Ubadah ibn al-Samit

'Ubadah was a descendant of Yemeni Arabs who settled in Yathrib and formed the Banu Aws and Khazraj tribes. He was born into the latter and became a prominent chief. His genealogical lineage was 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit Ibn Qais bin Asram bin Fahr bin Tha'labah ibn Ghanm ibn Auf ibn (Amr bin Auf) ibn Al Khazraj. Sometime before Muhammad's migration from Mecca, 'Ubadah and other Banu Aws and Khazraj tribe chieftains, such as Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, ʿAbdullah ibn Haram, Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, and Abu Talha al-Ansari, met Muhammad at Aqabah during their journey from Medina to perform Hajj in Mecca. In historical literature, these clan leaders are said to have done Hajj to achieve enlightenment after they grew weary of tribal conflicts, particularly the civil war of Yathrib that Muslim historians call the Battle of Bu'ath. They listened to Muhammad's preaching and considered him to be the solution to unite their tribes. They immediately pledged their allegiance to him, marking this event as the first pledge of al-Aqabah. 'Ubadah was around forty years old. Later he participated in the Second pledge at al-Aqabah, and narrated the event. When the Meccan Muslims were migrating to seek refuge in Yathrib (now Medina), 'Ubadah and his fellow Banu Aws and Khazraji provided shelter to them as Muhammad immediately instructed 'Ubadah to take an oath of brotherhood with the Muhajirun named Abu Marthad al-Ghanwi. In January 627, the Ansaris under 'Ubadah and his colleague, Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, led an expedition against the Banu Mustaliq tribe. The raid was successful and they took 200 families captive, along with 200 camels, 5,000 sheep, goats, and a large quantity of household goods. However, during the battle 'Ubadah unintentionally killed one of his Ansari clansmen, Hisham ibn Subabah. Sometime after the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, 'Ubadah fought in the Battle of Khaybar. 'Ubadah participated in virtually all military expeditions personally led by Muhammad before his death. == Rashidun Caliphate ==

After the selection of the first caliph, rebellion broke out across the caliphate. 'Ubadah was commanded by Caliph Abu Bakr to quell the rebellions across Arabia, though it is not recorded which battles he was involved in. According to David Nicolle, the four Rashidun contingents left Medina between the autumn of 633 to 634 before Khalid converged with other contingents led by generals such as Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, Amr ibn al-As and Shurahbil ibn Hasana. 'Ubadah, Abu al-Darda, and Muadh ibn Jabal were sent to Syria after the caliph was asked to send preachers to teach the newly subdued Syrian Christians. At some point, 'Ubadah was tasked to assist the military campaigns in Syria. During the Siege of Emesa between 635 and 636 AD, Abu Ubaydah appointed 'Ubadah as his deputy in Homs while Abu Ubaydah left to capture Hamah. 'Ubadah stayed there with his wife, Umm Haram, where Umm Haram remembered the hadith that allegedly prophesied the future conquest of Cyprus in which she and her husband participated. 'Ubadah participated in the Battle of Yarmouk. After they defeated the Byzantine coalitions in Yarmouk, 'Ubadah, along with the army of Abu Ubaydah and Khalid, continued their conquest until they reached northern Syria, where they turned south to pacify coastal Levant. 'Ubadah was instructed to lead a detachment to subdue Tartus, a coastal fortress city. While 'Ubadah occupied Tartus in 636, Mu'awiya came to the city, and built an amsar complex, while also delegating fiefs to the garrison commanders. 'Ubadah was commanded by Abu Ubaydah to march towards Jablah and Laodicea (Latakia). The fleeing Byzantine soldiers and local citizens returned and surrendered to 'Ubadah, who accepted their surrender and allowed them to return to their homes with specific conditions, including the obligation to pay the kharaj land tax. After settling matters in Latakia, 'Ubadah marched into other Byzantine controlled cities, and subdued them one by one from Salamiyah to the port city of Baniyas. The four commanders were two veteran Muhajirun, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Miqdad ibn Aswad; a young Ansari commander named Maslama ibn Mukhallad; and 'Ubadah. These reinforcements arrived in September 640. The Muslims besieged the fortress over the course of months without a clear victory. During the siege, both sides exchanged envoys in an effort to demoralize each other. 'Ubadah led a detachment to besiege Alexandria and reused his strategy of using trenches as he had with Latakia. When he and his main force arrived at Alexandria's outskirts, he gave a signal to the army including those hidden in the trenches to launch an assault. His attack breached and routed the Alexandrian forces on the first charge. After Alexandria, 'Ubadah stayed in Egypt to help Amr build the city of Fustat and its landmark, the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As. Return to the Levant 'Ubadah was dispatched by Caliph Umar to assist Abu Ubaydah and Mu'awiya in Syria. Until the last years of his life, Umar wanted to appoint 'Ubadah as governor in Homs, as he thought that the grip of the caliphate and Islam was new in that area, so he wanted someone he trusted to impose strict order. in the winter of 644 with a force of 10,000 men. This raiding operation started from area called Shaifa and ended in Amorium. When Uthman became caliph after Umar's death, Mu'awiya once again asked the Caliph to allow him to build a navy to attack Cyprus, reasoning that Cyprus had become a satellite island of Byzantine forces which could threaten the caliphate on the western banks of Palestine. Before he joined Mu'awiya's project to build the first naval forces of the caliphate, 'Ubadah joined forces with Muslim general, Abdallah ibn Qais. Shortly after building the armada, Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah departed from Acre and left for Cyprus. According to al-Baladhuri and Khalifa ibn Khayyat, Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah led the attack and were accompanied by their wives Katwa bint Qaraza ibn Abd Amr of the Qurayshite Banu Nawfal and Umm Haram. Hadith of the Prophecy of the Conquest of Cyprus One of the most famous hadiths related to 'Ubadah and Umm Haram relate to the prophecy that the Islamic caliphate would dominate the sea on two occasions. This was taught by Muslim scholars as a prophecy of the conquest of Cyprus. 'Ubadah participated in both the initial conquest and the second campaign years later. Umm Haram narrated the prophecy, which she believed related to this campaign. Anas ibn Malik, her nephew, reminded them about then hadith of the promise of incoming naval conquests by Islam. Second Conquest of Cyprus In 652, Cyprus rebelled against the caliphate, causing Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah to mount a second campaign. This time Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah split their forces: one led by Mu'awiya and the other by Abd Allah ibn Sa'd. This punitive campaign was described in Tarikh fi Asr al-Khulafa ar-Rashidin as particularly ruthless. Many died in the campaign and many were taken captive. After they pacified Cyprus, 'Ubadah told Mu'awiya to divide the spoils in fifths according to the teachings of Muhammad. Mu'awiya agreed with 'Ubadah's counsel and gave him the task. Afterwards, Mu'awiya consulted with one of his officers, Ismail ibn al-Ayyash, as to how to prevent another uprising. Then Mu'awiya posted a garrison of 12,000 soldiers. Mu'awiya also transferred Muslim settlers from Baalbek to Cyprus and constructed mosques there. == Later life and death ==

, Jerusalem, where the grave of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit located. At the end of his military career, 'Ubadah retired to Palestine. When Caliph Uthman faced increasing opposition to his authority, 'Ubadah was among those who expressed support for him and opposed the revolts against Uthman's rule. He, Mu'awiya, Kharija ibn Hudhafa of Egypt, Anas ibn Malik, Hisham ibn Amir, Abu Darda, and Tabiin pupils of Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud were among those from outside Medina who urged the caliphate to take action against the dissidents in Medina. 'Ubadah said on his deathbed: == Personal information ==

Appearance Ibn Hajar in his ''Siyar A'lam Nubala'' in the chapter of 'Ubadah describes him as physically attractive. 'Ubadah was also married to Jamilah bint Abi Sa'sa' and they had a son named Walid ibn 'Ubadah. Character During his lifetime, 'Ubadah held influence within the caliphate's administration. He was asked to pass judgements, which only a handful of Muhammad's companions were allowed during their life. Regarding his battlefield achievements, 'Ubadah was known as a fearless warrior. Caliph Umar himself praised him as equal to 1,000 warriors. He was once recorded for displaying his personal military prowess when the Muslims had besieged a Byzantine fort. 'Ubadah was found alone praying in a field by Byzantine soldiers. Before they could approach, he jumped to his horse and advanced towards them. The Byzantine soldiers fled and were chased by 'Ubadah until they reached their fort. He was known as a clever commander who deployed successful strategies, such as the use of ambush trenches which allowed him to conquer strongholds such as Latakia in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt. Muslim historians described 'Ubadah as a proud man who could not be easily intimidated during negotiation. He is known as a solemn personality who detested sycophants, which he showed at one Friday prayer in Damascus. The khatib lauded him with praise when 'Ubadah was a chief judge. He threw mud in the Khatib's face and quoted the hadith about the instruction from Muhammad to throw mud in the face of flatterers. Caliph Umar held 'Ubadah in high regard. The Caliph respected him to the extent that he gave 'Ubadah important tasks. Caliph Umar supported 'Ubadah when the latter came into dispute with Mu'awiya. The caliph appointed 'Ubadah as a judge while giving him autonomy so that Mu'awiya, who was the governor of Syria, could not interfere with his verdicts. The source of the dispute was recorded by a hadith that was graded highly by Sunan ibn Majah. The hadith explained the difference between 'Ubadah and Mu'awiya regarding the permissibility of transactions using gold to exchange with coin of Dinar and silver with coin of Dirham. == Legacy ==

Sunni scholars classified 'Ubadah as among the higher-ranked companions of Muhammad. Nasiruddin al Albani highlighted the hadith from Muslim, that the Ansar is "the best tribe in human history until end of times". • His participation in the Battle of Badr, which inaugurated the honorific title of "Al-Badri". His status as a veteran is special in the eyes of scholars as Muhammad regarded those of his companions who attended the Battle of Badr as among the most important in Islam. • His participation in the Battle of Uhud, which inaugurated the honorific title of "Al-Uhudi". • His attendance at the Pledge of the Tree. Rashid Rida explained that everyone who took the pledge were regarded by Islamic teachings as special. This explanation is in line with Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's explanation of the hadith in Sahih Bukhari regarding pledge attendance, which resulted to the revelation regarding God's will towards them. Early Muslim scholars supported scholarly knowledge of 'Ubadah's status as evidenced from Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Al-Dhahabi listed a specific chapter of his biography in his ''Siyar a'lam Nubala.'' Quran Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi narrated that during the time of Muhammad, 'Ubadah was among those who collected and wrote down the Quran along with Muadh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and Abu al-Darda. Quranic experts generally accepted 'Ubadah's participation in the Pledge of the Tree mentioned in verses 55–56 of Surah Al-Ma'idah, which is one of the factors that makes 'Ubadah venerated. Those verses are believed by Muslims to be the revision of the Ten Commandments according to Islam. Either as revealed to Moses originally or as taken by Muslims now: 'Ubadah was reportedly one of the earliest figures to teach Quran exegesis. Hammam ibn Munabbih, a Tabi'un who authored one of the oldest hadith collections, reported that 'Ubadah was trusted by Muhammad to tutor the disciples of Suffah the art of writing and imparting tafsir of Quran Hadith & Legal Veridcts 'Ubadah was among the few companions of Muhammad who were allowed to give Fatwa verdicts. Due to his transmission of so many Hadith narrations from Muhammad, Muslim scholars across generations have generally viewed him as one of Islam's patrons of knowledge, and have borrowed traditions from 'Ubadah as the basis for various rulings in Sunni Islam, including the observance of Islamic teachings, mysticism, eschatological, ethics or jurisprudence. Another Hadith that has been used by scholars