Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 70 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (85) - Al-Muthanna bin Haritha Al-Shaibani, may God be pleased with him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
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by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy upon him.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out
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to the markets of Makkah,
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presenting himself to those arriving from all parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
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With him was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
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and Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them.
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They saw some elders who possessed status and dignity.
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Abu Bakr stepped forward, greeted them, and asked,
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"Who are the people?"
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They replied, "We are from Banu Shayban ibn Tha'labah."
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He leaned toward the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said,
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"May my father and mother be sacrificed for you,
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there is no honor among their people greater than theirs."
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Among the group were al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani,
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Mafruq ibn 'Amr,
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and Hani ibn Qabisah.
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Abu Bakr turned to them and said,
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"If the news of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has reached you,
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then here he is."
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He pointed toward the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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They said, "Yes."
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Then they turned to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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intending to speak with him.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sat down,
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and Abu Bakr stood behind him, shading him with his garment.
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Mafruq ibn 'Amr said to him,
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as he was the one sitting closest to him,
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"To what do you call us, O brother of Quraysh?"
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
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"I call you to bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
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alone, with no partner,
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and that I am the Messenger of Allah,
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and that you shelter me and support me,
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so that I may convey what Allah has commanded me."
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Mafruq said,
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"And to what else do you call us, O brother of Quraysh?"
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, recited
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the words of the Almighty:
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"And to what else do you call us, O brother of Quraysh?
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By Allah, this is not the speech of the people of the earth,
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for if it were their speech, we would have recognized it."
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, recited
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the words of the Almighty:
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“Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk, and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exhorteth you in order that ye may take heed.” (16:90)
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"And [to] giving to relatives,"
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"and He forbids immorality,"
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"and bad conduct, and oppression."
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"He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded."
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He then said to him,
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"You call, by Allah, O brother of Quraysh,
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to noble character."
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Then Mafruq turned to al-Muthanna ibn Harithah,
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as if he wanted to include him in the conversation,
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and said, "This is al-Muthanna ibn Harithah,
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our elder and our leader in war."
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Al-Muthanna said,
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"I have heard your words,
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and I found your speech excellent.
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However, a matter such as this
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requires us to return to our people.
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Furthermore, we have settled near water overlooking the land of Persia,
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and Chosroes has taken a covenant from us
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that we shall not initiate any new event,
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nor shall we shelter any innovator.
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Perhaps this to which you call us
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is something that Chosroes and his people dislike,
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and we have no power against them,
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nor the strength to wage war against them."
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When they were about to leave,
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the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned to them
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and said,
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"What would you say if only a short time passed
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before Allah grants you the lands of Persia,
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their wealth, and their women?
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Would you then glorify Allah and sanctify Him?"
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They said,
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"By Allah, yes."
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"And will that be for you, O brother of Quraysh?"
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He said, "Yes."
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani departed,
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returning to the lands of his people,
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while the image of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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never left his imagination,
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and the resonance of his words never left his ears.
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He continued to follow his news,
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and remembered his words:
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"What would you say if only a short time passed
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before Allah grants you the lands of Persia,
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their wealth, and their women?"
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Then he would say to himself,
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"What made me hold back my hand
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from pledging allegiance to Muhammad,
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when I have become certain of his truthfulness
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and the validity of his call?"
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In the ninth year of the Hijrah,
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Allah permitted al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani
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to be honored by joining
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the battalions of faith.
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He came to the Prophet, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him,
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among a large gathering of Banu Shayban,
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and announced his Islam before him,
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and pledged to him his hearing and obedience.
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But the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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did not remain long
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before he joined the Highest Companion.
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The Arabs began to leave the religion of Allah in crowds,
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just as they had entered it in crowds.
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Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, stood against them,
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and confronted them with those who remained steadfast in their religion.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani and his people
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were among the fiercest of people against the apostates,
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and had the greatest impact in ending that destructive, blind strife.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah emerged from the Wars of Apostasy victorious,
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and found under his command eight thousand fighters
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who would not disobey his command.
