Enter!
What's your name?
I'm your maid, my Lord
Sawda
Please enter, this is your room
"Episode 19"
Peace be upon you Commander of the Faithful
Peace be upon you
Has my lord summoned me?
Where are you from, Sawda?
I'm from Damascus, my Lord
What else?
I'm an Arabian maid
Some servant traders made me into a maid
Then, I was sold to the chief slave trader who felt...
I was fit to serve the Commander of the Faithful
So, you're an Arabian maid from Damascus
Yes, my Lord
Isn't it strange that an Arabian maid is working in Arab land?
Without a kin you won't have a home, my Lord
Come, sit by my side
The Commander of the Faithful wants you to stay by his side
and don't go to serve someone else
I've told your lady, Juwairiyah
that your only job is to serve your Commander
Do you accept this?
My Lord
Entering your palace is the greatest grant from Allah
Let alone the honor of serving you and being by your side?
This is the best a maid like me would aspire to
Alright, your speech brings joy to me if you mean it
and if you don't mean it, it would be a trick by a brilliant maid
Time will reveal the truth in the days to come...
Sawda
Yazid seems very attached to little Mu'awiya
Perhaps his attachment to little Mu'awiya...
is due to his attachment to his mother, Um Hashem
your cousin
If he were attached to Um Hashem
he wouldn't have asked you to marry him Um Kulthum Bint Abdullah Ibn A'mer
Listen, Juwairiyah
I'm worried about Yazid since your brother, Utba's departure to Egypt
For, Utba bore the weight of this concern
I was keen to keep Yazid before my eyes and in my court
However, I don't know what he does when he's out of my sight
It's not wise to assign someone to spy on my son
which would undermine his stature before the servants
or it would make him mad at me if he knew he's being watched
Don't worry, Brother
Yazid is just like my son
and I'm devoted to caring for him and attending to his needs
Yazid is the son on which I place great hopes, Juwairiyah
What do you think of the new maid?
Al-Hilaliya Sawda?
As for her beauty and coquetry that concerns you, not me
Regarding anything else...
that's something I'll come to understand in the days ahead
Honorable judges
before I invite you to my court
I hired someone to inquire about you and what people think of you
and thank Allah
All of you have a reputation for wisdom and sound judgement
Integrity and steadfast justice and that's why you're here today
The Islamic state is expanding
and our Islamic land is increasing in size
and Muslims are increasing in number day after day, by the virtue of Allah
With the increase of resources...
the dispute intensifies between the wronged and the aggressor
It has been customary for those who preceded me
that the Caliph and his governors would assume...
justice and judging among people by themselves
However, it's time the Islamic state has a court of justice
and to have judges who administer justice among subjects with fairness
without referring back to the Caliph or his governors
Thus...
Each one of you becomes a judge...
and will choose his crier assistant and court usher
Further, we've ordered to appoint a translator for each judge
because of the great number of Non-Arab Muslims
I'll oversee appointing judges in all provinces by myself
May Allah reward you well Commander of the Faithful
What if the judges made a mistake or wronged someone, Commander?
Yes, we haven't neglected this matter, Yazid
We'll set a day for grievances to reach the Commander of the Faithful
if they thought that the judge didn't do them justice
In addition...
We'll establish an office for grievances that I manage myself
So that we may uphold justice for our subjects the best we can
Because justice is the cornerstone of governance
- Peace be upon you - Peace and Allah mercy be upon you
When will you bring fruits to the palace?
Tomorrow, by Allah's will
All thanks and gratitude
You're welcome
Mayya said that you weren't glad to come to me
Women envy one another, my Lord
She said that out of envy
Then, are you glad?
I'll be honest with you, my Lord
I'm in awe of your majesty
I've heard a a lot about you, my Lord
but I haven't thought that one day...
I'd be this close to my Lord
and honestly...
I'm quite curious
about what made my Lord choose me to be close to him
although my time in the palace has been brief
As long as you're being truthful to me, Sawda
I'll follow your example
When I knew that you're from Damascus
A painful memory resurfaced in my heart
Is it about a girl?
Was it an old flame, my Lord?
That was a long time ago
before I embraced Islam by virtue of Allah
I loved a Christian girl from Damascus
She made me love Damascus
She was softer than the gentle breeze
more beautiful than the morning dew
and more splendid than the twilight glow of sunset
What's her name?
Julia
Where's Julia now?
Different beliefs came between us
I was a polytheist man and she was a devout Christian girl
so, she choose her belief over me
What have you done about it, my Lord?
I yielded to her wish out of respect
suppressed my sorrow and concealed my brokenness
and decided let my wounds heal with time
I'm sorry if I stirred your pains, my Lord
Don't worry about the Commander of the Faithful
because he's used to pain
At least sorrows of love are gentler than the calamities of governance
You say that although the east and west yielded to your rule
But what about the Kharijites who were left in their ignorance?
