in the affirmative. Musaylamah then said,

‘Do you testify I am a messenger from Allah?’

. Habib replied,

‘I am deaf and mute.’

This conversation repeated a number of times until Musaylamah orderd for Habib’s body parts to be cut off and to be eventually killed.[8] After the demise of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), there was a greater opportunity for Musaylamah until he was able to gather a number of supporters. He imitated the Quran by producing his own poetic statements and reciting them for people. For example, he said,

‘Nay, I swear by this city, this city will not prosper, until it is wealthy and full of children.’[9][10]

Likewise, he would say the Fajr and Isha prayers have been forgiven for his followers.[11] The first caliph dispatched Ikramah bin Abi Jahl to confront Musaylamah and sent Sharjil bin Hasana behind him. Ikrimah rushed to confront him, while Sharjil also followed behind him to be present in any confrontation. Ikrimah was caught in a battle with Musaylamah’s followers and was defeated. When the report reached Sharjil, he stopped. Ikrimah sent a letter to Abu Bakr explaining the situation. Abu Bakr asked Ikrimah to stay put and asked Khalid to go for assistance. However, Sharjil due to hastiness moved on and was defeated in battle against Musaylamah.[12]. Khalid bin Walid took the path that took one to Yamamah, when he and two-hundred of his soldiers first confronted the army of Musaylamah, when he was able to take some of them as prisoners.[13]. Then Khalid head towards Yamamah and confronted some of Musaylamah’s supporters and asked them about their belief. They replied,

‘we have a Prophet and you have a Prophet.’

It was only after that the battle begin, and the battle of Yamamah was one of the toughest battles the Muslims had to fight against the supporters of the false Prophet. The battle took place in 12th hijri during the month of Rabi al-Awwal.[14] In this battle a lot of Muslims were martyred, fifty-eight of them being from the Muhajir and Ansar. Thirteen of these martyrs were present in the battle of Badr.[15] According to Ibn A’tham, all the Muslim martyrs put together was around 1,200, out of which seven hundred had the Quran memorized.[16] The fate of Musaylamah will be mentioned at the end of this article.

Aswad Ansi

Aswad’s real name is Abhala bin Awf Ansi, from the tribe of Bani Mudhhij, and was popularly known as Dhu al-Khimar. He had never been a Muslim even before his false claim. The year the Prophet died, he had sent Jarir bin Abdillah to Aswad to ask him to accept Islam, but he did not accept.[17] Aswad began insurgency in Yemen and wrote a letter to the representative of the Prophet saying,

‘return all of that which you have taken from our land.’[18]

With the help of his allies, he was able to exile the appointed authorities of the Prophet from Yemen and even ordered the execution of some of them. The report of Aswad’s false claim to Prophethood reached the Prophet himself during the last stages of his life when he was ill.[19]

Aswad’s campaign lasted for three months and he was eventually killed. The report of his death reached Medina only a few days after the demise of the Prophet. An Iranian by the name of Fayruz, from the Persian tribe of Abna’ which resided in Yemen, killed Aswad. Another person by the name of Dadhuwayh has also been referenced as the killer of Aswad who also seems to have been a Persian as per his name.[20][21] In another report, it is mentioned that the Prophet in a letter he had sent to the people of Yemen, commanded them to kill Aswad, and the people of Yemen were able to do so in one of their confrontations against him.[22]

Tulayha

Tulayha bin Khuwaylid Asadi was another false proponent of prophethood. He attracted the tribes of Bani Fuzarah and Ghatfan as allies, by constructing poetic words to substantiate the claim to his prophethood, and to revolt against the government in Medina.[23][24] Tulayha’s major motivation was seeking famous and leadership. It is mentioned that he was present in the farewell pilgrimage with the Prophet and since he had seen the Prophet, he began to think about claiming prophethood for himself so that he could reach a similar status.[25]

Abu Bakr sent Khalid to fight against Tulayha and there was a rough battle between the two sides. When a number of his followers realized that Tulayha’s claim to prophethood was a lie, they left him. This led to the defeat of Tulayha’s army as it was weakened. Tulayha escaped to Syria, and while Khalid had acquired a lot of war booty that was left behind, he took two commanders of the army by the name of Uyaynah bin Hisn and Qurrah bin Hiyarah as prisoners and sent them to Medina.[26][27][28]

Uyaynah bin Hisn had many times showed enmity towards the Muslims during the lifetime of the Prophet, although eventually he became Muslim. However, his participation in these events shows that just like others he had not truly believed in Islam. When he was brought as a prisoner to Medina, people condemned him and said,

‘O enemy of Allah, did you disbelieve after believing?’

He replied back saying,

‘By God, I had not believed even for a moment.’[29]

Abu Bakr eventually forgave the prisoners captured in this battle. When Tulayha heard that Abu Bakr had forgiven his soldiers, claimed to have repented and returned towards Medina from Syria. However, when he arrived in Medina, Abu Bakr had passed away and Umar had become the caliph. He sought forgiveness from Umar, but the caliph replied,

‘How do you expect saving from hellfire when you are responsible for the death of Thabit bin Arqam Ansari and Akkasha bin Muhsin Asadi?’

Tulayha replied,

‘God had wished for them to be martyred and I did not kill them with my own hands to be concerned about hellfire.’

