Incidents Following the Conquest of Damascus
I will mention the incidents that took place following the conquest of Damascus. After conquering Damascus, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) sent Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid on another expedition to Beqa‘. Beqa‘ is a large area comprising of many towns, situated between Damascus, Baalbek and Homs. After gaining victory here, he sent a contingent ahead.
An argument broke out between the Byzantines and this contingent over a fountain called “Maisanun”, which resulted in a fight. Coincidentally, a Byzantine by the name of Sinan, was successful in attacking the Muslims from the other side of Beirut and martyred a large number of Muslims. Beirut was a well-known coastal town in the Levant. As such, this fountain was attributed to these martyrs and was called ‘Ain al-Shuhada [Fountain of the martyrs].
Abu Ubaidah appointed Yazid bin Abi Sufyan as his representative in Damascus, who subsequently sent Dihyah bin Khalifa with an expedition to Tadmur (Palmyra) in order to pave the way for victory. Tadmur is an ancient and well-known town in Syria, located at a distance of five days from Aleppo. The Yazid that is being mentioned here is the son of Hazrat Abu Sufyan.
Similarly, Abu Zahra Qushairi was sent to Bathaniyyah and Hawwarin, but the people there agreed to enter into a treaty. Bathaniyyah is the name of a town near Damascus. Hawran was a large area in Damascus, which consisted of many towns and agricultural land. Aside from Tiberias, the capital of Jordan [the name of a province at the time] Shurahbil (ra) bin Hasanah conquered the entire country through battle, as war was imposed on him and the people of Tiberias agreed to a treaty. Hazrat Khalid (ra) also returned victorious from Beqa‘. The people of Baalbek accepted the treaty and he wrote an oath with them.
(Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) Shakhsiyyat aur kar namey, Muhammad Salabi,p. 730, Maktabah al-Furqan, Khangarh) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 1, p. 623, 557, 402) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 2, p. 20, 364)
According to books of history, Baalbek is an ancient town and located at a distance of three days travel from Damascus.
(Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 1, pp. 537-538)
The term “distance of days” means the distance one would cover in a day by the means of transport of that era; that is by camel or horse.
Fahl is the name of a place, which was conquered in 14 AH. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) wrote to Hazrat Umar (ra) saying:
“I have come to know that Heraclius is in Homs and dispatching his armies towards Damascus. However, it is difficult for me to decide whether I should first attack Damascus, or Fahl.” Fahl is the name of a place in the Levant.
In reply to this, Hazrat Umar (ra) wrote:
“You should first attack Damascus and conquer it, as it is the main fortress of Syria and the headquarters. Along with this, you should also send a cavalry contingent towards Fahl, which will not allow them [the Byzantines] to advance towards you. If Fahl is conquered before Damascus then so be it, but if not, then conquer Damascus, and then leave a small portion of your army there and take all your commanders with you and head towards Fahl. If Allah the Almighty grants victory over Fahl at your hands then you and Khalid should head towards Homs and you should send Shurahbil and Amr towards Jordan and Palestine.”
As soon as Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) received the letter from Hazrat Umar (ra), he sent 10 commanders, of which the most prominent was Abu al-A‘war Sulmi, to Fahl, and he himself accompanied Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid to Damascus. When the Byzantine armies saw the Muslim forces approaching, they flooded their surroundings with water from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, causing the terrain to become like a marsh which was difficult to traverse.
(Sayyiduna Umar Farooq A‘zam, Muhammad Husain Haikal, [translated], pp. 194-195, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore) (Al-Farooq, Allamah Shibli, p. 114, Dar al-Isha‘at, Karachi, 1991) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 4, p. 268)
Nonetheless, owing to this, the forces Heraclius sent as reinforcements to Damascus were also prevented from reaching their destination. Due to the flooding, all pathways were blocked, yet the Muslims remained steadfast. After witnessing the determination of the Muslims, the Christians agreed to a truce and sent word to Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) to send a representative. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) appointed Hazrat Muaz (ra) bin Jabal for this.
