We are in the second year of the Hijrah. Madinah the city of the Prophet is buzzing with activity as the Muslims prepare for  the long march southwards to Badr.

The noble Prophet made a final inspection of the first army to be mobilized under his leadership to wage Jihad against those  who had tormented the Muslims for many years and who were still bent on putting an end to his mission.

A youth, not yet thirteen, walked up to the ranks. He was confident and alert. He held a sword which was as long or possibly  slightly longer than his own height. He went up to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: “I  dedicate myself to you, Messenger of God. Permit me to be with you and to fight the enemies of God under your banner.”

The noble Prophet looked at him with admiration and patted his shoulder with loving tenderness. He commended him for his  courage but refused to enlist him because he was still too young.

The youth, Zayd ibn Thabit, turned and walked away, dejected and sad. As he walked, in slow and measured paces, he stuck  his sword in the ground as a sign of his disappointment. He was denied the honor of accompanying the Prophet on his first  campaign. Behind him was his mother, an-Nawar bint Malik. She felt equally dejected and sad. She had dearly wished to see  her young son go with the army of mujahidin and to be with the Prophet at this most critical time.

One year later, as preparations were underway for the second encounter with the Quraysh which took place at Uhud, a  group of Muslim teenagers bearing arms of various kinds – swords, spears, bows and arrows and shields – approached the  Prophet. They were seeking to be enlisted in any capacity in the Muslim ranks. Some of them, like Rafi ibn Khadij and  Samurah ibn Jundub, who were strong and well-built for their age and who demonstrated their ability to wrestle and handle  weapons, were granted permission by the Prophet to join the Muslim forces. Others like Abdullah the son of Umar and Zayd  ibn Thabit were still considered by the Prophet to be too young and immature to fight. He promised though to consider them  for a later campaign. It was only at the Battle of the Ditch when Zayd was about sixteen years old that he was at last  allowed to bear arms in defence of the Muslim community.

Although Zayd was keen to participate in battles, it is not as a warrior that he is remembered. After his rejection for the Badr  campaign, he accepted the fact then that he was too young to fight in major battles. His alert mind turned to other fields of  service, which had no connection with age and which could bring him closer to the Prophet, peace be on him. He considered  the field of knowledge and in particular of memorizing the Quran. He mentioned the idea to his mother. She was delighted  and immediately made attempts to have his ambition realized. An-Nuwar spoke to some men of the Ansar about the youth’s  desire and they in turn broached the matter with the Prophet, saying: “O Messenger of Allah, our son Zayd ibn Thabit has  memorized seventeen surahs of the Book of Allah and recites them as correctly as they were revealed to you. In addition to  that he is good at reading and writing. It is in this field of service that he desires to be close to you. Listen to him if you will.”

The Prophet, peace be on him, listened to Zayd reciting some surahs he had memorized. His recitation was clear and  beautiful and his stops and pauses indicated clearly that he understood well what he recited. The Prophet was pleased.  Indeed he found that Zayd’s ability exceeded the commendation he had been given by his relatives. The Prophet then set  him a task which required intelligence, skill and persistence.

“Zayd, learn the writing of the Jews for me,” instructed the Prophet. “At your command, Messenger of Allah,” replied Zayd  who set about learning Hebrew with enthusiasm. He became quite proficient in the language and wrote it for the Prophet  when he wanted to communicate with the Jews. Zayd also read and translated from Hebrew when the Jews wrote to the  Prophet. The Prophet instructed him to learn Syriac also and this he did. Zayd thus came to perform the important function of  an interpreter for the Prophet in his dealings with non-Arabic speaking peoples.

Zayd’s enthusiasm and skill were obvious. When the Prophet felt confident of his faithfulness in the discharge of duties and  the care, precision and understanding with which he carried out tasks, he entrusted Zayd with the weighty responsibility of  recording the Divine revelation.

When any part of the Quran was revealed to the Prophet, he often sent for Zayd and instructed him to bring the writing  materials, “the parchment, the ink-pot and the scapula”, and write the revelation.

Zayd was not the only one who acted as a scribe for the Prophet. One source has listed forty-eight persons who used to  write for him. Zayd was very prominent among them. He did not only write but during the Prophet’s time he collected  portions of the Quran that were written down by others and arranged these under the supervision of the Prophet. He is  reported to have said:

“We used to compile the Quran from small manuscripts in the presence of the Prophet.” In this way, Zayd experienced the  Quran directly from the Prophet himself. It could be said that he grew up with the verses of the Quran, understanding well  the circumstances surrounding each revelation. He thus became well-versed in the secrets of the Shariah and at an early age  gained the well-deserved reputation as a leading scholar among the companions of the Prophet.

After the death of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the task fell on this fortunate young man who  specialized in the Quran to authenticate the first and most important reference for the ummah of Muhammad. This became an  urgent task after the wars of apostasy and the Battle of Yamamah in particular in which a large number of those who had  committed the Quran to memory perished.

Umar convinced the Khalifah Abu Bakr that unless the Quran was collected in one manuscript, a large part of it was in danger  of being lost. Abu Bakr summoned Zayd ibn Thabit and said to him: “You are an intelligent young man and we do not suspect  you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine revelation for Allah’s Messenger. Therefore look for  (all parts of) the Quran and collect it in one manuscript.”

Zayd was immediately aware of the weighty responsibility. He later said: “By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift  one of the mountains from its place, it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the  collection of the Quran.”

Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, “started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments,  scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart)”.

It was a painstaking task and Zayd was careful that not a single error, however slight or unintentional, should creep into the  work. When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared suhuf or sheets with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left  the suhuf with Umar who in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah and Aishah were wives of the  Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, who memorized the Quran.

During the time of Uthman, by which time Islam had spread far and wide, differences in reading the Quran became obvious. A  group of companions of the Prophet, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was then stationed in Iraq, came to Uthman  and urged him to “save the Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran”.

Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from Hafsah and again summoned the leading authority, Zayd ibn Thabit, and  some other competent companions to make accurate copies of it. Zayd was put in charge of the operation. He completed the  task with the same meticulousness with which he compiled the original suhuf during the time of Abu Bakr.

Zayd and his assistants wrote many copies. One of these Uthman sent to every Muslim province with the order that all other  Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies be burnt. This was important in order to  eliminate any variations or differences from the standard text of the Quran. Uthman kept a copy for himself and returned the  original manuscript to Hafsah.

Zayd ibn Thabit thus became one of the foremost authorities on the Quran. Umar ibn al-Khattab once addressed the Muslims  and said: “O people, whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Zayd ibn Thabit.”

And so it was that seekers of knowledge from among the companions of the Prophet and the generation who succeeded  them, known as the “Tabiun”, came from far and wide to benefit from his knowledge. When Zayd died, Abu Hurayrah said:  “Today, the scholar of this ummah has died.”

When a Muslim holds the Quran and reads it or hears it being recited, surah after surah, ayah after ayah, he should know  that he owes a tremendous debt of gratitude and recognition to a truly great companion of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit, for  helping to preserve for all time to come the Book of Eternal Wisdom. Truly did Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, say: “Surely We  have revealed the Book of Remembrance and We shall certainly preserve it.” (The Quran, Surah al-Hijr, 15:9)

Allah knows the best

People are made up of basic “metals” or qualities. The best of them in Jahiliyyah are the best of them in Islam, according to a  hadith of the Prophet.

Here are two pictures of a noble companion–one during his life in Jahiliyyah and the other after he became a Muslim .

In Jahiliyyah, this Sahabi was known as Zayd al-Khayl. When he became a Muslim, the Prophet renamed him Zayd al-Khayr.

The tribe of Aamir were afflicted one year by a severe drought which destroyed crops and vegetation and caused livestock to  perish. So bad was it that one man left the tribe with his family and went to Hira. There he left his family with the words,  “Wait for me here till I return to you.” He swore to himself not to return to them until he earned some money for them or died  in the process.

The man took some provisions with him and walked all day in search of something for his family. At nightfall, he found himself  in front of a tent. Nearby a horse was tethered and he said to himself:

“This is the first booty.” He went to the horse, untied it and was about to mount it when a voice called out to him:

“Leave it and take your life as booty.” He hastily abandoned the horse.

For seven days he walked until he reached a place where there was a pasture for camels. Nearby was an enormous tent  with a leather dome, signs of great riches and wealth.

The man said to himself: “Doubtless this pasture has camels and doubtless this tent has occupants.” The sun was about to  set. The man looked inside the tent and saw a very old man in the center. He sat down behind the old man without the latter  realizing his presence.

The sun soon set. A horseman, imposing and well built, approached. He rode his mount erect and tall. Two male servants  accompanied him, one on his right and the other on his left. With him were almost a hundred she-camels and in front of them  a huge male camel. Clearly he was a well endowed man. To one of the servants he said, pointing to a fat camel:

“Milk this and give the old man a drink.” The shaykh drank one or two mouthfuls from the full vessel which was brought to  him and left it. The wanderer went up to it stealthily and drank all the milk in it. The servant returned, took the vessel and  said:

“Master, he has drunk it all.” The horseman was happy and ordered another camel to be milked. The old man drank only one  mouthful and the wanderer drank half of what was left so as not to arouse the suspicion of the horseman. The horseman  then ordered his second servant to kill a sheep. Some of it was grilled and the horseman fed the shaykh until he was  satisfied. He and the two servants then ate. After this, they all slept soundly; their snoring filled the tent.

The wanderer then went to the he-camel, untied and mounted it. He rode off and the she camels followed. He rode  throughout the night. At daybreak he looked around in every direction but did not see anyone following him. He pushed on  until the sun was high in the sky. He looked around and suddenly saw something like an eagle or a big bird in the distance  coming towards him. It quickly gained on him and soon he saw that it was the horseman on his horse.

The wanderer dismounted and tied the he-camel. He took out an arrow and placed it in his bow and stood in front of the  other camels. The horseman stopped at a distance and shouted:

“Untie the camel.” The man refused saying how he had left behind him a hungry family in Hira and how he had sworn not to  return unless he had money or died in the process

“You are dead if you do not untie the camel,” said the horseman. The wanderer again refused to do so. The horseman  threatened him once more and said:

“Hold out the reins of the camel. There are three knots in it. Tell me in which of them you want me to place my arrow.” The  man pointed to the middle knot and the horseman lodged an arrow right in the center as if he had neatly placed it there with  his hand. He did the same with the second and third knots. At that, the man quietly returned his own arrow to his quiver and  gave himself up. The horseman took away his sword and his bow and said to him:

“Ride behind me.” The man expected the worst fate to befall him now. He was at the complete mercy of the horseman who  said:

“Do you think I will cause you harm when you have shared with Muhalhil (the old man, his father) his drink and his food last  night?”