Umar liked his response and forgave him.[30][31][32]

Sajah

Sajah was the daughter of Harith Tamimi, while in some sources she is considered the daughter of Aws bin Hazir.[33]. Sajah from was the tribe of Bani Tamim and one of the false claimants of Prophethood during the same time as Musaylamah. She began to produce poetic and eloquent verses just like Musaylamah in order to attract people. In one of her statements, she said, ‘Prepare the riders, get ready to loot, attack the tribe of Rabab as there is no obstacle against them.’[34] One of her false deviated views was that she allowed women to marry more than one husband.[35]

Sajah alongside her tribe and as well as other allied tribes who had paid allegiance to her marched towards Medina. However, because of some internal disputes amongst her army, they stalled at Yamamah.[36] According to another report, when Sajah heard that Musaylamah had claimed Prophethood for himself in Yamamah and is invite people towards himself, that is when she decided to head towards Yamamah.[37] After both Sajah and Musaylamah met with one another, they decided to get married. It has been reported that the dowry paid by Musaylamah to Sajah was the permissibility to abandon the morning and night prayers. In Futuh it is reported that Sajah said to Musaylamah,

‘I heard about your praised qualities and have chosen you. I have come to you to become you wife, and we can both be Prophets and together we can rule over the world.’

Musaylamah replied back saying,

‘In return, I have forgiven you your morning and night prayers.’[38][39]

After uniting their forces together, they were up against the city of Medina. The first caliph sent Khalid towards Yamamah to fight them off. After a difficult battle between Khalid and the soldiers of Musaylamah, the army of Musaylamah was defeated and Musaylamah himself was killed. As for Sajah’s fate, some have written that she survived the battle and escaped to Basrah where she later died.[40] According to another report, Sajah was killed in the battle of Yamamah.[35] Ibn Hajr writes that after the death of Musaylamah, she returned back to Islam and lived until the caliphate of Muawiyah.[41]

Soon after the battle, Khalid married the daughter of Muja’ah bin Murarah one of the heads of the rebels and became busy with pleasure and enjoyment. The Muslims saw this and wrote a letter to Abu Bakr saying,

‘Our blood has not yet dried and Khalid has already become a groom in Yamamah.’

When this letter reached Abu Bakr, Umar told him,

‘Khalid always does something which hurts us.’

Abu Bakr wrote a harsh letter to Khalid. When Khalid read the letter, he laughed and said,

‘I am sure this is the job of Umar, otherwise, Abu Bakr is pleased with me.’[42][43]


References

  1. ↑ Sahih Bukhari, v. 4, pg. 203
  2. ↑ Al-Maghazi, pg. 165-166
  3. ↑ Al-Futuh, v. 1, pg. 23
  4. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, v. 2, pg. 146
  5. ↑ Al-Kharaj wa Sana’ah al-Kitabah, pg. 282
  6. ↑ Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, v. 6, pg. 341
  7. ↑ Futuh al-Buldan, p. 97
  8. ↑ Asad al-Ghabah fi Ma’rifah al-Sahabah, v. 1, pg. 443
  9. ↑ Kitab al-Riddah, pg. 111
  10. ↑ Al-Bad’ wa al-Tarikh, v. 5, pg. 161-162, 164
  11. ↑ Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, v. 6, pg. 326
  12. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, v. 3, pg. 281-281
  13. ↑ Kitab al-Riddah, pg. 182
  14. ↑ Tarikh Ya’qubi, Persian translation v. 2, pg. 8
  15. ↑ Tarikh Khalifa bin Khayyat, v. 1, pg. 111-115
  16. ↑ Al-Futuh, v. 1, pg. 40
  17. ↑ Futuh al-Buldan, pg. 103
  18. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, v. 2, pg. 229
  19. ↑ Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, v. 2, pg. 336-337
  20. ↑ Tarikh Khalifa bin Khayyat, pg. 117
  21. ↑ Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, v. 2, pg. 341
  22. ↑ Tarikh Islam, al-Dhahabi, v. 3, pg. 4
  23. ↑ Al-Futuh, v, 1, pg. 14-15
  24. ↑ Tarikh Khalifa bin Khayyat, pg. 102-103
  25. ↑ Al-Riddah, pg. 122-123
  26. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, v. 3, pg. 259-260
  27. ↑ Kitab al-Riddah, pg. 140 and 145
  28. ↑ Al-Futuh, pg. 14-15
  29. ↑ Tarikh Ya’qubi, v. 2, pg. 129
  30. ↑ Al-Futuh, pg. 17
  31. ↑ Kitab al-Riddah, pg. 153-156
  32. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, v. 3, pg. 261
  33. ↑ Jumhara al-Nasab, pg. 226
  34. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, Persian translation, v. 4
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Al-Bad’ wa al-Tarikh, Persian translation, v. 2, pg. 846
  36. ↑ Tarikh Tabari, Persian translation, v. 4, pg. 1400
  37. ↑ Al-Futuh, Persian translation, pg. 20
  38. ↑ Al-Futuh, Persian translation, pg. 20-21
  39. ↑ Al-Bad’ wa al-Tarikh, v. 5, pg. 165
  40. ↑ Tarikh Ya’qubi – Persian translation, v. 2, pg. 846
  41. ↑ Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, v. 8, pg. 199
  42. ↑ Al-Futuh, v. 1, pg. 43-44
  43. ↑ Kitab al-Riddah, pg. 144-146
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