لَوْجَلَسْتُ مَعَكَ قَدْرَ مَا لَبِثَ نُوْحٌ فِيْ قَوْمِهٖ لَمْ اَسْتَطِعْ اَنْ اُخْبِرَكَ بِفَضَائِلِ عُمَرَ وَمَا لَهٗ عِنْدَ اللہِ

“O Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم! I would be unable to mention all the virtues of ꜤUmar and his rank in the court of Allah Almighty even if I sat here for the number of years Prophet Nūḥ عَلَیْہِ السَّلَام lived amongst his people.”^[1]

How was Jerusalem Conquered?

The blessed city of Jerusalem was first conquered during the caliphate of Sayyidunā ꜤUmar رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ. The account of its conquest is intriguing. The caliph assigned Sayyidunā Abū ꜤUbaidah b. al-Jarrāḥ رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ as the commander of an army and sent them to Jerusalem. When the army reached Jerusalem, they laid siege to the disbelievers’ fort for 4 months, which resulted in no victory for either side.   

A major priest of the disbelievers addressed Sayyidunā Abū ꜤUbaidah b. al-Jarrāḥ رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ from the top of the fort walls, “We will fight you no matter our condition. Only one person can conquer our city, and his traits are mentioned in our books. You are not that person.”

Sayyidunā Abu ꜤUbaidah b. al-Jarrāḥ رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ asked, “Who will conquer your city? What attributes of his have been mentioned in your books?”

The priest replied, “He will be a follower of Muhammad (صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم), his name will be ꜤUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, and the people will call him Fārūq. He will be firm in the matters of religion, and he will not fear the blame of people in matters relating to Allah Almighty.”

Sayyidunā Abu ꜤUbaidah b. al-Jarrāḥ رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ smiled and rejoiced,          “فَتَحْنَا    الْبَلَدَ وَ رَبِّ الْکَعْبَۃِ “Oath by Allah! We have conquered this land.” He then wrote a letter to Sayyidunā ꜤUmar رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ asking him to come to Jerusalem. When the Christian priest saw Sayyidunā ꜤUmar رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, he