In Search of Truth

Part 3

Now, knowing the identity of Hazrat Amr Ibnul As (R.A.) here will help us to discuss the next incident. When Hazrat Omar (RA) expressed his desire to conquer Iraq, people said that it would not be possible to conquer Iraq without Khalid bin Alid (RA), the commander of the time of Abu Bakr (RA). Omar (RA) said, "I have a wiser and stronger commander than Khalid bin Ali." He was referring to Hazrat Amr Ibnul As.

Amr ibn al-As not only occupied Iraq, but also occupied western Syria and Jerusalem. Hazrat Omar was pleased and assigned him the task of conquering Egypt. By capturing Egypt and Alexandria, Amr ibn al-As proved that he was a mightier warrior than Khalid bin Ali.

Five years later, about twenty-five years of Hijri. In the meantime, Amr Ibnul As (RA) was deposed from the ruling authority of Egypt by Usman (RA). The Greek Emperor Constantine, within a year, not only expelled the Muslim invaders from Alexandria, but also freed the whole of Egypt from Muslim rule. Caliph Usman was in danger. Compelled, Prophet’s Companion sought refuge with Amr ibn al-As (RA) and requested the recovery of Egypt. Amr ibn al-As retook Egypt and Alexandria to the Muslims almost without a fight. Caliph Usman obliged and put Amr ibn al-As in charge of Egypt's military and revenue departments; But Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah remained the governor. The dual rule of Abdullah bin Saad bin Abu Sarah (RA) and Amr Ibnul As (RA) continued in Egypt.

Those two companions of Prophet, Abdullah bin Saad bin Abu Sarah (RA) and Amr Ibnul Asr (RA) were each other's eyesores. In a power struggle, they continued to issue contradictory orders to each other. In the end, Caliph Usman himself took responsibility for investigating the matter. The complaint of Hazrat Abdullah bin Saad was: Hazrat Amr Ibnul As captured Alexandria during the war with the Greeks, plundered the houses of the common people and embezzled a lot of goods. Many Greek women were kept as his personal slaves and forced exorbitant taxes from the people. On the other hand, the complaint of Amr Ibnul As (R.A.) was: Abdullah bin Sa'd (R.A.) was a man of arrogance and bad character. He was the cursed person by Prophet and did not believe in the Qur'an as the 'Word of Allah'. Perhaps no one was more aware of the latter charge against Abdullah bin Sa'd than Hazrat Usman. He hid his adopted brother in his house for three days and saved him from the death warrant from Muhammad (pbuh).

Caliph Uthman (RA) found Hazrat Amr Ibnul As guilty in the trial. By expelling him from the state power once again, Usman (RA) put his hands in the snake's cave. Hazrat Amr Ibnul As, furious at the nepotism of Caliph Uthman, roared like a lion.

Hazrat Usman (RA) has been in power for just one year. In the meantime, the internal disputes of the state, irregularities in the payment of taxes to the governors of the provinces, bitterness between the Hashimi and Umayyad clans, and above all, the food in Medina, the Caliph was very worried. The governor of Syria, Hazrat Moabiya (R.A.), came forward to help. Advised to invade Armenia and neighboring areas of Asia Minor. Uthman (R.A.) hoped to stay in power for a while longer, at least a source of income was found; Because war means getting a lot of booty.

After Omar's death, the Armenians were at peace for only a few days. Once again, the hilly region trembled with the sound of 'Allahu Akbar'. Freedom-minded Armenians came down the mountain to sacrifice their lives for their country. The Muslim soldiers pounced on them like lions hungry for a thousand days. Thousands of fresh Armenian lives fell under the bright sword of the Muslims in a bloody war. The white fountains of the mountains awere colored by the streams of Armenian blood. Defeated in the war, they entered into an agreement with the Muslims on the condition of paying double the previous rate of taxes.

