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Liberator
of Egypt from Rome !
There were three from the Quraish who
used to trouble the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
with the fierceness of their resistance
to his call and their torture of his
Companions.
The
Messenger called them and pleaded to his
glorious Lord to inflict them with His
punishment, and while he was calling and
inviting, he received the revelation of
these noble verses: < The matter is
not in your hands, whether GOD turns to
them or chastises them, for surely they
are evildoers > (3: 128).
The
Messenger's understanding of the verse
was that he was to stop calling Allah to
punish them and to leave their affair to
Allah alone. Either they would continue
their wrongdoing and His punishment
would be inflicted upon them, or He
would accept their repentance.
They
repented so His mercy reached them.
‘Amr Ibn Al-'Aas, was one of these
three. Allah had chosen for them the
path of repentance and mercy, so He
guided them to Islam. He transformed
‘Amr Ibn Al-'Aas, into a Muslim
fighter and into one of the brave
leaders of Islam.
In spite of some of 'Amr's positions,
his point of view of which we cannot be
convinced, he played a role as a
glorious Companion; he sacrificed and
gave generously; he was a defender and
combatant, and our eyes and our hearts
shall continue to open on his
countenance, especially here in Egypt.
Those who see in Islam a glorious
valuable religion and see in its
Messenger a merciful gift and a blessed
gift. Those who see the truthful
Messenger who called to Allah according
to clear vision and inspired life
abundantly with its sensible conduct,
forthrightness and devout piety. Those
who carry this faith shall continue with
enhanced allegiance to look to the man
whom fate made the cause — for
whatever reason — for the introduction
of Islam to Egypt and the guidance of
Egypt to Islam. So, blessed is the gift
and blessed is the gift giver.
That is he, ‘Amr Ibn Al-Aas, The
historians were accustomed to describing
‘Amr as the conqueror of Egypt.
However, I see in this description an
underestimation and an overestimation.
Perhaps a more truthful description of
‘Amr would be that which we call him,
"Liberator of Egypt". For
Islam did not conquer the country with
the modern understanding of conquering,
but it liberated it from the hegemony of
two imperial powers, two modes of
worship of two countries, and the worst
punishment, the imperial power of Persia
and the imperial power of Rome.
Egypt,
in particular, on the day the advanced
guard of Islam appeared, had been
plundered by the Romans, and its
inhabitants were resisting without
result. When the shouts of believing
armies reverberated over the frontiers
of their country, "Allah Akbaar!
(Allah is the Greatest)" they
hastened all together, in a glorious
crowd, toward the coming dawn and
embraced it, finding in it liberation
from Caesar and from Rome.
So,
‘Amr and his men did not conquer Egypt
but opened the way for Egypt to attach
its destiny to the truth, tie its fate
to justice, and find itself and its
reality in the light of the words of
Allah and the principles of Islam. He
was careful to separate the inhabitants
of Egypt and its Copts away from the
army and keep the fighting restricted
between himself and the Romans who
occupied the land and robbed the wealth
of its people.
On
account of that, we find him talking to
the Christian leaders and their high
priest. He said to them, "Indeed
Allah sent Muhammad with the truth and
ordered him to teach it. The Prophet
carried out his mission, and he died
after leaving us on that path, the clear
straight path. Among the things he
ordered us to do was to be responsible
to the people, so we call you to Islam.
Whoever responds is of us. He has what
we have and he has the same rights and
obligations as we do. And whoever does
not respond to Islam, we enforce on him
the payment ofjizyah and we offer to him
defense and protection. Our Prophet
informed us that Egypt would open for us
and advised us to be good to its people,
saying, 'Egypt will be opened to you
after me, so you are advised to treat
its Copts well, for indeed, they have a
covenant of protection and kinship
relations,' so if you answer to what we
call you to, you will have protection
and security."
No
sooner had ‘Amr finished his words,
than some of the priests and rabbis
shouted, saying, "Indeed the
kinship of which your Prophet advised
you is a remote kinship relationship,
the like of which cannot be reached
except by the prophets." This was a
good start for the hoped-for
understanding between ‘Amr and the
Copts of Egypt, in spite of what the
Roman leader had tried to do to
frustrate it.
- 'Amr
Ibn Al-^Aaa was not among the earliest
ones to embrace Islam. He embraced Islam
with Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid, just shortly
before the Conquest of Makkah. It is
surprising that his Islam began at the
hands of An-Najaashiy in Abyssinia, and
that is because An-Nagaashiy knew ‘Amr
and respected him because of his several
visits to Abyssinia and abundant gifts
which he used to carry to An-Najaashiy.