When the man heard the name Muhalhil, he was astonished and asked: “Are you Zayd al-Khayl?”

“Yes,” said the horseman.

“Be the best captor,” pleaded the man.

“Don’t worry,” replied Zayd al-Khayl calmly. “If these camels were mine, I would give them to you. But they belong to one of  my sisters. But stay some days with me. I am about to make a raid.”

Three days later he raided the Banu Numayr and captured about a hundred camels, as booty. He gave them all to the man  and sent some men with him as guards until he reached his family in Hira.

The above is a story of Zayd al-Khayl as he was in Jahiliyyah recounted by the historian ash-Shaybani. The books of Siyar  give another picture of Zayd al-Khayl as he was in Islam . . .

When Zayd al-Khayr heard the news of the Prophet, peace be upon him, he made some of his own enquiries and then  decided to go to Madinah to meet the Prophet. With him was a big delegation of his people among whom were Zurr ibn  Sudoos, Malik ibn Jubayr, Aamir ibn Duwayn and others.

When they reached Madinah, they went straight to the Prophet’s Mosque and tethered their mounts at its door. It happened  that as they entered, the Prophet was on the mimbar addressing the Muslims. His speech aroused Zayd and his delegation  and they were also astonished by the rapt attention of the Muslims and the effect of the Prophet’s words on them. The  Prophet was saying:

“I am better for you than al-Uzza (one of the main idols of the Arabs in Jahiliyyah) and everything else that you worship. I am  better for you than the black camel which you worship besides God.”

The Prophet’s words had two different effects on Zayd al-Khayl and those with him. Some of them responded positively to  the Truth and accepted it. Some turned away and rejected it. One of the latter was Zurr ibn Sudoos. When he saw the  devotion of the believers to Muhammad, both envy and fear filled his heart and he said to those with him:

“I see a man who shall certainly captivate all Arabs and bring them under his sway. I shall not let him control me ever.” He  then headed towards Syria where it is said he shaved his head (as was the practice of some monks) and became a  Christian.

The reaction of Zayd and others was different. When the Prophet had finished speaking, Zayd stood up, tall and  impressive-looking in the midst of the Muslims and said in a loud and clear voice:

“O Muhammad, I testify that there is no god but Allah and that you are the messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet came up to him and asked, “Who are you”

“I am Zayd al-Khayl the son of Muhalhil.”

“From now on you are Zayd al-Khayr instead, not Zayd al-Khayl,” said the Prophet. “Praise be to God Who has brought you  from the hills and dales of your native land and softened your heart towards Islam.” Thereafter he was known as Zayd  al-Khayr (Zayd the Good).

The Prophet then took him to his house. With them were Umar ibn al-Khattab and some other Companions. The Prophet  gave him a cushion to sit on but he felt very uncomfortable to recline thus in the presence of the Prophet and he returned  the cushion. The Prophet handed it back to him and he returned it to him. This happened three times. Eventually, when they  were all seated, the Prophet said to Zayd al-Khayr:

“O Zayd, no man has ever been described to me and when I see him he does not fit the description at all except you. You  have two characteristics which are pleasing to God and His Prophet.”

“What are they?” asked Zayd.

“Perseverance and sagacity,” replied the Prophet.

“Praise be to God,” said Zayd, “Who has given me what He and His Prophet like.” He then turned directly to the Prophet and  said: “Give me, O messenger of God, three hundred horsemen and I promise you that I will secure Byzantine territory with  them.” The Prophet praised his fervor and said, “What manner of man are you!”

During this visit, all those who stayed with Zayd became Muslims. They then desired to return to their homes in Najd and the  Prophet bade them farewell. The great desire of Zayd al-Khayr to work and fight for the cause of Islam, however was not to  be realized.

In Madinah al-Munawwarah at that time there was an epidemic of fever and Zayd al-Khayr succumbed to it and said to those  with him: “Take me away from the land of Qays. I have the fever of small pox. By God, I shall not fight as a Muslim before I  meet Allah, the Mighty the Great.”

Zayd took the road to his people in Najd in spite of the fact that the fever became more and more intense and slowed him  down. He hoped at least to get back to his people and that they would become Muslims, through God’s grace, at his hands.  He struggled to overcome the fever but it got the better of him and he breathed his last on the way before reaching Najd.  Between his acceptance of Islam and his death, however, there was no time for him to have fallen into sin.

Allah knows the best

Utbah ibn al-Kattab, the head of the rapidly expanding Muslim State went to bed early just after the Salat al-Isha. He wanted  to have a rest and feel refreshed for his nightly tour of inspection of the capital city which he often did incognito. Before he  could/all asleep however, the post from the outlying regions of the State arrived informing him that the Persian forces  confronting the Muslims were proving especially difficult to subdue. They were able to send in reinforcements and supplies  from many places to relieve their armies on the point of defeat. The letter urged Umar to send reinforcements and in  particular it said:

“The city of al-Ubullah must be considered one of the most important sources providing men and material to the Persian  forces under attack.”

Umar decided then to despatch an army to take the city of al-Ubullah and cut off its line of supplies to the Persian armies. His  main problem was that he had so few men left with him in the city. That was because young men, men of maturity and even  old men had gone out on campaigns far and wide in the path of God, fi sabilillah.

In these circumstances he determined to follow the strategy which he knew and which was well-tried that is, to mobilize a  small force and place it under the leadership of a strong and able commander. He considered, one after another the names  of the individuals who were still with him, to see who was the most suitable commander. Finally, he exclaimed himself: “I  have found him. Yes I have found him.”

He then went back to bed: The person he had in mind was a well-known mujahid who had fought at Badr, Uhud, al-Khandaq  and other battles. He had also fought in the terrible battles of Yamamah and emerged unscathed. He was in fact one of the  first to accept Islam. He went on the first hijrah to Abyssinia but had returned to stay with the Prophet in Makkah. He then  went on hijrah to Madinah. This tall and imposing companion of the Prophet was known for his exceptional skill in the use of  spears and arrows.

When morning came, Umar called his attendants and said: “Call Utbah ibn Ghazwan for me,” Umar managed to put together  an army of just over three hundred men and he appointed Utbah as their commander with the promise that he would send  reinforcements to him as soon as possible.

When the army was assembled in ranks ready to depart, Umar al-Faruq stood before them bidding them farewell and giving  instructions to his commander, Utbah. He said: “Utbah, I am sending you to the land of al-Ubullah. It is one of the major  fortresses of the enemy and I pray that God helps you to take it. When you reach the city, invite its inhabitants to the  worship of God. If they respond to you, accept them (as Muslims). If they refuse, then take from them the jizyah.. If they  refuse to pay the jizyah then fight them… And fear God, O Utbah, in the discharge of your duties. Beware of letting yourself  become too haughty or arrogant for this will corrupt your hereafter. Know that you were a companion of the Messenger of  God, may God bless him and grant him peace. God honoured you through him after your being insignificant. He strengthened  you through him after you were weak. You have become a commander with authority and a leader who must be obeyed.  What a great blessing if this does not make you vain and deceive you and lead you to Jahannam. May God protect you and  me from it.”

With this chastening advice and prayer, Utbah and his army set off. Several women were in the army including his wife and  the wives and sisters of other men. Eventually they reached a place called Qasbaa not very far from al-Ubullah. It was called  Qasbaa because of the abundance of reed-like stalks which grew there.

At that point the army was absolutely famished. They had nothing to eat. When hunger gripped them, Utbah ordered some  of his men to go and search the land for something to eat. One of the men told the story of their search of food:

“While we were searching for something to eat, we entered a thicket and, lo and behold there were two large baskets. In  one there were dates and in the other small white grains covered with a yellow husk. We dragged the baskets with the  grain and said: “This is poison which the enemy has prepared for you. Don’t go near it all.”

We went for the dates and began eating from it. While we were busy eating the dates, a horse which had broken loose from  its tether went up to the basket of grain and began eating from it. By God, we seriously thought of slaughtering it before it  should die (from the alleged poison) and benefit from its meat. However, its owner came up to us and said: “Leave it. I shall  look after it for the night and if I feel that it is going to die, I will slaughter it.”

In the morning we found the horse quite healthy with no sign of ill effects. My sister then said: ‘Yaa akhi, I have heard my  father saying: Poison does not harm (food) if it is placed on fire and cooked well.’

We then took some of the grain, placed it in a pot and put it on a fire. After a short while my sister called out: ‘Come and see  how it has become red and the husks have begun to separate leaving white grains.’

We placed the white grains in a large bowl and Utbah said to us: ‘Mention the name of Allah on it and eat it.’ We ate and  found it exceedingly delicious and good. We learnt after that the grain was called rice.”

The army of Utbah then went on to the fortified city of al-Ubullah on the banks of the River Euphrates. The Persians used  al-Ubullah as a massive arms depot. There were several fortresses in the city from which towers sprang. These were used as  observation posts to detect any hostile movements outside the city.

The city appeared to be impregnable. What chance had Utbah of taking it with such a small force armed with only swords  and spears? A direct assault was obviously futile and so Utbah had to resort to some stratagem.

Utbah had flags prepared which he had hung on spears. These he gave to the women and ordered them to march behind  the army. His instructions to them then were: “When we get near to the city, raise the dust behind us so that the entire  atmosphere is filled with it.”

As they neared al-Ubullah, a Persian force came out to confront them, they saw the Muslims boldly advancing, the flags  fluttering behind them and the dust which was being churned up and which filled the air around. They thought that the  Muslims in front of the flags were merely the vanguard of the advancing army, a strong and numerous army. They felt they  would be no match for such a foe. They lost heart and prepared to evacuate the city. Picking up whatever valuables they  could, they rushed to boats anchored on the river and abandoned their well-fortified city.

Utbah entered al-Ubullah without losing any of his men. From this base he managed to bring surrounding towns and villages  under Muslim control. When news spread of Utbah’s successes, and of the richness of the land he had occupied, many  people flocked to the region in search of wealth and easy living.

Uqbah noted that many Muslims now inclined towards a soft life and followed the ways and customs of the region and that  this weakened their determination to continue struggling.

