Biography- Prophetic Biography- Understanding the Prophet's Biography- (Lesson 43-57): The Sojourn of the Prophet at Abu Ayyub's House; Bringing about Reconciliation and Equality. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Recollection of the Prophet s mission in Mekka and Medina The Prophet s mission in Mekka al-mukarramah w as to solidify the pillars of Islamic belief. Thus, he consolidated the pow er of faith in the souls of his companions and the pow er of glorifying Allah the Almighty; he acquainted them w ith Allah and the Doomsday; he induced them to take on and discharge responsibilities in the previous lesson I mentioned many of the objectives accomplished by the companions in Mekka al-mukarramah. In Medina al-munaw arah, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, added to the pow er of faith the right to pow er, thus building up a strong Islamic society. What w ere the elements of strength in this society? Today, w e are in the utmost need of the civil achievements that turned Muslims to an entity that enjoyed the right to pow er in addition to the already enjoyed pow er of the truth. At the meccan stage the construction w as spiritual; w hereas in Medina Muslims constructed a strong civil society w ith an army ready to defend their faith w ith might. I mentioned in the previous lesson that the first steps taken at this stage by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, aimed at the reconciliation betw een tw o big tribes living in Medina: Al-Aw s and Al-Khazraj. We cannot confront a strong enemy supported by the w hole w orld except w ith a cohesive Islamic society. Thus, w e have to start w ith the conciliation w ithin all the layers and segments of this society. That is w hat the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, started w ith and the current denomination of such a line of action w ould be "national reconciliation". This is a must in order to be able to face a strong, violent, arrogant enemy that ruins everything and does not know mercy for w oman or child, according to w hat you hear and see. The next stage is equality and indiscrimination among individuals and groups. How? Equality is a must. "Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he w ho is) the most righteous of you." "All of you are sons of Adam, and Adam is of dust." "People are equal like the teeth of a comb." (al-hujurat, 49:13) [at-tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, from Abu Hurairah] [al-daylami, from Sahel bin Sad) No Islamic society w ill be strong unless it applies know ledge and actions as measurement of value; judging, firstly, according to know ledge and, secondly, to achievements, and putting aside values such as descent, pow er, charm, cleverness and w ealth.
It is said that one of the follow ers, called Ahnaf ibn al-qays, w as short, dark-colored, crippled, hollow -eyed, w ith a tilted chin and high cheek bones. He indeed had quite a share of rather ugly features. Yet, he w as the master of his people 100 thousand sw ords w ere ready to back up his anger, not inquiring about the reason for it. He w ould refuse to drink w ater if he knew that it w ould compromise his nobleness. Thus, the thing the Prophet started w ith on his w ay to establishing a strong Islamic society w as conciliation. The second thing w as to assert equality among the believers, w ith no exception. It found its expression on the day the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left Quba and arrived at Medina. The Ansar (Supporters), family after family, clan after clan, w ould invite the Prophet to stay at their respective homes. He said: "Leave it (to his camel); it is directed." Had he accepted the invitation of any family or clan, he w ould have conferred distinction upon them. When you single out one of your sons, you distinguish him. Try to be fair w ith your children. If you have to choose one, then let it be through draw ing lots. Discrimination in the modern era Everybody w ho came into the company of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, thought that they w ere the closest to him. Yet a society in w hich there are citizens of the first class, and others of the second class, and the third, the fourth, and the fifth... this is discrimination from w hich the w orld is suffering today. So w hat is discrimination? I am prepared to say that all human beings may be classified in tw o w ays only: according to the human classification and the racial classification. Who is a racist? He is the one w ho considers himself distinguished from those around him: he has exceptional rights, he is exempt from the duties other people have, he alone shall eat, inhabit, enjoy life, buy w hat he desires of the most expensive things, build his glory upon the ruins of others, accumulate his w ealth upon their poverty, build his life and security upon their death, his glory upon their humiliation. Such is a racist. What w e suffer from the West today is racism. They treat their ow n citizens in a most exquisite w ay and they treat other countries' citizens in a w ay fit for monsters. They use destructive w eapons that exterminate people and preserve stones. A nation w ith people of tw o categories, the strong and the w eak, w ill not prosper. People must be equal like the teeth of a comb. "No Arab w ill be favoured over foreigner, or red over black, except in taqw ah." [al-tabarani, from Ibn Sad] "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, w ere to commit theft, I w ould cut off her hand." [Agreed upon] Such is the society of justice and equality w hich makes us stronger than our enemy. In this w ay, w e can confront them; in this w ay, w e can stand in one row ; in this w ay, they cannot break through us. "Leave it to the camel; it is being directed." Until it knelt dow n. We find in this scene respect for everybody and insistence on indiscrimination. His choice of Abu Ayyub s house w as for the sole reason that it w as the nearest to w here the camel knelt no discrimination and no embarrassment. Let me give you an example: You w ant your son to be a doctor. You send him to the most expensive of schools and get him the best tutors. At your shop you have a young employee w ho asks your permission to leave an hour earlier to join a night school w here he studies for his degree; you refuse to let him go. You are a racist; even if you pray and fast. When you treat people arrogantly, in a superior manner, w hen you w ant for your children w hat you don t concede to other people s children, you are a racist. These are the times w hen a Muslim may easily come to be a racist. Allah w ill not be content w ith us unless w e are humane.
The peak of mercy and humbleness: The woman who cleaned the mosque Is there a job on earth less significant than floor-sw eeping? The w oman w ho w as in charge of cleaning the mosque passed aw ay. The companions didn't think the matter important enough to have the Noble Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, informed about it. How ever, he noticed her absence and inquired about her, and w as told she had passed aw ay. He said they should have told him about it. He w ent to her grave w here he prayed an exceptional janazah (funeral) prayer. What w e see in the w orld today is w ildness, savagery, killing the innocent, and destruction of buildings This is mere racism. Racism is a crime, not a point of view Racism is not a point of view, but rather a crime. Say, you have an Indonesian girl at your house. If you never allow her to call her family, you are a racist, even if you go to the mosque. She misses her family the same w ay you miss yours. If you burden her w ith more than she can cope w ith, if you don t help her out, if you keep her up till after midnight to look after your needs, if you don t treat her as your daughter, then you are a racist, even if you are Muslim. An employee at a commercial centre I w as at one day, a rather small man, w as complaining of the heavy batches of clothes the ow ner w as piling up on his back one, tw o, three, four... "I can't carry any more," he objected. "But you are young," came the reply of the ow ner. The same man got w orried seeing his son carry a single batch. "Watch out for your back, son!" This man is a racist, even if he prays and fasts. Mind you; w e w ill not be able to gain victory over our enemy as long as w e are racists, for they are racists. We must fear Allah and be humane. On the conquest of Jerusalem, the Europeans slaughtered 70 thousand people. When Salahuddin occupied it, he did not shed a drop of blood humane, bound by the mandate of Allah, fearing Allah. A racist is a person w ho considers himself distinguished from others; privileged. Ten thousand captives, 30 members of the Palestinian parliament and eight ministers imprisoned, and the w hole Lebanese nation are not equal to tw o captive soldiers. What is this called? This is racism. A human being is connected to Allah; hence humane, or disconnected from Him; hence racist. Some housemaids commit suicide because of the hostess s harshness. Unable to bear the cruelty, the beating, the pain, they jump out of the fourth floor w indow and die. Their hostesses are racists, even if they pray and fast, and w ill be severely punished by Allah. A believer is humane. He treats people as he w ould w ish to be treated by them. He show s benevolence to the stranger, to the kith and kin. He has the same mercy for others as that he has for his ow n children. Thus, treating people on an equal basis is a basic factor in Islam. Consideration for the social conditions in the society of Medina The second basic factor in building up the society of Medina: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took into consideration the social conditions of every host family w ho received the Muhayirin (Emigrants). Sad bin Khathimah, a single man, received the bachelor emigrants, and thus his house w as called "the house of bachelors". The Emigrants w ith w ives and children resided at the houses of the married Ansar (Supporters), w ho had ample income and spacious houses. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, w as now building up a society. How did Salahuddin gain victory over the Europeans? A p of 50 years separates the beginning of his w ork
on the causes that contributed to the victory and the final triumph. Over this period of time he builds up an Islamic society, promotes education, teaches the Way of Allah the Almighty, and urges people to obey Him and abolishes all iniquities. Al-Khadiy, one of the Egyptian rulers, visited the scholars at al-azhar to consult them about w hat w as to be done about the attacks Egypt w as being exposed to. The answ er w as that in such cases they usually read the hadith book of "Sahih al-bukhari", for it might repel assaults. So he ordered some scholars to read the book. Nonetheless, the attack continued w ith an increasing ferocity, so al-khadiy returned to al-azhar and said exasperatedly to the scholars: "Either this idea of reading the Bukhari book is not right and pointless, or you are not scholars, or this book is actually not the 'Sahih Bukhari' book!" The scholars kept silent for they feared his oppression, but a young man among them had the pluck to tell him that it w as he w ho w as the reason for w hat w as going on. al-khadiy w ent aw ay w ithout saying anything, leaving the young man exposed to severe censure from the other scholars for having put them in a dangerous position on account of w hat he had said. After a time, the young scholar w as summoned to Khadiy's palace. He made his w ill and bid his friends farew ell, for everybody assumed he w as to be executed. When he got there, al-khadiy asked him w hy he thought he w as the reason for w hat w as going on. He answ ered: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that if you don t enjoin w hat is just and forbid w hat is evil, your prayers w ill not be answ ered." "What can I do?" said al-khadiy, and then confessed: "This is w hat Westerners w ant me to do; open amusement centers, nightclubs and bars. This is civilization." Eventually, how ever, he abolished all iniquities, and in the end gained victory. Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, built a society void of all discrimination a society ruled according to the same standard for everyone. "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, w ere to commit theft, I w ould cut off her hand." This society became exceptionally strong and achieved victory over the most pow erful forces on the Arabian Peninsula. [Agreed upon] The manners of the Noble Prophet while building the society of belief 1- Sharing food with his Companions Zaid bin Thabit narrated: "Upon taking up residence at Abu Ayyoub s house, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, w ould send him most of w hatever he received as a gift. Mind you, staying as a guest and sharing the presents w ith his host! A bow l filled w ith bread, butter and yoghurt w as put betw een his hands, and it w as said: "O Messenger of Allah, my mother has sent this." He said: "May Allah bless her," and called his companions to eat. Soon after, a boy arrived from Sad bin Ubadah w ith a covered bow l. He uncovered the meat it contained and delivered it to the Prophet. We w ere among the people of Malik bin al-najjar, and three or four of us carried food to the Prophet s door every night until he departed from Abu Ayyub s house, w here he stayed for seven months. The bow ls from Sad bin Ubadah and Asad bin Zurarah w ere frequently delivered to his door." Did he distinguish himself eating special food? He shared all food he received w ith his companions. If the food w as not much, he ate little and sent the rest to Abu-Ayyub. This is leadership. On entering his house, Umar bin Abdu'l-Aziz, may Allah be pleased w ith him, recited the follow ing ayah: "Have you seen if We do let them enjoy (this life) for a few years; Yet there comes to them at
length the (Punishment) w hich they w ere promised. It w ill profit them not that they enjoyed (this life)." (ash-shuara, 26:205-207) Umar bin al-khattab, may Allah be pleased w ith him, addressed his stomach saying: "Gurgle or not, by Allah, you w ill not taste meat until Muslim children have had enough of it." 2- He never found fault with food Of his eating etiquette: Umm Ayyub w as asked: "What food w as the Prophet s favourite? You should know this from his stay at your house. What did he eat? What did he like?" She said: "I never heard him ask for any specific food to be prepared, and w e never heard him disapprove of food brought to him." Someone described his friend saying: "I once had a friend w hom I consider one of the greatest of people. The principal characteristic that made him superior in my opinion w as the exceptionally low regard he had for this w orld. He w as free of the supremacy of his stomach; he did not desire w hat w as not there and did not eat to excess of w hat w as available." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, never asked for a specific dish to be prepared for him. He never criticized food, never expressed approval or disapproval. If he felt an inclination to eat it, he w ould eat; and if he disliked it, he w ould leave it. 3- Delicacy in refusing certain foods Jabir bin Sumrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to send w hat remained of his food to Abu Ayyub. Food that contained garlic w as brought to him one day and he sent all of it to Abu Ayyub. "O Messenger of Allah, is it forbidden?" he asked. "No, but I dislike its smell." Abu Ayyub said: "And I dislike w hat you dislike, O Messenger of Allah." Hence, in consideration for his companions and because of its pungent smell he did not eat food w ith garlic. What exquisite thoughtfulness! What delicacy! Abu Ayyub, may Allah be pleased w ith him, said: "We used to prepare dinner, then send it to him. If he returned w hat w as left, Umm Ayyub and myself looked for the traces of his hands on the food, seeking blessings. One night, w e sent him dinner w ith onion and garlic, w hich w as returned w ith no trace of the Noble Prophets hands. Alarmed, I asked him: "O Messenger of Allah, you have returned your dinner untouched. Um Ayyoub and myself used to look for the traces of your hands seeking blessings." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, answ ered: "I have found in it the smell of this plant, and I am a man w ho approaches his Lord, but you may eat it." Abu Ayyub continued: "So w e ate it. We never served him food w ith that plant from then on." 4- Modesty in his way of living as a guest Abu Ayyub narrated: "When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stayed in my house, he lived on the ground floor, w hile Umm Ayyub and I stayed on the first one. I told him: 'O Messenger of Allah, I hate to be above you and you below me. Stay upstairs and w e shall stay dow nstairs.' He said: 'O Abu Ayyoub, it is easier for me and for those w ho visit me if I stay on the ground floor.' So the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stayed on the ground floor, and w e above him. Once, a pitcher got broken and all the w ater got spilled. Umm Ayyub and I hurried to dry the floor w ith the only quilt w e had, dreading w ater might drip on the Prophet and bother him."
5- The taste for (fresh) water When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stayed at his home, Abu Ayyub used to fetch him fresh w ater from the w ell of Malik bin al-nathar, Anas father. Anas, Hind, and Harithah, the children of Asmaa, used to carry w ater from reservoirs to the houses of his w ives. There is inference in this as regards fetching fresh w ater. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had refined taste. 6- Drinking in three sips, praising Allah afterwards Anas bin Malik narrated that he had seen the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, take one sip of his drink, then stop and mention the name of Allah; then take another sip, stop and mention the name of Allah; then take another sip, until he finished (drinking). He also praised Allah w hen he finished. He drank w ater in three sips. Abu Ayyub al-ansari narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say upon eating or drinking: "All praise due to Allah w ho has provided me w ith food and drink, and made it pleasant, and provided an outlet for it." 7- Gathering around food and drink The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not eat alone. Five to sixteen men gathered round his dinner. Such w ere the manners of the Noble Prophet. Due to his modesty, a stranger w ho w ished to speak to him w as unable to identify him among his companions and w ould ask: "Who among you is Muhammad?" 8- Helping to prepare food They w anted to prepare once a lamb as provision for the journey. One of them said: "The slaughter is on me." Another said: "The skinning is on me." A third one said: "The cooking is on me." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Collecting firew ood is on me." They said: "We shall do it for you." He said: "I know that you can do this for me, but Allah does not like to see his servant distinguished from his companions." 9- Alternating between walking and riding In the battle of Badr, the w arriors outnumbered the mounts. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Three of us to an animal. Abu Lubabah, Ali and myself on one. He rode the camel w hen it w as his turn, and w hen it w as over and it w as his turn to w alk, his companions begged him not to dismount. He said: "You are not more capable of w alking than I am, and I am not less in need for the rew ard than you are."
10- The last to drink He w as the last to drink w hen w ater w as distributed among his companions. 11- His sitting down in the first available place He used to sit dow n in the first place available. This is the society of Muslims in w hich discrimination does not exist. 12- Reunification Now adays w e often talk about a concept called reunification. Many Islamic countries do not accept a foreign employee except on his ow n; w ithout his w ife. As a result, the couple suffer being apart for a w hole year. If either of them is of w eak faith, he or she may not be able to avoid temptations. In the process of building up the society of Medina the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, aimed at the reunification of families. What did he do? During his stay at Abu Ayyub's he sent Zaid bin Harithah and Abu Rafiaa to Mekka w ith 500 dirhams and tw o camels to fetch his family. They took from Abu Bakr to buy w hatever they needed, so Zaid bought three camels. Abu Bakr also sent Abdullah bin Uraiqet w ith them as a guide. They returned w ith Fatimah and Um Kalthum, the daughters of the Noble Prophet, his w ife Saw da bint Zumaa, his nursemaid Um Ayman, Zaid bin Harithah s w ife and their son Usama, Abu Bakr s son Abdullah, his w ife Um Rouman, and his daughters Aisha and Asmaa, together w ith the w ife of Al-Zubair, w ho w as pregnant. Due to the difficulties of the journey she gave birth to Abdullah bin al-zubair at Quba, then, already in Medina, came to the Noble Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and put the baby in his lap. Thus, Abdullah bin al-zubair w as the first Muslim baby to be born in Medina. Such was the society of the Companions Abdullah bin al-zubair w as once playing w ith other children w hen Umar, may Allah be pleased w ith him, passed by. The children, struck w ith aw e, ran aw ay and dispersed. Only Abdullah bin al-zubair remained, attracting thus Umar s attention. He asked: "Why didn t you flee w ith those w ho fled, child?" He answ ered: "O Emir, you are not an oppressor so that I should fear your oppression; nor am I guilty of anything to fear your punishment; and the road is w ide enough for you and me." The same Abdullah bin al-zubair sent a letter to Muaw iyah bin Abu Sufian w hich read: "O Muaw iya," not the Amir of the Believers or the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, "your men have entered my land. Stop them, or else I w ill have to deal w ith you." Rather intolerable w ay of addressing the Amir of the Believers on the part of a citizen! Muaw iya handed the letter to his son, Yazid, w ho w as sitting next to him. "What do you think w e should do?" he asked. "I see that you should send him an army w hose head w ould be in Medina, w here he is, and its tail here in Syria, to get you his head," came Yazid s answ er. "Otherw ise is better," replied Muaw iya, and he dictated the follow ing answ er: "I have received the letter of the son of a Companion of the Messenger of Allah. What has upset him upsets me indeed. The w hole w orld is insignificant next to his contentment. I have given up to him the land w ith w hom it carries."
The letter w hich Abdullah bin al-zubair w rote in answ er to this read: "O Amir of the Believers, may Allah prolong your life, and preserve your sense of judgement w hich has favoured this decision of yours." Muaw iya handed the letter to his son Yazid w ho had formerly suggested his father sending an army, saying: "O son! He w ho pardons, prevails; and he w ho is indulgent, is magnified; and he w ho forgives, inclines hearts to himself." Abu Bakr s family stayed at the house of Harithah bin al-nayman. Abdullah bin al-zubair w as born in the month of Shaw w al, a few months after the emigration. We shall continue in our next talk, show ing how the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, built the society of believers, and how he managed to add the right to pow er to the pow er of the truth. Translation : Raw an Al-Tayyan Auditing : Naj at Rozko