'Amr ibn al-'As

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ˤAmr ibn al-ˤĀs (Arabic: عمرو بن العاص) (born c.583 - d. January 6, 664 CE) was an Arab military commander who is most noted for leading the Islamic conquest of Egypt in 640. He was a contemporary of Muhammad who rose quickly through the Muslim hierarchy following his conversion to Islam in the year 8 AH (629 CE). He founded the Egyptian capital of Fustat, and built the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As at its center -- the first Mosque on the continent of Africa.

Biography

573? – 610: Early Life

He belonged to the Banu Sahm clan of the Quraish. Assuming he was over ninety years old when he died, he was born before 573.

He was the son of al-'As ibn Wa'il and Layla bint Harmalah aka "Al-Nabighah". He had a brother, Hisham ibn al-A'as, and a son, Abd-Allah ibn Amr. Before his military career, Amr was a trader, who had accompanied caravans along the commercial trading routes through Asia and the Middle East, including Egypt.

610 – 632 Muhammad's era

610: Rise of Islam

Like the other Quraish chiefs, he opposed Islam in the early days.

625: Battle of Uhud

He commanded a Quraish contingent at the battle of Uhud.

628: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

Amr ibn al-ˤĀs was married to Umm Kulthum bint Uqba but he divorced her when she embraced Islam. She then re-married Umar ibn al-Khattab.

630: Conquest of Mecca

In the company of Khalid bin Waleed, he rode from Mecca to Medina where both of them converted to Islam. He was seeking for the right path that makes him to go to madina and he became muslim.

630: Dhat as-Salasil

Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah served under ˤAmr ibn al-ˤĀs in the campaign of Dhat as-Salasil and had offered their prayers behind him for many weeks. At that time, ˤAmr ibn al-ˤĀs was their boss not only in the army but also as a leader in religious services .

ˤAmr was dispatched by MuhammadPBUH to Oman and played a key role in the conversion of the leaders of that nation, Jayfar and 'Abbād ibn Julanda. He was then made governor of the region until shortly after Muhammad's PBUH death.

There are some hadith regarding him and his fathers will:

632 – 634: Abu Bakr's era

ˤAmr was sent by the Caliph Abū-Bakr with the Arab armies into Palestine following Muhammad's PBUH death. It is believed that he played an important role in the Arab conquest of that region, and he is known to have been at the battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmuk as well as the fall of Damascus.

634 – 644: Umar's era

Following the success over the Byzantines in Syria, Amrs suggested to Umar that he march on Egypt, to which Umar agreed.

The actual invasion began towards the end of 630, as Amr crossed the Sinai Peninsula with 3,500-4,000 men. After taking the small fortified towns of Pelusium (Arabic: Al-Farama) and beating back a Byzantine surprise attack near Bilbais, Amr headed towards the fort of Babylon (in the region of modern-day Cairo). After some skirmishes south of the area, Amr marched north towards Heliopolis, with reinforcements reaching him from Syria, against the Byzantine forces in Egypt, under Theodore. The resulting Arab victory at the Battle of Heliopolis brought about the fall of much of the country. The Heliopolis battle resolved fairly quickly, though Babylon Fortress withstood a siege of several months, and the Byzantine capital of Alexandria, which had been the capital of Egypt for a thousand years, surrendered a few months after that. A treaty of peace was signed in late 641, in the ruins of a palace in Memphis. Despite a brief re-conquest by Byzantine forces in 645 which was beaten at the Battle of Nikiou, the country was firmly in Arab hands.

Needing a new capital, Amr suggested that they set up an administration in the large and well-equipped city of Alexandria, at the western edge of the Nile River Delta. However, Caliph Omar refused, saying that he did not want the capital to be separated from him by a body of water. So in 641 Amr founded a new city on the eastern side of the Nile, centered on his own tent which was near the Babylon Fortress. According to legend, when Amr returned from his victory at Alexandria, he saw that a dove was nesting in his tent. The new city became known as Misr al-Fustat ("The tented city") from which "Misr," the Arabic name for Egypt, is derived. Amr also founded a mosque at the center of his new city -- it was the first mosque in Egypt, which also made it the first mosque on the continent of Africa. The Mosque of Amr still exists today in Old Cairo, though it has been extensively rebuilt over the centuries, and nothing remains of the original structure.

After founding Fustat, Amr was then recalled to the capital (which had, by then, moved from Mecca to Damascus) where he became Muˤāwiyya's close advisor.

644 – 656: Uthman's era

661 – 680: Muāwiyya's era

ˤAmr died in 683 and was believed to be over ninety years old at the time of his death. In this era Amr Al Ass commited one of the biggest sins in his sinful life.He was responsible for the death of one of the greatest compaions of Ali and Muhammed, Malik Al Ashtar. He poisiened a honey drink which was given to Malik through a rightful follower of Malik and lover of Muhammed. The moomin was then murdered.

Prior to Malik's death Amr was quoted saying " In Egypt a 1000 honey bees will attack Malik."

Legacy

Sunni view

Amr ibn al-As is widely acclaimed by Sunnis for his military and political acumen. His brilliant leadership is credited with the conquests of vast lands, without which millions of people would not be Muslim today. Generally he is viewed by the Sunnis as an illustrious companion of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shi'a view

Shi'a generally accuse Amr ibn al-As for his open attack on Ali's Caliphate Also, he was one of the engineers of the coming of the Umayyad Dynasty which marked a contrast of lifestyle to the piety of the first four Caliphs.

References

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 22:09:54 PDT (GMT -0700)
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