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The words of the Messenger, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him,
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regarding the Muslims' conquest of the lands of Persia
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were still ringing in his ears.
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He said to himself,
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"Why should I not strike the Persians with this brave army,
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and rescue the Sawad of Iraq from their hands?
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Did the Truthful and Trusted one not promise us
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that Allah would make us possess their lands, women, and wealth?"
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"And can lands be possessed and wealth secured
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except by the tips of spears and the edges of swords?"
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So he resolved to proceed with his people to the Sawad of Iraq,
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without asking the Caliph for permission, so as not to embarrass him.
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If he were victorious, his victory would be for all Muslims,
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and if he were defeated, his defeat would be his alone.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah attacked the Sawad of Iraq,
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and its cities and villages began to fall under the hooves of his horses
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like leaves falling from trees in the autumn.
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The news of his victories began to spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
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Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said to those around him,
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"Who is this whose news of victory reaches us,
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without us knowing anything about his affairs?"
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The answer to this question
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was al-Muthanna himself,
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for he hurried to Madinah,
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met al-Siddiq, and informed him of his raids on the Sawad of Iraq,
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and listed for him the cities, villages, and fortresses he had liberated from the Persians
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and added to the state of Islam.
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He described to him the beauty of those lands,
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the abundance of their blessings, and the richness of their harvests.
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He informed him of the state of the Persians,
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their distress, and the instability of their kingdom.
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He continued to urge him until he encouraged him to conquer the lands of Persia.
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Al-Siddiq became energized for that great matter,
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mobilized armies for it,
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and made al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani
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one of his senior commanders in these wars.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah fought a number of battles against the Persian armies,
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the greatest of which was the famous Battle of Babylon.
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The story of this battle was
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that Shahdhan, the king of the Persians,
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sent a letter shortly before the battle to the commander of the Muslim army,
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al-Muthanna ibn Harithah, saying in it,
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"I have directed against you the tenders of chickens and pigs,
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and others of the rabble,
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and I am only fighting you with them,
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for you are not worthy of those above them."
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Al-Muthanna replied with a letter that stated,
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"From al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani,
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to Shahdhan,
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to proceed:
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We praise Allah, who has turned your plot back upon you,
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and forced you to use the tenders of chickens and pigs
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to defend yourselves.
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Tomorrow, when the two armies meet,
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the wrongdoers will know to what turning point they will return."
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When the two armies met,
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Hormuz, the commander of the Persian army, advanced
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at the head of thousands upon thousands of his soldiers,
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led by the great elephant
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which they kept for the greatest of battles.
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That terrifying, trained animal began
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to strike the Muslim soldiers with its long, thick trunk, right and left,
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causing their hearts to tremble,
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their horses to shy away at the sight of it,
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and their formation to collapse.
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Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah realized that victory was impossible
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as long as this giant animal was inflicting such severe damage on his soldiers.
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He set out toward it with a group of his brave men,
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and launched a sincere attack on the soldiers surrounding it,
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which shook their footing and cleared them away from it.
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Then he struck it with a deep thrust of his spear,
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which hit a vital spot,
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and followed it with other lethal blows.
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The elephant soon fell dead to the ground, swimming in its blood.
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The Muslims' takbir and tahlil rose,
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and they poured onto the battlefield like a flood,
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and set their spears and swords upon the throats of the enemies.
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It was only a short while
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They did not even spare the keepers of chickens and swine in the rear guard.
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Nor did they spare their leaders, Hormuz and his fleeing forces.
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Al-Muthanna Ibn Harithah al-Shaybani then occupied Babylon.
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He secured all the spoils of war it contained.
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And he took captive the women who were gathered there.
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He began to glorify Allah the Almighty, saying:
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"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, spoke the truth."
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"The Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, spoke the truth."
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"We have indeed taken possession of the land."
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"We have seized the wealth and taken the women captive."
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Muhammad and his Companions,
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Have washed away the foundations of the lofty palace.
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O Shiyar, hasten to me and bestow your favor,
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In praising them, is there any more to be said?