After the death of the Prophet (ﷺ), there arose three main groups opposed to Islaam in the Arabian peninsula:

1. The first group was made up of those who decided that they did not want to pay the Islaamic tax, zakaah, to anyone other than the Prophet (r). They did not feel that zakaah was a pillar of Islaam like salaah, sawm and hajj. They instead looked at zakaah as a tribute; a kind of tax paid to the one who conquered them. So, when the Prophet (r) died, they felt that they were no longer required to pay it. When Aboo Bakr became the leader of the Muslim state, this group refused to pay the zakaah and sent armies to the capital, Madeenah, in order to topple the Muslim state. They demanded to be excused from paying zakaah, or else they would attack and destroy the centers of Islaam.71

2. The first group was joined by those who had entered Islaam in order to escape defeat, as well as those who simply wanted to be on the winning side. This group did not believe in Allaah and His Messenger at all. They wanted to destroy Islaam so they could be free to do whatever they wanted to do. Since the armies of those who refused to pay zakaah appeared strong, many of these hypocrites joined them.

3. The third group was made up of a number of false prophets and prophetesses and their followers. In Najd, in the region of Yamaamah, an Arab from the tribe of Banoo Haneefah named Musaylamah claimed prophethood. In the southern part of Arabia, another Arab from the tribe of ‘Ans called al-Aswad claimed prophethood and took over Najraan and Yemen. In northern Arabia a woman named Sajaah from the Banoo Tameem tribe also claimed prophethood and rose in arms against the Muslim state.