He wrote to Umar ibn al-Khattab asking for permission to build the garrison town of Basrah. He described the locations he  had chosen for the city and Umar gave his assent. Basrah lay between the desert and the ports of the Gulf and from this  base expeditions were launched further east. The positioning of the town was for maximum military effectiveness (not merely  to support an army of occupation).

Utbah himself planned the city and built its first great masjid which was a simple enclosure, roofed over at one end and  suitable for mass assemblies. From the mosque, Utbah and his men went out on military campaigns. These men eventually  settled on the land and built houses.

Utbah himself however did not build a house for himself but continued to live in a tent of cloth. He had seen how  preoccupation with worldly possessions had caused many people to forget themselves and their real purpose in life. He had  seen how men who not long ago knew no food better than rice boiled in their husks, getting accustomed to sophisticated  Persian patisserie like fasludhanj and lawzinaj made with refined flour, butter, honey and nuts of various kinds to the point  where they hankered after these things.

Utbah was afraid that his din would be affected by his dunya and he was concerned about his hereafter. He called men to  the masjid of Basrah and addressed them thus: “O people! The dunya will come to an end and you will be carried from it to  an abode which will not wane or disappear. Go to it with the best of your deeds. I look back and see myself among the early  Muslims with the Messenger of Allah may God bless him and grant him peace. We had no food then apart from the leaves of  trees and our lips would fester. One day I found a burdah. I tore it in two and shared it with Sad ibn Abi Waqqas. I made an  aazar with one half and he did the same with the other half. Here we are today. There is not one of us but he is an amir of  one of the garrison towns. I seek Allah’s protection lest I become great in my own estimation and little in the sight of Allah..”  With these words Utbah appointed someone else to stand in his place, and bade farewell to the people of Basrah.

It was the season of pilgrimage and he left to perform the Hajj. He then travelled to Madinah and there he asked Umar to  relieve him of the responsibility of governing the city. Umar refused. He could not easily dispense with a governor of the  quality of Utbah and said to him:

“You place your trusts and your responsibilities on my neck and then you abandon me to myself. No, by God, I shall never  relieve you.” So Umar prevailed upon him and commanded him to return to Basrah, Utbah knew that he had to obey the Amir  al-Muminin but he did so with a heavy heart. He mounted his camel and on his way he prayed:

“O Lord, do not send me back to Basrah. O Lord, do not send me back to Basrah.” He had not gone far from Madinah when  his camel stumbled. Utbah fell and the injuries he sustained proved to be fatal.

Allah knows the best

After a long and exhausting journey, the Prophet, peace be on him, is at last on the outskirts of Yathrib. The good people of  the city go out to meet him. Many crowd the narrow streets. Some stand on roof-tops chanting La ilaha ilia Allah and Allahu  Akbar in sheer joy at meeting the Prophet of Mercy and his loyal companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. The small girls of the city  come out gaily beating their daffs and singing the words of welcome:

Tala ‘a-l badru alaynaa
Min Thaniyaati-l Wadaa’ Wajaba-sh shukru alaynaa
Maa da’aa lillaahi daa’ Ayyuha-l mab ‘uthu finaa
Ji’ta bi-l amri-l mutaa’ Ji’ta sharrafta-l Madinah
Marhaban yaa khayra-d daa’.

“The full moon has come upon us. From beyond the hills of Thaniyaati-l Wadaa Grateful we must be. For what to God he  calls? O you who has been sent among us? You came with a mission to be obeyed. You came, you honoured the city;  Welcome, O best of those who call (to God).

As the procession of the blessed Prophet wended its way, all around there were joyful hearts, tears of ecstasy, smiles of  sheer happiness.

Far away from these scenes of jubilation and delight was a young man named Uqbah ibn Aamir al-Juhani. He had gone out to  the bawadi, the open expanses of desert, to graze his flocks of sheep and goats on the sparse vegetation. He had  wandered far in search of fodder for his hungry flock. It was difficult to find suitable grazing grounds and he was constantly  afraid that his flock would perish. They were all he possessed and he did not want to lose them.

The happiness which engulfed Yathrib, henceforth to be known as the radiant city of the Prophet, soon spread to the near  and distant bawadi and reached every nook and corner of the land. The good news of the Prophet’s arrival finally reached  Uqbah as he tended his flocks far away in the inhospitable desert. His response to the news was immediate as he himself  relates: “The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, came to Madinah while I was tending my sheep. When I  heard the news of his coming, I set out to meet him without delay. When I met him I asked:

‘Will you accept my pledge of allegiance, O Messenger of God?’ ‘And who are you?’ asked the Prophet. ‘Uqbah ibn Aamir  al-Juhani ,’ I replied. ‘Which do you prefer,’ he asked, ‘the pledge of a nomad or the pledge of someone who has migrated?’  ‘The pledge of someone who has migrated,’ I said. So the Messenger of God took the same pledge from me as he did from  the Muhajirin. I spent the night with him and then went back to my flock.

There were twelve of us who had accepted Islam but we lived far from the city tending our sheep and goats in the open  country. We came to the conclusion that it would be good for us if we went to the Prophet daily, so that he could instruct us  in our religion and recite for us whatever revelation he had received from on high. I told the others:

‘Take turns to go to the Messenger of God, peace be on him. Anyone going may leave his sheep with me because I am too  worried and concerned about my own flock to leave them in the care of someone else.’

Each day, one after another of my friends went to the Prophet, leaving his sheep for me to look after. When each returned, I  learnt from him what he had heard and benefitted from what he had understood. Before long, however, I returned to my  senses and said to myself:

‘Woe to you! Is it because of a flock of sheep that you remain thin and wretched and lose the opportunity to be in the  company of the Prophet and to speak directly to him without an intermediary’:’ With this, I left my flock, went to Madinah and  stayed in the masjid close to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.”

Uqbah had no reason to regret having taken this fateful decision. Within a decade, he had become one of the outstanding  scholars among the companions of the Prophet, a competent and beautiful reciter of the Quran, a military commander and  later on one of the eminent Muslim governors as Islam spread east and west with astonishing rapidity. He could never have  imagined as he left his flock to follow the teachings of the noble Prophet, that he would have been among the vanguard of  the Muslim forces that liberated fertile Damascus – then known as the “mother of the universe” and that he would have a  house for himself among its verdant gardens. He could never have imagined that he would be one of the commanders who  liberated Egypt, then known as the “emerald of the world”, and that he would be one of its governors.

The fateful decision however was taken. Alone, without possessions. or relatives, Uqbah came to Madinah from the hawadi.  He stayed with others like him on the Suffah or elevated part of the Prophet’s mosque, near his house. The Suffah was like a  reception point where people like Uqbah would go because they wanted to be close to the Prophet. They were known as the  “Ashab as-Suffah” and the Prophet once described them as the “guests of Islam”.

Because they had no income, the Prophet always shared his food with them and encouraged others to be generous to these  “guests”. They spent much of their time studying the Quran and learning about Islam. What a marvellous opportunity they  had! They were in close and regular contact with the Prophet. He had a special love and concern for them and took care to  educate them and look after them in all respects. Uqbah gave an example of how the Prophet trained and taught them. He  said:

“One day, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came out to us while we were on the Suffah and asked:

‘Which of you would like to go out to the open country or a valley every day and fetch for himself two beautiful, black  camels?’ (Such camels were considered prize possessions. )

‘Everyone of us would like that, O Messenger of God,’ we all replied.

‘Now,’ he said, ‘each one of you should go to the mosque and learn two ayats (verses) of the Book of God. This is better for  him than two camels; three verses are better than three camels; four verses are better than four camels (and son).”

In this way, the Prophet tried to bring about a change in attitudes among those who had accepted Islam, a change from  obsession with acquiring worldly possessions to an attitude of devotion to knowledge. His simple example provided them  with motivation and a powerful incentive to acquire knowledge.

On other occasions, the Ashab as-Suffah would ask questions of the Prophet in order to understand their religion better.  Once, Uqbah said, he asked the Prophet, “What is salvation?” and he replied: “Control your tongue, make your house  spacious for guests and spurn your mistakes.”

Even outside the mosque, Uqbah tried to stay close to the Prophet. On journeys, he often took the reins of the Prophet’s  mule and went wherever the Prophet desired. Sometimes he followed directly behind the Prophet, peace be on him, and so  came to be called the redif of the Prophet. On some occasions, the Prophet would descend from his mount and allow Uqbah  to ride while he himself walked. Uqbah described one such occasion:

“I took hold of the reins of the Prophet’s mule while passing through some palm groves of Madinah.

‘Uqbah ,’ the Prophet said to me, ‘don’t you want to ride.’?’

I thought of saying ‘no’ but I felt there might be an element of disobedience to the Prophet in such a reply so I said: ‘Yes, O  Prophet of God.’

The Prophet then got down from his mule and I mounted in obedience to his command. He began to walk. Shortly afterwards  I dismounted. The Prophet mounted again and said to me:

‘Uqbah, shall I not teach you two surahs the like of which has not been heard before.’?’

‘Certainly, O Messenger of God,’ I replied. And so he recited to me “Qul a’udhu bi rabbi-l Falaq” and “Qul a’udhu bi rabbi-n  nas” (the last two surahs of the Quran). I then said the Iqamah for Salat. The Prophet led the Salat and recited these two  surahs. (Afterwards), he said: ‘Read both these surahs when you go to sleep and whenever you wake up.’”

The above instances show “continuous education” at its best, at home, in the mosque, riding, walking in the open school of  the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Two objectives occupied Uqbah’s attention throughout his life; the search for knowledge and jihad in the path of God. He  applied his energies totally to these objectives.

In the field of learning, he drank deeply from the fountain of knowledge that was the Messenger of God, peace be on him.  Uqbah became a distinguished muqri (reciter of the Quran), a muhaddith (recorder and narrator of the sayings of the  Prophet); a faqih (jurist); a faradi (expert on the Islamic laws of inheritance); an adib (literateur); a fasih (orator) and a sha’ir  (poet).

In reciting the Quran, he had a most pleasant and beautiful voice. In the stillness of the night, when the entire universe  seems peaceful and tranquil, he would turn to the Book of God, and recite its overpowering verses. The hearts of the noble  companions would be drawn to his recitation. Their whole being would be shaken and they would be moved to tears from  the fear of God which his recitation induced.

One day Umar ibn al-Khattab invited him and said:

“Recite for me something from the Book of God, O Uqbah.” “At your command, O Amir al-Muminin,” said Uqbah and began  reciting. Umar wept till his beard was wet.

