Four Rightly Guided

Caliphs
HAZRAT UMAR FAROOQ (RA)
Wars with Persia
Battle of Namarraq (October, 634 AD):

• Because the Muslims had captured Hira under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, the infuriated Persian
Emperor sent a large force under a famous general.
• The two armies met 10 miles from Hira.
• Persians were defeated and put to flight.
Battle of Jar/Battle of the Bridge
(October, 634 AD):
• Alarmed by the Muslim victory, the Persian Emperor dispatched a large army, commanded by Bahman.
• The Muslim army was led by Hazrat Abu Ubaydah.
• Before this mighty force, the Arabs fell back and re-crossed the Euphrates.
• The Persian commander challenged Hazrat Abu Ubaydah to cross the river again or allow him to come
to the Arab side.
• Acting rashly and against his advisors’ warnings, Hazrat Abu Ubaydah ordered the Muslim army to build
a bridge of boats and cross the river.
• Once on the opposite side, the Muslims found themselves in an alarming situation. They were hemmed
in between the Persian war-elephants in their front and the swift river Euphrates on their backs.
• The Arabs and their animals had never seen elephants before and were terrified by these fierce and
gigantic beasts. These elephants routed the Muslim cavalry.
• Hazrat Abu Ubaida ordered the cavalry to dismount and fight on foot.
• Although the Muslims fought bravely and brought down many elephants, they were trampled in
large numbers under the beasts’ feet.
• Hazrat Abu Ubaida himself was martyred by one of the elephants. His brother succeeded him,
but one by one, the Muslim commanders were martyred.
• A Muslim had cut the boat-bridge so that the Muslim army would not lose heart and retreat
easily.
• However, the routed soldiers jumped into the river and many lost their lives.
• The new Muslim commander, Hazrat Musanna, ordered the bridge to be rebuilt. He and a small
detachment held back the Persians while the survivors crossed over to the Arab side.
• Out of the original Muslim force of 9,000 men, approximately:
I) 3000 survived. II) 2,000 fell fighting. III) 2,000 drowned in the
river.
IV) 2,000 fled to Madina and elsewhere.
Battle of Buwayb (November, 634
AD):
• Acting wisely and calmly after the disastrous Battle of Jasr, Umar rallied his allies to fight
against the Persian Empire.
• When the Persians came to know of this, they sent a large force under the command of
Mehran, an expert in Arabian warfare techniques.
• The Muslim army was commanded by Hazrat Musanna.
• Like the Battle of Jasr, the Persian army camped on the eastern side of the Euphrates.
• This time, however, the Muslims allowed the Persians to cross over to the Arabian side.
• The next day, the two armies engaged in a fierce battle at Buwayb.
• Even though the Persian force was many times larger than the Muslim army, they were put to
rout when Mehran was killed.
• The Muslim force destroyed the bridge over the Euphrates when the Persians tried to fall back.
Persians were killed in large numbers and their army was almost completely destroyed.
Hazrat Umar resolves to conquer
Iraq:
• Hazrat Umar realized that if Hira was to be held by the Muslims, Madain, the Persian capital of
the Iraqi province, must be captured.
• Hazrat Umar called for Holy War on Persia and wrote letters to his allies and rallied them under
his banner.
• Finally, an army of 20,000 men was mustered and was placed under Hazrat Saad bin Abi
Waqqas.
Battle of Qadisiya:
branch of the Euphrates).
• From here, Hazrat Saad sent an envoy to the court of Yazdgard, the Persian Emperor, with the message
of Islam.
• The Persian Emperor insulted the envoy and turned him out of his court.
• To teach the Muslims a lesson, he dispatched a large army of 120,000 men, including 300 war-
elephants. This army was commanded by Rustum.
• The Muslim army now numbered 30,000, including 1400 of Muhammad (PBUH)’s Companions and 99
veterans of Badr. The soldiers had also brought their families along, as they intended to settle on the
conquered land.
• Rustum encamped with his army on the opposite bank of the river. He intended to tire out the Muslims
or make them short of supplies before attacking.
• Arab raiding parties, which attacked the fertile Persian fields, forced the Emperor to order Rustum to
commence fighting.
• Rustum and his army crossed the river in the secrecy of the night by building a dam to check the flow of
the water.
• The battle that ensued was very fierce and lasted for 3 days and 4 nights.
• Hazrat Saad directed his forces from his sick bed.
• Eventually, the Persians lost and were killed in large numbers.
• Rustum was killed as he tried to flee the battlefield.
• Losses:
I) Muslims --- 8500 men. II) Persians --- 30,000 to 40,000 men.
• Booty:
I) 6,000 pieces to every soldier.
II) 70,000 pieces from the jewels stripped from the body of Rustum.
III) 100,000 pieces from the Persian banner made from panther’s skin.

