Fall
of Tabaristan
Assuming governorship of Kufah,
Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
drew up an army which included men like Hasan bin Ali, Abdullah bin Umar,
Abdullah bin Zubair, and Hudhaifah bin Al-Yamân. At the head of this army Saeed
bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) invaded Tabaristân
and Jurjân and conquered these big cities and the entire territory.
Circulation
of the Qur'ân
When Hudhaifah bin Al-Yamân reached
Al-Madinah on route to Basrah, Kufah, Rey and Syria, he expressed amazement
over the fact that the people of Iraq, Syria, Basrah and Kufah, and Persia had
their own way of recitation of the Noble Qur'ân which was quite different from
each other. It was better that one and all were brought to the same way of
recitation. Uthmân bin Affân convened a meeting of the distinguished Companions
and placed the suggestion for their deliberations and decisions. All of them
endorsed the opinion of Hudhaifah. Uthmân bin Affân then had them bring the
copy of the Qur'ân with Hafsah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْھَا), the Mother of the believers, which was compiled by Zaid bin Thâbit
and other Companions during the caliphate of Abu Bakr Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and came to Umar Fâruq and then to his
daughter, Hafsah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْھَا)
after his assassination. The Caliph deputed a number of qualified people to
prepare a number of copies. He then sent a copy of the Qur'ân to each big city
with the order that the Qur'ân be copied accordingly and all the old copies be
set on fire. When the fresh copy reached Kufah, the Companions expressed their
joy over it, but Abdullah bin Mas'ud remained firm on his own recitation.
Events
of 31 AH
According to the fresh orders issued
from the office of the caliphate, new governors were appointed to some
territories. Harim bin Hassân Yashkuri, Harim bin Haiyân Al-'Abdi, and Khirrit
bin Râshid were appointed to the Persian territories. Ahnaf bin Qais was
appointed to Marwain, Habib bin Qarrah Yarbu'i was appointed to Balkh, Khâlid
bin Zuhair was appointed to Harât, Umain bin Ahmad Yashkuri to Tus and Qais bin
Hubairah was appointed to Nishapur. Some of the cities of Khurâsan showed sign
of uprisings. Abdullah bin Âmir resorted to military action and forced them all
to obey. He then put down a revolt in Nishapur and then turned towards Harât
followed by Balkh, Tabaristân, Kirmân, Sajastân and some provinces of Persia
which became his next targets. In the wake of this series of victories in Iraq
and Persia, Abdullah bin Âmir came to be known as a terror and people were
filled with awe at the mention of his name.
Here is the text extracted from the
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Yezdgird
killed
The Persian Empire was destroyed
during the caliphate of Umar Fâruq. The rest of the cities and frontier
provinces were conquered during the caliphate of Uthmân bin Affân.
Nevertheless, Yezdgird, the Emperor of Persia was still running from place to
place for safety. Sometimes he was in Rey and sometimes in Balkh, Marw,
Isfahân, Istakhar, Turkistan and China and back again to Persia. A party of
several thousand soldiers remained with him through thick and thin in the hope
that one day their past glory and grandeur might be restored. This was the
reason why the Persian provinces, districts and cities would so often rise
against the Muslim rule even though they were instantly put down by the Muslim
forces. In 31 AH, Yezdgird reached the suburbs of Balkh at the head of a party
from China and Turkistan and captured some cities for a short period. His
misfortunes compelled him to flee and take refuge at the dwelling of a windmill
owner. He was in deep sleep when the house owner, out of greed for his costly
garments, killed him and threw his dead body into water after stripping him of
his clothes, ornaments and weapons. This event took place in suburb of Marw on
August 23, 651 CE. Yezdgird passed four years of his life in luxury, sixteen
years in affliction and vagrancy and the last ten years out of sixteen he
passed as a fugitive. The Persian troubles came to an end after Yezdgird was
killed.
In this year, Muhammad bin Abu
Hudhaifah and Muhammad bin Abu Bakr who were with Abdullah bin Saad bin Abu
Sarh, the governor of Egypt, showed their dissatisfaction and displeasure over
the way the ruler was managing affairs. Their resentment grew to an extent that
they came out in the open against Uthmân bin Affân for his alleged policy of
favoring an unworthy man like Abdullah bin Saad even though he earned the
displeasure of the Prophet during his lifetime.
Events
of 32 AH
In Dhul-Hijjah 31 AH, when Abdullah
bin Âmir left to perform Hajj, an Persian general Qârin saw a golden
opportunity for him to restore some Persian provinces. He proceeded at the head
of a forty thousand strong army. Abdullah bin Hâzim, a Muslim general, with
only a few thousand soldiers under his command, showed such exemplary courage
and valor that the Persians were defeated. With a small party of three to four
thousand soldiers, Abdullah bin Hâzim advanced to face the forty thousand
strong army of the Persians. Reaching near the enemy, the Muslim general
ordered his soldiers to wrap their spears up with pieces of cloth and then soak
them in oil or fat. When the army came closer to the battleground, he ordered
his soldiers to set fire to the cloth wrapped spears while it was night and
charge at the enemy with blazing fire. When the planning was translated into
action, the Persian soldiers fled in shock and bewilderment at the sight of the
flames. None of them had the courage and consciousness to face the Muslim
soldiers. A large number of Persian soldiers were killed or captured.
Events
of 33 AH
Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) took charge of Kufah after the dismissal
of Walid bin Uqbah, as the governor of the province. Saeed began to do what he
could to win the hearts of the people of Kufah. Mâlik bin Hârith Nakha'i (Mâlik
bin Ashtar), Thâbit bin Qais, Aswad bin Yazid, Alqamah bin Qais, Jundub bin
Zuhair, Jundub bin Ka'b Azdi, Urwah bin Al-Ju'd, Amr bin Al-Hamiq Khuza'i,
Sa'sa'ah and Zaid-the sons of Suhân, and Kumail bin Ziyâd were regular visitors
to the private assembly of Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). All of them indulged in fun and pleasantries. One day Saeed
bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the governor of
Kufah uttered, "This territory is the garden of the Quraish." Hearing
this, Mâlik bin Ashtar angrily remarked, "You call the territory the
garden of your people, which we have conquered with our swords by the grace of
Allâh the Almighty?" Others too joined the issue, which gave rise to a
furore and created an unruly scene. When Abdur-Rahmân Asadi tried to silence
them, they fell on him and gave him a severe beating with the result that he
fell unconscious.
In the wake of this unusual event
Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
put an end to the night assembly and set guards around to ban the entry of the
regular visitors. This action of the governor angered the people and they took
to murmuring against the governor and the Caliph too. Very soon they were joined
by men in the street. When opposition gained momentum, Saeed bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) sent the whole
account to the Caliph who wrote back that they should be sent to Syria to be
looked after by Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) showed them utmost
courtesy, dined with them and fixed a daily allowance for them. He did this
because the Caliph had directed him to tactfully put them right. After a couple
of days, Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
politely asked them to recognize the leadership of the Quraish and do nothing
to disturb the unity of the Muslims. But one of the sons of Suhân gave a rude
reply to what he said. Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) reported the matter to the Caliph and showed his inability to
bring them back to reason and uprightness. Uthmân bin Affân asked him to send
them to Hims to the care of Abdur-Rahmân bin Khâlid. When they reached Hims
Abdur-Rahmân bin Khâlid, the governor of Hims treated them rudely and didn't
permit them to sit in his assembly. This rough and stern attitude and behavior
of the governor affected them to the extent that they repented for their past
actions. When the Caliph was informed of the development, he granted them
permission to go back to Kufah if they so desired.
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