Muslim Heroes (Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah)

Abū 'Ubaidah 'Āmir ibn 'Abdullāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ (Arabic: ابو عبيده عامر بن عبدالله بن الجراح), more commonly known as Abū 'Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrāḥ, was one of the ten companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad popularly known to have been promised Paradise by Muhammed himself. He remained commander of a large section of Muslim armies during the time of Caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and was on the list of 'Umar’s appointed successors to the Caliphate.

Conversion to Islam

By 611 CE Mohammad was preaching the oneness of God to the people of Makkah. He began by inviting his closest companions and relatives in secret to the way of Islam. Abu Bakr was the first man to convert to Islam in Makkah and it was through his efforts that many people including Abu 'Ubaidah converted. He embraced Islam just a day after Abu Bakr in the year 611 CE.

A QURANIC AYAT ABOUT HIS ACT

In the year 624 CE, Abu 'Ubaidah participated in the first major battle between Muslims and the Quraysh of Makkah; that is, the Battle of Badr. In this battle, he was attacked by his father Abdullah ibn al-Jarrah, who was fighting alongside the army of Quraysh. Abu 'Ubaidah avoided fighting with him but eventually his father succeeded in blocking Abu Ubaidah's path. Abu 'Ubaidah then attacked him and killed him.

The following verse of Holy Quran were revealed about this display of character by Abu 'Ubaidah:

“

You will not find a people believing in God and the Last Day making friends with those who oppose God and His messenger even if these were their fathers, their sons, their brothers or their clan. God has placed faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him. He will cause them to enter gardens beneath which streams flow that they may dwell therein. God is well pleased with them and they well pleased with Him. They are the party of God. Is not the party of God the successful ones? (58:22)

Appointment as Commander of the Army

On 22 August 634 CE, Caliph Abu Bakr died making Umar his successor. As Umar became caliph he relieved Khalid ibn Walid from the command of the Islamic army and appointed Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah as the new commander. The was done to dispel the impression that the victories were due to Khalid. Moreover Khalid was an overtly generous person who in some opinions would often waste his money in giving gifts to his soldiers as a reward for their bravery in the battles. Moreover, Abu-Ubaida was a great and a humble person; additionally he was a fearless and a skillful fighter.

Due to different style of commands, there was a slowdown in the pace of operations, as Abu Ubaida moved slowly and steadily, in contrast to Khalid who is said to rush 'like a tornado from battle to battle'; using surprise, audacity and brute force to win his battles. The conquest of Syria continued under the new commander. Abu-Ubaida used to rely heavily on the advice of Khalid, whom he kept with him as much as possible.

Conquest of Syria

From the August of 634 CE till the conquest of Levant (the areas of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Southern Turkey) was under the command of Abu Ubaidah. Soon after the appointment of Abu Ubaidah as the commander, he sent Khalid ibn Walid to rescue Islamic army trapped among Romans at Abu-al-Quds. Khalid went there and defeated them in the Battle of Abu-al-Quds on 15 October 634 CE. Abu-Ubaida made Khalid commander of the cavalry. Which was later to became the best part of Muslims army and was given the name 'Mobile Guard' by historians.

Emperor Heraclius assembled an army to defeat Muslims and evict them from Syria at the Plain of Fahal. Muslims to moved to Fahal, the cavalry under Khalid ibn Walid's was first to arrive at the battle scence. Muslims defeated them at the Battle of Fahal on 23rd January 635 CE. After the battle Abu Ubaidah along with Khalid moved towards Emesa city, with Khalid in-command of the cavalry. Meanwhile, emperor Heraclius sent General Theodras to Damascus to recapture it as there was only a small defensive army in the city under the command of Yazid bin Abi Sufyan. Theodras met the Muslim army at Maraj-al-Rome, and moved with half of his army towards Damascus at night, while Abu Ubaidah and Khalid were engaged with the remaining Byzantine army. A Spy informed Abu-Ubaidah about this move. Khalid's cavalry was dispatched by Abu Ubaidah to defend Damascus. Abu Ubaidah defeated the Byzantine army in the Battle of Maraj-al-Rome, while Khalid attacked and defeated Theodras in the 2nd Battle of Damascus.

