Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 64 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (79) - Al-Qaqa bin Amr, may God be pleased with him - Part Two
0:000:00
Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
0:00
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
0:15
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
0:18
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
0:22
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
0:25
may Allah have mercy upon him.
0:27
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with him.
0:48
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr had barely shaken the dust of battle from his hands in the Levant,
0:56
or rested his side after the conquest of Damascus alongside Khalid ibn al-Walid,
1:01
when a letter arrived from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, to Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, stating:
1:09
"Detach such-and-such a number from your troops,
1:12
and dispatch them swiftly to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas at al-Qadisiyyah.
1:16
And beware of any delay or hesitation."
1:20
Abu 'Ubaydah promptly executed 'Umar's command,
1:23
appointing Hashim ibn 'Utbah to lead the army,
1:26
and placing al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr at the vanguard.
1:30
He said to them both:
1:31
"Haste, haste!
1:33
The Muslims at al-Qadisiyyah are facing the largest force Persia has ever assembled for war,
1:39
and they are in need of every man among you."
1:43
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr set out with the vanguard,
1:46
which consisted of a thousand horsemen.
1:49
He and his men pressed on, traveling through the night and the day,
1:54
until they outpaced Hashim ibn 'Utbah,
1:57
reaching the outskirts of al-Qadisiyyah at dawn on the second day of the battle.
2:03
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr knew
2:05
that the first day of al-Qadisiyyah had been severely difficult for the Muslims
2:11
due to the enemy's overwhelming numbers and equipment.
2:15
The burden upon them was heavy,
2:17
caused by the elephants that had terrified their horses,
2:20
striking fear into their hearts
2:23
and causing them to recoil in retreat.
2:26
He knew they were anxiously awaiting the arrival of reinforcements from the Levant.
2:31
Yet, al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr had only a thousand horsemen with him.
2:36
And what could a thousand do against the massive armies of Persia?
2:41
But the inspired commander
2:43
made those thousand appear in the eyes of the Muslims—
2:46
and in the eyes of their polytheist enemies—as thousands.
2:49
Here is the account of how he did it:
2:53
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr divided his thousand horsemen
2:56
into ten groups,
2:58
with one hundred horsemen in each group.
3:00
He ordered the first group to charge toward the Muslim lines,
3:05
and to intentionally stir up dust all around them,
3:09
until the air was thick with it.
3:12
Then he ordered the other nine groups
3:14
to do as the first had done,
3:16
provided that no group would start from its position
3:20
until the one before it was far enough away
3:23
to be at the limit of one's vision.
3:26
Then he set out at the head of the first group, shouting the takbir,
3:29
and his voice was worth a thousand horsemen,
3:32
just as al-Siddiq (Abu Bakr), may Allah be pleased with him, had said of him.
3:35
He passed by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
3:38
and brought him the glad tidings of reinforcements.
3:40
No sooner did the two armies—
3:42
the Persian army and the Muslim army—
3:45
see the horses' hooves kicking up clouds of dust,
3:48
and hear the sounds of the takbir shaking the surroundings,
3:52
and watch the reinforcements arriving, battalion
3:55
after battalion,
3:57
than terror struck the hearts of the Persians,
4:00
while fervor surged in the chests of the Muslims.
4:03
They began to proclaim the oneness of Allah and shout the takbir
4:06
with voices that shattered the hearts of their enemies.
4:10
Al-Qa'qa' proceeded to the field
4:13
with the first light of morning,
4:17
and stepped forward to challenge the enemies before the battle began.
4:21
He began to pace his horse between the two lines,
4:24
saying, "Is there anyone to duel?
4:27
Is there anyone to duel?"
4:30
All eyes turned toward the Persian camp
4:33
to see who would step out to face al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr.
4:36
Only a few moments passed,
4:39
amidst the boldness and daring of al-Qa'qa',
4:42
before there emerged from the enemy ranks
4:45
a commander fully clad in armor, who said:
4:48
"I am here for you. Do you know who I am?
4:51
I am Bahman Dhu al-Hajib,
4:54
the commander of the Persian armies at the Battle of the Bridge.
4:57
I am the killer of your commander, Abu 'Ubayd
5:00
al-Thaqafi, and his companions."
5:03
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr replied:
5:06
"Oh, for the vengeance of the Day of the Bridge!"
5:09
And the Day of the Bridge had been the most difficult of days.
5:12
"I am the one who was there that day!"
5:15
Bahman Dhu al-Hajib.
5:18
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr drew his sword,
5:21
and attacked Bahman like a lion in its lair.
5:24
When he had gained the upper hand and was poised
5:27
to deliver the final blow, he held back,
5:30
to prolong his torment.
5:33
Then he kept repeating the attack,
5:36
charge after charge, and then holding back,
5:39
while their eyes were wide with terror.
5:42
The Muslims were shouting:
5:45
"Allahu Akbar!
5:48
Finish him off, O Qa'qa'!
5:51
Avenge Abu 'Ubayd al-Thaqafi and his companions!"
5:54
So al-Qa'qa' struck him with a blow of his sword
5:57
that cast him to the ground,
6:00
and left him swimming in his own blood.
6:03
The Muslim army roared:
6:07
"Allahu Akbar!"
6:11
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr did not leave the field,
6:14
but stood calling out in defiance:
6:17
"Bring me another duelist!"
6:20
Two decorated horsemen, champions of the Persians, came out to face him
6:23
at the same time.
6:26
He and al-Harith ibn Dhubyan met them,
6:29
and made them drink from the same cup that Dhu al-Hajib had drunk from,
6:32
in a matter of moments.
6:35
Then al-Qa'qa' called out:
6:38
"O company of Muslims,
6:41
engage your enemies with your swords!
6:44
Fall upon the enemies of Allah and your enemies with your spears!
6:47
And when you close in on them,
6:50
engage them with your swords,
6:53
for souls are harvested by sharp blades."
6:56
The Muslims leaped upon their enemy
6:59
like lions,
7:02
and began to call out:
7:05
"Vengeance for yesterday!"
7:08
The Persians did not bring their elephants into the battle that day,
7:11
because the Muslims had, the day before,
7:14
cut their girths
7:17
and smashed the howdahs in which the elephant riders sat
7:20
on their backs.
7:23
The "girths" are the ropes that tie the howdahs onto the elephant,
7:26
in which the riders sit.
7:29
The hand of the night was not able to repair
7:32
what the hand of the day had destroyed.
7:35
So al-Qa'qa' ordered groups of his cousins
7:38
to bring dozens of large camels,
7:41
to drape them in black cloths,
7:44
meaning to cover them with black garments,
7:47
and to mask them with colorful veils,
7:50
and to mount them,
7:53
and to attack the Persian horses with them.
7:56
No sooner did the horses see them approaching than they shied away,
7:59
just as the Muslim horses had shied away from the elephants,
8:02
and they became stubborn in their places,
8:05
meaning they stood still and would not take a step forward,
8:08
nor backward.
8:11
Then they soon turned on their heels,
8:14
fleeing with their riders in retreat.
8:17
The Muslims then mounted the backs of the fleeing horsemen,
8:20
and set their swords and spears upon their necks.
8:24
The sun of the second day of al-Qadisiyyah did not set
8:27
until al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr
8:30
had led thirty charges against the Persians,
8:33
and had personally slain thirty of their chieftains.
8:36
When the fighting ceased,
8:39
the Muslims were shouting and cheering:
8:42
"A day for a day!"
8:45
“Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah - For had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty -” (22:40)
8:48
Indeed, Allah is All-Powerful, All-Mighty.
8:51
That was the trial of al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr
8:54
on the second day of al-Qadisiyyah.
8:57
As for his trial on the third and fourth days,
9:00
you shall hear of it, by the permission of Allah.
9:03
"The voice of al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr
9:11
in the army is better than a thousand horsemen."
9:14
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
9:26
in praising them, are they not adorned?