Futuhusham_-_The_Islamic_Conquest_of_Syria_-_Al_Waqidi

Ialf'ah : Yes, Caesar.
Part 2: Hims..
He made his preparations and upon reaching al-Madinah, hid in the outskirts to
ambush 'Urnar ss, 'Umar ~ came to oversee the wealth of the orphans and inspect
their gardens. The Christian climbed up a tree with twisting branches and hid
amongst the leaves. 'Umar ~ went to that very tree and fell asleep, lying on his back
and using a stone as a pillow. The Christian was about to climb down to kill him,
when suddenly a creature appeared from the desert, circled 'Umar ~ and licked his
feet. An unseen voice proclaimed, "0 'Umar, you have maintained justice, so you are
safe." When 'Umar ~ awoke, the beast left and the Christian climbed down. He
threw himself at 'Umar ~, kissed his hands and said, "May my father and mother be
ransom for such a creation whom the beasts guard, the angels describe and the Jinn
know."
Then he told him the whole story and embraced Islam at his hands.
3) Abu 'Ubaydah's" appointment
'Umar ~ then wrote the following letter to AbU 'Ubaydah ~:
I have appointed you over Syria and made you commander of the Muslims.
Khdlid is dismissed. Was-saldm.
He despatched the letter with' Abdullah bin Qurt ~. He remained anxious over the
affairs of the Muslims, paying special attention to Syria.
'Abdullah bin Salim narrates from his reliable teachers:
'Abdurahman bin Awf az-Zuhri narrated the following dream to 'Umar ~ which he
saw on the same night that Abu Bakr ~ passed away: I saw Damascus with the
Muslims around her. Their cries of "Allahu Akbar" reached my ears. With their
shouts and attacks, a fort began to sink into the earth until I could not see anything
of it remaining. I saw Khalid ~ entering her with the force of the sword as if there
was something like a fire in front of him into which he fell and then it was
extinguished.
'Alf., : Glad tidings! If Allah wills, it means that they conquered Damascus today.
A few days later 'Uqbah bin 'Amir al-Juhani ss, the .saMbi of Rasulullah ~, brought
the letter describing the victory. He narrates:
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