Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 66 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (81) - Abu Ubaid bin Masoud Al-Thaqafi, 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 portraits 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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Abu Ubayd Ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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There he was, the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah,
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Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
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lying upon his bed,
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awaiting the decree of Allah concerning him,
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after the burden of illness had weighed heavily upon him.
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And there were the people of Medina,
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visiting the house of the Caliph of the Muslims,
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anxious and deeply concerned.
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While al-Siddiq was in this state,
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he summoned his successor and said,
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"O Umar,
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I truly hope to pass away this very day.
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So, when I die,
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do not let the morning come before you call the people to fight the Persians.
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Then, send those among them who respond to you
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as reinforcements for the Muslim army fighting there.
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And let no calamity, however great, distract you from the affairs of your religion."
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Shortly thereafter, he surrendered his soul before the sun set that day.
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The Faruq (Umar) buried his companion in the earth that night.
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And no sooner had the morning dawned
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than the first task Umar undertook
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was to call the people to fight the Persians,
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encouraging them to do so with the utmost fervor.
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Yet he was surprised that no one responded to him,
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due to their intense fear of the Persians
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and the many stories they had heard of their might and brutality.
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When the next day came,
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he called the people once again,
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but no one answered his call.
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When the third day came,
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he called them a third time,
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but no one volunteered.
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When the fourth day came,
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he went out to the people, heavy-hearted and distressed,
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and called them to fight the Persians.
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Then Abu Ubayd Ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi stood up before him
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and said,
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"O Commander of the Faithful,
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we have heard your call
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and have obeyed your command.
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I am the first to respond to you,
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along with my children, my family, and my kin."
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Umar’s face brightened with joy,
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and a spirit of zeal stirred in the hearts of the men,
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so they flocked to join the invading army
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in the cause of Allah.
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When the gathering of the Muslims was complete,
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one of them said to Umar Ibn al-Khattab,
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"Appoint over the army one of the early converts
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to Islam from the Muhajirun or the Ansar,
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for they are the people of highest standing
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and greatest stature."
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He replied, "No, by Allah!
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Their standing was raised and their stature made great
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only by their precedence in good deeds
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and their haste to meet the enemies of Allah.
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If they become sluggish in Jihad in the cause of Allah,
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and someone else rushes to it before them,
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then he is the one who has precedence over them
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and is more worthy of leadership."
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"By Allah, I will not appoint over them
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anyone but the first of the Muslims to respond to the call of Jihad."
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Then he summoned Abu Ubayd Ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi
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and entrusted him with the banner of the Muslim army
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heading to war against the Persians.
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Abu Ubayd set out with his army, numbering
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five thousand mujahidin,
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accompanied by his brother, his three sons, and his wife.
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Whenever he passed by a tribe of the Arabs,
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he would urge them to Jihad
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and encourage them toward martyrdom.
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The army continued to grow and expand
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until it reached ten thousand mujahidin.
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News of the approaching Muslim army,
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led by Abu Ubayd, reached the ears of the Persians,
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so they mobilized their soldiers and prepared their forces,
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resolving to strike the Muslims a decisive blow
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from which they would never recover.
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They placed in command of their army one of their great leaders,
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called Jaban,
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and placed on his right flank a knight from among their most famous,
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known as Mardan.
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The two hosts met at al-Nariq,
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and a fierce, grinding battle ensued between them,
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in which the Muslim army,
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led by Abu Ubayd,
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displayed such valor and sacrifice
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that it shook the footing of the Persians,
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inflicted upon them a crushing defeat,
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and scattered them completely.
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Jaban, the commander of the army, fell
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into the captivity of a Muslim soldier
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named Matar Ibn Fadda al-Taymi,
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and Mardan fell into the captivity of another soldier
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named Aktal Ibn Shammakh al-Ikli.
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Aktal killed his captive,
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but as for Jaban,
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he realized that his captor did not recognize him,
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so he began to humble himself before him,
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showing him weakness, helplessness, and his advanced age,
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and asked him to grant him safety for his life,
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promising him whatever reward he wished.
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Matar felt pity for him, granted him safety, and set him free.
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But no sooner had Jaban escaped from his captor
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than the Muslim soldiers recognized him and seized him,
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bringing him to the army commander, Abu Ubayd,
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and saying, "This is Jaban, the commander of the Persian army.
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One of the Muslim soldiers granted him safety,
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not knowing who he was."
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Then they suggested he be executed.
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He replied, "By Allah, I will not kill him after he has been granted safety,
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for the Muslims are like one body;
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what binds one of them binds them all."
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And he set him free.
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The defeated soldiers surrendered to Abu Ubayd
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and made peace with him on the condition that they pay the jizya.
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They brought him delicacies of food and al-akhbisa—
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al-akhbisa being a type of sweet.
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When they placed it before him,
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he turned away from it and said,
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"Have you honored all the Muslim soldiers
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with the same as you honor me?"
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They replied, "That was not possible for us today,
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but we will do so tomorrow."
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He said, "Take it away, for we have no need of it."
