Futuhusham_-_The_Islamic_Conquest_of_Syria_-_Al_Waqidi

Futiihushdm
He responded, "We are going to fight Herac1ius. We are many men and are burdened
with much baggage. We therefore want to leave it in trust with you until we return."
They went to their governor, Nikita, to consult him in that matter. He replied, "0
people, kings and armies have always left their goods by us and that has never
harmed us in any way." He then sent this message to Abu 'Ubaydah ~, "We will
fulfil whatever your need is but stipulate that you show full consideration to the
people who reside in our rural districts."
AbU 'Ubaydah ~ : We will do that, Allah willing.
Thabit bin Qays bin 'Alqamah narrates:
I was with Abu 'Ubaydah ~ at that time. He called those S-ahabah of Rasulullah lii
whom he would consult with and said, "This is a strong, impregnable fort. We
cannot conquer it except through some trick. I am sending about twenty of you in
crates which will have the locks inside. Once the twenty are inside the city they will
come out of the crates and attack. Verily they will be victorious against the
Disbelievers who live in the city.
Khdlid ~ : If you have decided that, well and good. However, put fake locks on the
outside to avoid suspicion but the lid should in reality be at the bottom without any
restraints. Once they enter the city they should all spring out and attack together
proclaiming, "Allahu Akbar," for indeed this declaration has a deep connection with
obtaining victory.
Abu 'Ubaydah ~ accepted this and implemented this plan with crates of food
received from the Romans. The first to enter a crate was .Qirar ~ followed by al-
Musayyib bin Najiyah, Thul Kala' al-Himyari, 'Arm bin Ma'dikarab, al-Mirqal,
Hisham bin Najiyah, Qays bin Hubayrah, 'Abdurahman bin Abi Bakr, Malik bin al-
Ashtar, Awf bin Salim, S-abir bin Kalkal, Mazin bin 'Amir, al-Asyad bin Salamah,
Rabi'ah bin 'Amir, 'Ikra'mah bin Abi Jahl, 'Utbah bin al-'As, Darim bin Fayyad al-
'Absi, Salamah bin Habib, al-Fari' bin Harmalah, Nawfal bin Jar'al, Jundub bin Sayf
and 'Abdullah bin Ja'far who was appointed as commander.
The crates were delivered to the Romans. Once they were brought inside the city,
Nikita had them stored in his palace. AbU 'Ubaydah ~ then left until he reached a
town called, as-Sudiyah. At night-fall he sent Khalid ~ with the vanguard back to ar-
Rastan to see what had befallen the S-ahiibah ~ in the crates. When they reached the
bridge they heard shouts of, "La ilaha illallah! Allahu Akbar!" coming from the city.
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