It was also through his cunning that the shattered army of...

It was also through his cunning that the shattered army of Mu'awiyah in the battle of Siffin placed copies of the Holy Qur'an atop of spears, and a battle which was on the point to putting an end to Mu'awiyah, proved inconclusive. When 'Ali's army nominated Abu Musa al-Ash'ari for arbitration, Mu'awiyah chose 'Amr ibn al-'As on his part, and eventually 'Amr ibn al-'As deceived Abu Musa, making him remove 'Ali from the caliphate, and himself named Mu'awiyah as the caliph.

As a reward for this service and as a condition set by 'Amr ibn al-'As, Mu'awiyah offered him the life-long governorship of Egypt. After killing Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, 'Amr ibn al-'As continued to hold that post until or after the year 43 of the Hijrah and was also buried there upon his death (Refer to al-Isti'ab, al-Isabah, Usd al-ghabah and Tabaqat).

al-Mughayrah ibn Shu'bah al-Mughayrah, son of Shu'bah ibn Abi 'Amir ibn Mas'ud ath-Thaqafi embraced Islam in the time of the battle of al-Khandaq, and then after emigrating to Medina took part in the battle of al-Hudaybiyah. The Prophet sent him together with Abu Sufyan to smash the idols of Thaqif in at-Ta'if. His eyes were damaged in the battle of al-Yarmuk. He was appointed by 'Umar as governor of Basra and as he was accused of adultery which was duly testified, he was dismissed by 'Umar.

Sometime later, he was given the governorship of Kufah. Eventually, he died there as a governor appointed by Mu'awiyah. It is said that he married 300 or as some say, 1000 women after his conversion to Islam.119 **Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ** Abu Ishaq Sa'd was the son of Abi Waqqas (whose name was Malik ibn Uhayb al-Qurayshi, of the Zuhri tribe). He was one of the seven pioneers who embraced Islam. He was the prime archer in the Islamic army, and took part in the battle of Badr and other battles.

He acted as commander of the Islamic army in the conquest of Iraq and was the first man to capture that land. He built the town of Kufah and was appointed its governor by 'Umar. 'Umar chose him as one of the six candidates for the caliphate.

He retired after 'Uthman's death, and eventually died in the year 50 after the Hijrah as a result of the poison given to him through Mu'awiyah's plot, and was buried in al-Baqi'.120 Now we resume our account and follow up the matter of reciprocal respect between 'Umar and 'A'ishah. We see how the man who had vanquished Caesar and Kasra and seized their lands from them to break…