After conquering Armenia, the Muslim army did not return home. They continued the expansion of the empire in full swing. The Muslims, excited by joy of victory, easily captured the city of Tiflis in the western part of Armenia and reached the Black Sea coast. Thence south to the city of the Levant on the east coast of the Mediterranean. Here they fought fiercely with the Greeks. Perhaps no one in the world at that time had the power to stop the Muslim army. So, country after country, the Muslims began to feel complacent by destroying the traditional ancient culture and traditional civilization of the ages.

Along with the expansion of the states, the central government also kept getting additional wealth from the war. But the wealth of this loot was not used for the development of the country or changing the fate of the common people. Both power and wealth remained in the hands of the Quraysh.

Day by day the disparity between the ruler and the exploited continued to increase. In the frontier regions of the vast Muslim empire, the soldiers indulged in destruction and plunder, while the rulers within the kingdoms became accustomed to a life of luxury.

When the governor of Syria, Muabiya (RA) advised Hazrat Usman (RA) to attack Armenia, at about the same time Abdullah Bin Saad (RA) of Egypt wanted to attack Tripoli (currently the capital of Libya). He had to wait for a long time due to power conflict with Amr Ibnul As (RA) and internal disturbances in the country.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Sa'd (RA) prepared to attack Tripoli again in 652 AD and requested Usman (RA) to send troops. Usman (RA) sent a group of special warriors from Medina towards Tripoli. This prolonged war was very terrible and bloody. At one point, when the Muslim soldiers were preparing to retreat, Hazrat Zobair (R.A.), a brilliant Quraysh warrior from Madinah, gave a valuable advice to Abdullah bin Sa'd (R.A.). He said:

"Let it be proclaimed among the Muslim army that whoever can cut off the head of Gregorius, the governor of Tripoli, will be rewarded with one hundred thousand gold coins and also the beautiful young daughter of Gregorius".

The declaration went to work. Within a few days, Gregorius' head was split in two and brought to the army camp. And captive was the heroic daughter of Grigerius, the incomparably beautiful young woman, who always fought side by side with her father in arms.

The Muslim commander had no difficulty in distributing the reward of hundred thousand gold coins, the problem was with the girl. A herd of hungry soldiers stared with thirsty eyes at a single girl. The princess herself solved the problem. According to historian William Moore, Gregorius' heroine willingly accepts death rather than subjugation. She committed suicide before becoming the bed fellow of a Muslim soldier.

Caliph Usman (R.A.) was overjoyed to see the huge wealth that the Muslim army had gained in the Battle of Tripoli, and bestowed the title of 'Great Warrior' on the victorious leader Abdullah bin Saad (R.A.). Never before had it been possible to gain so much wealth in any war. According to the rules, one fifth of the war booty was to be deposited in the revenue sector. Usman (R.A.) overjoyed, gave almost all of this huge wealth to Abdullah bin Saad and his own minister Mawan. However, the Caliph had no other choice. While Usman (RA) was struggling to manage state without Baitulmal, the wars in Armenia and Tripoli were the only means of sustaining his power. So the Caliph himself promised Abdullah bin Sa'd before the Battle of Tripoli to distribute such wealth if the war was won. The people could not accept it with satisfaction. It should be noted that Abdullah bin Saad and Marwan were both Umayyas and relatives of Caliph Hazrat Usman (RA).

After conquering Tripoli, the Muslim army occupied Algeria and Morocco. Now on the other side of the sea to the north of Morocco, their eyes fell on the alluring land of Spain, covered with flowers and fruits, and covered with green and beautiful fields. After receiving the news, Caliph Usman could not control his greed. Hastily sent two mighty warriors named Abdullah bin Nafe bin Hasin and Abdullah bin Nafe bin Abde Qays towards Spain along with a group of soldiers from Medina. The Quraish desert-bandits had not yet mastered the art of high seas piracy. So when they came to the sea-shore they were forced to abandon the hope of conquering Spain for the time being.

While Abdullah bin Saad was engaged in naval warfare off the coast of Cyprus, Hazrat Muabiya set out to capture Constantine in a land battle. Muabiyah (RA) tried twice to capture Constantine but failed.

In order to know how the condition of other provinces of the Muslim empire was during the reign of Caliph Uthman, let's take a look at Kufa and Basra. Hazrat Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was the governor of Kufa during the reign of Hazrat Omar (RA). Caliph Omar (RA) did a great deed before his death. Hazrat Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was removed from the post of governor of Kufa and Hazrat Mughira Ibn Shoba (RA) was appointed as the governor of Kufa. But the misery of the unfortunate common people of Kufa did not go away. Hazrat Mughira Ibn Shoba (R.A.) was very harsh, arrogant and angry. When the news of his discriminatory obscene behavior, individualistic character and utter contempt for the people reached the ears of Caliph Usman (R.A.), he got fed up and dismissed Mughira Ibn Shoba (R.A.) from the post of governor. But to the disappointment of the people, Hazrat Usman (RA) again appointed that luxuriant companion Hazrat Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) to the said post.

Hazrat Saad (RA) realized the opportunity and became more luxurious than before. Not only that, this time he embezzled a huge amount of government money from Baitulmal. At that time the treasurer of Baitul-Mal was Sahabi Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (RA). It was noted that the current governor of Kufa, Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas (RA) was the goat herder of Aqaba Ibn Abu Mu'it in East Mecca.

The governor and the treasurer were bitter and quarreled over the money of Baitulmal. Abusing each other, harsh treatment reached such a level that finally charges of embezzlement against the governor were presented to the court of Caliph Usman (RA). Hazrat Saad (RA) was found guilty in the trial.

The one who was appointed as the governor of Kufa that time was Caliph Usman's (RA) half-brother, the famous hero Alid Ibn Oqba (RA). The Quraish-Hashimi tribe got fired up. Alid Ibn Oqaba, the newly appointed ruler of Kufa, was the son of Oqba, the mortal enemy of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). One incident with the Prophet was known to the people of Kufa: Oqba was captured by the Muslim soldiers in a battle and asked the Prophet in a voice full of hatred and contempt, what will his children eat if he (Oqba) dies? In reply, the Prophet said, Hellfire will consume. That Okbar's son, Alid, was already known to people as a man of dishonest character. In anger and hatred, the people of Kufa repeatedly complained to Caliph Usman but did not get any results. Ordinary people were forced to bow down in front of the harsh repression policy of Alid.

Finally at the end of injustice, tyranny and arbitrariness, Hazrat Alid (RA) was caught in the trap of the crowd one day. Accustomed to drinking, Hazrat Alid (R.A.) became intoxicated and fell asleep one day in such a way that some people removed a ring with the state seal from his finger and took it to the Caliph in Madinah as proof of his bad character. Moreover, they also complained to the Caliph that one day he got drunk and offered four rakats instead of the obligatory two rakats during the Fajr prayer at the time of Imamat in the mosque. The Caliph was forced to depose Hazrat Alid to prevent protests throughout the country. After that, Hazrat Alid never saw Caliph Usman in person again.

That time, Caliph Usman appointed Hazrat Saeed bin Al-Ask, a young warrior of the Quraish clan, as ruler of Kufa. There was no lack of the Quraish nature of inhuman, the evil character in that man.

The people of Kufa knew the arrogance and conceit of the Quraish. The new governor appeared worse than all previous rulers. He informed the Caliph in a letter that the local non-Muslims, and the non-Quraish Muslims were of inferior status and beasts, and said that he would punish them with an iron rod. He publicly declared that only the Quraysh dynasty could claim nobility, dignity and high status.

In Medina, in Egypt, in Kufa, only the people of the Umayya clan held important positions in government; Why would the Hashimi tribe tolerate such arrogance? They continued to prepare for harsh measures against the Caliph.

Translated from the works of https://www.facebook.com/russel495