Part 62

When this delegation reached the court of the King of Egypt, ‘Ubadah bin Saémit was in the forefront leading them with great dignity. As he advanced towards the throne, the King watched him with amazement. The leader, ‘Ubadah bin Samit -, was a tall man with a wheat complexion and had a very charismatic personality. The King was impressed with him, but did not want to show it.

In order to hide his real emotions of embarrassment and dismay, he tried to put on a blustering exhibition of childish peevishness. He thundered:

“You should send some handsome and royal person to talk to me. This man is dark and very ordinarily dressed. It is beneath my dignity to speak to sucha person.”

His arrogant display of sound and thunder was actually meant to conceal his fear and nervousness.

After hearing the cowardly bluster of the King, the whole delegation answered simultaneously:

“Your Royal Highness, our Commander-in-chief has nominated him leader of the delegation. In intelligence and wisdom, in understanding and insight he is the best among us. In his presence not one among us will talk to you. In comparison to him we are inexperienced. No one is his equal in the eloquence and speech. We all owe obedience to him; you have to talk to him and only him. Tell him, what do you want to say and he will answered what he wishes.”

The King of Egypt, Maqoogash said:

“It is really astonishing; how did you all agree to accept him as your Jeader. He looks like a very ordinary man.”

Actually the King was trying albeit unsuccessfully to influence them psychologically. ‘Ubadah bin Samit 4s, meanwhile was examining his face and observing his childish tantrums smiling calmly. The King finally realized that he had failed in all his attempts, to influence any of the members of the delegation and said reluctantly:

“AML right if you have all decided unanimously then who am I to object. Come here, come nearer to me, but talk tome ina gentle tone. Don’t use a rough tone as your face. Your harsh and rough voice may affect my heart.”

‘Ubadah bin Samit 4 smiled and answered him in a dignified manner:

“Your Royal Highness, if you are so terrified just by looking at me, how will you feel when you see those thousand young warriors who are under my command? Your insides will turn to water! Your Royal Highness this delicacy of temperament does not suit your royal status. It would not be wise to use these delicate hands to do battle with the paws of lions. You are speaking to me in a thunderous tone again. Please try to understand what ] am trying to tell you. I will not be in the least bit scared or thrown into panic if even a hundred of your soldiers come to battle with me. And listen to me carefully. Jihad is our beloved pursuit and our aim is to achieve martyrdom. We do not come to the battlefield to gain worldly and material things. Our eyes are set ona greater goal, the exaltation of the

True religion of Allah. We live only to spread the Sacred Name of Allah Almighty.”

Pay attention to what I have to say. If you place even a pile of the treasures of the world before us and beside it a mound of earth, in our eyes both would be of equal value. Each of us needs just enough food to keep us going for a day anda night. We have never desired to amass wealth. We need just enough cloth to cover Our bodies. If any one of us should happen to find a huge stockpile of gold, we would spend it in a moment for the sake of Allah 38, and we would keep just enough to fill our stomachs.”

The King of Egypt, Maqoogas, listened this daring and moving speech of ‘Ubadah bin Samit very intently and then whispered to his Minister:

“Did you note the dignified style? And how well he expresses himself? Just look at his magnificence and grandeur! And just look at his simple living and high thinking!”

Then he turned his attention to ‘Ubadah bin Samit .4 and witha frustrated and embarrassed air said to him:

“O ‘Ubadah bin Samit! Do you realize the extent of our resources? Our army is fully equipped and armed. And fresh reinforcements have arrived from Rome to help us. It is beyond your feeble powers to oppose us. It will be better for you to escape from here with your lives. 1am counseling you for your own good. If you do not heed my advice, you will suffer such grievous harm in this battle that you will not be able to recover. 1 am your well-wisher and sympathize with you. I have sent for you in order to warn you in advance of the risks involved and the total ruin facing you. The Egyptian forces and their Roman allies are already in the battlefield and they are fully armed. If you go ahead with your plans you will repent your decision. You still have time; make the right decision and I will control my army and prevent them from advancing on you.”

