Hayatus Sahabah - The Lives of the Sahabah - Part 1 of 3

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252 THE LIVES OF THE SAHABAH
that we will be unable to fulfil.
(Vol-1)
What the Sahabah &E&3KG did during the Conquest
of Alexandria
Hadhrat Ziyaad bin Jaz states further, "Hadhrat Arr& bin Al Aas !@G@!2$ then sent a
letter to the king of Alexandria, explaining to him the instructions that the
Ameerul Mu'mineen had written to him. The king accepted the proposal and we
then gathered all the prisoners with us. When all these Christian prisoners had
gathered, we approached each one of them and allowed him to choose between
Islaam and Christianity. When any of them accepted Islaam, we shouted 'Alaahu
Akbar' louder than we did when conquering any town and took him into our
protection. If any of them chose Christianity, the Christians would make a noise
and take him into their protecpon. We would then impose the Jizya on him.
When this happened, we were so grieved that it appeared as if one of us had
defected to them. This continued until all the prisoners had been given the
choice. Amongst those who came to us was Abu Maryam (whose name was)
Abdullaah bin Abdur Rahmaan." Another narrator by the name of Qaasim says
that he met Abu Maryam when he was chief of the Banu Zubayd tribe.
Hadhrat Ziyaad bin Jaz continues saying, "When we approached Abu Maryam
whose parents and brothers were all Christians and gave him the choice between
Islaam and Christianity, he opted to accept Islaam. AS we took him into our
protection, his parents and brothers darted across to pull him away from us and
actually tore his clothing apart. However, he is now our chief as you can see." (')
The Incident of Hadhrat Ali %G@!~'s Armour and his
Interaction with a Christian who then Accepted Islaam
Hadhrat Sha'bi narrates that when (the Ameerul Mu'mineen) Hadhrat Ali S,w
once went to the marketplace, he found a Christian selling a coat of armour.
Recognising the coat of armour, Hadhrat Ali said, "That armour belongs
to me. Let us have the judge of the Muslims decide the matter between us." The
presiding judge at that time was Qaadhi Shuray and Hadhrat Ali !@G@!2j asked
him to rule in the matter.
When Qaadhi Shuray saw the Ameerul Mu'mineen Hadhrat Ali -, he got up
from his place and made the Ameerul Mu'mineen sit there. He then sat in front of
the Ameerul Mu'mineen next to the Christian. Hadhrat Ali W%!& said, "0 Shuray!
Had my adversary been a Muslim, I would have sat with him. However, I have
heard Rasulullaah say (about the non-Muslims living in a Muslim country),
'Do not shake hands with them, do not be first to greet them, do not visit them
when they fall ill, do not perform their funeral prayers, make them use the
narrow part of the pathway and keep them in a lowered position as Allaah has
kept them in a lowered position'. Do pass judgement between us, 0 Shuray."
Qaadhi Shuray asked, "What do you have to say, dmeerul Mu'mineen?" Hadhrat
(1) Ibn Jareer (Vo1.4 Pg.227).