The Islamic World

The Islamic World

Thn Abu Dunya reported from Abu Bilal that Abu Musa found with Daniel a holy script and a container in which were dirhams, his ring and ointment. He wrote to 'Umar, who replied: "Send the scripture to us, send some of the ointment, tell the Muslims who are with you to use it, share the dirhams among them, and leave the ring for you.

Abu Dunya related without citation that when Abu Musa was told that he was Daniel, he stayed with him, embraced him, and kissed him. Then he wrote to 'Umar that he found with him nearly ten thousand dirhams. It used to be that people came to borrow from it, and if they did not return it, they became sick. 'Umar ordered his burial in a grave to be kept secret and the money to be sent to the treasury, with the box and the ring a gift to him (Abu Musa).

During the caliphate of Uthman the people of Tabaristan like the people of the other provinces of Persia revolted against the authority of the Muslim rule. Uthman directed Sa'ad b 'Aas the Governor General of Kufa to suppress the revolt. Sa'ad b Al 'Aas led a strong force of 80,000 warriors to Tabaristan under his personal command. The force included such eminent persons as Abdullah b Abbas; Abdullah b Umar; Abdullah b Zubair; and Abdullah b Umar b Al 'Aas .

The Muslim force advanced in the first instance to Qumas. The Persians at Qumas were not in a position to fight against such a large Muslim force. They surrendered, and peace was made subject to their payment of an annual tribute. From Qumas the Muslims advanced to Jurjan. The Persian garrison offered some resistance but finding such resistance useless surrendered. A tribute of 20 lakh dirhams was imposed on the people and peace was made.

Solomon inherited David's prophethood and dominion. This was not a material inheritance, as prophets do not bequeath their property. It is given away to the poor and needy, not to their relatives. Prophet Muhammad said: 'The prophets' property will not be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be used for charity."
And indeed We gave knowledge to David and Solomon, and they both said: 'All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has preferred us above many of His believing slaves!"
And Solomon inherited (the knowledge of) David. He said: "0 mankind! We have been taught the language of birds, and on us have been bestowed all things. This, verily, is an evident grace (from Allah)."
And there were gathered before Solomon his hosts of jinns and men, and birds, and they were all set in battle order (marching forwards). Surah 27: 15-17

Solomon Becomes King

During the caliphate of Abu Bakr under the command of Khalid bin Walid the Muslims conquered a greater part of Iraq. In June 634 A.D., Khalid was asked to proceed to Syria, and Muthanna was left in command of the Muslim forces in Iraq.

With the departure of Khalid to Syria there was a lull in fighting on the Iraq front. Roughly the position was that the Persians held the territory to the east of the Tigris while the Muslims held the territory to the west of the Euphrates. The position about the territory between the two rivers known as the "Suwad" was somewhat obscure. It was no man's land. Sometimes parts thereof were occupied by the Persians and sometime by the Muslims. The people of the region thus kept shifting their loyalties, sometimes to the Persians and sometimes to the Muslims.

The Brothers Approach Jacob
Their next movement opened the scene between them and their father Jacob : They said. "0 our father! Why do you not trust us with Joseph, when we are indeed his well-wishers? Send him with us tomorrow to enjoy himself and play, and verily, we will take care of him."
He (Jacob) said: "Truly, it saddens me that you should take him away. I fear lest a wolf should devour him, while you are careless of him."
They said: "If a wolf devours him, while we are Usbah (a strong group) (to guard him), then surely, we are the losers. " Surah 12: 11-14
Jacob suggested a point which had not occurred to them in their discussion: he feared that desert wolves would eat him! Did he imply the wolves within them, or did he mean the wild wolves? No one but Allah knows. They coaxed their father to send Joseph with them; he agreed under their pressure.

Joseph Thrown into the Well

The Jews. After having been driven away from Madina the Jews settled at Khyber The Jews were a cunning and crafty people, and they involved themselves in intrigues against the Muslims. The pact of Hudaibiya brought for the Muslims truce with the Quraish for a period of ten years. This meant that the Quraish could no longer openly aid the Jews against the Muslims. In spite of this situation there was no diminution in the hostility of the Jews against the Muslims, and they began to work for the formation of another coalition against the Muslims.

Allah the Almighty states: And to 'Ad (people, We sent) their brother Hud. He said, "0 my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (god) but Him, Certainly, you do nothing but invent (lies)! 0 my people I ask of you no reward for it (the Message). My reward is only from Him Who created me. Will you not then understand? And 0 my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord and then repent to Him, He will send you (from the sky) abundant rain, and add strength to your strength, so do not turn away as Mujrimeen (criminals, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah)."

They said: "0 Hud! No evidence have you brought us, and we shall not leave our gods for your (mere) saying! And we are not believers in you. All that we say is that some of our gods (false deities) have seized you with evil (madness)."