They accuse Muslims of disbelief
and shed their blood unjustly
Come in
I'm sorry, my Lord
My lady, Juwairiyah has sent with me your preferred sweets
Alright
They are the greatest affliction that has befallen the nation
Do you want anything else from us, my Lord?
No, I don't want anything else You're free to go
What cunning women posses!
Ahnaf, your friend is the one who speaks to you truthfully
By Allah, when I recall the battle of Siffin...
My heart holds bitterness because you and your tribe sided with Ali
By Allah, Mu'awiya
the hearts by which we resented you with...
are still in our chests
and the swords we've fought you with
are still upon our shoulders
If you approach war by less than a span
we'll approach it by a span
and if you walk towards it
we'll run towards it
Do you say that to the Caliph of the Muslims and you're the most patient Arab?
There's no patience between equals
for I show forbearance towards those I consider beneath me
Do you think I've called you from Basra to intimidate you, Aba Bahr?
Words are the key to the heart
I talked to you to know what's in your heart
Our hearts are far from turmoil Commander of the Faithful
The Commander of the Faithful Ali Ibn Abi Talib's death has distanced us
- from any conflict or discord - Regardless, I know...
that you supported Commander Uthman Ibn Affan my Allah have mercy on him
I supported him because he's Allah's Messenger Companion
the third Caliph and Dhu Al-Nurain
Not because he's from Quraysh or because he's Umayyad
May Allah reward you for your wisdom Leader of Bani Tamim
May we never be deprived or your wisdom and forbearance
I hope you stay in Damascus for a couple of days
to find joy at your company and benefit from your advice
You call him, Leader of Bani Tamim although he's your foe in Siffin...
- he and his tribe? - It's true
I don't think I understand anything you do, Father
At times you welcome your enemies and at other times you fight them
You lack so much, Son of Maysun
I don't use my sword where my whip is enough
and I don't use my whip where my tongue is enough
Even if I had a thread between me and the people, it wouldn't break
If they pull it tight, I loosen it
and if they loosen it, I tighten it
Are you going to use your sword or your whip with people of Basra...
who spread chaos throughout it until all your governors couldn't control it?
We'll focus on Basra and confront its corruptors
I know its main corruption comes from the Kharijites
not Ali's supporters may Allah have mercy on him
What difference is there between Ali's supporters
who've yet to pledge allegiance to you
and Kharijites who were supporting Ali in the beginning?
Those who followed Ali out of love for him not out of ignorance or greed
I'm keen on winning their support because they're true men
Hence, I'll not raise my sword against any of them unless I'm compelled to
However, Kharijites are people of fools
They declared every Muslim who didn't share their views disbelievers
even the Companions
They refrained from fighting polytheists and terrorized Muslims and killed them
There's no use of them until the Day of Judgement
For them, I have nothing but the sword
Peace be upon you
- Peace be upon you - Peace be upon you
I've collected our received letters
concerning the church you've ordered its renovation after the earthquake
Here's what we've spent to do so, until now
This is a letter from the priests expressing their gratitude on your decree
and this is a letter from the people most of them are farmers
It also contains expressions of gratitude and praise
And this?
This is a detailed account of all expenses
that we've spent on the sacred Mosque by your decree
and here...
the expenses for the lamps placed for the pilgrims
and here, the expenses for lamps and their oil
and here's the expenses for the wells you've ordered to be dug
on the roads leading to Mecca
Have you received any complaints?
Nothing of the sort
Our policies in Syria and other provinces have proven to be effective
Except the Kharijites, my Lord
They're still a calamity upon the nation
Whenever we eliminated a faction of them, another arose
You've been at the palace for days but you haven't done anything
Is your son's life that cheap?
Deal of who's with you before I deal with who's with us
My Lord...
Have you summoned me?
I'm tired, Sawda
I'm burdened by worries
I sacrifice you by my soul
May Allah relieve you from all worries
Thank Allah for everything
What's burdening your heart?
Is there anything that doesn't burden my heart, Sawda?
Kharijites in Iraq never cease their scheming
and governors are weary of them
By Allah, I'm shocked by those who say that they're fighting to obey Allah
while violating His sacred boundaries
What obedience is based on declaring Muslims as disbelievers and killing them?
Haven't they heard the Prophet say...
"Everything belonging to a Muslim is inviolable for a Muslim..."
"his honor, his blood and property"
Haven't the Kharijites shed the blood of Muslims without regard...
and ignored disbelievers?
They began killing Muslims...
claiming that fighting them is more obligatory than fighting disbelievers?
By Allah, anyone who does that is either spiteful or ignorant
and Kharijites are one of them
Otherwise, what's their pretext for doing so?
It's for the sake of Allah's religion
For the sake of Allah's religion?
That what the Kharijites say, my Lord
All of us seek to serve Allah's religion, Sawda
but that doesn't mean that every dispute between two Muslims
necessitates that one of them kills the other
Well said
Well said, my Lord
However...
What about the Kharijites' offspring?
