His lineage

Abu Ubaydah Ma'mar bin al-Muthanna (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Al-Hadrami, the father of al-Ala', was named Abdullah bin Abbad bin Akbar bin Rabi'ah bin Malik bin Arif bin Malik bin al-Khazraj bin al-Sadif. Sayyiduna al-Ala' (may Allah be pleased with him) was the governor appointed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) over Bahrain; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away while he was still in that post. Al-Ala' (may Allah be pleased with him) died in Bahrain, or while returning from there, in the year 21 AH; it is also said in 14 AH, and it is also said in 15 AH.

It is narrated about Sayyiduna al-Jarud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he took this copy from a copy of the covenant which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote for al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) when he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Bahrain: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is a letter from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, the unlettered Prophet, of Quraysh, of Banu Hashim, the Messenger of Allah and His Prophet to all of His creation, to al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami and the Muslims with him: a covenant that I make with them. O Muslims, fear Allah as much as you are able. I have appointed al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami over you and have ordered him to fear Allah alone, who has no partner, to be gentle with you, to conduct himself well among you, and to judge between you and whomever of the people he meets according to the justice that Allah has commanded in His Book. And I have ordered you to obey him if he does that. So if he judges and is just, divides and is fair, and is asked for mercy and shows mercy, then listen to him and obey, and support and assist him in the best manner, for you owe him the right of obedience. It is a great right whose full worth you cannot measure, and no words can reach the greatness of the right of Allah and the right of His Messenger. Just as Allah and His Messenger have a binding right over people in general, and over you in particular, of obedience and fulfilment of the covenant, and Allah is pleased with whoever holds fast to obedience, likewise the Muslims have a binding right and obedience over their rulers, for in obedience lies the attainment of every good and salvation from every evil that is to be guarded against. And I bear witness that whomever I put in charge of any affair of the Muslims, little or much, they should seek good from Allah at that time, then appoint over themselves the best person among them. And if the calamity of death befalls al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami, then Khalid bin al-Walid, the Sword of Allah, will succeed al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami among you; so listen to him and obey, and support and obey him in the best manner. Go forth with the blessing of Allah, His help, His victory, and His guidance and enabling. Whomever of the people you meet, call them to the Book of Allah which was sent down and to the Sunnah of His Messenger, to regard as lawful what Allah has made lawful for them in His Book, and to regard as unlawful what Allah has made unlawful for them in His Book; and tell them to cast off the false partners, to free themselves from polytheism, disbelief and hypocrisy, to reject the worship of the false deities, al-Lat and al-Uzza, and to abandon the worship of Isa son of Maryam, Uzayr son of Marwah, the angels, the sun, the moon, the fires, and everything that is taken as an object of worship besides Allah; and to free themselves from whatever Allah and His Messenger are free of. When they do that and affirm it, they have entered into allegiance; so at that time call them by the name that is in the Book of Allah to which you are calling them, the Book of Allah sent down through the Trustworthy Spirit upon His chosen one from all the worlds, Muhammad bin Abdullah, the Messenger of Allah and His Prophet, whom He sent as a mercy to all the worlds, the white and the black, mankind and jinn alike; a Book in which is an explanation of all that was before you and all that will be after you, so that it may be a barrier between people by which Allah keeps them apart from one another. It is the Book of Allah, a guardian over the other Books, confirming the Torah, the Injil and the Zabur that came before it. In it Allah informs you of what was before you, which you missed witnessing in your earliest forefathers, to whom the messengers and prophets of Allah came: how they answered His messengers, how they affirmed the signs of Allah, and how they denied the signs of Allah. So Allah has told you in His Book their condition and their deeds, and the deeds of those of them who were destroyed for their sins, so that they may avoid doing the like, lest His wrath and His punishment descend upon them as it descended upon those people because of their evil deeds and their taking the command of Allah lightly. And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has told you in this Book of His about the salvation of those who were saved among those before you, so that you may do deeds like theirs. So He has written this Book for you as an explanation of everything. All of this is out of His mercy upon you and the compassion of your Lord towards you. It is guidance from Allah out of misguidance, clarity out of blindness, pardon for stumbling, salvation from trial, light out of darkness, a cure for innovations, protection from destruction, and right guidance out of error; it is an explanation of what lies between this world and the Hereafter, and in it is the completion of your religion. So when you present this Book and they affirm it before you, they have completed their allegiance; then at that time present Islam to them. And Islam is: the five prayers, paying zakah, Hajj to the House, fasting the month of Ramadan, the ritual bath (ghusl) from major impurity, purification before prayer, dutifulness to parents, maintaining ties with Muslim relatives, and good companionship with polytheist parents. When they do that, they have accepted Islam; so at that time call them to faith, and convey your laws to them. The signs of faith are: bearing witness that there is no true god but Allah, who