The worldly life came!

Rabi’ah al-Aslami narrated:

I used to serve the Messenger of Allah. So, he gave me a piece of land, and gave Abu Bakr a piece of land. Then, the worldly life came and and we argued over a bunch of palm trees, and Abu Bakr said: “It is in my piece of land!” and I said: “It is in my piece of land!” Then, there was an exchange of words between Abu Bakr and myself. So, Abu Bakr said something to me that I disliked, and he regretted that.

So, he said to me: “O Rabi’ah! Say back to me what I said to you so that we would be equal.”

I said: “I will not do so!”

Abu Bakr said: “Say it, or I will call the Messenger of Allah on you!”

I said: “I will not do so.”

So, Abu Bakr – may Allaah be pleased with him – went to the Prophet and I followed him, so the people from (the tribe of) Aslam came and said: “May Allah have mercy on Abu Bakr! Why would he call the Messenger of Allah on you when he (the Prophet) has said to you what he has said?”

So, I said: “Do you know who that is? That is Abu Bakr as-Siddiq! He is the one who was in the Cave with the Prophet, and he is the elder of the Muslims! So, you had better not cause him to turn around and see you helping me against him, making him angry, causing the Messenger of Allah to come and become angry because of Abu Bakr’s anger, thereby causing Allah to become angry for both of their anger, thereby causing me to be destroyed!”

So, they said: “So, what do you want us to do?”

I said: “Go back to where you came from.”

So, Abu Bakr went to the Messenger of Allah and I followed him by myself and continued until he got to the Prophet and informed him of our conversation as it happened.

So, he (the Prophet) raised his head to me and said: “O Rabi’ah! What is going on between you and as-Siddiq?”

So, I said: “O Messenger of Allah, this happened and that happened, and he said something to me that I disliked, and he told me to say the same thing back to him so that we would be equal.”

So, the Messenger of Allah said: “Do not return his comment to him. Rather, say ‘May Allah forgive you, O Abu Bakr! May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr!’”

So, Abu Bakr – may Allah have Mercy on him – turned his face and began to cry.

['as-Silsilah as-Sahihah'; # 3258]
[With thanks: Brotherhood in Islam, facebook fan page]

Description of Ali that made Mu`awiyah weep

After Ali died , Mu`awiyah bin Abi Sufyan said to Dirar bin Damrah

“Describe ‘Ali to me.”

“Will you not excuse me from answering you,” said Dirar.

“No, describe him,” insisted Mu`awiyah.

“Please excuse me from doing so,” said Dirar.

“I will not,” said Mu`awiyah.

“I will do so, then” said Dirar with a sigh.

“By Allah, he was (far-sighted) and very strong. He spoke with a truthful finality, so that, through him, truth became distinguished from falsehood. He ruled justly, and knowledge gushed forth from him, as did wisdom. He felt an aversion to the world and its (pleasure). He was comfortable with the night and its darkness (meaning he prayed a lot). By Allah he would cry profusely ( from fear of Allah); long durations would he spend in contemplation, during which time he would converse with his soul. He showed a liking to coarse garments and lower-quality food. By Allah, it was as if – in his humbleness- he was one of us: when we asked him a question, he would answer us; when we would go to him, he would initiate (the salam); and when we would invite him (to our homes), he would come to us . Yet, in spite of his closeness to us, we would not speak (freely) with him, because of the dignity and honor that he exuded if he smiled, he revealed the likes of straight and regular pearls(his teeth). He honored religious people and loved the poor. The strong person could not hope to gain favors from him through falsehood. And the weak person never lost hope of his justness. I swear, by Allah, that on certain occasions, I saw him in his place of prayer when the night was dark and few stars could be seen; he would be holding his beard and crying the way a very sad person cries; and I would hear him saying, “O world, O world, are you offering yourself to me? Do you desire me? Never! Never! Deceive someone other than me, I have divorced you for the third time, so that you cannot return to me (metaphorically, of course; he is alluding to the fact that, in islam, the third divorce is final) your life is short, the existence you offer is base, and your danger is great. Alas for the scarcity of sustenance (good deeds), the great distance of the journey, and the loneliness of the road!”

Upon hearing this description, Mu`awiyah’s eyes swelled with tears, and not being able to hold them from gushing forth, he was forced to wipe them with his cuffs; and the same can be said for those who were present. Mu`awiyah then said,

“May Allah have mercy on the father of Al-Hasan, for he was, by Allah, just as you described him to be.”

He then said, “O Dirar, describe your sadness at having lost him.”

“My sadness” began Dirar “is like the sadness of a woman who cannot control her tears or allay her grief after her child , while in her lap, has just been slaughtered.”

Dirar then stood up and left.

[Sifatus-Safwah 1/66 by Ibn al- Jawziyy]
[With thanks: Brotherhood in Islam, facebook fan page]

May Allah be pleased with them both.

Breaking the ice at the Battle of Yarmouk

The Battle of Yarmouk took place over six days in August 636 when the Islamic State (the Caliphate) was under the rule of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) closest companion Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).  The  battle comprised a series of engagements between the Islamic Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border between Syria and Jordan, south-east of the See of Galilee. It is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in human history, and marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Here is how the battle began.

At dawn the Muslim corps lined up for fajr salah (dawn prayer) under their respective commanders. As soon as the prayers were over, every man ruished to his assigned place.  By sunrise both armies stood a little less than a mile apart awaiting the battle to commence.

Then, a Byzantine general by the name of George (known as Jarjah in Arabic) emerged from the Byzantine army and rode towards the Muslims. Halting a short distance from the Muslims he raised his voice and asked for Khalid bin Waleed.  Khalid, one of the commanders of the Muslim army, rode out with the anticipation of beginning this epic battle with a duel with George.

However, this duel was unusual. As Khalid drew near, the Roman made no move to draw his sword and begin fighting.  Instead, he proceeded to ask Khalid a few questions.

General George said to General Khalid in Arabic:

“O Khalid, tell me the truth and do not decieve me, for the free do not lie and the noble do not decieve. Is it true that Allah send a sword from heaven to your Prophet? . . . And that he gave it to you? . . . And that never have you drawn it but your enemies have been defeated?”

“No!” replied Khalid.

“Then why are you known as the sword of Allah?”

At this point, Khalid explained to George how he recieved the title of Sword of Allah from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).  He recieved this title after triumphing by the Will of Allah at the Battle of Mut’ah.

At this, George asked Khalid:

“Tell me, to what do you call me?”

Khalid replied, “To bear witness that there is none to be worshipped but Allah, and Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and to believe in what he has brought from Allah.”

“If I do not agree?”, asked George.

“Then the Jizya (a tax), and you shall be under our protection.”

“If I still do not agree?”

“Then the sword!“, exclaimed Khalid.

George considered the words of Khalid for a few moments, then asked:

“What is the position of one who enters your faith today?”

“In our faith there is only one position.  All are equal,” replied Khalid.

“Then I accept your faith!”, George concluded. [Conversation narrated in Tabari, Vol 2, p595]

Glory be to Allah, how amazing!  This epic battle began with the conversion of one of the Byzantine commanders to Islam! We learn here of the straight forward truth that Khalid bin Waleed spoke.  He explained in clear terms, using just a few words with vast meanings the fundamentals of the Islam. It is never too late to become Muslim, as long as one is alive – even if he was just about to fight Islam!

What’s even more astonishing is the fate that Allah, may He be exalted and glorified, had in store for George.  A few hours later that very day, George would fight heroically for the faith he had just embraced and die a martyr.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision.” [Surah Ale Imran: 169]

A fitting end for a seeker of truth.