That's what I fear the most, Sawda
For the Kharijites to spread their misguided ideas among the rabble
and the generation that is raised on it won't discern good from bad
and becomes a plague upon Islam and Muslims
This is a precedent Commander of the Faithful
No one before you had tried to calculate the number of births
and establish their identities in the administrative offices
The Islamic state is no longer like the days of the Prophet and Aba Bakr
limited to Hejaz and Najd, Ibn Qays
and you know that Omar established the bureau of revenue for its need
So, we're continuing his work
by introducing this matter for its importance for the state
Thus, we're identifying the name of every new born
That requires great effort
We have abundant funds and a great number of personnel
What were you doing at the palace all this time?
You're asking for the impossible
I can't deceive him
Even in his sleep?
He sleeps like a wolf with his eye open
Don't you want to have your son back?
What my son has to do with it?
I've done everything for my son, Amer
Take this
This is a colorless poison
It won't be identified if you add it to water
This is your last chance you have no other choice
Either Mu'awiya dies and your son lives
or Mu'awiya lives and your son dies
You have no choice anymore
There's no power or strength except with Allah
you're exaggerating in your suspicions, Juwairiyah
Perhaps I am but I don't trust Sawda
What a maid like her can do?
What about seeing her with a woman wearing a niqab in the market...
and keeping herself out of the guards' view?
I don't find any of that very suspicious
Probably, she's just a woman in need
or a woman from her acquaintances
After all, she's an Arabian maid from Damascus
and she must have friends and acquaintances there
I don't know, Mu'awiya
I don't know
But I don't trust her
Don't worry!
All of us seek to serve Allah's religion, Sawda
but that doesn't mean that every dispute between two Muslims
necessitates that one of them kills the other
This is your last chance you have no other choice
Either Mu'awiya dies and your son lives
or Mu'awiya lives and your son dies
Welcome, people and peasants of Al-Ghouta
Hello, Commander of the Faithful
The chamberlain told me that you want to tell your Commander a complaint
Yes, my Lord
Have a seat
Commander of the Faithful...
Something is obstructing the water from reaching our crops
I ask of you, after Allah...
to give an order to return the water to its course
- How's that? - Before winter...
we used to go with over a 100 men to the river's seven streams
to clean it and remove anything accumulated in it during summer
but ever since the markets of Damascus flourished...
we can no longer find any of them
For they've become merchants
and we no longer have who can replace them
Don't worry, brothers
we'll assign someone to take care of the river
not only before winter but also throughout the year
You go now
- Are you alright? - It's my leg
- What's wrong? - It's my leg
What's your problem?
- Get the physician - Yes, my Lord
I feel pain in my leg
Come!
- Can you walk? - Yes, I can
I'm sorry... I'm sorry, my Lord
She will be alright by Allah's will, my Lord
Are you sure she didn't break her foot?
I'm quite sure, my Lord
The physician has assured me that you're well
Don't worry, my Lord It's merely a stumble
You shouldn't speak on physician's orders
The problem isn't with Mu'awiya
You are the problem
You're an unreliable woman
Perhaps you were stalling so that Mu'awiya might not die
He trusts you
He's falling for you what are you waiting for?
I've told you that I tried but couldn't do it
He's cautious and highly suspicious
If it were for me...
I would have got rid of you and of your idiot son
after the failure of the first attempt
However...
it seems to me...
This boldness would have been better directed at Mu'awiya
All of you are much worse than Mu'awiya
- All of us? - All of you
- The Kharijites - The Kharijites?
Is this how you call us now?
You're repeating what the disbelievers and enemies of Allah say...
Enemies of Allah didn't kidnap my son
They didn't ruin my life
They didn't use people as tools to achieve their aims
You pose a threat to Islam and Muslims
If your life weren't important to me
I would have buried you in these ruins
Return to Khadra palace with your smoldering resentment
Kill Mu'awiya and afterwards your son will return to you
Listen carefully
Someone has to die
it's either Mu'awiya
or your son
Choose either of them
Father, are you alright?
These people...
These people whom you speak of
are their governors' duty
and the first right they have upon their governors is justice and fairness
Father
Then, their governors have the right to obedience from them
Allah the Exalted said "O David..."
"indeed We have made you a successor upon the earth"
"so judge between the people in truth and do"
"do not follow desire"
"as it will lead you astray from the way of Allah"
How eloquent are your words, Father
The ruler has the right to obedience but the subjects have the right to...
Father, Father!
Guards, guards Get the physician!
Get the physician Father, are you alright?
Father, Father, are you alright?
Father, hasten...
Father, get the physician!
Make haste
- What happened? - They poisoned my lord's food
- Who? - I don't know
- Mu'awiya - What happened to your father, Yazid?
Someone has poisoned his food
I'll suspend the cooks and servants on Damascus's gates
until they confess the name of the criminal
I swear, if anything happens to my father
I'll burn this palace down on everyone
Yazid!
Mu'awiya