The Battle of Jalula

Then there is the Battle of Jalula which took place in 16 AH. After the conquest of Madain [Ctesiphon] the Persians gathered in Jalula to begin preparing for battle once more. Upon the instructions of Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Saad (ra) sent Hashim bin Utbah with an army of 12,000 to face the Persians. Jalula is a city in Iraq situated on the route between Khorasan and Baghdad. This is where a battle between the Muslims and the Persians ensued. When the Muslims arrived, they surrounded the city, and this siege lasted for months. Every now and then, the Persians would come out of their fortresses to launch attacks. In this way, 80 battles took place. The Muslims wrote about the victories in Jalula to Hazrat Umar (ra), mentioning that Hazrat Qa‘qa (ra) was encamped in Hulwan. In this letter, permission was requested to pursue the non-Arabs, but Hazrat Umar (ra) denied the request, i.e., permission was not granted to purchase after them. Instead he said, “I want a wall erected between the mountainous region of Sawad (Southern Iraq) and Iran so that neither the Persians come to us, nor we go to their lands. For us, the rural areas of Sawad are sufficient. I prioritise the safety and well-being of the Muslims over attaining spoils of war.” That is, he did not have any desire to collect spoils of war and safeguarding the lives of the Muslims was of greater importance.

According to one narration, Hazrat Saad (ra) sent bowls of gold and silver and clothes as part of the spoils of war with Quza‘i bin Amr Duali, and captives with the Abu Mafazzir Aswad.

According to another account, the spoils were sent with Quza‘i and Abu Mufazzir, the details of which were sent with Ziyad bin Abi Sufyan, as he was responsible for the inventory, and he would note it all down in registers. When everything had reached Hazrat Umar (ra), Ziyad spoke to Hazrat Umar (ra) about all the details of the spoils of war. Hazrat Umar (ra) asked, “Would you stand before the Muslims and relate to them the details which you are telling me?” Ziyad replied, “By God, there is no one in all the lands who I am more fearful of than you, so why would I not be able to speak before others?” Hence, Ziyad stood before the people and described all the details, mentioning all the achievements of the Muslims, the way in which the battles took place, and how the spoils of war were attained. He also mentioned that the Muslims wished to pursue the enemy in their land. Having heard his speech, Hazrat Umar (ra) said that Ziyad was a very eloquent speaker. Ziyad replied, “the achievements of our army is what has made my tongue flow.”

In one narration, it is mentioned that when the spoils were presented before Hazrat Umar (ra), he said, “This is such a vast amount of spoils of war that no building can contain it all, which is why I wish to distribute it right away.” Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf and Abdullah bin Arqam watched over the spoils in the open space of the mosque. The wealth was brought and placed in the open space of the mosque and these two companions kept watch over it.

In the morning, Hazrat Umar (ra) came to the mosque with the people. He removed the cloth from the spoils of war and saw rubies, emeralds and various precious gems. Upon seeing this Hazrat Umar (ra) began to weep. Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) said to Hazrat Umar (ra): “O Leader of the Faithful! Why are you crying? By Allah, this is an occasion to be grateful.” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied: “By Allah! The thing that made me cry is that whichever nation is granted these treasures by Allah, malice and jealousy between them increases.” That is, he was worried that owing to the riches granted to them, it could cause their brotherhood to change into jealousy and malice. “What made me weep was that whichever nation increase in their jealousy of one another, they become embroiled in civil war.”

(Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2012], pp. 468-471) (Ali Muhammad al-Salabi, Sirat Amir al-Mu‘minin Umar bin Khattab (ra) [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Ma‘rifah, 2007] pp. 420-421) (Shibli Nu‘mani, Al-Faruq [Beirut, Lebanon: Idarah Islamiyah, 2004), p. 104)

One should ponder and deliberate over this statement; one should seek forgiveness regarding what Hazrat Umar (ra) has stated. We are witnessing that the more wealth gained by the Muslims, the more it increased them in mutual hatred and jealousy. This is the case whether one looks at the Muslim nations who have an abundance of oil and the same is observed on an individual basis for those who possess other wealth; it is owing to a lack of righteousness.

During the Battle of Madain, the Persian King Yazdegerd left the capital Madain and travelled with his family and servants to Hulwan. When Yazdegerd learnt of the defeat at Jalula, he left Hulwan and travelled to Rayy and left Khosrow Shanum, a renowned officer with a few military contingents to defend Hulwan. Hazrat Saad (ra) stayed in Jalula and sent Hazrat Qa‘qa towards Hulwan. Qa‘qa reached Qasr-e-Shirin, which is three miles from Hulwan when Khosrow Shanum launched an attack but was defeated and as a result of which Khosrow fled. Qa‘qa reached Hulwan and declared peace for all. The chiefs of surrounding areas came and accepted Jizya and agreed to support Islam.

(Shibli Nu‘mani, Al-Faruq [Beirut, Lebanon: Idarah Islamiyah, 2004), p. 106) (Al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, Waq‘at al-Qadisiyyah, p. 183, Maktabah al-Haramain, Urdu Bazar Lahore, 1437 AH)