The ‘Ridda Wars’ 

Muhammad died in peace in 632 A.D. . With his conquest and conversion of prized Mecca, most of the Arabian peninsula, and the conversion of the peoples across the desert, Muhammad had managed to unite the unruly tribes of Arabia under a single God and single leadership. With Muhammad’s death came serious issues concerning the succession of Muhammad and importance of the role of Islam in society. Muhammad’s long time friend Abu-Bakr with popular public support became khalifah, or leader, of Muhammad’s newly founded empire and religion. However, his rise to the role was not uncontested, and many, many tribes rose up in defiance against him. 

Seeds of Heresy

Not everyone was in complete agreement with Muhammad and the Quran, a.k.a. Islam’s most holy book. Several leaders who had previously converted to Islam soon began committing acts of apostasy such as claiming to be prophets in their own right (Muhammad, according to more than 99% of Islam’s 1.7 billion followers, is the seal of prophets, meaning no other prophets are to come after him). An example of the many false prophets that claimed to come after Muhammad include leaders like Musaylimah, leader of the Banu Hanifa. Even while Muhammad was alive, Musaylimah he was a supposed magician, and claimed to be divine. These leaders would play vital roles in the upcoming wars of apostasy. 

Retaining and Extending Control

With the death of Muhammad, several leaders claimed the title of successor to Muhammad. While it was believed that Ali ibn Abi Talib should become khalifah (Muhammad’s cousin who also married Fatima, Muhammad’s longest lived daughter) he was thought to be to young to do so. The Muslim community in Mecca/Medina agreed that it would be Abu-Bakr who would be the central leader of Islam and so it was decided so it was decreed. With Abu-Bakr’s rise to power, leaders, seeing how Muhammad like any mortal could and did die, began skirmishes and began splitting apart as they did in pre-Islamic or Jahiliya times, seeing Muhammad and his religion as something of the past. Abu-Bakr sought to punish the apostates and retain control of these disorderly tribes. 

The Ridda / Apostasy wars begin

Abu-Bakr sent his generals in all directions to fight all and retake control of the rogue tribes. Of the major regions which rebel clans claimed independence from Mecca/Medina were Yemen, Oman, eastern present day Saudi Arabia (Nejd), and to Bahrain. 

While none of these provinces were easily taken and lives were lost, some proved to be of more historical interests than others. Most of the formerly Muslim tribes of Bahrain decided to rebel but were conquered by Abu-Bakr’s forces rather easily. At the time, the eastern most portion of Yemen known then and now as Mahra, under Abu-Bakr’s wing. Yemen proper came under control and the leaders of the revolt there were pardoned (they were not considered apostates but were told to repent for their sins committed against Medina/Mecca). The leadership of Hadramawt, today a province of Yemen, was not as easily forgiven.

Hadramawt’s leader put up a fatal fight to the end against the incoming Muslim forces. Most all men who fought under Hadramawt died in the fight and the women were taken prisoner back to Mecca/Medina. Oman also put up a large and lost war against Muslim forces. Laqit ibn Malik, another false prophet, led his forces to a disastrous defeat against the Muslims. He also was executed.

Last and not least was the Nejd province, known for being the most unruly of all provinces. These people were a primarily desert and nomadic Bedouins. Malik ibn Nuwayrah, a false prophet, fought for control of the region against invading Muslim forces. Malik claimed to be a prophet and divine in his own right but a successor to Muhammad as well. Admired by his people but always in conflict with Muhammad, he ruled a vast area that amounted to more land than Muhammad’s conquests thus far. He was defeated in battle against Khalid bin Walid who was also known as ‘the sword of God’. He afterwards was referred to al-kizzib, or ‘the liar’.

Malik ibn Nuwayrah is the last important figure not already mentioned who died as a result of the wars of apostasy / Ridda wars. After Muhammad’s death, he stopped sending taxes to Mecca/Medina. He went into hiding once he heard of Muslim advances afterwards but was eventually found in the deserts of Nejd with his family. He also signed a pact with a false prophet, which played a large role in his eventual downfall. He was only arrested and killed when not answering the loud call (azzan) to prayer. He was then convicted of apostasy and was consider a traitor to the Medina/Mecca state. He was killed the night he was convicted and his wife, said to be the most beautiful woman in all of Arabia, married the general who convicted him that very night (that being Khalid bin Walid). 

Abu-Bakr’s reign comes to an early end

Abu-Bakr prevailed and managed to kill and/or convert all apostates of the state and Islam in his short two year reign. All the battles and happenings mentioned above took place over the course of his two year rule, which afterwards he was succeeded by Umar ibn Khatab. The Ridda wars were the first to be fought between rebel Muslims / Apostates and the central Islamic authority (Mecca/Medina).  Abu-Bakr dies like Muhammad peacefully in his bed and had managed to conquer and retain control over a vast amount of area. The apostate wars had proved the Muslims victorious and their empire would continue to grow for decades to come. 

Work Cited

“Abu Bakr and Ridda wars.” Revision-notes.co.uk. Revision-notes.co.uk. 30 Sep 2008 <http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/462.html>. 

“Abu-Bakr.” Trustees of British Library – Brittanica Online. Brittanica Online. 30 Sep 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/2153/8153/Abu-Bakr-miniature-from-an- illuminated-manuscript-in-the-British>.

“Malik ibn Nuwayrah.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 30 Sep 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik_ibn_Nuwayrah>.

“Musaylimah .” NationMaster. 2006. NationMaster. 30 Sep 2008 <http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Musaylimah>.

“THE EVENTS OF THE ELEVENTH YEAR OF MIGRATION.” 30 Sep 2008 

<http://www.al-islam.org/message/62.htm>.

A painting of Arius, priest of Alexendria

A heretical and largely forgotten extinct sect of Christianity  rocked the church of 4th century AD. The Arians, or followers of Arius of Alexander, created a separate dogma that taught that Jesus was a creation of God but was so significant he should be worshipped as God. God was to pure to be the ever exist before us on earth and never gave birth to a son. Jesus was the word of God according to Arians followers, but was divine enough because he spread the word of God and thus became a sort of inferior God himself.

How did the dispute come to be? Wasn’t it clearly defined in the new testament that Jesus was the son and not the creation of God? The dispute had arisen over a single letter of a word in the fourth gospel. The Greek word ‘homoousios’, meaning “of one substance”, was the typical word used in Greek translations of the Bibles and the one used by those opposed to Arius‘ ideology. ‘Homoiousios’ was the term used by the followers of Arius which is translated to mean ‘of like substance’.  If Jesus was like God but wasn’t god, then it would only be logical that these two beings were indeed two separate beings. Arius proclaimed his ideas loudly. His call was not heard in most of Catholic Europe and so he wielded power only in what is now parts of the Middle East such as Egypt and Syria. Far from the walls of Jerusalem Arius’ version of Christianity was also taken up many of the German peoples who ruled vast areas across Europe (such as the Visigoths, Ostrogoths).  

Who was this man who created such a schism in Christianity? Arius of Alexandria was a Libyan by descent and birth and was a pupil of the infamous Lucian of Antioch. He was born in approximately  c.250-c.336. He climbed the ladder quickly through the ranks of the Catholic church. He raised the issue of Jesus’ unity with God and was excommunicated shortly thereafter from the Church as a heretic. Toward the end of his life however, he would go through communion once more even while retaining his beliefs publicly and the Roman Emperor Constantine would allow him back into the church. With Arius’ death, the debate in the council of Nicene (a council called created by the emperor for the discussion of the issue) did not calm down as many of the bishops of the east supported his Arius’ arguments for the separation of God and Jesus from one another.

Arianism as a practice did indeed die but died hard. There were essentially three forms of Arianism. One, known as radical or extremist Arianism, supported the idea that Jesus was ‘anomoios’ or unlike God. The next form of Arianism, which is the one Arius himself supported was the one which called for Jesus being set side by side with God but keeping Jesus inferior when compared to God. Both of these movements died within good time; the radical party was never very popular and the form of Arianism created by Arius would also die early with the Nicene creed of Christianity being excepted by most bishops by 357 A.D. . The last form of Arianism, also known as the Semi-Nicene creed, would keep the idea the Jesus was of like substance of God, but didn’t say much else or compare Jesus to other created beings. 

What had happened to the final branch of Arianism? The last type of Arianism was able to survive for hundreds of years after Arius’ death. It spread to the German peoples as mentioned above and created churches in places as far off  as Spain. However, because it was so vague in it’s understanding of the origin of Jesus, it was easily pushed aside for more orthodox views in the centuries following Arius’ demise. 

Arianism has impacted Christianity significantly and was the first major schism in the church. While the church did eventually recover, other sects a millennia would pick up the ideas of Arius and implement them in their own church. Many churches such as the Unitarians and Jehovah’s Witnesses have seemingly adopted Arianism into their own ideology. The schisms of the past are those of the present and never before has a conflict like the one of Christ’s origins ever been so hotly debated. Jesus would continue to be in a trinity with God in accordance to Catholic traditional teachings. 

Work Cited

“Arianism.” mb-soft. 1997. mb-soft. 28 Sep 2008 

<http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/arianism.htm>.

“Image:Arius.gif.” Wikipedia . Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Sep 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Arius.gif>.

Slick, Matthew. “Arianism.” CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY . 1995. CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY . 28 Sep 2008 <http://www.carm.org/heresy/arianism.htm>.

~ 43reasons