After a week, Abu Ubaidah himself moved towards Balaq, while he sent Khalid to Emesa. Both cities surrendered and agreed to pay tribute (Jizya). Emesa and Qinassareen city signed one year peace treaty. In the November of 635 CE, Abu Ubaidah along Khalid moved towards city of Hamaa'; it surrendered and agree to pay tribute. Later Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid to Shairzer, Afamia and Matar-al-Hamz which all surrendered. Meanwhile, the city of Qinassareen and Emesa broke peace treaty, Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid to reclaim Emesa, there he defeated the Byzantine army in 1st Battle of Emesa, Byzantines retreated to the Castle of Emesa. Soon Abu Ubaidah reached Emesa with rest of his army, and gave the command of the siege to Khalid. He defeated Byzantine once again in the 2nd Battle of Emesa and finally conquered the city in the 3rd Battle of Emesa in the March of 636 CE, after two months of siege.

Afterward, Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid to conquer northern Syria, he defeated there a small group of Byzantine soldiers in a skirmish and took many as prisons. These prisoners informed him about Emperor Heraclius's final effort to take back the Byzantine province of Syria. They told him that an army of possibly 200,000 will soon emerge to take back the lost land. Khalid halted his advance, on June 636 CE this huge army set out for there destination. As soon as Abu Ubaida got this news he gathered all his officers to decide their next step. Khalid gave suggestion that they should call all of there forces present in province of Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel) to utilize the combined forces of the Muslim army and then moved towards the plain of Yarmouk for the battle.

Abu Ubaida ordered all Muslim commanders to withdraw from the conquered areas and pay back their tribute (Jizya) to them and move towards Yarmouk. Heraclius's army also moved towards Yarmouk. The Muslim Army reached there in the July of 636 CE. Within two weeks the Byzantine army arrived to the battleground. In the mid of July there was a skirmish between Khalid's cavalry and Christian Arab auxiliaries of Byzantine army. Khalid defeated them. For a whole month there was no action in the plain of Yarmouk. On the third week of August, the Battle of Yarmouk was fought, which lasted for 6 days. The Muslim army defeated the Byzantine army.

On October of 636 CE, Abu Ubaida held a meating with his high command officers to decide future conquests, they decided to conquer Jerusalem. Siege of Jerusalem lasted for 4 months, the city finally agreed to surrendered, but only to the Caliph himself.

Umar came from Medina and the city surrendered on April 637 CE. After the victory Abu Ubaida sent his 'Amr-ibn al-Aas, Yazid bin Abi Sufyan and Sharjeel bin Hassana back to there areas to reconquer them. Most of these areas submitted without any fight.

Abu Ubaida moved his armies to Northern Syria once again to conquer them with army numbering 17000. Khalid along with his cavalry was sent to Hazir, and Abu Ubaida moved to Qasreen city. Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine force in the Battle of Hazir and reached Qinassareen before Abu Ubaidah. The city surrendered to Khalid in the June of 637 CE, soon afterwards Abu Ubaida arrived. Abu Ubaidah moved on to the city AleppoBattle of Aleppo city finally agree to surrendered in the October of 637 CE. After this battle, Abu Ubaidah moved to Antioch, in there way to Antioch Byzantine army stopped them near a river on which there was an iron bridge, because of this the battle following is known as Battle of Iron bridge. Abu Ubaidah defeated them and the city of Antioch (Halb). After the surrendered on 30th October 637 CE.

Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid to conquer the remaining cities. Khalid, in a series of small battles conquered the cities of Lazkia, Jabla and Tertoos. Abu-Ubaida sent Khalid to conquer north-eastern Syria. Khalid conquered all the areas up to Munbij city, and finished all resistance up to the Euphrates river. After these conquests Khalid return to Abu Ubaidah at Aleppo city in the January of 637 CE. Later, Abu Ubaidah dispatched Khalid and another of his general, Ayaz ibn Ghanam with armies separately. Khalid's conquered the city of Maresh in the Autumn of 638 CE.

Drought

Later this year Arabia fall into severe Drought. People begin to die because of hunger and epidemic diseases, as a result of drought hundreds of thousands of people from all over arabis gathered at madinah soon the reserve food at madinah too finishes Caliph Umar had already wrote to the governors of his Provinces to sent help for people, one such letter he wrote to Abu Ubaidah in answer of which he wrote to him that ….

“

I am sending you the Caravans whose one end will be here at Syria and the other will be at Madinah.

”

Abu Ubaidah was first to reached madinah with his 1st supply of 4000 camels full of food Umar appointed him to distribute the Food among the people who were living around Madinah in thousands of numbers, when Abu Ubaidah did that Ummar wanted to give him 4000 Dinars as a reward but he refused to take them saying that he did all that for sake of Allah.

