Farouk Omar (Omar Ibn Al-Khattab)
28th Episode
"Caution: The following show contains disturbing images for young children"
- Do you know anything about my sons? - I don't know.
- Do you have any news of my sons? - I don't know.
Do you have any news for me? I am Al-Khansa'
Hisham Ibn Utbah and the troops coming with him from Syria seem to be delayed.
We have given people high hopes of his arrival with 6.000 men.
We are about to meet our enemy on the third day of the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah.
We do not want people to be disheartened.
I think you better move out stealthily to beyond Al-Qadisiyyah,
at this time of night, making sure that you are unnoticed.
Then when it is broad daylight, you come to us one hundred after one hundred,
like we did the first time.
If Hisham arrives, well and good. If not, you heighten people's hopes.
They fought very hard (fiercely). May God accept their efforts
and may He comfort you. Remain patient and make them an offering to God.
I will only say what pleases my Lord.
We all belong to God and to Him we all return.
I praise God for honouring me with them being martyrs for His cause.
May He reunite me with them in the place of His ultimate grace.
Look. By God, they are Hisham Ibn Utbah's advance party.
All praise be to God who has brought you before the fighting starts.
Soldiers are taking their positions for the third day of the battle.
Where are the rest of your forces?
They will soon be arriving.
I have split them into sections, with some distance between them.
What are you doing here?
This is a good trick. I will do the same with my group.
You move on now.
All praise be to God.
God is Supreme!
- God is Supreme! - God is Supreme!
Bring me some soldiers who belong to the people of this land.
I want to ask them about these elephants. Hurry.
Advance!
God is Supreme! God is Supreme!
Al-Qa'qa and Asim, with a group of horsemen,
will move towards the leading elephant, as the rest follow him.
They should strike the elephant in his eyes and mouth.
God is Supreme!
Retreat.
- God is Supreme! - God is Supreme!
God is Supreme!
- Where have you come from? - Najd.
Have you heard any news of Iraq and the people at Al-Qadisiyyah?
Everyone we met in every area is awaiting the news as you do.
We set out from Najd without having heard anything.
May God please you, brother, and please us with the news we hope.
God willing. God willing.
It is several days now and you continue to ask travellers,
but cannot find an answer, father. It is midday and it is far too hot.
Wouldn't it be better for you to go back and await the news that will please you?
When Saad's messenger comes, he will not miss you.
You are not hastening the arrival of the news by coming out of Madinah,
nor will you delay it by staying at home.
You go back, Abdullah. As for me, I am unable to sit
and I can hardly sleep until I learn what God has done to our brothers.
Haven't you heard the order of your father and Ameer Al-Mu'mineen?
You will be guilty of two offences if you stay. Get on (Go now).
Will you stay alone? I will keep you company.
The only company I need is the News of victory, God willing.
- Where have you come from? - From Al-Qadisiyyah.
- Tell me, please. - God has defeated the unbelievers.
Four days that were harder than Yarmuk.
We had great difficulty against the elephants,
until God helped us against them.
- What about their commander? - Rustom?
He was killed, as were most of their commanders.
Saad ordered a chase to capture those who fled.
Al-Qa'qa' chased them with his unit. He killed Al-Fairuzan,
who is one of their top commanders. Only Al-Hurmuzan escaped.
- What about the Muslim casualties? - Eight thousand and five hundred.
Do you know where I can find Ameer Al-Mu'mineen?
Prepare yourself to leave with the palace men. Straightaway.
Won't you fight for your ancestors' kingdom?
Had there been anything left of my ancestors' kingdom, I would fight for it.
But to be killed in a disappearing kingdom is plain folly.
How can you say this?
Do you leave Al-Mada'in to its fate and leave, when you are...
What am I? I was hiding among ordinary people,
making sure that no one learns of my family and my relation to Khosrau,
so that Khosrau's relatives won't kill me as they killed my father
and killed each other.
When there was nothing left of the kingdom except its burdens and deaths,
they brought me here and placed me on a throne
whose master they knew will be killed.
Thus, they did nothing other than instead of killing me in Istakhr,
they offered me death in Al-Madain, but with Arab swords.
Khosrau's Palace. The White Palace.
Mention God often and praise Him. Be humble in front of God as you enter.
I thank God that he made me leave their land when I was a young lad
and took me to the land of Islam.
When I was here as one of them,
I would not dream of seeing even a single article of all this.
We used to till the earth for the princes and the tax collectors,
but would not get enough for our food.
Our hunger and poverty were certainly due to this.
Those people who delivered this are certainly true to their trust.
You have held back your hand, and so did your subjects.
Had you taken for yourself they would have done likewise.
Do you, Ameer Al-Mu'mineen, cry when this is a greay day for rejoice?
By God, I do not fear for you hard conditions and simple living,
but I fear for you the like of this.
