Conflict over the Idol Yaghuth

As for Yaghuth, it was an idol of Madhhij, specifically of Banu

Murad among them. Its custodians were

remnants of Tayy who remained in Yemen and did not

migrate with the Tayy tribe to the mountains of Aja'

and Salma. They lived at al-Sadara, in the upper Bayhan Valley,

allied with Banu An'am of Murad.

All the idols in the Arabian Peninsula were fixed in place except Yaghuth,

for it was an idol of the nomads, with which they roamed. It was placed

on a camel's back, and the camel would proceed while

the crowds followed behind it. Whenever the camel knelt somewhere,

the custodians would say, "Dismount, your

lord has approved this dwelling for you."

Murad's leaders were troubled by this, because the decision

to settle or move belonged only to the leaders,

not to allies. They said, "We have more right to Yaghuth,"

so they tried to seize it from its custodians. The Tayy people carried it

and fled with it to the nearest lands of al-Harith ibn Ka'b,

where they came to a leader from Banu al-Harith. He saw

that he could not stand against Murad, so he set out

with the idol and its custodians to seek refuge with Hamdan.

The branches of Hamdan rallied around it under al-Ajda' ibn

Malik al-Wadi'i, and Murad came with all its people,

The two forces faced off in a valley tributary of Al-Jawf called

Malah.

Yaghuth was carried on a camel between the two ranks.

The people fought fiercely, Murad was defeated,

and the tide turned against them, so they fled, though

defeat was not customary for them.

At the very moment the battle was raging

at Malah, the Battle of Badr was taking place between the Prophet,

peace be upon him, and Quraysh at the waters of

Badr. The dust from both battles covered the sun

on that same day. Later, Farwah ibn Musayk

al-Muradi came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,

in Medina. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him,

“Did you lament your day and Hamdan’s day?” Farwah

replied, “Yes, by God, Messenger of God. It wiped out my family and clan.”

The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, “Yet it is

better for those who remained.” Farwah ibn Musayk described

the battle:

“If we prevail, victory has long been ours, and if we are defeated,

it is no defeat for us. We did not become cowardly,

but it was our fates, and prey for others. If only

kings lived forever when we lived, and noble men remained

when we remained.”

Then the Tayy people marched with Yaghuth and camped at Najran.

Among Banu al-Nar of al-Dhibab, from Banu al-Harith ibn Ka'b,

This was the last place where Yaghuth flourished, then

his influence grew strong.