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The Incident of the People of the Elephants - Part Four
Written by user2‘Abdul Muttalib thereafter took a few people with him and proceeded to the Ka‘bah so that they could all implore and beg Allah Ta‘ala in du‘aa. At this juncture, ‘Abdul Muttalib recited the following poetic couplets of du‘aa:
لاهمّ إن المرء يمنع رحله فامنع رحالك
“O Allah! A man takes care of his house, You take care of Your house.
وانصر على آل الصليب وعابديه اليوم آلك
And assist Your people against the people of the cross and its worshippers.
لايغلبن صليبهم ومحالهم أبدا محالك
Their cross and their schemes can never overcome that which You have planned.
جرّوا جميع بلادهم والفيل كي يسبوا عيالك
They dragged (and brought) all their forces and their elephants to capture Your dependants.
عمدوا حماك بكيدهم جهلا وما رقبوا جلالك
Out of ignorance, they have plotted to destroy your haram, and they failed to consider Your greatness.”
Mis‘ar bin Kidaam (rahimahullah) narrates:
Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) had prepared a set of clothing that was more valuable than all his other clothing. This set comprised of a kurta, pants, shawl and turban, and its value was 1500 Dirhams or perhaps even more than that.
After performing the Esha Salaah, when all the people had retired to bed, Imaam Abu Hanifah (rahimahullah) would remove the clothing which he had worn during the day and would wear this extremely valuable set of clothing. After donning this set of clothing, he would apply ‘itr and thereafter stand in Salaah until the time of Fajr set in.
The First Person to Draw his Sword for the Sake of Allah
Hazrat ‘Urwah bin Zubair (rahimahullah) narrates the following:
Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) accepted Islam at the age of eight. On one occasion, Shaitaan caused a false rumor to spread that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had been seized and captured by the Kuffaar in the upper area of Makkah Mukarramah. When he heard this rumor, Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), who was only twelve years old at the time, immediately set out , parting the people with his sword in his search for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). All who saw Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) were surprised and remarked, “The youngster is carrying a sword!” When he reached Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) asked him, “What is the matter, o Zubair?” Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied by informing Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) of the false rumor that had spread and said, “I came to strike those who seized you with my sword.”
The Incident of the People of the Elephants - Part Three
Written by user2Accompanied by a few leaders of Quraish, ‘Abdul Muttalib set out to meet Abrahah. Upon reaching, he sent a message to Abrahah informing him of his arrival. When ‘Abdul Muttalib arrived, Abrahah gave him a grand welcome.
Allah Ta’ala had blessed ‘Abdul Muttalib with unparalleled handsomeness, remarkable eminence, imposing awe, remarkable dignity and arresting majesty that left all who came into contact with him awestruck. Hence, Abrahah was also overwhelmed and awestruck by the personality of ‘Abdul Muttalib. He thus welcomed ‘Abdul Muttalib with absolute respect and honour. Abrahah found it inappropriate to seat anyone on or in line with his throne. So instead, he descended from the throne out of respect for ‘Abdul Muttalib and sat with him on the ground.
Receiving the title ‘Special Helper’ of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)
On the occasion of the Battle of Ahzaab, also known as the Battle of Khandaq (the Battle of the Trench), the Muslims received the information that the Banu Quraizah had broken their pledge of allegiance to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and had joined the enemy. In order to verify the information, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) asked the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), “Who will bring me information of these people (the Banu Quraizah)?” Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) instantly responded by volunteering to go as a spy and bring information of the Banu Quraizah to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).
The Incident of the People of the Elephants - Part Two
Written by user2When the Arabs heard of the church that Abrahah erected, a member of the Kinaanah tribe defaced the building by passing stool within its precincts and thereafter fleeing. Some are of the opinion that a few Arab youngsters lit a fire in the vicinity of the church. A gust of wind carried an ember onto the church, setting it ablaze and reducing it to ashes. This infuriated Abrahah and he vowed that he would not rest until he had reduced the Ka‘bah to ruins. With this evil intention, he set out to attack Makkah Mukarramah. En route to Makkah Mukarramah, the tribes who put up resistance were subdued with the might of the sword. Together with his army of men, he was also accompanied by a herd of elephants.
The Incident of the People of the Elephants - Part One
Written by user2Fifty or fifty five days before the birth of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), the incident of the people of the elephants occurred, which is well known and recorded in the kitaabs of history and Seerat. The Holy Qur’aan also devotes a specific Surah to this particular incident. A comprehensive account of this incident is recorded in the kitaabs of Tafseer. Below follows a summary of this incident:
Abrahah was the governor of Yemen, appointed by Najaashi (Negus), the emperor of Abyssinia. When he noticed all the Arabs travelling to Makkah Mukarramah to perform Tawaaf of the Baitullah, he decided to erect a magnificent, highly decorated structure in the name of Christianity so that the Arabs would abandon the simple Ka‘bah and make Tawaaf of his fake Ka‘bah. He therefore erected a beautiful church in the capital city of San‘aa.
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/46)
The Khalifah, Mutawakkil, succeeded the Khalifah, Waathiq, in 232 A.H. He held Imaam Ahmed in high esteem, but Imaam Ahmed remained cautious since he regarded the favors of the king as a temptation towards evil. Once, Mutawakkil sent him a bag of ten thousand dirhams and about two hundred dinaars. It was emphasized that he should accept it, lest the king be offended if the gift was refused. Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) did not even look at it. At the time of Maghrib, he called his son, Saalih, and said, “Keep this by you.”
Before dawn the next morning, Imaam Ahmed (rahimahullah) called for his son who immediately came. He said to him, “I have not slept last night”, and began to weep. He continued, “All my life, I remained safe from the rulers and kings. Now, in old age, I am being tested with them. I have decided to distribute this wealth in the morning.” That morning, he continued distributing the money to the various factions of the poor and needy until the entire amount was spent. He thereafter even gave the bag away to a destitute person. His son says, “We were experiencing such poverty (at the time) which only Allah Ta‘ala knew.”
(Sifatus Safwah 486/1)
Glad Tidings of Martyrdom
Hazrat Abu Hurairah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was once on Mount Hiraa when it began to shake. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) addressed the mountain saying, “Be still, O Hiraa! For only a Nabi, a siddeeq, and a martyr stands upon you.” When this incident transpired, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was on the mountain with Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat ‘Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat Talhah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Hazrat Sa’d bin abi Waqqaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) .
(Saheeh Muslim #2417)
‘Allaamah Subki (rahimahullah) mentions that on one occasion, Imaam Shaafi‘ee explained a mas’alah to Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan Al-Muraadi thirty nine times, yet he still did not understand it. Rabee’ then woke up and left the gathering out of shame. After the lesson, Imaam Shaafi‘ee (rahimahullah) called him in seclusion and again explained the mas’alah to him, with extreme love and affection, just as he had explained it during the thirty nine times. On the fortieth time, Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan understood it.
(Ma‘aalim-ul-Irshaadiyah pg 77)
Rabee’ bin Sulaymaan (rahimahullah) says that his ustaadh, Imaam Shafi‘ee (rahimahullah), would say to him out of love and affection, “If I could transform ‘Ilm (knowledge of Deen) into food and feed it to you, I would do so.”
(Ma’aalimul Irshaadiya pg. 78)
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Hazrat ‘Abdullah once set out on a trade journey with a caravan bound for Syria. During the journey, he stopped in Madinah Munawwarah due to ill health. The moment the caravan arrived in Makkah Mukarramah, ‘Abdul Muttalib enquired as to the whereabouts of ‘Abdullah. The travellers informed him that on account of ill health, ‘Abdullah had decided to stop over at his maternal ancestor’s family, the Banu Najjaar, in Madinah Munawwarah. ‘Abdul Muttalib immediately dispatched his eldest son, Haarith, to Madinah Munawwarah. On reaching Madinah Munawwarah, he discovered that ‘Abdullah had already departed from this world. He had remained sick for almost a month after which he passed away and he was buried in the house of Naabighah in Madinah Munawwarah.
Hazrat ibn ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) says:
As ‘Abdul Muttalib set out with his son, ‘Abdullah, to perform the nikaah, they passed by a Jewish woman by the name of Faatimah bint Murr who was well-versed with the Towraat and Injeel. When her gaze fell on the light of Nubuwwat radiating from ‘Abdullah’s face, she beckoned him to come up to her and pleaded saying, “I will compensate you with a hundred camels (for being illicitly intimate with me).” Hazrat ‘Abdullah responded with the following couplet:
أما الحرام فالممات دونه والحل لا حل فأستبينه
فكيف بالأمر الذي تبغينه إن الكريم يحمي عرضه ودينه
Death is far easier than perpetrating a Haraam act, and as for a Halaal act, without it being Halaal for me, how can I consider doing it?
So how is it possible to perpetrate the immoral deed that you are longing for? A man of honour and nobility safeguards his honour and Deen.
Caution in Narrating Hadith from Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam)
Hazrat ‘Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) narrates that he once asked his father, Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “Why do you not narrate the Ahaadeeth of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), as such-and-such Sahaabah (radhiyallahu 'anhum) narrate?” Hazrat Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “I did not leave Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) after accepting Islam (I am thus able to narrate many Ahaadeeth). However, on one occasion, I heard Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mention something (due to which I fear quoting Ahaadeeth). I heard him (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) say, “The one who deliberately lies against me (fabricates Ahaadeeth and attributes them to me) should prepare his abode in the Hellfire.”
(Siyar A’laam min Nubalaa 3/27)
Hafiz Jalaal-ud-Deen Suyooti (rahimahullah) says that the ‘Ulamaa have mentioned that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had issued glad tidings in favor of Imaam Maalik (rahimahullah) in the following manner:
“Soon a time will come when people will travel lengthy journeys beating their camels in pursuit of ‘ilm. They will not find anyone as learned as the ‘Aalim of Madinah.”