دراسات في تاريخ عمان

that it was sent after the year 8 A.H. when the Islamic da'wa became stronger and the fame of the Prophet spread all over Arabia. Al-Mundhir al-Tamimi accepted Islam with his Arab followers، and some non-Arabs. The rest of the inhabitants such as the Christians، Jews and Magians held on to their faith، and agreed to pay land tax، kharaj، especially on dates، and poll tax، jizya.

However، although these events are well-established facts، they contain an element of exaggeration. It was not possible to speak of a wholesale spread of Islam among the Arabs. The Muslim state was still new in com- parison with the old Sasanid empire whose influence was still felt in some regions of the Gulf، especially in the coastal area. At any rate، accounts of the early contacts of the Prophet with al-Bahrayn and his sending a delega- tion to it are all authentic. The early acceptance by al-Mundhir b. Sawa of Islam 13 can be justified because it gave him additional strength and politi- cal influence against the Persian Sasanid strongholds in al-Bahrayn. This accounts for his survival as a ruler of al-Bahrayn until his deal in 11 A.H./ 632 A.D ..

14

Caetani 14 rejects all these historical accounts and assumes that they were later fabrications، and that the spread of Islam in al-Bahrayn was weak and limited. In addition، he states that the ruler of al-Bahrayn forced some groups of Arabs to accept Islam. Caetani gives two reasons for his claim: first، because al-Bahrayn was distant from the Hijaz، and its contacts with the new da'wa were weak. Second، the wars of ridda (apostasy) in al- Bahrayn after the Prophet's death were fierce، which means that Islam must have met with strong resistance.

Caetani's claim has no basis because he does not depend on historical ac- counts. Different early historians agree that the commercial contacts be-

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