In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you vignettes from the lives of the Companions,
authored by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with him.
'Amr ibn Tha'labah committed a manslaughter among his people,
leaving him with no choice but to leave the homelands of his tribe, Bahra',
or else expose himself to blood vengeance.
He preferred the former over the latter
and fled to Hadhramaut.
There he established a home for himself,
and it was not long before he married a local woman of Hadhramaut,
who bore him a boy whom he named Al-Miqdad.
Al-Miqdad inherited most of his physical and character traits from his father:
he was exceptionally tall,
dark-complexioned—so dark
that he could rightfully be described as black—
and broadly built, inspiring awe and grandeur in the eyes of any who beheld him.
In addition, he was fiercely resolute and strong-willed,
full of zeal, magnanimity, and sharp fervor.
One day,
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr got into a dispute with one of the noble chieftains of Hadhramaut,
Abu Shamir ibn Hajar.
A harsh word slipped from the Hadhrami elder,
which wounded the youth's pride and stirred his rage.
He drew his sword and brought it down upon the Hadhrami elder,
severing his leg.
Thereupon, Al-Miqdad realized he had to depart from Hadhramaut,
just as his father had departed before him from the dwellings of his tribe, Bahra'.
So he set his face toward Mecca.
From the moment his feet stepped into Mecca, Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr realized
that no one could live in this Qurayshite society in safety and tranquility
unless he had a tribe to protect him or a tribal alliance to defend him.
As for strangers like himself, they had no choice but to choose between two options:
either ally themselves with one of the noble chieftains,
thereby living under his care and finding safety in his protection,
or expose themselves to humiliation and disgrace.
Thus, he allied himself with one of the chieftains of Quraysh,
Al-Aswad ibn 'Abd Yaghuth al-Zuhri.
But Al-Aswad ibn 'Abd Yaghuth
soon saw in the Hadhrami youth such marks of manhood, noble character,
and traits of courage and chivalry
that his heart was filled with love for him.
He took him by the hand and went with him to the gatherings of Quraysh near the Ka'bah.
Standing before them, he announced his adoption of him, saying,
"Bear witness, O assembly of Quraysh,
that this is my son: I shall inherit from him, and he shall inherit from me."
From that day forward, people called him Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad.
Although Islam later abolished adoption,
most people continued to call him by that name,
owing to how frequently it rolled off their tongues
and how widely they had used it among themselves.
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr—or Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, as they used to call him—was not
comfortable in that pre-Islamic society,
in which blood was shed unjustly and aggressively,
sacred rights were violated through transgression and wrongdoing,
the strong oppressed the weak,
and blind fanatical allegiances prevailed.
For despite having been adopted by one of the nobles of Quraysh,
he remained, in the eyes of the people, an outcast stranger
who could not marry into any of their families,
because in their custom he was not an equal match for any of their daughters,
no matter how modest her standing.
Al-Miqdad used to hear what was being said by the fortune-tellers
and narrated by the Jewish rabbis:
that a prophet whose time was at hand
would fill the world with righteousness, goodness, and justice.
So he would say to himself, "Perhaps it will be soon."
Only a short time passed after that
before Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with the religion of guidance and truth.
No sooner did Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr hear of him
than he hastened to him, placed his hand in his hands,
and bore witness that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
He then proceeded to the gatherings of Quraysh near the Ka'bah
and announced his Islam openly before the assembly of the people.
Thus, he became the seventh person to declare his acceptance of Islam
on the face of the earth.
When Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr set out
for the gatherings of Quraysh to declare his entry
into the religion of Allah openly and publicly,
he was not ignorant of how Quraysh would react,
nor was he unaware of the harm and severe punishment
they would inflict upon him.
But he also knew
that a message like the message of Islam
inevitably required sacrifices,
and he was determined to be one of its witnesses and martyrs.
Quraysh poured out upon Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr
such brutal force and torment as would shake mountains,
yet he did not waver nor falter.
The torture served only to increase
his steadfastness in his religion
and the firmness of his faith and conviction.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permitted
his Companions to migrate to Medina,
Quraysh refused to allow Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr
to leave their great prison,
for their hatred toward him
matched his defiance of them.
For this reason, he was among the last of the Muslims to make the migration,
and he was unable to break free from Quraysh
except through a clever stratagem.
When he arrived in Medina,
the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, rejoiced
at his arrival,
for he loved him with immense love
and used to say:
"Indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, has commanded me to love four people,
and He informed me that He loves them:
'Ali, Al-Miqdad,
Abu Dharr, and Salman."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, divided
the Emigrants among his Companions into groups of ten,
placing every ten in a house.
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr was among the ten
who were blessed to reside in the household of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
blessed to experience his noble character,
and recipient of much of his benevolence and compassion.
Al-Miqdad narrated, saying:
"I was among the ten whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, chose
to be with him in his home.
The family of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had three female goats
which we would milk, distributing their milk among ourselves.
We used to set aside for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, his share.
One night, I came along with two companions of mine,
hunger having so exhausted us that we were on the verge of not being able to see or hear.
As for my two companions, they drank their shares and went to sleep.
As for me, what I drank was not enough for me,
and I remained empty-stomached, unable to sleep due to severe hunger.
Satan whispered to me, 'What harm would it do if you drank this draught that was saved for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?
For the Prophet, peace be upon him, receives visits from the Ansar,
who present him with similar gifts whenever he wishes.'
He kept enticing me with it until I drank it.
When I drank it, Satan came to make me regret what I had done, saying,
'What have you done to yourself?
Now Muhammad will come and find no drink,
so he will pray against you, and you will perish!'
It was a cold night,
and I had on a small cloak: if I placed it over my head, my feet remained exposed,
and if I covered my feet with it, my head was uncovered.
Whenever the Messenger, peace be upon him, arrived at night,
he would offer a greeting in a tone audible to one who was awake,
yet without waking one who was asleep.
It was not long before he arrived and gave the greeting,
then prayed as much as Allah willed for him to pray,
while I watched him from beneath the cloak.
Then he checked his drink and found nothing,
so he raised his hands.
I said to myself, 'Now he will invoke against me, and I shall perish!'
But he said:
'O Allah, feed him who feeds me,
and give drink to him who gives me drink!'
So I said to myself:
'I shall feed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and gain the blessing of his supplication!'
So I slipped away from my place, took my knife,
and said, 'I will slaughter one of the goats for him,
and let happen whatever may happen after that.'
Then I went to the goats
and began feeling them to see which of them was the fattest,
only to find that their udders were overflowing with milk,
even though they had been milked just a short while before.
So I took a vessel and milked one of them
until it was full and topped with froth.
Then I brought it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and he drank.
Then he handed it to me, and I drank.
Then I handed it to him, and he drank.
Then he handed it to me, and I drank,
whereupon I laughed.
He said to me:
'This is one of your antics, O Miqdad!
What makes you laugh?'
So I told him what I had done,
and he said:
'This was nothing less than a mercy from Allah Almighty!
If only you had awakened your two companions,
they could have shared in the milk we drank.'
I said:
'By Him Who sent you with the truth,
as long as you have drunk from it
and I have drunk from your leftovers, I do not care
if no one else drinks!'"
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr settled in Medina,
having not yet married.
While he was sitting with 'Abd al-Rahman—
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Auf, may Allah be pleased with them both—
'Abd al-Rahman said to him:
"Why do you not marry, O Miqdad?"
Al-Miqdad replied:
"Marry me to your daughter."
'Abd al-Rahman said:
"My daughter? I will not marry my daughter to you,"
and he uttered a harsh word to him that displeased him.
Al-Miqdad stood up, saying:
Is there still a remnant of the pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah remaining within us?
Has Islam not leveled all distinctions among its adherents,
making the most honorable among them in the sight of Allah the most God-fearing?
He then went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
and related to him what had occurred with 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him,
"Would it not satisfy you, O Miqdad, to become an in-law of the Messenger of Allah?"
Al-Miqdad could hardly believe his ears,
and exclaimed, "Indeed, O Messenger of Allah!
But who would grant me such an honor?"
He replied, "I guarantee it for you."
So he married him to his own cousin,
Duba'ah bint al-Zubayr ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib.
Thus he became an in-law of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and that alone was a sufficient source of nobility and pride for him.
Then came the Battle of Badr,
when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out
with three hundred and some odd men from among his Companions,
without intending to engage in an all-out war.
But when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) found
himself compelled to fight,
it was essential for him to secure the endorsement of his men.
So he laid the matter before them.
Abu Bakr spoke and spoke well,
'Umar spoke and spoke well,
yet the situation still demanded a decisive, resolute statement
to dispel hesitation and bolster resolve.
The honor of delivering this statement fell to Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr,
who turned to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
with his towering stature and booming voice,
and said, "O Messenger of Allah,
proceed to whatever Allah has shown you, for we are with you!
By Allah, we will not say to you as the Children of Israel said to Moses,
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
'We are sitting right here!'
Rather, we say to you,
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
'We will fight alongside you both!'
By Him Who has sent you with the truth,
even if you were to lead us to the distant shores of Birk al-Ghimad,
we would fight by your side against anyone standing in your way until you reach it!"
The noble face of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) beamed
with joy,
and he spoke words of goodness to him and prayed for his well-being.
On that day, Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr was
the only warrior who fought at Badr on horseback,
while the rest were either on foot or riding camels.
Thus, the history of jihad in Islam recorded for him
that he was the first to charge on horseback in the cause of Allah.
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr tasted the sweetness of striving in the cause of Allah on the day of Badr,
and he took an oath upon himself to remain a warrior exalting the word of Allah
as long as his sword remained gripped in his hand.
And he indeed fulfilled his oath.
For during the caliphate of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), he was seen
sitting on a money-changer's chest
in one of the markets of Homs,
advanced in years and approaching the age of seventy,
his body having become heavy and overflowing the chest,
while his sword lay across his lap.
A man from among the people asked him,
"What are you doing here, O Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?"
He replied, "I am waiting for the combatants to set out for the front lines so that I may join them."
The man said to him, "Why do you not return home?
Surely Allah has excused you,
surely Allah has excused you,
after reaching the advanced age that you have reached."
He replied, "Far from it, my son!
Surat al-Ba'uth has forbidden us from staying behind"—
meaning Surat al-Anfal—
"Have you not heard the saying of Allah Almighty:
'Go forth, light and heavy'?
Do you find anywhere in it that Allah has exempted me?"
Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr lived until he reached seventy-three years of age,
striving in the cause of Allah, entirely indifferent to positions of authority.
When death came to him,
the remaining remnant of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laid him to rest in his grave,
saying as they did so:
"A sword from among the swords of Allah has returned to its sheath,
after a long journey of toil and heroic service,
striving in the cause of Allah."