Conquest of Laziqiyyah

Then there was the conquest of Laziqiyyah, which took place in 14 AH. The Muslim army marched under the command of Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) towards Laziqiyyah, which was a town on the Syrian coast and was considered to be part of the suburbs of Homs. When the people of Laziqiyyah saw the Muslim army approaching, they retreated to their forts and prepared to confront them. They were content that if the Muslim army besieged them, they had the strength to confront them and in the meantime they would receive reinforcements from Heraclius via the sea.

The Muslims besieged the town. The town had a strong defence system and was renowned for its army check posts. As Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) was experienced in war tactics and strategies, he devised a new plan to conquer the city. He realised that if they camped there, it would be very difficult to conquer it and the siege would become prolonged. Similarly, it was also possible that during the siege the enemy would send them [i.e. the people of the town] reinforcements, as a result of which they would have to return unsuccessful. Furthermore, if the siege became prolonged, it would be impossible to get to Antakya.

One night, he ordered for many trenches to be dug deep enough that it could conceal a person on horseback. Subsequently, the trenches were hidden with grass. In the morning, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) lifted the siege and headed back towards Homs.

When the people of the town saw the siege was lifted they were overjoyed and happily opened the doors of the city. At the same time, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) returned in the night with his army and hid in the trenches.

In the morning when the doors of the town opened, the Muslims launched an attack. Some of the Muslims captured the doors which were on the outer perimeter of the fort. Some people considered it wise to run away and those who were in the town were overcome with fear. Eveone inside the town began planning on how to survive and they were left with no other choice but to accept the authority of the Muslims.

Thus, they entered into an agreement with the Muslims and those that ran away sought protection from the Muslims. The Muslims entered the town victoriously. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (ra) accepted the treaty on the condition they pay the Jizya and left their church under their rule. Later on, Muslims made a mosque near to the church.

(Sayyiduna Umar Farooq A‘zam, Muhammad Husain Haikal, [translated], pp. 333-334, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore) (Al-Farooq, Allamah Shibli, pp. 118-119, Dar al-Isha‘at, Karachi, 1991)

After this victory, Hazrat Umar (ra) wrote stating that no further military action should take place that year.

*(Al-Farooq, Allamah Shibli, p. 119, Dar al-Isha‘at, Karachi, 1991) *