Ubayda ibn as-Samit

Return to the Levant 'Ubadah was dispatched by Caliph Umar to assist Abu Ubaydah and Mu'awiya in Syria. Until the last years of his life, Umar wanted to appoint 'Ubadah as governor in Homs, as he thought that the grip of the caliphate and Islam was new in that area, so he wanted someone he trusted to impose strict order. in the winter of 644 with a force of 10,000 men. This raiding operation started from area called Shaifa and ended in Amorium. When Uthman became caliph after Umar's death, Mu'awiya once again asked the Caliph to allow him to build a navy to attack Cyprus, reasoning that Cyprus had become a satellite island of Byzantine forces which could threaten the caliphate on the western banks of Palestine. Before he joined Mu'awiya's project to build the first naval forces of the caliphate, 'Ubadah joined forces with Muslim general, Abdallah ibn Qais. Shortly after building the armada, Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah departed from Acre and left for Cyprus. According to al-Baladhuri and Khalifa ibn Khayyat, Mu'awiya and 'Ubadah led the attack and were accompanied by their wives Katwa bint Qaraza ibn Abd Amr of the Qurayshite Banu Nawfal and Umm Haram.

Hadith of the Prophecy of the Conquest of Cyprus Sahih Bukhari '

One of the most famous hadiths related to 'Ubadah and Umm Haram relate to the prophecy that the Islamic caliphate would dominate the sea on two occasions. This was taught by Muslim scholars as a prophecy of the conquest of Cyprus. He, Mu'awiya, Kharija ibn Hudhafa of Egypt, Anas ibn Malik, Hisham ibn Amir, Abu Darda, and Tabiin pupils of Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud were among those from outside Medina who urged the caliphate to take action against the dissidents in Medina. 'Ubadah said on his deathbed:

Personal information Appearance Ibn Hajar in his Siyar A'lam Nubala in the chapter of 'Ubadah describes him as physically attractive.

'Ubadah was also married to Jamilah bint Abi Sa'sa' and they had a son named Walid ibn 'Ubadah.

Character During his lifetime, 'Ubadah held influence within the caliphate's administration. He was asked to pass judgements, which only a handful of Muhammad's companions were allowed during their life.

Regarding his battlefield achievements, 'Ubadah was known as a fearless warrior. Caliph Umar himself praised him as equal to 1,000 warriors. He was once recorded for displaying his personal military prowess when the Muslims had besieged a Byzantine fort. 'Ubadah was found alone praying in a field by Byzantine soldiers. Before they could approach, he jumped to his horse and advanced towards them. The Byzantine soldiers fled and were chased by 'Ubadah until they reached their fort.

He was known as a clever commander who deployed successful strategies, such as the use of ambush trenches which allowed him to conquer strongholds such as Latakia in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt.

Caliph Umar praised 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit

Muslim historians described 'Ubadah as a proud man who could not be easily intimidated during negotiation. He is known as a solemn personality who detested sycophants, which he showed at one Friday prayer in Damascus. The khatib lauded him with praise when 'Ubadah was a chief judge. He threw mud in the Khatib's face and quoted the hadith about the instruction from Muhammad to throw mud in the face of flatterers.

Sunni scholars classified 'Ubadah as among the higher-ranked companions of Muhammad. Nasiruddin al Albani highlighted the hadith from Muslim, that the Ansar is "the best tribe in human history until end of times". His participation in the Battle of Badr, which inaugurated the honorific title of "Al-Badri". His status as a veteran is special in the eyes of scholars as Muhammad regarded those of his companions who attended the Battle of Badr as among the most important in Islam. His participation in the Battle of Uhud, which inaugurated the honorific title of "Al-Uhudi". His attendance at the Pledge of the Tree. Rashid Rida explained that everyone who took the pledge were regarded by Islamic teachings as special. This explanation is in line with Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's explanation of the hadith in Sahih Bukhari regarding pledge attendance, which resulted to the revelation regarding God's will towards them.

Early Muslim scholars supported scholarly knowledge of 'Ubadah's status as evidenced from Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Al-Dhahabi listed a specific chapter of his biography in his Siyar a'lam Nubala.

