Part 12

' A tax levied on disbelivers under Muslim rule in piace of zakah.

Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah went with the delegation to Yemen and according to the instructions received from the Prophet 38, fulfilled his duty. The laudatory sentences, the phrases of praise expressed by the Prophet 38 became his life-savings for Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah . This was a unique honour for him, not shared by any of the other Companions.

In the wars of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Banu Quraidhah, and in the battles of Salasai, Dimashq, Fahal, Hamas and Yarmook and in many other less important battles, Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 4 proved his courage and daring. He was present at the signing of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah; in fact he was one of the signatories to it. He also accompanied the Prophet 38 on Hajjaht-ul-Wida’a (the last pilgrimage).

Seeing this all the Muhdjireen and Ansar also crowded around him and swore allegiance to him; all differences were resolved, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Thus, in a very simple yet well-planned manner he resolved a_ situation which was of critical significance for the Ummah. Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 4 was known to be a very successful General, but he was also known as a perceptive diplomat

' Original inhabitants of Al-Madinah. 2 The migrants from Makkah.

and skilful negotiator who could find peaceful solutions for potentially violent and problematic situations. This was the reason why advantage was taken of this dexterity and skill of his in difficult situations to the very end of his life. The Prophet 38 gave him the title of Amtin-ul-Ummah (Trustee of his Ummah), Abu Bakr Siddiq # offered him the first Caliphate and ‘Umar Farooq % said he would have made him Caliph if he had been alive.

After conquering the famous key city of Hamas in Syria General Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah , leading the Muslim army, moved on. He appointed ‘Ubadah bin Samit 4% to look after Hamas. All the settlements on the way were conquered. Lazaqiah was a fortified town, this was besieged but it did not look like it would be easy to conquer it. Here the master strategist, General Abu ‘Ubaidah bin AlJarrah -% planned a different modus operandi which amazed both friends and enemies. He ordered the Mujahideen to dig trenches in the open fields near the city. Once this was done he ordered his troops to end the siege. When the siege was lifted and his army withdrew, the people of the city were overjoyed. They thought all their problems had been solved. When the army withdrew and was no longer visible the people came out of the city. The whole day there was the usual hustle and bustle in the town, doors were left open and people kept moving in and out of the town. As soon as the sun set, the doors of the city were closed. He then asked his men to hide in the trenches they had dug, taking advantage of the darkness of the night. When morning came the doors of the city were opened and the people of the city went about as per their routine, moving in and out of the city. Suddenly the Mujahideen came out of the trenches and entered the city and very easily conquered it. On the battlefront digging of trenches is today an accepted part of military strategy. It was Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 4 who first introduced these tactics in a battle.

Yarmook is the name of a river, which meets the river Jordan and about thirty miles further up the river Yarmook makes a circle and flows on. From here it flows into a huge plain. The famous war that was fought here during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr Siddiq came to

be known as the war of Yarmook. It was the Roman army, consisting of two hundred thousand men, which fought here against the much smaller force of the Mujahideen consisting of forty thousand men only. When Khalid bin Waleed reached here after a very long and tedious journey from Iraq, he was worried to see the scattered forces of the Muslims under several different leaders. Among them were different troops under Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah #%, Yazid bin Abi Sufyan, Sharjeel bin Masana and the fourth one under ‘Amr bin ‘Aas SI +, Khalid bin Waleed # gathered everyone together and addressed them sorrowfully. He said that the enemy had entered the field very well-prepared and also outnumbered them by several times. If they opposed him, divided into so many groups, they had no hopes of winning. In his opinion they should agree to hand over the command each day to a different leader; thus the Muslim army would present a picture of unity, oneness and understanding, and move rapidly towards victory. The command on the first day could be handed over to him, and one by one the other four could take over on the following days. The whole army was relieved and happy to hear this. After having been given command on the first day Khalid bin Waleed - trained the Mujihideen in the light of his experiences. The two armies faced each other and there was very heavy fighting. The Romans lost more than a hundred thousand men on this very first day. The clanging of swords and the shouts and screams of the men could be heard from all sides. The Mujahideen were busy trying to wipe out the Romans, and advancing under the leadership of Khalid bin Waleed #, when a messenger arrived from the capital, AlMadinah with a hand written message which he gave to Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah . He put it in his pocket and did not tell anyone about it. When the Muslims had won convincingly and Khalid bin Waleed .4, was standing in the field as the victorious General of a victorious army, he handed over the message very respectfully to him. Khalid bin Waleed 4%, was deeply moved as it carried the news of the passing away of Abu Bakr Siddiq . He said:

“To Allah we belong and to Him we return.”

Further he was informed that ‘Umar Farooq :# was the new Caliph, and thanked Allah Almighty for this. After this he read the shocking

news that he had been removed from his command and Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 4 had been appointed Commander of the Muslim army. He immediately handed over command and expressed his willing desire to fight under him as an ordinary soldier and said:

“Abu ‘Ubaidah, may Allah shower His Blessings on you; why did you not tell me as soon as you received the letter?”

The Amin-ul-Ummah, Abu ‘Ubaidah replied:

“He did not like to disturb him in the battlefield and stop his advancing steps. We do not want the power of this world, neither do we work for this world. We are all brothers in working to please Allah Almighty.”

Displaying exemplary patience and fortitude in this situation, Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 2 proved that the training and nurturing of the Prophet 38 had left very deep-rooted and pleasant effects on him. He was not affected or elated by having been given command of the army. His heart had only one desire - the glorification of Islam. And Khalid bin Waleed #% too did not have any regrets that the command was taken away from him. Certainly this again was due to the education and training imparted by the Prophet 3 that a race, which had been the most uncivilised was affected and influenced so deeply by him.

After the conquest of Damascus Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah informed the Caliph ‘Umar Farooq - that the people of Damascus were very eager to see you and wanted to present you the keys of the city. As soon as he heard this ‘Umar Farooq -% set out for Syria. He asked the people waiting to receive him about the whereabouts of his brother. The people were surprised and asked him, who brother was. He answered that he was asking about Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah 2. Then they pointed out that he was just approaching. ‘Umar Farooq went forward and embraced him warmly and then accompanied him to his house. When he saw the very austere lifestyle of Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah he was very surprised. There were no worldly goods in the house, nothing but his weapons - a sword, bow and arrows, and _his saddle. ‘Umar Farooq was amazed that a man of such high status had chosen to live such a simple life. He said:

“Abu ‘Ubaidah, it is very surprising that even though you have been appointed to such a high office, you have not made anything for yourself.”

Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah .% answered that what he had was sufficient for him. ‘Umar Farooq answered that this was exactly what he had expected from him, that he would remain true and constant to the norms of trustworthiness.

Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah remained loyal to ‘Umar Farooq during his entire Caliphate and co-operated with him. Except in one instance he never disobeyed him. Can you guess what was this one instance when he disobeyed him?

Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah # was performing his duties of commanding the Muslim forces in Syria and conquering vast territories very rapidly; the whole of Syria had been conquered and Islamic empire had spread far and wide and graph of victories was at its peak. What transpired was that at this time the fatal disease of plague spread in the city, as it never had before. People were effected prey to it very rapidly. When ’Umar Farooq -% came to know of this he sent a messenger witha letter for Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah #s. He wrote in the letter that he had some important business with him, and wanted him to make preparations and immediately set out for AlMadinah to meet him. He was not to delay; if the letter reached him at night, he should set out before morning; if it reached him in the morning, he should set out before night fell.