Plague

The drought was just finished after 9 months that the plague epidemic broke in Syria and western Iraq, it was more severe in Syria. When the news of plague broke Umar was on his way to the tour of Syria but return from the border of Syria as suggested by his campanions. Abu Ubaidah meet him there and said

“

O’ Umar do you run from the Allah’s will ?

”

Umar was shocked by this and said in sorrow may some one else would have said this other than you Abu Ubaidah and said then

“

“ Yes I am running from Allah’s will but to Allah’s will

”

. Umar return from Syria because of the saying of Muhammad that not to enter the place where epidemic is and Abu Ubaidah returned to his army at Emesa. It was then that a plague hit the land of Syria, the like of which people had never experienced before. It devastated the population. As Caliph Umar wanted to make Abu Ubaidah his successor he didn't wanted him to remain there in the epidemic region. Umar dispatched a messenger to Abu Ubaidah with a letter saying:

“

"I am in urgent need of you. If my letter reaches you at night I strongly urge you to leave before dawn. If this letter reaches you during the day, I strongly urge you to leave before evening and hasten to me.

”

When Abu Ubaydah received Umar's letter, he said, '"I know why Umar needs me. He wants to secure the survival of someone who, however, is not eternal." So he wrote to Umar:

“

"I know that you need me. But I am in an army of Muslims and I have no desire to save myself from what is afflicting them. This is the army which didn't separate from me in the battlefield and didn't betray me. How can I now betray them? I do not want to separate from them until God wills. So, when this letter reaches you, release me from your command and permit me to stay on.

”

When Caliph Umar read this letter tears filled his eyes and those who were with him asked, "Has Abu Ubaidah died" ? he replied "No, but death is near to him.". Caliph Umar sent another messenger to him saying that if you are not coming back at least move to any highland with less humid environment Abu Ubaidah moved to Jabyia.

Death

As soon as Abu Ubaidah moved to Jabyia he became afflicted with the plague. As death hung over him, he spoke to his army:

“

Let me give you some advice which will cause you to be on the path of goodness always. "Establish Prayer, Fast the month of Ramadan, Give charity, Perform the Hajj and Umrah, Remain united and support one another, Be sincere to your commanders and do not conceal anything from them. Don't let the world destroy you for even if man were to live a thousand years he would still end up with this state that you see me in. Peace be upon you and the mercy of God."

”

.

He then appointed Ma’az bin Jabal as his successor and order him to lead people in the prayers after the prayers Ma’az came to him and at the moment his soul departed.

Ma’az got up and said to the people…

“

O' people, you are stricken by the death of a man. By God, I don't know whether I have seen a man who had a more righteous heart, who was further from all evil and who was more sincere to people than he. Ask God to shower His mercy on him and God will be merciful to you.

”

.

He died in 639 A.C and was buried at Jabiya.

Legacy

His appearance was striking. He was slim and tall. His face was bright and he had a sparse beard. It was pleasing to look at him and refreshing to meet him. He was extremely courteous and humble and quite shy. Yet in a tough situation he would become strikingly serious and alert. He was given the title Amin or Custodian of Muhammad's community(Ummah). Abdullah ibn Umar once said about him …

“

Three persons in the tribe of Quraysh were most prominent, had the best character and were the most modest. If they spoke to you, they would not deceive you and if you spoke to them, they would not accuse you of Lying: Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Uthman ibn Affan and Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.’’

”

His way of life was very simple he use to dress in a simple costume, When during the conquest of Jerushalem Caliph Umar came to Syria he saw Khalid ibn Walid and Yazid bin abu Sufyan dressed in very beautiful and charming dress, Caliph Umar dismounted from his camel and threw sand over them saying that it is not a year that you have came out of the hunger and hard life of Arabia and you have forgotten all the simplicity when saw the glamour or Syria’s Emperors ?,but he was cooled down when Khalid ibn Walid explained to him that under there these cloths they are still armed to counter any enemy any time, Abu Ubaidah who was there too was still dressed in his simple dress Umar was pleased to see him at evening when Umar went to his home he saw that Abu Ubaidah didn’t have any thing at home except one bed, sword and shield. Umar said to him …

“	‘’ O’ Abu Ubaidah may you have arranged some things of comfort for yourself at home ‘’ replyed Abu Ubaidah ‘’ O’ Umar that’s all for me ‘’ .

