Yawm al-Nakhla

Yawm al-Nakhla
Date	c. 280 CE
Location	Mecca, present-day Saudi Arabia
Result	Tribal Arabs' victory, Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal is captured
Belligerents
Himyarite Kingdom	Tribes of Arabia
Commanders and leaders
Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal al-Himyari	Fihr ibn Malik
Units involved
Himyarites soldiers (unknown number)	Arabian tribes of Mudar, Banu Kinana, Banu Asad, Banu Hudhayl, Banu Tamim and the Quraysh

The event of Yawm al-Nakhla (Arabic: يوم نخلة) was an armed conflict between the forces of the Himyarite Kingdom and the Tribes of Arabia which happened around the 3rd century CE in Pre-Islamic Mecca.

Background

The Himyarite military general, Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal ibn Muthawwib Dhu Harith al-Himyari set out with a large army to take the stones of the Kaaba and transport them from Mecca to Yemen so that the Arabs would perform the Hajj there instead.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Course of conflict

When Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal and his forces arrived, they settled at Wadi Nakhla before raiding nearby tents and blocking off roads leading to Mecca.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] The news of Hassan's attempted siege reached the Arabian tribes living in Mecca, who went out in numbers to fight against him.^[1]^[2]^[3] The ruler of Mecca at the time, Fihr ibn Malik, led the tribes in the battle against the Himyarites.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] The battle ended with a victory for the tribal forces and the capture of Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Aftermath

Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal was imprisoned in Mecca for at least three years, before he was able to ransom himself out of prison. He died on his journey home to Yemen.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Historicity

Some Muslim historians rejected the narrative of this battle; stating that the Banu Khuza'ah were the ones ruling Mecca during the time of Hassan ibn 'Abd-Kulal, and not the Quraysh.^[5]^[2]

References

^ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Guillaume, Alfred (2002). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Isḥāq's sīrat. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780196360331.
^ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 Ibn Jarir at-Tabari. The History of the Prophets and Kings.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 ^3.4 ^3.5 Ṭabarī; Watt, W. Montgomery; McDonald, M. V.; Ṭabarī (1988). Muḥammad at Mecca. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-706-8.
^ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 "ابن عَبْد كُلَال". islamic-content.com (in العربية). Retrieved 2024-05-18.
^ "المفصل فى تاريخ العرب قبل الإسلام • الموقع الرسمي للمكتبة الشاملة". shamela.ws (in العربية). Retrieved 2018-10-19.

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Guillaume, Alfred (2002). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Isḥāq's sīrat. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780196360331.

[:1-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 Ibn Jarir at-Tabari. The History of the Prophets and Kings.

[:2-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 ^3.4 ^3.5 Ṭabarī; Watt, W. Montgomery; McDonald, M. V.; Ṭabarī (1988). Muḥammad at Mecca. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-706-8.

[:3-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 "ابن عَبْد كُلَال". islamic-content.com (in العربية). Retrieved 2024-05-18.

[5] "المفصل فى تاريخ العرب قبل الإسلام • الموقع الرسمي للمكتبة الشاملة". shamela.ws (in العربية). Retrieved 2018-10-19.

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