Our hero, Amr bin AI- Aas was one of those distinguished men who played a major role in the history of Islaam. He was brought up in a high-ranking house in Makkah. Since his childhood, he was known to be very intelligent When the Rosul (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was ordered to proclaim the new religion of lslaam, Amr like other high class tribesmen, shared in the attempts to put an end to the call. He was commissioned by the chiefs of the Quraish to arrest and bring back the Muslims who sought refuge in Abysinnia against the torture they received at the Hands of the Quraish back to Makkah.
Amr accepted this mission with zeal However, despite all his cleverness and eloquence, and after several attempts, he failed in this mission. Amr took active parts against the Muslims in the batt!es of Uhud and Badr. At the battle of the trench. Amr together with the other opposing parties to Islaam spent twenty-five days surrounding Madinaah. but could not cross over the trench. At last, they went back in humiliation.
At this point, .Amr knew that Islaam was not something invented by Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), otherwise, would not have succeeded in the hostile environment of the Quraish. He wanted to change his mind and follow the Muslims, but the feeling of arrogance kept him back. A Pause before Submission Amr was sure that the new religion would finally triumph over all other opponents. Hence, he decided to seek refuge before the Muslims caught him. Together with some friends, he set out for Abyssinia. In Abyssinia, the King welcomed them. He spent many days thinking and finally reached a decision; there was no way but to migrate to Medinah and embrace the religion of Is!aam. On the way to Islaam On his way to Madinah, he met Khalid bin AI-Waleed and Uthman bin Talhah.
Upon speaking with them, he realized that they had the same mission with him. Hence, they traveled together. They reached Madinah on the night of Safar in 8AH. ,Amr went to the Rasul (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), afraid that he might punish him for his past plot against Islaam. To his surprise, the Rasul (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) smiled at him and hugged him warmly. Amr immediately announced his acceptance of Islaam. He asked the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) to pray to AIIaah to forgive him his past sins. The Rasul (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) replied that whenever one becomes a Muslim, all his past sins would be forgiven. He led several Muslim brigades throughout Arabia and he successfully weakened the plans of enemies and put an end to their plots against the Muslims. The Rasul (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him ) appointed him the governor of Oman.
After the death of the Rasul (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), he fought against the Romans in Palestine, took part in the battle of Yarmouk and the conquest of Syria. He also fought victorious battles against the apostates of the Conqueror of Egypt. Amr conquered Egypt under the rule of Umar (RA) and ruled it as ordered by Umar (RA). He established justice and equity among the people and treated them kindly, based on the principles of Islaam. He did his best to develop the country and the fife of the people. These made the people accept Islaam.
He ruled Egypt till the 43rd year after Hijrah. Departure Brave, intelligent, wise, hese were some of the qualities of Amr bin AI- Aas (RA) for forty-six years, he kept straggling hard to spread the light of Islaam. While lying on his deathbed, he began crying. His son Abdullah asked him why he was crying and. He replied: " ...My Lord, I am not so innocent to bring my argument before myself, nor powerful to defend myself It is only Your Mercy that I seek; otherwise, I have no shelter." Some days later .. Amr died and was buried in Egypt. May Allaah forgive Amr and shower is mercy on him on the Day of Judgement. Amin!
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited