The Life Of Muhammad ﷺ, Madinan Period Volume 2
By Imam Anwar Al_Awlaki;
اَلْحَمْدُ لله ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِنَا محمد وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْرا
The Army went forth, this deliberation happened in an area in Jordan called, Ma'an(مَعان).
And now they are moving forward towards the plains of Mu'tah(مَؤتَة).
Mu'tah(مَؤتَة) is also in Jordan.
With this army was a new Muslims, Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه.
Remember we just talked about him, we said that he became Muslim in Khaybar(خيبر).
So, Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره) tells us his experience, in this battle.
Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه said;
شَهِدْتُ مَؤته فَلَمَّا دَنَا مِنَّا الْمُشْرِكُوْنْ رَاَيْنَا مَا لَا قِبَلِ لاَحَد بِه
مِنَّ الْعُدَةْ وَالْسَلَاحْ وَالْكَرَاعْ وَالْدِيْبَاجْ وَالْحَرِيْر وَالْذَهَبْ فَبَرِقَ بَصَرِيْ
Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه said: I attended the Battle of Mu'tah(مَؤتَة).
When the Mushrikeen(مشركين) came close to us.
We saw what no one could face; weapons, preparation, silk, gold, so my eye became dazzled.
Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله), Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه was a new Muslim
and there's some things that a Muslim learns by experience.
Sometimes, it's not all knowledge, sometimes it's experience.
Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره) here remember, he's coming from a Jahiliyyah(جاهلية) background.
An army of 3000 facing an army of 200,000 is something that you would find in no religion and no tradition.
The Arab tribesmen cannot think about that
and anybody coming from any other culture or tradition, it's something that is incomprehendible,
I mean why should we do this, this is death.
Not only were the numbers fearsome.
But now when they face the army, see because before it was news that they heard with their ears now they are seeing it.
لَيْسَ الْخَبَر كَالْمُعَايْنَه
Hearing something is not like seeing it.
And then these armies, they played on the psychology of the, of the enemy,
the looks, the show of force, they knew that, this plays an important role on demoralizing the enemy.
So, they come in a show, probably there was, there were drums beating.
And then Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره) said;
The preparation, and the weapons that we could see, and then the gold and the Debaaj(ديباج) and Hareer(حرير),
the silk and Deebaaj(ديباج) which is a thick cloth of silk that the army was dressed in
all of this puts fear in the hearts of the enemy.
Abu Hurairah(ابو هريره) said;
فَبَرِقَ بَصَرِيْ
I became dazzled and Bareqa(فَبَرِقَ) is like lightning.
He said: My eyes were struck as if he was saying my eyes was struck with lightning.
Was this confusion, was that fear, was it surprise.?
Anyway it's something that could be seen on the face of Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره).
Next to him was Thabit Bin Arqam(ثابت بن أرقم).
Thabit Bin Arqam(ثابت بن أرقم) saw what was going on.
He told Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره),
كَاَنَّكَ تَرَى جَمُوْعًا كَثِيْرَةْ
It seems that you are seeing a huge force.
Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره) said, Yes definitely, I mean look at this.
Are we supposed to fight these people.
Thabit Bin Arqam(ثابت بن أرقم) here, and this is the role of the senior Muslim handing down his experience to the new Muslim, to the junior,
the old handing down the experience to the young.
Thabit Bin Arqam(ثابت بن أرقم) is steeped in Islam.
He told Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره),
قَالَ: إِنَّكَ لَمْ تَشْهَدْ مَعَنَا بَدْرًا، إِنَّا لَمْ نُنْصَرْ بِالْكَثْرًةْ
You were not with us at Badr(بدر), we are not given victory through numbers.
Here he's handing down to Abu Hurairah(ابوهريره) a lesson that is learned by experience.
You were not there at Badr(بدر).
We Muslims, forget about the laws of nature, and war, that you had with you, in the time of Jahilliyah(جاهلية), forget about that.
Now, you're Muslim it's a new world, we viewed the world differently.
We Muslims see things differently.
You were not there at Badr(بدر).
Now, the numbers were at Badr(بدر) nothing like what we're talking about here.
But at Badr(بدر), it was the first encounter, and then the Muslims saw the interference, through the soldiers of Allah,
they saw the angels come in and give them victory.
It was not their numbers, the Muslims were little over 300 and the enemy was 1000.
So, it was only three times the number.
Here we're talking about 3000 against 200,000.
So, it's a completely different thing But he's telling him
that it's not numbers that give us victory, it is our trust in Allah.
وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ
These Ayaat(آيات) were revealed when.? After the Battle of Badr(بدر),
it was not you, who fired, it is Allahعَزّوجَلّ,
وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ
And this is narrated by Al-Bayhaqi(ألبيهقي).
The battle started, Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه), the leader is ahead of the army, and not behind them.
He's carrying the banner with courage, leading his army, giving them, example.
He moved forth carrying the banner in his arms.
And it says in the narration
حَتَّى طَاشَ فِيْ رمَاحَ الْعَدُوّ
Until he was lost among their lances.
Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) moved forward.
Until, you cannot see him anymore
because he was lost in a sea of lances, spears covering him from every direction, stabbing him from every corner.
Until, there was Zaid(زيد) no more.
Then the banner was carried by Jafar Ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه,
who just came back from Abyssinia.
Rasool Allah ﷺ did not keep him, next to him.
Rasool Allah ﷺ sent him to the army, sent him to battle.
Jafar Ibn Abi Talib(جعفر إبن أبي طالب) carried the banner and in the heat of the battle
Jafar Ibn Abi Talib(جعفر إبن أبي طالب) felt that his horse is hindering him.
So, he dismounted and he killed his horse.
And this was used as evidence for example by the Ah'naaf(أحناف), Imam Abu Haneefah(امام ابوحنيفة)
that you're allowed to kill your animal to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of it.
Because the rule is that we should not kill an animal, wastefully.
If you're not going to eat it, why kill that animal?
But they use this as evidence if it is with the intention of preventing the enemy from making use of it, then it's allowed.
So, Jafar(جعفر) he killed his horse and then he moved on foot,
it is said that his right arm was cut, so he carried the banner with his left
and that was cut, so then he held it, he hugged the banner with what was left from his arms,
and then he was eventually killed
and he was full of stabs from ahead of him and from behind him.
In Bukhari(بخاري) it says that Abdullah Bin Umar(عبدالله بن عمر) used to call him, the man of two wings.
Because Allah replaced him, instead of his two arms which were which were cut off, Allah replaced him with two wings
after he died to fly in Jannah(جنة), wherever he wants.
And then Abdullah Bin Rawaha(عبدالله بن رواحة) took over the Imarah(إمارة), the leadership of the army.
He was handed a piece of meat to strengthen himself.
So, he started eating from that piece of meat,
and then he heard an uproar from a certain corner of the battlefield.
He said;
وَمَا زِلْتَ فِيْ هَذَا وَمَا زِلْتَ فِيْ الدُّنْيَا
And you are still in this world and he jumped ahead and was killed Fee-Sabeel-Lillah(فِي سَبيل الله).
Now, the three Umara'a(أمراء), the three leaders, who were appointed by Rasool Allah ﷺ were killed.
Thabit Bin Arqam رضي الله عنه, whom we just talked about he carried the banner and he said;
Choose from among you, O Muslims, a leader to lead us.
They said, you lead us, he said; No I won't.
So, they gave the banner to Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) and they said: You are our leader.
So, it was the Muslims who appointed Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) they chose him to lead,
and he was also a new Muslim and this is the first battle that he would lead.
