Battle of Yamama The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 as part as the Ridda Wars ( " Apostate Wars " ) on the plain of Aqraba in the region of Yamama ( in present - day Saudi Arabia ) between the forces of Muslim Caliph Abu Bakr and Musaylimah , an apostate . Background . After the death of Muhammad , many Arab tribes revolted against the State of Medina . Caliph Abu Bakr organized 11 corps to deal with the rebels . Abu Bakr appointed Ikrimah as the commander of one of the corps . Ikrimah ' s orders were to advance and make contact with the forces of Musaylimah at Yamamah , but not to get involved in battle with him . Ikrimah had insufficient forces to attack the overwhelmingly more numerous foe . Khalid ibn al - Walid was chosen to command the forces apposing Musaylima after he dealt with other smaller apostates . Abu Bakr ' s intention in giving Ikrimah this mission was to tie Musaylimah down at Yamamah . With Ikrimah on the horizon , Musaylimah would remain in expectation of an attack and thus not be able to leave his base . With Musaylimah so committed , Khalid would be free to deal with the Apostate tribes of North - Central Arabia without interference from Yamamah . Ikrimah advanced with his corps and established a camp somewhere in the region of Yamamah . The location of his camp is not known . From this base he kept the forces of the Bani Hanifa under observation while awaiting instructions from the Caliph , and the presence of Ikrimah had the desired effect of keeping Musaylimah in Yamamah . The following passages have been quoted directly from " The Sword of Allah : Khalid bin al - Waleed , His Life and Campaigns " , Nat . Publishing . House , Rawalpindi ( 1970 ) ISBN 0 - 7101 - 0104 - X . and are written in the form of a legend or epic with a moral at the end . When Ikrimah received reports of the defeat of Tulaiha by Khalid , he began to get impatient for battle . Ikrimah was a fearless man and a forceful general , but he lacked Khalid ' s cool judgement and patience – qualities which distinguish the bold commander from the rash one . The next development that Ikrimah heard of was that Shurahbil bin Hasanah was marching to join him . Shurahbil too had been given a corps by the Caliph with orders to follow Ikrimah , and await further instructions . In a few days Shurahbil would be with him . Then came news of how Khalid had routed the forces of Salma , the queenly leader of men . Ikrimah could wait no longer , and he set his corps in motion . This happened at the end of October 632 ( end of Rajab , 11 Hijri ) . He was defeated by Musaylimah . He wrote to Abu Bakr and gave him a complete account of his actions . Abu Bakr was both pained and angered by the rashness of Ikrimah and his disobedience of the orders given to him . Abu Bakr ordered him to march to Mahra to help Arfaja and thereafter go to the Yemen to help Muhajir . Shurahbil remained in the region of Yamamah . To ensure that he did not fall into the error of Ikrimah , Abu Bakr wrote to him : " Stay where you are and await further instructions . " The Caliph sent for Khalid and gave him the mission of destroying the forces of Musaylimah at Yamamah . In addition to his own large corps , Khalid would have under command the corps of Shurahbil . Khalid rode to Butah where his old corps awaited him . Meanwhile the Caliph wrote to Shurahbil to work under Khalid ibn al - Walid ' s command . A few days before Khalid ' s arrival Shurahbil had given in to the same temptation as Ikrimah ; seeking glory , he had advanced and clashed with Musaylimah , but was defeated . Khalid got news that Musaylimah was encamped in the plain of Aqraba with an army of 40 , 000 warriors . The two successful actions fought by them against Ikrimah and Shurahbil had increased their confidence in themselves and created an aura of invincibility around Musaylimah . The moral of the tale could be " patience is a virtue " " lust for power will lead to ruin " and other phrases with such a theme . The Second Strike of the Muslims . On the orders of Khalid , the Muslim advanced . The Muslims launched a series of attacks along their entire front . The most dreadful carnage took place in a gulley in which human blood ran in a rivulet down to the wadi . As a result , this gulley became known as the Gulley of Blood - Shueib - ud - Dam , and it is still known by that name . But the battle hung in the balance . As the first period of combat ended , the warriors retired to rest . The next phase of battle - known as the second strike of the Muslims - is clouded with legend but from the myths alone we can determine that the apostate force largely disintegrated . Last Phase of the Battle . Only about a quarter of Musaylimah ' s army remained in fighting shape , and this part hastened to the walled garden while Muhakim ( commander of the right wing ) covered its retreat with a small rear - guard . Soon the Muslims arrived at the walled garden , where a little over 7 , 000 rebels , Musaylimah among them , had taken shelter . The rebels had closed the gate . The Muslims were anxious to get into the garden and finish the job . Soon a Muslim soldier Al Baraa ibn Malik asked his fellow men to let him climb the wall so that he could open the gate by killing the guards there . The soldier jumped in to the garden and opened the gate . The Muslims entered the garden and the last and most gory phase of the Battle of Yamamah had begun . The Legend of the Garden of Death . The rebels stepped back as the Muslims poured into the garden . The fighting became more vicious . But Musaylimah was still fighting : he had no intention of giving up . As the front moved closer to him , he drew his sword and joined in the combat . The last phase of the battle now entered its climax . The Muslim army pressed the rebels everywhere and it was only the endeavours of Musaylimah which prevented a general collapse . Then Musaylimah came under the hawk - like gaze of the Wahshy ibn Harb ( the same man who killed Hamza , the uncle of Muhammad , in the Battle of Uhud before accepting Islam ) . He threw the same javelin that killed Hamza ibn ‘ Abd al - Muttalib and struck Musaylimah in the belly ; the next moment Abu Dujana cut off his head . The news of the death of Musaylimah brought about the rout of the rebel forces . The garden where this last phase of the battle took place became known as " Garden of Death " , as the 7 , 000 rebels within were slaughtered to a man . Aftermath . This battle is considered the end of the apostate rebellion in Arabia . Impact . The battle played a major role in motivating Abu Bakr to complete the compilation of the Qur ' an . During the life of Muhammad , many parts of the Quran were scattered among his companions , much of it as private possession . However , 700 hafiz es ( Muslims who had memorized the Qur ' an ) were killed at Yamama . Consequently , upon the insistence of his future successor Umar , Abu Bakr ordered the collection of the pieces of the Qur ' an into one copy .