Summary of Sira
Aboo Moosaa al-‘Ash’aree wrote to ‘Umar, saying: “There comes to us from you letters which are bereft of any date.” ‘Umar then gathered the people together in order that he may consult them. Some of them said: “Begin dating (things) from the point at which the Prophet ﷺ was first dispatched as a Prophet.” While others said: “Rather, use the emigration of the Prophet ﷺ (from Makkah to al-Madeenah).” ‘Umar then said: “Yes, I shall use the emigration of the Prophet ﷺ, for his emigration is when truth was distinguished from falsehood.” This is what al-Sha’bee reported. While Maymoon ibn Mihraan said: “And it was said: “a document was given to ‘Umar and on it was written that its due date was in Sha’baan. ‘Umar then asked: “Which Sha’baan is it? The one that we are in or the one coming?” The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: “establish for the people a calendar that will be familiar and easy for them to understand.” Others said to him: “write it according to the calendar of the Byzantines as they date their events based on when Dhoo al-Qarnayn was alive.” ‘Umar responded: “That is too long.”; it was suggested again: “Use the calendar of the Persians.” To which it was responded: “every time there has been a new king, the Persians being their histories anew.”
They then agreed to consider how much time the Messenger of Allah ﷺ spent in al-Madeenah, and they calculated that it was ten years. Then, they began to date things based on the emigration (Hijrah) of the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ. Muhammad ibn Seereen said: “A man rose to speak to ‘Umar and said: “Begin to date things [so that our history could be preserved], to which ‘Umar replied: “What does that mean?” The man responded: “It is something that the non-Arabs do and record what happened in such-and-such a month, and such-and-such a year.” ‘Umar then said: “This is a good idea. Let us begin to date events.””
The people agreed on using the beginning of the Prophet’s emigration to al-Madeenah ﷺ as a starting point. Then they asked: “From what month shall we begin?” Some said Ramadan, while others suggested Muharram, “for it is the month in which people leave from their pilgrimage and it is one of the sacred months.” And everyone agreed on that.
After the successful mission of S’ad ibn Abee Waqqas and conquering Ctesiphon, it had reached him that the people of Mosul had rallied up around a man called Al-Antaaq in Tikrit. In response, he wrote ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab regarding Jaloola’ and the gathering of the Persians there, as well as the people of Mosul. ‘Umar then responded that an army should be set up to fight the people of Mosul and prepare for war, and that it should be headed by ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mu’attam. Accordingly, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mu’attam left Ctesiphon with an army of 5,000 men, and they marched in four groups until they reached Tikrit. There had gathered around Al-Antaaq a number of Byzantines and Christian Arabs from the tribes of Iyyaad, Taghlib, and al-Namir, and they all had stationed themselves around the city.
‘Abdullah ibn al-Mu’attam then proceeded to besiege the city for forty days; (the opposing army) charged at him 24 times during this period and every single time, he was victorious in the battle. Abdullah ibn al-Mu’attam sent letters to the various Arab nomads and called them to become loyal to him; but many fled which weakened the opposing side. The Byzantines then decided to escape on their ships, carrying with them their wealth to the people of those lands.
The nomad Arabs in question answered him and accepted his terms, and so he wrote back to them saying: “If you are truthful in what you have said, then bare witness that there is no god worthy of worship, but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and acknowledge that which has come from Allah.” The Arabs to whom he had written responded again that they had accepted Islam, and so ‘Abdullah sent to them a message saying: “if you are truthful then when we yell “Allahu Akbar” and attack the city during the night, seize for us the ships, and prevent anyone from boarding them; and kill whomever you can.”
Then ‘Abdullah and his men gathered their strength, and yelled out “Allahu Akbar in one loud voice, and then set out for the attack. The Arabs then made a similar cry in the other direction. The people of the city-the Byzantines-became heated and violent, and sought to exit via the gates that led onto the Tigris. The Arabs of Iyyaad, Namir, and Taghlib, were whom they fought with lightning speed. Then, ‘Abdullah and his men entered the city through another gate, and they proceeded to fight and kill every single person in the city. None of them had accepted Islam-or surrendered-except for the Arabs from Iyyaad , Taghlib, and Al-Nimr.
