ABU DHAR AL-GHIFAARIY --(The Leader of Opposition and an Enemy of Wealth)

              ABU DHAR AL-GHIFAARIY 

          The Leader of Opposition and 

                  an Enemy of Wealth

Cheerfully and happily did he turn toward Makkah. Indeed, the difficulty of his journey and the hard, burning desert sand made him suffer pain. However, the goal he was striving to reach made him forget his pain and filled his soul with joy and delight.

He entered Makkah disguised as one of those who came to circumambulate the great idols of the Sacred House of the Ka'bah or as a passer-by who had lost his way or who had traveled far and sought provision and shelter. If the inhabitants of Makkah knew that he had come to search for Muhammad (PBUH) and to listen to him, they would cut him into pieces. He did not fear being cut up piece by piece, but not before meeting the person he had crossed the hot burning deserts to see and for whose sake afterwards he was willing to risk his life because he believed in him and was convinced of his honesty and the truth of his message.

He went about secretly gathering information and whenever he heard someone speaking about Muhammad (PBUH), he carefully approached him until he was finally able to compile all the scattered pieces of information which he had heard here and there. Finally, he was guided to the place where he was able to see Muhammad (PBUH).

One morning he went there and found the Prophet (PBUH) sitting alone. He approached him and said, "O my Arab brother, good morning." Thereupon the Prophet replied, "And may peace be upon you, my brother." Abu Dhar then said, "Sing to me some of what you are saying." The Prophet (PBUH) answered, "It isn't a poem to be sung, but a Holy Qur'aan." Abu Dhar said, "Then recite for me." The Prophet (PBUH) recited to him while he listened. It was not long until Abu Dhar shouted, "I

bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet (PBUH) and Messenger." The Prophet (PBUH) asked him, "Where are you from, my Arab brother?" Abu Dhar answered, "From Ghifaar." A broad smile appeared on the Prophet's lips (PBUH) and his face was filled with wonder and astonishment.

However, Abu Dhar was also smiling, for he knew well that the reason behind the Prophet's astonishment was because the man who had just embraced Islam in front of him was from Ghifaar. Ghifaar was a tribe with a notorious reputation for highway robbery. Its people were famous for theft and were known as allies of darkness and night. Woe to him who fell into their hinds on a dark night! Was it possible that one of them would embrace Islam while it was still a new, secret religion? Narrating the story himself, Abu Dhar said: The Prophet (PBUH) lifted his eyes out of astonishment, due to Ghifaar's reputation. Then he said, "Allah guides whom He wills." Indeed, Allah guides whom He wills.

Abu Dhar (May Allah be pleased with him) was one of those whom Allah wanted to be rightly guided and for whom He wanted the best. His insight was always directed towards truth. It has been narrated that he worshiped Allah during the period of Jaahiliyah, which means that he revolted against the worship of idols and turned towards the belief in One Great Creator.

Therefore, he had hardly heard about the appearance of a prophet rejecting idols and their worship and calling to the worship of Allah, the One, the Sublime, the Vanquisher, when he immediately set out and quickened his steps to meet this new Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Immediately, without hesitation, he embraced Islam. His order among the converts was fifth or

sixth, which means that he converted during the first days, if not the first hours, of Islam. His conversion was indeed very early. When he embraced Islam the Prophet (PBUH) was till secretly whispering the call to Islam to

himself and to the five who believed in him. Abu Dhar could not do anything except carry his faith within his heart, secretly leaving Makkah and returning to his people. However, Abu Dhar - his real name was Jundub lbn Janaadah - had a restless and agitated temper. He had been created to revolt against falsehood wherever it existed. Now he saw falsehood with his own eyes as lifeless rocks piled upon each other. The birth of their worship was long before his existence: minds and foreheads bowed down in front of them and people calling to them saying, "At your service, at your service!" It is true that he saw the Prophet's preference to whisper in those days, but he wished that a loud

shout declaring Islam publicly be made by the venerable and honorable followers before his departure. Immediately after embracing Islam, he turned to the Prophet (PBUH) with the following question: "O Messenger of Allah, what is it that you order me?" The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Go back to your kin until my order reaches you." Abu Dhar said, "In the name of the One Who owns my soul between His hands, I am not going back until I cry out loudly declaring Islam within the mosque!"

Did I not tell you? His temper was restless and agitated. At the same moment when Abu Dhar discovered a totally new world, a wonderful new world represented by the Prophet (PBUH) whom he believed in and by the call which he became acquainted with by the Prophet's tongue, at that same moment he was asked to return silently to his kin. ! that possible? It was beyond his ability.Hereupon, he entered the Sacred House and cried out as loud as he could, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger!" As far as we know, it was the first public pronouncement declaring Islam and challenging the arrogance of the Quraish which reached their ears. It was cried out by a stranger who did not have any relatives, reputation, or protection in Makkah.

He acted out of his own dedication and courage even though he knew what was going to happen. He was surrounded by the polytheists, who hit him till he fell down. This news reached Al `Abbaas, the Prophet's uncle. He came quickly but could not rescue Abu Dhar! except by a clever trick. Thus he told them, "O you Quraish! You are merchants and your route crosses over Ghifaar and this man here is one of their tribesmen. Beware, he may incite his kin against you, provoking them to rob your caravans while passing by." They came back to their senses and left him alone. Having tasted the sweetness of being hurt in the cause of Allah, Abu Dhar did not want to leave Makkah without being given more. So, on the next day, or perhaps on the same day, Abu Dhar encountered two women circling around two idols (Usaaf and Naa'ilah) and calling upon them. He stood in front of them rudely disgracing their idols. The women shouted loudly, and men hastened as fast as lightening, immediately hitting him until he fell down unconscious. When he regained consciousness he shouted again that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed (PBUH) is His Messenger.

The Prophet (PBUH) realized the nature of his new disciple and his amazing ability to encounter falsehood. However, the time for public declaration of the message had not yet come, so again he ordered Abu Dhar to go back to his kin and whenever he heard the announcement of the new religion, he would play his role.

Abu Dhar returned to his kin and tribe, telling them about the Prophet (PBUH) who called people to worship only Allah and who guided them to noble manners. His people embraced Islam one by one. Bani Ghifaar alone did not suffice him; he turned to Bani Aslim, to spread his lights there.

Time passed and the Prophet (PBUH) emigrated to Al Madiinah and there, together with Muslims, he settled down. One day the city welcomed long lines of people on horseback and on foot. Their feet made a great noise. Were it not for their loud shout "Allah is the Greatest", the viewer would have thought it was an attacking polytheist army. The great parade approached and entered Al-Madiinah. Their destination was the Prophet's (PBUH) Mosque. The parade consisted of two tribes, Bani Ghifaar and Bani Aslim. Abu Dhar made them come as Muslims, all of them: men, women, elderly, youth, and even the children! No doubt, the Prophet's wonder and astonishment increased. In the distant past he had been very astonished when he witnessed one of the tribe of Ghifaar his embracement of Islam, and he had expressed on that day his wonder saying, "Allah guides whom He wills." But now, the whole tribe had come after already becoming Muslim. It had lived several years under the banner of Islam since Allah guided it by means of Abu Dhar. Now it had come together with Bani Aslim. The former allies of the devil, the notorious highwaymen, had become the allies of truth and great men of good deeds. Is it not true that Allah guides whom He pleases? The Prophet (PBUH) looked at their kind faces with eyes full of joy, tenderness, and love. He looked at Bani Ghifaar and said, "May Allah forgive Ghifaar." Then he turned to Bani Aslim and said, "May Allah make peace with Aslim."

Abu Dhar, this magnificent propogator of Islam who was obstinate, unyielding, and difficult to be defeated: was the Prophet (PBUH) not going to salute him with a special greeting? Indeed, his reward was going to be abundant and his greeting blessed. He was going to carry on his

chest- but also his history was going to carry - the highest, most honorable, and most respectable medals. Generations and centuries will pass away, but the Prophet's opinion about Abu Dhar will always stay alive in people's memory: "The earth never carried above it, nor did the sky ever shade under it a more truthful tongue than Abu Dhar's".