When the world gives a community such as this,
there will be much envy, hatred and selfishness among them.
They will give priority to their shares of this world
over those of the hereafter.
Where is Suraqah Ibn Malik? I have sent for him.
Here he comes.
What's going on?
Do you know what these are?
How could a Bedouin like me know what these are?
These are Khosrau's headdress, belt, bracelets, crown and clothes.
This is the fulfillment of the Prophet's promise to you.
It has has come true. Now wear them.
How would you feel if you wear Khosrau's bracelets?
Khosrau? The King of Persia?
He told me to inform you that after he saw you coming forward.
Walk back.
Come forward.
Well, well! A Bedouin from the tribe of Mudlij is wearing Khosrau's stuff: headdress,
trousers, sword, belt, crown and shoes.
There were days, Suraqah,
when wearing these articles of Khosrau and his people
would count as a source of honour for you and your tribe.
But, what is with God is much better. Take them off.
Aren't they for me?
Yours is only the privilege of wearing them, as God's Messenger had promised you.
They, like the rest of these, belong to the Muslims.
Everyone will receive their shares of what God has given us.
Take them off.
My Lord, you have not given these to Your Messenger and Prophet
when You loved and honoured him more than me.
You have not given them to Abu Bakr
when You loved and honoured him more than me.
I appeal to You to preserve me against the lure of these gifts.
Are you going out at this time of night?
Why do you trouble yourself with such inspection at night?
If it is necessary, appoint someone to undertake it.
I consider myself in relation to Muslims as a father of young dependents.
I need to check on them day and night, as often as I can.
God sees what I do at night and during the day.
Go back and sleep; may God bless you.
- Peace be to you. - And peace be to you too.
Too long is the night; its stars journeying on.
Yet, here I am, sleepless, with no mate to play with.
We play for a while, yet, for a second while his eyebrow
appears like the night's moon.
Had it not been for fearing God,
activity would be rife on this very bed.
I fear the one assigned to watch us, writing all we do through life's journey.
God bless you.
She has done no wrong.
She misses her husband, but her morality stops her from sin.
What is good morality other than restraining one's desire so that one commits no sin?
A person whose desire has gone cannot claim good morality.
And the one who cannot restrain his desires cannot claim that he is abstinent.
Do you know the woman of this house, Aslam?
She's a desperate woman. Her husband is in Saad's army.
It is our duty to find out how long a woman can tolerate her husband's absence.
We then issue orders that soldiers must not be absent for longer than that.
If they will be away too long, they should take their wives.
Wives and husbands have equal rights and duties.
All praise be to God for having given us the kingdom of Persia, as well as Syria.
It is time that we should organize how the money is shared out among Muslims,
according to a policy that is known to all.
Thus, everyone will know their rights.
Abu Bakr used to share it out among people equally.
He did not consider their status in Islam
and whether they belonged to the early Muslims.
He believed that that is a matter that will be given its full reward by God.
I have a different view.
I do not equate a person who fought against the Prophet with one who fought with him.
Nor do I place on equal footing those who converted after the fall of Makkah
and those who were Muslims before that.
I take into consideration people's early adoption of Islam,
their striving for its cause and their roles in Islam, and also their different needs.
By God, if I live,
a shepherd in the mountains of Sanaa will receive his share in this money.
What do you think?
We leave it up to you. Do as you think fit.
If you or any of us should have a different view later, we can discuss it again.
I see that much money has come in and it will help people.
More will be forthcoming, God willing, when the rest of Persia will fall to us.
God willing.
As for Syria, it now totally belongs to the Muslims except Jerusalem.
May God facilitate its acquisition in due course.
Moreover, people have also increased.
Unless they are recorded, to establish who has taken what,
there may be much confusion. - This is right. So, what do you suggest?
Do as the Byzantines and the Persians do.
Establish a record of allowances and soldiers. Appoint an official
to keep written records according to people status and their dues.
We, thus, will know what is paid to them by the state treasury,
and we know who has not received their benefits.
We will also know what remains in the treasury for emergencies.
This is a sound suggestion.
We should also make a similar Record in which we hold the letters and messages...
we receive. It should have scribes to write our letters.
We have many more officials now and there is much greater need to the letters.
And a similar record for land tax.
What is all this, Abdullah?
Clothes to wear and money sent by Ameer Al-Mu'mineen.
Why is he sending me these, may God bless him?
Think well.
He has written to Saad to give your husband leave of absence.
In fact, he has issued an order that married soldiers should not remain away...
for more than four months.
How did he know my feelings?
This is not up to you, Ameer Al-Mu'mineen!
God says in the Qur'an:
"Know that one-fifth (1/5) of whatever booty you may acquire in war is for God...
and the Messenger, and for the near of kin, the orphans, the needy...
and the traveller in need." (Sura Al-Anfal/"The Spoils of War"/verse 41)
This land which God has gramted to the Muslims in Iraq and Syria
should go to those who actually fought the war there.