‘Umar stipulated in his letter to ‘Abdullah that if Tikrit were to be vanquished, that Rib’ee ibn al-Afkal be sent quickly to the two fortresses, which is Mosul, which he did just as ‘Umar had commanded him to do. With him was a large brigade of fighters, and he reached the city quickly and suddenly before any one was aware that they were coming. The city responded favorably to the offer of a truce, which proposed to them that they enter under the protection of the Muslims (ahl’ul-Dhimmah), while they were in a position of weakness.
Then the wealth that was taken from Tikrit was divided, the share for a horseman was 3,000 (dirham), while the share for a foot soldier was 1,000 dirham. The Fifth of the spoils was sent back to al-Madeenah with Furaat ibn Hayyaan, and news of the victory with al-Haarith ibn Hassaan. Rib’ee was then made governor of war at Mosul, while ‘Arfajah ibn Harthamah was made governor of taxation.
After Yazdajard fled Ctesiphon and went towards Hulwaan, several people rallied around him on his way there. He commanded Mihraan to lead them and ordered that they sojourn in Jaloolaa’. There, they fortified it and dug trenches around it.
S’ad then sent ‘Umar a message informing him about that. ‘Umar then commanded him to stay in Ctesiphon and send Haashim ibn ‘Utbah ibn Abee Waqqaas to handle them. Haashim then marched there and besieged them; and a fierce fighting ensued. External assistance came to both sides until Allah gave victory to the Muslims, after a large number of Persian forces had been killed.
When the Muslims descended upon Ctesiphon, after its conquest, they disliked it as they could not cope with its climate; thus, they complained about it. As such, Hudhayfah wrote to ‘Umar saying: verily the Arabs have lost all strength [due to illness because of the change in climate] (lit. their bellies have become soft, and their limbs have dried up and their colors have changed). S’ad was in the same state, and ‘Umar then responded to him saying: “explain to me how ill the Arabs have become (lit. how their colors and skins have changed)?” To which S’ad responded: “the dirt and filth in the climate of this area (has affected their health), and the Arabs are having a hard time adapting to it, except for what the camels were able to adapt to.” To which ‘Umar responded: “Send Salmaan and Hudhayfah on a reconnaissance mission so that they can scout the area and let them choose a place on land which does not have between it and al-Madeenah a body of water or need of a bridge.”
S’ad then sent them out, and Salmaan rode out until he arrived at Koofah while Hudhayfah travelled towards the eastern side of the Euphrates and did not stop until he reached Koofah, as well. Every grain of sand and every little rock mixed together then that was considered Koofah. When they both arrived, they saw that it had three monasteries, and the place impressed them, so they descended and prayed. They both asked Allah for a place of tranquility and stability. When they both returned to S’ad and informed him of what they had found, and when ‘Umar’s message finally reached them as well, S’ad wrote to al-Qa’qaa’ ibn ‘Amr and ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mu’attam that they should appoint generals for their armies and join S’ad in Ctesiphon, which they did.
S’ad then departed from Ctesiphon and went to Koofah, where he arrived in Muharram in the 17th year of the Hijrah. Exactly one year and two months had passed between the building of Koofah and the Battle of al-Qaadisiyyah; and another three years and eight months between ‘Umar’s decision to build Koofah and its construction. When S’ad finally arrived there and wrote back to ‘Umar informing him, saying: “I have arrived at Koofah and taken what is between Al-Heerah and the Euphrates as a dwelling. I have given the Muslims a choice of where to live: here or in Ctesiphon. Whomever it pleased to live there, I have left there a standing army, as back up.” Those who decided to stay regained their strength and health which they had lost. Then he asked the permission of the people of Koofah to build the limits of the city.
