Part 41

The news of the peace settlement that people of Jerusalem struck with the Commander of the Faithful was quick to reach people of Ramlah. They therefore did their best to conclude a similar agreement, and eventually succeeded in gaining one. All towns and cities in Palestine were then to follow suit until the entire of Palestine was conquered.

Having accomplished the mission for which he came, ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab then thought of visiting Jerusalem. Therefore, one morning, “Umar, accompanied by * Amr Ibn Al- ‘Aas and Sharhabee! Ibn Hasannah, left Al-Gabiah for Jerusalem. Upon his arrival, “Umar was received by the city's Bishop and key figures. The Commander of the Faithful treated them cordially and spoke to them kindly that they were all amazed at the humbleness and tolerance of the Commander of a nation that brought them all to their Knees. It set their minds and hearts at case to see how he was a living example of justice, which they were not at all used to all the years they were under the tyrannical rule of the oppressive Byzantines during the reign of Heraclius. They were reassured that he would honour the peace settlement they signed with him. At the end of the day, they asked permission to leave promising to come back the next morning to take the Commander of the Faithful for a tour in the city. “Umar was waiting to be alone to kneel down in prostration before Allah in utter gratitude for the invaluable Grace He bestowed on him, namely conquering Jerusalem, the city of Al-Aqsa mosque. He was delighted to be second to none

but the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, to pray in the Al-Aqsa mosque. ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, not Abu Bakr, was granted that honour. He was overjoyed at having entered Jerusalem without shedding blood. He was also thrilled to walk into the city and be so warmly received by people who did not see in him a tyrannical conqueror, but a peace-lover who freed them from the hateful grip on the Byzantines.

The next morning, the Bishop did come to take the Commander of the Faithful on a sightseeing tour in the city. He walked in Al-Aqsa mosque from the same door wherefrom the Prophet entered on the night of the Night Journey (Israa’). It is reported that upon his entering the mosque, ~ Umar repeated the Talbiyah’ and that he offered the salutational prayer at David's niche, then led Muslims in the noon prayer the next day. He then asked the Bishop to locate to him the Rock. He next asked him where he thought he should build the mosque. The Bishop suggested that he build it behind the Rock. ~Umar however refused the idea explaining that he would be thus imitating the Jews. Instead he had the mosque erected in front of Al-Aqsa mosque. This mosque is presently known as the *Umari mosque. “Umar then began to wipe the garbage off the Rock, carrying it in his own garment. Muslims immediately joined him. Before ~Umar's departure, he assigned to people of Jordan the task of cleaning the Rock. When Christians ruled Jerusalem three hundred years before the advent of Islam, they turned the Rock into a waste tip because the Jews had dumped garbage at the place where Jesus's lookalike was crucified. It is narrated that the Romans cleared the place and built a huge church there instead. On his tour in Jerusalem, and while ~ Umar was at AlQiamah church, noon prayer was due. So the Bishop asked *Umar if he could offer his prayer in the church, being a house of Allah's, too. However, *Umar politely declined the offer on

; Saying: Here I come upon your calling, O Lord, here I come.

the grounds that should he pray in the church, Muslims later on may take it as a commendable tradition, and end up therefore expelling Christians from their churches, an unpardonable violation of the Pledge of Security Muslims had concluded with them. This episode is indeed a memorable one in history, as it brings into the spotlight one of the most significant features of Islam, namely tolerance. There is no way Muslims who abide by the true spirit of Islam and stick to its real essence, could ever persecute non-Muslims. Muslims beyond all doubt believe in Judaism and Christianity, being two heavenly religions revealed prior to Islam. “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab's stance on that day refutes all vicious allegations that claim that Islam spread by force or coercion. The one slogan that Islam uphold since day one is freedom of faith: each is entitled to embrace whatever religion he wishes. The call to Islam and the worship of Allah should be made with wisdom and good exhortation.

Apart from that, the visit of ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab to Jerusalem abounds in lessons for Muslims to learn and particularly for rulers to contemplate. It is reported that * Umar set out for Al-Gabiah along the route of Iliaa' riding a largehumped camel, with his head exposed to the sun, with no cap or hood to protect it, and with his two legs hanging down with no stirups. His saddle was a_ piece of wool, which he used for a saddle for riding, and for a bed at night. His bag was actually a piece of cloth filled with fiber. He also used it as a pillow when asleep. He wore a garment that was torn at the sides. “Umar said: "Call the chief of the people." So they called the AlJaloomas. He then ordered: "Wash my garment, sew it and lend me another." He was brought a linen garment. He asked, "What is this?" He was answered, "Linen." He again asked, "What is linen?" When they explained to him, ‘Umar took off his garment. It was then washed and patched. When they gave it back to him, he took off their garment and put on his. AlJaloomas told him: " You are the King of the Arabs. Camels are

not fit for this country. Should you wear something else and ride a workhorse, you would be more respected by the Romans." “Umar replied: "We are people whom Allah has honoured by Islam. So we seek nothing instead of Allah's Satisfaction.” He was brought a workhorse, on which he placed a piece of cloth with no saddle and rode it. He immediately cried: " Stop it! Stop it! I never knew people could ride the devil before today." He then asked for his camel to be brought and mounted it.

