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And after him his caliphs—may Allah be pleased with them—upheld his religion. Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq therefore dispatched armies to confront the Christians in al-Shām, and several campaigns were fought between them and the Muslims. Abu Bakr passed away while the Muslims were still besieging Damascus. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab then assumed the caliphate, and during his rule he conquered the greater part of al-Shām, Egypt, Iraq, and portions of Khurasan. He himself travelled to al-Shām, and when the Christians recognized in him the qualities they found described in their own sources, they surrendered Jerusalem to him.
Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad ibn ʿĀʾidh states in his Book of Conquests:
He said:
وَقَامَ خُلَفَاؤُهُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ بَعْدَهُ بِدِينِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَأَرْسَلَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ الْجُيُوشَ ; لِغَزْوِ النَّصَارَى بِالشَّامِ، وَجَرَتْ بَيْنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَبَيْنَهُمْ عِدَّةُ غَزَوَاتٍ، وَمَاتَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَهُمْ مُحَاصِرُو دِمَشْقَ ثُمَّ وَلِيَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ فَفَتَحَ عَامَّةَ الشَّامِ وَمِصْرَ وَالْعِرَاقَ وَبَعْضَ خُرَاسَانَ فِي خِلَافَتِهِ، وَقَدِمَ إِلَى الشَّامِ فِي خِلَافَتِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَيْهِ النَّصَارَى بَيْتَ الْمَقْدِسِ لِمَا رَأَوْهُ مِنْ صِفَتِهِ عِنْدَهُمْ.
قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَائِذٍ فِي كِتَابِ الْفُتُوحِ،
قَالَ:
قَالَ