In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you vignettes from the lives of the Companions,
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Majza'ah ibn Thawr al-Sadusi (may Allah be pleased with him).
Here are those glorious heroes from the army of Allah,
shaking off the dust of al-Qadisiyyah,
rejoicing in the victory Allah granted them,
delighted by the reward decreed for their martyred brothers,
and eagerly yearning for another battle
that would rival al-Qadisiyyah in splendour and grandeur.
They waited intently for the order of the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
to press forward with the jihad,
in order to eradicate the Persian throne from its very roots.
The noble, illustrious warriors did not have to wait long for their anticipation to be realized,
for the messenger of Farooq arrived from Madinah to Kufa,
bearing an order from the Caliph to its governor, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
to advance with his army,
rendezvous with the Muslim forces arriving from Basra,
and march together toward Ahvaz
to pursue Hormuzan, eliminate him,
and liberate the city of Shushtar—
the jewel of the Sasanian crown
and the pearl of Persia.
The instructions sent by the Caliph to Abu Musa specified
that he take along the valiant knight,
Majza'ah ibn Thawr al-Sadusi,
chief of the Banu Bakr and their obeyed leader.
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari promptly obeyed the Caliph's command
and mobilized his army,
placing Majza'ah ibn Thawr al-Sadusi in command of his left flank.
He then merged with the Muslim armies arriving from Basra,
and together they set out as fighters in the cause of Allah.
They continued liberating cities
and cleansing strongholds,
while Hormuzan fled before them from place to place
until he reached the city of Shushtar
and sought refuge within its fortresses.
Shushtar, to which Hormuzan had retreated, was
one of the most beautiful Persian cities in terms of splendor,
blessed with scenic nature and formidable defenses.
Moreover,
it was an ancient city
deeply rooted in the depths of history,
built upon an elevated tract of land
shaped like a horse.
It was irrigated by a great river called the Dujayl,
above which stood the Shadhurwan—
a grand waterworks featuring a basin and fountains,
constructed by King Shapur
to elevate river water to the city
through tunnels he had carved beneath the earth.
The Shadhurwan of Shushtar
and its tunnels were a marvel of architecture,
constructed from massive, finely fitted stones
reinforced with solid iron pillars,
with its passages and tunnels paved in lead.
Surrounding Shushtar
was a massive, towering wall
that encircled it like a bracelet around a wrist.
Historians remarked of it
that it was the very first and greatest wall
ever built upon the face of the earth.
Hormuzan then dug around the wall
a vast trench
that was impossible to cross,
and stationed the elite forces of Persia behind it.
The Muslim armies set up camp
around the trench of Shushtar,
remaining there for eighteen months,
unable to breach it.
During that long period, they engaged
the Persian armies
in eighty battles.
Every single one of these battles
began with duels between knights of both sides,
before escalating into a fierce, devastating war.
Majza'ah ibn Thawr performed
in these duels
with a heroism that boggled the mind,
astonishing enemies and allies alike.
He single-handedly slain one hundred enemy knights in duel,
such that his name struck terror into the ranks of the Persians
while instilling pride and honor in the hearts of the Muslims.
It was then that those who had not known him before realized
why the Commander of the Faithful had been so eager to ensure this valiant hero
was among the marching army.
In the final conflict of those eighty battles,
the Muslims launched a fierce and resolute assault against their enemy.
The Persians abandoned the bridges spanning the trench
and fled back into the city,
locking themselves behind the gates of its impregnable fortress.
After all their prolonged patience, the Muslims found themselves passing
from a difficult ordeal into an even dire situation.
The Persians began raining deadly arrows upon them from high atop the towers,
lowering iron chains from above the walls,
at the end of which were hooks red-hot
from being heated in fire.
Whenever a Muslim soldier tried to scale the wall or draw near it,
they would snag him with a hook and haul him up,
burning his body, searing off his flesh, and ending his life.
Distress intensified for the Muslims,
and they began calling upon Allah with humble, submissive hearts,
praying that He grant them relief and grant them victory over His enemy and theirs.
While Abu Musa al-Ash'ari
stood gazing at the great wall of Shushtar,
despairing of breaching it,
an arrow shot from atop the wall fell before him.
He looked at it and found attached to it a message reading:
"I have placed my trust in you, O assembly of Muslims.
I request protection for myself, my wealth, my family, and those who follow me.
In return, I will guide you to an entry point through which you can breach the city."
Abu Musa wrote a pledge of security for the sender of the arrow
and shot it back to him using a bow.
The man felt secure in the Muslims' pledge
because of their known truthfulness in promises
and unwavering fulfillment of covenants.
He slipped out to them under the cover of darkness,
disclosing his plight to Abu Musa,
saying, "We are among the nobles of the people.
Hormuzan killed my elder brother,
seized his wealth and family,
and harbors malice against me in his heart,
to the point that I no longer feel safe for my life or my children.
I have chosen your justice over his tyranny,
and your fidelity over his treachery,
and I am resolved to guide you to a hidden entrance
through which you can enter Shushtar.
So provide me with a man who possesses bravery and intelligence,
and who is a skilled swimmer,
so that I may guide him to the way."
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari summoned
Majza'ah ibn Thawr al-Sadusi,
confided the matter to him,
and said, "Provide me with a man from your tribe
who possesses intelligence, resolve, and the ability to swim."
Majza'ah replied,
"Make me that man, O commander!"
Abu Musa said to him,
"If that is your wish,
then go forth with the blessings of Allah."
He then instructed him to memorize the route,
locate the position of the gate,
identify Hormuzan's whereabouts,
confirm his identity,
and refrain from taking any other action.
Majza'ah ibn Thawr set out
under the cover of darkness with his Persian guide,
who led him into a subterranean tunnel
connecting the river to the city.
The tunnel widened at times,
allowing him to wade through its water
on foot,
and narrowed at other times,
forcing him to swim.
It branched and meandered at times,
and straightened out at others,
until it finally brought him to the exit
leading into the city.
The guide showed him Hormuzan, the murderer of his brother,
and the fortress in which he was barricaded.
When Majza'ah saw Hormuzan,
he was tempted to strike him down with an arrow through his throat,
but he quickly remembered
Abu Musa's explicit instruction
not to initiate any conflict.
Thus, he curbed his urge
and returned the way he had come before the break of dawn.
Abu Musa prepared three hundred
of the bravest, most stouthearted Muslim soldiers,
choosing those with the greatest endurance, patience,
and swimming proficiency.
He placed Majza'ah ibn Thawr in command over them,
bade them farewell, and instructed them,
designating the Takbir as the signal to call the Muslim army
to storm the city.
Majza'ah ordered his men
to strip down their clothing as much as possible,
so it would not absorb water and weigh them down,
and warned them against carrying anything except their swords,
instructing them to bind the weapons tightly to their bodies beneath their remaining garments.
He set out with them in the late hours of the night.
Majza'ah ibn Thawr and his valiant soldiers spent
nearly two hours
struggling against the hazards of that treacherous tunnel,
overcoming its obstacles at times,
and being overwhelmed by them at others.
When they finally reached the outlet leading into the city,
Majza'ah discovered that the subterranean waterway
had claimed two hundred and twenty of his men,
leaving him with only eighty.
As soon as the feet of Majza'ah and his companions touched the soil of the city,
they unsheathed their swords
and charged at the guards of the fortress,
plunging their blades into their chests.
They then rushed to the gates
and threw them open while shouting "Allahu Akbar!",
The takbir from within the city echoed and joined
the takbir of their brothers from without,
and the Muslims poured into the city at dawn.
Between them and the enemies of Allah,
a fierce battle raged,
the likes of which the history of warfare has rarely witnessed
in its terror, dread,
and heavy casualties.
While the battle was raging in full force,
Majza'ah ibn Thawr caught sight of Al-Hurmuzan on the battlefield.
He made straight for him
and engaged him with the sword,
but the surging wave of fighters soon swallowed them up
and hid him from his sight.
Then he appeared to him once more,
so he rushed toward him and charged at him.
Majza'ah and Al-Hurmuzan dueled with their swords,
and each struck the other a decisive blow.
Majza'ah's sword recoiled harmlessly,
while Al-Hurmuzan's sword struck true,
and the brave, valiant hero fell
slain upon the battlefield,
his eyes delighted with what Allah had achieved through his hands.
The Muslim army continued to fight
until Allah granted them victory,
and Al-Hurmuzan fell into their hands as a prisoner.
The bearers of glad tidings set out for Medina,
bringing the joyful news of victory to Al-Faruq,
leading Al-Hurmuzan before them,
upon his head his jewel-encrusted crown,
and over his shoulders his robe woven with gold thread,
so that the Caliph might see him.
Along with this, the bearers of glad tidings brought
heartfelt condolences to the Caliph
for his brave knight, Majza'ah ibn Thawr.
Majza'ah ibn Thawr—
a valiant hero,
who had slain one hundred polytheists in single combat,
to say nothing of those he slew
in the thick of battles.
Historians
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