The Islamic World

The Islamic World

Solomon's reconnaissance team brought him the news of the arrival of Bilkis's messengers with a gift. He immediately realized that the queen had sent her men on a probing mission; thus, he gave orders to rally the army. The envoys of Bilkis, entering amidst the well-equipped army, realized that their wealth was nothing in comparison to that of the kingdom of Solomon. They belittled their golden gift as they passed over Solomon's palace floors, which were made of sandalwood and inlaid with gold.

They noticed Solomon surveying his army, and they were surprised at the number and variety of soldiers, which included lions, tigers, and birds. The messengers stood in amazement, realizing that they were in front of an irresistible army.

Commissioned to make the selection Abdul Rahman b Auf began his task by interviewing each member of the Committee separately. Interviewing Ali he asked him, "Suppose I do not choose you; in that case whom would you like me to choose? " Ali said, "In that case you may choose Uthman". Uthman was interviewed next, and he was asked the question, "If you are not selected who should be the next choice?" Uthman said, "In that case the obvious choice would be Ali". When Zubair b Awamm was put the same question he said, "Ali or Uthman. When Saad b Abi Waqas waS interviewed he said that he would like Abdul Rahman b Auf to be the Caliph. Abdul Rahman said that as he had withdrawn from the contest his choice should be from among the other four members. Saad b Abl Waqas said that in that case, Uthman would be his choice. Analyzing these answers, Abdul Rahman b Auf came to the conclusion that Uthman commanded the majority of votes among the members of the selection committee.

Mary's Family History
Allah declared that He had elected Adam and the elite of his offspring who obey Allah. Then He specified the family of Abraham , which includes the sons of Ishmael , and the family of Imran, the father of Mary.

Muhammad Ibn Ishaaq stated that he was Imran Ibn Bashim, Ibn Amun, Ibn Misha, Thn Hosqia, Ibn Ahriq, Ibn Mutham, Ibn Azazia, Ibn Amisa, Thn Yamish, Ibn Ahrihu, Ibn Yazem, Thn Yahfashat, Thn Eisha, Thn Iyam, Thn Rahbaam, Ibn David (Dawud).

Mary's Birth - Longer Version
Prophet Zechariah's wife's sister had a daughter named Hannah. She was married to Imran, a leader of the Israelites. For many years the couple remained childless. Whenever Hannah saw another woman with a child, her longing for a baby increased. Although years had passed, she never lost hope. She believed that one day Allah would bless her with a child, on whom she would shower all her motherly love.

The first Amir-ul-Haj. In 631 C.E., the Holy Prophet sent from Madina a delegation of three hundred Muslims to perform the Haj according to the new Islamic way. Abu Bakr was appointed as the leader of the delegates. Abu Bakr had thus the honor of being the first Amir-ul-Haj in the history of Islam.

Islam stood for social discipline and social solidarity. The Muslims were enjoined by Islam to be a disciplined people and obey those in authority among them. The Muslims were required to maintain social solidarity, and preserve unity in their ranks. During the caliphate of Uthman the Muslims lost their sense of discipline, and they also lost their strength of solidarity. Certain sections grew among the Muslims who made it a point to carry on propaganda against authority. Uthman took steps to redress the legitimate grievances of the people, but there was no slackening in the virulence of the vilification campaign against Uthman and his government.

Islam stood for unity in the ranks of the Muslims. During the caliphate of Uthman the Muslim society fell a prey to disunity, and things came to be looked at from the partisan point of view rather than from the point of view of the interests of the Muslim community as a whole.

Disintegration of the social values of Islam

The following day the Quraish assembled in the Kaaba, and vowed vengeance against the Holy Prophet. After some time, the Holy Prophet also came to the Ka'aba. The Quraish surrounded him and said, "Are you the one who has abused our gods?" The Holy Prophet said that it was so. Thereupon the Quraish fell upon the Holy Prophet, and gave him a severe beating. When Abu Bakr came to know of this he rushed to the spot. He interposed himself between the Holy Prophet and the Quraish weeping and saying, "Would you kill a man for saying that Allah is his Lord." Thereupon the Quraish fell on Abu Bakr, and beat him. The beating was so severe that blood flowed from the head of Abu Bakr and clotted his hair. He did not mind his own injuries, and even on the sick bed, he expressed his anxiety about the safety and welfare of the Holy Prophet.

The Hadith. When companions of the Holy Prophet heard anything from him, or saw him doing an act, they faithfully preserved an account of what he had said or done. When all such accounts were compiled and edited, the corpus became the Hadith, a source for the Muslims.

Items of the Hadith attributed to Abu Bakr. Out of the entire collection of Hadith running into thousands of items, only 142 items are attributed to the authority of Abu Bakr. Of all the companions of the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr was the closest to him, and one would expect Abu Bakr to be a repository of a larger number of traditions. The comparatively smaller number of traditions owing their authority to the reporting of Abu Bakr is attributed to the extraordinary care and caution exercised by Abu Bakr in sifting the tradition.

Noah Prays for the Disbeleivers' End
There came a day when Allah revealed to Noah that no others would believe. Allah inspired him not to grieve for them, at which point Noah prayed that the disbelievers be destroyed. He said: 'My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth. If you leave them, they will mislead Your slaves, and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers." Surah 71:27
Allah accepted Noah's prayer. The case was closed, and He passed His judgment on the disbelievers in the form of a flood. Allah the Exalted ordered His worshiper Noah to build an ark with His knowledge and instructions, and with the help of angels. Almighty Allah commanded: "And construct the ship under Our Eyes and with Our Inspiration, and address Me not on behalf of those who did wrong; they are surely to be drowned." Surah 11: 37

Noah Builds the Ark

There remained only the bag of their youngest brother.

