Battle of Jisr
I mentioned the Battle of Jisr [Bridge] a short while ago, but it is necessary to mention it here also. The Battle of Jisr also took place in 13 AH at the banks of the Euphrates River between the Muslims and the Iranians. The commander-in-chief of the Muslim army was Hazrat Abu Ubaid al-Thaqafi (ra) and the Iranian commander-in-chief was Bahman Jaduya. The Muslim army numbered 10,000 and the Iranian army consisted of 30,000 soldiers and 300 elephants. Since the Euphrates River ran between them, the two armies abstained from fighting for a while, to the extent that owing to mutual agreement, a “jisr”, i.e. a bridge, was made and hence it was known as the Battle of Jisr.
When the bridge was constructed, Bahman Jaduya sent a message to Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) asking whether the Muslims would cross the bridge or would they grant permission for them to cross over. Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) was of the opinion that the Muslims should cross over and fight the enemy, whereas Hazrat Salitra, one of the commanders of the Muslim army, was of an opinion contrary to this. However, Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) crossed the Euphrates River and launched an attack on the Iranians.
For a short while, the fight ensued; upon seeing his army scattering, Bahman Jaduya ordered the elephants to advance. Owing to the elephants charging, the ranks of the Muslim army broke and they began to scatter. Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) said to the Muslims, “O servants of Allah! Attack the elephants and cut off their trunks.” After this, Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) marched forward and attacked an elephant, cutting off its trunk. Seeing this, the rest of the Muslim army rushed forward and cut off the legs and trunks of the elephants and killed their riders. Inadvertently, Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) came in front of an elephant; he succeeded in cutting off its trunk; however, the elephant trampled over him as a result of which he was martyred.
Hazrat Umar (ra) was greatly affected by the defeat during the Battle of Jisr. He sent orators across all of Arabia, who delivered passionate speeches, thereby inspiring the Arab people. Subsequently, the various Arab tribes started arriving in droves in order to participate in this national battle, which included Christian tribes as well. This was not limited to Muslim tribes alone, as Christian tribes also joined and participated.
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra), in another place, states:
“One of the biggest and harrowing defeats faced by the Muslims was during the Battle of Jisr. A very strong army of Muslims had been sent to fight against the Persian forces. The Persian forces had set up their trenches on the opposite side of the river and were sat in wait.
“When the Muslim army approached, they attacked the Persian forces with great intensity and went right through them. However, this was the ploy of the commander of the Persian army. He then sent another contingent from the side, who took control of the bridge and then launched an attack against the Muslim army.
“The Muslims planned to move back, but noticed that the bridge had been seized by the enemy, they anxiously moved to another side, but came under a fierce attack from the enemy and many of the Muslims were left with no choice but to jump into the river and died. This was such a dangerous loss suffered by the Muslim army that its news left Medina in shock.
“Hazrat Umar (ra) gathered the people of Medina and stated, ‘Now there is nothing that remains between Persia and Medina. Medina has become completely exposed and it is possible that the enemy may reach here in just a matter of days. Therefore, I wish to go myself as the commander of the army.’
“Everyone agreed to this suggestion; however, Hazrat Ali (ra) stated, ‘If, God-forbid, you were to be martyred, the unity of the Muslims will end and they will be dispersed. Therefore, you should not go but send someone else instead.’ Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) wrote to Hazrat Saad (ra), who at the time was engaged in battle against the Byzantines in Syria, and stated that he should send however many people he could because Medina was left completely exposed. If the enemy was not stopped immediately, they would eventually take control of Medina.”
(Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyyah ke Salana Ijtima … Mein Aham Hidayat, Anwar al-Ulum, Vol. 22,pp. 56-57)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:
“It is proven from historical sources that during his era of Khilafat, Hazrat Umar (ra) appointed Hazrat Ali (ra) as the amir of Medina in his absence on certain occasions when he would have to travel somewhere. For example, in Tarikh al-Tabari it states that during the incident of Jisr, whereby the Muslim army suffered a huge setback from the Persian forces, Hazrat Umar (ra) decided upon consulting with various people that he would go with the Muslim army to the frontier region of Iran. On this occasion, Hazrat Umar (ra) appointed Hazrat Ali (ra) as the governor of Medina.”
(Haqq al-Yaqin, Anwar al-‘Ulum, Vol. 9, pp. 282-284)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) has also written about the Battle of Jisr:
“One of the biggest and harrowing defeats faced by the Muslims was during the Battle of Jisr. A very strong army of Muslims had been sent to fight against the Persian forces. The Persian forces had set up their trenches on the opposite side of the river and were sat in wait.
“When the Muslim army approached, they attacked the Persian forces with great intensity and went right through them. However, this was the ploy of the commander of the Persian army. He then sent another contingent from the side, who took control of the bridge and then launched an attack against the Muslim army.
“The Muslims planned to move back, but noticed that the bridge had been seized by the enemy. They anxiously moved to another side, but came under a fierce attack from the enemy and many of the Muslims were left with no choice but to jump into the river and died. This was such a dangerous loss suffered by the Muslim army that its news left Medina in shock.
“Hazrat Umar (ra) gathered the people of Medina and stated, ‘Now there is nothing that remains between Persia and Medina. Medina has become completely exposed and it is possible that the enemy may reach here in just a matter of days. Therefore, I wish to go myself as the commander of the army.’ Everyone agreed to this suggestion; however, Hazrat Ali (ra) stated, ‘If, God-forbid, you are to be martyred, the unity of the Muslims will end and they will be dispersed. Therefore, you should not go but send someone else instead.’
“Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) wrote to Hazrat Saad (ra), who at the time was engaged in battle against the Byzantines in Syria, and stated that he should send however many people he could because Medina was left completely exposed. If the enemy was not stopped immediately, they would eventually take control of Medina.”
(Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Ke Salana Ijtema Mein Baaz Aiham Hidayat, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 22, pp. 56-57)
In Tarikh al-Tabari, there is a narration that before this battle, Dumah, the wife of Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra), saw a dream in which a man brought a vessel containing a drink from Paradise and Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) and Jabar bin Abi Ubaid drank from it. Similarly, a few members of his family also drank from it. Dumah narrated this dream to her husband. Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) stated that this dream indicated towards martyrdom. After this, Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) urged the people that if he were to be martyred, then Jabar would be the commander-in-chief and if he was martyred, then so-and-so would lead the army.
Thus, whosoever drank from the vessel in the dream, Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) appointed them in the same order to be the commander-in-chief. He then said, “If Abu al-Qasim is martyred, then Hazrat Muthannara will be your leader.”
The dream of Dumah was fulfilled to the letter; after Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra), the six persons named would take the flag of leadership and were martyred one after another. Hazrat Muthannara was the eighth person to take up the Islamic flag and decided to launch a powerful attack, but the ranks of the Muslim army had become disrupted. Seeing seven consecutive leaders being martyred, the people began to scatter and some jumped in the sea.
Hazrat Muthannara and his comrades continued fighting valiantly. During the course of the battle, Hazrat Muthannara was injured and returned after crossing the Euphrates River.
In this battle, the Muslims suffered a significant loss; 4,000 Muslims were martyred whereas 6,000 Iranians were killed. This loss would have resulted in detrimental effects for the Muslims for longer, but fortunately, it so happened that the enemy could not chase the Muslims because there was a rift amongst the Iranian kings, as a result of which Bahman Jaduya had to return. Ibn Athir has written that in Madain [Ctesiphon], the capital of the Iranian Empire, one faction of the courtiers of the king revolted against Rostam.
(Tarikh-ul-Islam bi-Ahad Hazrat Umar (ra), thesis by Syed Mir Mahmood Ahmad Nasir Sahib, pp. 18-21) (Tarikh Al-Tabari, Vol. 2, p. 229, Nafees Academy Karachi, 2004) (Al-Tarikh, Ibn Khuldun, Vol. 3, pp. 270-273, Dar-ul-Isha’at, Karachi, 2003) (Al-Kamil Fi Al-Tarikh, Ibn Athir, p. 311, Bait-ul-Afkaar Al-Dauloyah)
Umar bin Abd-il-Aziz relates that in 14 AH, on the occasion of the Battle of Jisr, when Hazrat Umar (ra) was informed of the martyrdom of Hazrat Abu Ubaid (ra) bin Mas‘ud (I have previously mentioned the Battle of Jisr where an elephant of the Persian forces trampled over him); Nevertheless, when Hazrat Umar (ra) was informed of this and became aware of the fact that the people of Persia had chosen their king from among the family of Chosroes, he invited the Muhajireen and the Ansar for Jihad. Hazrat Umar (ra) departed from Medina and stayed in Sirar. This was the name of a mountain in Medina, located at a distance of three miles from Medina on the way to Iraq. Nevertheless, he stayed there and sent ahead Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah towards A‘was. Hazrat Umar (ra) appointed Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf as the commander of the right flank of the army and Zubair (ra) bin Awwam as the leader of the left flank of the army and appointed Hazrat Ali (ra) as his representative in Medina. Hazrat Umar (ra) took suggestions from the Muslims and all of them gave their suggestions to go to Persia. When the army departed, Hazrat Umar (ra) did not consult anyone until they reached Sirar. When he reached Sirar, it was then that he consulted them. When Hazrat Talha (ra) returned, he also held the same opinion as the others. Hazrat Talha (ra) was not present at first, but when he returned, he agreed to head forward. However, Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf was among those people who suggested to Hazrat Umar (ra) to not advance forward and stating the reason for this, he said:
“Before this day, I had never expressed to sacrifice my parents for anyone but the Holy Prophet (sa) and I will never do so in the future. However, today, I say to you that may my parents be sacrificed for you; leave the final decision regarding this matter in my hands.” Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf said this to Hazrat Umar (ra), who was the Khalifa at that time. He stated, “You should stay at Sirar and send forth a large army. From the beginning until this moment, you have already observed what Allah the Exalted has decreed in relation to your army. If your army was to suffer defeat, it would not be the same if you were defeated.” Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf then stated the reason for this and said, “If you were to be killed in the beginning, or were defeated, I am fearful that the Muslims will neither be able to exalt Allah again, nor give the testimony of لا اله الا الله [there is no God but Allah].” Whilst these discussions were taking place, Hazrat Umar (ra) was searching for an individual, who could be sent as the commander of the army. During this time, Hazrat Umar (ra) received a letter from Hazrat Sa‘d (ra), who was appointed to oversee the revenue from the alms collection [Sadaqah] in Najd at that time. After listening to Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf, Hazrat Umar (ra) then asked who should be entrusted with this responsibility. Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf stated, “You have already found the individual.” Hazrat Umar asked who he was. Hazrat Abdur Rahman replied, “It is the lion of the land, Sa‘d bin Malik”, that is, he was a very brave person and an excellent commander. He should be made commander and sent forth. The other individuals also supported this opinion. This is also a reference from Tarikh al-Tabari.
(Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 3, pp. 381-382, Bab dhikr amr al-Qadisiyyah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1987) (al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, Vol. 2, p. 287, Sanah 13, Dhikr Waqi’ah Qass al-Natif, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Farhang Sirat, p. 172, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi, 2003)