Part 43

~Amr had to decide whether to start with the castle of Babilion or Alexandria. He chose to begin with the castle on which he imposed a rigorous blockade. ~ Amr was totally aware of the real depth of the situation he was up against. He realized that the blockade could last for a long while, during which a lot could take place. He did not think succor was unlikely to arrive for the Byzantines from Alexandria. However, he thought the Byzantines were more likely to give up crushing Muslims or

even lifting the blockade. For a whole month, the besieged 253

Byzantines engaged in skirmishes against the Arabs, practically on daily basis. They threw stones and arrows at them by means of catapults and Muslims, in turn, answered by throwing stones and arrows, too. During this month, Al-Muqawais, realising that the situation was not very promising, managed to convince his counsellors to accept a compromise. They agreed to offer Muslims a considerable amount of money in return for their lifting the blockade and evacuating the place right away. They were obviously under the illusion that their enemies launched an invasion in pursuit of money, loot or worldly goals. However, much to their surprise, Muslims declined their offer. Instead, they offered them three alternatives: either to embrace Islam and therefore be their fellow brothers and enjoy all Muslim rights, submissively pay the Jizyah, or continue to adamantly fight and sink deeper in ignorance.

With the situation critical as it was, a number of attempts were made to reach a compromise between the two sides, Nonetheless, that never meant the blockade was to come to an end. At last, a settlement was reached between * Amr Ibn AL “Aas and Al-Mugawgqis, which the latter said had to be sanctioned by the Byzantines emperor in Constantinople. It was hence agreed that the settlement would be sent to the emperor, but, in the meantime, the two fighting parties called a truce. After quite some time, the emperor's reply arrived, which was a_ shock to Al-Muqawgqis. Much to his surprise, he was accused of treason, on account of which the emperor deposed him. Further, according to the Byzantine emperor, a truce with the Arabs was not an option. The Byzantine troops were to fight Muslims pompously and ferociously. This being the case, Muslims saw no point in abiding by the truce any longer. They therefore prepared to launch a massive attack against the castle of Babilion.

Muslims besieged the castle for seven long months,

during which the situation grew, in every sense, intolerable. Realising that his troops were weary and exhausted, ~Amr began to spur Muslims on by explaining to them that fighting for the Cause of Allah was never easy, that they were not the first to face hardships in war and that they ought not to be less intrepid or bold in the face of death than Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed in Damascus or Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqaas in Al-Madaa’in. AzZubayr Ibn Al-- Awwaam was the most enthusiastic of them all. His heart was filled with a strong desire to spread Islam all across the earth even if his own life was the price to be paid. He was eagerly anxious to win Allah's reward in the Hereafter, in pursuit of which nothing would be too dear.

One evening, he thought of embarking on a daring action in order to put an end to the stagnant situation they were stuck in. He therefore stealthily swam across the trench surrounding the walls of the castle. He then put up a ladder along the outer side of the wall and agreed with his assistants to repeat the cry of war, "Allah is the Greatest" the moment they heard him shout it and to follow him right away. Driven by rare valor and steadfast faith, Az-Zubayr went up the wall, on top of which he cried loudly, "Allah is the Greatest" with his sword glittering in his hand. Muslims immediately shouted the cry of war, too. Thinking Muslims stormed into castle, the Byzantines fearfully fled. Az-Zubayr then went down on the other side of the wall, hurried to the gate of the castle and opened it, whereupon all Muslims thronged inside the castle and collected much booty.

With the castle of Babilion finally captured, Muslims began to contemplate the second stage of the conquest. ~ Amr believed that it was high time to invade Alexandria, then the capital of Egypt. He therefore immediately dispatched a message to the Commander of the Faithful asking him permission to head for Alexandria. “Umar, in turn, swiftly replied since he knew that Muslims would better conqueror

Alexandria before the Nile Flood, which was drawing near. No sooner did ~Amr receive the Caliph's reply than he marched at the head of a massive army towards Alexandria. Before he did, he appointed Kharijah Ibn Hudhayfah Ash-Shami to command the garrison he left at the castle.

The Muslim army that “Amr marched to Alexandria amounted to fifteen thousand, if not more than twenty thousand fighters. When he asked for succor, he was granted it as * Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab was of the view that so long as a leader proceeded victoriously in the land he sought to conquer, he was entitled to all the succor he needed. The crushed remnants of the Byzantine troops sought refuge at a fort, called Keryone, some distance before Alexandria. When Muslims arrived at Keryone, one of the most ferocious battles flared up, as a result of which many lives were lost on both sides, yet victory was won by neither. This no-win, no-lose situation lasted for thirteen days, and the end of which the Byzantines were finally defeated, This city of Keryone was then captured and its castles seized.

