When the Commander of the Faithful
"Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab sent him to
Basra to become its commander and
governor, he gathered its inhabitants
and spoke to them saying, "Indeed
the Commander of the Faithful 'Umar sent
me to you to instruct you in the Book of
your Lord and the traditions of your
Prophet and to purify your ways for
you."
The
people were overcome with astonishment
and surprise at what he said when they
came to understand that one of the
incumbent duties of the commander and
governor was to show them how to become
people of culture and education and to
give them understanding of their
religion. Also among his obligations was
the purifying of their ways, and that
was something new for them — one could
even say exciting and remarkable.
So,
who was this ruler about whom such good
is said; "No horseman ever came to
Basra who was better for its people than
him"? Indeed, he was 'Abd Allah Ibn
Qais, nicknamed Abu Muusaa Al-Ashariy.
He
departed his country and homeland of
Yemen for Makkah immediately upon
hearing of the appearance of a Messenger
there who was calling to monotheism and
inviting to Allah with clear vision and
ordering noble morals. In Makkah, he sat
in the presence of the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) and received from him
guidance and certainty. He then returned
to his country carrying the word of
Allah. Afterwards, he returned to the
Messenger (PBUH) immediately after the
victory over Khaibar. His arrival
coincided with the arrival of Ja'far Ibn
Abi Taalib, returning with his
companions from Abyssinia, so the
Messenger gave all of them a share of
the booty.
On
this occasion, Abu Muusaa did not come
alone, but with approximately 50 men
from the people of Yemen, including his
two brothers Abu Ruhm and Abu Burdah, to
whom the Messenger (PBUH) taught Islam.
The
Messenger (PBUH) named this delegation
and its people the Ash'ariyiin. The
Messenger (PBUH) described them as the
people with the most delicate feelings
and kind, gentle hearts. That which is
most often mentioned about them as the
highest example of his Companions is as
follows: "If they exhausted their
food in a military campaign or their
food became diminished, they would
gather what they possessed in one
garment and divide it among themselves
equally. So they are from me and I from
them."
From
that day, Abu Muusaa took his permanent
and high place among the Muslims and
believers who were destined to be the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah and
his pupils, and to become the carriers
of Islam to the world in every age and
time.
Abu
Muusaa was a wonderful combination of
extraordinary attributes. He was a bold
and daring fighter, a firm combatant
when he was forced to fight, while at
the same time he was peaceful, good, and
gentle to the most extreme degree of
goodness and kindness. He was a scholar
who possessed comprehension, sound
judgment, and judicious discrimination.
He was intelligent, and his
understanding excelled in the most
complicated, abstruse and obscure issues
which radiated in legal decisions and
judgments, until it was said of him,
"The judges of this nation are
four: ‘Umar, ‘Ally, Abu Muusaa and
Zaid Ibn Thaabit."
In
addition to that, he possessed an
innocent nature. Whoever attempted to
deceive him in matters of Allah was
himself deceived. He possessed great
loyalty and responsibility and great
trust of the people. If we wanted to
choose a fact of his life as a slogan,
it would be this expression:
"Sincerity, and let be what will
be."
In the
sphere of jihaad, Al-Ash'ariy carried
his responsibility in such a glorious
and heroic manner that it made the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) call him,
" Master of horsemen, Abu Muusaa."
He shows us a picture of his life as a
fighter when he says, "We went out
with the Messenger of Allah on a
military campaign and our feet were full
of holes and my feet were also full of
holes until I lost my toe nails and we
wrapped our feet with rags."
His
goodness and the peace of his real
conviction and innermost thoughts were
not provoked by an enemy in battle. He
was in such a posture that he saw
matters in complete clarity and he
decided them with decisive willpower and
determination. It happened that while
the Muslims were conquering the kingdom
of Persia, Al-As]'Tariy came down with
his army upon the people of Isfahan, who
agreed to pay him the jizyah so he made
a peace settlement with them.
