| Author |
 Topic  |
|
concort
365 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Feb 2009 : 06:14:45
|
DESCRIPTIOPN OF THE GREATEST OF MEN [SAWS] (PART IV)
"By the grace of Allah, you are gentle towards the people; if you had been stern and ill-tempered, they would have dispersed from round about you" (translation of Qur'an 3:159)
About himself the Prophet [SAWS] said "Allah has sent me as an apostle so that I may demonstrate perfection of character, refinement of manners and loftiness of deportment." (2*) (Malik, Mawatta; Ahmed, Musnad; Mishkat)
By nature he was gentle and kind hearted, always inclined to be gracious and to overlook the faults of others. Politeness and courtesy, compassion and tenderness, simplicity and humility, sympathy and sincerity were some of the keynotes of his character. In the cause of right and justice he could be resolute and severe but more often than not, his severity was tempered with generosity. He had charming manners which won him the affection of his followers and secured their devotion. Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of Allah, he never assumed an air of superiority. Not that he had to conceal any such vein by practice and artifice: with fear of Allah, sincere humility was ingrained in his heart. He used to say, "I am a Prophet of Allah but I do not know what will be my end." (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter "Al-Janaiz")
In one of his sermons calculated to instill the fear of Allah and the Day of Reckoning in the hearts of men, he said, "O people of Quraish be prepared for the Hereafter, I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah; O Bani Abd Manaf, I cannot save you from Allah; O Abbas, son of Abdul Mutalib, I cannot protect you either; O Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, even you I cannot save." (Sahihain)
He used to pray, "O Allah! I am but a man. If I hurt anyone in any manner, then forgive me and do not punish me." (Ahmed, Musnad, Vol. 6 p. 103)
He always received people with courtesy and showed respect to older people and stated: "To honor an old man is to show respect to Allah." He would not deny courtesy even to wicked persons. It is stated that a person came to his house and asked permission for admission. The Prophet [SAWS] remarked that he was not a good person but might be admitted. When he came in and while he remained in the house, he was shown full courtesy. When he left Ayesha (radiyallaahu `anha) said, "You did not think well of this man, but you treated him so well." The Prophet [SAWS] replied, "He is a bad person in the sight of Allah who does not behave courteously and people shun his company bacause of his bad manners." (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari)
He was always the first to greet another and would not withdraw his hand from a handshake till the other man withdrew his. If one wanted to say something in his ears, he would not turn away till one had finished (Abu Dawud, Tirmizi).
He did not like people to get up for him and used to say, "Let him who likes people to stand up in his honour seek a place in hell." (Abu Dawud, Kitabul Adab, Muhammadi Press, Delhi).
He would himself, however, stand up when any dignitary came to him. He had stood up to receive the wet-nurse who had reared him in infancy and had spread his own sheet for her. His foster-brother was given similar treatment. He avoided sitting at a prominent place in a gathering, so much so that people coming in had difficulty in spotting him and had to ask which was the Prophet MHMD. Quite frequently uncouth bedouins accosted him in their own gruff and impolite manner but he never took offence.(Abu Dawud Kitabul Atama). He used to visit the poorest of ailing persons and exhorted all Muslims to do likewise (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter "Attendance on ailing persons").
He would sit with the humblest of persons saying that righteousness alone was the criterion of one's superiority over another. He invariably invited people be they slaves, servants or the poorest believers, to partake with him of his scanty meals (Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi).
Whenever he visited a person he would first greet him and then take his permission to enter the house. He advised the people to follow this etiquette and not to get annoyed if anyone declined to give permission, for it was quite likely the person concerned was busy otherwise and did not mean any disrespect (Ibid). There was no type of household work too low or too undignified for him. Ayesha (radiyallaahu `anha) has stated, "He always joined in household work and would at times mend his clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He would milk, tether, and feed his animals and do the household shopping." (Qazi Iyaz: Shifa; Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter: Kitabul Adab)
He would not hesitate to do the menial work of others, particularly of orphans and widows (Nasi, Darmi). Once when there was no male member in the house of the companion Kabab Bin Arat who had gone to the battlefield, he used to go to his house daily and milk his cattle for the inhabitants. (Ibn Saad Vol. 6, p 213).
