Coastal Reservoir: Technology and

Applications - eBook PDF

Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebooksecure.com/download/coastal-reservoir-technology-and-applications-ebo
ok-pdf/
Coastal Reservoir Technology and Applications
Coastal Reservoir
Technology and Applications

Shu-Qing Yang
School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering,
University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Elsevier
Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our
arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be
found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as
may be noted herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any
information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should
be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any
injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use
or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-323-90790-3

For information on all Elsevier publications

visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals

Publisher: Candice Janco

Acquisitions Editor: Louisa Munro
Editorial Project Manager: Aleksandra Packowska
Production Project Manager: Kumar Anbazhagan
Cover Designer: Christian J. Bilbow
Typeset by STRAIVE, India
Contents

About the author xi

About the book xv

1. World water crisis and possible solutions

1. Water cycle or natural desalination process 1
2. Water resources availability 6
2.1 Groundwater and its development 6
2.2 Surface water 7
3. Short history of dam construction 17
3.1 Number of dams and height 17
3.2 Eastern dam versus Western dam 20
4. Water crisis and why? 23
4.1 Floods (too much) 24
4.2 Pollution (too dirty and too turbid) 24
4.3 Water scarcity (too little) and its measurement 26
4.4 New dams in future and soft path always effective? 30
4.5 Are NEWater (wastewater reuse) and desalination solutions? 34
References 35

2. Coastal reservoirs’ design and applications

1. Coastal reservoir, its definition and classification 39
1.1 Definition of coastal reservoir 39
1.2 First- and second generation of coastal reservoirs 42
2. Principles for coastal reservoir design 52
2.1 Site selection, reservoir shape, and salinity 52
2.2 Design for hydraulic structures, inlets/outlets and water quality management 55
2.3 Improvements of existing coastal reservoirs using the new principles 55
3. Coastal reservoirs’ sustainability 57
3.1 Cost comparison 57
3.2 Carbon emission and sustainability 59
3.3 Environmental impacts 59
3.4 Social impacts 60
4. Other applications of coastal reservoirs 63
4.1 Coastal environmental protection 63
4.2 Water, food and energy nexus 68
4.3 Inland water resources development—SPP 72
4.4 Countermeasures for natural disasters 75
References 81

v
 Contents vii
4. Huai River Basin’s water solution for flood disasters, droughts and water pollutions 273
4.1 Basic information 273
4.2 Integral management plan for water quality crisis 276
References 279

6. Possible coastal reservoirs for Northeast Asia

1. Coastal reservoirs for China’s coastal cities 283
1.1 East China Sea 283
1.2 South China Sea 289
1.3 Islands 294
2. Coastal reservoirs for Korea Peninsula 304
2.1 General information 304
2.2 North Korea 308
2.3 South Korea 314
3. Coastal reservoirs for Japan’s capital cities 320
3.1 Basic information 320
3.2 Possible coastal reservoirs 323
References 329
Further reading 330

7. Water crisis and possible CRs in Southeast Asia

1. Southeast Asia (Mainland) 331
1.1 Vietnam 331
1.2 Cambodia 335
1.3 Thailand 338
1.4 Myanmar 343
1.5 West Malaysia 345
2. Southeast Asia (Islands) 358
2.1 Singapore 358
2.2 Indonesia 362
2.3 East Malaysia and Timor-Leste 370
2.4 Philippines 372
References 375

8. Water crisis and possible CRs in South/West Asia

1. South Asia 377
1.1 Bangladesh 377
1.2 Maldives and Sri Lanka 380
1.3 India 384
1.4 Pakistan 402
2. West Asia and Central Asia 404
2.1 Coast countries along Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea 404
2.2 Caspian Sea and Central Asia 412
2.3 Coast of Black Sea 417
2.4 Countries along east coast of Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea 420
References 426
vi Contents

3. Possible coastal reservoirs along Australia Pacific Coast

1. Introduction 85
2. Northeast coast division, Australia 92
2.1 General information 92
2.2 Southeast Queensland coastal reservoirs 99
2.3 Coastal reservoir at Richmond estuary 100
2.4 Northeast Queensland coastal reservoirs 105
3. Southeast coast division (New South Wales and Victoria states, Australia) 105
3.1 General information 105
3.2 Greater Sydney region 115
3.3 Melbourne region 125
References 131

4. Why downstream water management can increase environmental

flow and irrigated water? Examples from Australia
1. South Australia Gulf Division/Murray Darling River 133
1.1 General information 133
1.2 Coastal reservoir in South Australia Gulf 139
1.3 Coastal reservoir inside Lake Alexandrina 143
1.4 Downstream water management for Murray-Darling basin (MDB) 154
2. Other coastal drainage divisions in Australia 159
2.1 Tasmania state 159
2.2 Southwest coastal division and Indian Ocean division 162
2.3 Northern Australia 174
3. Water diversion and inland water supply 180
3.1 Experience of existing water diversion schemes 180
3.2 Water diversion from coastal Rivers to inland areas 184
3.3 Water supply to Australia mining industry 189
4. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea 192
4.1 New Zealand 192
4.2 Papua New Guinea Rivers 195
References 198

5. Water solutions for large river basins in China

1. Introduction 201
2. South-North water diversion project (SNWDP) and Yellow River 208
2.1 General information of SNWD project 208
2.2 Downstream water management to solve upstream water shortage 210
2.3 Coastal reservoirs for Northern China 213
3. SPP strategy and its applications 216
3.1 SPP for floodwater resources development—Dongting and Poyang Lakes 216
3.2 SPP for lake’s zero pollution-Taihu lake 231
3.3 Productive wetland to pretreat drinking water 235
3.4 SPP for clean water development from a polluted waterways 240
3.5 SPP for spongy city and urban regeneration 244
3.6 SPP for pandemic control 259
viii Contents

9. Water crisis and possible CRs in North and East Africa

1. Basic information 429
2. Rivers to the Mediterranean Sea 434
2.1 Morocco 434
2.2 Algeria 435
2.3 Tunisia 437
2.4 Libya 437
2.5 Egypt 439
3. Red Sea and West Bank of the Indian Ocean 439
3.1 Somalia 440
3.2 Kenya 442
3.3 Tanzania 443
3.4 Mozambique 444
3.5 Madagascar 447
References 449

10. Water crisis and possible CRs in South and West Africa
1. Southern Africa 451
1.1 Basic information of South Africa 451
1.2 Cape Town and its water crisis in 2018 455
1.3 Water solution for East Coast 461
1.4 Namibia and West Coast of South Africa 462
2. Rivers flowing to the Atlantic Ocean from Northwest Africa 466
2.1 Rivers flow to North Atlantic Ocean 466
2.2 Rivers flow to Gulf of Guinea 471
2.3 Niger River 474
3. Central Africa and Congo River 477
3.1 North region of Congo River 477
3.2 The Congo River 478
3.3 Angola 480
References 482