Instead of striking terror into the heart of ‘Ubadah bin Samit 5 with this insulting and demeaning speech, the King only succeeded in increasing his enthusiasm and ardour. He answered:

“O king of Egypt seated on your rich and ornate velvet throne and leading a life of luxury and ease, do not fall prey to any misconceptions. Even if another army equal to this comes to oppose us it will not frighten us. You should realize that our only ambition is to achieve our goal of martyrdom. Death is dearer to us than life in Jihad and our life is a gift, which we would like to present to Allah, in obedience to His Commands. We do not carry a lurking desire to return to our homes when we set out for Jihad. Allah Almighty Himself Keeps our homes and our families. O King of Egypt! You are looking only at our outward appearance and feeling sorry for us. You ought to understand that we are very well. We are proud of our good fortune and we are not greedy or avaricious for more riches of this transient world. If any of us gets a lot of wealth he spends it in the way of Allah &% and finds great pleasure in doing so. He does not find peace until he has got rid of the riches he has gained. Instead of pitying us, you should worry about the throne on which you are seated and which is making you think in this manner.”

Our only message to you is to ask you to accept Islam. This is the only way you can retain your position as King of Egypt. Nobody will challenge your present powers. If you do not wish to accept Islam then you have to pay fizyah and the protection of your life and your kingdom will be our responsibility. In case you do not choose either of these options, then we will have to engage in a war to decide your fate. You consult with your people and let us know what you have decided. This is essentially the message that our Commander-in-Chief has asked me to convey to you. And our Caliph, ‘Umar Farooq -4%, who in turn had been Commanded by the Prophet 3%, instructed him to convey the same message to all the rulers of the various countries of the world.”

Thus, ‘Ubadah bin Samit -%%, fulfilled his duties as an ambassador in the court of Maqoogqas, the King of Egypt, with daring and courage and in a manner which inspired faith.

Actually it was a very quick-witted and adroit psychological war that

he was carrying out and he succeeded in astounding the courtiers. In modern warfare too such psychological weapons are used to great advantage in plunging the enemy into a panic mode and undermining his morale. Today the enemy deploys spies and agents in disguise in order to spread rumours and gain dominance over the mind of the adversary. Once this is achieved the enemy cannot fight to his full potential. This was the miraculous achievement of the Prophet 3% that his Cornpanions had learnt to dominate over the mind of the enemy with ease, consummate skill, wisdom and an understanding of the workings of the human mind.

“Why has not been launched an attack on Egypt? I am wondering that the Mujahideen have too become enamoured the attractions of the world like the disbelievers. Look into your hearts and examine your motives. Sincerity should always adorn your hearts since it is the blessing, which turns tide of battles into victories on all fronts. I have sent four generals, each of whom is equal to a thousand enemy soldiers. Then why has not Egypt been conquered? When you receive this letter please read it out in front of all the Mujahideen and inspire them with the spirit of Jih@d. Command them to advance without any further delay. In the field of action the secret of success and triumph is hidden in the ability to sacrifice and advance first in order to preempt enemy action.”

The Commander-in-Chief, ‘Amr bin ‘Aas 8, obeying the orders of the Caliph read out his letter to the troops. He then gave the responsibility of attacking Alexandria to ‘Ubadah bin Samit 4. He launched such a powerful offensive that the enemy panicked and finally suffered an ignominious defeat. Thus Alexandria was taken in the very first encounter. ‘Ubadah bin Samit @ used to take precautionary measures, which were so innovative that they used to astound observers. On one battlefront he ordered the army to dig huge deep

trenches where the rider and the horses could be hidden from the enemy’s view. This move ensured the safety of both the rider and horse; an added advantage was that the enemy could be easily deceived about the strength of the Muslim army.