As Islam dawned, the Arabs of Hejaz were taken to be savagesby the civilized world dominated by Persians and Romans, the superpowers of 7thcentury. The Arabs were left to their own fate of generations’ long bloodfeuds. Only interaction remained the Arab caravans exchanging their produce inthe markets of Damascus. Damascus constituted the global nerve center of tradeand commerce. It was the provincial capital of Syria; the prized province ofConstantinople based Roman Empire, also called Byzantine Empire. Romans orprecisely Greco-Romans had moved east, after the collapse of Rome based WesternRoman Empire. Christianity was the official religion of Byzantines. The othersuperpower of 7th century was Persia. They were Zoroastrians, worshipping fire,however with faith in Kirdar-e-naik (nobility in character) Pindar-e-naik(nobility of thought) and Raftar-e-naik (nobility of demeanor).
Islamic republic of Medina with Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) headingit in his temporal role, apart from his spiritual role of Prophet, started itsforeign policy with a peace offensive. Envoys were dispatched to Roman andPersian Emperors, inviting them to the fold of Islam. Persian Emperor-KhosrowParvez treated the envoy with contempt, calling Arabs savages of the desert,fed on camel milk and clad in rags. Caesar Heracles (Harkal) of the RomanEmpire on the contrary treated the envoy with respect. Heracles wanted tounderstand the phenomenon that had overtaken Arabs–hitherto unknown players ofinternational power dynamics. He asked for a respected Arab leader of a caravanto be presented in the royal court. Incidentally Abu Sufian-nemesis of Islamicmarch in its earliest phases was present in Damascus.. Abu Sufian conceded thatthe Prophet Mohammad [pbuh] was truthful, never ever did he lie, however theywere disinclined to accept his Prophethood. This set Heraclesthinking–truthful yet unacceptable, an Arab of some standing claiming to be aProphet (PBUH). However, he couldn’t reach a conclusion.
This was one of the earliest interactions between Islam andChristendom. We might as well recall the interaction with Ethiopian monarch[Najashi of Habash] who was benevolent in accommodating the early Muslimsseeking refuge from the tortuous life in Mecca. There is also a record ofProphet Mohammad (PBUH) of interacting with Christian monks on his travels toDamascus with Arab Caravans, while he was still to be invested withProphethood. Those were early days; however he was investing his intellect, hisvision, his foresight to get to the truth–the ultimate truth.
While as Caesar Heracles accorded respect to the envoycarrying peace tides, the prince of a Byzantine vassal state near Hejaz—Syriaborder murdered the Muslim envoy. This led to the punitive expedition led byHazrat Zaid (RA). In the campaign at border area called Mota, Hazrat Zaid (RA)achieved martyrdom. On return of the forces under his command, Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) immediately appointed seventeen years old Hazrat Osama ibn Zaid [RA] tosucceed his illustrious father. He had the eminent associates [Suhaba-e-Karam]serve in his command. None demurred; such was the discipline Prophet (PBUH) hadworked out by his incomparable management of men and matters.
Arabs for the first time in history were venturing beyondNajd. Najd constituted desert of Arabia, while as Hejaz formed the urban part,with cities of Mecca and Medina. People originally belonging to Arabia werecalled Modharites [Modhari] and the Yemeni migrants were called Himarytes[Hamhari]. While as the Meccan population was mainly composed of Modharites,people of Yathrib/Yasrub, Madinat-ul-Nabi after the advent of Islam were mainlyHimarytes. There were Jewish tribes in the suburbs of Medina and also in thenearby city of Khyber. Mecca remained the central city holding temporal swayand spiritual authority. Kabbah was the prime place of worship, the holy siteof yearly pilgrimage, attended by people from all over Arabia. Kabbah thoughthe spiritual center had limited temporal authority. Arab tribes were fiercelyindependent, without an effective central authority to regulate Arabia. Thoughlost in blood feuds that extended over generations, a period of peace was thenorm during the days of pilgrimage.
As the Islamic republic of Medina extended its swaygradually over Arabia, the centralized authority sued for peace between tribes.The message of Islam enshrined in Holy Quran ensured obedience to the centralcommand exercised by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and subsequently by caliphs.Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) was the first in the order. He ordered continuation ofSyrian campaign, as Romans were already alerted following Mota. As Osama ibnZaid (RA) was leaving Medina with forces in his command, the Caliph Abu Bakr (RA)was seen walking while holding the bridle of his horse, advising him to remainseated and listen to what he has to say on the guidelines of his command. Theseare the words worth weighing in gold, as quoted in Ameer Ali’s famous Historyof Saracens, “See that thou avoidest treachery. Depart not in any wise from theright. Thou shalt mutilate none; neither shalt thou kill child or aged man, norany woman. Injure not the date palm, neither burn it with fire, and cut notdown any tree wherein is food for man or beast. Slay not the flocks or herds orcamels, saving for needful sustenance. You may eat of the meat which the men ofthe land shall bring unto you in their vessels, making mention thereon of thename of the Lord. And the monks with shaven heads, if they submit, leave themunmolested. Now march forward in the name of the Lord, and may He protect youfrom sword and pestilence”
In 7th century, it looks a word and world above, what wasadopted in Geneva Convention in the conduct of war in 20th century.
Yaar Zinda, SohbatBaqi [Reunion is subordinate to survival]