Conquests of Iran and Iraq

Regarding the conquests of Iran and Iraq, he writes that during the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), a war began against the people of Persia. In the meantime, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) fell ill and as a result of this, there were delays in receiving instructions by the Muslim armies. Therefore, Hazrat Muthannara appointed his deputy from the Muslim army and presented himself before Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) so that he could personally inform him of the circumstances of the battle and seek further reinforcements. Hazrat Muthannara arrived in Medina and subsequently informed Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) of the state of affairs. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) called for Hazrat Umar (ra) and gave the following instructions:

“O Umar (ra)! Listen carefully to what I say and then act upon it accordingly. Today is Monday and I believe that I will pass away today.” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) is saying this. “If I pass away, then before nightfall, encourage the people towards jihad and send them along with Muthannara. However, if I pass away in the night then before sunrise, gather the Muslims and send them with Muthannara. Regardless of the impact, my demise will have, it should not stop you from fulfilling the commandments of the faith and God Almighty. You will have observed what I did at the time of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) demise even though no one had experienced such a tragic event like that before. By God, if at the time I had shown even the slightest negligence in fulfilling the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), God Almighty would have destroyed us and punished us and Medina would have been lit up in flames.”

Thus, after the demise of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), as soon as Hazrat Umar (ra) became the Khalifa, he immediately fulfilled this instruction and the very next day, after the burial of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), he gathered all the people. Many people had come from various parts of the land to perform the bai‘at at the hands of the Khalifa and this influx remained for three days. Hazrat Umar (ra) saw this as a perfect opportunity and began to direct their attention towards jihad because the Arabs had been overawed for quite some time by the might and power of the Iranian empire and also their exceptional military strength.

For a long time, the people believed that Iraq was the capital of the Iranian empire and thought that it could not be conquered without Hazrat Khalid (ra). Therefore, they remained quiet. Hazrat Umar (ra) advised the people for a few days but this had no impact on the people. Subsequently, on the fourth day, Hazrat Umar (ra) delivered such a passionate address that people were greatly moved and their religious zeal was impassioned. Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) bin Masood Thaqfi came forward and loudly proclaimed:

اَنَا‭ ‬لِهٰذَا‬

That is, “I am ready for this!” and presented his name to partake in the Jihad. After him, Hazrat Saad (ra) bin Ubaid and Salitra bin Qais came forward and as soon as they stepped forward, the religious zeal of the Muslims was kindled in their hearts and they all passionately came forward and presented their names to take part in the jihad that was taking place in Iraq.

Initially, Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid was the commander of the army in Iraq but in the final stages of his life, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) sent him to Syria in view of the importance of the battles taking place in Syria. Hazrat Muthannara bin Haritha had now taken charge of the Muslim army in Iraq. During this time, when Hazrat Umar (ra) was inviting the people to present their names to partake in the battles in Iraq, Hazrat Muthannara was also present in Medina. Hazrat Muthanna also delivered a very inspirational address and stated, “O people! Do not consider this battle to be extremely difficult and challenging. We fought the Persians and defeated them and insha-Allah, we will once again be victorious.”

Thus, after hearing these speeches, an army consisting of soldiers from Medina and its neighbouring areas was now ready to take part in the battles in Iraq.

According to Tabari and Baladhuri, this army consisted of 1,000 soldiers and according to Allama Abu Hanifa Denawri, the author of Kitab Al-Akhbar Al-Tiwal, the army consisted of 5,000 soldiers. It seems that initially, upon departing from Medina, it was 1,000, but by the time it reached the battlefields, it was 5,000. This is because Baladhuri and Abu Hanifa have mentioned that whenever they passed by any Arab tribe along the way, the commander of the army would invite them to join.

Now, as to the question of who would be the leader of this army, even though Hazrat Muthannara was the overall commander of the army, who was going to be the leader of this newly formed contingent? Owing to Hazrat Umar’s (ra) perceptiveness, he appointed Abu Ubaid Thaqafi. Many people felt that the Companions (ra) who had accepted Islam right from the early days and had sacrificed their blood to irrigate the plant of Islam, as it were, had been overlooked and a person who had come much later had been appointed as their leader. Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, “If the Companions hold any distinction, it is purely owing to the fact that they always remained at the forefront of serving Islam and bravely stood up against the enemy for the defence of Islam. However, since they have remained behind on this occasion, therefore they have given away this right of theirs. Thus, on this occasion, the first person who came forward in order to defend Islam was the one who had the right to take the role of the commander.”

After Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra), it was Saad (ra) bin Ubaid and Salitra bin Qais who then responded to the call of Hazrat Umar (ra) to partake in the battles in Iraq. Hazrat Umar (ra), addressing both of them, said, “If you had responded to my call first, then owing to the fact that you are among the early people who accepted Islam, I would have handed the command to you.”

However, apart from the aforementioned reason, another reason to hand the command to Abu Ubaid (ra) instead of Salitra bin Qais was that Hazrat Umar (ra) had stated that a person with a calm disposition was required for this role, who would carry out the planning of the battle in a composed and careful manner. However, Salitra bin Qais had proven to be very hasty in matters relating to the battlefield. But despite granting the command to Abu Ubaid (ra), owing to him being the first to respond to his call, Hazrat Umar (ra) did not deem it appropriate to ignore the past services rendered by the noble Companions (ra) of the Holy Prophet (sa) and their past experiences. Hence, Hazrat Umar (ra) instructed Hazrat Abu Ubaid Thaqafi (ra) to seek consultation from the Companions and to accept their suggestions in the organisational matters.

Various narrations regarding this are found in the various book of history; however, his entire incident has been taken from Tarikh al-Tabari.

(Tarikh-ul-Islam bi-Ahad Hazrat Umar (ra), thesis by Syed Mir Mahmood Ahmad Nasir Sahib, pp. 7-9) (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2, p. 194, Nafees Academy Karachi) (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2, p. 332, 260-261, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2012) (Akhbar Al-Tiwal, Abu Hafifa Dinawri, pp. 165-166, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001) (Futuh Al-Buldan, Allama Biladhri, p. 350, Muasisat-ul-Ma‘arif, Beirut 2007) (Sirat Al-Ameer-ul-Momineen Umar bin Khattab, Salabi, p. 353-354, Dar-ul-Marifah, Beirut, 2007) (Al-Farooq, pp. 78-79, Shibli Naumani, Idaara Al-Islamiyaat, 2004)