Uqbah left a copy of the Quran written in his own hand. It is said that this copy of the Quran existed until quite recently in  Egypt in the well-known mosque named after Uqbah ibn Aamir himself. At the end of this text was written: “Uqbah ibn Aamir  al-Juhani wrote it.” This Mushaf of Uqbah was one of the earliest copies of the Quran in existence but it was lost in its  entirety with other priceless documents due to the carelessness of Muslims.

In the field of Jihad, it is sufficient to know that Uqbah fought beside the Prophet, peace be on him, at the Battle of Uhud and  in all the military engagements thereafter. He was also one of the valiant and daring group of shock troopers who were  tested to their maximum during the battle for Damascus. In recognition for his outstanding services, the commander of the  Muslim forces then, Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, despatched Uqbah to Madinah to convey the good news of the liberation of  Damascus to Umar ibn al-Khattab. Uqbah spent eight days and seven nights, from Friday to Friday, in a continuous forced  march to bring the news to Umar.

Uqbah was one of the commanders of the Muslim forces that liberated Egypt. For three years he was the Muslim governor of  Egypt after which he received orders from the Caliph Muawiyah to mount a naval expedition to the island of Rhodes in the  Mediterranean Sea.

An indication of Uqbah’s enthusiasm for jihad is the fact that he committed to memory the sayings of the Prophet on this  subject and became a specialist in narrating them to the Muslims. One of his favorite pastimes was to practice the skill of  spear throwing.

Uqbah was in Egypt when he became fatally ill. He gathered his children together and gave them his final advise. He said:  “My children, guard against three things: Don’t accept; my saying attributed to the Prophet, peace be on him, except from a  reliable authority. Do not incur debts or take up a loan even if you are in the position of an imam. Don’t compose poetry for  your hearts might be distracted thereby from the Quran.”

Uqbah ibn Aamir al-Juhani, the qari, the alim, the ghazi, died in Cairo and was buried at the foot of the Muqattam hills.

Allah knows the best

Umm Salaamah! What an eventful life she had! Her real name was Hind. She was the daughter of  one of the notables in the Makhzum clan nicknamed “Zad ar-Rakib” because he was well known  for his generosity particularly to travelers. Umm Salamah’s husband was Abdullah ibn Abdulasad  and they both were among the first persons to accept Islam. Only Abu Bakr and a few others, who  could be counted on the fingers of one hand, became Muslims before them.

As soon as the news of their becoming Muslims spread, the Quraysh reacted with frenzied anger.  They began hounding and persecuting Umm Salamah and her husband. But the couple did not  waver or despair and remained steadfast in their new faith.

The persecution became more and more intense. Life in Makkah became unbearable for many of  the new Muslims. The Prophet, peace be upon him, then gave permission for them to emigrate to  Abyssinia. Umm Salamah and her husband were in the forefront of these muhajirun, seekers of  refuge in a strange land. For Umm Salamah it meant abandoning her spacious home and giving up  the traditional ties of lineage and honor for something new, hope in the pleasure and reward of  Allah.

Despite the protection Umm Salamah and her companions received from the Abyssinian ruler, the  desire to return to Makkah, to be near the Prophet and the source of revelation and guidance  persisted.

News eventually reached the muhajirun that the number of Muslims in Makkah had increased.  Among them were Hamzah ibn Abdulmuttalib and Umar ibn al-Khattab. Their faith had greatly  strengthened the community and the Quraysh they heard, had eased the persecution somewhat.  Thus a group of the muhajirun, urged on by a deep longing in their hearts, decided to return to  Makkah.

The easing of the persecution was but brief as the returnees soon found out. The dramatic  increase in the number of Muslims following the acceptance of Islam by Hamzah and Umar only  infuriated the Quraysh even more. They intensified their persecution and torture to a pitch and  intensity not known before. So the Prophet gave permission to his companions to emigrate to  Madinah. Umm Salamah and her husband were among the first to leave.

The hijrah of Umm Salamah and her husband though was not as easy as they had imagined. In  fact, it was a bitter and painful experience and a particularly harrowing one for her.

Let us leave the story now for Umm Salamah herself to tell…

When Abu Salamah (my husband) decided to leave for Madinah, he prepared a camel from me,  hoisted me on it and placed our son Salamah on my lap. My husband then took the lead end went  on without stopping or waiting for anything. Before we were out of Makkah however some men  from my clan stopped us and said to my husband:

“Though you are free to do what you like with yourself, you have no power over your wife. She is  our daughter. Do you expect us to allow you to take her away from us?”

They then pounced on him end snatched me away from him. My husbands clan, Banu Abdulasad,  saw them taking both me and my child. They became hot with rage.

“No! By Allah,” they shouted, “we shall not abandon the boy. He is our son and we have a first  claim over him.” They took him by the hand and pulled him away from me. Suddenly in the space of  a few moments, I found myself alone and lonely. My husband headed for Madinah by himself and  his clan had snatched my son away from me. My own clan, Banu Makhzum, overpowered me and  forced me to stay with them.

From the day when my husband and my son were separated from me, I went out at noon every  day to that valley and sat in the spot where this tragedy occurred. I would recall those terrible  moments and weep until night fell on me.

I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from the Banu Umayyah passed by and  saw my condition. He went back to my clan and said: “Why don’t you free this poor woman? You  have caused her husband and her son to be taken away from her.” He went on trying to soften  their hearts and play on their emotions. At last they said to me. ‘Go and join your husband if you  wish.”

But how could I join my husband in Madinah and leave my son, a piece of my own flesh and blood,  in Makkah among the Banu Abdulasad? How could I be free from anguish and my eyes be free  from tears were I to reach the place of hijrah not knowing anything of my little son left behind in  Makkah?

Some realized what I was going through and their hearts went out to me. They petitioned the  Banu Abdulasad on my behalf and moved them to return my son. I did not now even want to linger  in Makkah till I found someone to travel with me and I was afraid that something might happen  that would delay or prevent me from reaching my husband. So I promptly got my camel ready,  placed my son on my lap and left in the direction of Madinah .

I had just about reached Tanim (about three miles from Makkah) when I met Uthman ibn Talhah.  (He was a keeper of the Kabah in pre-lslamic times and was not yet a Muslim.)

“Where are you going, Bint Zad ar-Rakib?” he asked.

“I am going to my husband in Madinah.”

“And there isn’t anyone with you?”

“No, by Allah. Except Allah and my little boy here.”

“By Allah. I shall never abandon you until you reach Madinah,” he vowed.

He then took the reins of my camel and led us on. I have, by Allah, never met an Arab more  generous and noble than he. When we reached a resting place, he would make my camel kneel  down, wait until I dismounted, lead the camel to a tree and tether it. He would then go to the  shade of another tree. When we had rested he would get the camel ready and lead us on.

This he did every day until we reached Madinah. When we got to the village near Quba (about two  miles from Madinah) belonging to Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, “Your husband is in this village. Enter  it with the blessings of God. “

He turned back and headed for Makkah. Their roads finally met after the long separation. Umm  Salamah was overjoyed to see her husband and he was delighted to see his wife and son.

Great and momentous events followed one after the other. There was the battle of Badr in which  Abu Salamah fought. The Muslims returned victorious and strengthened. Then there was the battle  of Uhud in which the Muslims were sorely tested. Abu Salamah came out of this wounded very  badly. He appeared at first to respond well to treatment, but his wounds never healed completely  and he remained bedridden.

Once while Umm Salamah was nursing him, he said to her: “I heard the Messenger of God saying.  Whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say, “Surely from Allah we are and to Him we shall  certainly return.” And he would pray, ‘O Lord, give me in return something good from it which only  You Exalted and Mighty, can give.”

Abu Salamah remained sick in bed for several days. One morning the Prophet came to see him.  The visit was longer than usual. While the Prophet was still at his bedside Abu Salamah passed  away. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his dead companion. He then raised  these hands to the heavens and prayed:

“O Lord, grant forgiveness to Abu Salamah. Elevate him among those who are near to You. Take  charge of his family at all times. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds. Widen his grave and  make it light for him.”

Umm Salamah remembered the prayer her husband had quoted on his deathbed from the Prophet  and began repeating it, “O Lord, with you I leave this my plight for consideration . . .” But she  could not bring herself to continue . . . “O Lord give me something good from it”, because she kept  asking herself, “Who could be better than Abu Salamah?” But it did not take long before she  completed the supplication.

The Muslims were greatly saddened by the plight of Umm Salamah. She became known as “Ayyin  al-Arab”– the one who had lost her husband. She had no one in Madinah of her own except her  small children, like a hen without feathers.

Both the Muhajirun and Ansar felt they had a duty to Umm Salamah. When she had completed the  Iddah (three months and ten days), Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her but she refused. Then  Umar asked to marry her but she also declined the proposal. The Prophet then approached her  and she replied:

“O Messenger of Allah, I have three characteristics. I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I  am afraid that you will see in me something that will anger you and cause Allah to punish me. I am  a woman who is already advanced in age and I am a woman who has a young family.”

The Prophet replied: “Regarding the jealousy you mentioned, I pray to Allah the Almighty to let it  go away from you. Regarding the question of age you have mentioned. I am afflicted with the  same problem as you. Regarding the dependent family you have mentioned, your family is my  family.”

They were married and so it was that Allah answered the prayer of Umm Salamah and gave her  better than Abu Salamah. From that day on Hind al Makhzumiyah was no longer the mother of  Salamah alone but became the mother of all believers, Umm al-Mumineen.

Allah knows the best

Umayr Ibn Wahb al-Jumahi returned safely from the Battle of Badr. His son, Wahb, was left behind,  a prisoner in the hands of the Muslims. Umar feared that the Muslims would punish the youth  severely because of the persecution he himself had meted out to the Prophet and the torture he  had inflicted on his companions.

One morning Umayr went to the Sacred Mosque to make tawaf around the Kabah and worship his  idols. He found Safwan ibn Umayyah sitting near the Kabah, went up to him and said:

Im Sabahan (Good Morning), Quraysh chieftain.”

“Im Sabahan, Ibn Wahb,” replied Safwan. “Let us talk for some time. Time only goes by with  conversation.”

Umayr sat next to him. The two men began to recall Badr, the great defeat they had suffered and  they counted the prisoners who had fallen into the hands of Muhammad and his companions. They  became deeply distressed at the number of great Quraysh men who had been killed by the  swords of the Muslims and who lay buried in the mass grave at al-Qalib in Badr.

Safwan ibn Umayyah shook his head and sighed, “By God, there can be no better after them.”

