Bahrain (E. Arabia)

In the early Islamic geographical sense, 'Bahrain' (al-Bahrayn) referred to the whole region of eastern Arabia along the Persian Gulf coast, including the modern island state of Bahrain and the adjacent mainland (al-Hasa/al-Qatif). The region submitted to Islam in the Prophet's lifetime; the companion and prolific hadith narrator Abu Hurayra (d. c. 678) served for a time as its governor under the caliph Umar.