THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION SEEKING THE PLEASURE OF ALLAH Hayatus Sahabah by Muhadith Kandahlawi (Kandhelvi) Rendered into current English With supporting extracts from her Millennium Biography of Prophet Muhammad by Khadeijah Abdullah Darwish (Anne Stephens) Free give away Acquired from Amazon’s Kindle Not for sale or resale by any third party ©2013 - www.Muhammad.com THE CAVE OF MOUNT THOWR Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that (her father) Abu Bakr said to her, “If only you had seen the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and myself as we climbed up to the cave (of Thowr during the migration). The feet of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, were dripping with blood, whereas mine had become (numb) like a stone.” Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, never used to walk barefooted.” THE HARDSHIP BORNE BY THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH DURING THE BATTLE OF UHUD Anas narrates that during the Battle of Uhud the Messenger of Allah’s tooth was broken, and he sustained an injury to his head. As he wiped away the blood from his face, he said, “I wonder how people who injury the face of their Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, break his teeth can thrive or be successful.“ It was then that the following verse was sent down: ‘No part of the matter is yours whether He turns towards them or punishes them. They are harm-doers.’ Ch.2:128 Abu Sa’ed Khudri narrates that after the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, sustained an injury to his face during the Battle of Uhud, Malik, the son of Sinan wiped blood away from the wound and swallowed some. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said, “Whosoever wishes to see someone whose blood is mixed with mine should look at Malik, son of Sinan.” Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that whenever Abu Bakr spoke of the Battle of Uhud, he would say, “The credit for that day goes to Talha.” He explained, “I was the first person to return to the fight (after the Muslims were taken by surprise) and I saw someone fiercely defending the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. I said (to myself I hope it is Talha) as I myself had missed that opportunity (the reward of defending the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him) and I wanted that man to be one of my people. There was another person between the unbelievers and myself, but I was unable to recognize him, he was running much faster than I could however as I got closer to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, I saw that the person was Abu Ubaydah, the son of Jarah.” When we reached the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, we found his tooth had been broken and his faced had been injured (by a fierce blow) and that two links from his helmet had pierced his cheeks. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said referring to Talha, ‘Look at (see to) your companion!’ Talha had lost a lot of blood and become very weak. However, Abu Bakr said, “ I failed to carry out the instruction and went to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, to remove the links from his face. Abu Ubaydah entreated me, ‘By the right I have (as your Muslim brother) leave it to me (to remove the links)’ so I left it for him. Because of the pain it would have caused the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, Abu Ubaydah was reluctant to pull the links out of his cheek with his hand so he bit hard onto a link and pulled one of them out. As Abu Ubaydah was doing this one of his front teeth fell out. I (Abu Bakr) motioned that I would carry on what he had been doing, but once again he entreated, ‘By the right I have, leave it for me to do.’ As he continued to extract the links, another front tooth attached to a link fell out.- Abu Ubaydah was a very handsome person even without his front teeth.” “Having tended to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, we went to Talha who had fallen into a ditch. He had suffered seventy or more spear, arrow and sword wounds and we nursed him (to the best of our ability). THE HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY THE COMPANIONS AS THEY CALLED PEOPLE TO ALLAH Abu Bakr insists on preaching and is grievously hurt after delivering a sermon: Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, narrates that there was a time when eighty-three Companions of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, were together with Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr had on many occasions asked the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, for permission to preach Islam publicly but the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, had said, “O Abu Bakr, we are too few.” However, Abu