• Consequences:
I) Put an end to the military might of the Persian Empire.
II) Arab tribes no longer hesitated to fight against Persia and the enemies of Islam. III) Way to Madain opened.
Siege and capture of Madain:
• After resting his troops , Hazrat Saad marched on Madain with the intention of capturing it.
• The army defending the city fell back before the Muslim assault, fled into the city and closed
the gates.
• The Muslims captured the city after a siege and a brave assault by the troops.
• Booty: I) Vessels and statues of gold and silver. II) Stores of precious stones. III) Luxurious
wardrobes. IV) Thousands of prisoners of war. V) Each soldier received 12,000 dirhams.
Battle of Jalula:
• The Persian king, fleeing from Madain, took refuge in Hulwan.
• As a result, his remaining army occupied Jalula, a place in the neighborhood of Madain.
• This army made great preparations for battle; the entire town was converted into a fortress
and a deep ditch was dug around the town.
• Hazrat Saad, with Hazrat Umar’s permission, sent a strong army to Jalula under the command
of Qaka.
• The siege of Jalula stretched over 7 months.
• Eventually, the Persians decided to counterattack and drive out the Muslims.
• The Muslim commander pulled back his army so that the whole of the Persian army could
come into the field.
• Fierce fighting ensued.
• Eventually, a fierce storm started blowing into the Persians’ faces and they fell back and were
killed in large numbers.
• The residents of Jalula surrendered on the usual terms of Jizya.
Battle of Nahawand:
• After the Battle of Jalula, Hazrat Umar stopped further conquest and sought to consolidate
Muslim rule in the lands already occupied.
• Towards this end, a peace treaty was signed with the Persians.
• However, the Persians soon broke the treaty and marched with 60,000 men against the 30,000
Muslims.
• The two armies fought at Nahawand for 2 days. On the 3rd day, the Persians took refuge in
their forts.
• By a clever strategy, the enemy was coaxed out of hiding and hand-to-hand fighting took place.
• The Persian might was shattered forever and their emperor fled to Isfahan.
• This battle was a decisive one for the whole world, as it signaled the end of Persian power and
the rise of Muslims.
Wars with the Byzantine Empire
• The Eastern Roman Empire consisting of Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt was called the Byzantine
Empire.
• Although relations between the two parties had been cordial when Muhammad (PBUH) sent his
envoy to Heraclius, things had begun to cool down.
• The Christian prince of Syria had murdered Muhammad (PBUH)’s envoy at Mu’tah. This led to an
increase in the hostility.

Causes:

• Rebellion of the Bedouin tribes on the Syrian border against Muslim rule on instigation of the
Byzantine Empire.
• Bedouin tribes in the Byzantine Empire on the Syrian border rendered help to their kinsmen in
Arabia to raid Muslim territory.
• Natural expansive need of Arabia as it was not very rich in resources as compared to its
neighbours.
Conquest Of Syria
Battle of Yarmouk:

• During the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Muslims had defeated the Romans on the Syrian front.
• During the reign of Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Khalid bin Walid had now added Damascus, Jordan and Emmessa
to the Muslim State.
• In retaliation, the Byzantine Emperor sent 260,000 men, who camped in the valley of Yarmouk.
• Hazrat Abu Ubaydah rallied 40,000 men under the banner of Islam.
• The Byzantines offered to pay the Muslims a large sum of money if they left Syria.
• Hazrat Abu Ubaydah offered them the usual: I) Accept Islam. II) Pay Jizya. III) Prepare for battle.
• The battle lasted for 6 days.
• By the afternoon of the 6th day, only 1/3 of the Byzantine army remained.

• Meanwhile, a storm broke out and the fleeing Byzantines were cut down in large numbers.
• With this battle, the Byzantines lost Syria and Muslim rule was ushered in.
 Fall of Jerusalem:
• After the Battle of Yarmouk, Muslim forces spread out in all directions in Jordan and captured key areas to pave the
way to Jerusalem.
• The city of Jerusalem, held sacred by Jews and Christians, was strongly fortified and was protected on all sides by
deep valleys.
• Muslims laid siege to Jerusalem in the severe winter.
• Hazrat Amr bin Aas, the Muslim commander, wrote to Hazrat Abu Ubaidah for reinforcements.
• When the reinforcements arrived, the citizens of the city lost heart and offered surrender if the Caliph himself
would come and receive the keys of the city.
• Leaving Hazrat Ali as his deputy, Hazrat Umar left for Jerusalem with a slave, taking turns to ride the camel.
• When he arrived, a treaty with the citizens was drawn up, guaranteeing security of life, safety of churches and
other religious buildings etc. The citizens were required to pay Jizya. Those who wouldn’t do so were asked to leave
the city.
• When Hazrat Umar asked the Patriarch of the city where he could offer the prayer of thanksgiving, he was led to a
church.
• Hazrat Umar declined to pray in the church because he feared that he would set an example for Muslims to
convert churches to mosques.
• He was then led to a place where Prophet David used to pray.
• Staying in Jerusalem for a few days, he reorganized the administration and built the Mosque of Hazrat Umar.
Conquest of Egypt:
• Causes/Reasons:
I) The Muslim navy was extremely weak and Alexandria was a strong naval base of the Byzantines.
From there, they could launch a devastating attack.
II) Egypt was the ‘granary of the Empire’, and its capture would debilitate the food system of the
Byzantine Empire.
III) The conquest of Egypt would open the way to large parts of Africa.
IV) The Copts of Egypt lived in miserable conditions under their Byzantine masters; Hazrat Amr knew
that these people would welcome and support the Muslims.
• With the permission of the Caliph, Hazrat Amr bin Aas set out for Egypt with 4,000 men, in 639
AD.
• After attacking small towns, he laid siege to the fort of Fustat, which lasted for 7 months. This fort was
captured.
• Alarmed by the Muslim advance, the Egyptian king sent a large army to hold Alexandria.
• When the Muslims reached Alexandria, they found it heavily fortified and manned by 50,000 soldiers.
• At this time, the Muslims strength was only 12,000.
• Whenever the Muslims tried to get close to the city, the enemy rained boulders on them.
• Also, Alexandria was a major port and help could come from sea any time.
• When the Byzantines tried to fight the Muslims in the open, they were beaten back.
• When Emperor Heraclius died, a wave of disappointment went over the besieged city as they
knew that no one would now come to their help anymore.
• Finally, the city capitulated and Muslims became the masters of Egypt.