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Then his eyes welled with tears and he said,
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"Wretched is the man Abu Ubayd is,
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if he leads the Muslim soldiers from their homes,
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and tears them away from their families and children,
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then takes for himself something they do not have.
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No, by Allah, I will not eat anything of what you have brought,
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nor of the spoils of war that Allah has bestowed upon us,
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except what the average Muslim soldier eats."
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So they took it away.
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Abu Ubayd gathered the spoils,
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and among what he had captured
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was a type of fine date
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called al-Narsiyan,
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named after Narsi,
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the cousin of the King.
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It was attributed to him
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because he had monopolized its cultivation
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and restricted it to himself, away from other people.
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The King of Persia used to reserve
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this unique type of date for himself,
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so that no one ate it except him and his family,
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or those he wished to honor with a gift.
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Abu Ubayd distributed it
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among the Persian farmers
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who used to plant and harvest it,
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yet never tasted it.
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He sent one-fifth of it to the Muslim treasury in Medina
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and wrote to Umar Ibn al-Khattab, saying,
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"Allah has provided us with food that the Chosroes used to protect
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and reserve for themselves, away from their subjects.
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We wanted you to see it, O Commander of the Faithful,
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so that you may thank Allah the Exalted for His bounty and grace."
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News of the crushing defeat that befell the Persians
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reached the ears of their leader, Rustam,
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and he learned what had happened to Jaban and his right-flank commander.
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He was filled with rage,
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and it was unbearable for him that the victorious Persian armies
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should be defeated by this small number of barefoot, naked Arabs.
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He gathered his inner circle and said to them,
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"Which of the Persians, in your view, is most formidable against the Arabs?"
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They replied, "It is Bahman Dhu al-Hajib."
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He said, "You have spoken correctly."
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Then he summoned Bahman
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and entrusted him with the banner over eighty thousand fierce fighters,
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and included in his army twenty elephants,
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the likes of which the eye had never seen for size or strength.
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Bahman marched with this massive army
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until he encamped on the eastern bank of the Euphrates,
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near the site of Kufa.
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As for Abu Ubayd, he headed with his soldiers
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and encamped on the bank of the river opposite the Persian camp.
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Bahman wrote to Abu Ubayd, saying,
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"Either you cross over to us,
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and we will not raise a hand against you in harm as you cross,
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or we shall cross over to you."
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Abu Ubayd said to those around him,
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"The Persians shall not be bolder than us in the face of death."
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And he resolved to cross,
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despite the opposition of many of his men
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to what he had decided,
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and he informed the Persians of that.
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On the night before the crossing,
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the wife of Abu Ubayd saw in a dream
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that a man descended from the sky
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with a pitcher containing a drink,
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and he gave her husband, his brother, and his three sons to drink from it.
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When she recounted her vision to Abu 'Ubayd,
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he said to her, "Glad tidings to you,
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for martyrdom has been decreed for me, my brother, and my sons."
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Then he stood before his troops and said,
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"O people,
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if I am killed, appoint my brother al-Hakam as your commander.
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If he is killed, appoint my son Wahb.
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If he is killed, appoint his brother Malik.
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If he is killed, appoint his brother Jabr.
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If he is killed, appoint al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani."
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Then he ordered the Muslims to cross.
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They obeyed the command,
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and began to pour toward the eastern bank of the river like a rushing torrent.
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They crossed over a bridge they had erected there.
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When the two armies met on the battlefield,
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the Muslims were taken by surprise by the elephants advancing with the Persian army.
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Thick branches of palm fronds had been fastened to their backs and necks,
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and large, clanging bells were hung upon them.
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Each elephant appeared like a wooded mountain walking upon the earth.
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The Muslim soldiers, who had never encountered such things before, were awestruck,
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and their horses shied away in fear.
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Abu 'Ubayd realized that he had to eliminate the elephants and their riders
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in order to secure victory for his army.
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He called out to the Muslim soldiers, "Advance upon the elephants, cut their girths,
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throw the men from their backs, and strike them in their vital spots.
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I am advancing before you."
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No sooner had he finished speaking than he approached the largest elephant,
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cut its girth, and brought down the rider on its back.
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However, the elephant immediately struck him with its trunk, throwing him to the ground,
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then trampled him and killed him.
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Command passed after Abu 'Ubayd to his brother al-Hakam,
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who fell as a martyr.
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He was succeeded by his eldest son,
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who joined his father and uncle in martyrdom.
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He was succeeded by his second son,
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who also joined them.
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He was succeeded by his third son,
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who met the same fate as his father, his brothers, and his uncle.
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Thus, the vision of Abu 'Ubayd's wife was fulfilled,
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and his interpretation of it proved correct,
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as martyrdom was decreed for them all.
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The Muslims did not achieve in this battle,
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which was called the Battle of the Bridge,
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the victory they had hoped for.
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Nevertheless, they filled the hearts of their enemies with terror,
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and instilled deep dread and fear within them.
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Indeed, the Battle of the Bridge
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was a grave and momentous event with significant consequences.
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For the bright and glorious day of al-Qadisiyyah
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was not far removed from the day of the Bridge.