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ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abu Bakr (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر; c. 596 or 605–675), was an Arab Muslim military commander in the service of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr (r. 632–634), and Umar (r. 634–644). His mother was Umm Ruman and he was the full brother of Aisha.

Unlike the rest of his family, including his father Abu Bakr and sister Aisha, he did not convert to Islam until the Treaty of Hudaybiyah in 628.

Four generations of the family of Abd al-Rahman had the distinction of being the companions (sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad namely Abd al-Rahman, his father Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, his grandfather Uthman Abu Quhafa and his son Abu Atiq Muhammad. It was believed that no other family held this distinction.

Biography

While still a non-Muslim, Abd al-Rahman fought on the side of Quraish in the Battles of Badr and Uhud.

In the Battle of Badr, he had an opportunity to kill his father, Abu Bakr, but he turned in another direction. Years later, after becoming a Muslim, he told his father about it. Thereupon Abu Bakr replied: "If I had had such an opportunity, I would not have spared you."

In the Battle of Uhud before the fighting began, he came forward and threw down a challenge for a duel. Abu Bakr accepted the challenge, but Muhammad stopped him, saying, "Sheathe your sword, and let us continue to profit by your wise counsels."

After becoming a Muslim, Abd al-Rahman participated in all the battles fought by the Muslims and gained fame as a fierce warrior, especially in the Muslim conquest of Syria. He was one of the Mubarizun champions and fought duels in the battles for the Muslim army. The mubarizun unit of the Rashidun army was composed of elite warriors who were champion swordsmen, lancers and archers. In the battlefield his role was to undermine the morale of the enemy before the beginning of the battle by slaying their champions in duels.

In the Battle of Yamama he killed Muhakkam al-Yamama, the general commanding the forces of Musaylima.

In the Battle of Yarmouk, the commander in chief of the Byzantine force chose five selected warriors from the Byzantine side, and they challenged the Muslims to duels. It was Abd al-Rahman who accepted the challenge. Scores of duels were fought on the plains of Yarmouk. Abd al-Rahman killed all of them one after the other.

At the Battle of Busra in Syria, he entered the city of Busra through a subterranean passage and then dashing towards the city gates opened them for the main Muslim army to enter.

Later, Abd al-Rahman was mentioned again as being involved in the Muslim campaign to Bahnasa. The Byzantine Sudanese forces fled to Bahnasa town and locked the gates. They were followed by the Muslims who besieged the town, while the enemy were reinforced by the arrival of 50,000 troops according to the report of al-Maqqari. The siege dragged on for months, until Khalid ibn al-Walid commanded Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar and other commanders to intensify the siege. He assigned the commanders to lead around 10,000 Companions of the Prophet, with 70 among them being veterans of the Battle of Badr. Abd al-Rahman was mentioned as one of the Rashidun commanders. The Byzantines and their Copt allies showering the Rashidun army with arrows and stones, until the Rashidun overcame the defenders, as Dhiraar, the first emerge, came out from the battle with his entire body stained in blood, while confessing to personally slaying about 160 Byzantine soldiers during the battle. The Muslim army managed to breach the gate and storming the city forced the surrender of the inhabitants. According to the chronicles, the siege of Bahnasa were so fierce that in this battle alone, 5,000 Companions of the prophet (Sahabah) perished during this battle, as the thousands of their tombs could still to be seen in the modern day.

Later, the Muslim forces besieged Barqa (Cyrenaica) for about three years to no avail. Then Khalid ibn al-Walid, who had previously participated in the conquest of Oxyrhynchus, offered a radical plan to erect a catapult that would be filled with sacks of cotton. Then as the night came and the city guard slept, Khalid ordered his best warriors including Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, his son Abd Allah, Fadl ibn Abbas, Abu Mas'ud al-Badri, and Abd al-Razzaq to step into the catapult platform which was then filled with cotton sacks. The catapult launched them one by one to the top of the wall and allowed these warriors to climb the top of the city walls, open the gates and kill the guards, thus allowing the Muslim forces to enter and capture the city.

After his death, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr was buried in Mecca. .

