In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The 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 upon him.
Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad al-Harithi, may Allah be pleased with him.
This was the City of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
still wiping away its tears of grief over the loss of al-Siddiq,
as delegations from the regional provinces arrived daily in Yathrib,
pledging allegiance to his successor, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, to hear and obey in times of ease and hardship.
One morning, the delegation from Bahrain arrived before the Commander of the Faithful,
along with a number of other delegations.
Al-Faruq, may Allah be pleased with him, was ever eager to hear the words of those who came to him,
hoping to find in what they said a profound admonition,
a beneficial idea, or sincere counsel for the sake of Allah, His Book, and the Muslim community at large.
He called upon several of those present to speak, but they offered nothing of consequence.
Then he turned to a man in whom he perceived goodness, gestured toward him, and said, "Speak what you have to say."
The man praised Allah, extolled Him, and then said:
"O Commander of the Faithful, you have not been granted authority over this Ummah
except as a trial with which Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is testing you.
So fear Allah regarding that which you have been entrusted with,
and know that if a single lost ewe should wander stray along the bank of the Euphrates,
you will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection."
Thereupon 'Umar burst into tears and said,
"No one has spoken to me with such candid truth since I assumed the Caliphate as you have just done.
Who are you?"
He replied,
"Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad al-Harithi."
'Umar asked,
"The brother of al-Muhajir ibn Ziyad?"
"Yes," he replied.
When the gathering dispersed, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab summoned Abu Musa al-Ash'ari
and said,
"Look into the matter of al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad;
for if he is truthful, there is immense good in him
and a great support for us in handling this governance.
Appoint him to a post and write to me of his conduct."
Only a short time passed after that day
before Abu Musa al-Ash'ari mobilized an army
to conquer Manadhir in the land of al-Ahwaz,
in compliance with the Caliph's command.
In this army, he placed al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad
and his brother al-Muhajir.
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari besieged Manadhir
and fought fierce, grinding battles against its people,
the likes of which warfare had rarely witnessed.
The polytheists displayed such fierce valor
and resolute determination
as had never been imagined.
Casualties among the Muslims mounted so heavily
as to exceed all expectation.
The Muslims were, during those days,
fighting while observing the fast of Ramadan.
When al-Muhajir, the brother of al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad, saw
how heavily casualties were multiplying among the Muslim ranks,
he resolved to sell his soul
seeking the pleasure of Allah.
He embalmed himself, donned his shroud, and gave his final counsel to his brother.
So al-Rabi' went to Abu Musa and said,
"Al-Muhajir has determined to lay down his life,
yet he is fasting.
The Muslims have been overcome
by the brunt of war combined with the severity of fasting,
which has weakened their resolve,
yet they refuse to break their fast.
Do, therefore, whatever you deem best."
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari stood up
and called out to the army,
"O assembly of Muslims!
I urge every fasting soldier
to break his fast or cease fighting!"
He then drank from a jug he had with him,
so that the men would follow his lead and drink.
When al-Muhajir heard his commander's proclamation,
he swallowed a single gulp of water and said,
"By Allah, I did not drink it out of thirst,
but rather to honor the binding order of my commander."
Then he unsheathed his sword,
plunged forward, cleaving through the enemy lines,
and cutting down their fighters without fear or hesitation.
As he drove deep into the ranks of the enemy,
they closed in on him from every side,
striking him with their swords in turn from before him and behind him,
until he fell slain.
They then severed his head
and mounted it upon a balcony overlooking the battlefield.
Al-Rabi' looked up at him and said,
"Glad tidings be yours, and a blessed return!
By Allah, I shall avenge you,
and avenge the slain of the Muslims, if Allah wills."
When Abu Musa saw
the profound sorrow that had gripped al-Rabi' over his brother,
and realized the fiery indignation raging in his breast against the enemies of Allah,
he yielded the command of the army to him
and proceeded to Susa to conquer it.
Al-Rabi' and his troops swept upon the polytheists like a whirlwind,
hurtling down upon their fortresses like boulders dislodged by a torrential flood,
shattering their lines and crushing their might.
Thus Allah granted al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad the conquest of Manadhir by force;
he slew their combatants, took their dependents captive,
and took as spoils of war whatever Allah willed.
The star of al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad shone brightly after the battle of Manadhir,
his renown spread far and wide,
and he became one of the eminent commanders relied upon for momentous undertakings.
When the Muslims resolved to conquer Sijistan,
they entrusted him with the leadership of the army,
hoping for victory at his hands.
Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad marched with his army, campaigning in the cause of Allah toward Sijistan,
across a desolate wasteland seventy-five farsakhs wide,
which even the fiercest desert beasts would weary of crossing.
The first territory he encountered was the district of Zaliq on the borders of Sijistan,
a fertile district teeming with magnificent palaces,
ringed by towering fortresses,
and rich in bounty and abundant fruit.
The shrewd commander dispatched his scouts through the district of Zaliq before reaching it,
and learned that its people were soon to celebrate one of their festivals.
He lay in wait for them until he took them completely by surprise on the night of the festival,
putting them to the sword and taking the settlement by force.
He took twenty thousand captives from them,
and their dehqan fell into his hands as a prisoner.
Among the captives was a slave belonging to the dehqan,
whom they found to have amassed three hundred thousand coins to carry to his master.
Al-Rabi' asked him, "Where did this wealth come from?"
He replied, "From one of my master's villages."
He asked him, "Does a single village yield him such wealth every year?"
"Yes," he answered. Al-Rabi' asked, "And how so?"
He replied, "Through our mattocks, our scythes, and our sweat."
When the battle came to an end,
the dehqan approached al-Rabi', offering to ransom himself and his family.
Al-Rabi' told him, "I will ransom you only if you offer a lavish ransom to the Muslims."
He asked, "And how much do you demand?"
He said, "I shall plant this spear into the ground,
and you must pour gold and silver over it until it is completely submerged."
The dehqan replied, "I agree."
He brought forth all the gold and silver stored in his treasuries
and kept pouring them over the spear until it was fully buried beneath them.
Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad pushed deeper with his victorious army into the lands of Sijistan,
and fortresses began falling before the hooves of his cavalry
just as leaves fall before the gusts of autumn winds.
The inhabitants of towns and villages hastened out to meet him, seeking security and submitting peacefully,
before he ever needed to draw a sword against them,
until he reached the city of Zaranj, the capital of Sijistan.
There, he found that the enemy had prepared extensively for war,
marshaled battalions to meet him,
summoned reinforcements to confront him,
and firmly resolved to defend the great metropolis,
intent on halting his advance through Sijistan whatever the cost might be.
A grinding, ferocious battle then raged between al-Rabi' and his foes,
in which neither side spared any sacrifice demanded of it.
As the first signs of victory began to tip toward the Muslims,
the local marzban, known as Parviz,
saw fit to seek a truce with al-Rabi'
while he still retained some measure of strength,
hoping to secure better terms for himself and his people.
He sent an emissary from his side to al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad,
requesting an appointment to meet him and negotiate a peace settlement.
Al-Rabi' granted his request.
Al-Rabi' commanded his men to prepare the place to receive Parviz,
instructing them to pile up heaps of slain Persian corpses around the council pavilion,
and to cast along both sides of the path Parviz would traverse
other corpses strewn in disarray.
Al-Rabi' was a man of tall stature, commanding presence,
deep brown complexion, and massive build,
striking awe into the heart of whoever beheld him.
When Parviz entered his presence,
his limbs trembled in terror before him,
and his heart was gripped with dread at the sight of the slain.
He dared not draw near him,
and was too frightened to step forward and shake his hand,
addressing him instead with a faltering, stammering tongue.
He concluded a peace treaty agreeing to deliver to him one thousand young servants,
with each servant bearing upon his head a chalice of gold—
that is, a goblet made of pure gold.
Al-Rabi' accepted and concluded the peace with Parviz upon these terms.
On the following day,
al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad entered the city,
flanked by this procession of servant-bearers,
amidst the Muslims' acclamations of tahlil and takbir.
It was indeed a momentous day among the glorious days of Allah.
Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad remained an unsheathed sword in the hand of the Muslims,
with which they struck at the enemies of Allah,
conquering cities for them and governing provinces,
until rule passed to the Umayyads.
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan then appointed him governor over Khurasan,
yet his heart was never truly at ease with this governorship.
His aversion and distaste toward it only deepened
when Ziyad ibn Abihi,
one of the foremost governors of the Umayyads,
sent him a letter stating:
"The Commander of the Faithful, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,
commands you to reserve all the gold and silver
from the spoils of war for the public treasury of the Muslims,
and to distribute whatever remains among the warriors."
Thereupon al-Rabi' wrote back to him, saying:
"Verily, I have found that the Book of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He,
decrees otherwise than what you have commanded me
on behalf of the Commander of the Faithful."
He then called out among the people:
"Go forth to your spoils of war and take them."
Then he sent the one-fifth share (Khums) to the seat of the Caliphate in Damascus.
And when Friday came, following the arrival of this letter,
Al-Rabi' Ibn Ziyad went out to prayer dressed in white garments.
He delivered the Friday sermon to the people, and then said:
"O people!
I have grown weary of this worldly life,
and I am about to make a supplication, so say 'amin' to it."
He then said:
"O Allah, if You intend good for me,
take my soul to You swiftly, without delay."
So the people said "amin" to his supplication.
And the sun of that very day had not set
before Al-Rabi' Ibn Ziyad passed into the presence of his Lord.
"No one has been as sincere and truthful with me since I assumed the caliphate
as was Al-Rabi' Ibn Ziyad."
— 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.
O poetry, assist me and pour forth,
in their praise, or can I ever add more?