Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A)
(13-23A.H/634-644A.D)
ELECTION:
On his death bed, Abu Bakr appointed Umar as the next Caliph. Talha and some other
companions objected to this decision due to Hazrat Umar’s harshness. To this Abu Bakr
replied,”responsibility will make him mild”. After Hazrat Abu Bakr’s death, Hazrat Umar was
elected as the next Caliph, all companions and people swore allegiance to him
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Battle of Buwaib 635 A.D
One year after Muslims’s defeat at Jasr (Bridge), Umar encouraged Muslims to stand against
Persians, he called for Jihad. This time, Umar asked the Christians to join Muslims, appointed
Muthanna their leader, Muslims were around 20,000. This time, Persians were made to cross
the river with 200,000 men under the leadership of Mehran. After a fierce battle, Mehran was
killed by a young man of Banu Taghlib, leaving Persians chaotic and demoralized, Persians
were defeated. The bridge was blocked by Muthanna which made it difficult for Persians to go
back. As a result of this win, the Muslims were able to conquer western part of Persian Empire
(Iraq)
Day of Armath: Rustom ordered the first batch of soldiers to attack first at Bajila. From
Muslim’s side Banu Asad came to defend Bajila. However the elephants had now begun creating
serious problems for Muslims. Banu Tamim pricked the eyes of elephants with spears and
archers to push them back. This worked and Saad then ordered all archers to do the same. This
strategy worked for Muslims and the Persian’s first attack stopped at night.
Day of Aghwath: Khalid Bin Walid sent 6000 men from Syria. This day no elephants
showed up, Muslims fought bravely and pushed the Persian army back and reached near
Rustom’ hold. However the fight continued till night.
Day of Umas: On third day, elephants appeared again. Banu Tamim used the same strategy
and targeted their eyes. This time they also cut the elephants trunks. The fighting continued the
whole day, after sunset the fighting stopped. However after sometime, Muslims began the fight
again at night. That night trough out the fighting continued. This night is also known as Laila tul
Hareer the night of fight.
Day of Qadsiya: On this day, Rustom was killed as he tried to swim to safety and the
Persians also retreated. 6000 Muslims were martyred and 60,000 Persians were killed. Saad
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chased them to Babal and meanwhile he wrote to Umar informing him of victory. This battle
completely broke the strength of Persians and proved to be beneficial in the Iraq campaign.
After Qadisiya, Saad, with the permission of the Khalifa, occupied Madain Yazdgird’s capital,
bringing the whole territory from the Euphrates to the Tigris under the banner of Islam.
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Fall of Damascus (635A.D)
Khalid bin Walid laid siege to Damascus few days before Abu Bakr’s death. During Umar’s
caliphate Khalid added Damascus, Jordan to Muslims empire. Damascus had five gated which
were all besieged by Khalid bin Walid, Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan and
Shurbeel bin Hasan. Syrians were expecting forces from Heraclius, however it never came.
Muslims tried to enter using ladders and ropes. Looking at this, the Syrians got confused and
opened the gates to escape, the Muslims immediately rushed in. They had already heard a lot
about Khalid’s strategies that they asked Abu Ubaidah to save them from him. As a result peace
was granted to Syrians and no slaves were taken and very peacefully Damascus came under
Muslim rule. After Damascus, Muslims turned their focus towards Hims. They laid siege to
Hims. Due to extreme cold the Romans thought that the weather will slow the Muslims, however
the Muslims remained firm and just like the People of Damascus, the people of Hims also made
a peace treaty
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Abu Ubaidah made them realize the weakness of their position. They agreed to surrender on a
condition that the caliph will come in person and sign a treaty. Umar agreed to this condition
and travelled to Jerusalem in the simplest manner. When he reached Jerusalem he came only
with one slave and one camel on which each of them rode by turn. He was wearing a shirt which
was patched from many sides and was greeted by Abu Ubaidah. Umar offered prayers at Masjid
e Aqsa at the same place where Prophet Dawood A.S used to pray. He also visited other
historical sites. He granted peace to all Christians and signed the treaty according to which the
people of Jerusalem will pay Jizya and will be granted complete security of their life and
property, freedom to practice their religion and safety of their places of worship. When the
nearby cities heard about the treaty, they also rushed and made similar treaties with Muslims and
now entire Palestine came under Muslim rule.
ADMINISTRATION
✓ As an administrator, Hazrat Umar remained a model for all great rulers who followed him.