Rasool Allah ﷺ would receive the news through Jibreel عليه السّلام, when he was in Madina,
he would receive the news from the battlefield in Jordan, Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
أَخَذَ الرَّايَةَ زَيْدٌ فَأُصِيبَ ، ثُمَّ أَخَذَ جَعْفَرٌ فَأُصِيبَ ، ثُمَّ أَخَذَ ابْنُ رَوَاحَةَ فَأُصِيبَ
حَتَّى أَخَذَ الرَّايَةَ سَيْفٌ مِنْ سُيُوفِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ
And this is in Al-Bukhari(ألبخاري).
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: The banner was carried by Zaid(زيد), until he was killed,
and then it was carried by Jafar(جعفر), until he was killed
and then it was carried by Abdullah Bin Rawaha(عبدالله بن رواحة), until he was killed,
and then the banner was carried by a Sword from the Swords of Allah,
until Allah gave them victory.
Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) was a sword of Allah and the Muslims need a sword of Allah.
They needed a sword of Allah yesterday, and we need the sword from Allah today.
Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد), he carried the banner and he was fighting, leading the Muslims,
a new Muslim but the spirit of Islam was strong.
Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) said;
تَكَسّرَتْ فِي يَدَيْ تِسْعَةَ اَسْيَافْ
Nine swords broke in my hand,
Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله), what was Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) doing with those swords.
He broke down nine swords, and then he said;
In the end only a broad sword, Yemeni broad sword survived with me.
So, the question is not whether Khalid(خالد) can deal with the swords,
the question is whether the sword can handle Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد).
Nine swords were broken in one day, on the enemies of Allah
and only broad sword, the big piece of iron, Yemeni sword survived in his hand until the end of the day.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: About the three leaders of the army,
وَمَا يَسرُّهُمْ اَنَّهُمْ مَعَنَا
And it would not please them to be with us.
Zaid(زيد), Jafar(جعفر) and Abdullah Bin Rawaha(عبدالله بن رواحة), are happier in Aakhira(آخرة) then in Duniyah(دُنِيَّا).
They don't want to come back with us, they're happy where they are.
Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد), it is mentioned in one narration.
He, at nightfall, when the fighting stopped.
Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد), what he was doing?
He was doing a slow retreat, he doesn't want to do a fast retreat
because then the enemy will take advantage of that and destroy the army.
So, it was a slow retreat, they're holding on, and he was doing it slowly, until nightfall.
He is trying to encourage the Muslims to hold on.
At night what he did he switched the left flank to the right and the right to the left.
So, when they woke up in the morning and the Romans saw, the army.
So, the right flank of the Romans would see different people in front of them
and the left flank of the Romans would see different people in front of them.
They were deceived to believe that the Muslims received reinforcement's.
So, they told themselves, If the Muslims were able to hold ground, when they were only 3000.
What are they going to do today, after they have received reinforcements.?
And this convinced the Romans to retreat.
And this is the victory that Rasool Allah ﷺ is talking about in Bukhari(بخاريْ).
This is the opening that Rasool Allah ﷺ said,
فَفَتَحَ الله عَلَيْهَا
When that happened and the Romans stopped, Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد), immediately retreated,
with the army and they came back to Madina.
Rasool Allah ﷺ visited the children of Jafar Ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه
the cousin of Rasool Ullah, the brother of Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب),
and Rasool Allah ﷺ told their mother, to bring the children.
Asma(أسماء) said: I have already cleaned them, and oiled them, washed them, and bathed them.
So, they came to Rasool Allah ﷺ, Rasool Ullah hug them and tears were swelling in his eyes.
So, Asma(أسماء) said: Something happened.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said, Yes Jafar(جعفر) was killed,
She screamed when she heard the news
and Rasool Allah ﷺ told her that I am their Wali(ولي) in Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) and Aakhira(آخرة),
I'm their friend in Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) and Aakhira(آخرة), and I will take care of them in Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) and Aakhira(آخرة).
This is an honor for the children of Jafar Ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
There's some lines of poetry, Asma(أسماء) said;
lamenting the loss of her husband, Jafar Ibn Abi Talib(جعفرابن ابي طالب).
Asma Bint Umais(أسماء بنت عميس) said;
فَآلَيْتُ لَا تَنْفَكُّ نَفْسِيْ حَزِيْنَةً
علَيْكَ وَلَا يَنْفَكُّ جِلْدِيْ أَغْبَر
فَلِلّهِ عَيْنَا مَنْ رَّآى مِثْلَهُ فَتَىً
أَكَرَّ وَأَحْمَى فِيْ الْهِيَاجِ وَأَصْبَر
I swear my soul will never ceased to be sad over you, and my skin will always wear dust.
No one ever saw the like of him, a hero, who persisted, so valiantly in the fray.
These words of Asma(أسماء), show her sorrow over the loss of her husband.
After the end of her Id'dah(عدة).
The waiting period which the wife is required to have,
after she becomes a widow, before being allowed to marry again.
She was approached by Abu Bakr As-Siddique(ابوبكرالصديق) and she agreed to marry him.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) was invited to the Waleema(وليمه).
He asked Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) permission to speak to Asma(أسماء).
Asma(أسماء) is the wife of his deceased brother.
Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) gave him permission, so Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) spoke to her from behind a curtain.
He said: Who is the one, who said;
I swear my soul will never cease to be sad over you, and my skin will always wear dust.
He reminded her with her lines that she said about Jafar(جعفر),
because here, she says that I will continue being sad for you
and now you're she is getting married to Abu Bakr(ابوبكر).
She said, Away with you Abul-Hassan(ابوالحسن) you are always joking.
Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) had a child from Asma(اسماء), Muhammad(محمد).
And then when Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) died, Asma Bint Umais(أسماء بنت عميس) married Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب).
So, Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr(محمد ابن ابي بكر) was brought up in the house of Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب).
And they had a very strong relationship
and Muhammad(محمد) was a staunch supporter of Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب)
and he became a governor for Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) over Egypt
and then later on, in the events that occurred after that
in the war between Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) and Bannu Ummayyah(بنوأمية) Egypt fell
and Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr(محمد ابن ابي بكر) was chased down to Saeed Misr(سعيد مصر), where he was eventually killed.
But until the end he was a defender of Ali Ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.
One thing to notice over here, is that with the early Muslims,
no Muslim sister will be left behind.
If she's divorced she would be married, if she is widowed she would be married,
they would not leave a Muslim sister alone.
And this tradition cannot be revived, except if polygamy is promoted and accepted.
It is important for every Muslim man and woman to be part of the family.
That is part of our makeup to be part of a family.
So, the Muslims in those days, they would marry a Muslim sister whether she's divorced,
they would marry her, if she's widowed, they would marry her, if she's old.
Now, we have so much Tabaw'wa'a(تبوعه) about, a lot of issues,
first of all polygamy has become unacceptable,
marring an older sister is something that, many brothers see as unacceptable,
married a woman who is divorced or widowed is also avoided,
and this is not the proper, acceptable social life for Muslims.
The, three commanders Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) let's talk about them a little bit.
The first one Zaid Bin Harrissa رضي الله عنه.
Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) is from the tribe of Qudha'a(قضاعة),
Qudha'a(قضاعة) is a Yemeni tribe that moved into Hijaaz(حجاز) and moved into Ash-sham(ألشام).
He was taken by his mother to visit her family,
and they were attacked ambushed by horsemen from Bilqeen(بلقين) another Arab tribe.
So, they took them as slaves and sold them.
I mean that's how it is, in the wild life of pre Islamic Arabia.
They raids and they would take the families
and take the children and just sell them in the market.
So, Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه), they ended up being sold,
Hakeem Ibn Hizaam(حكيم إبن حزام) bought him and gave him as a gift to Khadeejah(خديجه), the wife of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
and she gave him as a gift to Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, Zaid Ibn Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) ended up in the property of Muhammadﷺ in the time of Jahilliyah(جاهلية).
