Then said Ziyâd ibn-Labîd to al-Muhâjir, "Thou dost see this crowd. It is not wise to have us all leave our position. Separate, therefore, thyself with a band of men from the main army, and that will keep our plans concealed. Then I will attack these 'unbelievers' in their homes at night." Ziyâd was resolute and sturdy. He went against the banu-ʿAmr and, under the cover of the night, fell upon them and some of them began to kill the others. At last Ziyâd and al-Muhâjir met accompanied by the captives and prisoners. They were intercepted by al-Ashʿath ibn-Ḳais and the leading men of Kindah, who fought a fierce battle against them. At last the Kindis fortified themselves in an-Nujair, where the siege was pressed against them until they were exhausted and greatly damaged and al-Ashʿath surrendered. Some say that the Ḥaḍramaut had come to reinforce the Kindah but were met by Ziyâd and al-Muhâjir who defeated them.
The apostasy of Khaulân. Now Khaulân apostatized, and abu-Bakr directed against them Yaʿla ibn-Munyah who fought against them until they yielded and agreed to give ṣadaḳah. Then al-Muhâjir received abu-Bakr's letter conferring on him the governorship of Ṣanʿâʾ and its adjoining districts, making his province border on what Ziyâd already held.[1] Thus was al-Yaman divided among three: al-Muhjâir, Ziyâd and Yaʿla. The land between the extreme limit of al-Ḥijâz and the extreme limit of Najrân was assigned to abu-Sufyân ibn-Ḥarb.
The story of al-Ashʿath. Abu-Naṣr at-Tammâr from Ibrâhim an-Nakhaʿi:—Al-Ashʿath ibn-Ḳais al-Kindi, together with some of the Kindah tribe, apostatized and were besieged. Al-Ashʿath secured safety for 70 of his men but did not include himself among them. He was therefore brought before abu-Bakr who said to him, "We shall cer-
- ↑ Caetani, vol. ii, p. 804.