After al-Hurmuzaan had triumphed over the area of Ahwaaz, he began to attack the areas which the Muslims had gained possession of. As a result, two Muslim contingencies marched from Koofah and Basrah to fight al-Hurmuzaan and forced him to a truce who then reneged on its terms. The Muslims then showed up a second time and he fled to Tustar where the Muslim soldiers besieged him, and he asked for a truce a second time. At that time, the Ahwaaz had been conquered, but al-Hurmuzaan kept reneging on his part of the truce yet a second time. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab then sent three battalions as reinforcement, and al-Hurmuzaan was defeated, yet again, and he fled to Tustar. The Muslims then caught up with him and besieged him there yet again, and forced him into submission after they had taken possession of the city by force. Al-Hurmuzaan was then sent to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
‘Alaa ibn al-Hadramee, may Allah be well pleased with him, was the governor of al-Bahrayn and he would compete with S’ad ibn Abee Waqqaas in making conquests. After the successful mission of Muslims at the Battle of al-Qaadisiyyah and the attention it attracted far and wide, Al-‘Alaa liked that victory against the Persians be from his camp. He therefore encouraged people to embark on the jihad (against the Persians). The army convened and went out (in boats) and crossed the waters to Persia. However, all of this occurred without the express consent of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab.
Al-‘Alaa thus made his way to Istakhar where his army fought until they were victorious and the city was conquered. But the Persians cut off their exit route and prevented them from boarding their boats and remained besieged and surrounded. This resulted in forcing Al-‘Alaa to remove himself. Then, it was demanded of him that he go and join the forces of S’ad ibn Abee Waqqaas and it was demanded of ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwaan that he rescue ‘Alaa. In the end, the Muslims were victorious and were rescued, and they returned safely to Basrah.
During the length of his reign, Aboo Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him, never expanded the Noble Prophetic Mosque because of his preoccupation with the Wars of Apostasy. However, the mosque became quite cramped for the attendees during the reign of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab because of the increase in population of the city. As a result, ‘Umar set out to purchase land around the Noble Prophetic Mosque in order to expand it, which included expansions on its northern, southern, and western sides. On the western side, he increased it by 20 cubits; on the southern side-the Qiblah-he increased it by 10 cubits, and on the northern side, he increased it by 30 cubits. He did not expand the mosque on the eastern side because it would have encompassed the apartments of the Mothers of the Believers, may Allah be well pleased with each and every one of them. Therefore, the mosque reached a total length of 140 cubits (640 meters) from north to south, and 120 cubits (54. 9 meters) from east to west.
The way ‘Umar constructed the expansion was the same as the way the Prophet-ﷺ-had built it: its walls were of mud-brick, its columns were made of palm trunks, and its roof was made of palm leaves 11 cubits (5 meters) high. He spread on its floor tiny pebbles (gravel) and whatever was found in it of agate stones. He also placed a prayer barrier which was about 2 or 3 cubits (1.5 meters) high. These renovations placed the mosque at a total of 3,300 square cubits (1.5 square kilometers). He also gave the mosque six doors: two on the eastern side, two on the western side, and two on the northern side.
S’ad ibn Abee Waqqaas dispatched several soldiers to Upper Mesopotamia. ‘Iyyaad ibn Ghanm went out along with Aboo Moosaa al-Ash’aree and ‘Umar ibn S’ad ibn Abee Waqqaas-who was a small boy at the time, as well as ‘Uthmaan ibn Abee al-‘Aas. (‘Iyyaad) then reached Edessa (Ruha) and concluded a peace treaty with its people who agreed to pay the Jizyah (tax); Harran agreed to similar terms as well. Then he sent Aboo Moosaa al-Ash’aaree to Nusaybeen and ‘Umar ibn S’ad to R’as al-Ayn. Then he travelled to Daras (Daaraa). And the Muslims succeeded in conquering all of these places.
Then, ‘Uthmaan ibn Abee al-‘Aas was sent to Armenia where he met with some skirmishes and in which Safwaan ibn al-Mu’attal al-Sulamee was killed. ‘Uthmaan was then able to conclude a peace treaty again, in which every person from every household had to pay only one Dinar.
Al-Shaam was hit with a deadly plague in the same year, which claimed several people. That year was named “The Year of ‘Amwaas” because of the high death toll, which was estimated at 25,000 people. Amongst those who died was Aboo Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah, Yazeed ibn Abee Sufyaan, Shurahbeel ibn Hasanah, and many, many others.
As for the name “‘Amwaas”, it is the name of a place in which the plague had spread, which is near the city of Ramlah in Palestine.