However,
it seems that they were not truthful in
their agreement. They only wanted to
make themselves ready for the
opportunity to prepare a treacherous
attack. Nevertheless, in the time of
need the cleverness of Abu Muusaa was
not oblivious to their secret plan. He
perceived and saw through their scheme
and the evil plans they were contriving,
so when they began their attack the
leader was not taken by surprise.
Therefore, the war overwhelmed them, and
the first half of the day was not over
before he gained a decisive victory.
In the
battles in which the Muslims engaged
against Imperial Persia, the performance
of Abu Muusaa (May Allah be pleased with
him) was outstanding, and his fighting
for the cause of Allah was noble.
In the
Battle of Tustar particularly, in which
Hurmuzan withdrew with his army to
fortify his position and gathered
massive armies, Abu Muusaa was the hero.
On that day, the Commander of the
Faithful ^Umar supplied him with a
massive number of Muslims, at the head
of which were "Ammaar Ibn Yaasir,
Al-Baraa" Ibn Maalik and Anas Ibn
Maalik and Maja'ah Al-Bakriy and Salamah
Ibn Rajaa'. The two armies — the
Muslims under the command of Abu Muusaa
and the Persians under the command of
Hurmuzan — met in the battle which was
one of the fiercest in ruthlessness and
violence. The Persians withdrew inside
the fortified city of Tustar and the
Muslims besieged it for many days until
Abu Muusaa employed his skill and
intelligence and sent 200 cavalry men
with a Persian agent. Abu Muusaa
instructed him to enter the fort in
order to open the gate of the city in
front of the advanced guard which he
chose for the mission. The gates had
hardly opened when the soldiers of the
advanced guard charged on the fortified
citadel until Abu Muusaa swooped down
with his army in a massive attack.
He
captured this important fortified
position in only hours, and the Persian
leader surrendered, after which Abu
Muusaa sent them to Al-Madiinah to leam
the Commander of the Faithful's
judgment.
However,
this fighter of great prowess did not
leave the field of battle until he
changed to a persistent worshiper with
much weeping, and was mild-tempered,
peaceable, and gentle-hearted as a
sparrow.
He
recited the Qur'aan with such a voice
that made the inner heart of the one who
listened to it tremble that the
Messenger (PBUH) said about him,
"Abu Muusaa was given a musical
voice like the musical instruments of
the people of Dawuud." Every time 'Umar
saw him he called him to recite to him
from the Book of Allah saying to him,
"Make us aspire to our Lord, O Abu
Muusaa."
Also,
Abu Muusaa did not participate in
fighting except against the army of the
polytheists or armies fighting against
the religion, wanting to extinguish the
light of Allah.
Whenever
there was a fight between Muslims, he
indeed ran away from it and never had
any role in it. This position of his was
clear in the dispute between "Ally
and Mu'aawiyah and in the war which
ignited between the Muslims, as we shall
see.
Perhaps
this point, from the account which
follows, will bring us to an
understanding of the most famous
position of his life, and that is his
position in the arbitration between Imam
^Aliy and Mu'aawiyah. This position is
often taken as evidence of the
immoderation in Abu Muusaa's good nature
or his extraordinary naivete, which made
tricking him quite easy. However, the
situation, as we shall see, in spite of
what hastiness or error there might have
been, reveals the greatness of his soul,
the greatness of his faith in the truth
and in people.
Indeed,
the view of Abu Muusaa in the case of
arbitration can be summarized by the
fact that he saw the Muslims killing one
another and each party fanatically
clinging to its Imam (ruler). As he saw
it, the situation between the combatants
had reached a critical state that was
impossible of resolve and placed the
destiny of the Muslim nation on the edge
of an abyss. In his opinion, the
situation had reached a stage of
deterioration. It was exemplified in the
change of the whole situation, which
thus required starting over again.
The
civil war, at that point, revolved
around two parties of the Muslims
disputing over the person of the ruler.