Hazrat Muaz (ra) bin Jabal presented the Islamic teachings to the enemy, but they were not willing to accept it. Among other things, the Byzantines proposed to Hazrat Muaz (ra) that if the Muslims were to retreat from this country and attack Persia instead, they could take the province of Balqa and other land in Jordan adjacent to Muslim territory, but they were to leave from there. They themselves initially prepared an army, but after sensing defeat, they offered this proposal.
Hazrat Muaz (ra) declined their offer and returned, while the Byzantines requested to speak with Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) directly. Therefore, a special emissary was sent to the Muslim encampment.
When he arrived there, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) was seated on the ground, examining arrows. The messenger thought that the commander-in-chief would be distinguishable owing to his grandeur and opulence, but everyone he saw looked the same [in rank]. Finally, after some hesitation, he asked as to who the commander was. The people indicated towards Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) which left him astonished. He addressed Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) in shock and asked if in fact he was the commander. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) answered in the affirmative. The emissary said that they would offer each and every Muslim soldier two gold coins if they were to retreat. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) rejected the offer, upon which the messenger became infuriated and returned.
Upon seeing the messenger’s hostile attitude, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) commanded the Muslim army to get ready and wrote to Hazrat Umar (ra) mentioning everything that had happened. Hazrat Umar (ra) gave permission to advance forward as the Byzantine forces continued to gather and encouraged the Muslims to remain steadfast and that God would come to their aid. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) had given the command to ready the forces that very day, but the Byzantine forces did not confront them. Again, the next day, Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid went out to the battlefield with a contingent of horsemen.
The Byzantine army was also prepared and a battle ensued. After witnessing the resolve of the Muslims, the Byzantines thought it pointless to prolong the battle and wanted to retreat. Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid proclaimed that the Byzantines had used up their strength and now it was the turn of the Muslims to strike. With this, the Muslims launched a sudden assault and the Byzantines suffered defeat.
The Christians were delaying the battle in the hope for reinforcements. But Hazrat Khalid (ra) bin Walid understood their scheme. He informed Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) that the Byzantines had become overwhelmed and it was the best time to launch an attack. Therefore, it was announced immediately that an attack would be launched the following day and the army should prepare.
In the last quarter of the night, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) assembled his forces. At that time, the Byzantine forces were approximately 50,000 in number. Two historians who have written on the life of Hazrat Umar (ra) – Haykal and Sallabi – have also reported this army to be 80,000 to 100,000 in number. Regardless, after an hour of intense combat, the Byzantines lost their footing and losing all hope they withdrew.
Following this, Hazrat Umar (ra) commanded that all the land that was seized will remain with its owners, no land would be taken from anyone; the peoples’ lives, wealth, land, properties and places of worship would remain safe and only land for building mosques would be acquired. If land was to be taken, it would only be taken to construct a mosque and all other land would remain with their owners.
(Al-Farooq, Allamah Shibli, pp. 114-118, Dar al-Isha‘at, Karachi, 1991) (Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) Shakhsiyyat aur kar namey, Muhammad Salabi,p. 730, Maktabah al-Furqan, Khangarh) (Sayyiduna Umar Farooq A‘zam, Muhammad Husain Haikal, [translated], p. 213, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore)
Then, there is also the conquest of Beisan. After Hazrat Shurahbil (ra) was victorious in the battle of Fahl, he and his forces accompanied Hazrat Amr (ra) and advanced toward Beisan and laid siege. At that time, Abul A‘war and a few other commanders had besieged Tiberias.
Beisan was situated about 18 miles south of Tiberias. Word had spread about the ongoing defeats of the Byzantines in the battles that took place in regions of Jordan and Damascus and in other conquests. The people learned that Hazrat Shurahbil (ra), along with Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Aas, Hazrat Harithra bin Hisham and Hazrat Suhail (ra) bin Amr were headed with their armies towards Beisan and so everyone gathered in their forts.
Hazrat Shurahbil (ra) besieged Beisen after arriving there. The siege lasted a few days, after which some combatants emerged for battle. The Muslims fought and defeated them, while the rest of the residents sought a peace treaty. The Muslims accepted the same terms which had been agreed upon at the conquest of Damascus.
(Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Tabari [translated], Vol. 2, part 2 [Karachi, Pakistan: Nafees Academy], p. 216) (Al-Farooq, Allamah Shibli, p. 114, Dar al-Isha‘at, Karachi, 1991)