Tag: kufa

Categories
His Companions New Muslims

`Ammar Ibn Yasir: A Man of Paradise (Part 2)

Allah had granted `Ammar abundant blessings and guidance. In the level of guidance and certitude, he reached a great height which made the Messenger (peace be upon him) commend his faith and raise him among the Companions as a model and an example, saying, “Take the examples of the two succeeding me, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and follow the guidance of `Ammar”.

`Ammar ibn Yasir A Man of Paradise

When the dust of his grave was being leveled on his body his soul was embracing its happy destiny there in the eternity of Paradise.

The narrators described him, saying, “He was tall, with bluish-black eyes, broad- shouldered, among the most silent of the people and the least talkative.”

How did the life of that giant proceed, the silent, bluish-black-eyed, broad-shouldered man whose body bore the scars of the horrible torture and, at the same time, the document of his amazing steadfastness and his extraordinary greatness?

How did the life of that loyal disciple, the true believer, the overawing sacrificer proceed?

He witnessed with his tutor and messenger all the battles: Badr, Uhud, Al-Khandaq, Tabuk and others.

`Ammar as a Governor

When the Messenger of Allah passed away, the outstanding Companion continued his march. At the meeting of Muslims with Persians, with Romans, and, before that, at their meeting with the army of apostates, `Ammar was always there in the first line, an honest, brave soldier who did not miss an opportunity.

He was a pious believer. No desire would take him away from Allah.

When the Commander of the Faithful, `Umar lbn Al-Khattab, chose governors for the Muslims meticulously and with reservation, his eyes usually fell on `Ammar ibn Yasir in complete trust.

That was how he hastened to him and made him the governor of Kufa, and made Ibn Mas`ud in charge with him of its treasury (Bait Al-Mal). He then wrote to the people of Kufa heralding the new governor and said, “I send you `Ammar ibn Yaasir as a governor, and lbn Mas`ud as a teacher and a minister. They are of the distinguished people of Muhammad’s Companions, and of the people of Badr.”

During his rule, `Ammar followed a way which was hard for worldly people to endure so that they turned against him, or were about to. His rule made him more modest, more pious, and more ascetic.

One of his contemporaries in Kufa, Ibn Abi Hudhail said about him, “I saw `Ammar ibn Yasir when he was the governor of Kufa buying some vegetables. He tied them with a rope and carried them on his shoulders and went home.”

Building the Ka`bah

Before approaching a momentous scene in `Ammar’s great life, let us watch another scene preceding, foreshadowing, and preparing for it.

Following the Muslims’ settlement in Al-Madinah, the honest Messenger (peace be upon him) rose, surrounded by his righteous Companions, with unkempt hair and full of dust. They were establishing Allah’s house and building His mosque. Their faithful hearts were filled with joy, glowed with delight, and murmured their thanks to Allah.

All were working in happiness and hope, carrying stone, mixing mortar, and erecting the building.

There was a team here, another team over there. The happy horizon echoed the singing with which they raised with overjoyed voices: “If we stayed while the Prophet worked, it would be misguided work of ours.” They sang in that manner, then their voices were raised in another song: “O Allah, living is but in the next world, then have mercy on the Ansar and the Muhajirun!” Then a third song was raised:

He who frequents the mosques,

Remaining there standing and sitting,

Is not equal to the one who keeps away from dust.

They were cells working, Allah’s soldiers, carrying His banner and erecting His building. The honest and kind Messenger was with them, carrying the heaviest of the stones and performing the hardest work.

Their singing voices reflected the delight of their satisfied souls. Heaven above them filled the earth that bore them with delight, and bright life was witnessing its best celebrations.

`Ammaar ibn Yasir was there amidst the celebration, carrying the heavy stones from their quarries to their positions. When the guided mercy, Muhammad, saw him, he sympathized greatly with him. He approached him and removed the dust from his head with his kind hand.

With looks filled with the light of Allah, he contemplated his innocent, faithful face and said in front of all the Companions. “Alas for Ibn Sumaiyah, killed by the tyrant group.”

His Death

Days and years passed. The Messenger (peace be upon him) went to the Supreme Companion, followed by Abu Bakr and then ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with them). `Uthmaan Ibn `Affaan, “The Man of Two Lights”, became caliph. Conspiracies against Islam were doing their best, trying to gain by treachery and sedition what they lost in war.

`Umar’s death was the first success achieved by these conspiracies blowing on Al-

Madinah as a breeze of poison from those countries whose sovereignty and thrones Islam had destroyed.

They were tempted by `Umar’s martyrdom to continue their efforts, so they followed and awakened seditions in most Islamic countries.

In addition,`Uthman might not have given the matter the attention, care, and response it

deserved, so the incident happened and `Uthman was martyred and the doors of seditions were opened on the Muslims. Mu`awiyah started fighting the new caliph, `Aly (May Allah be pleased with him) for his right in the matter and for the caliphate.

The Companions had different stances. Some of them washed their hands of the whole matter and went home, making Ibn `Umar’s words their motto:

To the one who says, “Come to prayer,” I will respond.

To the one who says, “Come to success,” I will respond.

But to the one who says, “Come to kill your Muslim brother and to take his money,” I will say, “No.”

Some Muslims were partial to Mu`awiyah, others were partial to `Aly, the one who demanded the pledge of allegiance to him as the Muslims’ caliph. Where do you think `Ammar would stand? Where should he stand, the man about whom the Messenger of Allah said, “Follow the guidance of `Ammar,” and, “Whoever antagonizes `Ammar, will be antagonized by Allah?”

The man who, if he approached the house of Allah’s Messenger, the latter would say,

“Welcome the good-scented, kind man, allow him to come in”?

He stood by `Ali ibn Abi Talib, not as a prejudiced, biased person, but as one complying with the truth and keeping his promise. `Alه was the Caliph of the Muslims and had the pledge of allegiance to be its leader (imam). He took the caliphate and he was worthy of it. Above all, `Aly had the qualities that made his place to the Messenger of Allah as that of Harun (Aaron) to Musa (Moses).

`Ammar, who always turned towards the truth wherever it was to enlighten his insight and loyalty to the possessor of truth in that fight, turned to `Aly on that day and stood by him. `Aly was overjoyed with `Ammar’s pledge and trusted that he was right in his demand because the great man of truth, `Ammar ibn Yasir, approached and went with him.

This man of 93 was involved in the last battle of his noble and brave life. He was giving the last lesson about perseverance in truth, and bequeathing to life the last of his great, honest, and edifying attitudes. the news of `Ammar’s death spread.

Imam `Ali carried him on his chest to where he and the other Muslims prayed, and then he was buried in his own clothes. Yes, in his blood-smeared clothes which had a pure and good smell.

Muslims stood at his grave wondering. A few hours before, `Ammar had been singing over the battlefield, filled with the delight of the tired stranger who was returning happily home. He had been shouting, “Today I meet the dear ones, Muhammad and his Companions.” Did he have a meeting time with them, an exact time to wait for him?

Some Companions approached each other, inquiring. One of them asked, “Do you remember the twilight of that day in Al Madinah when we were sitting with Allah’s Messenger and suddenly his face brightened and he said, “Paradise is longing for `Ammar’?” His friend answered, “Yes, on that day he mentioned others, among which were’ `Aly, Salman and Bilal.”

When the dust of his grave was being leveled on his body by his companions, his soul was embracing its happy destiny there in the eternity of Paradise that was longing for `Ammar!

Read also:

`Ammar Ibn Yasir: A Man of Paradise (Part 1)

___________________

The article is excerpted from the book Men Around the Messenger, which is a translation based on Khalid Muhammad Khalid’s celebrated work in Arabic “Rijal Hawla Ar-Rasul” which represents the real inspirational stories of sixty-four Companions of the Prophet.

[ica_orginalurl]

Categories
His Companions New Muslims

Mu`adh Ibn Jabal: The Most Learned of Halal and Haram

By: Khalid Muhammad Khalid

Among the seventy-man delegation of the Ansar who took the oath of allegiance to the Prophet in the Second Allegiance of `Aqabah sat a young man with a bright face, graceful eyes, and a radiant smile. When he was silent, he attracted attention with his profound peacefulness and devoutness. On the other hand, when he talked, he held his people spellbound. This young man was Mu`adh lbn Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him).

Mu`adh Ibn Jabal: The Most Learned of Halal and Haram

Mu`adh Ibn Jaba was a man of remarkably enlightened, resolute, and decisive mind.

He belonged to the Ansar, and he was among the foremost believers who gave the second oath of allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Naturally, a man of such precedence, faith, and certainty would not miss for the world a battle or an expedition. His uppermost quality was his knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence) the practical aspect of Muhammad’s message. He reached the apex in knowledge and fiqh, to the extent that made the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, “The most learned man of my nation in halal and haram is Mu`adh Ibn Jabal.”

He resembled `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab in his enlightenment, courage and intelligence. When the Prophet sent him to Yemen, he asked him, “How will you give a judgment or settle a dispute?” Mu`adh answered; “I will refer to the Qur’an.” The Prophet then asked, “What will you do if you do not find the decree you are looking for in the Qur’an?” Mu`adh answered, “I will refer to the Prophet’s Sunnah.” The Prophet asked, “But what will you do if you do not find a decree even in the Sunnah?” Mu`adh readily answered, “I will be judge between mankind by resorting to juristic reasoning (ijtihad) to the best of my power.”

Now, Mu`adh’s staunch commitment to Allah’s Book and the Prophet’s Sunnah does not mean that he closed his mind to the countless and endless hidden or equivocal facts that await someone to unravel and adjudicate.

Perhaps both Mu`adh’s ability in juristic reasoning and the courageous usage of his intelligence enabled him to master the fiqh, excelling all other scholars. The Prophet justifiably described Mu`aadh as “the most learned man of my nation in halal and haram.”

Decisive Mind, Well-mannered

 

History portrays him as a man of remarkably enlightened, resolute, and decisive mind. For instance, `Aaez Allah lbn `AbduAllah narrated that one day he entered the mosque with the Companions of the Prophet at the dawn of `Umar’s caliphate. Then he sat among more than thirty men. Let us hear him narrate the story: “I sat with a group of more than thirty men. They were recalling a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him). In this ring sat a dark, swarthy young man who had a sweet voice and a radiant face.

Whenever they disputed about a hidden or ambiguous meaning in the Hadith, they at once sought his legal instruction or judgment. He seldom, if ever, spoke unless he was asked. When their meeting was over, I approached him and asked him, “Who are you, O Allah’s Slave?” He answered, “I am Mu`adh Ibn Jabal.” So I instantly felt dose to him.

Also, Shahr Ibn Hawshab said, “Whenever Mu`adh lbn Jabal was present when the Companions of the Prophet were holding a meeting, they looked at him with reverence”.

`Umar Ibn Al-khattab, the Commander of the Faithful, often consulted him. It seemed that Mu`adh had a highly disciplined mind and a captivating and convincing logic that moved peacefully and knowledgeably. When we look at his historical background, we will always see him at the center of attention.

He always sat there surrounded by people. He always maintained a discrete silence that was only broken whenever people were anxious to hear his judgment and whenever they were in dispute.

When he spoke he looked, as one of his contemporaries described, “as if light and pearls were emanating from his mouth rather than speech.”

He reached his high rank in knowledge and reverence when the Prophet was alive and maintained it after his death, notwithstanding his youth, for Mu`adh died during `Umar’s caliphate at the age of thirty-three years.

Knowledgeable

Mu`adh was generous, magnanimous, well-mannered, and good-natured. If anyone asked him for money, he would readily and gladly give it to him. His generosity made him spend all his money on charity and aid.

When the Prophet died, Mu`adh was still in Yemen, where the Prophet had sent him with the task of teaching Muslims their religion and fiqh.

After a while, Mu`adh emigrated to Syria, where he lived among its people and the expatriates as a teacher and a scholar of fiqh. When Abu `Ubaydah, the governor of Syria and a close friend of Mu`adh, died, the Commander of the Faithful `Umar Ibn Al khattab assigned Mu`adh to take his place as a ruler.

Only a few months had elapsed after his taking over when he died, humble and repentant to Allah. `Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) used to say, “If I were to grant Mu`adh Ibn Jabal succession and Allah asked me, `Why did you make him your successor?’ I would readily answer, `I heard Your Prophet say that when those who have knowledge stand before Allah, Mu`adh will be among them.”

The succession that `Umar meant here was not merely over a country or a governorship but over all the Muslim lands. When `Umar was asked before his death, “If you choose your successor now, we will give him our allegiance,” he answered, “If Mu’aadh lbn Jabal were alive and I made him my successor to the caliphate, then I died and met Allah Who asked me, `Whom did you assign to rule Muhammad’s nation?’ I would answer, `I assigned Mu`adh lbn Jabal to rule it after I heard the Prophet say ‘Mu`adh Ibn Jabal is the Imam of those who have knowledge of Judgment Day.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said one day, “O Mu`adh, by Allah I love you dearly, so do not forget to recite after every prayer, `Allah help me in remembering You, in offering thanks to You, and in worshiping You properly.’”

Indeed, the Prophet supplicated Allah to help him to remember Him. The Prophet persevered in stressing this great fact that tells people that authority belongs to Allah, He has the power over all, and there is no power or any might except with His permission, for He is Most High and Most Great.

Definitely, Mu`adh had learned and fully grasped this fact.

He did his utmost to cherish and apply this fundamental basis in his life from that moment onwards.

Knowledge & Practice

Mu`adh advocated knowledge and the remembrance of Allah. Moreover, he invited mankind to seek the useful and true knowledge saying, “I warn you against the deviation of wise men. You will know the truth when you see it, for it has a distinctive light!” He believed that worship was an end and a means to reach justice.

One day a Muslim asked him, “Teach me.” Mu`adh asked him, “Will you obey me if I teach you?” The man answered, “I will not disobey you in anything.” He said then, “Fast, then break your fast. Pray during the night but you must get some sleep. Earn what is halal and what is rightfully yours and do not earn sin. Die as a true Muslim. Finally, I warn you against the supplication of those who have been wronged or oppressed.”

He believed that education meant knowledge and practice; therefore, he said, “Learn whatever you like to learn, yet Allah will not make your learning worthwhile unless you practice what you have learned.”

He believed that belief and remembrance of Allah meant the perpetual calling to mind of His greatness and the perpetual calling of oneself to account for deeds before Allah does so.

His Death

At the end, death summoned Mu`adh. It was time to meet Allah. When the stupor of death creeps upon someone, his subconscious takes the reins and spurs the tongue – if it is able to – to disclose the reality of all mankind in concise words that summarize his life story.

In those blessed moments, Mu`adh faintly uttered great words that revealed a great believer, for he gazed up into the sky and humbly supplicated Allah, the Most Merciful, saying,

“Allah I used to fear You but now I implore You. Allah, You know that I did not devote my life to travel in the lands or to earn money or property but rather consecrated it to knowledge, faith and obedience, notwithstanding intense heat or hardships.”

He stretched his hand as if he were shaking death and went into a coma. His last words were, “O Death, welcome! You are a long-awaited beloved.”

At last Mu`adh ascended to Allah’s Paradise.

_________________________

The article is excerpted from the book Men Around the Messenger, which is a translation based on Khalid Muhammad Khalid’s celebrated work in Arabic “Rijal Hawla Ar-Rasul” which represents the real inspirational stories of sixty-four Companions of the Prophet.

Khalid Muhammad Khalid (1920-1996) is a modern Egyptian Muslim thinker. He is most known for his book Rijal Hawla al-Rasul (Men Around the Messenger). He wrote many books about the life and the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

 

[ica_orginalurl]