Ayyām al-ʿArab , "days of the Arabs," is the name applied in Arabic literature to the combat, skirmishes, and even wars that Arab tribes fought amongst themselves in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times. Each particular day (yawm) had its own name (e.g., Yawm ʿAyn Ubāgh , "the Day of the Spring of Ubāgh," Yawm Buʿāth , "the Day of Buʿāth"), usually taken from the name of the location or from a natural feature of the area where the fighting took place. Occasionally the names of people were given to a