His full name is ‘Aamir ibn Abdullah ibn al-Jarraah, a.k.a. Aboo ‘Ubaydah. He is one of the ten to whom paradise was promised by the Prophet ﷺ who described him as the Trustworthy of the Muslim Nation, and he was described as the strong and trustworthy. He witnessed the battles of Badr and Uhud as well as all the battles that the Prophet ﷺ participated in. He was one of the first persons to accept Islam and among the Muslims who emigrated to Abyssinia and al-Madeenah. Upon his arrival to al-Madeenah, the Prophet ﷺ formed a bond of brotherhood between him and Aboo Talhah al-Ansaaree. During the reign of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, he was one of his commanders who conquered many cities. He was appointed as the commander of the Muslims army in al-Shaam after ‘Umar removed Khaalid ibn al-Waleed (may Allah be pleased with him) from his position. He was well revered by ‘Umar to the extent it was said that ‘Umar said: If Aboo ‘Ubaydah is still alive, I would have appointed him as my successor.” One day, Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting with a group of his companions. He told them: “Make a wish!” One of them said, “I wish to have as much gold as would fill this whole house, so that I could spend it in Jihad.” Then again ‘Umar said: “Make a wish!” and another man said, “I wish that this house was full of jewels and pearls so that I could spend it all in Jihad and charity for the sake of Allah.” Umar said for the third time: “Make a wish.” His companions said: “We don’t know what to say, O Chief of Believers.” Thereupon, ‘Umar said, “I wish that this house was full of men like Aboo ‘Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarraah.”
According to the famous opinion, he (may Allah be pleased with him) died during the plague of ‘Amwaas
Nu’aym ibn Muqarrin al-Muzanee went out with a bigrade to Waaj Roodh to Dastabee. On his way, he was met by al-Zaynabee, one of the Persian generals in a place called Qinah, who came in peace, contradicting the orders of the king of Rayy after he saw the strength of the Muslims. He joined Nu’aym all the while the king stationed with his forces on that day at Al-ray. The name of the king was Siyaawaksh ibn Mihraan, and he sought (military) support from the people of Danbaawand, Tabaristaan, Qoomis, and Gorgaan. The king said: “As you know, these people (i.e., the Muslims) have occupied Rayy, and it is no longer a dwelling place for you. So, rally up to fight them.” After, they marched until they encountered with the Muslims at the mountainside of Rayy and fighting ensued there.
However, al-Zaynabee had devised a tactic with Nu’yam such that they would enter the city on horseback under the cover of night, expecting that no one would be aware of his arrival. Nu’aym then attacked them (the Persians) in the middle of the night and preoccupied them from (protecting) their city. They fought and withstood (the attack) until they heard the sound of “Allahu Akbar” (being yelled) from behind them. They were then vanquished, and a great number of them were slain as a result. Allah granted the Muslims spoils of war at Rayy the likes of which was seen at Ctesiphon.
Nu’aym ibn Muqarrin then concluded a peace treaty with al-Zaynabee regarding the inhabitants of Rayy, and he made him the city’s Marzubaan (administrator/border guardian). The family of al-Zaynabee remain the city’s greatest nobles; amongst them Shahraam and Farrukhaan. The house of Bahraam was destroyed and Nu’aym-likewise-destroyed their city, which was called “al-‘Ateeqah” or “The City of Rayy”. Al-Zaynabeen then ordered for the new city of Rayy to be constructed. Nu’aym later wrote to ‘Umar, informing him of the victory and sent the Fifth of the spoils.
When Aboo ‘Ubaydah al-Jarraah died in the Plague of ‘Amwaas, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab designated Mu’aawiyah ibn Abee Sufyaan as his successor, since Aboo ‘Ubaydah was the Supreme Commander over the soldiers stationed in Al-Shaam after Khaalid had been removed from his post. Mu’aawiyyah remained the Commander of all of Al-Shaam for the remainder of ‘Umar’s reign and into the reign of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, too.
Suwayd ibn Muqarrin marched to Gorgaan and then set up his encampment in the city of Bistaam. Once he arrived, he wrote to the king of Gorgaan -Zurbaan Sool-concerning his arrival. The king wrote back saying that he wanted to conclude a peace treaty under the condition that they remain Christian and pay the tax (Jizyah), instead of warring with Gorgaan and that Suwayd should come to his aid if (the Muslims) were to be victorious.
