CAPÍTULO III: LOS PRINCIPIOS DE LA JUSTICIA
3. EL SEGUNDO PRINCIPIO DE JUSTICIA
fierce against them.
[9: 123J
And you know that we are already in enemy territory while they are thirsty for our blood.
'Abdullah bin 'Umar ~ : By Allah! I will not abandon fighting and killing the Disbelievers and will not sheath my sword. Whoever wishes to may return, but remember that whoever flees from this great task can never flee from Allah.
'Amr ~ was pleased with what the Makkans and Ibn 'Umar ~ said and exclaimed, "0 son of al-Fiinlq (i.e. 'Umar al-Fiinlq ~), you have fulfilled my wishes and your tongue has expressed what is in my heart. I wish to send an advance-force of 1,000 youths under your command to ascertain the position and condition of their outlying forces and so that you can tell us how to fight the enemy."
Ibn 'Umar ~ : Do this. My life is not so precious to me that I refrain from spending it in Allah's Path.
'Amr ~ had a flag made for him and sent him off with 1,000 horsemen from Baml Kilab, liiif and Thafiq. Ibn 'Umar ~ travelled for the rest of the day and the whole night. In the morning, he saw dust rising in the distance. He said, "This dust foretells of an army. I think that this is the Roman Reconnaissance." He halted the army there. A group of bedouins said, "Permit us to go and investigate this dust-cloud."
Ibn 'Umar ~ replied, "I do not consider it appropriate to split up for as long as we are uncertain as to what this is."
The cloud approached and then dispersed to reveal the Roman Reconnaissance of 10,000 horsemen which Rubius had sent ahead to investigate the Muslims. Ibn 'Umar ~ said, "Give them no respite but attack them. After all, that is why you came here. Allah will help you against them. Remember that Paradise lies beneath the shadow of swords."
The Muslims proclaimed, "Allahu Akbar!
La
ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah!" The very trees, stones and beasts replied to their cry. They immediately launched an attack- the first being 'Ikrama then Suhayl, then .Qahhak bin Sufyan ~ roaring his challenge.The Muhajirin and Ansar ~ then attacked. The two armies clashed, sword and spear doing their work.
Ibn
'Vmar .•• narrates:
During the battle, I saw a bulky Roman horseman riding at the right and left flanks.
It appeared to me that he must be the commander, although signs of fright of battle
and cowardice were plainly visible on his face. His fat bulk gave him the appearance of a drunk, angry camel. I thrust my spear forward causing his horse to move back. I then held my spear back which made him think that I was fleeing and encouraged him to attack me. I put aside my spear, and drawing my sword, hacked at his spear. The spear-point fell off leaving him with a bare stick and so I struck a second blow. By Allah! I thought I had hit a rock and when a ringing sound reached my ears, I thought that my sword had broken. However, this was not so and it was as intact as before. The severity of the blow slaughtered the enemy of Allah and I struck again at his shoulder-vein until he fell and I took off his armour. When the Disbelievers saw their leader fallen and slain, they became frightened and the Muslims began slaying them energetically. Congratulations to Qahhak bin Sufyan and Harith bin Hisham 4t<>
who fought solely for Allah's pleasure. During the battle, I was entrapped in a difficult situation, but Allah soon granted the Muslims victory. Many Disbelievers were killed or captured.
The Muslims gathered all the booty together and then said to each other, "We do not know how Allah has dealt with Abdullah bin 'Umar," Some said, "He has been killed." Someone said, ''No, he has been captured." Some said, "Whatever Allah has decreed for him will be good due to his ascetism and worship." Someone said, "If Ibn 'Umar has been lost then this victory is not worth a strand of hair."
I was standing behind a hillock hearing all this and then shouted, "La ilaha illallah Muhamrnadur Rasulullah," and emerged wearing my flag. They turned to me and asked, "0 commander, where were you?"
I replied, "I was fighting the enemy commander," Everyone made du'a for me and said, "Allah granted this victory through your blessing."
I said, "No, it is your good fortune."
The Muslims gathered the booty which included horses, weapons and money and
600 captives. The following seven Muslims were martyred: (1) Suraqah bin 'Adi; (2) Nawfal bin 'knir; (3) Said bin Qays; (4) Salim, the freed slave of
'Alim bin Badr al-
Yambarlu'I; (5) Abdullah bin Khuwaylid al-Mazini; (6) Jabir bin Rashid al-Ha!irami; (7) Aws bin Salamah al-Hawazini.Ibn 'Umar 4t<> led the S-alatul Janazah and they were buried.