“You are right,” declared Umar. He remained silent for a while and then said, “By the God of the  Kabah, if I had no debts and no family whose loss I fear after me, I would go to Muhammad and  kill him, finish off his mission and check his evil.” He went on in a faint, subdued voice, “And as my  son Wahb is among them, my going to Yathrib would be beyond doubt.”

Safwan ibn Umayyah listened intently to the words of Umayr and did not wish this opportunity to  pass. He turned to him and said:

“Umar, place all your debt in my hands and I will discharge it for you whatever the amount. As for  your family, I shall take them as my own family and give them whatever they need. I have enough  wealth to guarantee them a comfortable living.”

“Agreed,” said Umar. “But keep this conversation of ours secret and do not divulge any of it to  anyone.”

“That shall be so,” said Safwan.

Umar left the Masjid al-Haram with the fire of hatred against Muhammad blazing in his heart. He  began to count what he needed for the task he had set himself. He knew that he had the full  support and confidence of the Quraysh who had members of their families held prisoner in  Madinah .

Umar had his sword sharpened and coated with poison. His camel was prepared and brought to  him. He mounted the beast and rode in the direction of Madinah with evil in his heart.

Umar reached Madinah and went directly towards the mosque looking for the Prophet. Near the  door of the mosque, he alighted and tethered his camel.

At that time, Umar was sitting with some of the Sahabah near the door of the Mosque, reminiscing  about Badr, the number of prisoners that had been taken and the number of Quraysh killed. They  also recalled the acts of heroism shown by the Muslims, both the Muhajirun and the Ansar and  gave thanks to God for the great victory He had given them.

At that very moment Umar turned around and saw Umayr ibn Wahb alighting from his camel and  going towards the Mosque brandishing his sword. Alarmed, he jumped up and shouted. “This is  the dog, the enemy of God, Umayr ibn Wahb. By God, he has only come to do evil. He led the  Mushrikeen against us in Makkah and he was a spy for them against us shortly before Badr. Go to  the Messenger of God, stand around him and warn him that this dirty traitor is after him.”

Umar himself hastened to the Prophet and said, “O Rasulullah, this enemy of God, Umayr ibn  Wahb, has come brandishing his sword and I think that he could only be up to something evil.”  “Let him come in,” said the Prophet.

Umar approached Umayr, took hold of him by the tails of his robes, pressed the back of his sword  against his neck and took him to the Prophet.

When the Prophet saw Umayr in this condition he said to Umar: “Release him.’ He then turned to  Umayr and said: “Come closer.” Umayr came closer and said, “Im Sabaha” (the Arab greeting in  the days of Jahiliyyah).”

“God has granted us a greeting better than this, Umayr,” said the Prophet. “God has granted us  the greeting of Peace–it is the greeting of the people of Paradise.” “What have you come for?”  continued the Prophet.

“I came here hoping to have the prisoner in your hands released, so please oblige me.” “And what  is this sword around your neck for?” quizzed the Prophet. “Tell me the truth. What have you come  for, Umayr?” prodded the Prophet. “I have only come to have the prisoner released,” insisted  Umar.

“No. You and Safwan ibn Umayyah sat near the Kabah recalling your companions who lie buried at  al-Qalib and then you said, ‘If I had no debt or no family to look after, I would certainly go out to  kill Muhammad.’ Safwan took over your debt and promised to look after your family in return for  your agreeing to kill me. But God is a barrier between you and your achieving your aim.”

Umar stood stupefied nor a moment, then said: “I bear witness that you are the messenger of  God.” “We used, O messenger of’ God.” he continued, “to reject whatever good you had brought  and whatever revelation came to you. But my conversation with Safwan ibn Umayyah was not  known to anyone else. By God, I am certain that only God could have made this known to you.  Praise be to God Who has led me to you that He may guide me to Islam.’ He then testified that  there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and became a Muslim.  Thereupon, the Prophet instructed his companions: “instruct your brother in his religion. Teach him  the Quran and set free his prisoner.”

The Muslims were extremely happy with Umayr’s acceptance of Islam. Even Umar who once said of  him, “A pig is certainly dearer to me than Umayr ibn Wahb” came up to the Prophet and exclaimed  “Today, he is dearer to me than some of my own children.”

Thereafter Umayr spent much time increasing his knowledge of Islam and filling his heart with the  light of the Quran. There, in Madinah, he spent the sweetest and richest days of his life away from  what he had known in Makkah .

Back in Makkah, Safwan was filled with hope and would say to the Quraysh, “I will soon give you  some great news that would make you forget the events of Badr.” Safwan waited for a long time  and then gradually became more and more anxious. Greatly agitated, he would go out and ask  travelers what news they had of Umayr ibn Wahb but no one was able to give him a satisfactory  reply. Eventually a rider came and said “Umar has become a Muslim.”

The news hit Safwan like a thunderbolt. He was certain that Umayr would never become a Muslim  and if he ever did then everyone on the face of the earth would become Muslim also. “Never shall I  speak to him and never shall I do anything for him,” he said.

Umar meanwhile kept on striving to gain a good understanding of his religion and memorize  whatever he could of the words of God. When he felt he had achieved a certain degree of  confidence, he went to the Prophet and said:

“O Rasulullah, much time has passed since I used to try to put out the light of God and severely  tortured whoever was on the path of Islam. Now, I desire that you should give me permission to  go to Makkah and invite the Quraysh to God and His Messenger. If they accept it from me, that will  be good. And if they oppose me, I shall harass them as I used to harass the companions of the  Prophet.”

The Prophet gave his consent and Umayr left for Makkah. He went straight to the house of Safwan  ibn Umayyah and said: “Safwan, you are one of the chieftains of Makkah and one of the most  intelligent of the Quraysh. Do you really think that these stones you are worship ping and making  sacrifice to, deserve to be the basis of a religion? As for myself, I declare that there is no god but  Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” At Umayr’s hands, many Makkans became  Muslims, but Safwan did not.

Later, during the liberation of Makkah, Safwan ibn Umayyah attempted to flee from the Muslim  forces. Umar, however, obtained an amnesty from the Prophet for him and he too became a  Muslim and distinguished himself in the service of Islam.

Allah knows the best

Umayr Ibn Saad became an orphan at an early age. His father died leaving him and his mother poor and destitute. His mother  eventually married again, to one of the richest men in Madinah. His name was Julas ibn Suwayd who was from the powerful  tribe of al-Aws.

Umayr was well looked after by Julas and loved him as a son would love a father. Indeed he began to forget that he was an  orphan. As Umayr grew older, Julas fondness and love for him grew. Julas would marvel at the intelligence he displayed in  everything he did and at the honesty and trustworthiness which characterized his behavior.

When he was barely ten years old, Umayr became a Muslim. Faith found in his tender heart a secure niche and penetrated  deeply into his being. In spite of youthfulness, he would never delay in the performance of salat behind the noble Prophet.  Often he would be found in the first row of worshippers, hoping for the thawab promised those who attend mosques early  and sit in the foremost rows. His mother was particularly pleased whenever she saw him going to and coming from the  mosque, sometimes with her husband and sometimes alone.

Umayr’s days passed in this fashion with no major disturbance to upset his calm and contentment. This idyllic state, however,  could not last forever. Umayr was soon to face a most difficult test for a boy of his age, a test which shook the peaceful and  loving atmosphere of his home and challenged the steadfastness of his faith.

In the ninth year after the Hijrah, the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, announced his intention to lead an  expedition to Tabuk against the Byzantine forces. He ordered the Muslims to get themselves ready and make the necessary  preparations.

Usually when the Prophet wanted to go on a military campaign he would not give precise details of his objective or he would  set off in a direction opposite to his intended destination. This was for security purposes and to confound the enemy’s  intelligence service. This he did not do in announcing the expedition to Tabuk. This was perhaps because of the great  distance of Tabuk from Madinah, the enormous difficulties expected and the overwhelming strength of the enemy.

The preparations needed for this expedition had to be extensive. In spite of the fact that summer had set in and the intense  heat produced languor and listlessness, and in spite of the fact that the date crops needed harvesting, the Muslims  responded enthusiastically to the call of the Prophet and busied themselves in preparing for the arduous campaign ahead.

There was however a group of munafiqun or hypocrites who outwardly had declared their acceptance of Islam but inwardly  did not believe in it. They were critical of the expedition and tried to weaken the resolve of the Muslims. They even ridiculed  the Prophet in their private gatherings. Disbelief and hatred remained in their hearts.

One day, shortly before the army was due to set out, the young Umayr ibn Sad returned home after performing Salat in the  mosque. He was all agog with excitement. He had just witnessed the great generosity and the spontaneous spirit of sacrifice  which the Muslims displayed in preparing for the expedition. He had seen women of the Muhajirin and the Ansar donating  their jewellery and their ornaments to buy provisions and equipment for the army. He had seen Uthman ibn Affan handing  over a purse containing a thousand gold dinars to the Prophet and Abdur Rahman ibn Awl carrying on his shoulders two  hundred awqiyyah of gold and placing it before the noble Prophet. Indeed he had even seen a man trying to sell his bed in  order to purchase a sword for himself.

At home, he recalled these moving and inspiring scenes. He was surprised however that Julas was so slow in preparing for  the expedition with the Prophet and at his delay in contributing especially since he was quite rich and could afford to give  generously. Umayr felt that he had to arouse his ardor or stir his sense of generosity and manliness. So with great  enthusiasm he related what he had seen and heard at the mosque particularly the case of those believers who, with great  fervor, had come to enlist themselves in the army and were turned away by the Prophet because there was not sufficient  means of transport. He related how sad and disappointed these people were at not realizing their desire to go on the path  of Jihad and sacrifice for the sake of Islam. Julas’ response was sharp and shocking.

“If Muhammad is true in claiming that he is a Prophet ,” he shouted angrily, “then we are all worse than donkeys.”

Umayr was flabbergasted. He could not believe what he had heard. He did not think that a man as intelligent as Julas could  have uttered such words, words which put him instantly outside the pale of faith.

A host of questions paced through his mind and he immediately began to consider what action he should take. He saw in  Julas’ silence and his tardiness to respond to the Prophet’s call, clear signs of a traitor to God and His Prophet, who wanted  to bring harm to Islam in just the same way as the munafiqun who were plotting and conspiring against the Prophet. At the  same time he saw a man who had treated him as a father and who was kind and generous to him, who had taken him as an  orphan and had saved him from poverty.