11. Europe water crisis and possible CRs

1. Basic information 485
2. Rivers to Mediterranean/Black Sea 489
2.1 Background 489
2.2 Greece and Italy 491
2.3 Spain and France 497
2.4 Ukraine and Russia 500
3. Coast of Atlantic Europe 504
3.1 Background 504
3.2 Bay of Biscay and Portugal 504
3.3 North Sea 508
3.4 Baltic Sea 515
References 521
 Contents ix

12. Water crisis in American continent and possible CRs

1. Basic information 523
2. South American 528
2.1 North coastline 528
2.2 Brazil 532
2.3 Southeast coast 534
2.4 Pacific coast 536
3. Central and Northern America 541
3.1 Central America 542
3.2 Mexico 546
3.3 United States 551
3.4 Canada 561
References 566

Appendix
1. Selected land-based water storages 569
1.1 US President Herbert Hoover and Hoover Dam on Colorado River 569
1.2 President of the Republic of China Sun Yat-sen and Three-Gorge Dam
on Yangtze River 571
1.3 John Lucian Savage and Warragamba Dam for Sydney’s water supply 574
2. Selected sea-based water storages 576
2.1 Ancient coastal reservoirs in China 576
2.2 Coastal reservoirs in Netherlands 579
2.3 Coastal reservoir in Australia 581
2.4 T. O. Morgan and coastal reservoirs in Hong Kong, China 584
2.5 Coastal reservoir in N. Korea 587
2.6 Coastal reservoirs in S. Korea 588
2.7 PM Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore’s coastal reservoirs 592
2.8 Ir. Yuliang Gu and Qingcaosha coastal reservoir, China 595
2.9 PM Modi and coastal reservoirs in India 599
2.10 Coastal reservoirs in Japan 601
2.11 Coastal reservoirs in Indonesia 603
2.12 Coastal reservoirs in the United Kingdom 604
2.13 Coastal reservoir in France 606
2.14 Coastal reservoir in Portugal 607
3. Selected water diversion projects 608
3.1 Premier Sir John Forrest and Goldfields water pipeline in Western Australia 608
3.2 President of the People’s Republic of China, Zedong Mao and South–North
Water Diversion 611
3.3 Seabed pipelines—Nord Stream pipeline 613
4. Useful technologies for coastal reservoirs 615
4.1 Inlet/outlet structures 615
4.2 Seawall structures (concrete, geotubes, caissons) 619

Index 625
This page intentionally left blank
About the author

Shu-Qing Yang received his B.E. from Wuhan University in 1985,

MEng from the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, China, in
1988, and PhD from the Nanyang Technological University, Singa-
pore, in 1997. He has worked in many universities, including the
University of New Orleans, USA (1998–99), the National Univer-
sity of Singapore (1999–2003), the Nanyang Technological Univer-
sity, Singapore (2003–05), the Korea Maritime University, South
Korea (2005–06), the South China University of Technology, China
(2006–07), and the University of Wollongong (2007–present).
The author’s research covers topics such as sediment transport,
hydraulics/fluid mechanics, and water resources engineering. He
has revolutionized these subjects. For sediment transport, his
research reveals that almost all existing sediment transport formulae
assume that sediment transport can be fully determined by parameters in a stream-wise direction with-
out parameters in vertical velocity, V. For example, Albert Einstein and his son Hans Albert Einstein
only used shear stress τ, while others use the mean velocity U. The author’s work shows that all odd
phenomena like ocean waves, ripples, duns, and local scours are generated by V, not by τ or U. Even for
the stream-wise parameter, sediment transport is determined by near-bed stream τu∗0 product of near-
bed velocity and shear stress and not by τ or U.
For hydraulics, the author proposed the principle: The surplus energy within any control volume in a
three-dimensional flow will be transferred toward the nearest boundary to be dissipated; once the path
of energy transport is specified, any 3-D flows can be simplified as the summation of 2-D flows. There-
fore, local boundary shear stress, the most important and difficult parameter, can be theoretically
determined.
For fluid mechanics, the author finds that the nightmare of turbulence comes from Reynolds’ time
average method, which neglects the vertical motion as Einstein did for sediment transport. In fact, the
log law is valid only when V is zero. A wake function is needed to correct the log law if V is upward or
V > 0, otherwise the maximum velocity is submerged. It is the same for other turbulent parameters;
non-zero V plays an important role in mass, momentum, and energy transport in turbulence, which
has been ignored for a hundred years.
Shu-Qing Yang’s research in water resources engineering started from 1988 for the Three Gorges
Dam project, one of the largest dams in the world. Pretty soon, he realized that a dam be not an ideal
solution for water crisis due to its negative impacts on the ecosystem. In 2001, he published his first
article on coastal reservoirs in a Singapore newspaper and claimed that Singapore could become water-
independent if coastal reservoirs were designed in a smarter manner. There are many existing coastal

xi
xii About the author

reservoirs in the world, but none of the designers/users has realized that coastal reservoirs can quench
the global thirst. In 2002, the author submitted his “coastal reservoir” patent, which claims for the first
time in history that the global water crisis can be well solved by coastal reservoirs; the optimum inter-
basin water diversions are those connecting coastal reservoirs along coastlines.
Like every major breakthrough, old technologies always try to prevent the advent of new technol-
ogies at their beginning stage; one such example is the story of AC versus DC between Tesla and Edi-
son. The author was immediately fired by the National University of Singapore. Soon, the membrane
technology for desalination and NEWater became Singapore’s dominant water solution. At the same
time, the author received tremendous support from the president of the Nanyang Technological
University (NTU). The Maritime Research Center, NTU, supported the publication of the author’s
CR books in 2004 by the Tianjin University Press in Chinese.
The author advocated the CR solution to China, especially Shanghai and Beijing. The Chinese gov-
ernment proposed the South–North Water Diversion project (SNDP) as the water solution for Beijing.
The author wrote to the top leader and commented on the project’s three assumptions:
(1) Southern China is always rich in water, while the north is always short of water;
(2) Western China is always rich in water, while its east coast is always short of water;
(3) Runoff to the sea cannot be developed.
In fact, southern China is also short of water in dry seasons and its largest lakes in the Yangtze River run
dry every year. Every drop of water in the western highland must return back to the sea in the east. The
coastal reservoir at the mouth of the Yellow River, very close to Beijing, can harvest 20 km2/year of
water, while Beijing’s water demand is less than 2 km3/year. Unfortunately, Beijing did not reply to the
author’s letter. However, the Shanghai government is always open and pursues innovative solutions. In
2005, the author was invited to conduct a CR seminar to 500 of its officers, and the talk was published
as a paper titled “Completely Solve Water Shortage Problem in Shanghai by Coastal Reservoirs.” This
prediction came true in 2011 when the city’s water supply came from the Qingchaosha coastal reservoir
in the Yangtze estuary.
Since 2007, the author has migrated to the driest inhabited continent in the world, Australia, during
its Millennium drought, or the worst drought in Australia’s history. The author expected the CR con-
cept to be accepted quickly and applied widely in Australia. Surprisingly, none of the funding agencies
expressed their interest to support the CR research, including the Australia Research Council and
UOW’s Global Challenge Program. On the other hand, billions of dollars were wasted on desalination
plants in Australia’s every capital city. Nevertheless, the CR idea has been quickly accepted by other
countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
In 2017, the University of Wollongong established the Center for Coastal Reservoir Research and
the author was appointed as its director. Together with world CR experts from The United Kingdom,
The Netherlands, China, Australia, India, and Malaysia, the International Association for Coastal Res-
ervoir Research (www.iacrr.org) launched its inauguration in Kuala Lumpur in 2017. About 100 people
from the world attended the event. However, many delegates could not attend the inauguration due to
some unseen political issues as their travel/visa applications were rejected. The IACRR was not
allowed to have its inauguration as planned at the Seri Pacific Hotel, whose management was threat-
ened by some technology competitors. On the eve of IACRR’s inauguration, some IACRR leaders were
threatened to leave the site. Thank God the IACRR was not destroyed by these unseen politicians and it
is becoming stronger day by day.
 About the author xiii