Futuhushdm
The army cheerfully returned to 'Amr bin al-A~ ~ and reported to him. He was greatly pleased and thanked Allah. Then he called the prisoners and said, "Who amongst you knows 'Arabic?"
Three Syrians admitted to knowing 'Arabic and so he asked them about their army and commander. They replied, "0 'Arabs, Heraclius has sent Rubius against you with an army of 100,000 men and has instructed him to prevent anyone from entering Aylah. Rubius's army is hastening, hoping to reach here by tonight. There is none in the Roman Empire equal to him in the art of warfare. He is most capable of taking you on and will destroy you all."
'Amr ~ : I hope that Allah will slay him just as his companions have been slain. He then presented them with Islam but none accepted, so he turned to the Muslims and said, "The Roman army will soon be arriving in Syria to take revenge. If we release these captives, they will join the Roman army. Therefore, they will all be killed. Be prepared for it is most probable that the enemy is coming against us. Ifthey confront us, then we will make life difficult for them. If they do not face us their power will decrease and if we advance against them then I have firm faith in Allah that He will grant us a victory such as that which He just gave before. Faith should always be kept in Him."
Abu ad-Darda .• narrates:
That night we encamped there and in the morning we marched but a short distance when we saw the enemy approaching carrying nine crosses with 10,000 horsemen under each cross. When the two armies neared each other, we saw Rubius, who looked like a stallion, organising his army. 'Amr ~ too was organising his army, He put the right-flank under .Qahhak bin Sufyan~, the left-flank under Sa 'j'd bin Khalid ~, the rear-guard under AbU ad-Darda ~, while he himself stood with the Muhajirin and Ansar ~ at the centre. He ordered every Muslim to start reciting the Quran and said, "Allah is testing you in this virtuous deed so be patient in the face of difficulty and hope for reward and Paradise."
Then he lined the men in war-formation. From a distance Rubius was observing the Muslim army, seeing that their formation was such that rein was touching rein, stirrup touching stirrup as if they were a strong fortress, and every soldier was reciting the Quran. Then he saw light shining on their horses' foreheads. This he took as an omen of his defeat and a Muslim victory and sensed terror in the heart of every
Futuhusham
Ibn 'Umar .• narrates:
The battle continued until noon. I was reciting the du'a which Rasfilullah ~ had taught and when I looked towards the sky, I saw gates. From the gates there emerged horsemen dressed in white carrying green banners with shiny points. A proclaimer announced, "0 Ummah of Muhammad
fl.,
Allah has sent help to you."I said that this victory was due to the blessing of the du'a of Rasulullah
fl..
By the Ka'bah's Rabb! In a short while I saw the Romans fleeing in confusion and the Muslims pursued them. An announcer proclaimed victory. Because our horses were faster, we managed to kill over 10,000 men. We pursued them until nightfall. 'Amr ~ was overjoyed with this victory and his heart remained with us during the pursuit in Palestine.
,Amr bin '!tab narrates:
At that moment, I saw'
Arne
bin al-'A~ ~
carrying the flag in his hand and his spear was hanging from his shoulder. He was clasping his hands saying, "May Allah return what has been lost to that person who returns my people to me." When the 'Arabs returned he said, "Whoever made effort and underwent difficulty for Allah's pleasure has pleased Allah. Was this victory which Allah granted you not enough that you had to go and chase them?" The Muslims replied, "We did not chase them for booty, but for Jihad.".When they returned they were without worry, but when they started looking at each other they discovered 130 missing, including Sayfbin 'Abbad al-Hadrami, Nawfal bin Darirn, Salim bin Ruwaym, Ashab bin Shaddad, some Yamanis and bedouins of Madinah. This saddened 'Amr ~ but after thinking, he said to himself, "0 'Amr, Allah intends some good for them but you reject this."
Then after the athan and iqamah, all those S.alah which were missed due to the battle were performed.
Ibn 'Umar .• narrates:
By Allah! Due to fatigue, very few performed ~alah behind' Amr ~, most prayed at their own places. Booty was also little. We then slept in our tents. In the morning, 'Amr bin al-'
A~
called out the athan and, after the S.ahih, ordered the booty and bodies of the martyrs to be gathered. So the people started searching and gatheredhimself and then found him in a place where horses had continuously trampled the corpse, shattering the bones into small pieces. Seeing this, he began to weep profusely and said, "0 Sa'Id, may Allah, the Most Merciful Of those who show mercy, have mercy upon you. I made a promise to Him but you fulfilled it." He put him with the other martyrs and ordered them to be buried, and then all the Muslims performed .salatul Janazah. (Sa 'id 4J;,was 16 -18 years old - translator