The Sealed Nectar (61 page)

came to him, with a piece of palm leaf in his hand, and in the company of his orator, Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas. He was among some of his friends. The Prophet [pbuh] talked to him but Musailima addressed him saying: "If you agree to transfer the whole thing to me after your death, I will not stand in your way." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] replied: "If you asked me to give you this (i.e. a piece of a palm leaf), I would not grant it to you. You are doomed. Even if you repented and stopped what you were doing, Allâh appointed that you would be slain. By Allâh, I swear, that I see you now in the very state that has been revealed to me. Here is Thabit! You will hear my answer (from him)." Then he went away. [Sahih Al- Bukhari 2/627, 628; Fath Al- Bari 8/87- 93]

Finally, the Prophet’s predictions of Musailima came true; for when Musailima returned to Yamama, he kept on thinking about the Prophet [pbuh] and how he would be his partner. His dreams and thoughts went so far as to claim that he himself was a prophet. To confirm his prophecy he started uttering rhymed statements. He said that it was lawful to drink wine and commit adultery. He, however, bore witness that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]was a real Prophet.

His people, who were fascinated by what he allowed them to do, followed him and made bargains with him. He grew so prominent among them that they called him the beneficent of Al- Yamama. He wrote to the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] saying: "I have been appointed an associate with you, so I will have a half and Quraish will have the other half of the people’s affairs." The Messenger of Allâh’s reply was a letter saying that:

"Verily, the earth is Allâh’s. He gives it as a heritage to whom He will
of His slaves, and the (blessed) end is for the
Muttaqûn
(pious)."
[Al-Qur'an 7:128] [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 3/31,32]

On the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, he says: When the two messengers of Musailima — Ibn An- Nawaha and Ibn Athal — came to the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh], he asked them: "Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of 292

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Allâh?" Their reply was "We testify that Musailima is the Messenger of Allâh."

"I believe in Allâh and in His Messenger," said the Prophet [pbuh], "If I had ever thought of killing a messenger I would have killed you both." [Mishkat Al-Masabeeh 2/347]

Musailima’s pretence to prophethood was in the tenth year of Al- Hijra. But he was killed in Al- Yamama war during Abu Bakr As- Siddeeq era, in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, in the twelfth year of Al- Hijra. He was killed by Wahshi, the killer of Hamzah. The second person who claimed to be a prophet was Al- Aswad Al-

‘Ansi who was in Yemen. He was killed by Fairuz. His head was cut off a day and a night before the Prophet’s death. So when the delegates came he told them the news that reached him through Divine Revelation. News about his death reached Abu Bakr [R] from Yemen. [Fath Al-Bari 8/93]

14.

The Delegation of Bani ‘Amir bin Sa‘sa‘a:
Among the group of delegates were ‘Amir bin At- Tufail — the enemy of Allâh, Arbad bin Qais —

Labid’s maternal brother, Khalid bin Ja‘far, and Jabbar bin Aslam. All of them were the leaders and satans of their people. ‘Amir was the one who double-crossed the group of Ma‘una well. When this delegation made their mind to come to Madinah, ‘Amir and Arbad conspired to kill the Prophet [pbuh]. So when the group of delegates arrived, ‘Amir kept on talking to the Prophet

[pbuh] whereas Arbad turned aside trying to draw his sword. He managed to draw a span of hand long but Allâh stilled his hand so that he was unable to proceed with its withdrawal. Allâh protected the Prophet [pbuh]. The Prophet

[pbuh] invoked Allâh against them. So when they returned, Allâh sent down a thunderbolt unto Arbad and his camel and he was burnt. As for ‘Amir he called at a house of a woman who was from Bani Salul and had a gland sore.

He eventually died while he was saying: "What am I like? I have a gland similar to a camel’s. And here I am dying in the house of the woman from Bani Salul."

In
Sahih Al- Bukhari
it is narrated that ‘Amir came to the Prophet [pbuh] and said: "I grant you an opportunity to choose one of two: you will have the flat land people and I will have townspeople; or I will succeed you. Otherwise, I will invade your people with a thousand he- camels and a thousand she-camels." But, later on he got plague- stricken in a woman’s house. So he said:

"What! I have a gland similar to a camel’s, and here I am in a woman’s house of Bani so and so people. Fetch me my mare!" He mounted it but died on its back.

15.

Tujeeb Delegation:
They came to Madinah carrying the surplus of charities (
Sadaqat)
of their people. That is to say the extra charities they had after they had distributed the poor- due. They were thirteen men. They asked about the Qur’ân and
Sunnah
(the Prophet’s saying, deeds and sanctions) so that they might learn them. They demanded things from the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] to which he gave them pledges. They did not stay long; so when the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] acknowledged their demands and allowed them to depart, they sent him a boy whom they had already left at their property.

The young man said to the Prophet [pbuh]: "By Allâh, I swear, I have left my home (for Madinah) with a purpose that you invoke Allâh, the Great and All-Mighty for me to forgive me and have mercy on me and to make my heart a 293

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source of content and sufficiency." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] supplicated Allâh to grant him what he demanded.

From that time on, he was the most contented person. In
Ar- Riddah
(i.e. the Apostasy Times), he stoodfast as a Muslim and warned his people and reminded them of Allâh and went on preaching them till they stoodfast and did not apostatize. The group of delegates met the Prophet [pbuh] again in the Farewell Pilgrimage in the tenth year of Al- Hijra.

16.

Tai’ Delegation:
One of that group of delegates who came to meet the Prophet [pbuh] was Zaid Al- Khail. They talked to the Prophet [pbuh] who urged them to embrace Islam. They agreed and grew good Muslims. About Zaid, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said: "The Arabs are never exact at estimating people. They have never told me about the virtues of a man correctly; for when I see the man concerned I realize that they have overestimated him except Zaid Al- Khail, when I met him I knew that they had underestimated him." Then he named him ‘Zaid Al- Khair’ (i.e. Zaid, the bounteous).

The delegations arrived successively in Madinah during the ninth and tenth of Al-Hijra. Biographers and invasion- writers have written down about some of Yemen delegations. They were Al- Azd; Bani Sa‘d Hadheem from Quda‘ah, Bani ‘Amir bin Qais; Bani Asad, Bahra’, Khaulan, Muharib, Bani Al- Harith bin Ka‘b, Ghamid, Bani Al-Muntafiq, Salaman, Bani ‘Abs, Muzainah, Murad, Zabid, Kinda, Dhi Murrah, Ghassan, Bani ‘Aish, and Nakh‘ which were the last group of delegates. Nakh‘ Delegation comprised two hundred men and they arrived in the middle of Muharram in the eleventh year of Al- Hijra. The majority of these groups of delegates arrived during the ninth and tenth years of Al- Hijra. The arrival of some of them tarried till the eleventh year of Al- Hijra.

The succession of these delegations indicated the great degree of the entire acceptance which the Islamic Call reached. It manifested its influence and domination on vast areas of Arabia . The Arabs observed Al- Madinah with such a great respect and estimation that they could do nothing but surrender and submit to it. Al- Madinah had become the headquarters of all Arabia; so it was impossible to avoid it. We dare not say that all the Arabians were possessed and enchanted by this religion. There were lots of hard- hearted bedouins — among the Arabs — who surrendered (i.e. became Muslims) only because their master did so. Their souls were not sanctified yet. Their tendency to raids had been deeply rooted in their souls. The teachings of Islam had not crystallized their souls well yet. Accounting some of them the Qur’ân says:

"The bedouins are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy, and more likely to
be in ignorance of the limits (Allâh’s Commandments and His legal laws,
etc.) which Allâh has revealed to His Messenger. And Allâh is All- Knower,
All- Wise. And of the bedouins there are some who look upon what they
spend (in Allâh’s cause) as a fine and watch for calamities for you, on them
be the calamity of evil. And Allâh is All- Hearer, All- Knower."
[Al- Qur'an 9:97,98]

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The Qur’ân praised others saying:

"And of the bedouins there are some who believe in Allâh and the Last Day,
and look upon what they spend in Allâh’s cause as approaches to Allâh, and
a cause of receiving the Messenger’s invocations. Indeed these are an
approach for them. Allâh will admit them to His Mercy. Certainly Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Al- Qur'an 9:99]

Those of them who were present at Makkah, Madinah and Thaqif and in many other areas of Al- Yemen and Al- Bahrain were different because Islam had been firmly rooted in their souls. Some of them were great Companions and Masters of Muslims.

