Conquest of Barqa & Tripoli
Then, there is the conquest of Barqa [Cyrenaica]] and Tripoli. After conquering Egypt and establishing law and order there, Amr (ra) bin al-Aas headed west so that the conquered lands would be safe from threat from that side. There were some Byzantine forces based in Barqa and Tripoli and were seizing an opportunity so that they could incite the people and subsequently attack the Muslims in Egypt. The area between Alexandria and Morocco was known as Barqa. Many towns and settlements existed in this region.
Thus, in 22 AH, Amr (ra) bin al-Aas marched with his army towards Barqa. The land from Alexandria to Barqa was very lush and fertile and was densely populated. For this reason, until they reached there, they did not face any schemes of the enemy. When they reached there, the people agreed to a treaty on the condition of paying the jizya. Subsequently, the people of Barqa would themselves go to the governor of Egypt and pay the Kharaj and the Muslims would not need to go to collect it themselves. Among the people in this region, they were the most simple. They did not instigate any discord or rebellion. Amr (ra) bin al-Aas left here and headed towards Tripoli, which was a city protected by forts. A large Byzantine army was stationed there.
When they learnt of the approaching Muslim army, they retreated to the forts and were forced to put up with the siege by the Muslims. This siege lasted for one month, but the Muslims did not attain much success. From the rear, the sea was connected to Tripoli and there was no wall between the sea and the city. The Muslims became aware of this secret and a few Muslims entered the city via the sea. They loudly raised the slogans of “Allah is the Greatest”. The opposing army was left with no other option but to take shelter in their boats. When they ran, Amr (ra) bin al-Aas launched an attack and killed most of them, except the ones that had escaped on their boats. The equipment and wealth in the city were captured by the Muslims as spoils of the battle. After this, Amr (ra) bin al-Aas spread his army in the surrounding areas.
His intention was that after attaining victories in the direction towards the West to then head towards Tunisia and Africa. And so, he wrote a letter to Hazrat Umar (ra); however, Hazrat Umar (ra), at the time, was reluctant to send the Muslim army to any new battlefront, particularly at a time when he was not convinced [of complete peace and security] in the lands which had been conquered from Syria to Tripoli in such a short space of time. And so, he instructed the army to remain stationed in Tripoli.
During the era of Hazrat Umar’s (ra) Khilafat, the Islamic empire expanded far and wide. The Islamic empire established itself on the world map in the form of a single country, stretching from the River Gihon and the Indus River in the east to the Sahara desert of Africa in the West and similarly stretched from the Northern Anatolian Mountains and Armenia in the North to the Pacific Ocean and Nubia in the south. Nubia is an expansive and vast area of land which is situated in the south of Egypt. People of various nations, religions and cultures all lived in peace and security under the shade of justice and mercy established by the Muslims in the entire land that was under their control. Islam granted people their full rights and honoured the sanctity of their lives despite those people greatly opposing their beliefs, manner of worship, culture and way of life.
(Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (ra) – Shakhsiyyat aur karname, Ali Muhammad Salabi, Urdu translation, pp. 765-766, Al-Furqan Trust, Khangarh, Pakistan) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 1, Barqa [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah], p. 462) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 1, Nubah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah], p. 357)