Bakr continued to request permission to do so until the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, gave him permission. (Now that permission had been granted) the Muslims dispersed to different areas of the Sacred Mosque where their own fellow tribesmen had gathered. Abu Bakr then stood up to deliver a sermon, as the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, remained seated. This sermon was the first public sermon that invited people to Allah, and His Messenger, praise and peace be upon him. When the unbelievers realized what was going on they set up and attacked Abut Bakr and the other Muslims in the Sacred Mosque. Abu Bakr and the Muslims were severely beaten. Abu Bakr was trampled upon and beaten in a most savage, merciless way. The despicable Utba, son of Rabe’ah (from the tribe of Thakif, in Ta’if) started beating Abu Bakr with his shoes that had their soles stuck to one another (thereby making them thick and hard). He assaulted Abu Bakr continuously so much that his nose became distorted embedded in his face, not content with that Utba then jumped on his stomach. Abu Bakr’s tribe, the Banu Taym came running and managed to push the unbeliever away from Abu Bakr, then they carried Abu Bakr to his home on a sheet, and thought he would die. Thereafter, the Banu Taym returned to the Sacred Mosque and announced, “By Allah! We will without doubt kill Utba, son of Rabe’ah if Abu Bakr dies.” Having made the announcement they returned with Abu Bakr’s father Abu Quhafa. They spoke to Abu Bakr, hoping to get a response from him but a day had passed and Abu Bakr had not spoken a word then he spoke and asked, “How is the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him?” As they stood up (to leave) they said to (his mother) Ummul Khayr (who had as yet not accepted Islam), “Take care of him and give him something to eat or drink.” After they had gone and he was alone with his mother, (she brought him some food) and insisted that he should try to eat, but he kept asking, “How is the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him?” She replied, “I swear by Allah that I have no knowledge about your friend.” He told her, “Go and ask Ummu Jamel, daughter of Khatab about the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him.” His mother went to Ummu Jamel and asked her, “Abu Bakr wants to know from you how is Muhammad, son of Abdullah.” Ummu Jamel replied, “I don’t know (anything about) Abu Bakr, nor Muhammad, son of Abdullah. However, if you like, I will go with you to see your son.” Abu Bakr’s mother agreed and they went to Abu Bakr who remained lying down with extensive injuries. When Ummu Jamel saw Abu Bakr she cried out, “By Allah, those who did this to you must be the people of disbelief and sin. I hope that Allah takes revenge from them on your behalf.” Abu Bakr then asked, “How is the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him?” Ummu Jamel said, “But your mother is listening.” He replied, “You have nothing to fear from her” whereupon she replied, “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace upon him, is safe and well.” “Where is he” asked Abu Bakr. Ummu Jamel replied, “He is in the house of Arqam.” Abu Bakr vowed, “I swear by Allah that I shall neither eat nor drink until I go to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him.” The two ladies waited for a time (late at night) when there were not many people about and the night was still and they had gone to sleep, then, supporting Abu Bakr, they took him to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. (When he saw Abu Bakr) he gently hugged and kissed him, and the other Muslims did likewise. When the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, saw Abu Bakr’s condition he felt pity for him. Abu Bakr, spoke to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, saying, “O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, may my parents be sacrificed for you! There is nothing wrong with me except for what that wretch did to my face. This is my mother who has been exceptionally good to me. You are a most blessed person so invite her to Allah and pray for her perhaps Allah will save her from the Fire of Hell.” The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, supplicated for her and invited her to Islam, and she accepted. Thirty nine Muslims stayed in Arqam’s house with the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, for a month. It was also on the day that Abu Bakr was so badly beaten that Hamza accepted Islam. THE DAY ON WHICH OMAR EMBRACED ISLAM (The Muslims were under continual harassment by the unbelievers and so) the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, supplicated to Allah to guide either Omar, son of Al Khattab or Abu Jahl, son of Hisham to Islam. Allah accepted the supplication and Omar was the one whom He guided. The supplication was made on a Wednesday and the following day Omar accepted Islam. When the Muslims learned of Omar’s conversion they shouted out at the top of their voices “Allahu Akbar.” It was so loud that it was heard in the upper parts of Mecca. When Arqam’s blind father, who remained in disbelief, heard the exclamations he came out of his house saying, “O Allah, forgive my child Arqam, he has rejected our religion.” (After accepting Islam) Omar said to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, “Why should we keep our Religion secret when we are on the truth whereas the false religion of the unbelievers is made public?” The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, replied, “We are only a few and you have just seen the beating we received.” Omar said, “I swear by the one who has sent you with the truth I shall make my belief known at each of the unbeliever’s gatherings which I used to take part in.” (Omar took permission to leave and made his way to the Sacred Mosque) then circumambulated the Ka’bah and as he did he passed by the leaders of the Koraysh who observed him closely. Then Abul Jahl, son of Hisham spoke saying in a questioning manner, “Someone mentioned that you have forsaken your religion!” Omar openly declared, “I bear witness that there is no god except One, Allah, who has no partner and that Muhammad is the worshiper and Messenger of Allah.” Upon hearing that the unbelievers jumped up to attack him, and Omar retaliated and attacked Utba, the son of Rabe’ah (who had so violently attacked Abu Bakr not long before). Omar (overpowered Utba and) squatted over him and continued to beat him and poke his fingers in his eyes and Utba screamed. (Fearing Omar would make Utba blind, the other unbelievers back away) and Omar stood up (and left Utba). Omar’s strategy was the same whenever a group approached (to assault) him, he would grab hold of their leader (and beat, and threaten to make him blind) until the others gave up. (In the days that followed) Omar went to all the gatherings he had once frequented (when he was an unbeliever) and proclaimed to the participants the message of belief. After having made known his dominance over the unbelievers, Omar returned to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and said, “May my parents be sacrificed for you, by Allah you now have no need to fear. I, without fear proclaimed the message of belief in every gathering I used to frequent as an unbeliever.” Thereafter, the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, went to the Sacred Mosque with Hamza as Omar walked a little ahead of him. When they reached the Sacred Mosque they circumambulated the Ka’bah and offered the Zuhr prayer, in fear of no one, except Allah. Now that they had offered their prayer the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, and Omar returned to the house of Arqam who left by himself later on. Shortly Omar’s departure, the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, also left. It is the consensus of opinion that Omar accepted Islam in the 6th year after the migration when several families of the Companions migrated to Abyssinia. ABU BAKR MEETS THE SON OF AD-DUGHUNNAH AS HE LEAVES FOR ABYSSINIA Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “There was never a time when my parents were adherents to any other religion than Islam. A day would not pass when the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, did not visit us every morning and night.” Abu Bakr went to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, to ask his permission to join those (Companions who had migrated earlier and who) remained behind in Abyssinia, the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, always had the welfare and safety of his Companions at heart agreed so with a sorrowful heart Abu Bakr set out for Abyssinia. As he neared the Red Sea, he met an old friend by the name of ibn Ad-Dughunnah, the chieftain of a small tribe that had settled not far from Mecca and were allied to the Koraysh. Ibn Ad-Dughunnah hardly recognized Abu Bakr and was both shocked and distressed to see him in such an impoverished condition and inquired what had brought about such a dramatic change in his affairs. Abu Bakr related several of the unwarranted hostilities he had faced in Mecca on account of his conversion then told him that now all he wanted was to be able to worship Allah in peace and to preach during his travels. Ibn Ad-Dughunnah reflected upon former times in wonderment of how people could turn to be so fickle and said, "How could they have done such things? You were without doubt the gem amongst your tribe, in times of trouble you were always there to call upon, your deeds are good, and you always helped others in times of need! Go back, I will support you." Abu Bakr accepted ibn Ad-Dughannah's support and they returned together. Upon reaching Mecca, ibn Ad-Dughunnah declared for all to hear, "People of Koraysh, the son of Abu Kuhafah has my support -- let no one treat him badly!" The Koraysh accepted the ultimatum, however a fellow from the tribe of Jummah -- the tribe from whom Abu Bakr had rescued Bilal demanded, "Tell him to worship his Lord behind closed doors, and to let his prayers and recitation be confined therein so that he can neither be seen nor heard. We fear that if our sons or women see him they will be seduced by his ways!" Ibn Ad-Dughunnah turned to Abu Bakr and asked him to comply, and he agreed. Abu Bakr neither prayed in public nor did he recite the Koran outside his house, however one day he decided to build a small mosque in front of his house, and thereafter offered his prayer in it and recited the Koran. The women and children of the unbelievers began to gather around him in great numbers. They used to wonder and look at him. Abu Bakr was a man given to much weeping when he recited the Koran, and could not restrain himself. The hierarchy of the unbelieving Koraysh became fearful so they sent for Ad-Dughannah's son. When he arrived they said, "We accepted your protection of Abu Bakr on condition that he restrict his worship of his Lord to inside his house, but he has violated the conditions and built a mosque in front of his house where he prays, and recites the Koran in public. We are fearful he may influence our women and children, therefore stop him from doing this. If he wishes to confine his worship of his Lord to his house he may do so, but if he insists on doing so openly then ask him to release you from your obligation to protect him, because we would dislike breaking our agreement with you, but we deny Abu Bakr the right to act openly. Ad-Dughannah's son went to Abu Bakr and said, "You are aware of the contract I made on your behalf, please either abide by it or release me from my obligation to protect you because I do not want the Arabs to hear that my tribe dishonored a contract I made on behalf of another man." Abu Bakr replied, "I release you from your agreement to protect me and am content with the protection of Allah." In a similar narration, the son of Is’haq relates that after one or two days since Abu Bakr left Mecca with the intention of migrating (to Abyssina) he met Ad-Dughannah's son who was the chief of the tribe of Ahabesh. Ad-Dughannah's son asked Abu Bakr where he was going and he replied, “My people have caused me to leave, they harassed and made things difficult.” Ad-Dughannah's son, asked, “Why did they do that, by Allah, you are the most honored among your family, you assist in every good cause, you always do good deeds and you give people when in need.” Return (to Mecca) I will give you my protection.” Abu Bakr accepted and he returned with Ad-Dughannah's son. As they entered Mecca, Ad-Dughannah's son stood beside Abu Bakr and announced, “O Koraysh, I have taken the son of Abu Quhafa into my protection, therefore everyone should treat him well.” Having heard the announcement the people stopped harassing Abu Bakr. The concluding part of this narration states that Ad-Dughannah's son said, “O Abu Bakr, I did not grant you my protection so that you may annoy your people. They dislike the place (where he prayed) you have adopted (in your courtyard) and it annoys them. Go into your house and do as you please.” Abu Bakr said, “It is better that I absolve you of your protection and content myself with the protection of Allah.” Ad-Dughannah's son agreed and announced. “O assembly of Koraysh, the son of Abu Quhafa has released me of the protection I granted him.” In another narration of the son of Is’haq it relates that after Abu Bakr released himself from the protection of Ad-Dughannah's son, a foolish person from the Koraysh passed him on the way to the Ka’bah and threw some sand on his head. When either Waleed, son of Mughiera or ‘As, son of Wa’il passed, Abu Bakr asked, “Did you see what that fool did?” They replied, “You have brought it upon yourself!” Abu Bakr said, “O my Lord, how tolerant You are, O my Lord, how tolerant You are, O my Lord, how tolerant You are!” The narration of Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr has already been mentioned that states, “The shouts reached my father, Abu Bakr, heard the people calling out, ‘Help your friend!’ My father left us (I can recall that) his hair had four locks and he was saying: ‘Would you kill a man for saying, ‘Allah is my Lord,’ when he has brought you clear signs from your Lord? (Ch. 40:28)’ Then the perpetrators turned on Abu Bakr. When he returned to us (he was beaten so badly) that just by touching the locks of his hair, his hair would fall out. Despite this he kept saying, ‘You are most Blessed, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor.’” May Allah be pleased with all the Companions.