It was previously reported that `Ikrimah said: "Chosroes sent his deputy and
his army against Caesar, and they fought.' It is well-known that Chosroes
himself fought in the army that invaded his land, and he defeated Caesar and
overwhelmed him until he had nothing left except the city of Constantinople,
where Chosroes besieged him for a long time, until things became very difficult
for him. He was highly venerated among the Christians, and Chosroes was not able
to conquer the city because it was well fortified, and half of it faced the land
while the other half faced the sea, from where supplies were able to reach them.
After this had gone on for a long time, Caesar thought of a clever trick. He
asked Chosroes to let him leave his city in return for money given as a
peace-offering, on whatever terms he (Chosroes) wanted. Chosroes agreed to that
and asked for a huge amount of wealth -- gold, jewels, fabric, servant-women,
servants, and much more -- such that no king on earth could ever pay. Caesar
went along with that and gave him the impression that he had all that he had
asked for, although he thought he was crazy for asking for such a thing, because
even if the two of them were to combine all of their wealth, it would not amount
to even one-tenth of that. He asked Chosroes to let him go out of the city to
Ash-Sham and the other regions of his kingdom, so that he could gather that from
his storehouses and places where his wealth was buried. Chosroes let him go, and
when Caesar was about to leave Constantinople, he gathered his people together
and told them: "I am going out on a mission I have decided to do so with some
soldiers I have selected from my army; if I come back to you before one year
passes, I will still be your king but if I do not come back after that, you will
have the choice. Then, if you wish, you may remain loyal to me, or if you wish
you may appoint someone instead of me.” They replied, “You are our king for as
long as you live, even if are gone for ten years.” When he left Constantinople,
a cavalry detachment left with him, and Chosroes camped outside Constantinople
to await his return, Caesar went straight away to the land of the Persians,
where he started to kill all the men of fighting age, one by one, and he did not
stop killing until he reached Al-Madain, which was the seat of power of the
kingdom of Chosroes. He killed everyone in the city, and took all its treasures
and wealth. He captured the women of Chosroes, shaved his son’s head and made
him ride on his donkey, sending him with the leaders of of his people in a state
of utmost humiliation. He wrote to Chosroes saying, “This is what you asked for,
so take it.” When this reached Chosroes, he was extremely distressed, to an
extent known only by Allah. His anger was directed against the city of
Constantinople and he renewed his siege with increased vehemence, but he was not
able to besiege it for long, nor was he able to go to the ford of the river
Jayhun, which was the only route through which Caesar could reach
Constantinople. When Caesar heard of this, he came up with an unprecedented
strategy, whereby he left his troops and goods by the ford, and went off with
some of his army commanded them to pick up some straw and animal droppings, and
to travel approximately one day upstream. Then he told them to throw those
things unto the water. When they passed by Chosroes, he and his soldiers thought
that the Romans had gone that way, so they rode off in pursuit of them, and the
ford was no longer occupied by the Persians. Then Caesar commanded his men to
get up and jump into the river, which they did, thus escaping Chosroes and his
troops, then they entered Constantinople.
That was a great day for the Christians. Chosroes and his army remained in a
state of confusion, not knowing what they were doing. They had not been able to
conquer the land of Caesar, and their own land was devastated by the Romans, who
seized their wealth, and captured their women and children. This was how the
Romans defeated the Persians, and this happened nine years after the Persians
and the Romans continued until the Romans prevailed between Adhru’at (Ash-Sham)
and Busra, according to what was stated by Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah and others. This
is a place on the edge of of Ash-Sham, along the border with Al-Hijaz. Mujahid
said, “That was a place in the Arabian Peninsula which is closer to the land of
the Romans than to Persia.” And Allah knows best.
«إِنَّهُمْ
افْتَرَقُوا عَلَى اثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَة»
(The decision of the matter, before and after is only with Allah)
Before that and after that
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(And on that day, the believers will rejoice – with the help of Allah.)
They will rejoice because the Romans, the companions of Caesar, the king of
Ash-Sham, defeated the Persians, the companions of Chosroes, who were
Zoroastrians. According to many of the scholars, such as Ibn Abbas, Ath-Thawri,
As-Suddi and others, the victory of the Romans over the Persians happened on the
same day as the battle of Badr. It was reported in the Hadith recorded by
At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim and Al-Bazaar that Abu Said said: “On the
day of Badr, the Romans defeated the Persians, and the believers were happy and
rejoiced about that. And Allah revealed the words:
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(And on that day, the believers will rejoice – with the help of Allah. He
helps whom He wills, and He is the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.)
Ibn Abi Htim recorded that Az-Zubayr Al-Kilabi said, I saw the victory of the
Persians over the Romans, then I saw the victory of the Romans over the
Persians, then I saw the victory of the Muslims over both the Persian and
Romans, and all of that happened within fifteen years.” Allah’s saying:
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(and He is All-Mighty), means, in His defeat of and vengeance upon His
enemies. His saying:
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(the Most Merciful.) means, towards His believing servants.
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(It is) a promise of Allah, and Allah fails not in His promise.
Means, ‘this that We have told you, O Muhammad, that the Romans will defeat
the Persians, is a true promise from Allah, truth which cannot be changed and
which will surely come to pass, because Allah has decreed that the one of the
two parties that is closer to the truth will prevail and that victory will be
theirs.’
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
They know only the outer appearance of the life of the world, and they are
heedless of the Hereafter.
Means, most people know only about this world and how to make a living and so
on. They are clever when it comes to getting what they need and earning a
living, but they are heedless of that which will benefit them in the Hereafter;
they are unaware of it and have no idea about it. Al-Hassan Al-Basri said, “It
has reached the state that in this world one of them could put a Dirham on his
finger and tell how much it weighs, but he does not know how to pray properly.”
«وَيَوْمَئِذٍ
يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ»
(They know only the outer appearance of the life of the world and they are
heedless of the Hereafter.)
Ibn Abbas said, “This means that the disbelievers know how to prosper in this
world, but they are ignorant of matters of religion.”
«أَوَلَمْ
يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا
بَيْنَهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَإِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنَ النَّاسِ
بِلِقَاء رَبِّهِمْ لَكَافِرُونَ - أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا
كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً
وَأَثَارُوا الْأَرْضَ وَعَمَرُوهَا أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوهَا وَجَاءتْهُمْ
رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَكِن كَانُوا
أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ - ثُمَّ كَانَ عَاقِبَةَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاؤُوا السُّوأَى
أَن كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا بِهَا يَسْتَهْزِئُون»
(8. Do they not reflect on themselves? Allah has create not the heavens and
the earth, and all that is between them, except with truth and for an appointed
term. And indeed many of mankind deny meeting with their Lord.) (9. Do they not
travel in the land, and see what was the end of those before them? They were
superior to them in strength, and they tilled the earth and populated it in
greater numbers than these have done, and there came to them their Messengers
with clear proofs. Surely, Allah wronged them no, but they used to wrong
themselves.) (10. Then evil was the end of those who did evil, because they
denied the Ayat of Allah and made a mockery of them.)
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