Conquest
of Qaisâriyah and Ajnâdain
In course of time when Muslim troops
were winning victories in Antâkiyah and its suburbs, Yazid bin Abu Sufyân, the
governor of Damascus sent his brother, Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Sufyân towards Qaisâriyah (Caesarea or Kayseri) as per
the Caliph's order. After a heavy toll of eighty thousand Christians, the city
fell to the Muslims.
Heraclius now ordered Artabun, a
noted general, to gather troops in Ajnâdain. Artabun kept a huge army under his
direct command and two other detachments in Ramlah and Jerusalem. Well-equipped
and huge in number, the opponents of Islam were awaiting the arrival of the
Muslim force. Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
marched to Ajnâdain to face Artabun while he dispatched Alqamah bin Hakim
Firâsi and Masrur bin Al-Akki to Jerusalem and Abu Ayub Al-Mâliki to Ramlah
with the permission of Abu Ubaidah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ). A fierce battle was fought in Ajnâdain. It was a conflict
similar to Yarmuk. Artabun could not muster courage to face Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and fled to
Jerusalem and the city fell to the Muslim forces.
Conquest
of Jerusalem
After the flight of Artabun to
Jerusalem, Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
conquered Ghazzah (Gaza), Sabastiyah, Nâbulus (Nablus), Ludd, Amawâs, Bait
Jibrin, and Yâfa (Yafo). He then proceeded to Jerusalem and tightened the
siege. About the same time, Abu Ubaidah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) had proceeded to Palestine. The news of his arrival
disheartened the besieged Christians who were defending themselves until then.
They were left with no alternative but to make peace negotiations. All of them
knew about the readiness of the Muslims to accept a peace proposal and their
easy terms. However, the Christians of Jerusalem put a novel condition on
finalizing the peace agreement. They wanted the Caliph of Islam to reach
Jerusalem to write down the peace document. Even though the fall of the city
was only a matter of time, Abu Ubaidah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was in favor of avoiding further death and destruction, so he
preferred peace to war. He wrote a letter to the Caliph delineating the whole
account of events with the request that his arrival in Jerusalem could win for
them the city without shedding a drop of blood.
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) convened a meeting of all the
distinguished Companions and consulted them. Uthmân (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) declared that the Christians had been struck with terror and
lost heart and that if the Caliph were to reject their request, they would be
still more humiliated, and consider that the Muslims regarded them with utter
contempt, they would lay down their arms unconditionally. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), however, dissented
from this view and gave the contrary opinion. Umar shared the same opinion.
Umar
Fâruq's Journey to Palestine
On this historic mission to
Jerusalem, a bag full of parched barley meal, a camel, a slave, and a wooden
cup were all the belongings of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the Chief of the Muslims, when he left Al-Madinah, the
headquarters of Islam. Leaving Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) in charge of Al-Madinah, he set out on the journey noted for
its strain and stress.
It was a novel scenario of Islamic
equality and human dignity that the journey undertaken had at times the Caliph
on the camel and the slave walking along holding the halter of the camel and
vice versa. It was the journey of a magnificent and powerful Islamic ruler
whose cavalry had already trampled down palaces and crowns and thrones under
the hooves of its horses. It was Rajab 16 AH, when Madâ'in and Antâkiyah
(Antioch) had been conquered.
The commanders of the Muslim forces
at Damascus and Jerusalem were already informed about the movement of the
Caliph of Islam. Thus Yazid bin Abu Sufyân, Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrâh and
Khâlid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
received the Caliph of Islam with exemplary honor. But when Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) saw them arrayed in
brilliant dresses and imposing appearance, he flew into a fit of rage at the
sight of them that he remarked: "Within the short span of two years have
you fallen into Persian habits?" But when the officers explained that they
had their weapons beneath the silken tunics and they had not lost their Arabian
character, the Caliph gained peace of heart.
A
Peace Document for the Christians
The Chief of believers sojourned for
a long while at Jâbiah where some of the nobles of the city proceeded to see
him and the treaty was drawn up there which is as follows:
"This is the peace document,
which the Chief of the Muslims has written for the people of Iylia'. Peace is
given to one and all in Iylia', peace of life and property, and peace to their
church, cross, sick, healthy and to the followers of all religions. Nobody is
allowed to reside in their churches nor will they be demolished nor are their
boundaries to be damaged nor their cross to be desecrated nor their religion to
be defiled. Moreover, Jews will not be allowed to live with them in Iylia'. The
people of Iylia' are duty-bound to pay the Jizyah and turn out the Greeks and
Romans. And those among the Greeks and Romans who will leave the city, their
life and property will be provided perfect safety until they reach a place of
safety. If a Roman prefers to live in Iylia', he is bound to give the Jizyah
like the rest of the citizens; if an Iylian intends to go with the Romans, he
will enjoy complete peace until he reaches a protected place. Whatever this
treaty contains is to be fulfilled by Allâh, the Caliphs of Islam and the
entire Muslim community provided the Iylians pay the Jizyah."
The elite of the Companions like
Khâlid bin Walid, Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), Abdur-Rahmân bin Auf and Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) subscribed to it. The people of Jerusalem paid the Jizyah on
the spot and opened the doors of the city. The people of Ramlah also followed
suit. Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
entered Bait-ul-Maqdis (the Dome of the Rock) barefooted. First of all he went
to the Mosque of Al-Aqsa and approaching the Arch of David he recited the Verse
from the Qur'ân which speaks of the Prophet David (Dâwud AS) as bowing down to
Allâh the Almighty and then he prostrated himself in humble obeisance. He then
visited the church of the Christians and walked around the building for
sometime.
Fall
of Takrit and Jazirah
Takrit was under a junior Persian
commissioned officer. When he heard of the fall of Madâ'in, he drew the
attention of the Romans to the incident. The Romans also joined the cause
easily because they were also against the Muslim forces. Other Christian Arab
tribes such as Iyyâd, Taghlib and Namir also followed suit. On the instruction
of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
deputed Abdullah bin Al-Mu'tam to head the expedition. Abdullah marched on
Takrit at the head of five thousand troops and invaded the city. After a bloody
battle, the joint Roman and Persian forces were beaten. Most of the Arabian
clans embraced Islam.
The province of Jazirah fell between
the frontiers of Syria and Iraq and was at times annexed by both the Empires.
Successive campaigns and victories of the Muslim forces sent terror into the
hearts of the people of Jazirah. They wrote to Heraclius to send a force to
guard the eastern cities against the ensuing Muslim attack and they promised to
jointly rise to lend their help and support to Heraclius' troops. Heraclius,
thinking it to be a sign from the God, dispatched his troops to the eastern
cities of Syria. Assessing the crucial situation, Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) instructed Saad (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to keep a check on the forward movement
of the people of Jazirah and wrote Abu Ubaidah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to obstruct the march of Heraclius' detachment towards Hims
and Qinnasrin. Both the commanders did their job appreciably well and Iyâd bin
Ghanam (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) captured the
province of Jazirah after small skirmishes. This event took place in 17 AH.
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