First
Case in the Court of Uthmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
A few days before the martyrdom of
Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
Abu Lulu went to Hurmuzân with a dagger. He was the same man who had confessed
Islam before the second Caliph of Islam and was settled in Al-Madinah. When Abu
Lulu was talking to Hurmuzân, another inhabitant of Hirah, a Christian slave
named Jafinah was also present. Abdur-Rahmân bin Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) noticed those three sitting together and
conversing with each other. When Abu Lulu saw Abdur-Rahmân bin Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) approaching, he left
the place in haste and his dagger fell down and he clearly witnessed it. However,
he could not then notice the evil intention. But when Abu Lulu injured Umar
Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and was caught,
Abdur-Rahmân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
recognized the dagger. He then related the whole event.
When Ubaidullah bin Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the second son of
Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) heard all this, he
lost control and attacked Hurmuzân. When Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) saw Hurmuzân being wounded and dying, he
held Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Since no caliph was there and Suhaib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) was looking after the necessary affairs, Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) produced Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) before him. Suhaib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) kept the accused captive
until the installation of the Caliph.
When Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was elected to the
post of caliphate and preliminaries were accomplished, the case of Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was put up before
him. The new Caliph held consultations with the Companions. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) gave his opinion
that Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
should be slain by way of Qisâs (death punishment for murder). But Amr bin Al-Âs
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) opposed it tooth and
nail. He argued that it was most improper to kill the son only a few days after
the assassination of his father. The people in general supported the viewpoint
of Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
The Caliph found himself in a fix.
However, a subtle fact dawned upon him. The event belonged to neither his
period of caliphate nor that of Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), for it had taken place before he took charge of the
caliphate. Thus he adopted the good device of paying the blood money by
declaring himself the guardian of Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the accused. He then ascended the pulpit and made an
effective speech and left his audience happy and satisfied.
Governors
of the Provinces
When Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was elected and installed
as the Caliph of Islam, the following governors appointed by Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) were looking after
the affairs of the provinces and territories under the Muslim rule:
Nâfi' bin Abdul-Hârith in Makkah,
Sufyân bin Abdullah Thaqafi in Tâ'if, Yala bin Umayyah in Yemen, Hudhaifah bin
Mihsan in Oman, Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
bin Abu Sufyân in Damascus, Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in Egypt, Umar bin Saad in Hims, Umar bin Utbah in Jordan, Abu
Musa Ash’ari (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in Basrah, Mughirah bin Shu'bah in Kufah, Uthmân bin Abul-Âs in Bahrain.
The first action taken by the new
Caliph in connection with the governors was that he deposed Mughirah bin
Shu'bah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) from the
governorship of Kufah and called him back to Al-Madinah. He was replaced by Saad
bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
When the people questioned the action, he replied, "I have not deposed
Mughirah for any fault of his. I have rather done it as a part of the
administration and an expediency and exactly according to the will left by Umar
as he had personally mentioned this to me (Uthmân)."
Maqdis. Now he was worried about the
safety of the rest of his territory after losing all hope of restoring the lost
lands. In the wake of Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ)' invasion of Egypt, Muqauqis, the king of Egypt had yielded
Egypt and Alexandria to him after earning peace by paying the Jizyah. Heraclius
considered Egypt his own province and Muqauqis his subordinate. Shock and
terror engulfed him on all sides with the result that he died surrounded by
defeat and dejection during the caliphate of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). His son Qustuntin (Constantine)
succeeded him and lost no time in mobilizing a huge army to restore Alexandria.
However, Muqauqis prevented the Romans from making entry into Alexandria and
thus kept his promise.
When the Muslims came to know of the
Roman invasion, they came quickly from Fustât (Cairo). The Romans then turned
their attack to the Islamic cantonments giving up their campaign for
Alexandria. Both the armies came upon each other and a severe battle broke out.
The commander of the Roman army was killed and a large number of Roman soldiers
met the same fate. The rest barely reached Constantinople by boat. After the
disastrous repulsion of the Roman forces, Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) made a survey of the losses suffered by
the people of Alexandria and its suburbs and made up for all their losses, for
he held himself responsible for saving the Dhimmi and compensating them for all
reverses. Amr bin Al-Âs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
then lost no time in demolishing the ramparts around the city of Alexandria and
then came back to his cantonment in Fustât. This was done to prevent the
possibility of any Roman attack in future trying to turn Alexandria into a
fortress. This event took place in 25 AH.
The
Conquest of Armenia
The Roman invasion of Alexandria
was, in fact, the result of the demise of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and the same event led to the uprising in the Persian
territories of Hamadân and Rey. They declared their freedom from Muslim rule.
Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
dispatched Abu Musa Ash’ari (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
Bara' bin Âzib and Qarazah bin Ka'b (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) to tackle the situation and they did their job appreciably
well. Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
had deposed and called back Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) reinstalled him as governor of Kufah. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was then in charge
of the public treasury.
Saad bin Abu Waqqâs (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the governor of
Kufah, borrowed some money from Abdullah bin Mas'ud (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the treasurer. After a few days Abdullah demanded the
borrowed money which Saad could not pay. The matter took a turn for the worse
and their relations became strained. When Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) came to know of this unfortunate
development, he deposed Saad from the governorship of Kufah in 25 AH, and
replaced him by Walid bin Uqbah bin Abu Mu'ait. Utbah bin Farqad (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) who was appointed by
Saad to look after the affairs of Azerbâijân was also deposed along with Saad.
With his exit, the people of Azerbâijân raised their banner of revolt against
the establishment. Walid bin Uqbah wasted no time in invading Azerbâijân and
they were forced to earn peace on the old terms and agreed to pay Jizyah. Walid
bin Uqbah, who was the governor of Jazirah during the caliphate of Umar Fâruq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and at present the
governor of Kufah, was the foster brother of Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Since Saad was very
pious and Allâh-fearing, and Walid bin Uqbah was not equal to him in this
trait, the people of Kufah were not at all happy with the departure of Saad and
the arrival of Walid.
Mu'âwiyah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the governor of Damascus had sent Habib bin Maslamah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to Armenia. He
conquered a number of cities and forts and forced the Romans to pay the Jizyah.
With this news the Caesar of Constantinople collected eighty thousand troops
from Malit, Siwas, and Quniah and invaded Habib bin Maslamah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Habib sent the account of these events
to Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and he gave the news to Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). The Caliph wrote Walid bin Uqbah, the governor of Kufah to
dispatch ten thousand reinforcements to Armenia who immediately carried out the
order with a dispatch of eight thousand troops headed by Salmân bin Rabi'ah to
Armenia.
Habib bin Maslamah and Salman bin
Rabi'ah jointly won Armenia and reached up to the Caucasus Mountains. On the
return of Habib bin Maslamah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in Damascus, the latter himself invaded the Roman territory. The Roman fighters
escaped leaving Antâkiyah (Antioch) and their citadels behind. This event took
place in 25 AH.
No comments:
Post a Comment