Salama ibn Qays al-Ashja'i

Salama ibn Qays al-Ashja'i is a Companion whose portrait in Suwar min Hayat al-Sahaba by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha centres on his command of the army sent to al-Ahwaz in the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. ¹

He relates that Umar spent a night patrolling Medina weighing whom to give the banner, then summoned Salama in the morning, appointed him and instructed him: to invite the enemy to Islam — if they accepted and stayed in their lands they owed zakat and had no share in the fay', and if they fought alongside the Muslims they had the same rights; if they refused, then the jizya, with protection from their enemies and no burden beyond their capacity; if they refused that, to fight them; if they asked to surrender on the judgement or covenant of God and His Messenger, not to grant it but to give them the Muslims' own covenant; and not to commit excess, betray, mutilate or kill a child. ^{1 2}

Al-Basha describes the army's struggle with the mountains, marshes and vermin of al-Ahwaz, Salama's exhortations, and the victory. ^{3 4} Dividing the spoils, Salama found a precious piece of jewellery and asked his soldiers' leave to send it to the Commander of the Faithful; they agreed, and he sent it with a man of Banu Ashja'. ⁴ The man relates that he found Umar feeding the people leaning on his staff; Umar took him home, fed him bread with oil and gave him barley gruel, and asked about the army, its prices and its meat; but when he opened the casket and saw the stones he sprang up, threw it to the ground and ordered him to take it back and divide it among the troops before they dispersed, threatening him if he did not, and gave him two camels from the alms herd, to pass on when done to someone needier. ^{5 6 7 8} The man went back to Salama, who did not leave his seat until he had divided it among them. ⁸

• The portrait is narrative; al-Basha retells the instructions and the story from historical works without a reference for each report.