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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
description of the victory and lines of poetry is ample evidence to
show what a great capture this was. 1 The greatest enemy within Najd
was vanquished. Among other things, this meant that troops could be
sent off to distant lands without any fear of attack from within Najd.
Furthermore, the money that came as booty was immense. Ibn Bishr
states that it was enough to allow ibn Abdul-Wahhaab to pay off all of
his debts that he had accrued to pay for his poorer students and
supporters. 2 At this time, the situation of the state had become settled
and the affairs were good. Thus, ibn Abdul-Wahhaab left the affairs of
the state in the hands of Abdul-Azeez and “retired” to acts of worship
and teaching, although Abdul-Azeez still sought his advice and
approval for his decisions. 3
The leaders of the Tribe of Khaalid were well aware of the
significance of the victory over Riyadh. Hence, Urai’ir once again
decided to move against al-Diriyyah. In this campaign, he was able to
defeat Buraidah (well to the north of al-Diriyyah) in 1188 A.H. (1774
C.E.). But he died shortly thereafter at al-Khaabiyah. 4 Butain, the
eldest son of Urai’ir, took command and tried to continue to al-
Diriyyah but “his tribe was uncooperative.” 5 Thus, they retreated back
to al-Ahsaa. 6
The continued show of strength by the followers of
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab led many cities to realize that it was
in their best interest to join with the new state. Hence, a number of
delegations poured into al-Diriyyah to pledge their allegiance to
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and Abdul-Azeez ibn Muhammad
ibn Saud. These included the people of Hurmah, al-Majmaah and al-
Hareeq. 7
At this time, the leaders of the new state turned their attention
to the areas south of Riyadh. Zaid ibn Zaamil, the leader of the Tribe
1 Cf., ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, p. 136.
2 Ibn Bishr, vol. 1, p. 38.
3 Ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, p. 84.
4 Ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, p. 137-138; ibn Bishr, vol. 1, pp. 113-114.
5 Abu-Hakima, p. 132.
6 Dujain and Sadoon, Butayn’s brothers, eventually strangled him. Then Sadoon
poisoned Dujain to become the leader of the tribe. However, Sadoon was never
completely supported by the tribe and this weakness played a great role in
later campaigns against al-Ahsaa by the followers of Muhammad ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab. Cf., Abu-Hakima, pp. 132-133.
7 Cf., ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, p. 138; ibn Bishr, vol. 1, pp. 114-115.