The Prophet (PBUH) determined his Companion's future and summed up his whole life in those

simple words. Bold and daring truthfulness was the essence of Abu Dhar's whole life. Truthfulness of his inner

soul as well as his appearance. Truthfulness of his faith as well as his tongue. All his life he was truthful. Neither deceiving himself or anyone else, nor allowing anyone to deceive him.

His truthfulness was not mute merit. According to Abu Dhar, truthfulness is never silent. Truthfulness is equivalent to openness and publicity, publicity of truth and challenge to falsehood, support of right and refutation of wrong. Truthfulness is a reasonable ally to truth and a courageous expression of it; both quicken their pace.

The Prophet (PBUH) could see with his unmistaken insight- across remote distances and the far unknown future - all the different difficulties Abu Dhar had to face due to his truthfulness and firmness. He therefore was always ordering him to let patience and deliberateness be his manner.

The Prophet once asked him, "O Abu Dhar! What would you do if you witnessed a time when commanders monopolize the war booty?" He replied, "I swear by Allah Who sent you with the truth, I would strike them with my sword!" The Prophet (PBUH) said to him, "Shall I guide you to what is better? Be patient till you meet me." Why did the Prophet (PBUH) ask him this specific question? Commanders, money? It was the cause Abu Dhar was going to devote his life to and the problem he was to encounter with society in the future.

The Prophet (PBUH) knew it; therefore he asked him this question in order to provide him with this precious advice: "Be patient till you meet me." Abu Dhar kept his teacher and Prophet's instruction unforgotten. Therefore, he did not carry a sword against those commanders who enriched themselves by taking what was the public money. But also, he did not keep silent, and he did not let them rest. Indeed, although the Prophet (PBUH) had forbidden him to carry his sword against them, he did not forbid him to carry a sharp truthful tongue. And that is what he did.

The era of the Prophet (PBUH) and of Abu Bakr and `Umar passed with its complete transcendence over all worldly temptations. Even the tempted desirous and greedy souls could not find a paved and open way for their devious desires. In those days there were no deviations to be oppossed loudly by Abu Dhar's sharp words. As long as the Commander of the Faithful `Umar lived, Muslim governors, rulers, and even the wealthy, were forced to live a humble, modest, aesthetic and just life, almost beyond human capacity. No governor of the Caliph, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, or anywhere else in the region, could ever eat a kind of sweet unaffordable by ordinary people without such a piece of information soon reaching Umar, who would immediately order that governor to return to Al-Madiinah, where he would face a severe punishment. Therefore, Abu Dhar lived without trouble and happily, with much inward peace, as long as `Umar was Commander of the Faithful. Nothing ever annoyed Abu Dhar more than the abuse of power and the monopoly of wealth. `Umar's firm control over power and his fair distribution of wealth allowed him tranquility and satisfaction.

It was because of this that he was able to devote himself to Allah's worship and jihaad in the cause of Allah, never keeping silent if any infringement was seen here or there, which rarely happened. However, the greatest, most just and most magnificent ruler that human beings were ever to

experience left our world one day, leaving behind a tremendous gap, causing inevitable reactions beyond human expectations. The Islamic campaigns continued, thus bringing under control more regions. At the same time,

desires and longing for ambition to enjoy the comforts and luxury of life started to float to the surface. In these events, Abu Dhar saw the impending danger. The banners of personal glory were about to tempt those whose role in life was to lift the standard of Allah. Life with its false embellishments and its wild arrogance was about to tempt those whose role was to make out of life a plantation of good deeds.

Money - created by Allah to be obedient to His servants for the benefit of mankind - was about to turn into a tyrant master. A master of whom? The Prophet's Companions. The Prophet (PBUH) died with a pawned shield, although piles of war booty were under his service.

The excellence of the earth created by Allah for all human beings and with their rights upon it mutually corresponding - was about to turn into a monopoly and privilege Power - a responsibility that pious people tremble at when thinking about its horrible charge in the Hereafter - turned into a means of authority, wealth, and destructive luxury.

Abu Dhar realized all that. He did not search for his duties or responsibilities, but rather took his sword, waved it in the air and set out to face his society with his unbeatable sword. But soon the echo of the Prophet's (PBUH) advice struck his heart, so he returned it to its scabbard. He remembered the Prophet (PBUH) had said he should not lift it in the face of a Muslim.

"It is not lawful for a believer to kill another believer except by error " (4: 92). His role was not to fight but to oppose. The sword was not a means of change and reformation, but the truthful, sincere, and brave word was. The fair word does not lose its path, and its consequences are not terrifying. The Prophet (PBUH) once said, while surrounded by his Companions, that the earth never carried above it, nor did the sky ever shade a more truthful tongue than Abu Dhar's. Why should someone who owns such a truthful tongue and truthful conviction need a sword?

A single word by him hit the target more than uncountable swords. Therefore, Abu Dhar was to encounter all the governors, the wealthy, and all those who worshipped the worldly life and relied upon it, thereby representing an even greater danger to the religion which came to be a guide, not a tax collector; prophethood, not dominion; mercy, not afflication; humbleness, not superiority; equality, not differentiation; satisfaction, not greed; sufficiency, not luxury and a life of ease full of temptation, with this life the only goal.

So Abu Dhar went out to face all those challenges, and Allah will judge truthfully between him and them, and Allah is the Most Just of Judges. Abu Dhar went out to the strongholds of power and wealth, attacking them one after the other.

Within a short time he became the standard around which the laborers of Islam and the masses gathered. Even in the remote districts where people had not yet met him, word about him got around and he became well known until he hardly passed through a land in which his name had not reached the ears of some the people and without crucial questions being raised which threatened the welfare and worldly interests of the powerful and wealthy. If this honorable, rebellious Companion was to select an appropriate standard for himself and his movement, he would not find a better one than an iron, a glowing, hot, and flaming iron. Thus he turned the following words into his chant and earnest appeal, repeating them every time and every place he went. People repeated them after him as if they were an anthem: Announce to those who hoard up gold and silver, the warning of branding irons with which their foreheads and bodies will be branded in the hereafter.

He never ascended a mountain or descended a valley or entered a city or faced a ruler without repeating the same words, so much so that people would always welcome him when he approached them by repeating "Announce to those who hoard up gold and silver, the warning of branding irons." This statement turned into "signature time" for his message to which he devoted his life. That was because he saw wealth being accumulated and monopolized for power and being turned into a means of supremacy and abuse. He saw an overwhelming passion for life which was about to erase all beauty, piety, devotion, and sincerity built up during the previous years of the great mission of the Messenger of Allah.

When he began his attack, he started with the most authoritative and horrible stronghold: there in Syria, where Mu`aawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyaan was ruling one of the most fertile lands in the world of Islam, granting and distributing money carelessly, thereby bestowing undeserved privileges upon people of power and rank in order to guarantee his future, a future he aspired to promote. There in Syria, the country of overwhelming palaces, country estates and fortunes which tempted the remnants of the carriers of the Islamic message, he began his attack. Abu Dhar wanted to confront the center of danger before it ruined and destroyed all Muslims.

The leader of the opposition to corrupt worldly power wore his humble gown and hastened as fast as lightning towards Syria. Ordinary people hardly heard about his arrival before they hurried to welcome him with great enthusiasm and longing desire, surrounding him wherever he would go or stay. "O Abu Dhar, please tell us... O, Companion of the Prophet (PBUH) please tell us..."

Sharp-eyed he would take a glance at the multitude around him, seeing the majority of them suffering from poverty and need. He then directed his eyes to a place not too far away where he saw many palaces and landed estates. Then he shouted to those around him, "I wonder why those who don't find something to eat don't go out holding their swords ready to fight?"

Then he immediately remembered the Prophet's admonition to replace opposition and rebellion with patience, and to replace the sword with brave and daring words, abandoning the language of war and returning to logic, reason, and conviction; teaching people that they are all equal like the teeth of a comb; that they are all partners as far as the means of living are concerned; that no one is superior to another except in piety; and that their ruler should be the first to starve if the people suffer hunger and the last to satisfy his appetite if they become sated.