Our beloved "Liberators"

An interesting article about Rapes and sexual assault on Women Soldiers in US Army. Please read through the attached news piece from BBC. Before you read the complete news, some points worth thinking and doing something about are:

1. The moral and social standards of the so called "Liberators", "Peace Keepers" and the pioneers of "Democracy and Freedom".
2. If this is the conduct with their own women who themselves are US Army Personnel/Soldiers, Well Trained, Armed and of course aware of their "Rights and Freedoms" then just imagine what would these pigs not do with the poor, threatened and taken over women of the lands they take over and attack. If they assault their own females at a rate over 30% in the US Army personnel (keeping in mind that a terrifying 90% of the total Sexual Assaults/rapes in US Army are not reported as per attached article) just imagine the level of "Liberation and Freedom" they are bringing to our poor sisters.
3. The subject in the attached news piece was a US Army Soldier who just laid down her weapon for smoking a cigarette while she was attacked and raped. Now imagine the plight of women whose husbands/sons/brothers were killed/taken in the name of terrorism and insurgency, whose houses and lands are ravaged in the name of war and liberation, who have no training, weapon, and a Court of Martial to appeal to, just imagine what would be happening to thousands of such women. It's not difficult to imagine what would have happened to the female inmates of Abu Ghuraib, Kandahar and Helmand. As a minor glimpse of which can be seen in case of Dr. Afia.
4. Still our governments and armies are bending their back in handing over our sisters and lands to wind up thousands of Afia Siddiquis in the bloody claws of these pigs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8511010.stm


Helena Merriman reports on a woman whose experience of sexual assault, while serving in the US Air Force in Afghanistan, turned her into a campaigner for the welfare of service women.

Marti Ribeiro was born into a military family.

Her grandfather and father were both in the Air Force - and all her life she had wanted to join the armed forces.

I put my weapon down and walked away to smoke a cigarette and that was when I was attacked Marti Ribeiro

After she finished school she joined the Air Force Reserve and a few years later, in March 2003, she was deployed to Iraq.

While she loved her job as a public affairs specialist, from the time she arrived she was routinely harassed and called Air Force Barbie.

"I had no idea how difficult it would be," she told the BBC World Service.

"My father, who is a retired military colonel, thought the world of me for joining the military.

WOMEN AT WAR The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which tens of thousands of women have fought alongside men for prolonged periods. This week the BBC World Service is taking an in-depth look at women's stories from the frontline.

"I never saw the personality traits in him that I saw in the military - I never saw what I was getting into."

In 2006 she was in Afghanistan.

"You're supposed to carry your weapon at all times in a combat zone," she said.

"But I put my weapon down and walked away to smoke a cigarette and that was when I was attacked."

She was then dragged behind some power generators and raped.

"If I had kept my weapon maybe I would have been able to prevent it," she says.

"But if I had used it I would probably have ended up in jail."

She went to the authorities but they told her that if she filed a claim, she would be charged with dereliction of duty for leaving her weapon unattended in a combat zone - an offence for which you can be court-martialled.

So she kept quiet and the man who attacked her went unpunished.

"It would be my word over his and they are not going to take my word over his," she said.

When she returned from Afghanistan, she did not talk to anyone about what happened. She says she felt it was all her fault.

'Heartbreaking' phone calls

Congressional leaders, who have been holding hearings this month on sexual assault in the armed forces, say that more needs to be done to tackle what recent studies indicate is a widespread problem.

In 2003, in a survey of female veterans conducted by the University of Iowa, funded by the US Department of Defense, 30% of the 500 female veterans interviewed reported an attempted or completed rape.

Equally worryingly, the Department of Defense estimated in its 2009 annual report on sexual assault, that around 90% of rapes in the military are never reported.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who sits on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, successfully lobbied last year for the development of a Sexual Assault Database to encourage accountability within the Armed Forces.

"There are plenty of phone calls that come into my office of alleged assault of women by our military men," she says.

"They are heartbreaking. Some women don't want to go public with it, some have gone public with it and they've been drilled out of the military.

"I'm told that the statistics are that once you have been raped in the military you are most likely to be raped over and over."

She says that not enough prosecutions are happening and that while the Pentagon is taking it more seriously, big changes still need to be made.

"Why is it that when a woman alleges rape, the outcome shows that the man who supposedly did this was demoted or moved to another unit? I want to know why this is happening!"

Predators

Dr Kaye Whitley, Director of the US Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (Sapro), says it can be very hard for victims to report a sexual assault.

"We do know that being sexually assaulted takes a great human toll on an individual and there are all kinds of barriers to keep people from wanting to come forward," she says.

More and more commanders are referring these cases to court martial Dr Kaye Whitley, Sapro

One of these barriers, she explains, is that after someone has reported an assault in the US military: "Their command knows, everyone in the unit knows, and it affects 'unit-readiness'."

For this reason there is now a new "restrictive reporting option" so that victims who are afraid of reporting an assault can get the medical care and counselling that they need, without their command having to be notified, and without having to participate in an investigation.

For those who do decide to report a sexual assault, Dr Whitley says the crime is taken seriously.

"We are finding that more and more commanders are referring these cases to court martial," she says.

"One of the things that one of our leaders recently said is that we want to get so good at prosecuting these guys that if there's anybody walking around out there that's a predator, they'll think that the military is the last place they want to end up.

"So we are working very hard on that, we think we can do better," she says.

'Cultural change'

The writer Helen Benedict has been looking into sexual violence in the military for a number of years, and has recently written a play on the subject. She has heard from women whose experiences have ranged from disrespect, to constant sexual harassment, to rape.

"There is a culture that if you report someone, you are seen as a weak soldier who failed to defend yourself," she says.

But she says this does not mean that women should not be serving in the army.

"It is the men who are committing a crime who have a problem. The military has to deal with them and not punish women by shutting them out from this career," she says.

Ms Benedict says that economics may help to bring about the cultural change that she says the army needs.

"The recession means more women are joining the military then ever before. So as women become less of a minority and rise in the ranks and get more power, hopefully the culture will begin to shift," she says.

Meanwhile, Marti Ribeiro is now trying to tackle the issue politically.

She is part of the Service Women's Action Network, which lobbies to improve the welfare of US servicewomen and women veterans.

"This is so that if once my daughter is eligible she turns to me and says 'I want to do what you did,' I can support her," she says.

"But if she asked me right now I would say 'No'."

IPL Lesson

If we try to get a positive message from the incident at IPL, than it could only be “UNITY”. I assure that this could unite all Pakistani’s as well as Players. Just have to promote the thought. Encourage every Pakistani to show some patriotism and boycott IPL.

The negative thoughts which were purposely delivered to us were received and understood successfully. Now its our turn. Don’t even think that PCB or Sports Ministry will counter this. Our ministers are logically impotents. Don’t expect our players to do something special either.

Now the question is why we should react if no direct concerned is reacting. The simple answer is we are the ones who are hurt. Secondly we can give a good supportive message to our team and ministry too.

Only those Pakistanis residing outside the country can imagine what I am trying to say. Everywhere around are Indians. I daily use to talk with my Indian colleagues about cricket and other stuff. Since yesterday I have not uttered a word. Don’t know why I feel a hidden smile on their faces.

I know my this request is just a shout from a crowed, but have hopes.

Daily Close Shaves

Day before yesterday my friend Umair's family had an accident while they were going to southern Punjab to attend the funeral of their Uncle. With the blessings of Allah they all were safe after the accident except his father got few bruises. 800cc Mehran, Highway, Rain, Slippery road, Brakes fail, Truck ahead ... anyone can think its a best combination for a disaster. My Friend kept his senses after realizing the brakes had failed and managed to hit the car on a sidewalk. Car turned, but still went into the truck. His parents went on to attend the funeral on a cab and he came back to home by bus. Car was in nearby workshop. That's what we call man proposes and God disposes. May Allah keep them safe from any further pain in life.

This reminds me another short incident which could had been a part of the bigger incident forward. My friend got a small verbal fight with few rikshaw drivers on bus stop, then he smoked in anger for 5 minutes and consequently got 10 mins late for the dinner at Moon Market Lahore. Allah kept him becoming the victim of that bomb blast which shook all the country. That's what we call close shave.

These two and many other examples we can see around us. These are basically lessons for us from Allah, to make us realize how much we are blessed.

Just before going to bed at night, we all must think once that, "today hundreds of accidents might had happened in our city, thanks Allah i was not among them, Many people got sick and are now in hospitals, thanks Allah i was not among them. and then keep remembering all the misfortunes of life and keep thanking Allah. You will find endless reasons to thank Allah for a single day, and will sleep with happy heart and relaxed mind.