Conquest
of Ahwâz, and Hurmuzân accepts Islam
Running away from the battle of
Qâdisiyah, the well-known Persian commander, Hurmuzân took refuge in Khuzestân,
the capital of Ahwâz province and devoted himself wholeheartedly to collecting
soldiers by capturing the surrounding cities. Muslim forces emerged from the
cantonments of Kufah and Basrah and charged at Ahwâz which fell to them.
Hurmuzân earned peace from the Muslims in return for paying the Jizyah. After a
few days, Hurmuzân rose in revolt against the Muslims but was again beaten
thoroughly. He again sought peace for Jizyah and it was granted. Meanwhile news
came that Yezdgird, the Persian monarch, was collecting a huge army to attack
the Muslims.
On receiving this disturbing news,
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
immediately wrote Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) to deploy Islamic squadrons at all the avenues of access. As a
precautionary measure, a squadron was also sent to take care of the activities
of Hurmuzân. Since he was counting on Yezdgird, he rose against the Muslim
force with a big army and the result was a complete rout. Hurmuzân fled to
Tustar and devoted himself again to making preparations for battling with the
Muslims. When Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
heard of this, he sent Abu Musa Ash’ari (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) as the Commander of the army stationed at Basrah.
Abu Musa (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) advanced towards Tustar and after a number of encounters,
Hurmuzân took shelter in his fort for a defensive battle. However, he was
greeted by an ignominious defeat and the city fell to the Muslims. The fort was
about to fall when Hurmuzân sent a petition to Abu Musa (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) mentioning that he was ready to surrender
on the sole condition that he be dispatched to Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and let him decide about him (Hurmuzân).
His petition was granted and he was sent to Al-Madinah in the company of Anas
bin Mâlik and Ahnaf bin Qais (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Reaching the area bordering Al-Madinah, he put on costly and glamorous garments
and his glittering crown.
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) thanked Allâh when he noticed such a
general as a captive. The Caliph then said to him, "You have backed out of
your promise more than once, what punishment do you deserve then? And what do
you want to say in self-defense?" Hurmuzân said, "I am afraid you
will slay me before hearing my excuse." The Caliph said, "Fear not,
your excuse will be definitely heard." Hurmuzân then asked for some
drinking water. He then took the cup of water in his hand and said, "I am
afraid you will kill me while I am drinking this water." Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said, "Fear not
in the least, you will be put to no harm unless you have drunk this cup of
water." Hearing this Hurmuzân kept the cup back and said, "I won't
drink, and you cannot kill me as per your promise."
Graceful
Treatment of Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ):
Hearing this, Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) angrily said,
"You tell a lie, I have not given you peace." Thereupon Anas bin
Mâlik (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) intervened and said,
"O Chief of the believers, he tells the truth. You have just promised him
that he will not be harmed until he has drunk the cup of water and given his
account." Hearing this Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was left wonder-struck and said addressing Hurmuzân, "You
have deceived me but I will not do the same. It is better for you to convert to
Islam."
Hurmuzân accepted Islam at once.
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
grew very happy. He gave Hurmuzân a place in Al-Madinah to live in and
sanctioned for him an annual grant of two thousand dinars. He was also
consulted during the campaigns of Persia.
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) then said to Anas bin Mâlik and Ahnaf bin
Qais (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), "You people
perhaps fail to treat your Dhimmi (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic state) well.
And the result is their uprisings time and again." They submitted, "O
Chief of the believers, we make it a point to treat them extremely well and
hold them in high regard. However, they rise against us again and again because
you have held us back from going ahead. Yezdgird, the Persian Emperor is there
in his cities and while he is safe and sound, the Persians will never sit back
and abandon their fighting." The Caliph agreed and issued immediate orders
for the Muslim forces to march ahead.
The
Conquest of Egypt
During Umar Fâruq's stay in
Jerusalem, Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
had obtained his consent for launching an attack on Egypt. Amr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) marched to Egypt at
the head of four thousand troops. The Caliph of Islam put before Muqauqis, the
king of Egypt, three conditions: Islam or Jizyah or battle, in his dispatch
from Al-Madinah. The Roman general Artabun along with his entire army was in
Egypt at that time. First Artabun moved forward and then fled the battlefield after
experiencing a decisive defeat.
Afterwards the Muslim army advanced
further and laid siege around Ainu Shams and from there dispatched two
squadrons to besiege Farama and Alexandria (Iskandariyah). Both the cities fell
to the Muslim troops. Amr bin Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) then sent Zubair bin Al-Awwâm (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Fustât as a commander, he conquered the fortified citadel
after a heavy encounter. Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) attacked Alexandria, which fell after a siege of three months.
The
Battle of Nahâwand
After the conquest of Madâ'in and
Jalula, Yezdgird shifted to Rey and then to Isfahân. When Ahwâz fell to the
Muslims, he fled to Marw in Khurasân located in eastern Persia. He built a fire
temple there and was satisfied that the Arabs would not make any advancement.
