Part 49

When this case was brought before *Uthmaan, he certainly displayed admirable wisdom and subtleness in handling a_ thorny situation that could have easily given way to sedition and trouble among a nation that was still grieving a heavy loss. Instead. ~Uthmaan managed to solve the problem and restore peace and harmony among Muslims.

Conquests in the Life-Time of ~Uthmaan:

Rebellion of Azerbaijan and Armenia:

Azerbaijan and Armenia were conquered during the lifetime of “Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab. There arose a rebellion against the Islamic government after his death. ~Uthmaan ordered Waleed Ibn ~Uqbah, the governor of Kufah at that time, to crush the rebellion. He sent Islamic forces and regained the territory taken over by the rebels. This happened in the year 26 AH

During the same period, Mu*awiyah sent an army to Armenia to face the Byzantines. The Muslim army was under the command of Habeeb [bn Maslamah Al-Fihri. He occupied some of the forts, but Constans II sent a huge army of 80,000 men to face the Muslims. Seeing the situation, Mu’ awiyah wrote to *Uthmaan for reinforcement. He ordered Al-Waleed Ibn ~Uqbah. He received the Caliph's order when he was returning from Azerbaijan after taking it over from the rebels and immediately sent an army of 8,000 under the command of

Salmaan Ibn Rabee>ah to Armenia. The two armies conquered the whole region of Armenia after defeating the Roman forces. They also conquered some more parts of Asia Minor including Aran and Garjastan. Thus by the end of the 26 AH the territory up to the Caucasus Mountains came under the sway of Islam.

Byzantine Invasion of Alexandria:

In the year 25 AH (645 AC) there was a big rebellion in Alexandria, and in 26 AH, the Byzantine army took possession of the city after a fight with the Muslims. The Muslims wrote to the Caliph asking him to bring Amr Ibn Al-* Aas back to the rule of the city in order to regain Alexandria. *Uthmaan accepted the plea, and directed ~ Amr Ibn Al-* Aas to crush the rebellion and beat back the invasion. ~ Amr again attacked the city, drove the Byzantines out and recovered the port city of Alexandria.

Conquest of Khurasan and Tabrastan:

In 30 AH Sa‘eed Ibn Al-*Aas, newly appointed governor of Al-Kufah, marched towards Khurasan with an army in which some prominent figures like Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn, ~Abdullaah Ibn ~* Abbaas, ~ Abdullaah Ibn ~ Umar, Az-Zubayr, Hudhayfah Ibn Al-Yamaan, may Allah be pleased with all of them, joined in the expedition. At the same time ~ Abdullaah Ibn ‘Aamir, the governor of Basrah, also marched there. Before * Abdullaah [bn ~ Aamir reached, Sa* eed Ibn Al-* Aas conquered a number of places including Tabrastan and Jarjan.

In the year 31 AH *Abdullaah Ibn * Aamir again

journeyed there after hearing the news of rebellion. Then he conquered the remaining part of Khurasan.

Conquest of North Africa:

For the defense of Egypt it was necessary to drive away the Byzantines from North Africa. During ~Umar's caliphate, “Amr Ibn Al-* Aas suggested to the Caliph that he should conquer North Africa, but the Caliph rejected the idea.

When *Abdullaah Ibn Sarh was appointed as a full-rank governor of Egypt, he took permission from the Caliph to advance into the northern territory. In the year 27 AH he went with an army to conquer Tripoli, the main Byzantine fort of North Africa at that time. ~Uthmaan also sent a reinforcement from Madeenah which included men like Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn, * Abdullaah Ibn ~ Umar, * Abdullaah Ibn Az-Zubayr, ~ Abdullaah Ibn “Amr Ibn AlAas, and ~Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with all of them. After some disagreements, the inhabitants of Tripoli agreed to negotiate peace and promised to pay the Jizyah annually. This victory cleared the way for the advance of Muslims in North Africa and soon they conquered Tunisia and Morocco and a part of Algeria.

The Conquest of Cyprus:

Cyprus _ is one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean sea and it lies on the eastern side with two mountain chains. Cyprus, which was part of the Byzantine Empire, was an agricultural economy due to its fertile land.