Some desired Imam ‘Aliy to relinquish
the caliphate temporarily and
Mu'aawiyah to renounce it, so that the
entire matter could be referred again to
the Muslims. Then, they could choose, by
way of consultation, the caliph they
wanted. This was how Abu Muusaa argued
the case and this was the way he saw its
resolution.
It is
correct that Imam 'Aliy was soundly
sworn in as caliph and correct that
every illegal rebellion should not be
allowed to achieve its aim of
overturning the legal right. However,
the issues in the dispute between the
Imam and Mu'aawiyah and between the
peoples of Iraq and Syria had, in the
view of Abu Muusaa, reached a state
which imposed a new kind of thinking and
resolution. For the insurgency of
Mu'aawiyah was not considered just a
revolt alone, and the rebellion of the
people of Syria was not considered just
an insurrection alone, and the entire
difference was not considered just a
difference in opinion nor a matter of
choice. All these things developed into
a harmful civil war in which thousands
were killed on both sides and continued
to threaten Islam and Muslims with the
worst ramifications and consequences. So
removal of the causes of the dispute and
war and stepping aside of both parties
was in the thinking of Abu Muusaa, the
starting point on the road to salvation.
The
view of Imam ‘Aliy, when he accepted
the principle of arbitration, was that 'Abd
Allah Ibn Abbaas or someone from among
his companions would represent his front
in arbitration,but a large party of
those with power in his group and army
imposed on him Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy.
The reason for their choice of Abu
Muusaa was that he had never
participated in the dispute between
'Ally and Mu'aawiyah since the dispute
began, but had separated himself from
both parties after giving up all hope of
encouraging the two of them to a common
understanding and peace. So he withdrew
from the fight between them. He had,
from this respect, the most right of all
the people to arbitrate.
There
was nothing in the religion of Abu
Muusaa nor in his sincerity and
truthfulness that made the Imam
suspicious. Nevertheless, he did realize
the intentions of the other side and the
degree of their dependency on maneuvers,
deception, and trickery, and that Abu
Muusaa, inspite of his understanding and
knowledge, hated deception and maneuvers
and loved to deal with people on the
basis of truth and not his wits.
Therefore, Imam "Ally was afraid
Abu Muusaa would be deceived by the
others and that the arbitration would be
turned into maneuvers by one side, which
would make matters worst.
The
arbitration between the two parties
began, with Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy
representing the party of Imam ‘Ally
and 'Amr Ibn Al-Aas, representing the
party of Mi'aawiyah. It is true that
Ibn Al-'Aas depended on his sharp wits
and his broad cunning , in carrying the
banner for Mu'aawiyah.
The
meeting between the two men, AI-Ashariy
and 'Amr, began with a proposal
presented by Abu Muusaa. It was for the
two arbitrators to agree on the
nomination of ‘Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar,
declaring him the Caliph of the Muslims
because he enjoyed a broad concensus in
respect to his love, admiration, and
distinction. "Amr Ibn Al-'Aas, saw
in this orientation and direction of Abu
Muusaa a great opportunity, so he took
advantage of it.
The
content of the proposal by Abu Muusaa
did not consider a conditional link with
the party which he represented, which
was the party of Imam 'Aliy. That meant,
also, that Abu Muusaa was ready to give
support and backing for caliph to others
from among the Prophet's Companions, the
proof for that point being his
suggestion of 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar.
Thus,
"Amr found,by his shrewdness and
wits, a wide entrance for the
achievement of his goal. So he therefore
suggested Mu'aawiyah. Then he suggested
his own son 'Abd Allah, who possessed a
great position among the Messenger's
Companions. The intelligence of Abu
Muusaa was not less than the wits of 'Amr.
When he saw 'Amr adopting the principle
of nomination as a rule for the
discussion of arbitration, he boldly
confronted 'Amr, saying that the choice
of caliph was the right of all Muslims
and that Allah had made their affair one
of consultation between themselves, so
it was incumbent to leave them alone
entirely to the right of choice.
