Iraq Part 3: The beginning of the conquests of Iraq

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah most Gracious most Merciful

Very Short Summary:

• The wars of Ar-Riddah end
• Al Muthna bin Haritha carries out Raids on the Persia, later on sending requests to the Khalifah
• Al Muthna bin Haritha sends a letter to the Khalifah seeking aid
• The Khalifah sends a letter to Khalid Ibnu Walid, the Sword of Allah
• Khalid Ibnu Walid sends letters out to the leaders to gather Muslims
• Abu Bakr sends two armies
• Khalid Ibnu Walid enters Iraq with his army from the south, the number of men around 18,000
• Ayyadh Bin Ghanam enters Iraq with his army from the north-east
• Khalid was victorious in all four battles before reaching Al Hayrah, which was the goal of both armies, for whoever got there first would lead
• After the fall of Al Hayrah, Khalid Ibnu Walid gave the army a break to rest

The Plan of Abu Bakr

Simply put, the plan of Abu Bakr was to send two armies into Iraq from two different locations.  One from below (South), the other from above (North), each army’s goal is to reach Al Hayrah, conquering the places on the way to it.  If one of the armies reaches the goal before the other, that army takes lead, but if both armies reach the goal at the same time, one would go on while the others stays behind to protect their backs

Abu Bakr said:

إذا اجتمعتما بالحيرة وقد فضضتما مسالح فارس وأمنتما أن يؤتى المسلمون من خلفهم فليكن أحدكما ردءا للمسلمين ولصاحبه بالحيرة وليقتحم الآخر على عدو الله وعدوكم من أهل فارس دارهم ومستقر عزهم المدائن

تاريخ الطبري (2\308)ب

If you two reached (at the same time) Al Hyrah, and have made sure you cannot be attacked from behind, then let one of  you be a shield for the Muslims, and the other forward and storm the house of the enemies of Allah and your enemies, and the residence of their glory Al Mada’in.

The Advice of Abu Bakr:

Among the Advice which Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) gave to the two armies:

واستعينوا بالله واتقوه وآثروا أمر الآخرة على الدنيا يجتمعا لكم ولا تؤثروا الدنيا فتسلبوهما واحذروا ما حذركم الله بترك المعاصي ومعاجلة التوبة وإياكم والإصرار وتأخير التوبة

And Rely on Allah and choose the hereafter over this Dunya and both will be for you.  And Do not choose this Dunya and go after it, and beware of what Allah has warned you by leaving off sins and hurrying with repentance, and do not insist on sins and do not delay repentance.

Source

He also advised to allow all those who wished to return and not fight to do so, and to get all those who fought the Murtaddeen to come with the armies and fight, and also not to allow anyone who was a Murtad (and repented) to fight until he (Abu Bakr) looks into it and allows so,  Source, Secondary Source.

And so, the two armies became ready, and the conquests of Iraq began.  If you have any questions that came to mind during your reading, I recommend you come and ask it here.

My main sources that I am using for this blog-post are:

1. Tarikh Attabari (تاريخ الطبري)
2. Islamstory.com

سبحان رب العزة عما يصفون، و سلام على المرسلين و الحمد لله رب العالمين