Even non-muslims regarded his abilities and administrative strategies as an excellent ruler
and reformer. The systems he introduced are still being enforced with some modifications
✓ He established a Majlis-e-Shura consisting of prominent companions of the Prophet from
both Muhajareen and Ansars and carried out all affairs of the state after consulting with them.
He also introduced Majlis-e-Aam to find out public opinion
✓ For military, he did many reforms to strengthen Muslim forces, he appointed soldiers, trained
them on regular basis and gave them salaries and divided the forces into infantries (foot
soldiers) and cavalries (horse soldiers)
✓ It was due to these military reforms, he was able to conquer most of the Persian and Roman
empire (Syria, Jerusalem, Egypt)
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✓ After conquering most of the Persian and Roman Empire, he divided such a vast empire into
provinces and districts for better administration. He appointed Wali (governer), Sahib –ul
Bait ul Maal (the treasury officer) Amil (tax collector) and Qadi (judge) in all provinces.
The governors he chose were strictly told not to any favoritism or injustice
✓ Umar was known for justice, he made the judiciary (court of law) completely independent.
He expressed his displeasure when once the judge showed him respect when Umar walked in
the court as a defendant
✓ The judges appointed by Umar were given good salaries in order to stop bribery ✓ He
also established new departments e.g board of revenue, military department, police
department, public censor department etc
✓ He also established department of finance called Dewan. It was incharge of revenue and its
disbursement (payment from funds). After meeting all needs of the state, the remaining
surplus money was distributed amongst Muslims on a condition of closeness to the Prophet
e.g Prophet’s wives and those who fought in Battle of Badr, he also preferred those who went
on battles several times. The old age pension system was also introduced. The revenue was
generated from jizya, Zakat, Khiraj and Ushr
✓ He built a separate Bait-ul-Maal in every province and an honest person wade incharege of
it, the headquarters was in Madina and a ledger was maintained to keep a record ✓ Umar made
particular attention to expansion of cultivation and construction of irrigation. He implemented
the laws of Ushr and Khiraj (tax on agricultural land) which increased revenue for govt.
✓ He made basic education compulsory and sent teachers from Madina to the entire Muslim
empire, he also introduced many other departments like police dept, postal dept etc ✓ For the
newly conquered, he built around 4000 mosques, each mosque was granted an Imam and a
Muazzin. He also made extension to Sacred Mosque in Makkah and Majid e Nabwi ✓ He made
great contribution to town planning. He established new towns like Kufa, Basra. ✓ Arabs were
not used to of recording things year wise, so Umar introduced the Islamic calendar.
✓ He also made certain restriction on his officers. They were told not to wear silk garments, or
to eat bread made of refined flour etc
✓ He also gave special consideration to Dhimmies (non-Muslims living in Muslim states).
Their matters were settled after consulting their own representatives
✓ He is the founder of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). More than 1000 juristic pronouncements
of Umar are on record.
Martydom
After the Persian Empire came under Muslim rule, many Persian men women and children were
taken as captives and were later sold as slaves. One of those slave was Firoz Nahavandi (Firoz
Lulu). He came to Umar with a complaint about the high tax which his master was charging
from him. Umar inquired and found out that the tax which was charged was according to Firoz’s
daily income hence Umar ignored him. Firoz planned to assassinate Umar while offering
prayers. His plan was to attack him when Umar will lead Fajr prayers at Masjid e Nabwi and
then either flee or join the congregation. Firoz attacked Umar six times in the belly and one time
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on the navel. While fleeing Firoz was caught by people from all sides. To save himself he even
tried to wound other people and then committed suicide with his own blade. Umar died of the
wounds after three days on 644 A.D, 23A.H
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✓ Khadija was a very loving and supportive wife of the Prophet Muhammad. She is the only
wife of the Prophet during whose lifetime, he did not take anyone else as wife ✓ After the first
revelation incident when the Prophet returned home trembling, she comforted him by saying,”
Allah will never disgrace you as you keep good relations with people, speak the truth, help
the poor and the needy, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving”. She took
him to Warqa bin Naufal who further assured that Muhammad pbuh is Allah’s Messenger
✓ She gave moral support, and consoled the Prophet during his most difficult days in Makkah
✓ Many times when the Muslims of Makkah were tortured by Quraish it was khadija’s
encouragement which enabled Prophet to help them and financially support them ✓ Whenever
the Prophet returned home depressed, she was always by his side to comfort him ✓ Khadija
was the first person to accept Islam. She is the only wife of the Prophet who suffered
persecution of the early years of Islam and suffered severe hardships at the time of boycott for
three years and stayed with the Prophet in Shib Abi Talib
✓ She passed away in the 10th year of Prophet hood, she is laid to rest in Jannat ul Mala in
Makkah. Prophet named that year Am-ul Huzn, Year of Grief
✓ Aisha narrated that whenever the Prophet sacrificed a sheep he would send a portion of it to
Khadija’s friends
✓ One day, khadija’s sister Hala whose voice resembled Khadija came to the Prophet. As soon
as he heard the familiar voice, he said “it must be Hala, her voice is just like Khadija”.