He became full of rage after Ahwâz was destroyed, and Hurmuzân was captured and
taken to Al-Madinah. He again started huge military preparations for beating
the Muslims and wrote letters to the notables from the surrounding areas
putting them to shame over the successive Muslim victories.
These efforts of Yezdgird bore fruit
and Tabaristân, Jurjân, Khurasân, Isfahân, Hamadân, and Sindh rose against the
Muslims in great fervor. Fighters from various regions rushed to join Yezdgird.
He put Firoz or Mardân Shah as a commander of a
one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-man army and dispatched it to Nahâwand. On
receiving this news, Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) decided to lead the army himself. However, Ali, Uthmân and
Talhah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) differed with his
decision and the Caliph honored their opinion.
He then nominated Nu'mân bin
Muqarrin (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) as commander and
instructed him to go and halt at a stream near Kufah. At that time Saad bin Abu
Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was in Al-Madinah at
the invitation of the Caliph. The Caliph wrote to Abdullah bin Abdullah bin
Utbân, the deputy of Saad (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to dispatch forces from Kufah under the command of Nu'mân bin Muqarrin (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). The order was
immediately implemented. The Caliph also instructed the Muslim troops stationed
in Ahwâz to blockade Persia and Isfahân so that the people of Nahâwand could
not get any help from Persia.
When troops from other corners
gathered together Nu'mân bin Muqarrin (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) put his brother Nu'aim bin Muqarrin at the vanguard, gave the
right flank to Hudhaifah bin Yamân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), left flank to Suwaid bin Muqarrin, the infantry to Qa'qâ' and
rearguard to Mujâshi' bin Mas'ud. The total number of Muslim troops reached
thirty thousand. The army marched from Kufah and halted at a place nine miles
from its destination. The Persian army also came out on the field.
The battle started on Wednesday and
continued until Thursday but without any decision. On Friday, the Persians
moved back to the city and fortified areas. Since they had strewn Gokhru
(iron-thorns) around the entire city obstructing the movement of the Muslim
army towards the ramparts of the city, while the Persians could charge at the
Muslim troops at anytime. In the wake of the new developments, Nu'mân summoned
the commanders to his camp and sought their opinion about dealing with the
situation. Tulaihah bin Khuwailid gave his opinion that the Muslim army, alert
and ready, should make a retreat about six to seven miles from the city. And as
a next step, Qa'qâ' be asked to charge at them with a column. The suggestion
was unanimously agreed upon.
When the Persians noticed a small
force before them, they became overjoyed and came out to attack it in full
force. The Muslim column, according to plan, kept gradually moving back, while
the Persians continued their pressure on the Muslims and moved ahead. They were
now at a long distance from their trenches and defensive devices and were
caught unaware by the large and fresh Muslim army lying in wait for their
arrival. Nu'mân bin Muqarrin (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
along with others launched a fierce attack on the Persians with the loud cry of
Allâhu Akbar (Allâh is the Most Great). The enemy force was thoroughly
outwitted, they fled the field leaving a large number of soldiers dead and
injured.
During the rage and fury of the
killing of the Persians, Nu'mân bin Muqarrin (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) fell down from his horse badly exhausted and injured and was
martyred. His brother Nu'mân bin Muqarrin appeared on the scene and put on his
dress and took the standard of Nu'mân and the Muslim army remained unaware
until the end of the battle about the martyrdom of their commander. The fleeing
Persian soldiers were entrapped by the Gokhru spread by themselves, which took
a toll in thousands. The Persian commander and other commanding officers
escaped to Hamadân, but Nu'mân and Qa'qâ' conquered Hamadân too. Hudhaifah bin
Yamân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was then appointed
commander of the Muslim army, and in that capacity he distributed the spoils of
war in Nahâwand and put out the fire temple. Its high priest waited upon
Hudhaifah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and offered to put him
in possession of priceless treasures if his own life and property were spared.
Hudhaifah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was very willing to
accede to this proposal, the priest accordingly brought and placed before him
precious stones of the rarest value from the royal treasure kept with him for
emergencies. Hudhaifah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
distributed the spoils of war among the troops and dispatched one-fifth,
together with the precious stones to the Caliph.
For a couple of days the Caliph had
received no news from the seat of war and was worried. However, he grew
overjoyed at the arrival of the messenger, Sâ'ib bin Al-Aqra' with the tidings
of the victory and one-fifth of the booty together with the precious stones.
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
deposited the precious stones with the public treasury and sent Sâ'ib back.
Sâ'ib had hardly stepped in Kufah when a messenger of the Caliph came chasing
him and brought him back to Al-Madinah. Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) revealed, "I had a dream that the angels were threatening
me with torment of Fire for depositing the gems and jewels in the public
treasury. So I will never preserve them in the public treasury. Take these with
you and distribute among the troops their price after selling them all." When
Sâ'ib sold those jewels to Amr bin Huraith Makhzumi in Kufah, they fetched two
hundred thousand dirhams which were distributed among the Muslim troops. Umar
Fâruq's murderer, Abu Lulu was a citizen of Nahâwand and was captured in the
same battle.
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