In 2018, the IACRR held its first international CR workshop at the University of Wollongong and its
theme was “Innovative Solutions to UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6.” About 100 delegates
attended this workshop. The Wollongong Declaration on Water states “Coastal reservoirs can ensure
a plentiful supply of freshwater, at the most economical rate, to different regions of the world. Water
disputes and administrative difficulties can be avoided.”
In 2019, the IACRR held its second international CR workshop at the National Cheng Kung Uni-
versity, Tainan. The theme was “From Water Shortage to Water Security through Storage in Down-
stream Coastal Reservoirs.” The SDG6 becomes more challenging for earthquake-active areas like
Taiwan, which is blessed by plentiful rainfall. It is not that these areas are running out of water, but
water is running out of these regions. The shortage is not water, but storage, because the risk of earth-
quakes makes it highly unlikely for large-scale dams to be built everywhere. A coastal reservoir is an
ideal solution for earthquake-prone regions.
In 2020, The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas of the Republic of Indonesia, in
collaboration with the Institution of Engineers Indonesia (PII) and the IACRR, hosted an International
Workshop on Coastal Reservoir. The Minister of National Development Planning Agency, Indonesia,
Mr. Suharso Monoarfa, announced that developing coastal reservoirs is an ideal solution in areas as
densely populated as Java, given that their development would not use up existing land.
Albert Einstein said “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre
minds.” It is understandable that the CR concept propagates very slowly in the research community
as well as among top leaders. Strong oppositions have made the 20-year journey very slow. Except
Shanghai, almost all coastal cities are still in a critical condition, like the “Day Zero” city of
Cape Town, South Africa, and Chennai, India. Globally, at least 2.7 billion people face water scarcity
for at least 1 month of the year. For this big commitment, IACRR should continue to walk against gusts.
The author acknowledges the tremendous spiritual support received. He expresses his sincere
appreciation to universities he has worked at; they jointly shaped the author’s ideas and research.
He also extends his gratitude to all IACRR members, FAO Land & Water Division, Department of
Agriculture and Water Resources of Australia, and WaterNSW for their support. Special thanks is
given to international associations like IAHR (hydraulics), IWA (water association), IAHS (hydrol-
ogy), IWRA (water resources), and UN-Water who recommended the CR solution to its members
on the 2020 World Water Day.
Last but not the least, the author expresses his deepest appreciation to his family members, espe-
cially his children, Ling Yang, Alice Leilei Yang, Catherine Huiting Yang, and Solomon Guangze
Yang. No words can express his love to them. This book is a gift to all whom he loves, especially
to his wife Haodi He.
In summary, the quest to quench global thirst using floodwater is a long journey. “The journey of a
thousand miles begins with a single step.” Every reader of this book is encouraged to do the needful for
local water resource development. This book is only a blasting fuse for your water solution. It is hoped
that the author’s modest effort can induce many to come forward with valuable contributions by
readers. It is certain that dams are aging, desalination is not sustainable, and long-distance water diver-
sion needs many pre-requests. The first step is to develop local water resources, especially floodwater.
Our crisis is not water shortage, but storage shortage. Our worst enemy is not from the outside, but is
inside our minds. Coastal reservoir is a paradigm shift from discharging floodwater to storing flood-
water, from upstream to downstream water management, and from negative to positive environmental
impacts.
About the book

This book deals with water crisis caused by floods (too much), water scarcity (too little), water pol-
lution (too dirty), and sedimentation (too turbid) in water bodies like rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.
Two innovative strategies are suggested: coastal reservoirs (CRs) and Separation-Protection-
Prevention (SPP). In this book, data analysis shows that the world is not running out of water, but water
is running out of our rivers. The earth’s crust can be divided into two types: oceanic crust and conti-
nental crust. All artificial water storages on the continental crust are called land-based reservoirs, or
dams and those on the oceanic crust are called coastal reservoirs. By developing floodwater lost to
the sea, coastal reservoirs can supply sufficient, high-quality, and affordable water to coastal commu-
nities without desalination and reduction of river flows. Once the coastal water demand is met, all
upstream water infrastructures can be used only for upstream communities; thus, the tense water dis-
putes between upstream and downstream users can be more or less relaxed. For inland areas, the
depressed area should be used for water storage and the SPP principle should be applied to conserve
wanted (clean, disastrous) water and discard unwanted (polluted, turbid) water. This book demonstrates
how to convert floodwater into water resources safely inside large water bodies like lakes and coastal
waters. Furthermore, both can be used to protect the coastal environment and ecosystem, for example,
coastal reservoirs can isolate and reuse ballast water from ships or radioactive water from nuclear
power plants, etc. CRs can also be used as barriers against seawater floods caused by tsunamis/
typhoons. They provide a solution for the environment-energy-food nexus, and eventually, for the inte-
gral management between water-human and land resources to thrive on coastal economic corridors.
This book discusses the history of water resource development from wells, dams, and coastal res-
ervoirs in Chapters 1 and 2. The applications of CR and SPP strategies are given in Chapters 3–12. In
Chapters 3 and 4, the feasibility of coastal reservoirs and downstream water management are discussed
using Australia, the driest continent in the world, as an example. In Australia, 90% of the population is
concentrated in coastal areas and so coastal reservoirs can re-use environmental flow lost to the sea for
domestical/agricultural/industrial purposes. Chapters 5 and 6 show how to apply the SPP strategy for
inland water crisis; the Yangtze River is selected to show how to manage a catchment, and the Yellow
River is selected to show how to increase upstream water supply without interbasin water diversion.
Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the water crisis solution for Southeast and South Asia. Singapore is selected to
show how to apply second-generation CRs for their water-food-land sufficiency. Agricultural activities
will be extended from river valleys to coastal lands and sea surfaces, and coastal reservoirs will be used
for solar farms and pumped-storage hydropower storage. India is selected to demonstrate the feasibility
of a coastal economic corridor; water pipelines from India to the Persian Gulf may quench the Middle
East’s thirst. Chapters 9 and 10 discuss the “Day Zero” in South Africa and water scarcity in Africa. It is
concluded that Cape Town is not short of water, but water storage. Coastal reservoirs at the mouths of
the Orange River and the Senegal River can nourish the beaches of the Sahara and Namib Deserts.

