In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you
"Glimpses from the Lives of the Companions,"
by 'Abd al-Rahman
Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
Salamah ibn Qays,
may Allah be pleased with him.
Al-Faruq spent his night—
that very night—awake,
patrolling the quarters of Medina
so that the people might sleep peacefully,
secure and at ease.
During his rounds among the homes
and markets,
he was considering in his mind the men of glory,
intending to entrust one of them
with the banner over the army departing
to conquer al-Ahwaz.
Before long, he exclaimed,
saying:
"I have found him!"
"Yes,
I have found him, Allah willing!"
When morning came upon him,
he summoned Salamah ibn Qays
al-Ashja'i
and said to him:
"I have appointed you commander over the army
heading to al-Ahwaz.
So march in the name of Allah,
and fight in the cause of Allah
against those who disbelieve in Allah.
When you meet your enemy among the polytheists,
invite them to Islam.
If they accept Islam,
they may choose either to remain in their lands
without participating with you in fighting others,
in which case they owe nothing except zakat
and have no share in the spoils of war (*fay'*);
or they may choose to fight alongside you,
in which case they shall have the same rights as you
and the same duties as you.
If they refuse Islam,
call upon them to pay the jizyah.
If they agree, leave them be,
protect them from their enemies,
and do not burden them beyond their capacity.
But if they refuse, then fight them,
for Allah will grant you victory over them.
If they take refuge in a fortress
and then ask you to let them surrender under the judgment of Allah and His Messenger,
do not grant them that,
for you do not know what the judgment of Allah and His Messenger would be.
And if they ask you to grant them the protection (*dhimmah*) of Allah and His Messenger,
do not grant them the protection of Allah and His Messenger;
rather, grant them your own protection.
When you triumph in battle,
do not be extravagant, do not act treacherously,
do not mutilate, and do not kill a child."
Salamah replied,
"To hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful!"
Then 'Umar bade him a warm farewell,
grasped his hands firmly,
and prayed fervently for him,
for he fully appreciated the magnitude of the task
he had placed upon his shoulders and those of his soldiers.
That was because al-Ahwaz was a mountainous region with rugged paths
and fortified strongholds,
situated between Basra and the borders of Persia,
inhabited by a fierce people from among the Kurds.
The Muslims had no choice but to conquer or control it
to protect their rear from Persian attacks on Basra,
and to prevent them from using it as a staging ground for their troops,
which would jeopardize the safety and security of Iraq.
Salamah ibn Qays set out at the head of his army, campaigning in the cause of Allah.
However, no sooner had they penetrated a short distance into the land of al-Ahwaz
than they entered into a bitter struggle with its harsh terrain.
The army began to suffer from its crumbling mountains as they climbed,
endure its disease-ridden swamps as they traversed the plains,
and fight off its deadly snakes and venomous scorpions, awake or asleep.
Yet the pure, faithful spirit of Salamah ibn Qays
hovered with its wings over his troops,
making hardship feel sweet and difficulties feel smooth.
He would regularly uplift them with admonitions that stirred their souls,
and fill their nights with the fragrance of the Qur'an,
so that they were immersed in its light and swimming in its radiance,
forgetting the exhaustion and toil that had touched them.
Salamah ibn Qays obeyed the command of the Caliph of the Muslims.
As soon as he encountered the people of al-Ahwaz, he invited them to enter the religion of Allah,
but they turned away and recoiled.
He then called upon them to pay the jizyah, but they refused and grew arrogant.
Thus, nothing remained for the Muslims except to take up spearheads,
so they mounted their steeds as fighters in the cause of Allah,
desiring the fair reward that is with Him.
Fierce battles broke out, burning with raging heat and scattering sparks,
in which both sides displayed such feats of valor
as warfare had rarely witnessed,
except on the rarest of occasions.
Before long, the battles culminated in a decisive victory
for the believers fighting to elevate the Word of Allah,
and a crushing defeat for the polytheists, the enemies of Allah.
When the war laid down its burdens,
Salamah ibn Qays hastened to distribute the spoils of war among his soldiers.
Among the spoils, he found a precious piece of jewelry,
and he wished to present it as a gift to the Commander of the Faithful.
He said to his soldiers,
"If this piece of jewelry were divided among you,
it would amount to nothing for each of you.
Would you be pleased if we send it to the Commander of the Faithful?"
They said, "Yes."
So he placed the jewelry in a small chest—
that is, a small container—
and dispatched a man from his tribe, Banu Ashja',
saying to him:
"Go to Medina, you and your servant,
give the Commander of the Faithful the glad tidings of victory,
and present him with this gift of jewelry."
