Part 17

Al-Aswad Al-* Ansi was a man of suspicious nature. He felt that in order to strengthen his position he must overthrow Feroz and Qays. Feroz and Qays soon fell out with Al-Aswad.

Azad, too, bitterly hated Al-* Ansi. In conspiracy spearheaded by Qays, Feroz and Azad, Al-Aswad was assassinated. In the morning, they gave Adhaan and celebrated their getting rid of the evil of Al-Aswad Al-*Ansi. Thereafter, they agreed to entrust their affairs to Mu*aadh Ibn Jabal, who used to lead them in Salaah. The news reached Madeenah in the morning of the same day when the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, passed away.

When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, died, the people of Yemen, incited by some of their leaders, again bolted away from Islam. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, sent a word to those who remained steadfast on the path of Islam asking them to stand against the apostates until help and reinforcement come to them. Abu Bakr dispatched a huge force under the command of Al-Muhaajir Ibn Abi Umayyah, who got San‘aa' back, and took the leaders of apostasy movement, Qays Ibn *Abd Yaghooth and * Amr Ibn Ma‘d Yakrib, as captives.

Thereafter, Al-Muhaajir marched to Kindah at Hadramawt, which had also apostatized from Islam. There the forces of Al-Muhaajir and those of *Ikrimah Ibn Abi Jahl joined together, and fought against Kindah till they defeated them, and took Al-Ash’ath Ibn Qays as captive. Then they sent to Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, Al-Madeenah to give him the glad tidings of the conquest.

The Conquests in the Lifetime of As-Sideeq The Motives behind Muslim Conquests: By and large, Islam was not revealed to the tribe of

Quraysh or to Arabs exclusively. Islam was revealed to guide humanity in its entirety. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

"We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not.” (Saba': 28)

and "We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures." (AlAnbiyaa’: 107)

Though the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, spent thirteen years in Makkah calling unto its people to embrace Islam, and ten years in Madeenah calling unto Arabs in general, along with non-Arabs, to worship their Sole Creator, and fighting whoever tried to stand in his way, he constantly focused on the universality of Islam even in Muslims’ darkest hours. For instance, when Khabbaab Ibn Al-Aratt, may Allah be pleased with him, spoke to him complaining about the severe torture Quraysh inflicted on them, the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, answered: "J swear by Allah that He will see this call through until the day comes when a traveler would journey from San*aa' to Hadramawt fearing none but Allah and the wolf lest it should devour his sheep, but you are impatient."

Also, during the battle of the Trench, while Muslims were busy digging a trench round Madeenah, the Prophet pointed to his companions that the call to Islam is for the whole of mankind. He also foretold that the Muslim state will extend to include the lands of the Persians and the Romans. He, peace

and blessings be upon him, said that the light that glimmered from the rock that he hit showed him palaces of Khosrau, the Romans and Basrah. He also said that Gabriel told him that his nation will have the upper hand over them.

Consequently, once the Prophet made peace with Quraysh, he began to send messengers outside the Arab Peninsula, calling Khosrau, Caesar, rulers of Basrah, Egypt and Abyssinia to worship Allah and embrace Islam. He warned them that if they turned down his call, they would thus be committing a huge sin as they would have prevented the call for the truth from reaching their nations.

Afterwards, he sent out a campaign to the outskirts of Syria where the battle of Mu'tah took place. Further, at the age of sixty, Prophet Muhammad went out to Tabook in order to practically show Muslims the way to call to Islam so long as rulers and kings stood in the way of messengers and would not let the words of truth find their way to the masses.

The Prophet was hence setting an example for all Muslims who were to shoulder the responsibility of spreading Islam all around the globe in order to comply with Allah's words when He says:

cver 3 ) pdt ) "Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a

witness over yourselves." (Al-Baqarah: 143) and

"And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protectorthe best to protect and the best to help!" (Al-

Therefore, when Muslims managed to unite under the banner of Islam and annihilate apostasy in the Arabian Peninsula, their next goal was to spread Islam throughout the world. That was indeed one of the prime motives behind Muslim conquests.

