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The Inspirational Sermon of Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) in the Court of Najaashi – Part Three
Written by user2Hazrat ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) reports that Najaashi’s father was the Emperor of Abyssinia. He had no other son besides Najaashi, while his brother (Najaashi’s uncle) had twelve sons.
Since Najaashi was the only son of his father, while the Emperor’s brother (Najaashi’s uncle) had many children, some of the people of Abyssinia thought of killing the Emperor and making his brother the Emperor. They felt that since his brother has many children, rulership will remain in the same family for a longer period of time. Hence, they killed the Emperor and made his brother the Emperor.
The Inspirational Sermon of Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) in the Court of Najaashi – Part Two
Written by user2When ‘Amr bin ‘Aas and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee‘ah emerged from the royal court, after failing to convince the Emperor to hand the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) over to them, then ‘Amr bin ‘Aas said, “Tomorrow, I will stand before the Emperor and mention something which is such that on hearing it, he will completely destroy these Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum).”
‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee‘ah said to him, “Don’t ever do that! We have family ties with them! They are our relatives, even though we oppose them as far as our religion is concerned!” However, ‘Amr bin ‘Aas was adamant and determined.
The Inspirational Sermon of Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) in the Court of Najaashi
Written by user2Hazrat Ja’far (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) addressed Najaashi and said:
“O Emperor! Prior to the advent of Islam, we were all ignorant and unaware of the true path. We would worship idols and consume carrion. We were involved in various types of shameless actions. We would sever family ties and ill-treat our neighbors. The strong among us would oppress and take advantage of the weak.
When the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) entered the royal court, they sufficed on making salaam and did not prostrate before the Emperor (as was the norm).
The royal courtiers were extremely displeased by the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) conducting in this manner. Hence, they immediately questioned the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and asked, “Why did you not prostrate before the Emperor?” According to another narration, the Emperor himself asked them why they did not prostrate before him.
‘Amr bin ‘Aas and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee‘ah were extremely apprehensive of the Emperor summoning the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), questioning them and hearing what they had to say. We can well imagine why they were apprehensive and averse to the Emperor questioning and speaking to the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and why they wanted the Emperor to hand them over without any form of investigation and discussion.
The reason for ‘Amr bin ‘Aas and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee‘ah being apprehensive is quite obvious – they knew well that that the moment the truth left the tongues of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), it would entrench itself into the heart of the Emperor.
After the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) returned from Abyssinia, the disbelievers began to persecute the Muslims even more than before. Hence, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) once again permitted the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) to migrate to Abyssinia.
Thereafter, when the Quraish saw that the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) were living in peace and safety in Abyssinia and they were practising Islam in peace, they held an urgent meeting in which they appointed ‘Amr bin ‘Aas and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabee‘ah as their representatives to Najaashi, the Emperor of Abyssinia, as well as his ministers, in order to try and win them over to the side of the Quraish.
When the disbelievers observed that day-by-day, more and more people were entering the fold of Islam, and the reach of Islam was expanding, they unanimously resolved to increase their persecution of the Muslims. In this manner, they began to subject the Muslims to different forms of torture and persecution in order to force them to renounce Islam.
At that time, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) advised the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) saying:
تفرقوا في الأرض فإن الله سيجمعكم قالوا إلى أين نذهب قال إلى هنا وأشار بيده إلى أرض الحبشة
“Spread out in the earth, for certainly Allah Ta‘ala will soon assemble all of you.” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) enquired, “Where should we go to?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) indicated with his blessed hand towards the land of Abyssinia and said, “Go in this direction.”
The miracle of the halting of the sun occurred in Makkah Mukarramah. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) returned from the journey of mi’raaj and informed the Quraish of this journey, they demanded that he inform them of a few specific details of Bayt-ul-Maqdis.
They also asked him regarding one of their trade caravans which had journeyed to Syria and when it was expected to return to Makkah Mukarramah (as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had informed them that he had went to Syria during the mi’raaj).
Among the well-known miracles of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is the miracle of the returning of the sun (i.e. making the sun re-emerge after sunset).
Hazrat Asmaa bin ‘Umais (radhiyallahu ‘anhha) reports the following:
On one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was in a place near Khaibar named Sahbaa and was resting with his blessed head on the lap of Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
اِقۡتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَۃُ وَ انۡشَقَّ الۡقَمَرُ ﴿۱﴾
The hour (of judgement) has drawn close and the moon has split asunder (Surah Qamar v. 1)
On one occasion, approximately five years before the hijrah to Madinah Munawwarah, the disbelievers of Makkah approached Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Among them were Waleed bin Mugheerah, Abu Jahal, ‘Aas bin Waa’il, ‘Aas bin Hishaam, Aswad bin ‘Abd-e-Yaghooth, Aswad bin Muttalib, Zam‘ah bin Aswad, Nadhr bin Haarith and others.
They said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “If you are the true Nabi of Allah, then show us a special sign that will prove your prophethood.” According to one narration, they demanded that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) split the moon into two parts.
It was night and the fourteenth moon was shining in the sky. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said to them, “Very well, if I display this miracle before you, will you all embrace Islam?” They replied, “Yes, we will bring imaan.”
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The Quraish left no stone unturned in in their persecution of the Muslims. At times, they suspended them from trees, and at times, they tied their feet and dragged them around. They even placed heated iron bars on their backs and stomachs. The disbelievers did all sorts of vile things to the Muslims, but not one of them wavered from the true deen. They died tolerating these hardships but they did not turn away from Islam. May Allah Ta‘ala be pleased with them and may they be pleased with Him.
Hazrat Zinneerah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) had suffered extreme torture and persecution at the hands of the disbelievers, until Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) eventually purchased her and set her free. In the same way, Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) also purchased other male and female slaves and set them free, thus rescuing those who were oppressed.
Some of the slaves which Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) purchased and freed were Hazrat Bilaal, Hazrat Abu Fukaihah, Hazrat ‘Aamir bin Fuhairah, Hazrat Nahdiyyah and her daughter - Hazrat Labeenah, Hazrat Mutiyah and Hazrat Ummu Ubais (radhiyallahu ‘anhum).
At that time, the respected father of Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Abu Quhaafah, had not yet embraced Islam. One day, he said to Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “I notice that you choose the weak and feeble slaves to purchase and free. If you purchase young and strong slaves, they will at least be able to assist you.” Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “The motive for me setting them free is within my heart.”
Hazrat Zinneerah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was among the first women to embrace Islam. Abu Jahal would persecute and torture her.
When Abu Jahal and the other leaders of Makkah Mukarramah would see Hazrat Zinneerah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), they would say, “If the deen of Islam contained any goodness and excellence, then Zinneerah would not have preceded us in accepting it.”
Abu Fukaihah was the title of the Sahaabi named Yasaar. However, he was better known by his title of Abu Fukaihah.
He was the slave of Safwaan bin Umayyah. Umayyah bin Khalaf would sometimes get a rope tied to his feet after which he would drag him around. At times, he would tie his legs in chains and force him to lie down on the scorching sand with a huge boulder placed on his back. Such was the pain he suffered that he often fell unconscious. Sometimes, Umayyah would hold his neck and throttle him.