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Abdul Wahid Hamid

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Abdullah Ibn Jahsh


Scanned from: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul
Wahid Hamid.


Abdullah ibn Jahsh was a cousin of the Prophet and his
sister, Zaynab bint Jahsh, was a wife of the Prophet. He was
the first to head a group of Muslims on an expedition and
so was the first to be called "Amir al-Mu'mineen"ر
Commander of the Believers.


Abdullah ibn Jahsh became a Muslim before the
Prophet entered the House of al-Arqam which became a
meeting place, a school and a place of refuge for the early
Muslims. He was thus one of the first to accept Islam.


When the Prophet gave permission for his Companions
to emigrate to Madinah to avoid further persecution from
the Quraysh, Abdullah ibn Jahsh was the second to leave,
preceded only by Abu Salamah. Emigrating was not a new
experience for Abdullah. He and some members of his
immediate family had migrated before to Abyssinia. This
time, however, his migration was on a far bigger scale. His
family and relativesرmen, women and children, migrated
with him. In fact, his whole clan had become Muslims and
accompanied him.


There was an air of desolation as they left Makkah. Their
homes appeared sad and depressed as if no one had lived
there before. No sound of conversation emanated from
behind those silent walls.


Abdullah's clan were not long gone when.the alerted
Quraysh leaders came out and made the rounds of the
districts in Makkah to find out which Muslims had left and
who had remained. Among these leaders were Abu Jahl
and Utbah ibn Rabi'ah. Utbah looked at the houses of the
Banu Jahsh through which the dusty winds were blowing.
He banged on the doors and shouted:


"The houses of the Banu Jahsh have become empty and
are weeping for its occupants."


'Who were these people anyway," said Abu Jahl
derisively, "that houses should weep for them." He then
laid claim to the house of Abdullah ibn Jahsh. It was the
most beautiful and expensive of the houses. He began to
dispose freely of its contents as a king would share out his
possessions .


Later, when Abdullah ibn Jahsh heard what Abu Jahl
had done to his house, he mentioned it to the Prophet,
peace be upon him, who said:


"Aren't you satisfied, O Abdullah, with what God has
given you insteadرa house in Paradise?"


"Yes, messenger of God," he replied, and became at
peace with himself and completely satisfied.


Abdullah ibn Jahsh had scarcely settled down in
Madinah when he had to undergo one of the most testing
experiences. He had just begun to taste something of the
good and restful life under the sponsorship of the Ansarر
after going through persecution at the hands of the
Qurayshرwhen he had to be exposed to the severest test
he had ever known in his life and carry out the most
difficult assignment since he became a Muslim.


The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him,
commissioned eight of his Companions to carry out the
first military assignment in Islam. Among them were
Abdullah ibn Jahsh and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.


"I appoint as your Commander the one who can best
bear hunger and thirst," said the Prophet and gave the
standard to Abdullah ibn Jahsh. He was thus the first to be
made amir over a contingent of believers.


The Prophet gave him precise instructions on the route
he should take on the expedition and gave him a letter. He
commanded Abdullah to read the letter only after two
days' travel.


After the expedition had been on its way for two days,
Abdullah looked at the contents of the letter. It said,
"When you have read this letter, press on until you come
to a place called Nakhlah between Ta'if and Makkah.
From there observe the Quraysh and gather whatever
information you can on them for us."


"At your command, O Prophet of God," exclaimed
Abdullah as he finished reading the letter. Then he spoke
to his colleagues:


"The Prophet has commanded me to proceed to
Nakhlah to observe the Quraysh and gather information
on them for him. He has also commanded me not to go
further with anyone of you who is against the purpose of
this expedition. So whoever desires martyrdom and is in
total agreement with this expedition can accompany me.
Whoever is not in agreement, may turn back without
blame."


"At your command, O messenger of Allah," they all
responded. "We shall go with you, Abdullah, wherever the
Prophet of God has commanded."


The group continued until they reached Nakhlah and
began to move along the mountain passes seeking
information on Quraysh movements. While they were thus
engaged, they saw in the distance a Quraysh caravan.
There were four men in the caravanرAmr ibn alHadrami,
Hukm ibn Kaysan, Uthman ibn Abdullah and his brother
Mughirah. They were carrying merchandise for the
Qurayshرskins, raisins and other usual Quraysh stock in
trade.


The Sahabah conferred together. It was the last day of
the sacred months. "If we were to kill them," they agreed,
"we would have killed them in the inviolable months. To
do so would be to violate the sacredness of this month and
expose ourselves to the wrath of all Arabs. If we leave
them alone for a day so that the month will be completed,
they would have entered the inviolable precincts of
Makkah and thus be secure from us."


They continued consulting until finally they agreed to
pounce on the caravan and take whatever merchandise
they could as booty. Before long, two of the men were
captured and one was killed; the fourth escaped.


Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his men took the two prisoners
and the caravan on to Madinah. They went to the Prophet,
peace be upon him, and informed him about what they
had done. The Prophet was greatly upset and strongly
condemned their action.


"By God, I did not command you to fight. I only
commanded you to gather information on the Quraysh
and observe their movements." He granted a reprieve to
the two prisoners and he left the caravan and did not take
a single item from it.


Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his men then knew that they
had fallen into disgrace and felt certain that they were
ruined because of their disobeying the command of the
Prophet. They began to feel the pressure as their Muslim
brothers censured them and avoided them whenever they
passed one another. And they would say, "These went
against the command of the Prophet."


Their discomfiture grew when they learnt that the
Quraysh had taken the incident as a means to discredit the
Prophet and denounce him among the tribes. The
Quraysh were saying:


"Muhammad has defiled the sacred month. He has shed
blood in it, plundered wealth and captured men."


Imagine the extent of the sadness felt by Abdullah ibn
Jahsh and his men at what had happened, moreso because
of the acute embarrassment they had caused the Prophet.


They were sorely tormented and the agony weighed
heavily on them. Then came the good news that Allahر
Glorified be Heرwas pleased with what they had done
and had sent down revelation to His Prophet about this
matter. Imagine their happiness! People came and
embraced them, congratulating them on the good news
and reciting to them what had been revealed in the
glorious Qur'an about their action.


"They ask you about fighting in the sacred month. Say:
Fighting therein is an enormity as well as preventing
(people) from the path of God and disbelief in Him.
Expelling people from the Masjid al Haram is a greater
sin in the eyes of God. Moreover, persecution is greater
than killing."


(Surah al-Baqarah 2: 212).


When these blessed verses were revealed, the Prophet's
mind was eased. He took the caravan and ransomed the
prisoners. He became pleased with Abdullah ibn Jahsh
and his men. Their expedition was certainly a major event
in the early life of the Muslim community . . .


The Battle of Badr followed. Abdullah ibn Jahsh fought
in it and was put to a great test, but a test to which his faith
was equal.


Then came the Battle of Uhud. There is an
unforgettable story involving Abdullah ibn Jahsh and his
friend Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas concerning an incident that
took place during the Battle of Uhud. Let us leave Sa'd to
tell the story:


During the battle, Abdullah came to me and said,
"Aren't you making a duia to God?"


"Yes," said I. So we moved aside and I prayed, "O Lord,
when I meet the enemy, let me meet a man of enormous
strength and fury. Then grant me victory over him that I
might kill him and acquire spoils from him." To this my
prayer, Abdullah said Ameen and then he prayed:


"Let me meet a man of great standing and enormous
fury. I shall fight him for Your sake, O Lord, and he shall
fight me. He shall take me and cut off my nose and ears
and when I meet You on the morrow You will say, "For
what were your nose and ear cut off?" And I would reply,
"For Your sake and for the sake of Your Prophet." And
then You would say, "You have spoken the truth . . ."
Sa'd continues the story:


The prayer of Abdullah ibn Jahsh was better than mine.
I saw him at the end of the day. He was killed and
mutilated and in fact his nose and his ear were hung on a
tree with a thread .


God responded to the prayer of Abdullah ibn Jahsh and
blessed him with martyrdom as He blessed his uncle, the
Leader of Martyrs, Hamzah ibn Abdulmuttalib. The noble
Prophet buried them together in a single grave. His pure
tears watered the earthرearth annointed with the
fragrance of martyrdom.


Scanned from: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul Wahid Hamid.


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