We
shall now see how "Amr exploited
this lofty principle for the interest of
Mu'aawiyah. However, before that, let us
listen to the historical dialogue which
took place between Abu Muusaa and ‘Amr
Ibn Al-'Aa& at the beginning of
their meeting. We transmit it on the
authority of the book Al-Akhbaar Al-Tawaal
by Abu Hunaifah Ad-Daiyanuuriy; Abu
Muusaa: O "Amr, do you desire in
this matter the good of the nation and
the pleasure of Allah?
'Amr:
And what is it?
Abu
Muusaa: That we appoint "Abd Allah
Ibn "Umar, for indeed he never
involved himself in the war.
‘Amr:
And where are you with respect to
Mu'aawiyah?
Abu
Muusaa: Mu'aawiyah does not deserve it
nor is he worthy of it.
Amr:
Do you not know that ‘Uthmaan was
unjustly killed?
Abu
Muusaa: Yes.
‘Amr:
So indeed Mu'aawiyah is guardian (walii)
of the blood of ‘Uthmaan and his house
is in the Quraish, as you know. So the
people said. Why not assume
responsibility for the matter since it
has no precedents. In that you have no
excuse. You say, I indeed found him the
guardian of 'Uthmaan's blood and Allah
Most High says, <And whoever is
killed (intentionally with hostility and
oppression and not by mistake). We have
given his heir AvaliiJ the authority
> (17: 33).
The
brother of Umm Habiibah, the wife of the
Prophet (PBUH) has this and he is one of
his Companions.
Abu
Muusaa: Fear Allah, O ‘Amr! As for
what you mentioned concerning the
nobility of Mu'aawiyah, if worthiness
for the caliphite were based on
nobility, the one with the most right to
it among the people would be Abrahah Ibn
As-Sabbaah, for indeed he is one of the
sons in the line of the kings of Yemen,
who ruled the east of the earth and its
west. Furthermore, how does the nobility
of Mu'aawiyah compare with that of 'Aliy
Ibn Abi Taalib? As for your talk that
Mu'aawiyah was the guardian of
‘Uthmaan's blood, his son ‘Amr Ibn
"Uthmaan is more ‘Uthmaan's
guardian than he. But if you acceded to
me, we would revive the practice of
‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab and his son 'Abd
Allah.
‘Amr:
What prevents you from my son ‘Abd
Allah, with his merit and goodness and
his previous Hijrah and his
companionship?
Abu
Muusaa: Indeed your son is a truthful
man, but you have completely immersed
him into these wars. We have made it
(i.e. the caliphate) for a good man and
the son of a good man. 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar.
‘Amr:
O Abu Muusaa, no man is suitable for
this affair unless he has two molars. He
eats with one and he feeds (others) with
the other.
Abu
Muusaa: Woe to you, O ‘Amr! Indeed,
the Muslims have entrusted the matter to
us, after they have fought with one
another by force of arms and swords. Do
not hurt them with spears! Do not turn
them back to civil war and discord.
‘Amr:
So what do you see?
Abu
Muusaa: I see that we should depose the
two men, 'Aliy and Mu'aawiyah. Then make
consultation between the Muslims. They
will choose for themselves who they
want.
‘Amr:
I am pleased with this view. So indeed
the goodness of the heart is in it. This
argument completely changes the form
which we are accustomed to see.
This
argument completely changes the form
which we are accustomed to see every
time we mention the incident of
arbitration. Indeed, in these arguments
Abu Muusaa was not of a neglectful mind,
but very active. On the contrary, in
this dialogue, his intelligence was more
active than the intellect of ‘Amr Ibn
Al-'Aag, who was famous for his wit and
shrewdness. So when 'Amr wanted to
propose the caliphate of Mu'aawiyah
based on genealogy in the Quraish and
guardianship of the blood of ‘Uthmaan,
the refutation of Abu Muusaa came
sharply and brilliantly as the edge of a
sword.
"If
the caliphate were based on nobility,
thenAbrahah Ibn As-Sabbaah, who is from
a line of kings, is more worthy of
guardianship than Mu'aawiyah. And if the
caliphate were based on guardianship of
the blood of "Uthmaan and defense
of his right, then Ibn ‘Uthmaan is
more worthy of this guardianship than
Mu'aawiyah."