xv
xvi About the book

Chapter 11 shows that desalination plants in London and Barcelona are unnecessary as Europe’s water
crisis can be well solved by coastal reservoirs. Chapter 12 shows that all dams should be replaced by
coastal reservoirs in the Pacific Ring of Fire from California down to Chile. The SPP strategy can make
the Great Lakes clean without algal blooms.
Chapter 1

World water crisis and possible solutions

Outline
1. Water cycle or natural desalination 4.1 Floods (too much) 24
process 1 4.2 Pollution (too dirty and too turbid) 24
2. Water resources availability 6 4.3 Water scarcity (too little)
2.1 Groundwater and its development 6 and its measurement 26
2.2 Surface water 7 4.4 New dams in future and
3. Short history of dam construction 17 soft path always effective? 30
3.1 Number of dams and height 17 4.5 Are NEWater (wastewater
3.2 Eastern dam versus Western dam 20 reuse) and desalination solutions? 34
4. Water crisis and why? 23 References 35

1. Water cycle or natural desalination process

Water creates life and nourishes life. Water is the most fundamental substance for the survival of any
life form, including humans. Water is also the most widely distributed substance on our planet. In the
water globe, water exists in three forms, i.e., solid, liquid, and vapor. About 71% of Earth’s surface is
covered by water. Water also exists in the air and ground as vapor, soil moisture, and aquifers. The total
volume of water is about 1.39 billion km3, among which 97.5% is saline water with an average depth of
nearly 3700 m assuming the water covers the whole Earth’s surface. Only 2.5% of the total water is
freshwater, which contains very low concentrations of salt or any other compounds. Much of this is
locked up in glaciers and ice caps. For human use, only freshwater at the right time and right places
is useful, which is generally less than 1% of the total water on Earth. The global water distribution and
its residence times are shown in Table 1.1.1, where the residence time T of a system is generally
expressed as
S
T¼ (1.1.1)
Q
in which S ¼ water storage and Q ¼ flow rate.
Residence time is defined as the average time that the water molecule remains in a system, the
shorter, the more fresh water is. Conceptually, this is equivalent to the time it takes to fill a system
or the time from empty to full. It is important to understand that some water “in storage” has a longer
resident time, than what is predicted by Eq. (1.1.1).
From the residence time shown in Table 1.1.1, the most important freshwater source for human’s sur-
vival includes atmospheric water, river flows (swamps, lakes), and ground water. Generally, water’s qual-
ity or purity is proportional inversely to its residence time/travel time on the earth surface and the

Coastal Reservoir Technology and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90790-3.00001-8

Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1
2 Coastal reservoir technology and applications

TABLE 1.1.1 Water reserves on Earth and average residence time.

Distribution Volume % of Residence
area (103 km2) (103 km3) Layer (m) Total water % Freshwater time
Ocean 361,300 1,338,000 3700 96.5 2650 (year)
Groundwater 134,800 23,400 174 1.7 509 (year)
Freshwater 10,530 78 0.76 30.1
Soil moisture 16.5 0.2 0.001 0.05 52 (days)

Ice & snow 16,227 24,064 1463 1.74 68.7 8913 (year)
Antarctic 13,980 21,600 1546 1.56 61.7 20,000
(year)
Greenland 1802 2340 1298 0.17 6.68
Arctic islands 226 83.5 369 0.006 0.24
Mountainous 224 40.6 181 0.003 0.12
region
Ground ice/ 21,000 300 14 0.022 0.86
permafrost
Water 2058 176.4 85.7 0.013
reserves in
lakes
fresh 1236 91 73.6 0.007 0.26

Saline 822 85.4 103.8 0.006

Swamp 2683 11.47 4.28 0.0008 0.03
River flow 148,800 2.12 0.014 0.0002 0.006 17.7(days)
Biological 510,000 1.12 0.002 0.0001 0.003
water
Atmospheric 510,000 12.9 0.025 0.001 0.04 8.2(days)
water
Total water 510,000 1,385,984 2718 100
reserves
Total 148,800 35,029 235 2.53 100
freshwater
reserves

atmospheric water has better quality. The total potable freshwater for humans on Earth is very limited and is
generally assumed to be virtually constant during recorded history.
In ancient times, people observed natural phenomena like rainfall, river flows, floods, etc., wondering
why the seas never become full, even though the rivers run into the sea every day. Chinese poet Li Bai
asked “Don’t you see the river come from the sky; Rushing into the sea and never come back?”
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 ANNALS
OF

THE EARLY CALIPHATE.

 CHAPTER I.
ELECTION OF ABU BEKR.

A.H. XI. A.D. 632.

At eventide of a summer day in the

eleventh year of the Hegira, three chief Death of Mahomet, 13 Rabi
I. a.h. XI., June 8, a.d. 632.
‘Companions’ of Mahomet might be seen
issuing in haste from the Great Mosque at Medîna, where, close by
in the chamber of Ayesha, his favourite wife, the Prophet of Arabia
lay dead.[4] They were Abu Bekr, Omar, and Abu Obeida. I will first
describe each briefly, and then explain the object of their errand.
Abu Bekr, now threescore years of
age, was somewhat short in stature, of a Abu Bekr.
spare frame, rounded back, and stooping
gait. His face was thin, complexion smooth and fair, nose aquiline
and sharp, with other features delicate; the forehead high; the eyes
deep-seated and far apart; the veins well marked. His scanty hair
and beard, now for many years white, was dyed red. The
countenance was still in old age handsome; and the expression mild,
but wise and resolute. To him faith in the Prophet had become a
second nature, and, now that his Master was gone, the disciple lived
but to fulfil his will. It was this that nerved a disposition naturally soft
and yielding, and made Abu Bekr, the True,[5] of all the followers of
Mahomet, the firmest and most resolute.
Omar, fifteen years younger, differed
both in frame and temperament. Broad- Omar.
shouldered and tall, he towered above the
crowd. Though somewhat dark in complexion, the face was fresh
and ruddy. He was now bald; and his beard was dyed like his
friend’s. His stride was long, and his presence commanding.
Naturally hasty and passionate, he would twist his moustache when
angry and draw it downwards to his mouth. But time had mellowed
temper; and, beneath an imperious manner, he was bland and
courteous. Their attachment to Mahomet had, on these two friends,
an effect exactly opposite. That which braced the soft nature of Abu
Bekr served to abate the vehemence of Omar. Both stood in a like
relation to the Prophet, each having given a daughter to him in
marriage; Haphsa, Omar’s daughter, was one of Mahomet’s
favourite wives; but Ayesha, the child of Abu Bekr, was queen in his
affections to the end.
On these two men at this moment hung
the future of Islam. The third, who now Abu Obeida.
accompanied them, Abu Obeida, was
between them in age. He was thin, tall, and sinewy; bald, and with
little beard. Mild, unassuming, and unwarlike, he was yet destined to
take a leading part in the conquest of Syria.

