Part 82

approached the Messenger, requesting permission to go burn the idol of Humamah called "The Two Palms", and the Prophet (PBUH) gave

At-Tufail went over and lit the fire on it and every time the flame went down, he stoked it again to a blazing fire. All the while he said,

O Idol of Two Palms, Iam not one of your worshipers.

Our origin is older than your origin. Thave filled fire in your heart.

Thus did At-Tufail live with the Prophet (PBUH), praying behind him, learning from him, and fighting with him. The Prophet (PBUH) was transported to the most exalted horizon. However, AtTufail saw that his responsibility as a Muslim did not end with the death of the Messenger, but rather it was about to start. Therefore, no sooner had the apostasy wars erupted than At-Tufail prepared for them and embarked courageously on their hardships and terrors with a yearning for martyrdom. He participated in the apostasy wars, battle after battle.

In the Battle of Al-Yamaamah, he went out with the Muslims accompanied by his son “Amr Ibn At-Tufail. At the beginning of the battle he advised his son to fight the army of Musailamah the Liar, like one who desires death and martyrdom.

He told him that he felt he would die in this battle, and thus his sword carried him. He plunged into the fight in a glorious performance. He did not defend his life with his sword but he defended his sword with his life. So, when he died his body fell down, but the sword remained sharp and intact so that another hand whose owner had not yet fallen could strike with it .

In the battle, At-Tufail Ad-Dawsiy was martyred. His body fell down under the flurry of stabs and strikes while he was waving to his son, who was unable to see him admist the crowd.

He was waving to him as if he were calling him to follow and join him. And he did actually follow him, but after a while. In the Battle of Yarmuuk in Syria, “Amr Ibn At-Tufail went out to fight and died as a martyr. At the time his spirit was coming out of his breast, he extended his right hand and opened his palm as if he would shake the hand of someone else. And who knows ? Perhaps at that time he was shaking the spirit of his father.

(59) “AMR IBN AL -AAS Liberator of Egypt from Rome !

There were three from the Quraish who used to trouble the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) with the fierceness of their resistance to his call and their torture of his Companions.

The Messenger called them and pleaded to his glorious Lord to inflict. them with His punishment, and while he was calling and inviting, he received the revelation of these noble verses: < The matter is not in your hands, whether GOD turns to them or chastises them, for surely they are evildoers > (3: 128).

The Messenger's understanding of the verse was that he was to stop calling Allah to punish them and to leave their affair to Allah alone. Either they would continue their wrongdoing and His punishment would be inflicted upon them, or He would accept their repentance.

They repented, so His mercy reached them. *Amr Ibn Al-Aas. was one of these three. Allah had chosen for them the path of repentance and mercy, so He guided them to Islam. He transformed ‘Amr Ibn Al-\Aas into a Muslim fighter and into one of the brave leaders of Islam.

In spite of some of ~Amtr's positions, his point of view of which we cannot be convinced, he played a role as a glorious Companion; he sacrificed and gave generously; he was a defender and combatant, and our eyes and our hearts shall continue to open on his countenance, especially here in Egypt. Those who see in Islam a glorious valuable religion and see in its Messenger a merciful gift and a blessed gift. Those who see the truthful Messenger who called to Allah according to clear vision and inspired life abundantly with its sensible conduct, forthrightness and devout piety. Those who carry this faith shall continue with enhanced allegiance to look to the man

whom fate made the cause — for whatever reason — for the introduction of Islam to Egypt and the guidance of Egypt to Islam.

So, blessed is the gift and blessed is the gift giver.

That is he, “Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas. The historians were accustomed to describing ‘Amr as the conqueror of Egypt. However, I see in this description an underestimation and an overestimation, Perhaps a more truthful description of “Amr would be that which we call him, "Liberator of Egypt". For Islam did not conquer the country with the modern understanding of conquering, but it liberated it from the hegemony of two imperial powers, two modes of worship of two countries, and the worst punishment, the imperial power of Persia and the imperial power of Rome.

Egypt, in particular, on the day the advanced guard of Islam appeared, had been plundered by the Romans, and its inhabitants were resisting without result. When the shouts of believing armies reverberated over the frontiers of their country, "Allah akbaar! (Allah is the Greatest)" they hastened all together, in a glorious crowd, toward the coming dawn and embraced it, finding in it liberation from Caesar and from Rome.

