Even some years before the call of prophet , the Bedouin of the arabian island were called by the title or name “Saraqinus,” because they lived off the loot they gained in raids, which was permissible and pure for them to enjoy, as Ibn Abdullah said!, which did not stop even after they uttered the two testimonies and became believers in God and the Last Day, Their morals did not improve after uttering the two testimonies, but on the contrary, they worsened after the Bedouin Saraqinus tribes united under the black banner.
The tribes were united by material incentives, as they shared the stolen and looted goods called war spoils with the center, The warriors’ share was four-fifths, and the center’s share, i.e. the Caliph, was one-fifth, By the way, the rules of division were known during the life of the Prophet son of Abdullah, and continued for a long time with the Rightly Guided Caliphs and after them, With this one-fifth, Ibn Abdullah, according to Sheikh Wagdi Ghoneim, became a billionaire, i.e., the richest of the rich among the Bedouins, The money and spoils overflowed in the treasuries of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and after them the Umayyads, then the Abbasids, then the Ottomans, etc.
The destination of the invasion was generally outside the barren Arabian Peninsula, They chose rich and relatively sparsely populated regions, such as the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley, and others like Palestine, Therefore, their Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, organized a campaign with the intention of occupying or conquering Palestine on the advice of Abu Ubaidah al-Jarrah, similar to the advice of Amr ibn al-Aas regarding the occupation of Egypt. Here, spoils played a key role due to the presence of wealthy Romans in Palestine, as was the case with Persia, where Ibn Abdullah encouraged the fighters because he would make them possess the treasures of Chosroes, including money, jewels, and women, Here, we recommend learning about the amusing story of Suraqah ibn Malik and the bracelets of Chosroes, Regarding the spoils, one can infer the greed of Umar ibn al-Khattab, who refused to put the treasures of Chosroes in the treasury, but rather divided them with the thieves first.
The invasion began by marching towards Palestine after Abu Ubayyah and Khalid ibn al-Walid had completed the occupation of Damascus and the slaughter of tens of thousands of Syrians, First, Jerusalem was besieged for four months, during which the invaders cut off all means of escape for those besieged, Then the search began to identify the leader of that campaign, Some thought that his characteristics matched those of the one who would destroy Jerusalem according to the holy Hebrew books, Therefore, the scales tipped towards surrender, because defeat, according to their religious belief, was inevitable!
Some historians later said that the muslim believers were eager to conquer Jerusalem because they wanted to perform prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the irony was that there was no Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this mosque was built decades after the conquest of Jerusalem, i.e., during the caliphate of Abd al-Malik, That is, the conquest of Jerusalem was recently justified by a huge lie like praying in a mosque that does not exist.
Some sources said that Abu Ubaidah warned the people of Jerusalem either to convert to Islam, pay the jizya (tribute), or face war, but they did not respond, Therefore, Abu Ubaidah sent seven armies, headed by leaders such as Yazid, Ibn al-Walid, Muawiyah, Shurahbil, and others, The lie regarding prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque was not limited to that, but it was exaggerated and magnified, as it was said that Umar Ibn al-Khattab entered Jerusalem through the gate through which Ibn Abdullah entered on the night of the myth of Isra and Mi’raj, which occurred before the construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Historically, Ibn Abdullah never set foot on the land of Palestine at all.
There is no doubt that Omar was intelligent, When the Bishop of Jerusalem wept after surrendering and handing over the keys to Jerusalem, Omar told him, “Do not grieve, take it easy, for the world is ever-changing; one day is for you, and one day is against you.” Apparently, the bishop was not foolish, for he said to Omar, “I wept when I realized that your rule will last forever, everlasting and never ending, The rule of injustice is but an hour, while the rule of justice lasts until the Day of Judgment. I had thought it would be a conquering state that would pass and then disappear with the years, The bishop’s prophecy has come true, and if God had extended Omar’s life to this day, he would have been certain of it!”