Quran

Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi narrated that during the time of Muhammad, 'Ubadah was among those who collected and wrote down the Quran along with Muadh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and Abu al-Darda. Quranic experts generally accepted 'Ubadah's participation in the Pledge of the Tree mentioned in verses 55–56 of Surah Al-Ma'idah, which is one of the factors that makes 'Ubadah venerated. Those verses are believed by Muslims to be the revision of the Ten Commandments according to Islam. Either as revealed to Moses originally or as taken by Muslims now: 'Ubadah was reportedly one of the earliest figures to teach Quran exegesis. Hammam ibn Munabbih, a Tabi'un who authored one of the oldest hadith collections, reported that 'Ubadah was trusted by Muhammad to tutor the disciples of Suffah the art of writing and imparting tafsir of Quran

Hadith & Legal Veridcts

'Ubadah was among the few companions of Muhammad who were allowed to give Fatwa verdicts. Due to his transmission of so many Hadith narrations from Muhammad, Muslim scholars across generations have generally viewed him as one of Islam's patrons of knowledge, and have borrowed traditions from 'Ubadah as the basis for various rulings in Sunni Islam, including the observance of Islamic teachings, mysticism, eschatological, ethics or jurisprudence. Another Hadith that has been used by scholars was narrated by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. He attributed it to 'Ubadah through Mahmud ibn al-Rabi. This Hadith became a basis of later Fiqh scholars to formulate the ruling that Surah Al-Fatiha was obligatory to be recited in every ritual prayer of Salat. Another Hadith transmitted by 'Ubadah was used as a metric by Muslims to measure the existence and omens of Laylat al-Qadr, a special occasion for Muslims that occurred once a year, which are found in the works of Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Ubadah ibn al-Samit admonished someone who fawning to him excessively by quoting a hadith

On the field of Mysticism regarding the teachings of Islam, Hadith from 'Ubadah were compiled by Abu Dawud regarding a dream of Mumin or true believer of Islam as one of Muhammad's forty miracles. The chains were deemed authentic by the Hadith critics, while the exegete commentary of Abu Hurayra from the classical era preserved by Mahmud ibn Ghaylan translated this Hadith to mean that sometimes, proof of Muhammad prophecies and signs of Quran and Sunnah appear in the dreams of believers. which was also deemed authentic by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj in his Hadith compilation. Hajj rituals, Meanwhile, the Sharia law about adultery are also found from Ubadah's narration of Hadith.

Jihad and laws of war 'Ubadah passed down Hadith that ruled the administration of Spoils of War such as the one after they pacified Cyprus for the second time. 'Ubadah told Mu'awiya to share the spoils that were acquired through military campaigns according to the Sunnah, which must be divided in fifths.

Hadith of the usury

Perhaps the most impactful hadith narrated by 'Ubadah were hadiths that focus on riba or usury. It rules out hand-to-hand transactions of commodities. It requires that only similar items be traded, except where the transaction consisted of two different commodities.

Historical usage of this Hadith from 'Ubadah was found, as 'Ubadah tried to implemented the Hadith during the campaign of Cyprus. This Hadith was enough to overrule the early verdict regarding Riba by Ibn Abbas, another companion of the Muhammad with similarly high rank. Previously Ibn Abbas gave a less strict verdict regarding Riba, thus in the end Ubadah's ruling regarding Riba or Usury prevailed in opinions from majority of their peers, and caused Ibn Abbas to withdraw his previous rulings.

Architecture

'Ubadah demonstrated his skill as an architect after the conquest of Latakia. While he administered the city, he built the Great Mosque of al-Bazaar. The mosque has two western entrances. South of the mosque, leading to its courtyard is an open space recently roofed with raspberry boards. From the eastern side, two spaces open in front of the mosque, a rectangle covered with six stone arches, and a medium-sized minaret stands on its highest base. The mosque does not contain artistic touches except for some decorations on the entrance and the minaret. On the western side of the mosque is an old bathroom.

Another example of his architecture is when he ended the conquest in Egypt with al-Aas. He was involved in planning and developing Fustat and in constructing the first mosque in Egypt, known as the mosque of Amr bin al-As. He, along with other companions such as Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abu Darda, and Miqdad ibn Amr al-Aswad, also constructed and decided the Qibla or direction of prayer of the mosque. The Palestinian Arabs regard him as an influential figure as evidenced by the public sermon by Dr. Yusuf Juma Salama, one of the official khattib of Al-Aqsa Mosque who spoke of 'Ubadah as the first judge of Palestine. A notable descendant was Sari Nusseibeh, a Palestinian Professor of Philosophy and former President of Al-Quds University. Another prominent descendant was Sadr al-Shari'a al-Thani, a Hanafi scholar, and Maturidi philosophist.

'Ubadah influenced the Ansari descendants of later generations, who held elite positions in various areas, particularly Hejaz.

Regarding 'Ubadah legacy of emancipation, Mustafa al-Siba'i noted that emancipation within Islam was apparent due to the fact that there were one thousand (1,000) black skinned warriors under his command. 'Ubadah rebuked the racist attitude shown by scared, yet scornful Muqawqis towards black peoples during the negotiation of the latter's surrender during the conquest of Egypt.