It is reported that in the Jahiliah (i.e. the pre-Islamic era) “Umar headed for Syria among the group of merchants from Quraish. When they departed, he was late on account of some business he had to take care of. While he was still in the city, a patriarch grappled with him. ~“Umar tried to resist him but could not. The patriarch pushed ~Umar into a house where there was a pile of earth, an ax, a shovel and a scuttle. He then commanded him, “Take this (pile) from here to there." The man then closed the door and left, and was not back before midday. “Umar recounts: "I sat down pensive and did nothing of what he told me to do. When he returned, he asked me why I did not do as he ordered me to. He then punched me in the head. I picked up the shovel, hit him with it and killed him. I then wandered aimlessly till I arrived at a monk's monastery and stayed by it since the evening of that day. When the monk spotted me, he came down and let me in. He offered me food, drink and was generous to me. The man kept staring at me and asking me questions. I told him: 'I lost track of my friends." He returned: 'Your eyes are full of fear.' He continued to gaze at me. He then said: 'Christians are well aware that | am the most well-versed in their Holy Book and I can foresee that it will be you who will drive us out of our land. So will you sign me an agreement granting this monastery of mine security?’ 1 rejoined: ‘Oh, no! This is absurd.’ Yet, the monk insisted till I did sign him the security agreement he asked for. When it was time for

me to leave, he gave me a donkey and said: ‘Ride it. When you join your friends, send it back to me on_ its own, as every monastery it passes by will be kind to it.' I did as he asked me to." Later, when * Umar came to conquer Jerusalem, the monk came to meet him while he was still at Al-Gabiah and brought him the peace agreement. ~Umar thereupon signed it for him, on the condition that he shows hospitality to all Muslims who passed him by, and guide them along the way. (Reported by Ibn * Aasaakir and others.)

Having accomplished the goal for which he came, ~ Umar saw no reason why he should stay any longer. He therefore headed back home. Since good news travels fast, the glad tidings of Muslims’ victory in Syria and Palestine flew rapidly to Madinah, where people were overjoyed. They therefore went out and awaited the safe return of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab outside Madinah. When the Caliph reached the capital of the Muslim state, he was warmly received by his fellow brothers in Islam who were all full of admiration for a man who went out of his way and spared no effort to spread Islam and clear the earth of vicious idolatry and atheism.

The Conquest of Egypt:

Having conquered Palestine and signed a peace settlement with people there, ~Amr Ibn Al-* Aas started to toy with the idea of invading Egypt. He foresaw the danger in Tribunus' seeking shelter in the Nile Valley after being chased from Palestine. He realised that he would be safe in Egypt whose fertile land and abundant resources would stand asa natural barrier against any invasion. ~ Amr therefore wished to immediately pursue Tribunus so as not to give an opportunity to mobilize an army and reinforce his position. Moreover, ~ Amr did not think Egyptians would pose any difficulty since they were embittered by the oppression of the Byzantines who

exploited the country's natural resources leaving Egyptians nothing but bare subsistence wages in return for their toil on the land. It was right after the conquest of Jerusalem in 16 AH that *Amr first talked to “Umar about the idea. Though “Umar listened carefully to what ~Amr had to say, he simply was not quite comfortable with the idea of engaging in such a tremendous task at that point for a number of reasons. First and foremost, up till 17 AH, the policy of the Commander of the Faithful was that conquests should not transcend the Arab world and that since Muslims had conquered the entire of Syria and Iraq and annexed them to the Arab Peninsula, that was sufficient to secure their northern and eastern borders and grant the budding Muslim state more strength. Secondly, towards the end of the year 18 AH, the entire Arabia was struck by a serious famine threatening all Muslims with extinction. This was a famous year in Muslim history, known as the Ramadah Year. At that point, ~Umar had nothing on his mind but relieving the pain of the starving Muslims. The thought of invading new territories and waging war against the Byzantines was simply so_ ill-timed and ill-advised, too, as Muslim troops could not hope for succor if they ever needed any. Thirdly, once the famine in Arabia began to abate, people in Palestine were inflicted by a severe plague, which, unfortunately spread to Syria and Iraq and posed a real threat to Muslims’ security. Under such critical circumstances, one is not to be surprised that the conquest of Egypt was not on “Umar's agenda. During this rather turbulent period of time, ~Amr_ his plans kept to himself and awaited when a good opportunity offered itself to effect them. It was only when the famine in Arabia ended and the plague in Syria abated that he thought the issue could be discussed afresh. ~Umar went on a visit to Syria to recondition its affairs and reconstruct its armies. “Am Ibn Al-* Aas received him at Al-Gabiah and accompanied him along his tour. He kept talking incessantly to the Caliph and pulled all stops to convince him of the importance of invading Egypt. At last,