After
this dialogue, the responsibility for
what followed was assumed by ‘Amr Ibn
Al-Aas alone.
So,
Abu Muusaa was exonerated from guilt by
referring the matter back to the nation
to give their word and choose their
caliph. "Amr agreed and adhered to
this view. It did not come to hia mind
that Amr was going to threaten Islam and
the Muslims with an evil disaster, and
that he would resort to maneuvers
whatever may be his conviction about
Mu'aawiyah. Ibn Abbaas warned him when
he returned to them and informed them
about the maneuvers of 'Amr and said to
him, "By Allah I fear that ‘Amr
will trick you, so if the two of you
agree on something, let him come forward
before you to speak. Then you speak
after him."
However,
Abu Muusaa saw the situation on a more
lofty and sublime level than the
maneuvers of ‘Amr. From then on, he
had no doubt or suspicion of the
commitment of ‘Amr with regards to
what they had agreed on. They gathered
the following day, Abu Muusaa
representing the side of Imam Aliy and
Amr Ibn Al-Aas representing the side of
Mu''aawiyah. Abu Muusaa invited "Amr
to speak first, but "Amr refused
and said to him, "I am not going to
precede you when you are more virtuous
than I, and emigrated before me,and are
older than me."
Abu
Muusaa advanced first and greeted the
waiting crowd from both parties and
said, "O people, indeed, in this
matter concerning which Allah has
gathered together this nation and to put
its affair in proper order, we do not
see anything better than the deposition
of the two men, 'Aly and Mi'aawiyah
and to call for consultation among the
people to choose for themselves whom
they like. Therefore, I depose 'Aloy and
Mu'aawiyah. So take upon yourselves as
guardians whom you love."
Now,
the turn of 'Amr Ibn Al-'Aas. came to
announce the deposition of Mu'aawiyah,
just as Abu Muusaa had deposed ‘Aliy,
in fulfillment of the confirmed,
established agreement of the previous
day.
‘Amr
ascended the pulpit and said, "O
people, indeed, Abu Muusaa has said what
you heard and deposed his companion.
Indeed, I depose his companion just as
he deposed him and confirm my companion
Mu'aawiyah. He is indeed, the guardian
of the Commander of the Faithful 'Uthmaan
and the guardian of his blood and the
one having the most right to his
dignified position."
Abu
Muusaa did not conceive as possible this
sudden happening, and he reprimanded
‘Amr severely with angry and furious
words.
He
returned again to his seclusion and made
his way swiftly to Makkah, in the
vicinity of the House of Allah and spent
there the remainder of his days.
Abu
Muusaa (May Allah be pleased with him)
had a position of trust and love with
the Messenger and a position of trust
with his Companions and successors. In
his life the Prophet gave him, along
with Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal, the governorship
over Yemen. After the death of the
Messenger, he returned to Al-Madiinah to
carry his responsibility in the great
holy war which the Muslim armies engaged
in against Persia and Rome.
In the
period of 'Umar the Commander of the
Faithful, Abu Muusaa was governor of
Basra, and Caliph 'Uthmaan put him in
charge of Kufa. He was one of the people
of the Qur'aan, those who memorized it,
understood it, and acted on it. Some of
his radiant words about the Qur'aan were
" Follow the Qur'aan and do not
desire that the Qur'aan should follow
you."
He was
of the people of persistent worship and
on the very days which almost caused the
breath of people to pass away, he would
yearn to fast and say, "Perhaps the
thirst of the midday heat will be
intercession for us on the Day of
Judgment."
On
that humid day, his appointed time of
death came to him and covered his
countenance with a radiance which is for
those who hope for the mercy of Allah
and a good reward. And the words which
he was always repeating during his
faithful life, his tongue went on
repeating while he was in the departing
moments of death:
"O Allah, You are peace and from
You is peace."
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an ‘Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable…