al-Yamān (1). It is likewise reported through the chains of Ibn Masʿūd (2), Ibn ʿUmar (3), and Abū al-Dardāʾ (4) – may Allah be pleased with them. We have discussed this at length in the chapter on the virtues of the two Shaykhs. What matters here is that events transpired exactly so: after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq assumed the caliphate, and after him ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, just as the Prophet ﷺ had foretold, down to the last detail.
Mālik and al-Layth transmit from al-Zuhrī, from a son of Kaʿb ibn Mālik, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When you conquer Egypt, be good to the Copts.”
In another wording:
“Treat its people well, for they enjoy a covenant and kinship.” (5)
Egypt was in fact conquered by ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ in the year 20 AH, during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb – may Allah be pleased with him.
Muslim records, on the authority of Abū Dharr, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“You will conquer a land where the qirāt is mentioned; so treat its people well, for they have a covenant and kinship.” (6)
During the rule of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, two garrison towns were founded: Basrah and Kūfah.
Abū Dāwūd relates: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ narrated to us, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad narrated to us, Mūsā al-Ḥanāṭ – to the best of my knowledge he named him – narrated from Mūsā ibn Anas, from Anas ibn Mālik, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ [said]:
“O Anas, people will build cities, and among them will be a city called al-Baṣrah – or al-Buṣayrah. Should you pass by it or enter it, then beware of its salt-marsh [and its pasture-lands (7)], its marketplace, and the gates of its governors. Keep to its outskirts, for within it there will be subsidence, stone-pelting, metamorphosis, and earthquake; and some people there will be transformed into apes and swine.” (8)
The Report of al-Ubulla (9)
Abū Dāwūd said: Ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us, Ibrāhīm ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Dirham narrated to us; I heard my father say: We set out for the ḥajj, and a man asked us, “From which land have you come?” We replied, “From such-and-such a town.” He said, “Is there near you a village called al-Ubulla?” We answered, “Yes.” He said, “Who will guarantee to pray two – or four – rakʿahs in the mosque of al-ʿAshshār and say, ‘This is on behalf of Abū Hurayrah’? For I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
‘From the mosque of al-ʿAshshār Allah will raise martyrs with whom no one will stand alongside the martyrs of Badr except them.’” (10)