Documents of the Right Word

a great army in Istanbul and was marching against Amr Ibni Âs,
when he died on the way. Amr Ibni Âs conquered Alexandria
after a war which lasted for three months. Then he moved towards
Trablus (Tripoli), which he conquered after one month’s war.
When hadrat ’Umar was martyred, his son Ubeydullah killed
Hurmuzân, a former Persian Shâh, thinking that he was the
murderer (of his father). Hadrat Alî said that a retaliation should
be inflicted on Ubeydullah. The governor of Egypt Amr Ibni Âs,
who was on leave at that time, disagreed with him, saying, “How
could it be justifiable to kill a son only a short time after the
murdering of his father?” ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, who was
the Khalîfa, approved this statement and extenuated the
punishment from retaliation to indemnification, paying the
indemnity from his personal property. This was a disagreement of
ijtihâd. Hadrat Mu’âwiya launched a series of Holy Wars in Asia
Minor and marched up to the city of Amûriyya. The Khalîfa
dismissed Amr Ibni Âs from the governorship of Egypt. The
Khalîfa’s plan was to conquer Istanbul by way of Andalusia
(Spain). He landed troops in Andalusia. Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ anh’, who was the commander of the army in Damascus,
sent ships transporting troops to Cyprus. These troops, reinforced
by the forces sent as an aid from Egypt, conquered the island after
incessant battles.
Constantine III, the kaiser of Istanbul, became the Byzantine
Emperor in 47 [A.D. 668] and died in 66 [A.D. 685]. Organizing a
great fleet, he hoisted the sails into the Mediterranean. On the
other hand, hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anh’ and
Abdullah the governor of Egypt formed a fleet each and set sails.
An illustrious sea war ended in the Muslims’ victory. In the thirtythird
year of the Hegira, hadrat Mu’âwiya, who was the governor
of Damascus at that time, fought his way through Byzantine
territories till he came to the Bosphorus. This Mu’âwiya bin Ebî
Suyân ‘radiy-Allâhu anhumâ’ was an honourable Sahâbî who had
served as a secretary to the Messenger of Allah.
Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ risked his life and fought like a
lion against enemies for the establishment and implantation of
Islam. Many an unbeliever succumbed to his sword. Hadrat
Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ was another hero who did not
hesitate to put his life in jeopardy for the promulgation of Islam
and fought the Byzantine armies so that Islam spread its luminous
lights in the west as well as in the east. Many a country yielded to
his conquests.
– 277 –