has no partner, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger, and that what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) brought is the truth and whatever is besides it is falsehood; and faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, His prophets and the Last Day; and faith in this Book, including the Books before it and after it, faith in the Torah, the Injil and the Zabur; and faith in the clear proofs, in death, in life, in the resurrection after death, in the reckoning, in Paradise and in Hell; and sincere goodwill towards Allah, His Messenger and all the believers. When they do that and affirm it, they are Muslims and believers. Then after that call them to ihsan (excellence): that they act with excellence in what is between them and Allah in fulfilling the trust, and in the covenant which Allah entrusted to His Messenger and the covenant of the Messenger entrusted to His creation and to the leaders of the believers; that they keep the leaders of the Muslims safe from every harm of tongue and hand; that they want for the rest of the Muslims the same good that each one wants for himself; that they firmly believe in the promises of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, in meeting Him and in His reckoning; that they keep in mind their departure from the world at every hour; that they take account of themselves at the start of every day and night; and that they keep to what Allah has made obligatory, both in secret and openly. When they do that, they are Muslims, doers of excellence and believers. Then describe the major sins to them, point them out to them, and warn them of destruction in the major sins. Indeed, the major sins are among the things that destroy. The first of them is associating partners with Allah, which Allah does not forgive; then sorcery, whose practitioner has no share in the Hereafter; severing ties of kinship, for which Allah curses them; fleeing from battle, which brings the wrath of Allah; misappropriation of spoils, whose perpetrator will come on the Day of Resurrection with what he misappropriated, and Allah will not accept it from him; killing a believing soul, whose recompense is Hell; slandering a chaste woman, for which they are cursed in this world and the Hereafter; consuming the wealth of the orphan, which fills one's belly with fire, and he will soon enter a blazing Fire; and consuming usury (riba), which is a declaration of war from Allah and His Messenger. When they refrain from these major sins, they are Muslims, believers, doers of excellence and God-fearing, and they have completed taqwa (God-consciousness). Then after that call them to worship. And worship is: fasting, standing in prayer, humility, bowing, prostration, repentance, excellence, praising Allah, declaring His oneness, glorifying Him, declaring His greatness, charity after zakah, humbleness, calm, tranquillity, sympathy, supplication, beseeching, acknowledging Allah's dominion and one's own servitude, and regarding one's righteous deeds as little despite their abundance. When they do that, they are Muslims, believers, doers of excellence, God-fearing and worshippers, and they have completed worship. Then at that time call them to jihad, tell them about it, and make them eager for what Allah has encouraged, namely the virtue of jihad and its reward with Allah. If they come forward for it, take their pledge of allegiance, and keep calling them to the Sunnah of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger until you take their pledge. Upon you is the covenant of Allah and His protection, and seven guarantees from Him, that you do not withdraw your hands from His pledge and do not defy the command of any Muslim ruler among my rulers. When they affirm that, take their pledge and seek forgiveness from Allah for them. When you go out to fight in the path of Allah, angered for the sake of Allah and to help His religion, then whomever of the people you meet, call them to the same thing they were called to: the Book of Allah, its Islam, its faith, its excellence, its taqwa, its worship and its emigration. Whoever follows them is one who responds, a believer, a doer of excellence, God-fearing, a worshipper and an emigrant; he has the same rights as you and the same obligations as you. Whoever refuses to accept this from you, fight him until he returns to the command of Allah and returns to His decree. Whomever you make a covenant with and give the protection of Allah, fulfil it for him. Whoever accepts Islam and shows you his consent, he is from you and you are from him. Whoever fights you over this after you have made it clear to him, fight him. Whoever wages war on you, wage war on him; or schemes against you, scheme against him; or gathers forces against you, gather forces against him; or wrongs you, retaliate against him; or deceives you, deceive him, without transgressing; or plots against you, plot against him, without transgressing; in secret and openly. For whoever avenges himself after being wronged, there is no blame on them. And know that Allah is with you; He sees you and sees your deeds, and He knows everything you do. So fear Allah and be on your guard, for this is only a trust which my Lord has entrusted to me; I convey it to His servants so that no excuse remains for them before Him, and it is His proof which He establishes over every creature it reaches. Whoever acts upon it is saved, whoever follows it is guided, whoever argues by it succeeds, whoever fights by it is helped, and whoever abandons it goes astray until he returns to it. Learn what is in it, hear it with your ears, preserve it in your breasts, and make your hearts responsible for guarding it, for it is the light of the eyes, the spring of the hearts and a cure for what is in the breasts. It suffices as a command, a lesson, a rebuke, an admonition and a call to Allah and His Messenger. This is the good in which there is no evil. This is the letter of Muhammad bin Abdullah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami when he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Bahrain to call to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and His Messenger. He (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to call to what is lawful in it and forbid what is unlawful in it, to guide to what is right guidance in it, and to forbid what is misguidance in it."