Umayr had to choose between preserving this close relationship with Julas on the one hand and dealing with his treachery  and hypocrisy on the other. The choice was painful but his decision was swift. He turned to Julas and said:

“By God, O Julas, there is no one on the face of the earth, after Muhammad ibn Abdullah, dearer to me than you. You are the  closest of men to me and you have been most generous to me. But you have uttered words which, if I should mention them  will expose and humiliate you. If I conceal them, however, I will be a traitor to my trust and destroy myself and my religion. I  will, therefore, go to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, and tell him what you have said. It is up to you to clarify  your position.”

The young Umayr went to the mosque and told the Prophet what he had heard from Julas. The Prophet asked him to stay  with him and sent one of his companions to summon Julas.

Julas came, greeted the Prophet and sat in front of him. The Prophet, peace be upon him straightaway asked him: “What did  you say that Umayr ibn Sad heard?” and he mentioned what Umayr had reported to him.

“He has lied against me, O Messenger of God, and has fabricated this. I have not uttered anything of the sort” asserted  Julas.

The companions of the Prophet looked alternately at Julas and Umayr hoping to detect on their faces what their hearts  concealed. They began to mutter among themselves. One of those in whose hearts was the disease of hypocrisy asserted:

“The youth is a nuisance. He is bent on defaming someone who has been good to him.” Others replied: “Not at all. He is a  youth who grew up in obedience to God. The expressions on his face attest to his truthfulness.”

The Prophet, peace be on him, turned to Umayr and saw his flushed face and the tears streaming down his cheeks. Umayr  prayed:

“O Lord, send down a revelation on Your Prophet to verify what I have told him.” Julas meanwhile continued to defend what  he had said: “What I have told you, O Messenger of God, is certainly the truth. If you wish, make us swear an oath in your  presence. I swear by God that I did not say anything of the sort that Umayr reported to you.”

As the companions turned to Umayr to hear what he had to say, they saw the Prophet come under a special mood of  serenity and they realized that he was being inspired. Immediately there was complete silence as they gazed intently at the  Prophet in anticipation.

At this point, fear and terror gripped Julas and he began to look tremulously at Umayr. The Prophet, having received the  revelation, recited the words of God:

“(The hypocrites) swear by God that they have said (nothing wrong); yet most certainly they have uttered a saying which is  a denial of the truth, and have thus denied the truth after having professed their self-surrender to God; for they were aiming  at something which was beyond their reach. And they could find no fault (with the Faith) save that God had enriched them  and (caused) His Apostle to enrich them out of His bounty. Hence, if they repent, it will be for their own good; but if they turn  away, God will cause them to suffer a grievous suffering in this world and in the life to come and they will find no helper on  earth, and none to give them succour.” (The Quran, Surah at-Tawbah, 9:74).

Julas trembled with fear at what he heard and in his anguish, could hardly speak. Finally, he turned to the Prophet and said:  “I do repent, O Messenger of God. I do repent. Umayr told the truth and I lied. I beseech God to accept my repentance…”

The Prophet turned to the young Umayr. Tears of joy moistened his youthful face, radiant with the light of faith. With his  noble hand, the Prophet tenderly took his ear and said:

“Young man, your ear has been true in what it heard and your Lord has confirmed the truth of what you said.” Julas returned  to the fold of Islam and was a good and faithful Muslim thereafter. The companions realized that by his generosity and good  treatment of Umayr, he had reformed. Whenever Umayr was mentioned, Julas would say:

“My God reward Umayr with goodness on my behalf. He certainly saved me from kufr and preserved my neck from the fire of  hell.”

Umayr grew up and distinguished himself in later years with the same devotion and firmness which he had shown in early  life.

During the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the people of Hims in Syria complained much and bitterly of the governors  appointed to the city even though Umar in particular used to pay special attention to the type of men he chose as his  provincial governors. In selecting a governor, Umar would say: “I want a man who when he is among the people and is not  their amir, should not behave as their amir, and when he is among them as an amir, he should behave as one of them.

“I want a governor who will not distinguish himself from the people by the clothes he wears, or the food he eats or the  house he lives in.”

“I want a governor who would establish Salat among the people, treat them equitably and with justice and does not close  his door when they come to him in need.”

In the light of the complaints of the people of Hims and going by his own criteria for a good governor, Umar ibn al-Khattab  decided to appoint Umayr ibn Sad as governor of the region. This was despite the fact that Umayr at that time was at the  head of a Muslim army traversing the Arabian peninsula and the region of great Syria, liberating towns, destroying enemy  fortifications, pacifying the tribes and establishing masjids wherever he went. Umayr accepted the appointment as governor  of Hims reluctantly because he preferred nothing better than Jihad in the path of God. He was still quite young, in his early  twenties.

When Umayr reached Hims he called the inhabitants to a vast congregational prayer. When the prayer was over he  addressed them. He began by praising and giving thanks to God and sending peace and blessings on His Prophet  Muhammad. Then he said:

“O people! Islam is a mighty fortress and a sturdy gate. The fortress of Islam is justice and its gate is truth. If you destroy  the fortress and demolish the gate you would undermine the defences of this religion.

“Islam will remain strong so long as the Sultan or central authority is strong. The strength of the Sultan neither comes from  flogging with the whip, nor killing with the sword but from ruling with justice and holding fast to truth.”

Umayr spent a full year in Hims during which, it is said, he did not write a single letter to the Amir al-Muminin. Nor did he send  any taxes to the central treasury in Madinah, neither a dirham nor a dinar.

Umar was always concerned about the performance of his governors and was afraid that positions of authority would corrupt  them. As far as he was concerned, there was no one who was free from sin and corrupting influences apart from the noble  Prophet, peace be upon him. He summoned his secretary and said:

“Write to Umayr ibn Sad and say to him: “When the letter of the Amir al-Muminin reaches you, leave Hims and come to him  and bring with you whatever taxes you have collected from the Muslims.”

Umayr received the letter. He took his food pouch and hung his eating, drinking and washing utensils over his shoulder. He  took his spear and left Hims and the governorship behind him. He set off for Madinah on foot.

As Umayr approached Madinah, he was badly sunburnt, his body was gaunt and his hair had grown long. His appearance  showed all the signs of the long and arduous journey. Umar, on seeing him, was astonished. What’s wrong with you,  Umayr?” he asked with deep concern.

“Nothing is wrong with me, O Amir al-Muminin,” replied Umayr. “I am fine and healthy, praise be to God, and I carry with me  all (my) worldly possessions.”

“And what worldly possessions have you got?” asked Umar thinking that he was carrying money for the Bayt al-mal or  treasury of the Muslims.”

“I have my pouch in which I put my food provisions. I have this vessel from which I eat and which I use for washing my hair  and clothes. And I have this cup for making wudu and drinking…” “Did you come on foot?” asked Umar. “Yes, O Amir  al-Muminin.” “Weren’t you given from your amirship an animal to ride on?” “They did not give me one and I did not ask them.”

“And where is the amount you brought for the Baytalmal?”

“I didn’t bring anything.”

“And why not?”

“When I arrived at Hims,” said Umayr, “I called the righteous persons of the town to a meeting and gave them the  responsibility of collecting the taxes. Whenever they collected any amounts of money I would seek their advice and spent it  (all) on those who were deserving among them.”

At this point, Umar turned to his secretary and said:

“Renew the appointment of Umayr to the governorship of Hims.” “Oh, come now,” protested Umayr. “That is something  which I do not desire. I shall not be a governor for you nor for anyone after you, O Amir al-Muminin.”

With that Umayr asked the Khalifah’s permission to go to his village on the outskirts of Madinah to live there with his family.  This Umar granted.

A long time passed since Umayr had gone to his village and Umar decided to put him through a test to make sure of his  circumstances. He said to one of his trusted aides called al-Harith:

“Harith, go to Umayr ibn Sad and stay with him as though you were a guest. If you see on him any signs of luxury or good  living, return quietly as you went. If, however, you find him in straitened circumstances give him these dinars.” Umar handed  Harith a bag with a hundred dinars.

Al-Harith set our for Umayr’s village and found his home after making enquiries.

“As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,” he greeted Umayr.

“Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,” replied Umayr and asked, “From where have you come?”

“From aI-Madinah.”

“How arr the Muslims there?”

“Fine.”

“How is the Amir al-Muminin?”

“He is fine and doing well.”

“Has he applied the hudud laws?”

“Yes. He carried out the sentence of punishment on his own son for committing the crime of adultery. His son died as a result  of the punishment.” Al-Harith continued: “O Allah, help Umar. I only know that he has a great love for you.”

Al-Harith stayed as Umayr’s guest for three nights. On each night he was given only a small flat piece of barley bread. On the  third day a local man said to Harith:

“Umayr and his family are suffering great hardship. They only have these loaves which they have given you in preference to  themselves. They are hungry and in great distress. Harith went to Umayr and gave him the bag of money.

“What is this?” asked Umayr.

“The Amir al-Muminin sent it to you.”

“Return it to him. Give him my greetings of peace and tell him that Umayr has no need of it.”

“Take it, O Umayr,” shouted his wife who was listening to the conversation between her husband and his guest. “If you  need it, you can spend it. If not, you can spend it in other appropriate ways, for those in need here are many.”

When al-Harith heard what she had said, he placed the dinars in front of Umayr and left. Umayr took the money and placed it  in a small bag. He only went to sleep that night after he had distributed the money to those in need and especially to the  children of those who had been martyred.

Al-Harith returned to Madinah and was questioned by Umar al-Faruq.

“What have you seen, Harith?”

“A very distressing situation, O Amir al-Muminin.”

“Did you give him the dinars?”

“Yes, O Amir al-Muminin.”

“What did he do with them?”

“I don’t know. But I think that he did not keep a single dirham of it for himself.”

Al-Faruq wrote to Umayr: “When you receive this letter, I do not put it down until you come to me.”

Umayr proceeded straightaway to Madinah. Umar greeted and welcomed him and proceeded to question him.

“What did you do with the dinars, Umayr?” “You have no responsibility for the money after you have donated it to me.”

“I adjure you to tell me what you did with it.”

“I stored it away for myself so that I could benefit from

it a day when neither wealth nor children will be of any avail.” Tears came to Umar’s eyes as he said:

“I swear that you are one of those who are hard against themselves even when they are in dire need.” And he ordered a  camel load of food and two garments to be given to Umayr who protested:

“About the food, we do not need it, O Amir al-Mumineen. I left two saas of barley with my family and when we have finished  that, Allah- Great and Exalted is He – will provide. As for the two garments, I will take them for (my wife). Her dress is now in  tatters and she is almost naked.”