DESCRIPTIOPN OF THE GREATEST OF MEN [SAWS] (PART V)
He was especially fond of children and used to get into the spirit of childish games in their company. He would have fun with the children who had come back from Abyssinia and tried to speak in Abyssinian with them. It was his practice to give lifts on his camel to children when he returned from journeys. (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 2 p.886).
He would pick up children in his arms, play with them, and kiss them. A companion, recalling his childhood, said, "In my childhood I used to fell dates by throwing stones at palm trees. Somebody took me to the Prophet [SAWS] who advised me to pick up the dates lying on the ground but not to fell them with stones. He then patted me and blessed me." (Abu Dawud)
DESCRIPTIOPN OF THE GREATEST OF MEN [SAWS] (PART VI)
On the authority of Ali (R.A), Tirmizi has recorded that the Prophet [SAWS] had carefully apportioned his time according to the demands on him for offering worship to Allah in and his personal matters. After the early morning prayers he would remain sitting in the mosque reciting praises of Allah till the sun rose and more people collected. He would then preach to them. After the sermons were over, he would talk genially with the people, enquire about their welfare and even exchange jokes with them. Taxes and revenues were also disrtibuted at this time (Sahih Muslim, Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi).
He would then offer chaste prayers and go home and get busy with household work. (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi).
He would again return to the mosque for the mid-day and afternoon prayers, listen to the problems of the people and give solace and guidance to them. After the afternoon prayers, he would visit each of his wives and, after the evening prayers, his wives would collect at one place and he would have his dinner. (Sahih Muslim,).
After the night prayers, he would recite some suras of the Quran and before going to bed would pray: "O Allah, I die and live with thy name on my lips." On getting up he would say, "All praise to Allah Who has given me life after death and towards Whom is the return." He used to brush his teeth five times a day, before each of the daily prayers. After midnight, he used to get up for the tahajjud prayers which he never missed even once in his life. (Sahih Bukhari).
He was not fastidious about his bed: sometimes he slept on his cot (1*), sometimes on a skin or ordinary mattress, and sometimes on the ground (Zarqani).
On Friday he used to give sermons after the weekly "Jumu`a" prayers. He was not annoyed if anyone interrupted him during the sermons for anything. It is stated that once, while he was delivering his sermon, a bedouin approached him and said, "O messenger of Allah, I am a traveler and am ignorant of my religion." The Prophet [SAWS] got down from the pulpit, explained the salient features of Islam to him and then resumed the sermon (Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi).
On another occasion his grandson Husain, still a child, came tumbling to him while he was delivering a sermon. He descended and took him in his lap and then continued the sermon (Ibid).
|
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
Edited by - concort on 23 Feb 2009 06:16:37 |
|
|
LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2009 : 20:52:15
|
| Thank you Concort for posting this important Message. |
There is no god but Allah |
 |
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 07:06:33
|
| Lemon Time, the pleasure is all mine. Thank you sir. |
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2009 : 17:57:56
|
Narrated by Aisha (RA) "Rasulullah Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam never hit anyone with his mubaarak hands, besides the time when he made jihaad in the Path of Allah. He neither hit a servant nor any woman (wife, slave girl etc.)". [Tirmidhi] Masha'Allah. Look at the gentleness of our beloved Prophet (pbuh)
|
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
Edited by - concort on 12 Oct 2009 18:00:27 |
|
|
|
tamsier
United Kingdom
556 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2009 : 00:35:35
|
'He neither hit a servant nor any woman (wife, slave girl etc.)".
Are you saying that he had slaves or condoned slavery? |
Tamsier
Serere heritage. Serere religion. Serere to the end.
Roog a fa ha. |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2009 : 08:08:05
|
Hi Tamsier, I am grateful indeed for your curiousity and I will try to answer your question truthfully. First, be advised that any incorrect statement I make by answering your question is purely due to my ignorance and from Satan; and anything positive that comes out of my response is from Allah.
Hadiths are simply compilations of the actions, deeds and saying of our Noble Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the seal of the prophets and the greatest man ever lived. He never spoke out of his own will as all of his sayings and actions were due to devine inspiration...hence as muslim, we try to emulate his actions.
Before Islam, Arabia was widely known for slaves ownership as well as treating women as commodities. Women used to be bought, used for very inhumane reasons as well as the practice of killing of newly born girls. Change, as we all know, can be a daunting task and for the most of us, we prefer to gradually absorb changes to our culture or simply, to our way of life. Our prophet had to lead by example by not owning any slaves. In Islam, we are all equal in the eyes of our creator, irrespect of our color, race or worldly possessions.
In short, Prophet Muhammad never owned any slaves, never hit anyone with the exception of fighting and defending Islam. I hope you and I and everyone reading this piece will take heed of this beautiful Hadith and treat our women with respect and utmost dignity and to regard them as our lawful helpers and partners.
|
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
Edited by - concort on 13 Oct 2009 14:32:13 |
|
|
|
mansasulu
997 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2009 : 16:17:58
|
| Thanks for the inspiring clip, my brother. May Allah reward you. |
"...Verily, in the remembrance of Allâh do hearts find rest..." Sura Al-Rad (Chapter 13, Verse 28)
...Gambian by birth, Muslim by the grace of Allah... |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2009 : 14:02:14
|
You are most welcome, my brother and thank you very much for your prayers.
Abu Dharr (R.A) relates, I was once walking with the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) in a rocky quarter near Medina, and we arrived to the place facing the mountain of Uhud. He called me, O Abu Dharr, and I said, I am at your command, O messenger of God. He said, I would not be pleased to have the like of this Uhud in gold and I keep a single Dinar of it after the passage of three days; excepting something I keep aside for repaying a debt. I would distribute it among the servants of God like this, like this and like this, and he waived his hand to the right, to the left and to the rear. He walked on and said, those who have the most money in this world will have the least reward in the hearafter except those who distribute their money like this, like this and like this, and he waived his hand to the right, to the left and to the rear and then said, and they are very few in number. Then he told me, stay right where you are; do not move until I come back to you and then he walked off until he disappeared in the darkness of the night. I heard a loud sound and was afraid for you of it. He asked me, have you heard it? and I answered, Yes, I did. He said, that was Angel Gabriel; he came to me and said, he who dies from among your followers believing in God alone with no partners will enter paradise. I asked him, even if he commits adultery and theft? He answered, even if he commits adultery and theft. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). |
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
|
|
kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2009 : 04:48:07
|
quote:
Originally posted by tamsier
'He neither hit a servant nor any woman (wife, slave girl etc.)".
Are you saying that he had slaves or condoned slavery?
Many thanks to Concort for that brilliant response. It is fair to add this link about an unsung hero in Islam who was a slave. This religion is for benefit of mankind ("Yaa baani Adam"); whether be a King, pupper, slave, man or woman. It is narrated that Prophet Muhamad (P.B.H) said that; "If you enter paradise and you hear footsteps in front of me, they are those of Bilaal as gratious reward to his good deed in Islam."
More on Bilaal under this link http://www.msapubli.com/affiliated/Html/categories/Jamiatul_ulama/bilaal.html
and reminder of Prophet Muhamad (P.B.H) last sermon http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_lastsermon.htm
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
|
Edited by - kobo on 21 Oct 2009 10:25:22 |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2010 : 18:40:08
|
Seerah Project : Muhammad (P.B.U.H) Characters : Fulfillment of Promises.
Safwan bin Umayya was a deadly enemy of Islam. When Makkah was conquered, he ran away to Jeddah with the intention of going to Yemen. Umir ibn Wahab came to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and told him about Safwan. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) gave him his turban and said, "This is a sign of the guarantee of his safety." Umir went to Safwan with the turban and told him that he had no cause to run away for his safety had been guaranteed. When be came to see the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he said, "Have you given me amen (safety)?" The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, "Yes, it is true." Abu Rafey, a slave, came to Medinah as an ambassador of the Quraish. When he saw the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the truth of Islam dawned on him and he said, "O Messenger of God (PBUH)! I shall never go back to the unbelievers." The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, "I can neither breach the contract, nor keep the ambassadors with me. If you feel the same way when you go there, you can come back." He went back and embraced Islam.
In the treaty of Hudaibiyah, one of the conditions was that if any Muslim went to Medinah from Makkah, he would be returned on demand. When the Treaty was being written, Abu Jandal escaped from the prison of the Makkans in chains. All the Muslims were shocked to see him in this condition, but the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to him, "O Abu Jandal! Be patient, we cannot break the promise. God will very soon find a way for you." He was returned to the people of Makkah. Two companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Hazifa bin al-Yaman and Abu Husail, while coming from Makkah, were caught by the unbelievers. The Makkans insisted that they should not go to Muhammad but the two companions refused. At last they were released on the condition that they would not participate in the battle (of Badr) on behalf of the Muslims. They came to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and told him the whole story. It was a severe test of their truthfulness. The Muslims were very few and needed more men to fight against the unbelievers. The addition of two men would have made a lot of difference to them but the Holy Prophet said, "Both of you must go back; we will keep the promise under all circumstances. We need only the help of God."
Muhammad (PBUH) always kept his promises and contracts at all costs even with his enemies, and never broke his word. He preached the Qur'an and practiced what he taught to other people in obedience to the Commandment of God
Abdullah ibn Abdul Hamsa (RA) reported that he bought something from God's Messenger before he received his prophetic commission, and as there was something still due to Muhammad (PBUH), he promised that he would bring it to his place. But Hamsa forgot about it and remembered three days later. He went to that place and found God's Messenger (PBUH) there waiting for him. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "You have caused me great trouble and inconvenience. I have been here three days waiting for you." Abdullah ibn Amir (RA) reported that his mother called him one day when God's Messenger (PBUH) was sitting in their house, saying, "Come here and I shall give you something." God's Messenger asked her what she intended to give him; she replied that she intended to give him some dates. He said, "If you were not to give him anything, a lie would have been recorded against you.
Abu Juhaifa (RA) said, I saw God's Messenger as a fair-skinned man who had become gray-haired. Al-Hasan ibn Ali resembled him. He ordered that thirteen young she-camels should be given to us and we went to receive them, but news of his death reached us before they had been given to us. Then when Abu Bakr (RA) became Caliph, he said, "If anyone has received a promise from God's Messenger, let him come." So I got up, went to him and told him of the promise and he ordered that the camels should be given to me."
|
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2011 : 21:29:00
|
Abu Sufyan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported, in course of his detailed narration about Heraclius when the latter questioned him about the teachings of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) He said that: He (PBUH) told (us): "Worship Allah Alone and do not associate a thing with Him; and give up all that your ancestors said.
He also commands us to perform Salat (prayers), to speak the truth, to observe modesty and to strengthen the ties of kinship.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In this Hadith an enemy of the Prophet (PBUH) acknowledges the veracity of the Prophet's teaching, because Abu Sufyan (May Allah be pleased with him) made this admission when he was a pagan. This Hadith is mentioned in detail in Sahih Al-Bukhari.
|
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2011 : 23:22:10
|
PART 1 (LIFE HISTORY OF THE PROPHETSAWS BELOVED DAUGHTER)
Fatimah bint Muhammad{from chilhood to youth}
Fatimah was the fifth child of Muhammad and Khadijah. She was born at a time when her noble father had begun to spend long periods in the solitude of mountains around Makkah, meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation.
...
This was the time, before the Bithah, when her eldest sister Zaynab was married to her cousin, al-Aas ibn ar Rabiah. Then followed the marriage of her two other sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, to the sons of Abu Lahab, a paternal uncle of the Prophet. Both Abu Lahab and his wife Umm Jamil turned out to be flaming enemies of the Prophet from the very beginning of his public mission.
The little Fatimah thus saw her sisters leave home one after the other to live with their husbands. She was too young to understand the meaning of marriage and the reasons why her sisters had to leave home. She loved them dearly and was sad and lonely when they left. It is said that a certain silence and painful sadness came over her then.
Of course, even after the marriage of her sisters, she was not alone in the house of her parents. Barakah, the maid-servant of Aminah, the Prophet's mother, who had been with the Prophet since his birth, Zayd ibn Harithah, and Ali, the young son of Abu Talib were all part of Muhammad's household at this time. And of course there was her loving mother, the lady Khadijah.
In her mother and in Barakah, Fatimah found a great deal of solace and comfort. in Ali, who was about two years older than she, she found a "brother" and a friend who somehow took the place of her own brother al-Qasim who had died in his infancy. Her other brother Abdullah, known as the Good and the Pure, who was born after her, also died in his infancy. However in none of the people in her father's household did Fatimah find the carefree joy and happiness which she enjoyed with her sisters. She was an unusually sensitive child for her age.
When she was five, she heard that her father had become Rasul Allah, the Messenger of God. His first task was to convey the good news of Islam to his family and close relations. They were to worship God Almighty alone. Her mother, who was a tower of strength and support, explained to Fatimah what her father had to do. From this time on, she became more closely attached to him and felt a deep and abiding love for him. Often she would be at Iris side walking through the narrow streets and alleys of Makkah, visiting the Kabah or attending secret gatherings off, the early Muslims who had accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to the Prophet.
One day, when she was not yet ten, she accompanied her father to the Masjid al-Haram. He stood in the place known as al-Hijr facing the Kabah and began to pray. Fatimah stood at his side. A group of Quraysh, by no means well-disposed to the Prophet, gathered about him. They included Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the Prophet's uncle, Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and Shaybah and Utbah, sons of Rabi'ah. Menacingly, the group went up to the Prophet and Abu Jahl, the ringleader, asked:
"Which of you can bring the entrails of a slaughtered animal and throw it on Muhammad?"
Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt, one of the vilest of the lot, volunteered and hurried off. He returned with the obnoxious filth and threw it on the shoulders of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, while he was still prostrating. Abdullah ibn Masud, a companion of the Prophet, was present but he was powerless to do or say anything.
Imagine the feelings of Fatimah as she saw her father being treated in this fashion. What could she, a girl not ten years old, do? She went up to her father and removed the offensive matter and then stood firmly and angrily before the group of Quraysh thugs and lashed out against them. Not a single word did they say to her. The noble Prophet raised his head on completion of the prostration and went on to complete the Salat. He then said: "O Lord, may you punish the Quraysh!" and repeated this imprecation three times. Then he continued:
"May You punish Utbah, Uqbah, Abu Jahl and Shaybah." (These whom he named were all killed many years later at the Battle of Badr)
On another occasion, Fatimah was with the Prophet as he made; tawaf around the Kabah. A Quraysh mob gathered around him. They seized him and tried to strangle him with his own clothes. Fatimah screamed and shouted for help. Abu Bakr rushed to the scene and managed to free the Prophet. While he was doing so, he pleaded: "Would you kill a man who says, 'My Lord is God?'" Far from giving up, the mob turned on Abu Bakr and began beating him until blood flowed from his head and face.
Such scenes of vicious opposition and harassment against her father and the early Muslims were witnessed by the young Fatimah. She did not meekly stand aside but joined in the struggle in defence of her father and his noble mission. She was still a young girl and instead of the cheerful romping, the gaiety and liveliness which children of her age are and should normally be accustomed to, Fatimah had to witness and participate in such ordeals.
Of course, she was not alone in this. The whole of the Prophet's family suffered from the violent and mindless Quraysh. Her sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum also suffered. They were living at this time in the very nest of hatred and intrigue against the Prophet. Their husbands were Utbah and Utaybah, sons of Abu Lahab and Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil was known to be a hard and harsh woman who had a sharp and evil tongue. It was mainly because of her that Khadijah was not pleased with the marriages of her daughters to Umm Jamil's sons in the first place. It must have been painful for Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum to be living in the household of such inveterate enemies who not only joined but led the campaign against their father.
As a mark of disgrace to Muhammad and his family, Utbah and Utaybah were prevailed upon by their parents to divorce their wives. This was part of the process of ostracizing the Prophet totally. The Prophet in fact welcomed his daughters back to his home with joy, happiness and relief.
Fatimah, no doubt, must have been happy to be with her sisters once again. They all wished that their eldest sister, Zaynab, would also be divorced by her husband. In fact, the Quraysh brought pressure on Abu-l Aas to do so but he refused. When the Quraysh leaders came up to him and promised him the richest and most beautiful woman as a wife should he divorce Zaynab, he replied:
"I love my wife deeply and passionately and I have a great and high esteem for her father even though I have not entered the religion of Islam."
Both Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were happy to be back with their loving parents and to be rid of the unbearable mental torture to which they had been subjected in the house of Umm Jamil. Shortly afterwards, Ruqayyah married again, to the young and shy Uthman ibn Allan who was among the first to have accepted Islam. They both left for Abyssinia among the first muhajirin who sought refuge in that land and stayed there for several years. Fatimah was not to see Ruqayyah again until after their mother had died.
The persecution of the Prophet, his family and his followers continued and even became worse after the migration of the first Muslims to Abyssinia. In about the seventh year of his mission, the Prophet and his family were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in a rugged little valley enclosed by hills on all sides and defile, which could only be entered from Makkah by a narrow path |
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
concort
365 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2011 : 05:21:04
|
Men Around The Messenger PBUH
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) arrived in Madinah, most Muslims there had not seen him. They accepted Islam on the strength of what they learned from their people who met him in Makkah, or from Mus’ab ibn Umair who spent the best part of a year in Madinah teaching its people the Qur’an and the principles of Islam. Therefore, the Muslims in Madinah were keen to give the Prophet their pledges of loyalty, which they did during the first few days of his arrival.
Women were no less eager to do so, but the men left them no time. However, one evening in those early days, three women decided not to be outdone by men. One of them reports: “We wrapped ourselves with our outer garments at the time between the prayers of Maghrib and Isha and went in to see the Prophet. I said my greeting. He asked me who I was, and I told him. He asked my two companions their names and they told him. He welcomed us before asking: ‘What can I do for you?’ We said: Messenger of God, we have come to pledge to you that we are Muslims. We believe in you and we bear witness that what you teach is the truth. He said: ‘All praise be to God who has guided you to accept Islam.’ He then added: ‘I have accepted your pledges’. I moved closer to him, but he said: ‘I do not shake hands with women. What I say to one woman is the same when I say it to a thousand women’. We thus were the first women in Madinah to give our pledges to the Prophet.” The three women were Hawwa’ bint Yazeed, Laila bint Al-Khutaim and Umm Amir of the Ashhal clan, the reporter of this case.
Hawwa’ belonged to a clan which converted to Islam in one day, after its chief Saad ibn Mu’adh adopted Islam. Saad was her maternal uncle. The clan was always in the forefront of the Ansar in the defense of Islam. Hawwa’ was a firm believer, despite opposition by her husband who remained an unbeliever. Her husband, Qays ibn Al-Khateem, was a poet. When Islam began to spread in Madinah before the Prophet’s immigration, he chose to stay away from Islam. He was unhappy that his wife had adopted Islam, and he began to persecute her. He would physically abuse her, even during her worship. If he saw her praying, he would wait until she was in prostration and he would turn her over her head.
The Prophet followed the welfare of his new companions in Madinah while he was still in Makkah. During the pilgrimage season, many Arabs arrived in Makkah, as the Arabs always revered the Kaabah and visited it for worship. Qays was among those who went for pilgrimage that year. The Prophet learned of what Hawwa’ was suffering. Therefore, he made a point of meeting Qays and speaking to him. He explained to him the principles of Islam and called on him to become a Muslim. As a poet, Qays was quick to realize the superiority of the Qur’an and the fine message of Islam. He said to the Prophet: “What you advocate is really fine, and your message is good. However, I am preoccupied with our internal battles.” This occurred on more than one occasion. It should be remembered that the first six men from Madinah to accept Islam told the Prophet on that occasion that they hoped that Islam would unite them and put an end to their internal battles, which it did. Thus, Qays cited those feuds as a pretext for his turning away from Islam.
When the Prophet felt that Qays would not give a positive response to his call, he spoke to him about his wife. He said: “Abu Yazeed, I have been informed that you have been abusing your wife since she abandoned your religion. Fear God and do not ill treat her.” He promised that he would stop such ill treatment. When he went back to Madinah he told his wife: “Your man has met me and asked me not to be hard on you. You are free to follow your religion.” As he was a man of integrity, he kept his promise.
Hawwa’ had two sons, Yazeed and Thabit. Both were companions of the Prophet. Yazeed was one of those who remained steadfast during the Battle of Uhud when the Muslims were defeated. He received no less than 12 wounds. He took part in all subsequent battles and became a martyr in the Battle of the Bridge during Umar’s reign. |
As Salamu Alaikum Waramatullah Wabarakatu |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