[Muhadarat Tareekh Al-Umam Al-Islamiyah 1/44; Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/13, 2/626-630; Ibn Hisham 2/501-503, 510-514, 537-542, 560-601; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 3/26-60; Fath Al-Bari 8/83-103; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 1/184-217]

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The Success and Impact of the Call

Before we move one more step and meditate on the last days of the Messenger of Allâh’s life, we ought to cast a quick glance at the great work that was a peculiarity of his. That very peculiarity that made him excel all other Prophets and Messengers and made him so superb that Allâh made him atop the formers and the latters. It was him that was addressed by:

"O you wrapped in garments (i.e Prophet Muhammad [pbuh])! Stand (to
pray) all night, except a little."
[Al- Qur'an 73:1,2]

And said:

"O you (Muhammad [pbuh]) enveloped (in garments). Arise and warn!"
[Al-Qur'an 74:1,2]

So he arose and kept on like that for over twenty years. During those years he undertook to carry the burdens of the great expectations on his shoulders for the sake of the whole mankind and humanity, the Faith and
Jihad
in various fields.

The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] undertook the burdens of struggle and
Al- Jihad
in the conscience of mankind which was then drowning in the illusions of
Al- Jahiliyah
and its images that were loaded with the ground weights and gravitations. He took upon his shoulder to free man’s conscience which was chained with desires and lusts. As soon as he had freed the conscience of his Companions from the burdens and heaps of
Al- Jahiliyah
and earthly life, he started another battle in another field or rather successive battles against the enemy of Allâh’s Call, and against those who conspired against it. It was a battle against those who conspired against the believers and against those who were so careful to tend that pure plant in its implantation before it grew up and stretched its roots in soil and extended its branches up into the air and thus dawned upon other areas. No sooner had he finished the battles in the Arabian Peninsula than the Byzantines began preparations to destroy this new nation on the northern borders.

The first battle — i.e. the battle of conscience — was not over yet. It was in fact a perpetual one. Satan, who was its leader did not spare a moment without exercising his activity in the depth of human conscience. Muhammad [pbuh], on the other hand was attending on calling to Allâh’s religion there and he was keen on fighting that perpetual battle in all fields in spite of their hard circumstances and the world’s conspiracy against him. He went on calling effectively and actively surrounded by the believers who were seeking security through ceaseless toil and great patience.

The Companions acted perpetually and patiently by day and they spent the night worshipping their Lord, reciting and memorizing the Qur’ân glorifying and magnifying Allâh and imploring Him by night; all that at the behest of their Lord, the All- Mighty.

[Fi Zilal Al-Qur'an 29/168,169]

For over twenty years the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] had been leading that progressive steady battle, disregarding any other affairs that kept him off that noble goal. He went on that way till the Islamic Call proved to be successful on a large scale that puzzled all men possessed of good reason.

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The Islamic Call eventually prevailed all over Arabia. It removed all traces of
Al-Jahiliyah
from the horizon of the peninsula. The sick minds of
Al- Jahiliyah
grew healthy in Islam. They did not only get rid of idol- worship, but they also knocked them down. The general atmosphere began to echo "there is no god but Allâh." The calls to prayers were heard five times a day penetrating space and breaking the silence of the dead desert and bringing back life through the new belief. Reciters and memorizers of the Qur’ân set out northwards and southwards reciting verses of the Qur’ân and carrying out Allâh’s injunctions.

Scattered people and tribes were united and man moved from man’s worship of man to man’s worship of Allâh. There were no more oppressors nor oppressed; no masters nor slaves, nor people bound to other people, nor aggressors that would practise aggression. All people were slaves of Allâh. They were beloved brothers obeying Allâh’s rules. Thanks to Allâh they disposed of arrogance and the boastful spirit:

"An Arab is no better than a non- Arab. In return a non- Arab is no better
than an Arab. A red raced man was not better than a black one except in
piety. Mankind are all Adam’s children and Adam was created from dust."

Thanks to the Islamic Call, the Arab unity had become a reality, and so was the case with human unity and social justice as far as their earthly and heavenly affairs were concerned. The time course of events had changed, the features on the earth’s surface and the crooked line of history had grown straight and the mentality had been rectified.