After an indecisive battle, Muhammad bin Talal withdrew inside the walls of Hail.
Ibn Saud decided to lay siege to the town rather than to bombard it into submission. He was confident that Hail would fall to him and it was pointless to use unnecessary force which would serve only to destroy property and alienate the townsfolk who would soon be part of Ibn Saud's domain. For some weeks, he waited patiently. The captains responsible for guarding the three main gates in the city walls were systematically offered bribes. In the end, one of them succumbed to temptation and Ibn Saud's men entered the city. By then, the patience of the citizens of Hail with their fractious Rashidi leaders must have been exhausted.
The Rashidi leader withdrew to the town fortress where he remained for a few weeks before recognizing the inevitability of Ibn Saud's success and surrendering.
Ibn Saud took personal charge of the occupation of Hail, to the chagrin of Faisal Ad-Dawish. Once again Ibn Saud showed magnanimity in victory, a magnanimity that combined mercy and shrewdness in equal measure. He forbade his men to loot the town and provided food for the townspeople who, after the siege, were hungry. The Al Rashid were treated with courtesy and removed to Riyadh where they enjoyed Ibn Saud's patronage and formed part of Ibn Saud's court. Ibn Saud took one of the widows as his wife. Even Muhammad bin Talal, who had resisted Ibn Saud until captured, was pardoned.
The troops of the Al Rashid were absorbed into Ibn Saud's forces. Of the three captains who had guarded the three gates of the city against Ibn Saud, the two who had refused bribes enjoyed faster promotion than the one who had succumbed to temptation.
