A letter to al-Najashy
Amru bin Umayyah al-Dhimry our Master Muhammad's
delegate, arrived in Habasha carrying the letter of the Prophet of
Islam.
The letter read:
From Muhammad, Allah's Apostle
To al-Najashy the King of Habasha
You are safe.
I thank Allah. There is no god but Him, the King, the Holy, the Peace, the
Believer; the Almighty.
I bear witness that 'Isa is Allah's Spirit, and His word He has given to
Maryam, the Virgin, the good, and the chaste. Allah created him with His
power as He created Adam before.
I am inviting you to worship Allah only, to obey Him, to follow me, and to
believe in what has come to me. I am Allah's Apostle. I am inviting you and
your soldiers to worship Allah, the Almighty. I have told and advised you.
So, accept my advice.
And peace upon him who follows guidance.
Ja'far accompanied our Master Muhammad's delegate on his going to al-Najashy's
palace. First they greeted the King of Habasha. Then he received the Prophet's
letter respectfully.
Al-Najashy read the letter. He came down the throne and sat on the ground
to show his humbleness and respect for Allah's Apostle, our Master Muhammad
[s].
Al-Najashy put the letter on his eye to show his great respect. Then he ordered
his guards to get him an ivory box to put the letter in. He said:
Habasha will be prosperous as long as its people keeps this letter.
The Prophet's delegate gave the King another letter. The letter asked the
King to allow the immigrants headed by Ja'far bin Abu Talib to come back
to their country.
The Muslims were very happy to hear about their repatriation to
their homeland. In the meantime, they thanked al-Najashy for his good hospitality.
Al-Najashy ordered his guards to prepare some ships to bring back
the immigrants to the land of al-Hejaz. He sent his representative with them.
The representative was carrying gifts and a letter of greetings to our Master
Muhammad [s].
The sails of the ships were raised to start journey, the Muslims set off.
They rejoiced at Allah's victory.
The Conquest of Khaibar
In al-Madina al-Munawwara, the army of Islam was getting ready to advance
towards the strongholds of the Jewish Khaibar.
The Jews of Khaibar were always plotting to put out the light of Islam.
They were always encouraging the Arab tribes to invade Madina to destroy the new Muslim State.
So, our Master Muhammad [s] decided to uproot the danger of the Jews so that
people would live in peace.
The Muslim forces reached the road that joined the tribes of Ghatfan and the
strongholds of Khaibar to surprise the enemy there.
The number of the Muslim Army amounted to one thousand and four-hundred
fighters. Two hundred horse riders were with them. The Muslim women took part in the battle,
too.
The Muslims advanced towards the strongholds. At dawn, they surprised the
Jews and besieged them completely.
Some Companions launched strong attacks against the Jews. But they were in
vain because the Jews faced them with a lot of arrows. The Jews were sneering at our
Master Muhammad [s] and his soldiers.
So, the Prophet [s] said:
Tomorrow; I'll give the banner to a man. The man
loves Allah and his Apostle; Allah and His Apostle love him.
In the morning, some companions wished that the banner would be for them.
But our Master Muhammad [s] asked Ali, Ja'far's brother.
Ali shook the banner strongly and advanced towards the strongholds of the Jews.
When Ali killed Marhab, the hero of the Jews, they felt fear. Quickly, the Muslims occupied
the strongholds of Khaibar, one by one.
Our Master Muhammad [s] and the Muslims were filled with happiness.
So, they thanked Allah for the victory over their enemies.
In the meantime, the immigrants of Habasha headed by Ja'far bin Abu Talib
arrived. Our Master Muhammad's happiness doubled. So, he said with a bright smile on his face:
I don't know which event is more cheerful - Ja'far's coming or the
Conquest of Khaibar!
Our Master Muhammad [s] embraced his cousin Ja'far and kissed his forehead
and said:
Certainly Ja'far and his friends have two immigrations - an immigration
to Habasha and an immigration to al-Madina al-Munawwara.
The Battle of Mautah
Our Master Muhammad [s] had sent a messenger to the ruler of Busra, a town in
Sham. But the messenger was captured and executed in the land of Mautah. This action was
against the humanitarian morals.
The Prophet [s] felt sadness. So, he ordered the Muslims to get ready to
make an attack to punish the killers.
In the month of Jamadil-Ula, the second year after the blessed immigration,
three thousand fighters went to take part in the battle. The Prophet's advice was
lightening their way:
I advise you to fear Allah. Invade in the Name of Allah. So, fight Allah's
enemy and your enemy. You'll find lonely men in the cells. So, don't fight them.
Don't kill a woman or a child. Don't cut down a tree. Don't demolish a building.
Our Master Muhammad [s] appointed Zaid bin Haritha leader to the Muslim Army.
The Prophet said:
If Zaid was martyred, the leader would be Ja'far bin Abu Talib.
If Ja'far was martyred, the leader would be Abdulah bin Rawaha.
The news of the Muslims' attack reached the Romans. So, they established an
army. The army was composed of the Romans and the allied Arab tribes. The number of their
forces was two hundred thousand soldiers. The armies gathered at the land of al-Balqaa.
The first clash took place between the two armies at the Village of
Masharif near al-Balqaa. The mastery of the Romans appeared in the battle because they
had a big army. Hercules, the Emperor of Rome, gave the general leadership to his
brother Tyodor.
The Muslim Army, though few in number, chose the land of Mautah to be
the theater for the war operations because the elevations of the land were suitable
for the Muslims to protect themselves against the Roman Colossal Army.
Zaid bin Haritha got ready for the start of the battle. He strongly
shook the banner of the Muslim Army and rushed towards the core of the enemy. His rushing
made the Muslim forces start the battle with enthusiasm.
Strong fights took place. Spears tore Zaid's body. So, he fell on to the
ground dyeing it red.
Before the banner dropped from Zaid's hand, Ja'far bin Abu Talib had
rushed and caught it strongly. He began fighting severely. His voice became loud in
the middle of the noise of the fights. He announced the good news about victory or
martyrdom which each believer hoped.
Ja'far bin Abu Talib jumped off his horse to show his insistence on fighting.
He was the first to do that in the history of Islam. He was like the mountain. He was
facing the enemies hits. His firmness astonished them.
So, the enemies intensified their attacks against him. A sword hit his
right hand. So, it flew in the wind.
Ja'far took the banner of Islam with his left hand and began fighting.
Another sword hit his hand and cut it off. Ja'far pressed the banner to his bosom with
his upper arm so that the fight would go on.
During those terrible moments, Ja'far was hit again. He fell over the
ground and became a martyr.
Abdullah bin Rawaha, the third leader, rushed towards the banner to wave
again in the sky of the battle.
The new leader fought bravely to stop the attacks of the Romans who were
moving like waves.
Abdullah fell over the ground and became a martyr. So, Thabit bin al-Arqam
took the banner and asked the Muslims to elect a new leader.
The Muslims elected Khalid bin al-Waleed.
Very quickly, the new leader decided to withdraw his forces. So, he did
some tactic operations to cheat the enemy.
When it got dark, the Muslim Army withdrew with peace and disappeared in
the core of the desert.
In the morning, the Romans were surprised to hear about the Muslims'
withdrawal. They were afraid to go further into the desert.
At the same time, the brave Muslims, though few in number, dismayed them.
So, the Romans preferred coming back to stay.