The Ashja'i man's encounter with 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
contains a story filled with lessons and admonitions.
Let us leave the narration to him, so that he may recount
his story himself.
The Ashja'i man said:
My servant and I proceeded to Basra,
where we bought two mounts using what Salamah ibn Qays had given us,
and loaded our surplus provisions onto them.
Then we set our faces toward Medina.
When we reached it, I inquired about the Commander of the Faithful,
and found him standing, feeding the Muslims,
leaning on his staff as a shepherd does.
He was going around the large serving platters,
saying to his servant, Yarfa':
"O Yarfa', give these people more meat!
O Yarfa', give these people more bread!
O Yarfa', give these people more broth!"
When I approached him, he said, "Sit down."
So I sat among the lowest-ranking of the people,
and food was brought to me, so I ate.
When the people finished their meal,
he said, "O Yarfa', clear the platters."
Then he walked away, and I followed him.
When he entered his home, I asked permission to enter,
and he granted me permission.
There he was, sitting on a piece of haircloth,
leaning on two leather cushions stuffed with palm fiber.
He tossed one of them to me, so I sat upon it.
Behind him was a curtain,
so he turned toward the curtain and said:
"O Mother of Kalthum, bring us our lunch!"
I said to myself:
"What could the lunch of the Commander of the Faithful possibly be,
which he has reserved for himself?"
She handed him a loaf of bread with oil,
sprinkled with coarse, unground salt.
He turned to me and said:
"Eat."
I obeyed and ate a little,
while he ate.
I have never seen anyone eat with better manners than him.
Then he said, "Give us something to drink."
They brought him a cup containing a drink made of barley gruel (*sawiq*).
He said, "Give the man first."
So they gave it to me,
and I took the cup and drank a little from it,
for my own barley meal back home was tastier and of better quality.
Then he took it and drank from it until his thirst was quenched.
Then he said:
"Praise be to Allah, who has fed us and satisfied us,
and given us drink and quenched our thirst."
At that point, I turned to him and said:
"I have come to you with a message, O Commander of the Faithful."
He asked, "From where?"
I replied, "From Salamah ibn Qays."
He said:
"Welcome to Salamah ibn Qays, and welcome to his messenger!
Tell me about the Muslim army."
I said, "It is as you would wish, O Commander of the Faithful:
safety and victory over their enemy and the enemy of Allah."
I gave him the glad tidings of victory
and informed him of the army's news in full detail.
He said, "Praise be to Allah,
Who bestows favor out of grace and confers blessings abundantly."
Then he asked, "Did you pass through Basra?"
I replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful."
He asked, "How are the Muslims doing?"
I said, "In good condition, by the grace of Allah."
He asked, "How are the prices?"
I said, "Their prices are the cheapest of prices."
He asked, "And how is the meat?
For meat is the staple of the Arabs,
and the Arabs do not thrive without their staple."
I said, "Meat is plentiful and abundant."
Then he turned to the chest I had with me and asked:
"What is this in your hand?"
I said, "When Allah granted us victory over our enemy,
we gathered the spoils of war.
Salamah saw this piece of jewelry among them,
He said to the army,
"If this were to be distributed among you, it would amount to almost nothing for each of you.
Would you be willing to let me send it to the Commander of the Faithful?"
They replied, "Yes."
"I then handed the casket over to him.
When he opened it
and saw the gems inside—red, yellow, and green—
he leapt up from his seat,
placed his hand on his hip,
and threw the casket onto the ground,
scattering its contents to the right and to the left.
The women thought I intended to assassinate him,
so they rushed toward the curtain.
Then he turned to me and said, 'Gather it up!'
And he said to his servant, Yarfa',
'Beat him, and make it painful!'
So I began gathering what had scattered from the casket
while Yarfa' was beating me.
Then he said,
'Leave, unpraised—neither you nor your companion!'
I said,
'Then grant me a mount to carry me and my servant back to Ahvaz,
for your servant has taken my riding camel.'
He said,
'O Yarfa',
give him two riding camels from the zakat camels, for him and his servant.'
Then he said to me,
'When you have fulfilled your need with them
and find someone in greater need of them than you,
hand them over to him.'
I said,
'I shall do so, O Commander of the Faithful.
Yes,
I shall do so, Allah willing.'
Then he turned to me and said,
'By Allah, if the army disperses before these jewels are distributed among them,
I will surely inflict a crushing calamity upon you and your companion!'
So I departed immediately until I reached Salamah,
and I said,
'May Allah not bless what you singled me out with!
Distribute these jewels among the army
before a disaster befalls me and you!'
I informed him of what had happened,
and he did not leave his seat until he had distributed them among the men."