During the caliphate of Uthman, the people of Fars revolted against the Muslim rule. No details about the revolt are available. Obviously the Persians wanted to throw off the yoke of the Muslims. Under Uthman, the process of the reconquest of Fars had to be taken up afresh.

Chapter 5 of the Quran is named Al Maidah (or The Table Spread with Food). It is one of three chapters in the Quran that deal extensively with the life of Jesus and his mother Mary. The other chapters are chapter 3 Aali Imran (The Family of Imran) and chapter 19, Maryam (Mary). Muslims love Jesus and honour his mother, but they do not worship them. The Quran, which Muslims believe to be the direct words of God, holds Jesus and his Mother Mary, and indeed their whole family – the family of Imran, in very high regard.

We know that Jesus lived amongst his people the Israelites for many years, calling them back to the worship of the One True God and performing miracles by the permission of God. Most of those around him rejected his call and failed to heed his message. However, Jesus had gathered around him a group of companions called Al Hawariyeen (the disciples of Jesus) in Arabic.

God said in the Quran:

As a consequence of conquests on a large scale in Iraq and Persia and elsewhere a question arose as to the administration of land in the conquered territories. The Arabs followed the maxim, "Spoils belong to the victors". On this basis all spoils that were won as a result of any victory were distributed to the extent of four-fifth among the conquering army, and one-fifth was sent to Madina as the State share. On this analogy the army insisted that all agricultural lands should be distributed among the conquering army, and the inhabitants should be made their serfs and slaves.

Umar convoked a special assembly at Madina to consider the question from all aspects. Eminent companions like Abdur Rahman b Auf and others supported the viewpoint of the army. They argued that the lands belonged to the conquerors, and future generations had no right to them. Bilal was so vehement in the support of the demand of the army that Umar had to exclaim "May Allah save me from Bilal."

On the departure of Urwa, the Holy Prophet sent Khirash b Umayyah as an emissary to the Quraish. When he arrived in Makkah he was mar-treated by the Quraish, and the camel on which he rode was hamstrung. In turn the Quraish sent a detachment with the object of killing the Holy Prophet, and some of the prominent Muslims. These persons were taken captive by the Muslims. The companions wanted to kill them, but the Holy Prophet forbade the shedding of blood within the precincts of the sacred territory.

Uthman b Affan

Abraham's fame spread throughout the entire kingdom. People talked about how he had been saved from the blazing fire and how he had debated with the king and left him speechless. In the meantime, Abraham continued calling people to believe in Allah, exerting a great effort to guide his people to the right path.

He tried every means to convince them. However, in spite of his love and care for his people, they felt angry and deserted him. Only one woman and one man of his people shared his belief in Allah. The woman's name was Sarah and she became his wife. The man's name was Lot (Lut), and he became a prophet.

When Abraham realized that no one else was going to believe in his call, he decided to emigrate. He left his people and traveled with his wife and Lot to a city called Ur, then to another called Haran, and then to Palestine.

Jesus's Message
Like an opposing force, the message of Jesus came to denounce the practices of the Pharisees and Saducees and to reinforce the Law of Moses. In the face of a materialistic age of luxury and worship of gold, Jesus called his people to a nobler life by word and deed. This exemplary life was the only way out of the wretchedness and diseases of his age.

Jesus's call, from the beginning, was marked by its complete uprightness and piety. It appealed to the soul, the inner being, and not to a closed system of rules laid down by society.

Jesus continued inviting the people to Almighty Allah. His call was based on the principle that there is no mediation between the Creator and His creatures. However, Jesus was in conflict with the Jews' superficial interpretation of the Torah. He said that he did not come to abrogate the Torah, but to complete it by going to the spirit of its substance to arrive at its essence.

Saad bin Abi Waqas was the victor of Qadisiyya. He was a prominent companion and a maternal uncle of the Holy Prophet Umar appointed him as the Governor of Kufa. In spite of his very high position, Saad could not escape from the scrutiny of Umar and had to face a trial.

It was reported to Umar that Saad had constructed a palace, and had provided a door which could be shut at his option. The orders of Umar were that where the Governors sat to meet the people or attend to their complaints there should be no door so that all people could have access to the Governor at all times.

Umar deputed Muhammad bin Masalma to hold an enquiry on the spot and if he found that a door had in fact been constructed it should be burnt. Muhammad went to Kufa and found the door. Saad argued that as a market adjoined his house the door was necessary to shut down the noise. This explanation was not accepted and Muhammad burnt the door.

Chapter 28 of the Quran is named, ‘The Narration’, the first 45 verses focus solely on the story of Moses. It is from here that we learn about the strength and piety of his mother, and how God rewarded her righteousness and trust in Him by returning her son. Some scholars believe that Moses and his mother retuned to their home among the Children of Israel, others, including Ibn Kathir believe that Moses and his mother lived in the palace while she was breast feeding him and that as he grew up she was allowed the privilege of visiting him.