It was the afternoon of the day on

which, but an hour or two before, Mahomet Abu Bekr and Omar in the
had breathed his last. The event had come Great Mosque.
unexpectedly at the end. Abu Bekr, thinking the Prophet better, had
shortly before retired to his house in the suburbs of the city. Called
back in haste, he entered Ayesha’s chamber, and kissed the face of
his departed friend, saying:—
‘Sweet wert thou in life; and sweet thou
art in death.’ The mosque was filled with a Men of Medîna would elect a
crowd excited by the voice of Omar, who chief of their own.
wildly proclaimed that the Prophet was not dead, but in a trance; and
that, like Moses, he would surely return to them again. Abu Bekr,
issuing from the chamber (which opened directly from the court of
the mosque), put his friend aside with these memorable words:—
Whoso worshippeth Mahomet, let him know that Mahomet is dead
indeed; but whoso worshippeth God, let him know that God liveth
and dieth not. He added passages from the Corân, in which the
Prophet had said that he would die; and Omar, hearing them as if he
had never heard them before, was speechless. The multitude
quieted down before the solemn words of Abu Bekr. But just then a
messenger hurried up with the report, that the citizens of Medîna—
the Ansâr, had assembled to choose for themselves a chief. The
moment was critical. The unity of the faith was at stake. A divided
power would fall to pieces, and all might be lost. The mantle of the
Prophet must fall upon one successor, and on one alone. The
sovereignty of Islam demanded an undivided Caliphate; and Arabia
would acknowledge no master but from amongst the Coreish. The
die must be cast, and at once.
Such, no doubt, were the thoughts
which occurred to Omar and Abu Bekr on Stormy scene in the hall of
receiving intelligence of the elective the citizens.
conclave; and so, alarmed at the danger, they hastened to the spot,
accompanied by Abu Obeida, if haply they might nip it in the bud. On
the way they met two friendly citizens coming from the assembly,
who warned them of the risk they ran; but, notwithstanding, they
hurried on. The men of Medîna meanwhile, gathered in one of their
rude halls, were bent upon an independent course. ‘We have
sheltered this nest of strangers,’ they cried. ‘It is by our good swords
they have been able to plant the Faith. The Chief of Medîna shall be
from amongst ourselves.’ And they had already fixed their choice on
Sád ibn Obâda, leader of the Beni Khazraj, one of ‘the Twelve’ at
‘the Pledge of Acaba,’ who, sick of a fever, lay covered up at the
further end of the hall. At this moment the three Companions entered
but just in time, for had the Citizens elected Sád and pledged their
troth to him, Medîna might have been irretrievably compromised.
Omar, with his native vehemence, was about to speak, when Abu
Bekr bade him to be silent, and anticipated him, as Omar used in
after days to say, with the same arguments he himself had thought
of, and even better. ‘Every word,’ said Abu Bekr, calmly and firmly,
‘which the Citizens had uttered in their own praise was true, but in
noble birth and influence the Coreish were paramount, and to none
but them would Arabia yield obedience.’ ‘Then,’ cried the men of
Medîna, ‘let there be one chief from amongst you and one from
amongst us.’ ‘Away with you!’ exclaimed Omar; ‘two cannot stand
together’; and even Sád from beneath his covering muttered that to
divide the power would weaken it. High words ensued. Hobâb, on
the side of Sád, cried out, ‘Hear him not! Attend to me, for I am the
well-rubbed Palm-stem.[6] If they refuse, expel them from the city. I
am the Roaring Lion of the desert, and will devour them up.’ ‘The
Lord destroy thee!’ cried Omar; and Hobâb returned the words. The
altercation gaining in heat and bitterness, Abu Bekr saw that it must
be stopped at any risk; so stepping forward he said: ‘Ye see these
two’—and he pointed to Omar and Abu Obeida—‘Choose ye now
whichever of them ye will, and salute him as your Chief.’ ‘Nay,’ cried
both at once, ‘Thou hast already, at the Prophet’s bidding, led the
prayers; thou art our Chief. Stretch forth thine hand.’ He did so, and
they struck their hand on his in token of allegiance.[7] Others began
to follow their example. ‘Wilt thou cut thine own kinsman’s throat?’
cried Hobâb to a Khazrajite about to take the pledge. ‘Not so,’ he
answered; ‘I only yield the right to whom the right is due.’ Whilst they
yet hesitated, the Beni Aus, jealous of the rival tribe and of Sád its
nominee, spake among themselves: ‘If this man be chosen, the rule
will be for ever with the Beni Khazraj. Let us salute Abu Bekr as our
Chief.’[8] The example once set, group
after group advanced to place their hand Abu Bekr elected Caliph.
on that of Abu Bekr, till none was left but Sád, who still lay covered in
the corner. Acknowledged thus by the men of Medîna, there could be
no doubt of Abu Bekr’s acceptance by the Coreish and all the
Refugees.[9] He was one of themselves, and the Prophet, by
appointing him to take his place, when laid aside, at the daily
prayers, had in a manner indicated him as his vicegerent. And so
homage was done on all sides to Abu Bekr. He was saluted as the
‘Caliph,’ or ‘Successor of the Prophet.’
The night was occupied in preparing
the dead for sepulture. The body was Burial of the Prophet.
washed and laid out, and the grave dug in
Ayesha’s apartment, where Mahomet had breathed his last. On the
morrow the citizens, men, women, and children, thronged the
chamber to look once more upon their Prophet’s face. And then the
body was reverently committed to the dust.
 The funeral being over, and the court of
the Great Mosque still crowded with the Abu Bekr’s inaugural
mourners, Abu Bekr ascended the pulpit, address.
and, sitting down, was saluted as Caliph by acclamation. Then he
arose, and said: ‘O people! Now I am Chief over you, albeit not the
best amongst you. If I do well, support me; if ill, then set me right.
Follow the true, wherein is faithfulness; eschew the false, wherein is
treachery. The weaker amongst you shall be as the stronger with
me, until that I shall have redressed his wrong; and the stronger shall
be as the weaker, until, if the Lord will, I shall have taken from him
that which he hath wrested. Leave not off to fight in the ways of the
Lord; whosoever leaveth off, him verily shall the Lord abase. Obey
me wherein I obey the Lord and his Prophet; when I disobey, then
obey me not. Now, arise to prayer, and the Lord be with you!’ The
assembly stood up for prayer, and Abu Bekr, for the first time as
Caliph, filled the place of Mahomet.
Besides Sád, there were few, if any,
who refused to do homage to Abu Bekr. Sád declines to swear fealty;
According to most authorities, Aly declined and also (probably) Aly for a
time.
to do so until the death of Fâtima his wife,
six months afterwards. Zobeir and Talha are also mentioned, but
doubtfully.[10] Sád persisted in his refusal; he even threatened to
empty his quiver against the usurpers, and then fight against them
with his retainers. ‘Let him alone,’ was the advice of those around
the Caliph; ‘he is but a single man, and his secession will not signify;
but if force be used against him, then his tribe will fight.’ The advice
approved itself to Abu Bekr’s forbearing spirit. Sád kept aloof, and
never appeared at court or in the mosque. When Omar succeeded to
the Caliphate, he presented himself with these words, ‘I love thee
not, O Omar!’ and, disappearing, eventually died in Syria.
With Mahomet ceased the theocratic
power which, as a prophet, he had The succession, how far
provided for by Mahomet;
exercised; but the kingly functions, as ruler and the precedent now
over all Islam, descended to his successor. established.
According to Arabian notions, such a ruler
was, like the Chieftain of a tribe, the head and representative of the
people, and his nomination was incomplete till confirmed by their
homage. Omar, we are told, in after days declared that the irregular
election of Abu Bekr (referring apparently to the scene enacted in the
hall) should not be drawn into a precedent. It was, he said, an event
the happiest in its consequences for Islam, but justified only by the
urgency of the moment. What might have been the issue if any son
of Mahomet had survived, it is useless to speculate. But certainly the
hereditary descent of kingly power was foreign to the sentiment of
Arabia. As matters stood, Mahomet seems to have shrunk from
anticipating the contingency of his death, and made no preparation
for what should follow. But in so far as we may suppose him to have
felt his illness mortal and his death impending, the nomination of Abu
Bekr to conduct the public prayers (the acknowledged mark of chief
or delegated authority) may be held the natural indication of his wish
that he should succeed.[11] Apart from the counter-claim of the men
of Medîna, there was, in point of fact, neither doubt nor hesitancy in
the election, and the counter-claim died away almost as soon as
made. The notion of divine right, or even of preferential claim, resting
in the Prophet’s family, was the growth of a later age.
 CHAPTER II.
EXPEDITION OF OSÂMA TO THE SYRIAN BORDER.

A.H. XI. A.D. 632.

Abu Bekr soon had the opportunity of

showing that he was resolved to carry out Osâma ordered by Mahomet
the commands of Mahomet to the very to lead an expedition against
the Syrian border, a.h. XI.
letter. A few weeks previously an May, a.d. 632.
expedition had been ordered to avenge by
a raid on the Syrian border the disaster which, three years before,
had tarnished the Moslem arms. In that reverse Zeid, the Prophet’s
bosom friend, who led the army, was with many others slain at Mûta;
and the more distinctly now to mark the object of the campaign, his
son Osâma, though still a youth, was nominated by Mahomet to the
command, and bidden to avenge his father’s death. The camp was
formed at Jorf, a little way on the Syrian road; but during the
Prophet’s sickness the force remained inactive, uncertain of the
issue. When the fatal event took place, Osâma broke up the camp,
and carrying back the banner which he had received at the hands of
Mahomet, planted it in the court of the Great Mosque, close by the
door of Ayesha’s apartment.
The day following his inauguration as
Caliph, Abu Bekr took up the banner, and Abu Bekr deaf to
reclamations against its
placing it in the hands of Osâma, in token dispatch.
that he was still commander, bade the
army again assemble and encamp, as it had done before, at Jorf;
and not a man was to be left behind. Obeying the command, the
fighting men of Medîna and its neighbourhood flocked again to the
camp, and even Omar was amongst the number. While yet preparing
to depart, the horizon darkened suddenly. Report of the Prophet’s
mortal illness, followed by tidings of his death, had spread like
wildfire over the land. From every side there now came rumours of
disloyalty, and of the resolve to cast the yoke of Islam off. The sense
of the army, and of Osâma himself, was strongly against leaving the
city thus defenceless, and the Caliph exposed to the risk of sudden
inroad. Omar was deputed to represent this to Abu Bekr, and also to
urge (as had been already urged to Mahomet himself[12]) that, if the
expedition must proceed, some more experienced general should
command. To the first request Abu Bekr replied, calm and unmoved:
‘Were the city swarming round with packs of ravening wolves, and I
left solitary and alone, the force should go; not a word from my
Master’s lips shall fall to the ground.’ At the second demand the
Caliph’s anger kindled: ‘Thy mother be childless, O son of Khattâb!’
he said, seizing Omar by the beard. ‘Shall the Prophet of the Lord
appoint a man to the command, and I, deposing him, appoint
another in his place?’ So Omar returned, without gaining either
object, to the army.
When all was ready for the march, Abu
Bekr repaired to the camp, and He accompanies it a little
way on foot. June, a.d. 682.
accompanied the force a little way on foot,
‘Be mounted,’ said Osâma to him; ‘or else I will dismount and walk
by thee.’ ‘Not so,’ replied Abu Bekr; ‘I will not mount; I will walk and
soil my feet, a little moment, in the ways of the Lord. Verily, every
step in the ways of the Lord is equal to the merit of manifold good
works, and wipeth out a multitude of sins.’ After a while he stopped,
and said to Osâma: ‘If it be thy will, give Omar leave that he may
return with me to the city, for strength and counsel.’ So he gave him
leave.[13]
The army then halted, to receive the
parting injunctions of the Caliph. ‘See,’ said And gives Osâma
he, addressing Osâma, ‘that thou avoid instructions.
treachery and deceit. Depart not in any wise from the right. Thou
shalt mutilate none; neither shalt thou kill child or aged man, nor any
woman. Injure not the date-palm, neither burn it with fire; and cut not
down any tree wherein is food for man or beast. Slay not of the
flocks or herds or camels, saving for needful sustenance. Ye may eat
of the meat which the men of the land shall bring unto you in their
vessels, making mention thereon of the name of the Lord. And the
monks with shaven heads that spend their lives in monasteries, if
they submit, leave them in their cloisters unmolested. Now march
forward in the name of the Lord, and may He protect you from sword
and pestilence!’
So Abu Bekr returned with Omar to
Medîna. Osâma marched by Wâdi al Cora, Osâma returns victorious,
July and August.
in the direction of Dûma, Obna, and the
highlands south of Syria. The brunt of his attack fell upon the Beni
Codhâa, and the semi-Christian tribes which, under the Roman
banner, had discomfited and slain his father. That disaster was now
avenged in fire and blood. The land was ravaged far and near, and
after an absence of two months, the army returned laden with spoil.
[14]

Meanwhile stirring events had transpired at Medîna, of which an

account is given in the chapter following.
 CHAPTER III.
MEDINA THREATENED.

A.H. XI. June and July, A.H. 632.

In after days Abu Bekr used to look

back with a just pride and satisfaction to Beneficial effects of Osâma’s
his despatch, against a universal expedition.
reclamation, of Osâma’s force. Public opinion was not long in
justifying the act and attributing thereto results of essential benefit.
The firmness of his attitude inspired the Bedouin tribes with a sense
of stability in the government. If the leaders at Medîna had not been
confident in their strength at home they would not have sent away
this army; and the Arabs, reasoning thus, were restrained from much
that they might otherwise have attempted. Still the position was
critical, and at times sufficiently alarming.
It was indeed a thing of which the brave
old Caliph might proud. ‘The Arabs,’ so the Courageous attitude of Abu
tradition runs, ‘were on all sides rising in Bekr.
rebellion. Apostasy and disaffection began to raise their heads;
Christians and Jews to stretch out their necks; and the Faithful were
left like a flock of sheep without a shepherd—their Prophet gone,
their numbers few, and their foes a multitude.’ It was in face of all this
that Abu Bekr sent off beyond recall his only force, and left Medîna
open and, to the outward eye, defenceless.
During the lifetime of Mahomet three
rivals had already laid claim to the Insurrection throughout
Arabia.
prophetic office and raised the standard of
rebellion. In the south, insurrection had hardly been quelled by the
assassination of the ‘Veiled Prophet’ of Yemen, when tidings of the
death of Mahomet made it burst forth with redoubled violence.
Enshrined in the very centre of the peninsula, Moseilama had
detached the powerful tribes around Yemâma from their allegiance;
and to the north-east, nearer home, Toleiha, the third pretender, was
now openly and dangerously hostile.[15] From every quarter, in rapid
succession, came the news of spreading disaffection. The legates of
Mahomet, the collectors of tithes—all, in fact, who represented the
authority of Islam—fled or were expelled. The Faithful were
massacred, and some confessors suffered a cruel death. Mecca and
Tâyif quivered and vacillated at the first intelligence of the Prophet’s
decease; in the end, through the strong influence of the Coreish,
they stood firm; but they were almost alone. Here and there some
few tribes, under loyal, or, it might be, temporising, chiefs,
maintained the semblance of obedience; but they were hardly
discernible amidst the seething mass of rebellion. Amru, hurrying
back from Omân (whither he had been sent by Mahomet as
ambassador at the Farewell Pilgrimage), witnessed the whole of
Central Arabia either in open revolt or ready to break away on the
first demand of tithes, and his report filled the citizens of Medîna with
dismay.[16] In truth, Islam had never taken firm hold of the distant
provinces; and as for the Bedouins, Mahomet had himself had
frequent cause to chide their fickleness. It was fear of punishment,
and the lust of plunder, rather than attachment to the faith, which had
hitherto held these wild sons of the desert in bondage to the Prophet.
The restraints and obligations of Islam were irksome and distasteful;
and now, on Mahomet’s death well rid of them, they hoped to return
to their lawless life.
As report after report came in of fresh
defection, Abu Bekr could but instruct his Demand for exemption from
tithes refused by Abu Bekr.
officers to hold on where they were able
with the loyal few, hoping to tide over the crisis till the return of
Osâma’s force. For the immediate defence of Medîna he took such
measures as were possible. He called in all that remained of the
faithful tribes in the neighbourhood, and posted pickets at the various
approaches to the city. The turbulent tribes in the near desert to the
east were the first to assume a threatening attitude. The Beni Abs
and Dzobiân massed there in such numbers ‘that the land was
straitened by them,’ and they parted into two bodies, one at
Rabadza,[17] the other at Dzul Cassa, the first station from Medîna
on the road to Nejd. The false prophet Toleiha sent his brother with
men to help them; but they still vacillated between the claims of the
pretender and Islam. At last they bethought themselves of a
compromise. They sent a deputation to Abu Bekr, offering to hold by
Islam and its ritual if only they were excused the tithe. The strangers
bearing the message were welcomed by the chiefs of Medîna, but by
the Caliph their advances were indignantly rejected. He would relax
not a tittle of the legal dues. ‘If ye withhold but the tether of a tithed
camel,’ said Abu Bekr, bluntly, ‘I will fight with you for the same.’ With
this refusal they retired, and also with the intelligence that the city
had but few defenders left. Now was the time, before the army came
back, not only for plunder, but to deliver a decisive blow. Abu Bekr,
foreseeing this, redoubled his precautions. He strengthened the
pickets, and set over them the chief men who had remained with him
—Aly, Zobeir, Talha, and Abdallah ibn Masûd. For the rest of the
people he appointed the Great Mosque a rendezvous. ‘The land hath
rebelled against us,’ he said, ‘and they have spied out our
nakedness and the weakness of our defence. Ye know not whether
they will come upon you by night or come upon you by day, or which
of you may be first attacked. They verily hoped that we should have
accepted their offer, but we rejected it. Wherefore be vigilant and
ready.’
And so it came to pass. They tarried
but three days, when a surprise was Attack on Medîna repelled.
attempted from Dzul Cassa. The outposts
were on the alert, and kept the assailants at bay while the main
guard was hurried up from the Mosque on camels. The Bedouins,
hardly prepared for so warm a reception, fled back upon their
reserves. They were pursued; but the camels of the Moslems, being
used only to draw water for the fields, took fright at a stratagem of
the enemy, and turning, fled back to the Mosque.[18] There were no
casualties among the Medîna troops, but the rebels were
emboldened by the flight of their opponents. Abu Bekr, anticipating a
renewed attack, called out every man capable of bearing arms, and
spent the night in marshalling his force. Next morning, while yet dark,
the Caliph himself led out the little band in regular array, with a
centre and two wings.[19] The enemy were taken by surprise at early
dawn, and as the sun rose were already in full flight. Abu Bekr drove
them with slaughter out of Dzul Cassa, and, leaving a portion of his
little force as an outpost there, returned with the rest to Medîna.
The affair was comparatively small, but
its effect great. As failure would have been Good effect of the victory.
disastrous, perhaps fatal, to Islam, so
victory was the turning-point in its favour. The power of the Prophet’s
successor, even without his proper army, to secure the city and beat
off his assailants was noised abroad. And soon after, the spirits of
the Moslems rose as they saw certain chiefs appear, bringing in the
tithes. The tribes they represented, to be sure, were few in contrast
with the apostate hordes; but it was an augury of brighter days to
come. Safwân and Zibricân, chiefs of two branches of the Beni
Temîm, and Adi son of Hâtim from a loyal branch of the Beni Tay,
were the first to present their legal offerings to the Caliph. Each was
ushered into his presence as an ambassador. ‘Nay,’ said Abu Bekr;
‘they are more than that; they are Messengers of glad tidings, true
men, and defenders of the faith.’ And the people answered, ‘Even
so; now the good things that thou didst promise are appearing.’
Tradition delights to ascribe with pious
gratitude the preservation of Islam to the Saving of Islam due to Abu
aged Caliph’s faith and fortitude. ‘On the Bekr.
death of Mahomet,’ we are told, ‘it wanted but little, and the faithful
had utterly perished. But the Lord strengthened the heart of Abu
Bekr, and stablished us thereby in the resolve to give place, no not
for one moment, to the apostates; and to say but these three words
—Submission, Exile, or the Sword.’ It was the simple faith in
Mahomet of Abu Bekr which fitted him for the task, and made him
carry out the law of his Master to the very letter. But for him, Islam
would have melted away in compromise with the Bedouin tribes, or
might have perished in the throes of its birth.
 CHAPTER IV.
RETURN OF OSÂMA. EXPEDITIONS FORMED AGAINST THE
APOSTATE TRIBES THROUGHOUT ARABIA.

A.H. XI. Sept.—Oct. A.D. 632

Osâma at last appeared, and Medîna,

for two months left unprotected, was Osâma’s return. Jumâd II.
relieved from further danger. The army a.h. XI. Sept. a.d. 632.
returned laden with booty. The royal Fifth was delivered to the
Caliph, and by him distributed among the people.[20]
Abu Bekr lost no time in now following
up the advantage he had gained over the Expedition against Beni Abs
and Dzobiân.
Beni Abs and Dzobiân. Driven back from
Dzul Cassa, they had retired to Rabadza, and vented their anger in
destroying by cruel deaths the faithful followers of the Prophet still
left amongst them. Deeply moved at the fate of these confessors,
Abu Bekr took a solemn oath that ‘he would by the like deaths
destroy as many of them as they had slain, or even more.’
Putting Osâma in command of the city,
and leaving the army there for a little while Abu Bekr chastises the rebel
tribes at Rabadza.
to recruit, Abu Bekr took the remaining
force and marched again towards Rabadza. The chief men
expostulated with him on going forth to fight in person. If a
commander were killed in action, his place could easily be filled; but
if the Caliph fell, their head and ruler would be gone. ‘Nay,’ replied
Abu Bekr; ‘but I will go forth, and will be your comrade even as one
of your own selves.’[21] So they marched on, and coming up with the
enemy at Abrac, completely discomfited them, killing some, and
taking others prisoners. The Beni Abs and Dzobiân fled to Toleiha,
and joined his army at Bozâkha. Thereupon Abu Bekr confiscated
their pasture-lands, and declared them to be for ever a public
domain reserved for the stud and camels of the State. On eventually
submitting, they found themselves thus debarred from re-entry; but
this was of comparatively little consequence, as they had, in the end,
ample compensation in the conquered lands beyond Arabia. After
some days spent at Rabadza, the Caliph returned to Medîna.
The army by this time was refitted. The
tithes had begun to come in from many Islam must be reimposed on
neighbouring tribes in token of submission. all Arabia.
Medîna was no longer in peril, and the citizens breathed freely. But a
heavy burden still lay upon the Caliph. Islam was to be the faith of all
Arabia;—‘Throughout the peninsula there shall be no second creed,’
was the behest of Mahomet on his death-bed. False prophets must
be crushed; rebels vanquished; apostates reclaimed or
exterminated; and the supremacy vindicated of Islam. It was, in
short, the mission of Abu Bekr to redeem the dying Prophet’s words.
With this great purpose, Abu Bekr went
forth a second time to Dzul Cassa, and Eleven expeditions
there summoned the whole available despatchedof Arabia.
to different parts

forces of Islam and all the loyal chiefs

around him. He divided them into eleven independent columns, and
over every one appointed a distinguished leader, to whom (following
the example of his Master) he presented a banner. Arabia was
mapped out, and each detachment given a province to reclaim, with
marching orders, where to begin and what course to take. Thus
Khâlid ibn Saîd was named for the Syrian border; Khâlid ibn Welîd
was to subdue Toleiha; and Ikrima with Shorahbîl, Moseilama;
Mohâjir was sent to Yemen; Alâ to Bahrein; Hodzeifa and Arfaja to
Mâhra; and Amru against the Beni Codhâa. And so by this great
scheme, in course of time, no spot would be left unconquered. The
troops retained at home were few; for few were needed now.[22]
Having despatched the various
expeditions, Abu Bekr returned to Medîna. Proclamation summoning
apostates to repent. Oct.,
There his first concern was to publish a a.d. 632.
summons to the apostate tribes,
commanding them everywhere to repent and submit themselves, on
which condition they should be pardoned, and received back into
Islam. Such as refused would be attacked, their fighting men cut to
pieces, and their women and children taken captive. This summons
was sent by the hand of envoys to every province and rebellious
tribe. The Adzân, or call to prayer, was to be the test of faith; if that
were heard and responded to, good and well; if not, the people were
apostate, and as such to be attacked.
Abu Bekr never again left Medîna to
lead his troops. Some say that afterwards Abu Bekr did not again go
he regretted this; but it is not likely that he out to fight.
did so. Medîna, where he continued to reside, was his proper place.
From it, as a central point, he was able to direct the movement of his
commanders all over the peninsula; and with operations in so many
different quarters to control he could not have been better situated.
It is more open to remark that none of
the more distinguished Companions of the No chief ‘Companion’
Prophet were appointed to commands. appointed to a command.
The same was the case with Omar, who was known to say that he
purposely refrained from nominating them to any government, both
out of respect to their dignity,[23] and also to strengthen his own
hands by having them about him as advisers. This latter reason may
also well have weighed with Abu Bekr, who used to take counsel on
all important matters with the leading Companions. Still, it is singular
that men like Aly and Zobeir, who took so prominent a part in the
battles of Mahomet, should now altogether disappear from
operations in the field.