So, “Amr and his men did not conquer Egypt but opened the way for Egypt to attach its destiny to the truth, tie its fate to justice, and find itself and its reality in the light of the words of Allah and the principles of Islam. He was careful to separate the inhabitants of Egypt and its Copts away from the army and keep the fighting restricted between himself and the Romans who occupied the land and robbed the wealth of its people.

On account of that, we find him talking to the Christian leaders of that day and their high priest. He said to them, "Indeed Allah sent Muhammad with the truth and ordered him to teach it. The Prophet carried out his mission, and he died after leaving us on that path, the clear straight path. Among the things he ordered us to do was to be responsible to the people, so we call you to Islam. Whoever responds is of us. He has what we have and he has the same rights and

obligations as we do. And whoever does not respond to Islam, we enforce on him the payment of jizyah and we offer to him defense and protection. Our Prophet informed us that Egypt would open for us and advised us to be good to its people, saying, ‘Egypt will be opened to you after me, so you are advised to treat its Copts well, for indeed, they have a covenant of protection and kinship relations,’ so if you answer to what we call you to, you will have protection and security."

No sooner had ‘Amr finished his words, than some of the priests and rabbis shouted, saying, “Indeed the kinship of which your Prophet advised you is a remote kinship relationship, the like of which cannot be reached except by the prophets.” This was a good start for the hoped-for understanding between “Amr and the Copts of Egypt, in spite of what the Roman leader had tried to do to frustrate it.

*Amr Ibn Al-Aag was not among the earliest ones to embrace Islam. He embraced Islam with Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid, just shortly before the Conquest of Makkah. It is surprising that his Islam began at the hands of An-Najaashiy in Abyssinia, and that is because AnNagaashiy knew “Amr and respected him because of his several visits to Abyssinia and abundant gifts which he used to carry to AnNajaashiy. In his final visit to that country, mention was made of the Prophet who was calling to monotheism and to the nobility of morals in the Arabian Peninsula. The Abyssinian ruler asked “Amr, "How could you not believe in him and follow him, when he is truly a Messenger from Allah?" “Amr then asked An-Najaashiy, " Is he thus?" An Najaashiy answered, "Yes, so obey me, O “Amr, and follow him, for indeed, by Allah, he is on the path of truth and he will surpass those who stood against him!"

‘Amr traveled, taking the sea route, immediately returning to his

country and turning his face in the direction of Al-Madiinah to surrender to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

On the road leading to Al-Madiinah, he met Khaalid Ibn AlWaliid coming from Makkah, going also to the Messenger to swear allegiance to Islam. No sooner did the Messenger see the two of them coming than his face beamed with joy and he said to his Companions, "Makkah has gifted you with its most noble leaders.” Khaliid approached and swore allegiance. Then “Amr approached and said, "Indeed, I swear allegiance to you provided that you ask Allah to forgive me my previous sins." So the Messenger answered him saying, "O “Amr, swear allegiance, for indeed Islam disregards whatever preceded it."

“Amr swore allegiance and placed his wits and bravery at the service of his new religion. When the Messenger passed on to Allah, Most Exalted, ~Amr was appointed ruler over Oman and during the caliphate of ‘Umar he performed his famous deeds in the Syrian wars and then in the liberation of Egypt from the rule of Rome.

Oh, if only ~Amr Ibn Al--Aas could have resisted the love of commanding and rule in his soul, then he would have greatly overcome some of the positions which this love entangled him in. Yet, “Amr's love for the authority of ruling, to a certain extent, was a direct expression of his nature, which was filled with talent. Moreover, his external appearance, his way of walking and conversing, indicated that he was created for commanding to the extent that it has been related that the Commander of the Faithful ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab saw “Amr once approaching, so he smiled at the way he was walking and said, "It should not be for Abu ‘Abd Allah to walk on the earth except as a commander."

The truth also is that Abu “Abd Allah did not forget the right. Even when dangerous events overwhelmed the Muslims, ‘Amr dealt with these events in a commanding manner, as one who possesses intelligence, wits, and a capability which made him self-confident and proud of his excellence. Moreover, he possessed such a portion of honesty that it made ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab — even though he

was strict in choosing his governor — choose “Amr as governor over Palestine and Jordan, then over Egypt, throughout the life of ‘Umar. This even though the Commander of the Faithful knew that “Amr had exceeded a certain limit in the opulence of his life style, while the Commander of the Faithful demanded from his governors to set an example by staying always at the level or at least close to the general level of the people.