Not long after that meeting with Umar al-Faruq, Umayr ibn Sad passed away to his Lord. He was not weighted down with the  cares and burdens of the world and he was concerned to provide plenty of provisions for the hereafter. Umar received the  news of his death with a heavy heart and said in deep sorrow: “I have wished to have men like Umayr ibn Sad whose help I  could seek in dealing with the affairs of Muslims.”

Allah knows the best

“O Abu Mundhir! Which verse of the Book of God is the greatest?” asked the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant  him peace. “Allah and His Messenger know best,” came the reply. The Prophet repeated the question and Abu Mundhir  replied.

“Allah, there is no god but He, the Living the Self-Subsisting. Neither slumber overtakes him nor sleep. To Him belongs  whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth, …” and most likely he went on to complete the Verse of the Throne  (Ayat al-Kursi).

The Prophet smote his chest with his right hand in approval on hearing the reply and with his countenance beaming with  happiness, said to Abu Mundhir. “May knowledge delight and benefit you, Abu Mundhir.”

This Abu Mundhir whom the Prophet congratulated on the knowledge and understanding which God had bestowed on him  was Ubayy ibn Kab, one of his distinguished companions and a person of high esteem in the early Muslim community.

Ubayy was one of the Ansar and belonged to the Khazraj tribe. He was one of the first persons of Yathrib to accept Islam. He  pledged allegiance to the Prophet at Aqabah before the Hijrah. He participated in the Battle of Badr and other engagements  thereafter. Ubayy was one of the select few who committed the Quranic revelations to writing and had a Mushaf of his own.  He acted as a scribe of the Prophet, writing letters for him. At the demise of the Prophet, he was one of the twenty five or so  people who knew the Quran completely by heart. His recitation was so beautiful and his understanding so profound that the  Prophet encouraged his companions to learn the Quran from him and from three others. Later, Umar too once told the  Muslims as he was dealing with some financial matters of state:

“O people! Whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Ubayy ibn Kab…” (Umar went on to say that anyone  wishing to ask about inheritance matters should go to Zayd ibn Thabit, about questions of fiqh to Muadh ibn Jabal and about  questions of money and finance, to himself.)

Ubayy enjoyed a special honor with regard to the Quran. One day, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace,  said: “O Ubayy ibn Kab! I have been commanded to show or lay open the Quran to you.”

Ubayy was elated. He knew of course that the Prophet only received commands from on high. Unable to control his  excitement, he asked:

“O Messenger of God…Have I been mentioned to you by name?” “Yes,” replied the Prophet, “by your own name and by your  genealogy (nasab) in the highest heavens.”

Any Muslim whose name had been conveyed to the heart of the Prophet in this manner must certainly have been of great  ability and of a tremendously high stature.

Throughout the years of his association with the Prophet, Ubayy derived the maximum benefit from his sweet and noble  personality and from his noble teachings. Ubayy related that the Prophet once asked him:

“Shall I not teach you a surah the like of which has not been revealed in the Tawrah, nor in the Injil, nor in the Zabur, nor in  the Quran?” “Certainly,” replied Ubayy.

“I hope you would not leave through that door until you know what it is,” said the Prophet obviously prolonging the  suspense for Ubayy. Ubayy continues: “He stood up and I stood up with him. He started to speak, with my hand in his. I  tried to delay him fearing that he would leave before letting me know what the surah is. When he reached the door, I asked:  “O Messenger of God! The surah which you promised  to tell me…” He replied:

“What do you recite when you stand for Salat?” So, I recited for him Fatihatu-l Kitab (the Opening Chapter of the Quran) and  he said: “(That’s) it! (That’s) it! They are the seven oft-repeated verses of which God Almighty has said: We have given you  the seven oft-repeated verses and the Mighty Quran.”

Ubayy’s devotion to the Quran was uncompromising. Once he recited part of a verse which the Khalifah Umar apparently  could not remember or did not know and he said to Ubayy: “Your have lied,” to which Ubayy retorted; “Rather, you have  lied.”

A person who heard the exchange was astounded and said to Ubayy: “Do you call the Amir al-Muminin a liar?” “I have  greater honor and respect for the Amir al-Muminin than you,” responded Ubayy,” but he has erred in verifying the Book of  God and I shall not say the Amir al-Muminin is correct when he has made an error concerning the Book of God.” “Ubayy is  right,” concluded Umar.

Ubayy gave an idea of the importance of the Quran when a man came to him and said, “Advise me,” and he replied: “Take  the Book of God as (your) leader (imam). Be satisfied with it as (your) judge and ruler. It is what the Prophet has  bequeathed to you. (It is your) intercessor with God and should be obeyed…”

After the demise of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, Ubayy remained strong in his attachment to Islam  and his commitment to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet. He was constant in his ibadah and would often be found in  the mosque at night, after the last obligatory Prayer had been performed, engaged in worship or in teaching. Once he was  sitting in the mosque after Salat with a group of Muslims, making supplication to God. Umar came in and sat with them and  asked each one to recite a dua. They all did until finally Ubayy’s turn came. He was sitting next to Umar. He felt somewhat  over-awed and became flustered. Umar prompted him and suggested that he say: “Allahumma ighfir lanaa. Allahumma  irhamnaa. O Lord, forgive us, O Lord, have mercy on us.”

Taqwa remained the guiding force in Ubayy’s life. He lived simply and did not allow the world to corrupt or deceive him. He  had a good grasp of reality and knew that however a person lived and whatever comforts and luxuries he enjoyed, these  would all fade away and he would have only his good deeds to his credit. He was always a sort of warner to Muslims,  reminding them of the times of the Prophet, of the Muslims’ devotion to Islam then, of their simplicity and spirit of sacrifice.  Many people came to him seeking knowledge and advice. To one such person he said.

“The believer has four characteristics. If he is afflicted by any misfortune, he remains patient and steadfast. If he is given  anything, he is grateful. If he speaks, he speaks the truth. If he passes a judgment on any issue, he is just.”

Ubayy attained a position of great honor and esteem among the early Muslims. Umar called him the “sayyid of the Muslims”  and he came to be widely known by this title. He was part of the consultative group (mushawarah) to which Abu Bakr, as  Khalifah, referred many problems. This group was composed of men of good sense and judgment (ahl ar-ray) and men who  knew the law (ahl al-fiqh) from among the Muhajirin and Ansar. It included Umar, Uthman, Ali, Abdur Rahman ibn Awl, Muadh  ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Kab and Zayd ibn Harith. Umar later consulted the same group when he was Khalifah. Specifically for  fatwas (legal judgments) he referred to Uthman, Ubayy and Zayd ibn Thabit.

Because of Ubayy’s high standing, one might have expected him to have been given positions of administrative  responsibility, for example as a governor, in the rapidly expanding Muslim state. (During the time of the Prophet in fact he  had performed the function of a collector of sadaqah.) Indeed, Ubayy once asked

“What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you appoint me as a governor?” “I do not want your religion to be corrupted”  replied Umar. Ubayy was probably prompted to put the question to Umar when he saw that Muslims were tending to drift  from the purity of faith and self-sacrifice of the days of the Prophet. He was known to be especially critical of the excessively  polite and sycophantic attitude of many Muslims to their governors which he felt brought ruin both to the governors and  those under them. Ubayy for his part was always honest and frank in his dealings with persons in authority and feared no  one but God. He acted as a sort of conscience to the Muslims.

One of Ubayy’s major fears for the Muslim ummah was that a day would come when there would be severe strife among  Muslims. He often became overwhelmed with emotion when he read or heard the verse of the Quran.” “Say: He (Allah) has  power to send calamities on you, from above and below, or to cover you with confusion in party strife, giving you a taste of  mutual vengeance, each from the other.” (Surah al-An’am, 6: 65)

He would then pray fervently to God for guidance and ask for His clemency and forgiveness. Ubayy died in the year 29 AH  during the caliphate of Uthman.

Allah knows the best

In the Sixth year after the hijrah, the Prophet, may the blessings of God be on him, decided to expand the scope of his  mission. He sent eight letters to rulers in the Arabian peninsula and surrounding areas inviting them to Islam. One of these  rulers was Thumamah ibn Uthal.

Thumamah was one of the most powerful Arab rulers in pre-Quranic times. This is not surprising since he was a chieftain of  the Banu Hanifah and one of the rulers of al-Yamamah whose word no one dared to challenge or disobey.

When Thumamah received the Prophet’s letter, he was consumed by anger and rejected it. He refused to listen to the  invitation of Truth and goodness. More than that, he felt a strong desire to go and kill the Prophet and bury his mission with  him.

Thumamah waited and waited for a convenient time to carry out his design against the Prophet until eventually forgetfulness  caused him to lose interest. One of his uncles, however, reminded him of his plan, praising what he intended to do.

In the pursuit of his evil design against the Prophet, Thumamah met and killed a group of the Prophet’s companions. The  Prophet thereupon declared him a wanted man who could lawfully be killed on sight. Not long afterwards, Thumamah  decided to perform umrah. He wanted to perform tawaf around the Kabah and sacrifice to the idols there. So he left  al-Yamamah for Makkah. As he was passing near Madinah, an incident took place which he had not anticipated.

Groups of Muslims were patrolling the districts of Madinah and outlying areas on the lookout for any strangers or anyone  intent on causing trouble. One of these groups came upon Thumamah and apprehended him but they did not know who he  was. They took him to Madinah and tied him to one of the columns in the mosque. They waited for the Prophet himself to  question the man and decide what should be done with him.

When the Prophet was about to enter the mosque, he saw Thumamah and asked his companions, ‘Do you know whom you  have taken?”

“No, messenger of God,” they replied.

“This is Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi,” he said. “You have done well in capturing him.”

The Prophet then returned home to his family and said, “Get what food you can and send it to Thumamah ibn Uthal.” He then  ordered his camel to be milked for him. All this was done before he met Thumamah or had spoken to him.

The Prophet then approached Thumamah hoping to encourage him to become a Muslim. “What do you have to say for  yourself?” he asked.

“If you want to kill in reprisal,” Thumamah replied, “you can have someone of noble blood to kill. If, out of your bounty, you  want to forgive, I shall be grateful. If you want money in compensation, I shall give you whatever amount you ask.”