Instead of marching straight to Alexandria, ~ Amr chose to give his army some time to rest. He then headed for Alexandria with no resistance at all along the way. The moment Muslims laid their eyes on Alexandria, they were stunned by its matchless beauty, the like of which they did not see in Damascus, Al-Madaa’in or Antakyah. “Amr commanded his troops to storm into the city walls and towers. Anticipating that Muslims would be soon to arrive, the Byzantines were wellprepared. Once Muslim fighters approached the city walls, heavy stones were hurled down on them by the catapults stabled at the top of the walls. Muslims hardly expected such a sudden attack and were therefore taken off guard. Though the Byzantines at that pojnt seemed to be in a better position than Muslims, particularly as they were easily succored by sea,

~Amr did not give up hope. He immediately ordered his soldiers to move eastwards, away from the reach of the catapults. For ten whole months, Muslims persistently continued to blockade Alexandria, and for ten whole months, the Byzantines adamantly refused to give in. In the meantime, *Amr sent some units to Delta and Upper Egypt in pursuit of the cowed remaining Byzantine soldiers who fled to those areas. However, throughout those ten months, not for a minute did ~Amr_ give up hope of capturing Alexandria when the time was ripe.

Conditions did not stay inconvenient for long. A favorable opportunity was soon to knock on Muslims’ door. The Byzantine emperor died and was succeeded by his wife and son who came to power against the people's will. Naturally, the the whole of Byzantium: the royal court and the masses, was plunged in a state of anarchy. Busy with the inner turmoil, the Byzantines hardly had time to think about the overseas dominions. Succor ceased to be sent to Alexandria. Consequently, the garrison there grew weaker and was no longer able to keep its strength, That was ~Amr's golden chance,

After the decease of Heraclius, Al-Mugawgqis came back to power as commander of Alexandria. When ~ Amr learned that people of Alexandria, excluding the Copts, were preparing to fight Muslims, he issued a command for his soldiers to launch war against their enemies. At that point, Al-Muqawgqis dispatched a messenger to ~Amnr calling for peace and asking for a truce, an offer which ‘Amr flatly rejected. This marked the start of war. It took the Byzantines a series of defeats to finally yield to Muslims. Hence, Alexandria was captured by Muslims and the word of Islam was declared all across it. With the departure of the Byzantines from Alexandria, the whole of Egypt was annexed to the Muslim state, and was guided to the

Right Path. All Byzantines had fled from Egypt, with the exception of Al-Muqawqis who chose to remain in Alexandria and spent the rest of his life in his castle till the died and was buried there.

When It Was Time to Go:

After a lifetime of striving for the sake of Allah, obedience of His Commands and sacrifice of all that is held dear, after devoting his entire life to establishing the truth, wiping out falsehood and maintaining justice among people, AlFarooq had this strange feeling that it would not be long before he departed this life. Zayd Ibn Aslam reports that his father said: "“Umar said: 'O Allah! Grant me martyrdom in Your Cause, and let my death be in the city of Your Messenger.'" (Reported by Al-Buklhari.) In 23 AH, ~Umar accompanying the Prophet's wives, performed the Hajj for the last time before he died. Sa*ced Ibn Al-Museeb narrates that when * Umar finished performing the Hajj rituals, he headed for Al-Abtah, where he supplicated to Allah: "O Allah, my strength has waned, I have aged and my subjects have spread everywhere. So take my life before I fall short of discharging my duty or lapse in ignorance." He then went back to Madinah where he addressed people saying: “O people, I have established for you the Prophet's Sunnah, enjoined on you Allah's commands and left you on clear-cut track so you would not lead people astray.” Sa*eed proceeds: "The months of Dhul-Hijjah was not over before “Umar was killed." He even had a dream that foretold his martyrdom. It is reported that ~ Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab went up the pulpit on a Friday, praised Allah and glorified Him, mentioned the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, then said: "I have had a dream that I can only have when my life is about to end. I saw a cock which pecked at me twice. I recounted this dream of mine to 'Asmaa' Bint *Umays who told me: 'A non-Arab man

will kill you.' " The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, the was the first to break to him the good news that he will die as a martyr. Anas Ibn Malik narrates: "The Prophet once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, ~Umar and *Uthmaan. The mountain shook underneath their feet. The Prophet said (to the mountain): ‘Be firm, O Uhud, for on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq (someone trustworthy) and two martyrs.' " (Reported by Al-Buklhari.)