Suwayd agreed and met with Zurbaan Sool before entering Gorgaan. The two then entered the city together and Suwayd set up camp and remained there, until he had established the Kharraj (land tax) and established the borders of the city. He then had them blocked and guarded with the Turks from Dehestaan. He then absolved the people who opposed the Jizyah, from paying it, and instead took the land tax from them. He then drafted an agreement between himself and the inhabitants of Gorgaan.
The Muslims besieged the city of ‘Ayn Shams in Egypt; Al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwaam climbed its walls of the fortress in order to gain access to it. However, its people sensed that (the Muslims were trying to scale the walls), therefore, the Muslims directed themselves to the other gate which was being guarded by ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas. Meanwhile, al-Zubayr was able to infiltrate the gate forcefully, and then made his way to the gate at which ‘Amr was. But the people of Ayn Shams had gotten there before him and were able to conclude a peace treaty with ‘Amr, who wrote for them an agreement that guaranteed their safety.
(It said: ) “By the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; what follows contains the terms of safety which ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas has given to the people of Egypt concerning their persons, their faith, churches, and crucifixes, their wealth, its land, and waters, that no one shall interfere in those things nor take away anything from them, nor shall they be (forced to) live with the Nubians. Incumbent upon the people of Egypt will be to pay the Jizyah if they agree to the terms of this treaty. (Upon them) will be to pay 500,000 dinars, when the waters of the Nile have risen. If anyone should renege on paying their share of the Jizyah, then its responsibility will be passed on to the rest of the community, commensurate with the amount that has been retracted. Likewise, the Muslims will retract from those who refuse to pay their protection. And if the river Nile should retract, then the amount they owe will be reduced as well, commensurate with the amount it has decreased. And whoever decides to enter into an agreement with the Byzantines and Nubians (against the Muslims), then they shall have what they have (from the Muslims) and similarly shall be obligated to the same obligations as them (depending on the agreements made). Whosoever disagrees or reneges on the terms of this treaty, and instead decides to leave, then they shall be safe until they reach the company who shall guarantee their safety, or until they leave our dominion. The terms of this treaty are an agreement with Allah and the protection of His Prophet, and the protection of the representative of the Commander of the Believers, and the general protection of the community of the believers. And upon the Nubians who agree to this treaty that they should allot such and such (a number) of heads (of cattle) and such and such an (amount) of land, and that they should not seek to invade or attack or prevent any type of commerce coming in or going out.”
Following the conquest of Persia, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered (the military) to continue spreading out into the rest of Persia, instructing seven generals to carry out forays to the furthest reaches of Persia.
‘Uthmaan ibn Muqarrin set out to Hamadaan and conquered it, then he marched to Rayy-modern-day Tehran-and conquered it as well. Qoos was then conquered peacefully by his brother, Suwayd, who then went to Gurgaan and Tabaristaan and concluded peace treaties with them both. Next, (he conquered) some of the territories in Azerbaijaan. As for Suraaqah ibn ‘Amr, he went to Derbent (Baab al-Abwaab) on the banks of the Caspian Sea. Al-Ahnaaf ibn Qays travelled to Khorasaan and conquered Harra forcefully, then Marw and Balkh, until al-Ahnaaf became the master of all of Khorasaan. ‘Uthmaan ibn Abee al-‘Aas went to Estakhar and conquered Barkaawaan (Laft), then Estakhar, then Shiraaz. Saaryah ibn Zaneem went out as well and fought several groups of Persians, in which occurred the famous incident with ‘Umar in Madeenah when he yelled out: “Saariyah! The mountain!”. As for ‘Aasim ibn ‘Amr, he travelled to Sijistaan and conquered it, then he entered Zarnakh and concluded a peace treaty with it after a long siege. As for Suhayl ibn ‘Adee, he conquered Karmaan; while al-Hakeem ibn ‘Umar went to Mukraan and conquered it. ‘Utbah ibn Farqad travelled to north-western Persia and conquered what was there.