This is before Prophethood.
Rasool Allah ﷺ loved Zaid(زيد), so much.
The father of Zaid(زيد) and his uncle, they knew about his where about,
so they came asking Rasool Allah ﷺ to give them, their son back.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told them fine, how about we give Zaid(زيد), the choice.
Let's leave it to Zaid(زيد).
Zaid(زيد) now is an adult, he can make the choice for himself.
His father was very happy with this, I mean definitely is going to choose us, over slavery.
Rasool Allah ﷺ told Zaid(زيد), Who do you want to stay with.
Zaid(زيد) said: "I want to stay with you." Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله)
I mean this tells us, volumes about the personality and character of Rasool Allah ﷺ,
Zaid(زيد) would rather stay with Rasool Ullah as a slave, then go back with his father.
Rasool Allah ﷺ, immediately said and I free you, and I adopt you as my own son.
And from now on, your name is Zaid Bin Muhammad(زيد بن محمد) and not Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه),
Rasool Allah ﷺ loved him so much.
And he married him to Umm Aimen(أم أيمن), who also was a slave woman,
Rasool Allah ﷺ married her to Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) and they had the child Usamah Bin Zaid(أسامه بن زيد)
and then Rasool Allah ﷺ married Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه), to his own cousin, Zainab Bint Jahash رضي الله عنها.
We talked about this, the marriage did not work out, so he divorced her.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said about Usama(أسامه).
Because when Rasool Allah ﷺ appointed Osama(أسامه) to lead an army,
some of the noble men were not very happy that
Osama(أسامه) who comes from slavery background, should be the leader over them.
Plus Osama(أسامه) was 18 years old very young in age.
So, they talked about it a little bit, the news reach to Rasool Allah ﷺ,
Rasool Ullah said;
إنْ تَطْعَنُوا فِي إِمْرَتِهِ فقَدْكُنْتُمْ تَطْعَنُوْنَ في إمْرَةِ أبِيهِ مِن قَبْلِهِ
وايْمُ اللَّهِ اِنْ كانَ لِخَلِيقًا لِلْإِمارَةِ، وإنْ كانَ لَمِن أحَبِّ النَّاسِ إلَيَّ،
وإنَّ هذا لَمِنْ أحَبِّ النَّاسِ إلَيَّ مِن بَعْدِه
This Hadith(حديث) is in Al-Bukhari(بخاريْ) and Muslim(مسلم).
Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
If you dispute His leadership, you were disputing the leadership of his father before him,
and in the name of Allah, he is appropriate person for leadership
and his father was an appropriate person for leadership.
And he is from among the most beloved people to me,
and his father was from among the most beloved people to me.
There's an additional virtue of Zaid Ibn Harissa(زيد بن حارثه),
and that is, that he is the only companion mentioned by name in Qur'an.
فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا
He is the only Sahabi(صحابي) mentioned by name in Qur'an(قرآن) in the Surat Al-Ahzaab(سورة الأحزاب)
in the book of Allah, that will be recited, until the Day of Judgment.
We are reciting the name of Zaid Bin Harissa رضي الله عنه.
What a great honor for this man.
Jafar Ibn Abi Talib(جعفر ابن ابي طالب), the cousin of Rasool Allah ﷺ, he is older than Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب).
He made Hijrah(هجرة) to Al-Habasha(اَلْحَبَشَه) and he had some great positions over there.
He was the spokesman of the Muslims with An-Najashi(النجاشي)
and he was the one who would teach An-Najashi(النجاشي) about Islam.
He participated in both Hijrah(هجرة) to Al-Habasha(اَلْحَبَشَه) and Hijrah(هجرة) to Madina.
And when he arrived in Khaybar(خيبر), Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
I don't know which causes me more joy, the opening of Khaybar or the arrival of Jafar(جعفر).
And he is the one with two wings as we mentioned before.
Abdullah Bin Rawaha رضي الله عنه, one of the Nuqaba'a(نُقَبَاء)
who gave pledge to Rasool Allah ﷺ in Bay'ah-Tul-Aqabah(بيعة العقبة), he was an excellent poet.
He has a lot of poetry in support of Islam and in defense of Rasool Allah ﷺ and praising him.
There's a Hadith(حديث), I'll read this Hadith(حديث) to you,
عن أبي أُمَامَةَ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ
بَيْنَما أَنَا نَائِمٌ أَتَانِي رَجُلَانِ فَأَخَذَا بِضَبْعَيَّ
فَأَتَيَا بِي جَبَلًا وَعْرًا فَقَالَا : اصْعَدْ ’ فَقُلْتُ: إِنِّي لَا أُطِيقُهُ، فَقَالَا: إِنَّا سَنُسَهِّلُهُ لَكَ
، فَصَعِدْتُ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُ فِي سَوَاءِ الْجَبَلِ فإِذَا أَنَا بأَصْوَاتٍ شَدِيدَةٍ
فَقُلْتُ: مَا هَذِهِ الأَصْوَاتُ؟ قَالُوا: «هَذَا عُوَاءُ أَهْلِ النَّار
Abi Umaymah رضي الله عنه narrates, I heard Rasool Allah ﷺ say when I was asleep.
Two men came to me and they took me to a rugged mountain, and they told me: Climb.
I said: I cannot, they said: We will help you.
We heard some loud voices, screaming, and uproar, I said: What are these voices?
They said: This is the groaning of the people of Hellfire.
ثُمَّ انْطُلِقَ بِي فَإِذَا أَنَا بِقَوْمٍ مُعَلَّقِينَ بِعَرَاقِيبِهِمْ، مُشَقَّقَةٌ أَشْدَاقُهُمْ، تَسِيلُ أَشْدَاقُهُمْ دَمًا
And then we moved on, and I saw people hanging from their tendons
and their mouths are split open and blood is streaming out.
I said: Who are these?
قِيْلَ: هَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ يُفْطِرُونَ قَبْلَ تَحِلَّةِ صَوْمِهِمْ
They told me: These are the people who break their fast before the time, before the, right time.
ثمَّ انْطُلِقَ بي ، فَإذَا أَنَا بِقَوْمٍ أَشَدَّ شَيْءٍ اِنْتِفَاخًا ، وَأَنتَنَهُ رِيْحًا ، وَأَسْوَأُهُ مَنْظَرًا .
And then we moved on and I saw people who were bloated,
and a stench would come out from them, a horrible smell and they had a very ugly Look.
I said: Who are these?
قِيْلَ: هَؤُلَاءِ قَتْلَى الْكُفَّارِ
These are the killed from among the disbelievers.
ثُمَّ انْطُلِقَ بِيْ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِقَوْمٍ أَشَدَّ شَيْءٍ اَنْتَفَاخًا ، وَأَنتَنَهُ رِيْحًا
كَأَنَّ رِيْحَهُمُ الْمَرَاحِيْضُ
قُلْتُ : مَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ ؟ قِيْلَ : هؤلاءِ الزَّانونَ
And then I saw many people who are bloated and stench would come out from them,
and there smell was so horrible it was like toilets.
I said, Who are these? They said, These are the ones who commit fornication and adultery.
ثُمَّ انْطُلِقَ بِيْ’ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِنِسَاءٍ تَنْهَشُ ثَدْيَهُنَّ الْحَيَّاتُ
قُلْتُ : مَا بَالُ هَؤلَاءِ ؟
قِيْلَ : هَؤُلَاءِ يَمْنَعَنَ أَوْلَادَهنَّ أَلْبَانَهُنَّ
ثُمَّ انْطُلِقَ بِيْ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِغِلْمَانٍ يَلْعَبُوْنَ بَيْنَ نَهْرَيْنِ
قُلْتُ : مَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ ؟ قَالَ : هَؤُلَاءِ ذَرَارِيُّ الْمُؤمِنِيْنَ
And then I saw women and snakes were eating from their breasts.
