| '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-Qurayshj, 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 them up, the
man who had dealt lashes on the backs of the Prophet's
companions, thus displayed his absolute power; the man
upon hearing whose name powerful kings and rulers trembled,
now humbles himself before such a woman as 'A'ishah
and politely begs her permission to choose his eternal
resting-place. He makes her house the site for the meeting
of the council to decide the question of the caliphate
and the powerful rule of Islam and Muslims, thereby
gaining greater honour and credit in the eyes of the
world of Islam to her house and her person, and through
a typical act of opportunism reinforced her rank and
position in the hearts of the Muslims and Islamic society
even in the last moments of his life.
So, in this and many other ways, 'Umar during his rule,
gave such a distinction to 'A'ishah over her equals
and other Muslims that it made the Islamic society subordinate
to the glory and
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