See also

• Companions of the Prophet
• Abu Bakr
• Siddiqui
• Bodla
• Sheekhaal
• Qallu
• Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr
• Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr
• Aisha
• Asma bint Abi Bakr
• Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
• Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr

Appendix

Notes

1. The first version narrated the siege of Bahnasa were led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, who also brought an ex Sassanid Marzban and his 2,000 Persian convert soldiers in this campaign. The Persian Marzban suggested to Khalid to form a suicide squad who will carry a wooden box filled with mixture of sulphur and oil and placing it at the gates, ignited it and blasting the gates(or melting the iron gate, according to the original translation), allowing the Muslim army to enter the city.
2. The second version were the Muslim army led by Qays ibn Harith without much details of how the Muslims managed to subdue the city. However, this source mention that Qays ibn Harith name were used temporarily to rename Oxyrhynchus for while to honor his deeds in this campaign, before being renamed to be al-Bahnasa.

References

1. ^ Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
2. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
3. As-Suyuti, Tarikh al-Khulafa. Translated by Jarrett, H. S. (1881). The History of the Caliphs, p. 35. Calcutta: Asiatic Society.
4. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore OCLC 3478821
5. Hadrat 'Umar Faroo By prof. Masud-ul-Hassan Published by AshfaqMmirza, MD, Islamic Publications Ltd 13-E, Shah Alam Market, Lahore, Pakistan Published by Syed Afzal-ul-Haqq Quddusi, Quddusi Printers, Nasir Park, Bilal Gunj, Lahore, Pakistan
6. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan OCLC 3478821
7. H. Blumell 2012, pp. 295–300
8. Norris 1986, p. 81.
9. Hendrickx 2012, p. 109-110.
10. ^ "دفن بها 5 آلاف صحابي.. البهنسا قبلة الزائرين من كل حدب وصوب". Gulf News. Gulf News. 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
11. Waqidi, Muhammad ibn Umar. "Futuh Sham, complete second version". modern comprehensive library. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
12. Waqidi, Muhammad ibn Umar (2008). فتوح الشام (نسخة منقحة) (Revised ed.). p. 48. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
13. Al Shinnawy, Mohammed (2019). "مدينة الشهداء خارج حساب محافظ المنيا" [The city of martyrs is outside the account of the governor of Minya]. Shada al-'Arab. Shada al-'Arab. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
14. ^ الشاعر (2020). "البهنسا .. مدينة الشهداء وبقيع مصر" [Bahnasa .. the city of martyrs and Baqi’ of Egypt] (in Arabic). صحيفة الساعة 25 (25 O'Clock news). صحيفة الساعة 25 (25 O'Clock news). Archived from the original (website news) on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2022. عبد اللطيف عبد الرحمن, أبي عبد الله محمد بن عمر/الواقدي · 2005; فتوح الشام
15. Siddiq-e-Akbar Hazrat Abu Bakr by prof. Masud ul Hassan Printed and Published by A. Salam, Ferozsons Ltd 60, Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore, Pakistan OCLC 3478821

Sources

• H. Blumell, Lincoln (2012). "Epilogue. The Demise of Christian Oxyrhynchus". Lettered Christians (Biblical Studies). Brill. pp. 295–300. doi:10.1163/9789004180987_008. ISBN 9789004180987. Retrieved 17 January 2022. Futuh al-Bahnasa al Gharra, 'the conquest of Bahnasa, the blessed', by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mu'izz
• Hendrickx, Benjamin (2012). "THE BORDER TROOPS OF THE ROMAN-BYZANTINE SOUTHERN EGYPTIAN LIMES: PROBLEMS AND REMARKS ON THE ROLE OF THE AFRICAN AND 'BLACK' AFRICAN MILITARY UNITS". Ekklesiastikos Pharos. 94. hdl:10520/EJC128657. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
• Norris, H. T. (1986). "THE FUTŪḤ AL-BAHNASĀ: And its relation to pseudo-"Maġāzī" and "Futūḥ" literature, Arabic "Siyar" and Western Chanson de Geste in the Middle Ages". Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 4: 76–78. JSTOR 25802579. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

• 675 deaths
• Family of Abu Bakr
• Companions of the Prophet
• Children of Rashidun caliphs
• Sons of caliphs