Muhammad bin Ishaq related: When Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) had finished with al-Yamamah, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain. Al-Ala' was the one whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent to al-Mundhir bin Sawa al-Abdi, and al-Mundhir accepted Islam, and al-Ala' (may Allah be pleased with him) remained there as governor on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The tribe of Rabi'ah in Bahrain apostatised, along with those Arabs who apostatised, except for al-Jarud bin Amr, who remained firm upon Islam, and so did those of his people who followed him. Rabi'ah gathered in Bahrain and apostatised, and said: We will restore the kingship to the family of al-Mundhir. So they spoke to al-Mundhir bin al-Nu'man bin al-Mundhir, who was called 'al-Arur' (the deceiver), and later, when he and the people had accepted Islam with the sword over them, he used to say: I am not al-Arur (the deceiver), rather I am al-Maghrur (the deceived). When Rabi'ah had gathered in Bahrain, al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami set out against them, and he was reinforced with the help of Thumamah bin Uthal al-Hanafi (may Allah be pleased with him), who had accepted Islam, and his people had accepted Islam too. When al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami received the help of Thumamah bin Uthal, he set out with him, taking those of the Banu Suhaym who were with him, until he advanced towards Rabi'ah by way of the sea. Rabi'ah advanced against them and besieged them while they were in a fortress called 'Juwatha', a fortress in Bahrain, until the Muslims came close to perishing from hardship. On that occasion, when they were afflicted with what afflicted them, Abdullah bin Hadhaq al-Amiri composed these verses: "Convey a message to Abu Bakr, and to all the young men of Madinah: Do you care for your young men who have all been besieged in Juwatha? We have put our trust in the Most Merciful; indeed, we have found victory for those who trust." Then Abdullah bin Hadhaq said: Let me go down from the fortress, and I will bring you news. With Abdullah bin Hadhaq was a woman of the Banu Ijl. He came down from the fortress, and the enemy seized him and asked: Which tribe are you from? He stated his lineage and began calling out: O Abjar! Abjar was among their enemies. So Abjar came and recognised him and asked: What is the matter with you? He said: I am dying of hunger. So he gave him food and water, and (Abdullah) said: Give me a mount and let me go on my way. So he went and mounted him on a mule and said: Go about your business. When Abdullah bin Hadhaq had left them, he returned to his companions and told them that the enemy were drunk and had no strength left. So al-Ala' (may Allah be pleased with him), with the Arab and non-Arab Muslims who were with him, launched a night raid on them, killed them in great numbers, and they were defeated and fled.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain, I went with him, and I saw three qualities in him; I do not know which of them is more amazing. We reached the seashore, and the people said: Say Bismillah and go in. So we said Bismillah and went in, and we crossed over, and the water wet nothing but the lower part of our camels' hooves. When we returned, we came to a desert land where we had no water. We complained to him, so he prayed two rak'ahs, then supplicated, and suddenly a cloud like a shield appeared, then it opened its mouths, and we drank and filled our water. He died after Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him to Bahrain when Rabi'ah apostatised; Allah granted him victory over them, and they paid the zakah that they had been withholding. When he died, we buried him in the sand. Then, when we had gone a little way, we said: A wild beast might come and eat him. So we went back, but we did not find him.

Urwah related: Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent al-Ala' bin al-Hadrami (may Allah be pleased with him) with an army of Muslims towards the people of Bahrain, who had refused to pay the jizyah. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him against them when they refused to give the right of Allah in their wealth. So he set out towards them, with the sea between him and them, until they walked through it on their feet. They crossed in this way at a place where ships used to sail before that and still sail today. He fought them, and Allah made him prevail over them, so they surrendered; before that they had been refusing to give the right of Allah in their wealth.