Aims of Muslim conquests:

The basic aim of Muslim conquests was to spread the call to Islam to all nations in all lands, away from all forms of coercion, and to conquer tyrannical rulers who would adamantly stand in its way.

When reviewing Muslim conquests that took place between Muslims and other nations, whether at its outset, during its peak, or towards its end, we realize that they were all based on one and the same principle: calling on people to

embrace Islam, or to enter into a peace agreement and lead a dignified life under the protection of Muslims. If they rejected both options, war would be the only choice left.

This is illustrated in the words of Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed to the ruler of Al-Hayrah when he said: "I call on you to worship Allah and embrace Islam. Should you accept our call, you become Muslims enjoying the same rights-and shouldering the same responsibilities. Should you reject; you have to pay the Jizyah. Should you refuse to pay the Jizyah, you will have to face men who are keener on death than you are on life. We will fight you till Allah's word comes to pass between us." Similarly, Khalid always had his army leaders call on people to embrace Islam first before battling with them. — This is best expressed in the message he sent to rulers of Persia which read: "In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, from Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed to the ruler of Persia: embrace Islam in order to live in peace. If you do not, you will live under my protection in return for the Jizyah. Otherwise, you are up against people who love death just as much as you love wine."

Added to the above-mentioned aim is another, namely, securing the yet budding Muslim state against the evil plots concocted by its enemies who were secretly lurking waiting to make their move, mainly the Persians, the Romans and others.

It therefore becomes obvious that coercion was never the way to embrace Islam. True belief has to be based on total and complete conviction. Swords were unsheathed only to open the way for the call to the truth. Forces of evil embodied in the tyrannical kings and rulers had to be driven off the road in order for their peoples to see the bright light of day.

The Conquest of Iraq The Battle of Chains:

When Khalid [bn Al-Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, finished the wars against the apostates, he received orders from Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, that he should march to Iraq and start operations in the region of Uballah where the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, met. Four other columns each under the command of Muthanna, Madhaar, Harmalah, and Salama were also directed to proceed to Iraq to reinforce the main Muslim army under the command of Khalid Ibn Waleed.

Uballah, being a junction of many land routes, was the gateway of Iraq and commanded great strategic importance. The Governor of the district was Hormuz, a veteran General and a skilful administrator. He was an imperialist, very haughty and an intolerable man. He held the Arabs in contempt, and thus he was very disliked. His harshness and high handedness became the subject of a saying among the local Arabs: "more hateful than Hormuz," and "there is no infidel more wicked than Hormuz".

As soon as Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed received orders to march to Iraq, he sent a letter to Hormuz calling upon him to accept Islam. The letter read: "Surrender to Islam, and you will live in peace. In the alternative you may agree to the payment of Jizyah, and you and your people will be under our protection. Otherwise you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences. I have brought you a people who desire death as ardently as you desire life." Thus the letter gave Hormuz three options: to embrace Islam, to pay the Jizyah, and fighting.

Getting no reply, Khalid divided his army into three regiments of 6,000 men each. Hormuz, on the other hand, mustered his forces and set out from Uballah to encounter the Muslim forces. On the direct route from Uballah to Yamaamah, the first stage was Kazimah, and Hormuz decided to fight the Muslims at that place. His idea was that the Muslim forces should be kept away from Uballah. On arrival at Kazimah, Hormuz deployed his army with a center and two wings, the right and the left. His men were linked together with chains, and in this state of affairs the Persians awaited the arrival of the Muslim forces.

Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed gave a slip to the Persians, and instead of following the direct route to Uballah via Kazimah, he followed the indirect route via Hafeer. Hafeer was much closer to Uballah than Kazimah, and when Hormuz came to know that Khalid had already reached Hafeer, he was very upset. He immediately ordered his forces to march to Hafeer. When they teached Hafeer, they found that the Muslim forces had left for Kazimah. The Persians had no option but to march back to Kazimah. When the Persian forces reached Kazimah, Khalid allowed them no time to rest. As the Muslim forces were already deployed for battle, the Persians were forced to go into action. The Persian forces were linked in chains, and it was due to the use of these chains that the battle of Kazimah is called the "Battle of Chains."