The conquest of Cyprus was carried out by the Mu’ awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyaan who invaded it with an army that included a group of the Prophet's Companions. Some of them were: Abu Dharr, ~Ubaadah Ibn As-Saamit and his wife Um Haram, Abu Ad-Dard' and Shaddaad Ibn Qays. Mu’ awiyah had

When “Umar read the message he wrote back to Mu‘ awiyah saying: "I swear to Allah, Who sent Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, with the right guidance, I will never send Muslims to sea, for I have heard that Ash-Shaam sea is very high and every day and night it threatens the earth with drowning. But Allah restrains it! So how could I send Muslims to that tyrant (unbeliever)! The lives of Muslims are much more precious than all that the Byzantines have. So do not ever ask me that again, and remember what I have done to Abi Al- *Alaa’."

This message reflects the Arabs’ fear of the sea. ~ Umar considered that it threatened the earth with drowning every day and night. In any case, “Umar did not want to take the risk of sending Muslims to sea.

When *Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, became Caliph, Mu’ awiyah wrote to him asking his permission to invade via the sea and insisted that he approves. Finally, “Uthmaan approved, but he did not make recruitment compulsory. It was voluntary so that if they were defeated no

one would blame him. This reflects that he was influenced by *Umar's opinion about the dangers of the sea.

The first Muslim fleet was the one sent to conquer Cyprus in 28 AH under the command of ~ Abdullaah [bn Qays. Another fleet from Egypt sailed from Alexandria under the command of *Abdullaah [bn Sa‘ d and joined the first fleet in invading Cyprus.

When they arrived at Cyprus, the people of Cyprus made peace with the Muslims. The condition was that they pay 7000 dinars to the Muslims annually and a_ similar amount to the Byzantines and to fight with the Muslims against their enemies.

Therefore, Cyprus fell easily in the hands of Muslims because its Christian garrison was weak. It is said that *Abdullaah Ibn Qays led 50 battles at sea and no member of his fleet drowned. He was killed while he was on a mission exploring a Byzantine harbor. He sailed in a reconnaissance boat. and when they reached the harbor, the enemy was able to recognize him, and they killed him.

During this conquest Umm Haram Bint Milhaan AlAnsaariyyah, the wife of *Ubadah Ibn As-Saamit lost her life exactly as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had predicted. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to honor her by visiting her, and sleeping at her house. One day the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was visiting her and he slept for a while, then he woke up smiling and said: "I dreamt that some people amongst my followers were sailing on the green sea in Allah's Cause, and they were like kings on thrones." Umm Haraam said: “O Messenger of Allah! Pray for me to be one of them". The Prophet said to her: "You are amongst them". Then he slept again, and when he woke up he smiled. Umm Haraam asked him: "O Prophet of Allah, what

makes you smile?" He said: "I dreamt that some people amongst my followers were sailing on the sea like kings". She then told him again: "O Prophet! Pray for me to be one of them". He said: "You will be amongst the first group of them." Later on she married * Ubadah Ibn As-Saamit, and she sailed to Cyprus. When they reached the shore, she mounted her riding animal, which threw her down breaking her neck and she died. Al-Waaqidi and Abu Ma’ shar say that this took place in 34 AH

The Battle of Dhaat As-Sawaari (31 AH - 652 AC):

Alaskari says: ~Uthmaan was the first to give people plots of land to cultivate (funded by the public treasury); the first to lower his voice in Takbeer (saying Allahu Akbar); the first to perfume mosques with incense; the first to order the

pronouncement of the first Adhaan to Salaah in Jum ah prayer; the first to give salaries to Mu'adhins (prayer callers); the first to stammer while giving a Khutbah, he said: "O people! Things are usually hard at the beginning and there are still many days to come. So if I live I will give the complete speech, I am not good at delivering speeches but I will learn, Insha-Allah." (Narrated by Ibn Sa‘ d.)

He, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first to assum. leadership in the lifetime of his mother; the first to appoint a sheriff; the first to migrate with his family to Madeenah and he was the first to standardize a special way for reciting the Quran.