AN-NUMAN IBN MUQARRIN
The tribe of Muzaynah had their habitations some
distance from Yathrib on the caravan route which
linked the city to Makkah. News of the Prophet's
arrival in Yathrib spread rapidly and soon reached the
Muzaynah through members of the tribe who had left and
returned.
One evening the chieftain of the tribe, an-Numan ibn
Maqarrin, sat among the elders and other members of
the tribe and addressed them:
"O my people, by God, we have learnt only good about
Muhammad, and of His mission we have heard nothing but
mercy, kindness and justice. What's wrong with us? Why
do we tarry while people are hastening to him?"
"As for myself," he continued, "I have ma de up my
mind to leave early in the morning to join him.
Whoever of you wishes to go with me, let him get
ready."
An-Numan must have been a persuasive chieftain. His
words had a wondrous effect on the ears of his people.
The following morning an-Numan's ten brothers and four
hundred horsemen of the Muzaynah were all ready and
prepared to go with him to Yathrib to mee t the
Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and
enter the religion of Islam.
An-Numan however felt embarrassed to go to the Prophet
with such a numerous following without carrying any
presents for him and the Muslims. There wasn't much he
could carry anyway. That year was a year of drought
and famine for the Muzaynah and much of t heir
livestock and crops had perished. Still, an-Numan went
around the dwellings of his fellow tribesmen and
gathered up whatever sheep and goats were left. These
he drove before him and made his way to Madinah. There
in the presence of the Prophet, he an d his fellow
tribesmen announced their acceptance of Islam.
The whole of Madinah was agog with excitement with the
coming of an-Numan and his companions. Never before
had there been a single family with all eleven
brothers accepting Islam at the same time together
with four hundred horsemen. The noble Prophet was
exceedingly glad and rejoiced greatly. Indeed the
sincerity of their effort was accepted and commended
by God Almighty when He revealed the following words
of the Quran to the Prophet:
"And among the nomad Arabs are such as believe in God
and the Last Day, and regard all that they spend in
God's cause as a means of drawing them nearer to God
and of (their being remembered in) the Apostle's
prayers. Oh, verily, it shall (indeed) be a me ans of
(God's) nearness to them, (for) God will admit them
into His grace. Verily God is much-Forgiving, most
Merciful."
(The Quran, Surah at-Tawbah, 9:99).
An-Numan lived under the guidance of the Prophet and
participated in all the campaigns he waged with valor
and dedication. In the time of Abu Bakr, he and the
people of Muzaynah played a major and commendable role
in putting an end to the fitnah of aposta sy. During
the caliphate of Umar al-Faruq, an-Numan distinguished
himself, in particular, in the encounters with the
Sasananian Empire.
Shortly before the Battle of Qadisiyyah, the commander
of the Muslim forces Sad ibn Abi Waqqas sent a
delegation to the Sasanian Emperor, Yazdagird. The
delegation was headed by an-Numan ibn Muqarrin and its
main purpose was to invite the emperor to Islam . When
an-Numan and his delegation reached Ctesiphon, the
Sasanian capital, the people of the city looked upon
them with curiosity and some disdain. They remarked on
their simple appearance, their rough clothes and shoes
and their weak-looking horses. Th e Muslims were in no
way overwhelmed and sought an audience with Yazdagird.
He granted them permission, summoned an interpreter
and said to him:
"Say to them (the Muslims): why have you come to our
dominions and why do you want to invade us? Perhaps,
you have designs on us... and seek to venture against
us because we are preoccupied with you. But we do not
wish to inflict punishment on you." An-Numan turned to
his men and said:
"If you wish, I shall reply to him on your behalf. But
if any one of you wants to speak let him do so first."
The Muslims told an-Numan to speak and turning to the
Emperor, said: "This man speaks with our tongue so do
listen to what he says." An-Numan began by praising
and glorifying God and invoking peace and blessings on
His Prophet. Then he said:
"Indeed God has been Kind and Merciful to us and has
sent to us a Messenger to show us the good and command
us to follow it; to make us realize what is evil and
forbade us from it.
"The Messenger promised us if we were to respond to
what he summoned us, God would bestow on us the good
of this world and the good of the hereafter.
"Not much time has elapsed but God has given us
abundance in place of hardship, honor in place of
humiliation and mercy and brotherhood in place of our
former enmity.
"The Messenger has commanded us to summon mankind to
what is best for them and to begin with those who are
our neighbors.
"We therefore invite you to enter into our religion.
It is a religion which beautifies and promotes all
good and which detests and discourages all that is
ugly and reprehensible. It is a religion which leads
its adherents from the darkness of tyranny and
unbelief to the light and justice of faith."
"Should you respond positively to us and come to
Islam, it would be our duty to introduce the Book of
God in your midst and help you to live according to it
and rule according to its laws. We would then return
and leave you to conduct your own affairs.
"Should you refuse, however, to enter the religion of
God, we would take the jizyah from you and give you
protection in return. If you refuse to give the
jizyah, we shall declare war on you."
Yazdagird was angry and furious at what he had heard
and said in ridicule: "Certainly I do not know of a
nation on earth who is more wretched than you and
whose numbers are so few, who are more divided and
whose condition is more evil."
"We have been used to delegate your affairs to our
provincial governors and they exacted obedience from
you on our behalf." Then softening his tone somewhat,
he continued, but with greater sarcasm:
"If there is any need which has pushed you to come to
us, we would enlist forces to help you make your lands
fertile. We would clothe your leaders and the notables
of your people and place a king from among ourselves
over you who would be gentle to you."
One of an-Numan's delegation responded sharply to this
and Yazdagird flew into a rage once more and shouted:
"Were it for the fact that ambassadors are not killed,
I would kill you all. "Get up. You shall have nothing
from me. And tell your commander that I am sending
Rustum against him to bury him and you together in the
ditch of al Qadisiyyah."
Yazdagird then called for a basketful of earth and
ordered that it should be borne outside the city gates
by the one whom the Muslims considered to be the most
noble among them as a sign of humiliation. Asim the
son of Umar accepted the load as a happy augury and
took it to the commander-in-chief, Sad ibn Abi Waqqas,
and said to him:
"Accept our congratulations for the victory. The enemy
has voluntarily surrendered his territory to us." The
Battle of Qadisiyyah ensued and after four days of
bitter fighting, the Muslim forces emerged victorious.
The victory paved the way for the Muslim advance into
the plains of the Euphrates and the Tigris. The
Persian capital, Ctesiphon, fell and this was followed
by a number of engagements as the Persians withdrew
northwards.
Despite other defeats and setbacks, Yazdagird refused
to yield and constantly organized new levies to attack
the Muslims and foment insurrection in the provinces
which had come under Muslim control.
Umar had counselled moderation on his generals and
ordered them not to press too far eastwards. However
he received news of a massive Persian mobilization of
about 15O,OOO warriors against the Muslims. He thought
of leaving Madinah and facing the massive threat
himself. He was advised against this by prominent
Muslims in Madinah who suggested instead that he
should appoint a military commander to confront the
grave situation.
"Show me a man whom I can appoint for this task."
said. "You know your army best, O Amir al-Muminin,"
they replied and after some thought Umar exclaimed:
"By God, I shall appoint as commander-in-chief of the
Muslim army a man who, when the two armies meet, will
be the most active. He is an-Numan ibn Muqarrin
al-Muzani." To him, Umar despatched a letter: "From
the servant of God, Umar ibn al-Khattab, to an- Numan
ibn Muqarrin:
"I have received news that large numbers of Persians
have gathered to fight you in the city of Nihawand.
When this my letter reaches you go forward (to
confront them) with the help of God, with whoever of
the Muslims are with you. Don't take the Muslims o ver
too difficult terrain lest they may be hurt, for one
Muslim person is dearer to me than a hundred thousand
dinars. And Peace be unto you."
An-Numan responded to the orders of the Amir
al-Muminin and mobilized the Muslim forces. He
despatched an advanced detachment of cavalry to
reconnoiter the approaches of the city. Just outside
Nihawand, the horses stopped and despite prodding
would go no further. The riders dismounted and
discovered iron nails in the horses' hooves. They
looked around and found that all approaches to the
city were strewn with these iron spikes to halt the
advance of the Muslim army. On being informed of this,
an-Numan ordered the horsemen to remain where they
were and at nightfall to light fires for the enemy to
see them. They were also to feign fear and defeat in
order to entice the enemy to come out to them and in
the process clear the approaches of the iron spikes.
The ruse wor ked. When the Persians saw the van guard
of the Muslim army appearing dejected and defeated
before them, they sent workers to clear the area of
the spikes. These workers were captured by the Muslim
cavalry who gained control of the approaches to the
city .
An-Numan pitched camp on the outskirts of the city and
decided to make a determined assault on the city. He
addressed his soldiers:
"I shall say Allahu Akbar three times. At the first
time, get Yourselves ready (by performing your toilet
and making wu du). At the second time, let every man
of you get ready his weapons and gird them on. And the
third time, I shall move against the enemies of God
and you must join in the attack with me." He went on:
"And if an-Numan is killed, let no one tarry over him.
For I shall (now) make a supplication to God Almighty
and I want everyone of you to say 'Ameen'. "
He then prayed: "May God grant martyrdom to an-Numan
this day and may He grant victory to the Muslims."
Three times an-Numan shouted Allahu Akbar. On the
third time, he plunged into the ranks of the enemies
and the Muslims rushed on behind him. They were
outnumbered six to one but inflicted terrible losses
on the Persians.
An-Numan received a mortal blow during the battle. His
brother took the standard from his hand, and covered
him with a burdah and concealed his death from the
others.
The Muslim forces emerged victorious. The Persians
never recovered themselves after this battle which
Muslim historians have called "the Victory of
Victories".
The battle over, the victorious soldiers asked for
their valiant commander. His brother lifted the burdab
and said: "This is your Amir. God has shown him
victory and blessed him with martyrdom."
When the news was brought to Umar in Madinah, a
companion who was with him said: "I saw Umar, may God
be pleased with him. When he heard of the death of
an-Numan ibn Muqarrin, he placed his head in his hands
and began to cry."
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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