I said, What's wrong with these?
They said: These are the women, who prevent their milk from their children.
They don't breastfeed their infants.
And then we carried on and I saw kids children playing between two rivers.
I said: Who are these? They said these are the children of the believers.
ثُمَّ شُرِفَ بِيْ شَرْفًا ، فَإِذَا أَنَا بِثَلَاثَةٍ يَشْرِبُوْنَ مِنْ خَمْرٍ لَّهُمْ
قُلْتُ : مَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ ؟ قَالَ : هَؤُلَاءِ جعفرٌ ، وزيدٌ ، وابنُ رَواحةَ
And then we climbed a high place and I saw three men drinking wine.
I said: Who are these?
They said: These are Jafar(جعفر), Zaid(زيد) and Ibn Rawaha(إبن رواحة).
And then we went to a higher place and I saw a three men. I said: Who are these?
They said: They Ibrahim(اِبْراهِيْم), Musa(موسى) and Eesa(عيسى) and they are waiting for you.
This Hadith(حديث) was narrated by Ibn Khuzaimah(إبن خزيمه) and Ibn Habban(إبن حبان) and they are Sahih(صحيح).
Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر), and we'll close with this statement, he says;
فَالْمَجْمُوْع عَلَى الْقَوْلَيْنْ اِثْنَا عَشَرَ رَجُلًا وَهَذَا عَظِيْمٌ جِدًّا
أَنْ يَّتَقَاتَلَ جَيْشَانْ مُتَعَادِيَانْ فِيْ الدِّيْنْ،
أَحَدُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْفِئَةْ اَلَّتِيْ تُقَاتِلْ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ الله عِدَّتُهَا ثَلَاثَةُ آلَافْ
وَأُخْرَى كَافِرَةٌ وَعِدَّتُهَا مائة أَلْفِ مُقَاتِلْ
مِنَ الرُّوْمِ مائة أَلْفَ، وَمِنْ نَّصَارَى الْعَرَبْ مائة أَلْفَ
يَتَبَارَزُوْنَ وَيَتَصَاوَلُوْنْ، ثٌمَّ مَعَ هَذَا كُلِّهِ لَا يُقْتَلُ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ إِلَا اثّْنَا عَشَرَ رَجُلاً،
وَقَدْ قُتِلَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِيْنَ خَلْقٌ كَثِيْرْ، هَذَا خَالِدٌ وَحْدَهْ
يَقُوْلَ: لَقَدْ اِنْدَقَّتْ فِيْ يَدِيْ يَوْمَئِذٍ تِسْعَةُ أَسْيَافٍ فَمَا صبرت فِيْ يَدِيْ إِلَّا صَفِيْحَةْ يَمَانِيَةْ،
فَمَاذَا تَرَى قَدْ قَتَلَ بِهَذَهِ الْأَسْيَافِ كُلِّهَا
دَعْ غَيْرُهُ مِّنَّ الْأَبْطَالِ وَالشُّجْعَانِ مِنْ حَمَلَةِ الْقُرْآنْ،
وَقَدْ تَحَكَّمُوْا فِيْ عَبَدَةِ الصُّلْبَانْ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعَائِنُ الرَّحْمن فِيْ ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانْ وَفِيْ كُلِّ أَوَانْ
وَهَذَا مِمَّا يَدْخُلُ فِيْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى
قَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ آَيَةٌ فِي فِئَتَيْنِ الْتَقَتَا
فِئَةٌ تُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَأُخْرَى كَافِرَةٌ يَرَوْنَهُمْ مِثْلَيْهِمْ رَأْيَ الْعَيْنِ
وَاللَّهُ يُؤَيِّدُ بِنَصْرِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِأُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ۝
So, according to these authorities,
the total killed should be 12 men these are the Muslims, who were killed in the Battle of Mu'tah(مَؤتَة).
This battle that looked like a disaster, that look like an inhalation of the Muslims,
only 12 men were killed.
So, Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر) says;
So according to these authorities the total number killed should be 12 men.
Then he says that two armies of opposing faiths
one consisting of those fighting for Allah's cause,
and numbering 3000 men and the other of disbelievers totaling 200,000,
100,000 Romans, and 100,000 Christian Arabs,
could battle together, with the resulting deaths of only 12 Muslims is truly great.
And a large number of unbelievers were killed.
Khalid(خالد) alone stated nine swords were broken in my hand,
and finally only a Yemeni broad sword persisted with me.
How many must he have killed with all those swords,
not to mention all the other brave bearers of Qur'an like him,
who sentenced to death, those crucifix worshippers
upon whom be the curses of the Most Merciful at that time and forever.
This relates to the words of the Almighty,
there was a sign for you in the two sides that clashed,
one side fought for Allah's cause, while the other were unbelievers whom they saw to be twice, as numerous, as themselves.
Yet Allah assists with victory whomever, He pleases.
There is surely a lesson in this for those who have sight.
Al-Imran(ألعمران) verse 12.
This is the end of Ghazwat Mu'tah(غزوة مؤتة).
We move on to some Sarayah(سراية) that occurred in that year,
there's a Sariyyah(سرية) lead by Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) and this is the first appointment for Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص),
you remember Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) became Muslim with Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد).
So, he's just recently embraced Islam.
Rasool Allah ﷺ very soon after their Islam put them in these positions of leadership because they were capable men.
I mean, Khalid Ibn Walid(خالد ابن وليد) and Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) were born leaders, they had the capability
and Rasool Allah ﷺ recognized in them,
and immediately started giving them this authority to promote the religion of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
This battle was called Dhaat-Es-Salasil(ذات السَلاسِل) because of the area which this occurred
near to well or river or source of water called Dhaat-Es-Salasil(ذات السَلاسِل).
Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) he was sent into the land of Balli(بلي), this is an Arab tribe.
They are his maternal uncle's, so Rasool Allah ﷺ sent him to them.
However, they gathered a force to fight and because of the numbers of this force,
Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) asked for reinforcements,
so Rasool Allah ﷺ sent him Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة), among some Muhajireen(مهاجرين).
When the reinforcement arrived, Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) said: I am the Ameer(أمير),
Muhajiroon(مهاجرون) said: No, Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) is the Ameer(أمير),
Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) said: No, I am the Ameer(أمير),
because Rasool Allah ﷺ appointed me to lead and you just came as a reinforcement.
Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) rather than argue on this issue.
He said: The last advice that Rasool Allah ﷺ gave me is;
فَتطاوعا فَلَا تَخْتَلِفَا
Agree with each other and do not disagree with each other.
And Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) was a very soft and lenient man, he said: You are the leader.
At nighttime Amr Bin Aas رضي الله عنه had wet dream, Ihtalaam(إحتلام).
When he woke up it was very cold rather than bathing and that is the requirement, he just made Wudhoo(وضؤ).
Rasool Allah ﷺ was told about that, when they returned.
Amr Bin Al-Aas(عَمْرُو بِن اَلْعَاص) said: I feared for my safety this water is going to kill me
it was very cold, so I took precautions for my safety
and that's why I just made Wudhoo(وضؤ).
Rasool Allah ﷺ smiled and didn't say anything, so some scholars use this as an evidence
that if there is a risk and the water is too cold and the weather is too cold
then one can make Tayam'mum(تيمم) or make Wudhoo(وضؤ), rather than bathing,
because requirement is Ghussl(غسل).
This is the Sariyyah(سرية) of Dhaat-Es-Salasil(ذات السَلاسِل).
