دراسات في تاريخ عمان

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hands of the tribal heads.20 It is true that the Muslim governor was respon- sible for maintaining peace and stability and spreading Islam as well as collecting taxes from the people. Apart from that his influence was only minor. Al-Bahrayn was first connected with Medina، but it was later con- nected with the governor of Basra in al-Iraq during the caliphate of Uth- man، 23 - 35 A.H./ 655 A.D. This helped to increase the tribal migration from al-Bahrayn to al-Iraq.

THE ISLAMISATON OF "UMAN

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Historical accounts agree that 'Uman accepted Islam peacefully by the end of the Prophet's life. It is related that the Prophet Muhammad sent Amr b. al-As to Jayfar and Abd، the two sons of Al-Julanda، to deliver a letter calling them to Islam. They responded along with their tribes. How- ever، the accounts differ on whether this took place in 6، 8 or 11 A.H. In our opinion these different accounts are not necessarily contradictory، for it is possible that the Prophet had started his initiative in 6 A.H. after the Hudaybiyya pact with the Quraysh، then re-established contacts in 8 A.H. after the conquest of Mecca، when the new Islamic state acquired strength and fame over all Arabia.

It is worth mentioning that the ties between Uman and the Hijaz were deeply rooted.28 Arab tribes such as Banu Sama b. Lu'ayy immigrated to "Uman centuries before Islam and settled there. Commercial contacts be- tween 'Uman and Hijaz، especially the export of Umani and Suhari tex- tiles، were strong. The geographic، strategic and commercial position of "Uman must have caught the attention of the Prophet، a factor which might account for the early contacts of the Islamic state with the people of ©U-

man.

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