You should divide it among them.
No. The right view is that of Ameer Al-Mu'mineen.
The land remains whole and is not divided among the soldiers.
Its yield and taxes from it will therefore go to all Muslims, present and absent.
In this way, they would not just circulate among those of you who are rich.
Every single Muslim thus has a share in these gains.
How about those later Muslims who will then find the land having already been divided
and owned?
What is left for descendants and widows in this place and elsewhere
in Syria and Iraq?
All Glory be to God! A land that God has granted to its conquerors,
and you want to hold it so that its benefit goes to...
those who were not there and to their children and their unborn descendants?
Why shouldn't I?
Has God sent His Messenger for contemporary people only?
Has Islam been revealed to set matters right for this generation only?
By God,
I fear that God will question me about those who will come after me.
Whatever decision we will make today will not only affect those who are alive now,
but will also affect those who will come after them.
If it is an evil or unjust decision, we will be accountable for it,
even after we are dead. He is a bad governor who says...
that he only needs to look after the welfare of those living under him,
and that what happens after him is of no concern to him.
Today we are establishing the foundations of the Islamic state,
so that it will remain solid and strong for all generations to come.
By God,
I shall not divide the conquered land to enrich a certain group or one generation,
leaving subsequent generations poor. Remember that God says:
"It must not just circulate among those of you who are rich."
This is the reason.
How about our front lines and the cities that need to have armies to defend them.
How will we raise the money necessary for them if the land is divided?
This is true, but there is more.
Those farmers and peasants in Iraq and Syria:
What will happen to them if we were to take their land
and give it to the soldiers?
Won't we be harder on them than the Persian tax collectors
and the Byzantine rulers?
Haven't they accepted our authority and become our subjects?
Isn't it true that they only sided with us and accepted our rule
when they saw that Islam is fair and compassionate?
It is better, then, that we leave them in their land
and take a normal land tax to spend on defence
and other needs of the population.
In this case, they will be more susceptible to Islam,
and this is our aim.
We are advocates of Divine guidance.
We are not in it for either tyranny or money.
Peace be to you.
Ameer Al-Mu'mineen!
A group of traders have arrived in Madinah.
How do you like to join me in guarding them tonight?
What is wrong with this child that he is continuously crying?
Fear God and take care of your child.
What is wrong with you, woman? You seem to be a bad mother,
letting the child cry all the time.
I have told you to pacify him but you did nothing.
I am trying to distract him from my breast, and to wean him, but he refuses.
- How old is your baby? - Six months.
Why do you want to wean him so early?
Umar gives an allowance only to a weaned child, not a suckling one.
All power operates by God's will.
What have you done to Muslim children, Umar?
Look, woman. Do not try to wean him.
I guarantee you that Umar will change his mind.
I had made an allowance for weaned children, but not suckling ones.
I have changed my mind. Do not hasten your babies weaning.
The allowance will apply to every child, suckling or weaned.
We shall increase it as children grow up and their needs increase.
Aslam, announce this throughout Madinah.
Wretched is Umar. How many Muslim children has he killed?
This letter is from Amr Ibn Al-Aas.
He has been besieging Jerusalem for four months,
but its walls give it protection.
The Byzantine commander was the leader of its defenders.
However, he left for Egypt after he had despaired of receiving any reinforcements.
The people of the city and its Patriarch
have expressed their desire to enter into a peace agreement with us.
However, they make it a condition
that I myself should conclude the Peace Agreement with them.
What do you advise?
Having sued for peace, they are clearly not in a position to defend the city
after the Byzantine forces have left them. I feel that you should not go yourself.
They will then realize that you do not give them any high status,
but rather ready to fight them.
It will not be long before they will accept to make peace with Amr.
I think it is better that you go and conclude the Peace Agreement with them
as they have requested.
They want the Peace Agreement to be concluded by Ameer Al-Mu'mineen
so as to be sure of their safety and the safety of their churches
and prayers to the end of time.
They want to make sure that no Muslim will later breach your agreement with them.
You may go with God's blessings.
Who is the Caliph?
A very warm welcome to the just Caliph.
Peace be to you with God's mercy.
None of them looks like a king.
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever-Merciful.
Here are the peace terms granted by God's servant Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
to the people of Jerusalem.
He has granted them full peace and safety for themselves,
their properties, churches, crucifixes,
including their sick and healthy and everyone belonging to their Jewish faith.
Their churches shall not be occupied (inhabited), destroyed,
partitioned, nor will their areas be diminished in anyway.
None of their crucifixes or property shall be taken away.
They shall not be coerced with regard to their faith.
None of them shall be harmed.
In confirmation of the terms of this document
we grant a covenant by God, and the pledges of God's messenger,
the Caliphs and the believers.
Farouk Omar