And then there is Sariyyah(سرية) of Abi Obaidah(أبي عبيدة) and Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر) mentions it here
and he says I mentioned it here because Al-Bayhaqi(ألبيهقي), mentions it in this chronological order
even though, this Sariyyah(سرية) must have occurred before Sulh-Al-Hudaybiyyah(صلح الحديبية)
because Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) was sent out to the Leyarsud Eera Quraish(ليرسد عيرة قريش)
to spy on the caravans of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) and we know that during the time of Hudaybiyyah(حديبية),
there was a truce and now there's a truce, so how could this happen.
Now, I don't recall if I have covered this Sariyyah(سرية) before,
I'm sure I talked about it in one of my lectures but I'm not sure if it's in Seerah(سيرة) or not
I repeat it here briefly, just because Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر) mentions it in this position.
They were sent to Saif-Al-Bahr(سيف ألبحر).
And the appointment was to gather reconnaissance on the caravans of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ)
they ran out of food, so Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) would give them one date a day.
When this narration was heard later on, by one of the Taba'een(تابعين).
He said: And what would one date a day do?
The one who was telling them this story said;
When the dates ran out then we knew the value of one date a day.
Now, you're talking about what would one date a day, do for us.
I mean, what kind of meal is that
yes it's insignificant but we knew how valuable and significant it is
when we ran out of dates and we had nothing.
Qais Bin Sa'ad Bin Ubadah(قيس بن سعد بن عبادة) was with them, he borrowed some camels from one Mushrik(مشرك).
He told him: I'm going to pay you.
And he would slaughter for them five camels a day until, Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) banned him and prohibited him, from carrying on.
Qais(قيس) was very generous, Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) stopped him
because he's going to put himself in big trouble Qais(قيس) didn't have any money.
How are you going to pay back for all of these camels that he's slaughtering for us.
So, he stopped him, by force.
Now, they had nothing.
Allahعَزّوجَلّ because these men are Mujahideen(مجاهدين) Fee-Sabeel-Lillah(فِي سَبيل الله),
Allahعَزّوجَلّ provided them with Rizq(رزق).
They saw what appeared like a hill, a hill of sand, a sandone.
When they came close, it was a whale, a dead whale.
They said: We cannot eat from this because it's dead.
And then Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) told them; We are the messengers of the Messenger of Allah.
We are Fee-Sabeel-Lillah(فِي سَبيل الله) and it is a necessity, so let's eat from it.
They were very hungry and they started eating from this whale.
In fact, what they did they set camp right there next to the whale,
for an entire month, feeding off this whale.
Every day they would eat from it.
One of them said, Until the flesh on our stomach started to fold
meaning their stomachs were so tight, tummies were so tight
because first of all they were very fit and then also they suffered a certain period of malnutrition
because of having no food for some time and in the desert, very exhausted.
Now, they were eating every day daily, they're eating meat, meat, meat, from this whale
until, the flesh on their stomach started to fold again.
How many were they?
Listen here, they were eating for an entire month and how many were they?
Three Hundred, 300 men eating daily, this must have been a huge whale
sperm whale or a blue whale Allah Ho-Alam(الله اعلم) but it was one of those big whales.
Abu Obaidah(ابوعبيدة) wanted to do experiment with the size of this whale.
So, he stood up a rib bone from this whale, and he had the tallest camel,
and the tallest man ride on this tallest camel and go under this rib bone,
which was set like an arc and it could not touch it.
It must have been huge because camel is pretty high animal.
And the narrator says we will tear out pieces of flesh as big as a bull
and then they would, they would dry some of this meat.
فَجَعَلنَا مِنْهُ وَ شَائِقْ
They would dry this meat, they would cut off pieces, or slabs from this meat
and just have them in the sun to dry, in order to preserve it otherwise it would rot,
and they enjoyed their time very much next to this whale.
Rizq(رزق) from Allahعَزّوجَلّ that was sent for them.
When they went back to Madina, they told Rasool Ullah about this story
because they had they had some doubt whether we were allowed to eat it or not.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ said: That is Rizq(رزق), that was sent to you by Allah
have you brought some of it with you, so that I can have some of it.
Rasool Allah ﷺ wanted to have some of this blessed Rizq(رزق) that was sent to them by Allahعَزّوجَلّ
and they said: Yes, and they gave some of it as a gift to Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Rasool Allah ﷺ climbed the mimber(ممبر) and after praising Allahعَزّوجَلّ, he said;
I wish to send some of you forth, to foreign kings.
Do not dispute among yourselves, about me, as Bannu Israel(بنوإسرائيل) did about Jesus son of Marry.
The Muhajiroon رضي الله عنهم said;
O Messenger of Allah, We will never disagree about you, over anything order us to go forth.
Now dear listeners does it strike you here, how come Rasool Allah ﷺ would tell them,
do not dispute among yourselves over me.
When he's just sending letters to the foreign kings.
This letter affair is a major issue, it is the serious affair.
This is a challenge to the international politics and sovereignty of the day.
Rasool Allah ﷺ will be sending the kings of the world, telling them to follow him,
telling them to handover the rule from creation, over creation to ruling with the law of Allahعَزّوجَلّ.
So, it was a major step and an important event,
and Rasool Allah ﷺ wanted to warn the Muslims that this affair should not cause a dispute among you,
like Bannu Israel(بنوإسرائيل) disputed about Eesa(عيسى) son of Marry.
See because Bannu Israel(بنوإسرائيل) in the time of Eesa(عيسى) were living under kings.
They will not living semi autonomous and independent life that the Arabs were living.
They were living under tyrants, they were living under strict rule of kings
and Christianity was changed because of kings
and Eesa عليه السّلام they attempted to kill him because of Kings
and the disputes that arose between Banni Israel(بني اسرائيل) and the different sects
were because of the interference and the involvement of kings.
And now, Rasool Allah ﷺ will be writing to these kings who are not very different than the kings of yesterday.
So, the Muhajiroon(مهاجرون) said;
O Rasool Ullah, We will never disagree about you over anything order us to go forth.
And it was a very risky business it was a risky thing, for a Sahabi(صحابي)
to go alone enter into the territory of these kingdoms
and deliver a letter to the king telling him to follow Muhammadﷺ, it's not an easy thing.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ was giving the Sahabah(صحابه) a warning.
Rasool Allah ﷺ appointed Dahya Al-Khalifah Al-Kalbi(دحية ألخليفه ألكلبي) to carry his letter
to the great emperor of the day Haracul Azeem Ar-Room(هراقل عظيم الروم), Heraclus,
The Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
By the way, I'm using the title Eastern Roman Empire.
Even though you'd find that most of the contemporary sources
would mention it, as the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine
but I'm not going to use the word Byzantine because that's not the word that they used to refer to themselves
and it's not the title that the Muslims used to call them.
The Muslims used to call them Rome( روم) and they used to call themselves Romans.
So, where does this Byzantine thing come from?
Apparently it's only a century or two centuries old.
The name was not used before that.
So, I'm referring to it as the Eastern Roman Empire in the beginning it was one Empire.
And then they split into the Western Roman Empire, capital Rome in Italy
and the Eastern Roman Empire, the capital is Constantinople, present day Istanbul.
A little background Heracles, Heracul(هرقل) was a military commander from Carthage.
Carthage is in Tunis(تيونس) present day Tunisia and he became Emperor
and supreme military commander of the Roman Empire, in year 610 AD.
He became Emperor in a time when the Roman Empire was going through very difficult time.
A time when the Persian Empire was pounding them
and they were losing bit after bit, city after city, to the Persians,
Persians were rolling.
And the Romans were suffering defeat after defeat.
Heraclius was a strong emperor, a good military commander.
