Amr bin Al-Aas
Amr bin Al-Aas bin Wael Al-Sahmi is a great Islamic leader who enjoyed a distinguished leadership mentality, in addition to cunning and intelligence that enabled him to pass many battles and win them. He declared his conversion to Islam in the eighth year of migration with both Khalid bin Al-Walid and Othman bin Talha, and in Islam Ibn Al-Aas was a fighter and a hero, He raises his sword for his victory, when he declared his conversion to Islam, the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said about him: “People have become safer, and Amr ibn al-Aas has believed”
He was called "the intuition of the Arabs" because he was known for his good behavior and intelligence, and he was not exposed to any dilemma until he was able to get out of it, with the best possible solutions, so he was one of the most cunning and resourceful Arab men
The life of Amr ibn al-Aas
Amr ibn al-Aas was born in the pre-Islamic era, and his father was al-Aas ibn Wael, one of the Arab masters in the pre-Islamic era. From the missions and invasions, he was one of the leaders in the conquest of the Levant, and he is credited with the conquest of Egypt
Islam Amr bin Al-Aas
Before Amr bin Al-Aas declared his conversion to Islam, he had one of the positions with the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, to whom a number of Muslims had migrated to flee their religion from the polytheists and their persecution because of what was known about this ruler of justice, but the polytheists sent each of Amr bin Al-Aas - he was a friend of the Negus - And Abdullah bin Rabi'ah with gifts of great value to Al-Najashi in order to hand over to them the Muslims who migrated to take refuge in him, so Al-Najashy refused to hand them over to them without hearing from the other side while they were.
And when he listened to them, he refused to hand them over to Amr and his companion. Al-Najashi once said to him: O Amr, how can your cousin's affairs be isolated from you? By God, he is truly the Messenger of God. Amr said: You say that? He said: Yes, by God, obey me, so Amr left Abyssinia, heading for Medina, and that was in the month of Safar in the eighth year of migration, so he was met on the way by Khalid bin Al-Walid and Othman bin Talha, and they were on their way to the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, so they all walked to Medina, and embraced Islam in the hands of the Messenger of God. Negus had declared his conversion to Islam as well
Amr bin Al-Aas said: «When God made Islam in my heart, I came to the Prophet and said: Simplify your oath, so I will pledge allegiance to you. I said: I wanted to stipulate, he said: You condition with what?, I said: To forgive me, he said: Did you not know that Islam destroys what was before it? And that migration destroys what was before it? And that the pilgrimage destroys what was before it? And no one was more beloved to me than the Messenger of God, and there was no time in my eyes from him, and I could not fill my eyes with him out of respect for him, and if I were asked to describe him, I would not be able to, because I would not fill my eyes with him out of respect for him, even if I died In that case, I hoped to be one of the people”
Amr as a military leader
The first tasks assigned to him were after his conversion to Islam, when the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, sent him to disperse a group that wanted to invade the city, so Amr marched on the “Daat al-Salasil” detachment with three hundred fighters, but the enemies were more numerous, so the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, provided him with two hundred immigrants and supporters headed by Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah Among them were Abu Bakr and Omar, and Amr insisted on remaining president over everyone, so Abu Ubaidah accepted, and God decreed victory for the Muslim army led by Amr ibn al-Aas. When the Messenger asked him, he said: “I hated that they follow them, so that they would have support and sympathize with them, and I hated that they would kindle a fire so that their enemy would see their lack.” Praise be to the Holy Prophet for his good management
After the death of the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and in the caliphate of Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, he appointed him as Emir of one of the four armies that headed to the Levant to conquer it, so Amr Ibn Al-Aas set off to Palestine at the head of three thousand Mujahideen, then another extension reached him, so the number of his army became seven thousand, and he participated In the battle of Yarmouk with the rest of the Islamic armies, after the arrival of Khalid bin Al-Walid from Iraq after he defeated the armies of the Persians, and based on the suggestion of Khalid bin Al-Walid, the armies were unified together, provided that each commander takes over the command of the army one day of the battle, and indeed the Muslim armies were able to defeat The Roman army in the Battle of Yarmouk under the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Walid, Amr bin Al-Aas, Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah and others, and the Levant was conquered
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, when the siege of Bayt al-Maqdis was mentioned before him, and the ingenuity Amr ibn al-Aas showed about it, he said: We have thrown the “oil of the Romans” with the “oil of the Arabs”
After the victories and conquests of Amr ibn al-Aas in the Levant, he turned his sight to Egypt, so he wanted to conquer it, so he sent to the caliph to present the matter to him, and at that time Omar ibn al-Khattab was in charge of the caliphate, and after thinking and hesitation, Omar ibn al-Khattab was convinced of an idea
Indeed, Ibn al-Aas prepared the number and equipment in order to go to conquer Egypt, so he marched at the head of an army consisting of only four thousand fighters, but after the caliph consulted the senior companions in the matter, they saw that the Muslims should not enter into a harsh war, and Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote a letter to Amr ibn Al-Aas stated in it: “If my message reached you before entering Egypt, then return, otherwise interpret with God’s blessing.” Or in Palestine? They replied: We are in Egypt, so he said: “Then we will go on our way as the Commander of the Faithful commands”
Amr's victories continued, so he entered with his army to the city of Al-Farma, which witnessed the first clash between the Romans and the Muslims, then he conquered Bilbeis and conquered its Roman commander Artabun, who was the leader of Jerusalem and fled from it. Before Heraclius, for a period of seven months, and after Al-Muqawqis accepted the payment of the tribute, Heraclius got angry with him and summoned him to Constantinople and exiled him. The Muslims seized the opportunity and attacked the fortresses of Babylon, forcing the Romans to agree to peace and pay the tribute
After that, the conquests of Amr ibn al-Aas continued in the Egyptian cities, one after the other, until he reached the walls of Alexandria, and he besieged it with more than fifty thousand Romans. During this period of siege, Heraclius died, and his brother came after him, convinced that he had no hope of victory over the Muslims. By negotiating peace with the Muslims
A number of clauses came in this peace agreement, including: that the tribute be paid for every man, two dinars except for the incapacitated old and the young, and that the Romans should leave Medina with their money and belongings, and that the Muslims when entering it respect the churches of the Christians in it, and that the Romans should send one hundred and fifty fighters and fifty of their princes as hostages to execute Conditions, and Amr Ibn Al-Aas sent a messenger to Caliph Omar to inform him of the good news of the conquest, and the conquest of the Levant paved the way for the conquest of Egypt, after what the Romans and Copts taught him of the strength of the Muslims
Amr's rule of Egypt
Amr ibn al-Aas spent three years in the conquest of Egypt, and its people received him with much joy and welcome for what they suffered from the cruelty and oppression of the Romans, and they were the best aid for Amr ibn al-Aas against the Romans, and Amr used to say to them: “Oh, people of Egypt, our prophet has told us that God will open to us Egypt and advised us well for its people, as the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “Egypt will be opened to you after me.”
The era of Amr’s rule over Egypt was an era of prosperity and prosperity, so he loved its people and they loved him and enjoyed it under his rule of justice and freedom, and in it he planned the city of Fustat, and he re-dug the Gulf of Trajan Mosul to the Red Sea to transfer the spoils to the Hijaz by sea, and he established a mosque named after him and it is still the mosque of Amr Ibn Al-Aas is still in Egypt, and Amr remained governor of Egypt until Othman came to the caliphate and deposed him
The second meeting between the Romans and Muslims
The Copts during the period of the rule of the Romans were suffering from their cruelty and persecution, and forcing them to leave their doctrine and embrace the Roman doctrine, so one of the important positions came, which emphasized the extent of Muslims’ respect for other religions. By order, after the conquest, they sent to him to inform him that he was safe, and when he returned, they welcomed him well and honored him, and gave him the leadership of the Copts, which won the approval and admiration of the Copts for the Muslims, so they treated them well
The second battle between the Muslims and the Romans came after the king of the Romans learned that the Islamic garrison in Alexandria was few in number, so he seized this opportunity and sent three hundred ships loaded with soldiers, and managed to penetrate and occupy Alexandria and determined to walk to Fustat, and when Amr ibn al-Aas learned of that, he returned from the Hijaz quickly and gathered The army in order to meet the Romans and defeat them, and indeed Amr was able to lead his army towards victory, so the victory was for the Muslim army, and Ibn Al-Aas was not satisfied with this, but he quickly pursued the fleeing Romans towards Alexandria, and imposed a siege on it and opened it, and broke the thorn of the Romans and drove them out of it, as he helped the people of Alexandria to recover What they lost as a result of the oppression of the Romans and the corruption that they did during their occupation of the city
After the Battle of Alexandria, and during the caliphate of Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him, he removed Amr from the mandate of Egypt and appointed Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarh over it
The death of Amr ibn al-Aas
The last words that uttered from his mouth before his death were: “Oh God, you commanded us, so we disobeyed, and you forbade us, so we did not end, and we can only forgive you, O Most Merciful of the Merciful.” And the death of Amr Ibn Al-Aas was in the year 43 AH in Egypt, which was opened at his hands