In his final visit to that country,
mention was made of the Prophet who was
calling to monotheism and to the
nobility of morals in the Arabian
Peninsula. The Abyssinian ruler asked
‘Amr, "How could you not believe
in him and follow him, when he is truly
a Messenger from Allah?" 'Amr then
asked An-Najaashiy, " Is he
thus?" An Najaashiy answered,
"Yes, so obey me, 0 'Amr, and
follow him, for indeed, by Allah, he is
on the path of truth and he will surpass
those who stood against him!"
-
'Amr traveled, taking the sea route,
immediately returning to his country and
turning his face in the direction of Al-Madiinah
to surrender to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds.
On the
road leading to Al-Madiinah, he met
Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid coming from Makkah,
going also to the Messenger to swear
allegiance to Islam. No sooner did the
Messenger see the two of them coming
than his face beamed with joy and he
said to his Companions, "Makkah has
gifted you with its most noble
leaders," Khaliid approached and
swore allegiance. Then ‘Amr approached
and said, "Indeed, I swear
allegiance to you provided that you ask
Allah to forgive me my previous
sins." So the Messenger answered
him saying, "O 'Amr, swear
allegiance, for indeed Islam disregards
whatever preceded it."
‘Amr
swore allegiance and placed his wits and
bravery at the service of his new
religion. When the Messenger passed on
to Allah, Most Exalted, ‘Amr was
appointed ruler over Oman and during the
caliphate of ‘Umar he performed his
famous deeds in the Syrian wars and then
in the liberation of Egypt from the rule
of Rome.
Oh, if only ‘Amr Ibn Al-'Aas, could
have resisted the love of commanding and
rule in his soul, then he would have
greatly overcome some of the positions
which this love entangled him in. Yet,
‘Amr's love for the authority of
ruling, to a certain extent, was a
direct expression of his nature, which
was filled with talent. Moreover, his
external appearance, his way of walking
and conversing, indicated that he was
created for commanding to the extent
that it has been related that the
Commander of the Faithful 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab
saw ‘Amr once approaching, so he
smiled at the way he was walking and
said, "It should not be for Abu 'Abd
Allah to walk on the earth except as a
commander."
The
truth also is that Abu 'Abd Allah did
not forget the right. Even when
dangerous events overwhelmed the
Muslims, 'Amr dealt with these events in
a commanding manner, as one who
possesses intelligence, wits, and a
capability which made him self-confident
and proud of his excellence. Moreover,
he possessed such a portion of honesty
that it" made 'Umar Ibn Al-Khaftaab
— even though he was strict in
choosing his governor — choose ‘Amr
as governor over Palestine and Jordan,
then over Egypt. This even though the
Commander of the Faithful knew that 'Amr
had exceeded a certain limit in the
opulence of his life style, while the
Commander of the Faithful demanded from
his governors to set an example by
staying always at the level or at least
close to the general level of the
people.
Even though the caliph knew about the
abundance of ‘Amr's wealth, he did not
remove him but sent Muhammad Ibn
Maslamah to him and ordered ‘Amr to
split with him, all of his wealth and
possessions. So, he left him one half of
it and carried the other half to the
treasury in Al-Madiinah. However, if the
Commander of the Faithful had known that
‘Amr's love for wealth would lead him
to carelessness in his responibility, it
is conceivable that his reasonable
conscience would not have allowed him to
stay m power for even one moment.
‘Amr (May Allah be pleased with him)
was sharp-witted with strong intuitive
understanding and deep vision, so much
so that whenever the Commander of the
Faithful saw a person incapable of
artifice, he clapped his palms in
astonishment and said, "Glory be to
Allah ! Indeed, the Creator of this and
the Creator of 'Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas. is
one God!"
‘Amr
was also very daring and unhesitant. He
used to combine his daring with his wits
in some instances so that he would be
thought to be cowardly or hesitant.
However, it was the capacity to trick
which 'Amr perfected with great skill to
get himself out of a destructive crisis.
The
Commander of the Faithful ‘Umar knew
these talents of his and appreciated
their true value. For that reason, when
he sent him to Syria, before his going
to Egypt, it was said to the Commander
of the Faithful, "At the head of
the armies of Rome in Syria is Artubun,
a shrewd and brave leader and a
prince." ‘Umar's response was,
"We have hurled at Artubun of Rome
Artubun of the Arabs, so let us see how
the matter unfolds."
Matters
unfolded in a massive victory for the
Artubun of the Arabs, their dangerous,
sly old fox, ‘Amr Ibn Al-'Aaa, over
the Artubun of Rome, who left his army
to defeat and fled to Bgypt. ‘Amr
would catch him shortly thereafter to
raise the standard of Islam above its
secure lands.
What
are the situations in which the
intelligence and wits of ‘Amr
excelled? We do not count among them his
position with Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy in
the incident of arbitration when the two
of them agreed to depose 'Ally and
Mu'aawiyah to refer the matter back to
consultation between the Muslims. Abu
Muusaa implemented the agreement and 'Amr
relented from carrying out his part of
the agreement.
If we
want to witness a picture of his wits
and the skill of his intuitive insight,
we find it in his position with respect
to the commander of the Citadel of
Babylon (near present day Cairo) during
his war with Rome in Egypt, and, in
another historical narration, in the
battle we shall mention which took place
in Yarmuuk with Artubun of Rome.
When
Artubun and the commander invited ‘Amr
to talk, they gave an order to some of
their men to throw a rock at him
immediately upon his departure from the
Citadel and to prepare everything so
that the killing of ‘Amr would be an
inevitable matter.
‘Amr
met the commander, not suspecting
anything from him, and their meeting
ended. While "Amr was on his way
out of the Citadel, he glimpsed over the
walls something suspicious that aroused
in him a strong sense of danger, and
immediately he behaved in an outstanding
manner. He returned back to the
commander of the Citadel, in safe,
secure, slow steps, with confident,
happy feelings, as if nothing had scared
him at all or had aroused his suspicion.
He met the commander and said to him,
"An idea came across my mind I
wanted you to know. I have with me,
where my companions are camped, a group
from among the first Companions of the
Messenger to enter into Islam. The
Commander of the Faithful would not
decide anything without consulting them
and would not send an army unless he put
them at the head of its fighters and
soldiers. I will bring them to you so
that they hear from you that which I
heard, so they will become as clear in
the matter as I am."
The
Roman commander realized that ‘Amr, by
his naivete, had granted him the
opportunity of a lifetime. Therefore, he
thought. Let us agree with him, and when
he returns with this number of Muslim
commanders and the best of their men and
their leaders, we will deliver the coup
de grace and finish off all of them at
once, instead of finishing off ‘Amr
alone.
Secretly
he gave his order to put off the plan
that was devised to assasinate ‘Amr,
and he saw ‘Amr off cordially and
shook his hand with enthusiasm and
fervor. 'Amr smiled the most intelligent
of Arab smiles as he was leaving the
Citadel.
In the
morning ‘Amr returned to the Citadel
at the head of an army , mounted on his
horse that whinnied in a loud burst of
laughter, behaving proudly and haughtily
and making fun. Yes, for it, too, knew a
lot of things about the shrewdness of
its owner.
In
A.H. 43, death caught up with ‘Amr Ibn
Al-Aas in Egypt, where he was ruling. He
recaptured his life in the moments of
departure, saying, "In the first
part of my life I was a disbeliever, and
I was one of the fiercest people against
the Messenger of Allah, so if I had died
on that day, the fire would have been my
fate. Then, I swore allegiance to the
Messenger of Allah, and there was no
person more dear to me than he and more
glorious in my eyes than he. If I wanted
to describe him, I could not, because I
was not able to fill my eyes with him on
account of being in awe of him. If I had
died back then, I would have wished to
be of the inhabitants of Paradise. Then
after that I was tested with command and
with material things. I do not know if
they were for me or against me."
Then
he raised his sight to the sky in awe,
calling upon his Lord, the Merciful, the
Magnificent, saying, "0 Allah, I am
not innocent, so forgive me. I am not
mighty, so help me. And if Your mercy
does not come to me, I will surely be of
those destroyed."
And he
continued in his yearning and his
prayers until his spirit ascended to
Allah and his last words were,
"There is no god but Allah."
Under
the ground of Egypt, which 'Amr
acquainted with the path of Islam, where
his corpse was finally placed, and above
its ,hard earth, his seat is still
standing throughout the centuries. Here
he used to teach, judge, and rule,
beneath the ceiling of his ancient
mosque, the Mosque of 'Amr, the first
mosque in Egypt, in which the name of
Allah, the One and Only is mentioned and
declared between its walls and from its
pulpit, the words of Allah and the
principles of Islam.
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