However, the Empire itself was falling back, in 613 Damascus fell,
a year later Jerusalem fell, and the Persians took over the True Cross.
What is this true cross?
This True Cross is a wooden cross believed by the Christians
to be the cross on which Eesa عليه السّلام was crucified.
Obviously as Muslims we don't believe that to be the case.
But the Romans believe it to be the most important relic of Christendom.
By the way, in this Seerah(سيرة) of Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر), there's a translation by Professor Trevor Legasic.
I Sometimes, referred to his translation just to check my translation of the material in Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر),
and it's riddled with mistakes.
However, I have not brought that up in the past because
I'm assuming that Trevor Legasic is not a Muslim,
so it's expected for someone not coming from a Muslim background to make many mistakes.
However, it is interesting to find out that he even made a mistake in the translation of the True Cross.
Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر) mentions it in Arabic, As-leeb Al-Azam(ألصليب الأعظم), the great cross
and the Legasic translates it literally as the great cross.
Now, I don't believe that the Christians call it the great cross
but they call it a True Cross or the Holy Cross.
So, it's quite interesting here to find that he even makes a mistake in something
that is out of his culture, the culture of Christianity.
And mistranslates the term here.
What we're talking about here is not just the cross we're talking about the True Cross.
So, the Persians took over this most important relic of the Christians.
In year 621 Heraclius himself would lead the campaign.
And this is something that for a very long time Roman emperors would not be involved in
but he led the army himself and started fighting back against the Persians
and he took over one city after another until, not only he gained back what was taken from him
but he invaded Persia in its own land and he started taking parts of Persia.
غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ َ ۝
فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ ۝ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ ۗ
لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ بَعْدُ
Allahعَزّوجَلّ talks about this in Qur'an and I already mention this story.
This story when we were talking about the Da'wah(دعوة) in Makkah.
Qur'an says that the Romans were defeated but they will win.
فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ
Biz'e Sinein(بضع سنين) is between three and nine years.
So, even though it seemed impossible that the Romans would win because they were losing one part after another.
Now, the roll back started and Heraclius was defeating the Persians
and he was able to win Damascus back and Jerusalem also and he entered into Persia itself.
So, the campaign took him a few years.
Heraclius in, year 630 reaching the height of his power.
He fulfilled his vow to march barefoot as a pious Christian pilgrimage into Jerusalem, because
he made a vow that if he is given victory then he will make pilgrimage to Jerusalem barefoot.
So, in year 630 he fulfilled that vow and he marched barefoot as a pious Christian pilgrim into Jerusalem
and he restored the True Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
He was given a grand reception with people laying out carpets for him to walk on and saluting him with flowers, and cheers,
and there was a grand celebration organized for the return of the True Cross to its place.
And this is when he receives the letter from Rasool Ullah.
And this would start an interesting series of events,
"A fall from grace".
He would suffer defeat, after defeat until, he loses Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon.
Eventually the entire Eastern Roman Empire would fall to the Muslims centuries later,
the closing chapter was the fall of Constantinople to Muhammad Al Fateh(محمدالفاتح), the Ottoman Empire.
When Heracul(هراقل) received the letter from Rasool Allah ﷺ.
The letter was not hand delivered by Dahya Al-Kalbi(دحية ألكلبي).
Dahya Al-Kalbi(دحية ألكلبي), he is one of the companions of Rasool Allah ﷺ from the tribe of Kalb(كلب)
and he was described as being a very handsome man.
And that's why, they say when Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) would come to Rasool Allah ﷺ
he would come to him in the form of Dahya Al-Kalbi(دحية ألكلبي), he was very handsome.
Did that have something to do with Rasool Allah ﷺ, choosing him as an ambassador, Allah Ho-Alam(الله اعلم).
But anyway, he did not hand delivered to Heracul(هراقل) but
the letter was given to one of the governors of Heracul(هراقل)
and this governor in turn, handed it over to Heracul(هراقل).
When Heracul(هراقل) read the letter, he told one of his deputies,
قَلِّبْ لِي الشَامْ ظَهْرًا لِبَطَنْ
I want you to turn Syria upside down, until you bring me a man from this man's tribe, from this man's people.
He wanted someone from the people of Muhammadﷺ.
He told his deputy, I want you to turn Syria upside down.
So, the forces of Heracul(هراقل) were searching in Ash-sham(ألشام)
until, they found Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان) and the merchants who were with him from Quraish(قريش) in Ghaz'za(غزة) in Falasteen(فلسطين).
So, they stormed in, and they asked them where are you from?
They said: We're Arabs.
Where are you from? They gave them the details. They said: Come with us.
So, they were summoned in front of Heraclius, they ended up meeting the Emperor himself.
Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان) said, And he's now narrating the story.
He said: My companions were told to stand behind me.
Because Heraclius asked: Who is his closest relative from among you?
They said: Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان)
He said: What is your relationship to him? He said, He is my cousin.
Now, he is not literally the cousin of Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان) but he was the closest from among the group.
Because Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان)
his name is Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان)
Ibn Harb Ibn Umayyah, Ibn Abd Ush-Shams Ibn Abd Manaf(ابوسفيان اِبن حرب اِبن أمية اِبن عبدالشمس اِبن عبدالمناف).
And Rasool Allah ﷺ is Muhammad Ibn AbdAllah Ibn Abdul Muttalib Ibn Hashim Ibn Abd Manaaf(محمد اِبن عبدالله اِبن عبدالمطلب اِبن هاشم اِبن عبدالمناف).
So, they meet in Abdul Manaaf(عبدالمناف).
So, the grandfathers are cousins,
Heracul(هرقل) said: I want you to stand behind him, behind Abu Sufiyan(ابوسفيان).
And if he lies, I want you to tell me so, make a sign.
So, he didn't have them stand next to Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان),
in order not to embarrass them,with refuting Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان), in front of his face
but stand behind him and make me a sign, a gesture, if he lies.
Heracul(هرقل) wants to confirm the information.
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) says I've never met a man Adha(أدها)
who was more astute and intelligent than then this man.
So, Heracul(هرقل) is going to question Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان).
Now, Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) says about this, he said:
I knew that they would not refute me even if I did lie.
They were loyal to him but I was a man of dignity and honor
and would have been ashamed to lie.
I also knew that if I did it was likely that they would report it, to others
and that people would talk about me in Makkah, so I did not lie to him.
These men even in their Jahilliyah(جاهلية) they had dignity and honor and virtues,
he didn't want to lie.
It says that Heracul(هراقل) started with a question, he said;
Who's Muhammadﷺ.?
And Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said;
هُوَ سَاحِرٌ كَذَّابْ
He's a magician and he is a liar.
What did Heracul(هراقل) say? He said;
اِنِّيْ لَا اُرِيْدُ شَتْمَه’ وَلَكِنْ كَيْفَ نَصَبَ
He said: I'm not interested in hearing curses, I want you to tell me about him.
Heracul(هراقل) wants an objective answer, leave these curses aside,
I'm not interested in hearing your curses, give me some valid news!
Give me valid information! Don't give me curses.!
So, the questioning began and let's see what questions Heracul(هراقل) had in mind.
First question what sort of family lineage has he among you?
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان): His ancestry is a distinguished one.
Was any of his forefather is a king? No.
Has anyone among you come out with a similar claim before him? No
Do the majority of his followers belong to the aristocracy or are the poor people?
They are poor.
Do they increase or decrease?
They are on the increase.
Does anyone have them turn away from his religion after having embraced it? No.
Have you ever known him to lie before he started to make this claim.? No.
Is he given to treachery? No.
We however, have an armistice agreement with him,
for the time being and we do not know what he will do during this period.
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said: This is the only thing, I was able to sneak in.
The only thing he was able to say against Muhammadﷺ without being a liar was this.
He said: Well he never committed treachery before
but now we are in the truce and we don't know what he's going to do in the future.
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان), he wants to speak against Muhammadﷺ but he is bound by his word not to lie.
Heracul(هراقل) said: Have you ever fought him?
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان), Yes.
How did you fighting go?
Sometimes he wins, and sometimes we win.
What sorts of commandments does he give you?
He tells us to worship Allah alone without ascribing divinity to anyone else.
He tells us not to follow our fathers.
He commands us to pray and to be truthful and chaste and kind to our fellow human beings.
Heracul(هراقل) said: You have mentioned that he enjoys distinguished ancestry.
And this is the case with all prophets and messengers.
Since, you say that no one else among you has made similar claims.
I cannot say that he is imitating anyone.
You also denied that any of his forefathers was a king.
Which means that he is not the claimant of a kingdom.
You also say that he was not known to tell a lie before he came out, with this message.
Well I know that he would not start by lying to Allah.
You have stated that the poor are his followers
and this is the case with all messengers from Allah.
The fact that his followers are on the increase,
again confirms a phenomenon which is always associated with true faith, until it is completed.
You have also mentioned that no one turns away from his religion after having embraced it.
This is a characteristic of faith, when its light shines in people's hearts.
You also deny that he is treacherous and no messenger of Allah, was a treacherous person.
You also said that he calls on you to believe in the oneness of Allah
and to pray and to be truthful and chaste.
If what you have told me is true then he will have the supremacy right here where I stand.
I knew that his time was due, but I did not think that he would belong to your people.
Had it been in my power,
I would certainly have taken the trouble to meet him, and to wash his feet.
In these words of Heracul(هرقل), we see the intelligence and we see the understanding of history,
and understanding of religion, and understanding of the laws of Allah
and understanding, to the distinguishing traits of truth from falsehood.
Who is a true prophet and who is not.
And then Heracul(هرقل) is saying something and he's telling these words to who?
To Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان), the man who was leading the war against Muhammadﷺ.
Heraculus, the Roman Emperor himself is telling Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان)
that if I meet Muhammadﷺ, I would wash his feet.
Now, these words had an effect on Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان).
The letter was brought, and was read
From Muhammadﷺ, the Messenger of Allah to Heraculus, the great one of the Romans.
Peace be to those who follow the guidance.
I call you to believe in Islam.
Adopt Islam and you will be safe, and Allah will give you double the reward.
If you decline, you shall bear responsibility of the Aresiyeen(أريسين).
The Aresiyeen(أريسين) as Ibn Hajar( ابن حجَر) says; Are the farmers.
The Romans were a farming people,
so Rasool Allah ﷺ is telling him that you would bear responsibility for their disbelief.
After the letter was read, Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said;
فَلَمَّا قَالَ مَا قَالَ، وَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ الْكِتَابِ كَثُرَ عِنْدَهُ الصَّخَبُ
وَارْتَفَعَتِ الأَصْوَاتُ وَأُخْرِجْنَا، فَقُلْتُ لِأَصْحَابِي حِينَ أُخْرِجْنَا لَقَدْ أَمِرَ أَمْرُ ابْنِ أَبِي كَبْشَةَ
إِنَّهُ يَخَافُهُ مَلِكُ بَنِيْ الْاَصْفَرْ فَمَا زِلْتُ مُوْقِنًا اَنَّه’ سَيَظْهَر حَتَّى اَدْخَلَ الله عَلَيْهَ الْاِسْلَامْ
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said, When he said, what he said and he finished reading the letter,
the noises became loud, so we were driven out.
I then told my companions when we were driving out.
This Ibn Abu Kabsha(اِبن أبو كَبْشَة), this is the name that they used to call Muhammadﷺ with,
this Ibn Abu Kabsha(اِبن أبو كَبْشَة) affair has got to the point where he even scares the kings of those of pale skin.
Thereafter, I was convinced that he would prevail and eventually Allah drew me into Islam
because he saw that, that the Romans themselves were worried about Muhammadﷺ.
And the these are the People of the Scripture.
These are the people who understand about Prophethood.
Let's look at the letter and some comments from Ibn Hajar( ابن حجَر).
What title did Rasool Allah ﷺ use to refer to Heracul(هراقل).
He didn't say the Roman Emperor, he said: Azeem Ar-Room(عظيم الروم).
Ibn Hajar(ابن حجَر) says;
فِيْهِ عَدُوْلٌ عنْ ذِكْرِهِ بِالْمُلْكَ اَوْ الْإِمْرَةْ ؛ لَأَنَّه’ مَعْزُوْلٌ بِحُكْمِ الْاِسْلَامْ ،
لَكِنَّه’ لَمْ يُخْلِهِ مِنْ إِكْرَامِ لِمَصْلَحَةِ التألُّفْ
He was referred to as, among the great one of the Romans.
Ibn Hajar(ابن حجَر) says;
he was not given the title of King or leader because he is discharged, according to the rule of Islam.
Islam does not recognize his kingdom,
and does not recognize his authority, and does not recognize the authority of any disbeliever.
Ibn Hajar(ابن حجَر) says;
But he was given a title, a cordial title of the Great One of the Romans.
And then in the letter it says; Peace be to those who follow guidance.
اَلسَّلَامْ مَنِّ التَّبَعِ الْهُدَى مُحَصِلُ الْجَوَابْ اَنَّه’ لَمْ يَبْدَاِلْكَافِرْ بِاسَّلَامِ قَصْدًا
وَاِنْ كَانَ لَفظُ يُشْعُرْ بِهْ لَكِنَّه’ لَمْ يَدْخُلْ فِيْ الْمُرَادِ لِاَنَّه’ لَيْسَ مِمَّا لِتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى فَلَمْ يُسَلِّمْ عَلَيْهْ
Rasool Allah ﷺ did not give him Salaam(سلام) directly
but said: Salaam(سلام) on those who follow guidance.
And since they do not follow guidance than Rasool Allah ﷺ did not give them Salaam(سلام).
And that is because Salaam(سلام) is not given to the unbelievers.
And also Ibn Hajar(ابن حجَر) mentions that Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said;
وَلَقَدْ رَاَيْتُ جَبْهَتَهُ تَتَهَادَرُ عرَقًا مِنْ کرَبِ الصَّحِيْفَهْ
When he was reading, the letter of Muhammadﷺ.
When the letter of Muhammadﷺ was read to Heraculus,
Abu Sufiyan(أبوسُفيان) said: I saw sweat falling down his forehead.
That was how heavy the letter of Rasool Allah ﷺ was.?
He knew that, this was the truth, but he did not want to follow it.
And there's a story that is mentioned in the books of Seerah(سيرة).
That Heracul(هراقل) called his patriarchs and told them that we should become Muslim.
This is the Prophet that we were fore told about in our books.
And they all roared, and they became angry and then Heracul(هرقل) told them, calm down.
I just wanted to test your faith.
So, Heracul(هراقل) wanted to become Muslim but when he saw the reaction of his people,
he told them I was just testing you.
And in another narration it says; He was telling this to, the one who carried the letter.
He told him if I knew that I would be able to reach to Muhammadﷺ I would have done so.
But he feared for his kingdom
and therefore obviously, his intentions don't help him because he did not truly become Muslim.
This is the story of the letter to Heracul(هرقل).
The next letter was sent to Kisra(كسرى), the Persian Emperor.
And this letter was sent with Abdullah Bin Hudafah(عبدالله بن حذافة).
According to one narration, the letter was read in front of Kisra(كسرى).
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent from Muhammad(محمد)
the Messenger of Allah to Kisra(كسرى), the great one of the Persians.
Peace be upon him, who follows right guidance believes in Allah and His Messenger
and declares that there is no deity, but Allah, the only God, who has no partners
and that Muhammadﷺ is His servant and Messenger.
I wish to convey to you Allah's call, for I am Allah's Messenger to all mankind
sent with the task of warning all those who are alive that doom will befall the unbelievers.
If you submit to Allah, you will be safe.
If you refuse you shall bear the responsibility for the Megians.
Kisra(كسرى) was angry.
He said; How dare, he write this sort of letter to me, when he is my slave.
And then he ordered his governor of Yemen
to send two able bodied men, to arrest Muhammadﷺ.
Look at the arrogance and the pride and look at how they use to view the Arabs as their slaves.
Since, they are not people who have a great kingdom like them.
So, he sent this letter to Bazaan(باذان), who was a Persian ruler of Yemen.
Yemen at that time was invaded by the Persians.
So, Bazaan(باذان) sent two men one of them his name is Abaadaway(عباداوي) and the other one kharkharaa(خَرخَرة), to arrest Muhammadﷺ.
They did not march forth in an army, they just went alone.
The reputation that, they had was sufficient, they did not need to show force and to go out with soldiers.
Just the two of them alone travelled.
When they reach to At-Taef(اَلطَّائِف), they asked where was Muhammad(محمد)?
They told them, he is in Madina and the people of At-Taef(اَلطَّائِف) and Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) were very happy,
they said: That's it, this is the end of the Muslims.
These two men, they came to Madina, they delivered their instructions to Muhammadﷺ.
They said: Khusroo(خسرو), Kisra(كسرى), the King of Kings,
Shahanshah(شهنشاه) has written to Bazaan(باذان), the king of Yemen,
commanding him to send us to take you, to him.
If you comply, Bazaan(باذان) will write to the King of Kings, interceding on your behalf.
This will spare you a great deal of trouble.
If you reject his order, you know how powerful he is?
He is sure to destroy you and your people, as well as your country.
Rasool Allah ﷺ answered back and told them, who ordered you to shave your beard.
They have, their beard shaven and Rasool Allah ﷺ disliked that,
and they had long mustaches, so Rasool Allah ﷺ told them,
who ordered you to shave your beards.?
They said, Our Lord.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: But my Lord has commanded me to wear a beard and to trim my mustache.
And then he told them to wait until, the next day.
This particular narration here,
is the narration from Seerah(سيرة) and it's not the narration from Hadith(حديث).
Next day when they came Rasool Allah ﷺ told them.
اِنَّ رَبِّيْ قَدْ قَتَلَ رَبَّكُمْ الَّيْلَ
My Lord has killed your lord this night.
They said: Do you realize, what you're saying,
your arrest has been ordered for something much more trivial, than this.
Do you still wish us to write this down and inform King Badaan(باذان) of what you have just said.?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Yes.
Tell him, also on my behalf that my religion and my kingdom will replace that of Kisra(كسرى) and will sweep all before it.
Tell him also that, if he accepts Islam, I will give him what he has now under his authority,
and will make him a ruler in the area, he now governs.
And then he gave them a gift and ordered them to leave.
Whenever, a delegation received the tradition is that you give them something as a gift.
Like we just saw before they told Rasool Allah ﷺ what you're saying is very dangerous
to claim that Kisraa(كسرى) has been killed is very dangerous.
I mean, we have instructions to arrest you for something less, and this crime is very grave.
Do you know the consequences of what you saying; Rasool Allah ﷺ told them; Yes.
Go and, also go and tell him this, that my kingdom will take over his.
They went back to Bazaan(باذان) and Bazaan(باذان) said; These words are not the words of a King.
These are words of a Prophet but let's wait and see.
Let's wait until, we see if there's any news that will reach about Kisraa(كِسرى).
A while later, because it takes a long time for a message to be dispatched.
A while later they received information that Kisraa(كِسرى) was killed the same exact night
that was told by Rasool Allah ﷺ, Bazaan(باذان) became Muslim.
He knew that, this was a miracle from Allah and this is Rasool Allah ﷺ, so he became Muslim,
and that was the beginning of the spread of Islam in Yemen.
This new Kisra(كسرى) that is now ruling, he's the one who killed his father.
He sent a letter to Bazaan(باذان) telling him,
that I've killed my father because of what he has done to our noble men
and I want you to stop doing anything regarding the Prophet,
whom my father sent you a letter to arrest.
Kisra(كسرى) when he received the letter of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
What did he do? He tore it apart.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said;
مَزق الله مُلكا
Allah will tear apart his kingdom and that is what happened.
The Muslims conquered the entire kingdom of the Persian Empire, the Empire of Kisra(كِسرى).
The next letter was sent to Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس), the ruler of Egypt
and this letter was sent with Hatib Ibn Abi Balta(حاطب إبن أبي بلتى).
The letter read,
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent,
from Muhammad Ibn Abdellah(محمد ابن عبدالله) to Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس), the great of the Copts.
Peace be to those who follow right guidance.
I wish to convey to you the message of Islam accept Islam and you will be safe,
accept it and Allah will double your reward.
Should you turn your back on it you will bear the responsibility for the Copts.
People of the Book! Let us come to a fair agreement that we shall not worship anyone but Allah,
and that we will never ascribe divinity to anyone else.
And that none of us will give others the status of Lord alongside Allah.
If they refuse, say to them, bear witness that we submit ourselves to Allah.
Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس) said: I have questions for you
and you'd like you to help me reach understanding.
Haatib(حاطب) said, Please ask.
Al-Muqaocus( ألمقوقس) said, Tell me about your master, is he not a Prophet?
Hatib(حاطب) said: He is indeed.
Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس) said: Then why if he is so, why did they not pray to have his people destroyed?
Since, they evicted him from his country to another.
He said: Since he's a Prophet,
Why did he make Dua(دُعَا) to Allah to destroy the people of Makkah,
when they have driven him out of Makkah.
Haatib(حاطب) said: Take Jesus, the son of Mary
do you not bear witness that he is the Messenger of Allah.?
Al-Muqaocus( ألمقوقس) said: Yes indeed I do.
Haatib(حاطب) said: Well, what about him.?
When his people took him and wanted to crucify him.
Could he not have prayed for the destruction of his people,
when Allah raised him up to the lower heaven.?
Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس) said: You are a wise man, who has come from the wise man.
These are presents I'm dispatching with you to Muhammadﷺ.
And I am sending with you a guard who will conduct you to safe haven.
So, his response was polite but he didn't become Muslim.
He sent with Hatib(حاطب), according to some narrations two and according to some narrations three slave girls
very valuable and precious slave girls from among the copts.
One of them was Mariya(ماريه), whom Rasool Allah ﷺ married and she gave birth to Ibrahim(ابراهيم),
the son of Muhammadﷺ who died in young age.
The other one was given to Hassan Bin Thabit(حسان بن ثابت).
And he also gave Muhammadﷺ his Baghla(بغلة), mule, her name is Duldul(دلدل)
and he gave Muhammadﷺ some other valuable gifts.
These are the letters that were sent.
There is also a letter that was sent to An-Najashi(النجاشي)
and another letter sent to the king of Ghassan(غسان).
These are the letters that Rasool Allah ﷺ sent to the kings in the surrounding area.
And we have seen what the response was.
The response was different,
The response of Kisra(كسرى) was the worst and the response of An-Najashi(النجاشي) was the best.
Since, he accepted Islam and then you have Heracul(هراقل) and Al-Muqaocus(ألمقوقس)
They were polite but they did not become Muslim.
We ask Allahعَزّوجَلّ to benefit us all.
وَصَلَّى الله عَلى سَيَّدِنَا محمد وَعَلى اَلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْرًا