Husain bin Ali, the Hashemite Shareef of Makkah, was smarting at the actions of the people of Khurmah, an oasis to the east of the Holy City of Makkah. They had declared themselves for Ibn Saud, welcomed Ikhwan preachers, rejected the Shareef's own religious emissary and resisted the armed force he had sent to teach them a lesson.

He now determined to reimpose his rule with an army of some 30,000 men, under the command of his son, Abdullah bin Husain. Ibn Saud was not prepared to let those who had committed themselves to him to be put down. He therefore deployed the Ikhwan and the Arabian Peninsula saw for the first time the military power that Ibn Saud now had at his disposal. Although enjoying vastly superior numbers, the forces of the Shareef of Makkah were utterly routed. The Ikhwan, under the command of Ibn Luway and Ibn Bijad, fell upon the Hashemites with all the zeal of an army that is convinced it is serving God's purpose. Abdullah bin Husain was lucky to escape to Taif with his life.

When word of the rout of Abdullah's army reached the Hijaz, there was panic that the fearsome Ikhwan would sweep westwards and march on Jeddah and the Holy City of Makkah but Ibn Saud knew that this was not the way nor was it the time to press home his advantage in Hijaz.

This battle and its outcome suggested to the British that Ibn Saud rather than the Shareef of Makkah was the dominant Arab power in the Arabian Peninsula.

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