He decided to create by means of his words and bravery a public opinion all over the Muslim countries which would represent, through its intelligence, indomitability, and strength, a hindering force to the deviations of the rulers and the rich and wealthy, in order to hinder the appearance and spread of a power- and wealth- monopolizing class. Within a few days, the whole of Syria turned into what resembled a bee-hive which had found its

queen. If Abu Dhar would have given the slightest passing gesture of revolt, the whole of Syria would have been set on fire. But, as mentioned before, he focused his interest on creating a respectable public opinion. His words turned into the subject of conversation everywhere, inside mosques, during meetings, and even on roads. Danger increased and reached its peak for Abu Dhar, speaking about the newly acquired privileges of the rich and powerful, on the day in which be argued with Mu'aawiyah in front of the masses. Every witness of that debate told those who missed it, so that its news spread as fast as wildfire.

Abu Dhar, who possessed the most truthful tongue on earth, as the Prophet (PBUH) described him, stood up. He asked Mu'aawiyah about his wealth before and after being in power, about the house in which he was living in Makkah, and the castles he owned in Syria. Then he raised the question to the Companions who had accompanied Mu`aawiyah to Syria and were now owners of estates and castles.

After that he cried to them "is it you among whom the Prophet lived when the Qur'aan was being revealed? Then he answered himself, "Yes, it is you! The Qur'aan was revealed among you. It is you who experienced with the Prophet (PBUH) all the different scenes.

Then he asked them again, "Can't you find this verse in the Book of Allah? .... and those who hoard up gold and silver, and do not expend it in the cause of GOD, announce to them a painful chastisment On the Day when it shall be heated in the Fire of Hell, and with it their foreheads, and their bodies, and their backs shall be branded, "This is what you treasured for yourselves, so taste the evil of what you were treasuring " (9: 34-35).

However, Mu'aawiyah wanted to end the whole dispute by arguing that this verse was mentioned regarding the People of the Book (i.e. the Jews and Christians). Hereupon cried Abu Dhar, "No, it has been revealed for us all."

Abu Dhar then continued his talk, advising Mu'aawiyah and his followers to give up their landed estates, castles, money, and all their possessions, and to abstain from saving for themselves more than their daily need.

Through the people's assemblies, congregations, and meetings, the news of the debate spread and reached everyone's ears. Louder and louder was Abu Dhar's anthem to be heard everywhere: "Announce to those who hoard

up gold and silver the warning of branding irons." Mu'aawiyah felt the danger of the words of the great, honorable, and rebellious Companion who terrified him. Yet Mu'aawiyah appreciated his value and did not harm him, but he immediately wrote to the Caliph `Uthmaan say Allah be pleased with him), "Abu Dhar spoils the people in Syria." `Uthmaan sent for Abu Dhar, asking him to come to Al-Madiinah. Abu Dhar set off from Syria with

kindness, affection, and honor. His farewell day was celebrated in Syria in a manner Damascus had never witnessed the like of. "I don't need your world!" That is what Abu Dhar said to the Caliph `Uthmaan after be reached AlMadlinah and a prolonged conversation took place between them. After this conversation and after having heard the news coming from all different regions of the Muslim world, it was confirmed that Abu Dhar's opinions had actually agitated the multitudes, who began to crystallize around them. It was at that time that `Uthmaan began to truly realize the actual danger of Abu Dhar's opinion and its strength. He therefore decided to keep him beside him at AlMadiinah.`Uthmaan presented to him his decision in a very kind and friendly way. He said to him, "Stay here beside me. You will be endowed with blessings day and night." Abu Dhar then answered, "I don't need your world." Indeed, he did not need people's world. He was one of those saints who searched for the enrichment of their soul, dedicating his life to giving, not to receiving! He asked the Caliph `Uthmaan (May Allah be pleased with him) to allow him to go out to ArRabadhah, and he allowed him. Despite his fierce opposition, he stayed dose to Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) in a very honest way, always keeping within his soul the Prophet's advice never to carry a sword. It was as if the Prophet had seen the whole of Abu Dhar's destiny and future, so he bestowed upon him this precious advice.

Abu Dhar never hid his annoyance when seeing those who liked to ignite the flames of civil strife by using his words and opinions as a mean to satisfy their passionate desire and cunning deceits. One day, while in Ar-Rabadhah, a delegation from Kufa came to ask him to raise the flag of revolution against the caliph. He drove them back with decisive words: "By Allah, if `Uthmaan was to crucify me on the longest board or on a mountain, I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me. And if he was to force me to walk from one end of the horizon to the other, I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me. And if he was to force me back to my home I would patiently obey, for Allah's reward would be waiting for me, and I see it to be the best for me."

He was a man who was not interested in any worldly gain; thus he was blessed with insight by Allah. He realized again the tremendous danger involved in armed civil strife; therefore, he abstained from it. But he also realized the tremendous danger involved in silence; therefore, he abstained from it. That is why he raised his voice, not his sword, and raised the word of truth and sincerity. He was not tempted by greedy desires nor hindered by worldly obstacles. Abu Dhar kept himself busy with and devoted himself to sincere, honest opposition. He spent his whole life focusing on the faults of power and the faults of money. Thus power and money possessed the temptation. Abu Dhar was afraid his brethren would fall into their traps - his same brethren who had carried the standard of Islam with the Prophet (PBUH) and whom he wanted to remain the carriers of the Prophet's message (PBUH). Power and money were, furthermore, the backbone of societies and communities. If misused, the destiny of people would encounter serious and imminent danger.

Abu Dhar wished so much that the Prophet's companions would not be appointed as governors and would not collect fortunes, but would rather stay as they always had been: as spiritual guides to the right path for Allah's worshipers.

He knew well the voracity of life and the voracity of money, and he knew that the example of Abu Dhar and `Umar was never going to be repeated! How often did he hear the Prophet (PBUH) asking his Companions to be aware of the temptation of authority saying, "It's a deposition in trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it will be a shame and regret except to the one who was endowed with it justly and accomplished his duty."

Abu Dhar went so far that he avoided his brethren if he did not boycott them, for no other reason than that they had become rules and, of course, had become wealthier. Abu Muusaa Al-Ash'ariy once met him. He had hardly seen him when he stretched his arms with joy and delight shouting, "Welcome Abu Dhar! Welcome my brother!" But Abu Dhar held himself back saying, "I am not your brother; I was so before you became an administrator and governor". In the same way, Abu Hurairah once met and embraced him in welcome, but Abu Dhar pushed him

back and said, "Isn't it you who became goveror, then extended your buildings and possessed plantations and cattle?" Abu Hurairah defended himself, trying to prove his innocence and refute those rumors.

It may seem that Abu Dhar had an exaggerated position towards power and wealth, but he had a logic which was shaped by his sincerity to himself and his faith. Thus, Abu Dhar stood with his dreams, deeds, behavior, and viewpoints according to the same standard the Prophet (PBUH) and his two Companions Abu Bakr and `Umar had left behind.

If some people saw that standard to be an out-of-reach ideal, Abu Dhar saw it to be an example charting the path of life and toil especially for those who had actually experienced the Prophet (PBUH), prayed behind him, taken part in jihaad with him, and sworn the oath of allegiance to him.

In addition to that - as mentioned before - his inspired intellect knew the decisive influence of power and property in determining people's destiny. Therefore, any disturbance which might afflict the trustworthiness of power or the fairness of wealth represents an imminent danger which must be resisted and opposed.

As long as he lived, Abu Dhar upheld the standard of the Prophet (PBUH) and his two Companions' good example. He was a great figure in the art of predominance over the temptation of power and wealth. The governorship of Iraq was once offered to him, but he said, "By Allah, you will never tempt me with your world." Once, one of his companions saw him wearing an old gown and asked him, "Don't you have another one? I saw you a couple of days ago with two other gowns in your hands." Abu Dhar replied, "O cousin! I gave them to someone who needed them more than I do." He said to him, " By Allah, you need them!" Abu Dhar then answered, "May Allah forgive us. You glorify this life! Can't you see that I am wearing a gown? And I own another one for the congregational Friday prayer. Moreover, I own a goat which I milk and a donkey which I ride. Is there a better blessing?"

He once sat down talking to people and said, "My friend advised me to do seven things:

*He asked me to love the poor and to get closer to them.

 *He asked me to look to those who are inferior and not to those who are superior. *He asked me never to ask anyone for anything (i.e. to abstain from begging).

 * He asked me to be kind to my relatives. * He asked me to say the truth, no matter how sour it may be.

 * He asked me never to be afraid of a critic's censure. 

*And he asked me to frequently say, "There is no power nor might except Allah's."

He lived according to this advice until he became a living conscience moving among his people. Imam Aliy once said, "There is no one nowadays who is nonchalant about people's criticism - as far as Allah and His rules are concerned - except Abu Dhar." He lived opposing the abuse of power and the monopoly of property. He lived resisting all that was

wrong and building all that was right. He lived devoted to the responsibility of good advice and warning. When he was hindered from spelling out his fatwaa (formal legal opinion in Islamic law), he raised his voice and said to those hindering him, "By the name of the One in Whose hands my soul is, if you put the sword to my neck and I still thought that I could carry out a word I've heard from the Prophet (PBUH) before you cut, I would carry it out." Had the Muslims listened on that day to his advice, a lot of civil strife and turmoil would have been prevented - turmoil that reached its peak and dangers that became grave, serious, and imminent. The state, society and Muslim nation had to face all that rebellion and aggrevated, alarming danger. But then Abu Dhar was suffering the agony of death in Ar Rabadhah, the place he chose to stay in

after his disagreement with Uthmaan say Allah be pleased with him). Let us go to him to give him farewell and let us see how the last scene of his admirable life is.

This slim dark-skinned woman sitting crying beside him is his wife. He is asking her, "Why do you cry and death is true?" She answers crying, "You are dying and I don't have a gown which suffices to be a winding sheet!!" He smiles like a passing evening glow and says to her "Calm down. Don't cry. I heard the Prophet (PBUH) once saying while I was sitting among a number of Companions "one of you will die in a desert land, and a group of the faithful will witness him." All those who were sitting with me at that assembly have died, whether in a village or among a congregation. No one is left except me, and now I am dying in a desert land. Watch out, a group of the faithful will soon show up. By Allah, I didn't lie in my life." He passed away. Blessed was he. There is a caravan which sets off on a journey across the desert. It consists of a group of the faithful with `Abd Allah Ibn Mas'uud, the Prophet's Companion, at their head. lbn Mas'uud visualized the scene before he reached it: a scene of an out-stretched body like that of a dead person and beside him a crying woman and boy. He redirects his camel's bridle and the whole caravan follows him towards the scene. He has hardly taken a look at the dead body, when he realizes that it is his companion brother in Islam, Abu Dhar. His tears roll down abundantly while he stands in front of this virtuous body saying, "The Messenger of Allah was truthful You will walk alone, die alone, and resurrect alone." lbn Mas'uud (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated the interpretation of the statement "You will walk alone, die alone, and resurrect alone," to his companions: That was in the ninth year after Hijrah, during the Battle of Tabuuk, when the Prophet, (PBUH) had

ordered full preparation to meet the Romans, who had begun to carry out their conspiracies and cunning tricks against Islam. The days in which people were asked to go out for jihaad were very hot, distressful, and hard. The destination was far away and the enemy terrifying. A group of Muslims refrained from going forth, justifying their position with different apologies.

The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions went forth. The farther they went, the more exhausted and tired they became. Whenever a man stayed behind people said, "O Prophet! So-and-so stayed behind." He then said, "Let him! If he's any good, he will reach you. If he's something else, then Allah will save you his trouble." One day the people turned around. They could not find Abu Dhar. They told the Prophet (PBUH) that Abu Dhar had stayed behind and his camel had slowed down. It is here that the Prophet (PBUH) repeated his first statement. Abu Dhar's camel became weaker under the severe pressure of hunger, thirst, and hot weather. It stumbled due to weakness and fatigue. Abu Dhar tried by all means to force it to move forward, but the burden of the camel's exhaustion was too heavy. Finally, Abu Dhar felt that he would be left behind, losing the caravan's traces. Therefore, he

dismounted from his camel, took his belongings, carried them on his back, and continued his route on foot over the burning desert sand, hurrying in order to rejoin the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions.

In the early morning, while the Muslims were stopped for a while to rest, one of them saw a cloud of dust and sand behind which the shadow of a man could be seen. The one who saw that said to the Prophet (PBUH), "O Messenger of Allah, there is someone walking alone." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "It is Abu Dhar." The Muslims continued their talk until the man crossed the remaining distance between them. Only then were they able to know who he was. The respectful traveler approached little by little. Although he could only with great effort pull his feet out of the burning sand and with a lot of pain carry the heavy burden on his back, he was very delighted to have finally reached the blessed caravan without staying behind and abandoning the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions. When he at last reached the caravan, someone shouted, "O Prophet, it's Abu Dhar." Abu Dhar beaded towards the Prophet (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) had hardly seen him, when he tenderly, kindly, and sadly smiled and said, "Allah will have mercy upon Abu Dhar. He walks alone, dies alone, and resurrects alone."

Twenty years or more had passed since then. Abu Dhar died alone in the desert of Ar-Rabadhah, having walked on a path no one else had passed over so gloriously . He is also remembered alone by history for his brave resistance and his great asceticism. 

Allah will also resurrect him alone, because the multitude of his various merits will not enable anyone else to find a place near him.

SALMAAN AL-FAARISIY - (The Seeker after Truth)

              SALMAAN AL-FAARISIY

               The Seeker after Truth

From Persia comes our hero this time, and from Persia many came to embrace Islam in the long run,and it made some of them extraordinary, unsurpassable in faith and knowledge in religion and worldly affairs.

It is one of the wonders of Islam and its greatness that it never enters a country on Allah's earth but that it exerts invaluable influence on all its potentialities and forces, bringing forth the latent genius of its people and followers. From there came forth Muslim philosophers, physicians, jurists, astronomers, inventors, and mathematicians.

Behold, they reached all heights, broke all frontiers, until the first era of Islam flourished with great geniuses in all fields of intellectual activity such as administration and science. Verily, they came from various nations, but their religion remained one.

The Prophet (PBUH) had prophesied this blessed spread of his religion. Indeed, he had been so promised by his Almighty Lord. He had pointed to the time, place, and day, and he had seen in his mind's eye the banner of Islam fluttering in all comers of the earth and over the palaces of its earthly rulers.

Salmaan Al-Faarisiy (The Persian) bore witness to this and was firmly connected with what happened. That was on the Day of Al Khandaq (The Trench) in the year A.H. 5, when the leaders of the Jews approached Makkah to stir up the polytheists and form an alliance against the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims, asking the polytheists to enter upon a treaty for decisive battle to eradicate this new religion.

The ungodly war was planned: the Quraish army and allies would attack Al-Madiinah from outside, while the Bani Ouraidhah would attack from within, behind the ranks of the Muslims, who would then fall prey and be crushed. One day the Prophet (PBUH) and the Muslims were taken unaware by a huge well-armed army marching on Al-Madiinah. The Qur'aan depicts the scene thus: "When they came against you from above you and from below you and your eyes turned away and your hearts reached to your throats, and you imagined vain thoughts about GOD; in that place the believers were tried and shaken most severely" (33:10-11).

Twenty-four thousand fighters under the command of Abu Sufyaan and `Uyainah lbn Hisn were advancing on Al-Madiinah to storm it and to lay siege to it in order to get rid of Muhammad, his religion, and his Companions. This army did not represent the Quraish alone, for they were in alliance with all the tribes, and all had vested interests that were threatened by Islam. It was a last and decisive attempt embarked on by all the enemies of the Prophet (PBUH), based upon individual, collective, and tribal interests.

The Muslims found themselves in a precarious situation. The Prophet (PBUH) assembled his Companions for consultation. Certainly they were gathered to reach a decision on defense and battle, but how could they put up a defense? And then a long - legged man with flowing hair for whom the Prophet (PBUH) bore great love, Salmaan Al-Faarisiy, held up his head and took a look at Al Madiinah, which was surrounded by hills, mountains, and exposed open country which could be easily broken through by the enemy.

Salmaan had much experience, in warfare and its tactics in his native Persia. So he proposed to the Prophet (PBUH) something which the Arabs had never seen before in warfare. It was the digging of a trench in the exposed places around Al- Madiinah.

And Allah knows what could have been the position of the Muslims in that battle had they not dug the trench, which was no sooner seen by the Quraish than they were stunned by despair. The forces of the enemy still remained in their tents for a month, unable to take Al-Madiinah, until Allah sent them one night a storm which devastated their tents and tore them asunder.

Then Abu Sufyaan announced to his forces that they should return to where they had come from.They were despondent and frustrated. During the excavation of the trench, Salmaan took his place among the Muslims while they dug and removed the sand. The Prophet (PBUH) was also taking part in digging where Salmaan was working in a group. Their pickaxes could not smash a stubborn rock, in spite of the fact that Salmaan was of strong build and hard working. A single stroke of his would break a rock to pieces, but he stood in front of this stubborn one. He let all those around him try to break it, but in vain. Salmaan went to the Prophet (PBUH) to ask him to divert the trench around that stubborn and challenging rock. The Prophet (PBUH) returned with Salmaan to see the rock himself. When he saw it, he called for a pickax and asked the Companions to keep back from the splinters. He said, "In the name of Allah," and then raised his blessed, firm hands gripping the pickax and let it fall.

The rock broke, making a great light. Salmaan said that he himself saw that light shining upon AlMadiinah. The Prophet (PBUH) raised the pickax and gave a second blow and the rock broke more. At that moment the Prophet (PBUH) said loudly, "Allahu akbar - Allah is the Greatest - I have been given the keys to Rome; its red palaces have been lit for me and my nation has vanquished it."

The Prophet (PBUH) struck his third blow. Then the rock shattered and its glittering light was seen! The Prophet (PBUH) told them that he was now looking at the palaces of Syria, San'aa' and others like them, and the cities of the world over which the banner of Islam would flutter one day. The Muslims shouted in deep faith, "This is what Allah and His Prophet have promised us!"

Salmaan was the originator of the project to dig the trench, and he was associated with the rock out of which poured some secrets of the unseen and of destiny. When he called the Prophet (PBUH) to break it, he stood by the side of the Prophet (PBUH), saw the light, and heard the glad omen, and he lived to see the prophecy fulfilled and abided in its living reality. He saw the great capitals of Persia and Rome (Byzantium), the palaces of San'aa', Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. He saw every place trembling with the blessed ecstasy which was issuing forth from the high minarets in all parts of the world, spreading the light of guidance and goodness.

And here he is sitting there in the shade of a tree before his house in Al-Madiinah telling his guests about his great adventures in the quest for truth, explaining to them how he abandoned the religion of his Persian people for Christianity and then for Islam. How he abandoned his father's wealth and estate and threw himself into the arms of the wilderness in the quest for the release of his tension and soul. How he was sold in a slave market on his way to search for truth. How he met with the Prophet (PBUH) and how he came to believe in him. Now let us approach his great court and listen to his grand tale which he is recounting.

I come from Isfahan, from a place called Jai, and I was the most beloved son of my father, who was a figure of high esteem among his people. We used to worship fire. I devoted myself to fire worship until I became custodian of the fire which we lit and never allowed to be extinguished.

My father had an estate. One day, he sent me there. I passed by a Christian church and heard them praying. I went in and saw what they were doing. I was impressed by what I saw in their prayers. I said, "This is better than our religion." I did not leave them until sunset, nor did I go to my father's estate, nor did I return to my father until he sent people to search for me.

I asked the Christians about their affair and prayers which impressed me, and about the origin of their religion. They answered, "In Syria." I said to my father when I returned to him, "I passed by people praying in a church of theirs, and I was impressed by their prayer, and I could see that their religion is better than ours." He questioned me and I questioned him, and then he put fetters on my feet and locked me up.

Then I sent to the Christians saying I had entered their religion, and I requested that whenever a caravan came from Syria, they should tell me before its return in order for me to travel with them, and so they did.

I broke loose from the iron fetters and went away. I set out with them for Syria. While I was there, I asked about their learned man, and I was told that he was the bishop, leader of the church. I went to him and told him my story. I lived with him, serving, praying, and learning. But this bishop was not faithful in his religion, because he used to gather money from the people to distribute it, but he would keep it for himself. Then he died. They appointed a new leader in his place. I have never seen a man more godly than he in his

religion, nor more active in his bid for the Hereafter, nor more pious in the world, nor more punctual at worship. I loved him more than I had ever loved any other person before.

When his fate came, I asked him, "To whom would you recommend me? And to whom would you leave me?" He said, "O my son, I do not know anyone who is on the path I am and who leads the kind of life I lead, except a certain man in Mosul."

When he died, I went to that man in Mosul, and told him the story, and I stayed with him as long as Allah wished me to stay. Then death approached him. So I asked him, "To whom would you advise me to go to?" He directed me to a pious man in Nisiibiin." So I went to him and told him my story. I stayed with him as long as Allah wished me to stay. When death overtook him, I asked him as before. He told me to meet a person at `Amuriah in Byzantium. So, to Byzantium I went and stayed with that man, earning my living there by rearing cattle and sheep.

Then death approached him, and I asked him, "To whom should I go?" He said, "O my son, I know no one anywhere who is on the path we have been on so that I can tell you to go to him. But you have been overtaken by an epoch in which there will appear a prophet in the pure creed of lbraahiim (Abraham). He will migrate to the place of palm trees. If you can be sincere to him, then do so. He has signs which will be manifested: he does not eat of charity, yet he accepts gifts, and between his shoulders is the seal of prophethood. When you see him, you will know him."

A caravan passed by me on that day. I asked them where they had come from and learned that they were from the Arabian Peninsula. So I told them, "I give you these cattle and sheep of mine in return for your taking me to your land." They agreed. So they took me in their company until they brought me to Wadi Al-Quraa and there they wronged to me. They sold me to a Jew. I saw many palm trees and cherished the hope that it was the land that had been described to me and which would be the future place of the advent of the prophet, but it was not.

I stayed with this Jew who bought me until another from Bani Quraidhah came to him one day and bought me from him. I stayed with him until we came to Al -Madiinah. By Allah, I had hardly seen it when I knew that it was the land described to me.

I stayed with the Jew, working for him on his plantation in Bani Quraidhah until Allah sent His Prophet, who later emigrated to Al-Madiinah and dismounted at Qubaa' among the Bani `Amr lbn `Awf. Indeed, one day, I was at the top of a palm tree with my master sitting below it when a Jewish man came. He was a cousin of his and said to him, "May Allah destroy Bani Qubaa'. They are spreading a rumor about a man at Qubaa' who came from Makkah claiming that he is a prophet." By Allah, he had hardly said it, when I was seized by a tremor, and the palm tree shook until I almost fell on my master.

I climbed down quickly saying, "What are you saying? What news?" My master gave me a nasty slap and said, `What have you got to do with this? Return to your work!" So, I returned to work. At nightfall I gathered what I had and went out until I came to the Prophet (PBUH) at Qubaa'. I entered and found him sitting with some of his Companions. Then I said, "You are in need and a stranger. I have some food which I intend to give out as charity. When they showed me your lodgings, I thought you most deserve it, so I have come to you with it." I put the food down. The Prophet (PBUH) said to his Companions, "Eat in the name of Allah." He abstained and never took of it. I said to myself, "This, by Allah, is one sign. He does not eat of charity!"

I returned to meet the Prophet (PBUH) again the next day, carrying some food, and said to him (PBUH), "I can see that you do not partake of charity. I have something which I want to give to you as a present." I placed it before him. He said to his Companions "Eat in the name of Allah" and he ate with them. So I said to myself, "This indeed is the second sign. He eats of presents." I returned and stayed away for a while. Then I came to him, and I saw him sitting, having returned from a burial, and surrounded by his Companions. He had two garments, carrying one on his shoulder and wearing the other. I greeted him, then bent to see the upper part of his back. He knew what I was looking for, so he threw aside his garment off his shoulder and, behold, the sign between his shoulders, the seal of Prophethood, was clear just as the Christian monk had described."

At once, I staggered towards him, kissing him and weeping. He called to me to come forward and I sat before him. I told him my story as you have already heard me describe the events. When I became a Muslim, slavery prevented me from taking part in the battles of Badr and Uhud.

Therefore the Prophet (PBUH) advised me, "Go into terms with your master for him to free you," and so I did. The Prophet (PBUH) told the Companions to assist me, and Allah freed me from bondage. I became a free Muslim, taking part with the Prophet (PBUH) in the Battle of Al-khandaq and others. With these simple clear words, Salmaan spoke of his great, noble, and sacrificial adventure for the sake of Allah, seeking after the reality of religion that led him to Allah and helped him to find his role in this life.

What kind of a noble person was this man? What great superiority was achieved by his aspiring spirit, that restless spirit that withstood difficulties and defeated them, confronted the impossible and it gave way! What devotion to the truth, and what sincerity that led its owner voluntarily away from the estate of his father, with all its wealth and luxury, to the wilderness, with all its difficulties and suffering. He moved from land to land, town to town, seeking acquaintances, persevering, worshiping and searching for his destiny among people, sects, and different ways of life. And adhering all the way to the truth with all its noble sacrifices, for the sake of guidance until he was sold into slavery. He was then rewarded by Allah the best of rewards, making him reach the truth and come into the presence of His Prophet. And then He granted him longevity, enough for him to see the banner of Islam fluttering in all parts of the world and His Muslim worshippers filling its space and corners with guidance, progress and justice!

What do you expect of the Islam of a man with such a noble character but to be a man of such truth! It was an Islam of the God- fearing and innocent. In his devotion he was intelligent, pious, and the person nearest to `Umar Ibn Al-khattaab.

He once stayed with Abu Ad-Dardaa', under the same roof. Abu Ad-Dardaa' used to pray all night and fast all day. Salmaan blamed him for this excessive worship. One day, Salmaan wanted to stop him from fasting and to say it was supererogatory. Abu Ad-Dardaa' asked him, "Would you prevent me from fasting for my Lord and from praying to Him?" Salmaan replied, "No, your eyes have a claim upon you, your family has a claim upon you, so fast intermittently, then pray and sleep."

This reached the Prophet (PBUH) who said, "Salmaan is, indeed, full of knowledge." The Prophet(PBUH) was often impressed by his wisdom and knowledge, just as he was impressed by his character and religion. On the Day of Al-khandaq the Ansar stood up and said, "Salmaan is of us," the Muhaajiruun stood up also and said, "Salmaan is of us." The Prophet called to them saying, "Salmaan is of us, O People of the House (Prophet's house)."

Indeed, he deserved this honor! `Aliy lbn Abi Taalib , (May Allah honor his face) nicknamed him "Luqmaan the Wise ". He was asked about after his death: "There was a man who was of the People of the House. Who among you is like Luqmaan the Wise? He was a man of knowledge who absorbed all the scriptures of the People of the Book. He was like a sea that was never exhausted!" He was held in the minds of Prophet's Companions with all highest regards and in the greatest

position and respect. During the Caliphate of `Umar, he came to Al-Madiinah on a visit and `Umar accorded him what he had never accorded to anyone before when he assembled his Companions and said, "Come, let us go out and welcome Salmaan!" They received him at the border of Al-Madiinah. Salmaan had lived with the Prophet (PBUH) ever since he met him, and believed in him as a free Muslim, and worshiped with him. He lived during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthmaan, in whose era he met his Lord. In most of these years, the banner of Islam spread everywhere, and the treasures of Islam were carried to Al Madiinah in floods and distributed to the people in the form of regular allowance and fixed salaries. The responsibilities of ruling increased on all fronts, as well as duties and the overwhelming burden of holding official posts. So where did Salmaan stand in this respect? Where do we see him in the time of splendor, plenty, and enjoyment?

Open wide your eyes. Do you see that humble man sitting there in the shade making baskets and utensils out of palm fronds? That is Salmaan. Take a good look at him. Look at his short garment, which is so short that it is only down to his knees. That was him in grand old age. His grant was 4,000 to 6,000 dirhams a year, but he distributed all of it, refusing to take a dirham of it, and he used to say, "I would buy palm fronds with one dirham to work on and then sell it for three dirhams. I retained one dirham of it as capital, spent one dirham on my family, and gave away one dirham, and if `Umar lbn Al-Khattaab prevented me from that, I would not stop."

What next, O followers of Muhammad? What next, O noblest of mankind in all ages? Some of us used to think, whenever we heard the conduct of the Companions and their piety - for example, Abu Bakr, `Umar, Abu Dhar and their brethren - that it was based on the life of the Arabian Peninsula, where the Arabs find pleasure in simplicity. And here we are before a man from Persia, the land of pleasure, luxury, and civilization, and he was not of the poor but of its upper class. What about him now refusing property, wealth, and enjoyment, and insisting that he live on one dirham a day from the work of his hands? How about his refusing leadership and position except for something relating to jihaad and only if none but he were suitable for it, and it was forced upon him, and he accepted it weeping and shy? How about when he accepted leadership which was forced upon him but he refused to take his lawful dues? Hishaam lbn Hasaan relates from Al-Hassan: The allowance of Salmaan was 5,000. He lived among 30,000 people and used to dress in a garment cut into halves. He wore one and sat on the other half. Whenever his allowance was due him, he distributed it to the needy and lived on the earnings of his hands! Why do you think he was doing all this work and worshiping with all this devotion, and yet he was a Persian child of luxury, the upbringing of civilization? You can hear the reply from him. While he was on his deathbed, the great spirit mounting forth to meet his Lord, Exalted and Merciful, Sa`d lbn Abi Waqaas went to greet him, and Salmaan wept! Sa'd said, "What makes you weep, O Abu `Abd Allah? The Prophet of Allah died pleased with you!" Salmaan replied, "By Allah, I am not weeping in fear of death, nor for love of the world. But the Prophet of Allah put me on an oath. He said, `Let any of you have in this world like the provision of the traveler,' and here I have owned many things around me." Sa'd said: I looked around, and I saw nothing but a water-pot and vessel to eat in! Then I said to him, "O Abu Abd Allah, give us a parting word of advice for us to follow." He said, O Sa'd, remember Allah for your cares, if you have any. Remember Allah in your judgment, if you judge. Remember Allah when you distribute the share." This was the man who filled his spirit with riches just as it filled him with renunciation of the pleasures of this world, its riches, and pride. The oath which he and the rest of the Companions had taken before the Prophet of Allah was that they must not let the world possess them and that they should take nothing from it but the provision of the traveler in his bag.

Salmaan had kept the oath, yet still his tears ran when he saw his soul preparing for departure,fearing that he had gone beyond the limits. There was nothing around him except a vessel to eat in and a water-pot and yet still he considered himself lavish! Did I not tell you that he was the nearest in resemblance to `Umar? During the days of his rule over the Madiinah area, he never changed his way. He had refused, as we have seen, to receive his salary as a ruler, but went on making baskets to earn his living. His dress was no more than a gown, resembling his old clothes in simplicity.

One day while on the road, he met a man arriving from Syria, carrying a load of figs and dates. The load was too heavy for him and made him weary. No sooner did the Syrian see the man in front of him, who appeared to be one of the common people and poor than he thought of putting the load on his shoulders and when he reached his destination he would give him something for his labor. So he beckoned to the man (Salmaan, the governor), and he came up to him.

The Syrian said to him, "Relieve me of this load." He carried it, and they walked together. While on their way, they met a group of people. He greeted them and they stood up in obeisance,replying, "And unto the governor be peace!" "Who is the governor?" The Syrian asked himself. His surprise increased when he saw some of them rushing towards Salmaan to take the load off his shoulders. "Let us carry it, O governor". When the Syrian knew that he was the governor of Al Madiinah, he was astonished. Words of apology and regret fell from his lips, and he went forward to grab the load. But Salmaan shook his head in refusal, saying, "No, not until I take you to your destination."

He was asked one day, "What troubles you in the leadership?" He replied, "The pleasure of nurturing it and the bitterness of meaning!" A friend of his came to him one day at his house and found him kneading dough. He asked him,"Where is your servant? "He replied, We have sent her on an errand and we hate to charge her with two duties."When we say "his house" let us remember what kind of house it was. When Salmaan thought of building it, he asked the mason, "How are you going to build it?" The mason was courteous and yet witty. He knew the piety and devotion of Salmaan, so he replied to him saying "Fear not. It is a house for you to protect yourself against the heat of the sun and dwell in the cold weather. When you stand erect in it, it touches your head." Salmaan said to him, "Yes, that is it, so go on and build it."There was nothing of the goods of this world which could attract Salmaan for a moment, nor did they leave any traces in his heart except one thing, which he was particularly mindful of and had entrusted to his wife, requesting her to keep it far away in a safe place. In his last sickness, and in the morning on which he gave up his soul, he called her, "Bring me the trust which I left in safe keeping!" She brought it and behold, it was a bottle of musk. He had gained it on the day of liberating the city of Jalwalaa' and kept it to be his perfume on the day of his death. Then he called for a pot of water, sprinkled the musk into it, stirred it with his hand and then said to his wife, "Sprinkle it on me, for there will now come to me creatures from the creatures of Allah. They do not eat food and what they like is perfume."

Having done so he said to her, "Shut the door and go down." She did what he bade her to do. After a while she went up to him and saw his blessed soul had departed his body his frame. It was gone to the Supreme Master, and it ascended with the desire to meet Him as he had an appointment there with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his two Companions Abu Bakr and `Umar and the noble circle of martyrs!

Long had the burning desire stirred Salmaan. The time had come for him to rest in peace.

MUS'AB IBN `UMAIR The First Envoy of Islam

This man among the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), how good it is for us to start with him. He was the flower of the Quraish, the most handsome and youthful! Historians and narrators describe him as "The most charming of the Makkans". 

 He was born and brought up in wealth, and he grew up with its luxuries. Perhaps there was no boy in Makkah who was pampered by his parents like Mus`ab lbn `Umair. This mirthful youth, caressed and pampered, the talk of the ladies of Makkah, the jewel of its clubs and assemblies: is it possible for him to be one of the legends of faith? 

 By Allah, how interesting a tale, the story of Mus`ab Ibn `Umair or Mus`ab the Good, as he was nicknamed among the Muslims! He was one of those made by Islam and fostered by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). 

 But who was he? His story is a pride of all mankind. The youth heard one day what the people of Makkah had begun to hear about Muhammad the Truthful, that Allah had sent him as bearer of glad tidings and a warner to call them to the worship of Allah the One God. When Makkah slept and awoke there was no other talk but the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his religion, and this spoiled boy was one of the most attentive listeners. 

 That was because, although he was young, the flower of clubs and assemblies, the outward appearance of wisdom and common sense were among the traits of Mus`ab. 

 He heard that the Prophet (PBUH) and those who believed in him were meeting far away from the dignitaries and great men of the Quraish at As-safaa in the house of Al-Arqam lbn Al-Arqam daar Al-

Arqam. He wasted no time. He went one night to the Daar Al Arqam, yearning and anxious. There, the Prophet (PBUH) was meeting his Companions, reciting the Qur'aan to them and praying with them to 

Allah the Most Exalted. Mus`ab had hardly taken his seat and contemplated the verses of Qur'aan recited 

by the Prophet (PBUH) when his heart became the promised heart that night. 

 The pleasure almost flung him from his seat as he was filled with a wild ecstasy. But the Prophet 

(PBUH) patted his throbbing heart with his blessed right hand, and the silence of the ocean's depth filled his heart. In the twinkling of an eye, the youth who had just become Muslim appeared to have more 

wisdom than his age and a determination that would change the course of time! 

 Mus`ab's mother was Khunaas Bint Maalik, and people feared her almost to the point of terror because she possessed a strong personality. When Mus`ab became a Muslim, he was neither careful 

before nor afraid of anyone on the face of the earth except his mother. Even if Makkah, with all its idols, nobles, and deserts were to challenge him, he would stand up to it. As for a dispute with his mother, this was an impossible horror, so he thought quickly and decided to keep his Islam secret until Allah willed. 

He continued to frequent Daar Al-Arqam and take lessons from the Prophet (PBUH). He was satisfied with his faith and avoided the anger of his mother, who had no knowledge of his embracing Islam. 

 However, Makkah at that time kept no secret, for the eyes and ears of the Quraish were everywhere, very alert and checking every footprint in its hot sands. Once, `Uthmaan Ibn Taihah saw him steadily entering alarm's house, then he saw him a second time praying the prayer like Muhammad. No sooner had he seen him than he ran quickly with the news to Mus`ab's mother, who was astonished by it.

Mus`ab stood before his mother, the people, and the nobles of Makkah who assembled around him, telling them the irrefutable truth and reciting the Qur'aan with which the Prophet (PBUH) cleansed their hearts and filled them with honor, wisdom, justice, and piety. His mother aimed a heavy blow at him, but the hand which was meant as an arrow soon succumbed to the powerful light which increased the radiance of his face with innocent glory because it demanded respect with its quiet confidence. However, his mother, under the pressure of her motherliness, spared him the beating and the pain, although it was within her power to avenge her gods whom he had abandoned. Instead she took him to a rough corner of her house and shut him in it. She put shackles on him and imprisoned him there until he heard the news of the emigration (hijab) of some of the believers to Abyssinia. He thought to himself and was able to delude his mother and his guards, and so escaped to Abyssinia. 

 There he stayed in Abyssinia with his fellow emigrants and then returned with them to Makkah. He also emigrated to Abyssinia for the second time with the Companions whom the Prophet (PBUH) 

advised to emigrate and they obeyed. But whether Mus`ab was in Abyssinia or Makkah, the experience of his faith proclaimed itself in all places and at all times. 

 Musa became confident that his life had become good enough to be offered as a sacrifice to the Supreme Originator and great Creator. He went out one day to some Muslims while they were sitting 

around the Prophet (PBUH) , and no sooner did they see him than they lowered their heads and shed some tears because they saw him wearing worn out garments. They were accustomed to his former 

appearance before he had become a Muslim, when his clothes had been like garden flowers, elegant and fragrant. 

 The Prophet (PBUH) saw him with the eyes of wisdom, thankful and loving, and his lips smiled gracefully as he said, "I saw Mus`ab here, and there was no youth in Makkah more petted by his parents 

than he. Then he abandoned all that for the love of Allah and His Prophet!" 

 His mother had withheld from him all the luxury he had been overwhelmed by, when she could not return him to her religion. She refused to let anyone who had abandoned their gods eat of her food, even if he was her son. Her last connection with him was when she tried to imprison him for a second time after his return from Abyssinia, and he swore that if she did that, he would kill all those who came to her aid to lock him up. She knew the truth of his determination when he was intent and decided to do something, and so she bade him good bye weeping. 

 The parting moment revealed a strange adherence to infidelity on the part of his mother, and the greater adherence to faith on the part of her son. When she said to him, while turning him out of her house, "Go away, I am no longer your mother," he went close to her and said, "O mother, I am advising you and my heart is with you, please bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is 

His servant and messenger." She replied to him, angrily raging, "By the stars, I will never enter your religion, to degrade my status and weaken my senses!" 

 So Mus`ab left the great luxury in which he had been living. He became satisfied with a hard life he had never seen before, wearing the roughest clothes, eating one day and going hungry another. This 

spirit, which was grounded in the strongest faith, adorned with the light of Allah, made him another man, one who appeals to the eyes of other great souls. 

 While he was in this state, the Prophet (PBUH) commissioned him with the greatest mission of his 

life, which was to be his envoy to Al Madiinah. His mission was to instruct the Ansaar who believed in the Prophet (PBUH) and had pledged their allegiance to him at `Aqabah, to call others to Islam, and to prepare Al-Madiinah for the day of the great Hijrah. There were among the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) at that time others who were older than Mus`ab and more prominent and nearer to the Prophet (PBUH) by family relations. But the Prophet (PBUH) chose Mus`ab the Good, knowing that he was entrusting to him the most important task of that time, putting into his hands the destiny of Islam at Al-Madiinah. The radiant city of Al-Madiinah was destined to be the home of Hijrah, the springboard of Islamic preachers and the liberators of the future. Mus`ab was equal to the task and trust which Allah had given him and he was equipped with an excellent mind and noble character. He won the hearts of the Madinites with his piety, uprightness and sincerity. And so they embraced the religion of Allah in flocks.

At the time the Prophet (PBUH) sent him there, only twelve Muslims had pledged allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH) at the Pledge of `Aqabah. He had hardly completed a few months when they answeredto the call of Allah and the Prophet (PBUH). During the next pilgrimage season, the Madinite Muslims

sent a delegation of 70 believing men and women to Makkah to meet the Prophet (PBUH).

 They came with their teacher and their Prophet's envoy, Mus`ab Ibn `Umair. Mus`ab had proven, by his good sense and excellence, that the Prophet (PBUH) knew well how to choose his envoys and

teachers.

 Mus'ab had understood his mission well. He knew that he was a caller to Allah and preacher of His religion, which calls people to right guidance and the straight path. Like the Prophet (PBUH) in whom he

believed, he was no more than a deliverer of the message. There he stood fast, with As`ad Ibn Zoraarah as host, and both of them used to visit the tribes, dwellings, and assemblies, reciting to the people what he had of the Book of Allah, instilling in them that Allah is no more than One God.

 He had confronted certain instances which could have put an end to his life and that of those with him but for his active, intelligent, great mind. One day, he was taken by surprise while preaching to the

people to find Usaid lbn hudair, leader of the `Abd Al-Ashhal tribe, at Al-Madiinah confronting him with a drawn arrow.

 He was raging with anger and animosity against the one who had come to corrupt the religion of his people by telling them to abandon their gods and talking to them about the idea of only One God Whom

they did not know before and had never heard of. Their gods were to them the center of their worship.

Whenever any of them needed them, he knew their places. They would invoke them for help. That was how they thought and imagined!

 As for the God of Muhammad, to whom this envoy was calling, nobody knew His place, nor could anybody see Him! When the Muslims who were sitting around Mus`ab, saw Usaid lbn hudair advancing

in his unbridled anger, they were frightened, but Mus`ab the Good stood firm. Usaid stood before him and As`ad lbn Zoraarah shouting, "What brought you here? Are you coming to corrupt our faith? Go away if you wish to be saved!"

 And like the calmness of the sea and its force, Mus`ab started his fine speech saying, "Won't you sit down and listen? If you like our cause, you can accept; and if you dislike it, we will spare you of what

you hate."

Allah is the Greatest! How grand an opening whose ending would be pleasant! Usaid was a thoughtful and clever man, and here he saw Mus`ab inviting him to listen and no more. If he was convinced he

would accept it, and if he was not convinced, then Mus`ab would leave his neighborhood and his clan,and move to another neighborhood without harm, nor being harmed. There and then Usaid answered him saying, "Well, that is fair," and he dropped his arrow to the ground and sat down listening. Mus`ab had hardly read the Qur'aan, explaining the mission with which Muhammad lbn `Abd Allah

(PBUH) came, when the conscience of Usaid began to dear and brighten and change with the effectiveness of the words. He became overwhelmed by its beauty. When Mus`ab finished speaking,

Usaid lbn Hudair exclaimed to him and those with him, "How beautiful is this speech, and how true!

How can one enter this religion?" Mus`ab told him to purify his body and clothes and say, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." Usaid retired for some time and then returned pouring clean water on his head and standing there proclaiming, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

 The news spread like lightning and then Sa`d Ibn Mu`aadh came and listened to Mus`ab, and he was convinced and embraced Islam. Then came Sa`d lbn `Ubaadah. There and then blessings came with their entering Islam. The people of Al-Madiinah came together asking one another, "If Usaid lbn Hudair, Sa`d Ibn Mu`aadh and Sa`d Ibn `Ubaadah have embraced Islam, what are we waiting for? Go straight to Mus`ab and believe. By Allah, he is calling us to the truth

and the straight path!"  The first envoy of the Prophet (PBUH) succeeded without comparison. It was a success which he

deserved and to which he was equal.

 The days and years passed by. The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions emigrated to Al-Madiinah,and the Quraish were raging with envy and their ungodly pursuit after the pious worshippers. So the

Battle of Badr took place, in which they were taught a lesson and lost their strong hold. After that they prepared themselves for revenge, and thus came the Battle of Uhud. The Muslims mobilized themselves,

and the Prophet (PBUH) stood in their midst to sort out among their faithful faces and to choose one to bear the standard. He then called for Mus`ab the Good, and he advanced and carried the standard.

The terrible battle was raging, the fighting furious. The archers disregarded the orders of the Prophet (PBUH) by leaving their positions on the mountain when they saw the polytheists withdrawing as if

defeated. But this act of theirs soon turned the victory of the Muslims to defeat. The Muslims were taken at unawares by the cavalry of the Quraish at the mountain top, and many Muslims were killed by the swords of the polytheists as a consequence.  When they saw the confusion and horror splitting the ranks of the Muslims, the polytheists concentrated on the Prophet of Allah to finish him off. Mus`ab saw the impending threat, so he raised the standard high, shouting, "allahu Akbar! Allah is the Greatest!" like the roar of a lion. He turned and jumped left and right, fighting and killing the foe. All he wanted was to draw the attention of the enemy to himself in order to turn their attention away from the Prophet (PBUH). He thus became as a whole army in himself. Nay, Mus`ab went alone to fight as if he were an army of giants raising the standard in sanctity with one hand, striking with his sword with the other. But the enemies were multiplying on him.

They wanted to step on his corpse so that they could find the Prophet (PBUH).

 Let us allow a living witness to describe for us the last scene of Mus`ab the Great. Ibn Sa`d said: Ibraahiim lbn Muhammad lbn Sharhabiil Al-'Abdriy related from his father, who said: Mus`ab lbn`Umair carried the standard on the Day of Uhud. When the Muslims were scattered, he stood fast until he met lbn Qumaah who was a knight. He struck him on his right hand and cut it off, but Mus`ab said, "and

Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him " (3:144). He carried the standard with his left hand and leaned on it. He struck his left hand and cut it off, and so he leaned on the standard and held it with his upper arms to his chest, all the while saying, "And Muhammad is but a Messenger. Messengers have passed away before him". Then a third one struck him with his spear, and the spear went through him. Mus`ab fell and then the standard.

 Nay, the cream of martyrdom had fallen! He fell after he had struggled for the sake of Allah in thegreat battle of sacrifice and faith. He had thought that if he fell, he would be a stepping stone to the death

of the Prophet (PBUH) because he would be without defense and protection. But he put himself in harm's way for the sake of the Prophet (PBUH). overpowered by his fear for and love of him, he continued to

say with every sword stroke that fell on him from the foe, "and Muhammad is but a Messenger.

Messengers have passed away before him "(3:144). This verse was revealed later, after he had spoken it.

 After the bitter battle, they found the corpse of the upright martyr lying with his face in the dust, as if he feared to look while harm fell on the Prophet (PBUH). So he hid his face so that he would avoid the

scene. Or perhaps, he was shy when he fell as a martyr, before making sure of the safety of the Prophet of Allah, and before serving to the very end, guarding and protecting him.

 Allah is with you, O Mus`ab! What a great life story!

 The Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions came to inspect the scene of the battle and bid farewell to its martyrs. Pausing at Mus`ab's body, tears dripped from the Prophet's eyes. Khabbaab lbn Al-Aratnarrated: We emigrated with the Prophet (PBUH) for Allah's cause, so our reward became due with  Allah. Some of us passed away without enjoying anything in this life of his reward, and one of them was Mus`ab Ibn`Umair, who was martyred on the Day of Uhud. He did not leave behind anything except a sheet of shredded woolen cloth. If we covered his head with it, his feet were uncovered, and if we covered his feet with it, his head was uncovered. The Prophet (PBUH) said to us, "Cover his head with it and put lemon grass over his feet." 

 Despite the deep, sad pain which the Prophet (PBUH) suffered over the loss of his uncle Hamzah and the mutilation of his corpse by the polytheists in a manner that drew tears from the Prophet (PBUH) 

and broke his heart; despite the fact that the field of battle was littered with the corpses of his Companions, all of whom represented the peak of truth, piety and enlightenment; despite all this, he 

stood at the corpse of his first envoy, bidding him farewell and weeping bitterly. Nay, the Prophet (PBUH) stood at the remains of Mus`ab lbn `Umair saying, while his eyes were flowing with tears, love and loyalty, "Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah " (33:23). 

 

 Then he gave a sad look at the garment in which he was shrouded and said, "I saw you at Makkah, and there was not a more precious jewel, nor more distinguished one than you, and here you are bare headed in a garment!" Then the Prophet (PBUH) looked at all the martyrs in the battlefield and said, "The Prophet of Allah witnesses that you are martyrs to Allah on the Day of Resurrection." Then he gathered his living Companions around him and said, "O people, visit them, come to them, and salute them. By Allah, no Muslim will salute them but that they will salute him in return." 

 Peace be on you, O Mus`ab. Peace be on you, O Martyrs. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you!