Joseph said, intervening for the first time, that there was no need to search his saddle, as he did not look like a thief.

His brothers affirmed: "We will not move an inch unless his saddle is searched as well. We are the sons of a noble man, not thieves."

The soldiers reached in their hands and pulled out the king's cup. The brothers exclaimed: "If he steals now, a brother of his has stolen before." They strayed from the present issue in order to blame a particular group of the children of Jacob.

Joseph heard their resentment with his own ears and was filled with regret. Yet, he swallowed his own resentment, keeping it within. He said to himself: 'You went further and fared worse; it shall go bad with you and worse hereafter, and Allah knows your intention."

From Tripoli the Muslim forces marched to Subetula the capital of Gregory. All told the Muslim forces numbered 30,000. The forces of Gregory were twice the strength of the Muslim force. The two forces clashed outside Subetula. The war dragged on for several days without leading to any tangible result.

Gregory had a daughter Sabiyya renowned for her beauty and bravery. Gregory announced that whosoever killed Abdullah b Sa'ad, the Commander of the Muslim forces, would be married to Sabiyya as his reward, and would be declared as the heir to the Crown. This declaration caused some anxiety among the Muslims and Abdullah b Sa'ad fearing for his life remained confined to his camp. That led to a state of stalemate in the fortunes of the war.

Joseph welcomed them heartily, although, with difficulty, he suppressed the desire to embrace Benjamin that arose within him. He prepared a feast for them and seated them in pairs. Joseph arranged to sit next to his beloved brother Benjamin, who began to weep. Joseph asked him why he was crying. He replied: "If my brother Joseph had been here, I would have sat next to him."

That night, when Joseph and Benjamin were alone in a room, Joseph asked whether he would have him for a brother. Benjamin respectfully answered that he regarded his host as a wonderful person, but he could never take the place of his brother. Joseph broke down, and amidst flowing tears, said: "My loving brother, I am the brother who was lost and whose name you are constantly repeating. Fate has brought us together after many years of separation. This is Allah's favor. But let it be a secret between us for the time being." Benjamin flung his arms around Joseph and both brothers shed tears of joy.

Yaqusa. After the battle of Ajnadein, the Muslims broke the camp at Ajnadein in the first week of August 634 C.E. and set out for Damascus. The advance of the Muslims was resisted by a Byzantine force at Yaqusa on the bank of the Yermuk. The Byzantine force was defeated with considerable loss and Muslims pushed on towards their objective Damascus.

Marj-us-Saffar. After three days march from Yaqusa, the Muslim forces arrived at Marj-us-Saffar, twelve miles from Damascus, and here their way was barred by a Byzantine force. The battle began on the 19th August with personal duels. In these duels the Muslim cavaliers won and their Byzantine counterparts lost their lives. When after the personal combats, the battle began, the Byzantines stood firm for a few hours, but as the Muslims increased their pressure, the Byzantine forces withdrew. Two Byzantine Generals, Kulus and Azazeer were captured alive. Many Byzantine soldiers were killed. The survivors withdrew post haste to Damascus.

When Walid went to Kufa to take over charge as Governor, Sa'ad b Abi Waqas said to him, "By God I do not know whether after us you have become wiser, or before you we have become more foolish". Walid said, "It is neither this nor that; it is only the vicissitudes of time that shifts the center of power from one person to another." Sa'ad said, "Whatever the case I fear that you would convert the caliphate to monarchy."

As Governor Walid became very popular. His rule was mild and just. His house had no door; every body had free access to him. He took pains to redress the grievances of the people. He sanctioned stipends for the poor, the widows and the orphans, and the people admired him for his generosity.

In the case of revolts in Armenia and Azarbaijan, Walid led his forces in person; suppressed the revolts; restored law and order: and amassed great booty.

The Quraish sent Suhail b Amr as their emissary. After considerable discussion an agreement was arrived at, and this came to be known as the Hudaibiyah pact. According to the pact there was to be truce between the Quraish and the Muslims for a period of ten years. Each party was free to make its own alliances, but they were not to resort to war. Any person who deserted the Muslims and sought refuge with the Quraish was not to be returned, but any person who escaped from the Quraish to the Muslims was to be returned to the Quraish. It was stipulated that the Muslims were to return to Madina that year without performing the pilgrimage, but they could come to Makkah the following year for performing the pilgrimage when the Quraish would vacate the city for them for three days.

After the pact had been signed, the Muslims sacrificed the animals they had brought with them; broke the camp and started on the return journey to Madina.

Reaction to the Hudaibiyah pact:

Treachery of Banu Quraiza. After the expulsion of the Jews of the Banu Qainuqa' and Bani Nadeer, the Jews of Banu Quraiza alone remained in Madina. They assured the Holy Prophet of their loyalty. In the battle of the Ditch, the Banu Nadeer Jews who had been expelled by the Muslims to Khyber were in the forefront in the matter of hostility to the Muslims. Huyayy b Akhtab the leader of the Banu Nadeer opened negotiations with Banu Quraiza to attack the Muslims from behind. Ka'ab b Asad the leader of the Banu Quraiza at first hesitated, but when it was brought to him that in view of the overwhelming strength of the coalition against the Muslims, the Muslims were apt to be destroyed, the Banu Quraiza agreed to throw in their lot with the coalition against the Muslims.