The Prophet then left him for two days, but still personally sent him food and drink and milk from his camel. The Prophet went  back to him and asked, “What do you have to say for yourself?” Thumamah repeated what he had said the day before. The  Prophet then left and came back to him the following day. “What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked again and  Thumamah repeated what he had said once more. Then the Prophet turned to his companions and said, “Set him free.”

Thumamah left the mosque of the Prophet and rode until he came to a palm grove on the outskirts of Madinah near al-Baqi’  (a place of luxuriant vegetation which later became a cemetery for many of the Prophet’s companions). He watered his camel  and washed himself well. Then he turned back and made his way to the Prophet’s mosque. There, he stood before a  congregation of Muslims and said: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His  servant and His messenger.” He then went to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and said: “O Muhammad, by God, there  was never on this earth a face more detestable than yours. Now, yours is the dearest face of all to me.” “I have killed some  of your men,” he continued, “I am at your mercy. What will you have done to me?”

“There is now no blame on you, Thumamah,” replied the Prophet. “Becoming a Muslim obliterates past actions and marks a  new beginning.”

Thumamah was greatly relieved. His face showed his surprise and joy and he vowed, “By God, I shall place my whole self, my  sword, and whoever is with me at your service and at the service of your religion.”

“O Rasulullah,” he went on, “when your horsemen captured me I was on my way to perform umrah. What do you think I  should do now?”

“Go ahead and perform your umrah,” replied the Prophet, “but perform it according to the laws of God and His messenger.”  The Prophet then taught him how to perform umrah according to Islamic rules.

Thumamah left to fulfill his intention. When he reached the valley of Makkah, he began shouting in a loud, resonant voice:

“Labbayk Allahumma labbayk. Labbayka Laa shareeka Laka labbayk. Innal hamda wan ni’mata Laka wall mulk. Laa shareeka  Lak. (Here I am at Your command O Lord, Here I am. Here I am. No partner have You. Here I am. Praise, bounty and  Dominion belong to You. No partner have You.”)

He was thus the first Muslim on the face of the earth to enter Makkah reciting the talbiyah.

The Quraysh heard the sound of the talbiyah and felt both anger and alarm. With drawn swords, they set out towards the  voice to punish the one who had thus assaulted their preserve. As they came closer to him, Thumamah raised his voice even  higher while reciting the talbiyah and looked upon them with pride and defiance. One of the Quraysh young men was  particularly incensed and was about to shoot Thumamah with an arrow when the others grabbed his hand and shouted:

“Woe to you! Do you know who this is? He is Thumamah ibn Uthal, ruler of al-Yamamah. By God, if you should harm him, his  people would cut our supplies, with dire consequences for us.”

Swords were replaced in their scabbards as the Quraysh went up to Thumamah and said:

“What’s wrong with you, Thumamah? Have you given in and abandoned your religion and the religion of your forefathers?”

“I have not given in,” he replied, “but I have decided to follow the best religion. I follow the religion of Muhammad. “

He then went on: “I swear to you by the Lord of this House that after my return to al-Yamamah, no grain of wheat or any of  its produce shall reach you until you follow Muhammad.”

Under the watchful eyes of the Quraysh, Thumamah performed umrah as the Prophet, peace be upon him, had instructed  him. He dedicated his sacrifice to God alone.

Thumamah returned to his land and ordered his people to withhold supplies from the Quraysh. The boycott gradually began  to have effect and became more and more stringent. Prices began to rise. Hunger began to bite and there was even fear of  death among the Quraysh. Thereupon, they wrote to the Prophet, saying:

“Our agreement with you (the treaty of Hudaybiyyah) is that you should maintain the bonds of kinship but you have gone  against that. You have cut the bonds of kinship. You have killed and caused death through hunger. Thumamah ibn Uthal has  cut our supplies and inflicted harm on us. Perhaps you would see fit to instruct him to resume sending us what we need.”

The Prophet immediately sent a messenger instructing Thumamah to lift the boycott and resume supplies to the Quraysh.  This Thumamah did.

Thumamah spent the rest of his life in the service of his religion, abiding by the undertaking he had given to the Prophet.  When the Prophet died, many Arabs began leaving the religion of God in great numbers. Musaylamah, the impostor, began  calling the Banu Hanifah to believe in him as a Prophet. Thumamah confronted him and said to his people:

“O Banu Hanifah, beware of this grievous matter. There is no light or guidance in it. By God, it will only bring distress and  suffering to whoever joins this movement and misfortune even to those who do not join.

“O Banu Hanifah, two prophets do not come at the same time and there shall be no Prophet after Muhammad and no  Prophet to share in his mission.”

He then read out to them the following verses of the Quran: “Ha Mim. The revelation of this Book is from God the Almighty,  the Knowing. He forgives sins and accepts repentance. He is severe in punishment and has a long reach. There is no god  except Him. To Him is the journey’s end.” (Surah Ghafir; verses 1-3).

“Can you compare these words of God with the uttering of Musaylamah?” he asked.

He then gathered together all those who had remained in Islam and began to wage a jihad against the apostates and to  make the words of God supreme. The loyal Muslims of Banu Hanifah needed additional help to stand against the armies of  Musaylamah. Their arduous task was completed by the forces dispatched by Abu Bakr but at the cost of many a Muslim life.

Allah knows the best

Thabit Ibn Qays was a chieftain of the Khazraj and therefore a man of considerable influence in Yathrib. He was known for  the sharpness of his mind and the power of his oratory. It was because of this that he became the khatib or the spokesman  and orator of the Prophet and Islam.

He became a Muslim at the hands of Musab ibn Umayr whose cool and persuasive logic and the sweetness and beauty of his  Quran recital proved irresistible.

When the Prophet arrived in Madinah after the historic Hijrah, Thabit and a great gathering of horsemen gave him a warm  and enthusiastic welcome. Thabit acted as their spokesman and delivered a speech in the presence of the Prophet and his  companion, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. He began by giving praise to God Almighty and invoking peace and blessings on His Prophet  and ended up by saying:

“We give our pledge to you, O Messenger of God, that we would protect you from all that we protect ourselves, our children  and our wives. What would then be our reward for this?”

The speech was reminiscent of words spoken at the second Pledge of Aqabah and the Prophet’s reply as then was the  same: “Al-Jannah – Paradise!”

When the Yathribites heard the word “al-Jannah” their faces beamed with happiness and excitement and their response  was: “We are pleased, O Messenger of God! We are pleased, O Messenger of God .”

From that day on the Prophet, peace be on him, made Thabit ibn Qays his Khatib, just as Hassan ibn Thabit was his poet.  When delegations of Arabs came to him to show off their brilliance in verse and the strength of their oratory skills which the  Arabs took great pride in, the Prophet would call upon Thabit ibn Qays to challenge their orators and Hassan ibn Thabit to  vaunt his verses before their poets.

In the Year of the Delegations, the ninth after the Hijrah, tribes from all over the Arabian peninsula came to Madinah to pay  homage to the Prophet, either to announce their acceptance of Islam or to pay jizyah in return for the protection of the  Muslim state. One of these was a delegation from the tribe of Tamim who said to the Prophet:

“We have come to show our prowess to you. Do give  permission to our Shaif and our Khatib to speak.” The Prophet, peace be on him, smiled and said: “I permit your Khatib. Let  him speak.”

Their orator, Utarid ibn Hajib, got up and held forth on the greatness and achievements of their tribe and when he was  finished the Prophet summoned Thabit ibn Qays and said: “Stand and reply to him.” Thabit arose and said:

“Praise be to God Whose creation is the entire heavens and the earth wherein His will has been made manifest. His Throne  is the extent of His knowledge and there is nothing which does not exist through His grace.

“Through His power He has made us leaders and from the best of His creation He has chosen a Messenger who is the most  honorable of men in lineage, the most reliable and true in speech and the most excellent in deeds. He has revealed to him a  book and chosen him as a leader of His creation. Among all creation, he is a blessing of God.

“He summoned people to have faith in Him. The Emigrants from among his people and his relations who are the most  honorable people in esteem and the best in deeds believed in him. Then, we the Ansar (Helpers) were the first people to  respond (to his call for support). So we are the Helpers of God and the ministers of His Messenger.”

Thabit was a believer with a profound faith in God. His consciousness and fear of God was true and strong. He was especially  sensitive and cautious of saying or doing anything that would incur the wrath of God Almighty. One day the Prophet saw him  looking not just sad but dejected and afraid. His shoulders were haunched and he was actually cringing from fear.

“What’s wrong with you, O Abu Muhammad?” asked the Prophet. “I fear that I might be destroyed, O Messenger of God,” he  said. “And why?” asked the Prophet. “God Almighty,” he said, “has prohibited us from desiring to be praised for what we did  not do but I find myself liking praise. He has prohibited us from being proud and I find myself tending towards vanity.” This  was the time when the verse of the Quran was revealed: “Indeed, God does not love any arrogant boaster.”

The Prophet, peace be on him, then tried to calm his anxieties and allay his fears and eventually said to him: “O Thabit,  aren’t you pleased to live as someone who is praised, and to die as a martyr and to enter Paradise?”

Thabit’s face beamed with happiness and joy as he said: “Certainly, O Messenger of God.” “Indeed, that shall be yours,”  replied the noble Prophet.

There was another occasion when Thabit became sad and crest-fallen, when the words of the Quran were revealed:

“O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet and neither speak loudly to him as you would  speak loudly to one another, lest all your deeds come to naught without your perceiving it.”

On hearing these words, Qays kept away from the meetings and gatherings of the Prophet in spite of his great love for him  and his hitherto constant presence in his company. He stayed in his house a/most without ever leaving it except for the  performance of the obligatory Salat. The Prophet missed his presence and evidently asked for information about him. A man  from the Ansar volunteered and went to Thabit’s house. He found Thabit sitting in his house, sad and dejected, with his head  bowed low.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked the man. “It’s bad,” replied Thabit. “You know that I am a man with a loud voice and  that my voice is far louder than that of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. And you know what  has been revealed in the Quran. The only result for me is that my deeds will come to naught and I will be among the people  who go to the fire of hell.”

The man returned to the Prophet and told him what he had seen and heard and the Prophet instructed him to return to  Thabit and say: “You are not among the people who will go to the fire of hell but you will be among the people of Paradise.”

Such was the tremendously good news with which Thabit ibn Qays was blessed. The incidents showed how alive and  sensitive he was to the Prophet and the commands of Islam and his readiness to observe the letter and the spirit of its laws.  He subjected himself to the most stringent self-criticism. His was a God-fearing and penitent heart which trembled and shook  through the fear of God.

Allah knows the best