Aisha, on hearing this said, “How that is you still remember that old woman who is no
more when Allah has given you much better wives.” On this the Prophet replied, “Never
better! She supported me at a time when everyone was against it and supported me
when there was hardly a believer”
✓ When the Prophet divided his time equally all his wives as commanded by Allah, Sawdah
many times gave her turn to Aisha, regarding this Aisha said, “Sawdah gave her turn to me,
so the Prophet gave me both days, my day and Sawdah’s”
✓ She narrated 5 traditions
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✓ When the Prophet commanded his wives to remain indoors after his demise, she never left
her house not even for Hajj or Umrah
✓ She passed away in 22 A.H, laid to rest in Janat-ul-Baqi
✓ She is the only virgin wife of the Prophet. She was very young when she got married to the
Prophet , wedding was solemnized in Madina in the second year of hijrat ✓ She was given in
marriage to Prophet on her father’s wish
✓ She began to live in the Prophet’s house, where he would sometimes give her company while
she was playing with her toys.
✓ The Prophet did justice among all his wives but he loved Aisha the most. After Khadija’s
death, Aisha was the closest to the Prophet
✓ When the Prophet divided his time equally amongst his wives, many times Sawdah gave her
turn to Aisha. For this Aisha said, “Sawdah gave her turn to me, so the Prophet gave me
both days, my day and Sawdah’s”
✓ The verses of Tayamum were revealed when the Muslims were delayed on her account in
the desert. Aisha lost her necklace during a journey, the Messenger of Allah and the
companions stopped to look for it. During this the time of prayer was due and the
companions prayed without ablution. Later when they asked the Prophet if their prayers will
be accepted or not, at this point the verses of Tayamum were revealed incase water is not
available.
✓ In another occasion, Allah revealed her innocence. Aisha was on journey with the Prophet;
she went for the call of nature and got delayed. The people, who were carrying her hoodah,
put her curtained howdah on the back of the camel and left without noticing that she was not
on it. When Aisha came back they all had gone, she waited there in the hope that they would
come back for her. The next morning, a man who saw her sitting alone, made her sit on the
camel and travelled to Madina on foot and brought her back to Madina. This incident caused
a scandal. Allah revealed the verses of Surah Nur declaring her innocence. The Quran says,
“Verily those who brought forward a lie (against ‘Aisha) are a group among you.
Consider it not a thing. Consider it good for you. Every man among them will be paid
of the sin which they have earned, and as for him who had the greater share of the sin,
his will be a great suffering.
✓ She is known for her knowledge n sharp memory. She learned a great deal of teachings from
the Prophet. She has quoted 2210 traditions
✓ She has also bore hardships and hunger along with other wives of the Prophet as he lived a
life of sacrifice for others.
✓ After seeking permission from all his wives, the Prophet spent the last days of his life in
Aisha’s apartment
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✓ According to Aisha, the last act of the Prophet was cleaning his mouth with a brush
made up of branch of tree and his last words were ,” Now, none but He the Most High,
is needed “He passed away in her lap and is laid to rest in her room
✓ She was 18 years old when she when was widowed, however she spent 48 years of her life in
service of Islam
AFTER PROPHET’S DEMISE
✓ She became an authority on matters of Islamic legal thinking, especially those related to
women and purity.
✓ She was also an expert on Fiqh. Even the senior companions sought her permission in
matters related to Fiqh
✓ Due to the misunderstandings, she fought against Hazrat Ali in the battle of camel, she was
defeated and returned to Madina respectfully
✓ She was exceptionally good in Tafseer and Arabic language
✓ In Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal collection of hadith, he devoted one section to Musnad of Aisha,
After the waiting period (iddat) Prophet married her to give her support and respect ✓ She
alongside Hazrat Aisha is also known for her knowledge. She narrated 60 traditions ✓
Hafsa spent her time in prayers and fasting.