was narrated by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. He attributed it to 'Ubadah through Mahmud ibn al-Rabi. This Hadith became a basis of later Fiqh scholars to formulate the ruling that Surah Al-Fatiha was obligatory to be recited in every ritual prayer of Salat. Another Hadith transmitted by 'Ubadah was used as a metric by Muslims to measure the existence and omens of Laylat al-Qadr, a special occasion for Muslims that occurred once a year, which are found in the works of Ahmad ibn Hanbal On the field of Mysticism regarding the teachings of Islam, Hadith from 'Ubadah were compiled by Abu Dawud regarding a dream of Mumin or true believer of Islam as one of Muhammad's forty miracles. The chains were deemed authentic by the Hadith critics, while the exegete commentary of Abu Hurayra from the classical era preserved by Mahmud ibn Ghaylan translated this Hadith to mean that sometimes, proof of Muhammad prophecies and signs of Quran and Sunnah appear in the dreams of believers. which was also deemed authentic by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj in his Hadith compilation. Hajj rituals, Meanwhile, the Sharia law about adultery are also found from Ubadah's narration of Hadith. Jihad and laws of war 'Ubadah passed down Hadith that ruled the administration of Spoils of War such as the one after they pacified Cyprus for the second time. 'Ubadah told Mu'awiya to share the spoils that were acquired through military campaigns according to the Sunnah, which must be divided in fifths. Hadith of the usury Perhaps the most impactful hadith narrated by 'Ubadah were hadiths that focus on riba or usury. It rules out hand-to-hand transactions of commodities. It requires that only similar items be traded, except where the transaction consisted of two different commodities. Historical usage of this Hadith from 'Ubadah was found, as 'Ubadah tried to implemented the Hadith during the campaign of Cyprus. This Hadith was enough to overrule the early verdict regarding Riba by Ibn Abbas, another companion of the Muhammad with similarly high rank. Previously Ibn Abbas gave a less strict verdict regarding Riba, thus in the end Ubadah's ruling regarding Riba or Usury prevailed in opinions from majority of their peers, and caused Ibn Abbas to withdraw his previous rulings. Architecture built by 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit during conquest of Levant 'Ubadah demonstrated his skill as an architect after the conquest of Latakia. While he administered the city, he built the Great Mosque of al-Bazaar. The mosque has two western entrances. South of the mosque, leading to its courtyard is an open space recently roofed with raspberry boards. From the eastern side, two spaces open in front of the mosque, a rectangle covered with six stone arches, and a medium-sized minaret stands on its highest base. The mosque does not contain artistic touches except for some decorations on the entrance and the minaret. On the western side of the mosque is an old bathroom. Another example of his architecture is when he ended the conquest in Egypt with al-Aas. He was involved in planning and developing Fustat and in constructing the first mosque in Egypt, known as the mosque of Amr bin al-As. He, along with other companions such as Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abu Darda, and Miqdad ibn Amr al-Aswad, also constructed and decided the Qibla or direction of prayer of the mosque. The Palestinian Arabs regard him as an influential figure as evidenced by the public sermon by Dr. Yusuf Juma Salama, one of the official khattib of Al-Aqsa Mosque who spoke of 'Ubadah as the first judge of Palestine. A notable descendant was Sari Nusseibeh, a Palestinian Professor of Philosophy and former President of Al-Quds University. Another prominent descendant was Sadr al-Shari'a al-Thani, a Hanafi scholar, and Maturidi philosophist. 'Ubadah influenced the Ansari descendants of later generations, who held elite positions in various areas, particularly Hejaz. Regarding 'Ubadah legacy of emancipation, Mustafa al-Siba'i noted that emancipation within Islam was apparent due to the fact that there were one thousand (1,000) black skinned warriors under his command. 'Ubadah rebuked the racist attitude shown by scared, yet scornful Muqawqis towards black peoples during the negotiation of the latter's surrender during the conquest of Egypt. == See also ==