✓ After the martyrdom of Hazrat Umar she became the custodian of the original copy of the
Quran, i.e Mashaf al Hafsa
✓ During Hazrat Uthman’s caliphate when copies of the Quran had to be made in the dialect of
Quraish, she sent the original copy to Hazrat Zaid immediately
✓ She passed away in 45 A.H, at the age of 63 and is laid to rest in Jannat ul Baqi ✓ Her
brother Abdullah Bin Umar distributed all her property and wealth among the poor and needy
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✓ She was an early convert to Islam. She was first married to Zaid bin Harith, freed slave and
adopted son of the Prophet. Although she and her brother were not in favor of the match but
they agreed on the wishes of the Prophet. the marriage did not prove successful and hence
Zaid divorced her.
✓ After this, the Prophet married her as Allah commanded him to make it clear that marriage to
the wives of adopted sons is allowed in Islam unlike the Arabs who did not agree to this
custom, the Quran says, “Then when Zaid had divorced her, We gave her to you in
marriage in order that in future there may be no difficulty to the believers in the
matters of marriage with the wives of the adopted sons when the adopted sons have
dissolved the marriage”
✓ The Prophet had a valima reception at his this wedding.
✓ Zainab used to boost before other wives of the Prophet that their marriage was contracted by
their families but her marriage was contracted in heaven
✓ Once she cooked a dish which had a very strong smell, the Prophet like it. The other wives
found fault with its smell out of jealousy and the Prophet swore that he will not taste it again.
Just then, a revelation came forbidding him not to give up something which Allah has made
lawful to him to please his wives.
✓ Zainab was a very generous lady. She was the only wife of the Prophet who refused help
from quarter after the demise of Prophet. She used to do needle work to meet her expenses ✓
She was the first wife of Prophet who died after him, he said, “The longest handed of my
wife shall be the first to join me in Paradise” By long hand he meant the most generous. ✓
She passed away in 20 A.H, she is laid to rest in Jant ul Baqi
✓ Scribes were the people who were instructed by Muhammad (SAW) to write down the verses
revealed on him
✓ Zaid bin Thabit said “ whenever the Prophet dictated me the verses, I wrote them and
recited them before him and he made corrections if any”
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✓ The Quran was written in thin tablets of stone wood, branches of palm leaves, bones of
camel goats and pieces of leather
✓ However the placement of the verse in which chapter was always arranged by the Prophet ✓
So in this way the present order of the Quran is according to the Prophet’s instructions under
the divine guidance.
✓ Jibril used to recite the Quran with the Prophet once a year, but he recited it twice with him
the year the Prophet died.
✓ At the time of the Prophet’s demise, the Holy Quran was memorized by many companions,
though it was present in written form, yet there was no compiled book form.
my shoulders that would’ve been easy than to compile the Holy Book” ✓ He employed valid
and powerful techniques to ensure the originality of the Quran ✓ He made sure no verse was
accepted until two witnesses testified that those verses were written in the presence of Prophet
Muhammad (SAW). Furthermore, he confirmed it with the Huffaz of that time
✓ Hazrat Zaid traced out and collected chapters of the Quran from all people who had
possessed it
✓ However Hazrat Zaid wasn’t satisfied entirely on finding a written piece of the Quran. He
verified (double check) it with the people who had heard it from the Prophet ✓ In this way
Quran was compiled and was called Mashaf (Holy Book) ✓ The copy made was with the first
caliph HazratAbubakr, after his death it was transferred to Hazrat Umar. After his death it was
transferred to his daughter Hazrat Hafsa , hence it came to be known as Mashaf al Hafsa
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During Hazrat Uthman’s caliphate:
✓ During the caliphate of Hazrat Uthman, Islam expanded in the Arabian Peninsula ✓ The
companions recited the Quran in seven different dialects which was later taught to the newly
converts
✓ However due to difference in accents, differences arose in the newly converts in the
recitation of the Quran
✓ They considered their accents to be correct which led to disputes among the different groups
of people
✓ Anas bin malik reported that Huzaifa bin Yaman asked the caliph to take action against it
lest something should happen to the Quran what happened with the previous revealed books.
He said “O chief of all believers. Save this nation before they differ about the book just
like the Christians and Jews did before”
✓ Hazrat Uthman appointed Zaid Bin Thabit to a number of copies from the copy in the
custody of Hazrat Hafsa (Mashaf al Hafsa) in the local language of Quraish. Uthman said to
Hafsa, “send us the original Quran so that we may make perfect copies and return the
original book to you”
✓ Hence, Zaid bin Thabit was able to make several copies; one copy was sent to every Muslim
province namely Kufa, Syria Basra etc. Other unauthentic copies of the Quran were ordered
to be burnt
✓ Due to these immeasurable services in the preservation of Quran, Hazrat Uthman is known as
Jami ul Quran.
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