In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Ka'b ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him.
Today’s story is truly intense,
profoundly sincere,
and reaches the absolute pinnacle of intensity, depth, and excitement in storytelling.
I had intended, dear listener,
to narrate it to you myself,
but when I began, I found my expression too inadequate to convey its exquisite, subtle nuances,
its brilliant and masterful imagery,
and its overflowing, surging emotions.
So, I chose to leave that to the protagonist of the story himself,
for he is more eloquent than I,
more capable of expressing the stirrings of his own soul,
and more precise in depicting the whispers of his conscience.
So, listen to Ka'b ibn Malik al-Ansari,
a Companion of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
for he shall tell you his story.
Ka'b said:
"I never stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in any expedition he undertook,
except for the day of Tabuk.
I had never been stronger or better equipped for an expedition
than I was when I stayed behind from that one.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
used to conceal his destination whenever he intended an expedition,
and would hint at a different one,
except for this expedition.
Perhaps what made the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
not conceal his destination
was that the heat was intense,
the journey was long,
the fruits had ripened,
and the shade was pleasant.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, prepared himself,
and the Muslims prepared with him.
I began to go to the market to prepare with them,
but I would return each time
without having done anything.
I would say to myself,
'I am capable of preparing at any moment.'
I continued to procrastinate in this manner
until the Muslims became earnest in their preparations,
and I had not completed any of my own.
While I was in that state,
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and those with him set out.
I intended to set out after them
and catch up with them,
and I wish I had done so,
but it was not decreed for me.
Soon after, I was overcome with grief and regret for what I had done.
What added to my grief
was that whenever I went out from my house and walked among the people,
I saw no one but a man accused of hypocrisy,
or one who was incapacitated, whom Allah had excused for his incapacity.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not mention me
until he reached Tabuk.
He said to his Companions,
'What has happened to Ka'b ibn Malik?'
A man from Banu Salamah said,
'He was held back by his two beautiful garments
and his looking at his own sides.'
Mu'adh ibn Jabal said,
'What a terrible thing you have said!
By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
we know nothing of him but good.'
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, remained silent
and added nothing.
Then it reached me that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
had turned back toward Medina.
My grief overcame me,
and I began to consider lying, saying to myself,
'How can I apologize to him and escape his anger tomorrow?'
I sought the advice of every wise person in my family,
but I found no solution with them.
When it was said to me
that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was approaching,
falsehood departed from me,
and I knew that I would not escape his anger
with anything involving a lie.
So, I resolved to speak the truth.
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, arrived
in Medina.
Whenever he returned from a journey,
he would begin with the mosque,
where he would pray two rak'ahs.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, finished
the two rak'ahs, he sat for the people.
Those who had stayed behind, like me, came to him,
offering excuses and swearing oaths to him.
They were over eighty men.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, accepted from them
based on what they professed,
asked forgiveness for them,
and left their inner secrets to Allah.
Then I came to him.
When I greeted him,
he smiled the smile of one who is angry, then said,
'Come here.'
I walked until I sat before him.
He said to me,
'What held you back, O Ka'b?
Had you not purchased your mount?'
I said,
'By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
if I had sat before anyone else among the people of this world,
I would have escaped his anger with an excuse I could fabricate for him.
For, by Allah, I have been given eloquence and a way with words.
But, by Allah,
I knew that if I told you a lie today
to satisfy you,
Allah would soon make you angry with me.
And if I told you the truth, which would anger you,
I hope for Allah’s pardon through it.
By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
I had no excuse for what I did.
I have never been stronger or better equipped than I was when I stayed behind from you.'
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
'As for this man, he has spoken the truth.'
Then he turned to me and said,
'Rise until Allah decides your case.'
I rose and left the mosque.
Ka'b said,
'Soon, men from my tribe followed me
and said to me,
"By Allah, we have never known you to commit a sin before this.
Why were you unable to apologize to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
as the others who stayed behind did?"
By Allah, they continued to rebuke me
until I intended to return to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and declare myself a liar.'
But I soon asked them,
'Has anyone else shared in what I have done?'
They said, 'Yes,
two men who said exactly what you said,
and were told exactly what you were told.'
I asked, 'Who are they?'
They said,
'Murarah ibn al-Rabi' and Hilal ibn Umayyah.'
They were two righteous men
who had witnessed Badr.
I said, 'Then I have an example in them.'
So I went on.
Ka'b ibn Malik said,
'Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, forbade anyone from speaking to us three,
out of all those who had stayed behind.
People avoided us and changed toward us,
until the very earth felt strange to me.
It was no longer the earth I knew.
We remained in that state for fifty nights.
As for my two companions,
they remained submissive and stayed in their houses, weeping.
But as for me,
I was the youngest and most resilient of the three.
I would go out and attend prayer with the Muslims
and walk in the markets,
but no one would speak to me.
I would come to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and greet him while he was in his gathering after prayer,
then I would say to myself,
"Did he move his lips to return my greeting or not?"
I would try to pray near him,
so I could steal a glance at him.
When I was occupied with my prayer, he would look at me,
but when I turned toward him, he would turn away from me.
When the people’s coldness toward me lasted too long,
my distress became severe.
I climbed the wall of the garden of Abu Qatadah,
who was my cousin and the most beloved of people to me.
I greeted him,
but by Allah, he did not return my greeting.
I said, "O Abu Qatadah,
I adjure you by Allah,
do you know that I love Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?"
He remained silent.
I repeated it to him, and he remained silent.
I repeated it again,
and he said,
"Allah and His Messenger know best."
At that,
I turned back from where I had come.
Then, something unexpected happened.
While I was walking in the market of Medina, with no one speaking to me,
a Nabataean from the Nabataeans of Syria said,
"Who will direct me to Ka'b ibn Malik?"
People pointed toward me.
He came to me and handed me a letter from the King of Ghassan.
It read:
"To proceed:
It has reached me that your master has treated you coldly.
Come join us, and we will comfort you."
I said when I read it,
"This, too, is a trial."
I directed the letter toward the glowing light.
I cast the letter into it.
Ka'b said:
When forty nights of the fifty had passed,
a man came to me from the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He said, "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
commands you to separate from your wife."
I asked, "Should I divorce her, or what should I do?"
He replied, "No, but separate from her and do not approach her."
He sent the same message to my two companions.
I said to my wife,
"Go to your family and stay with them
until Allah decides this matter."
So she went to her family.
As for the wife of Hilal Ibn Umayyah,
she came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and said, "O Messenger of Allah,
Hilal is an elderly man with no servant.
Do you dislike that I serve him?"
He replied, "No, but he must not approach you."
She said, "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
he has not ceased weeping since he confined himself to his house
until this very day."
Ka'b said:
At that time, some of my family said to me,
"If only you would ask the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
regarding your wife,
for he might grant you permission just as he granted Hilal Ibn Umayyah."
I said, "By Allah, I will not do so.
How do I know what the Messenger, peace be upon him, might say to me,
given that I am a young man?"
Ka'b said:
I remained in that state for another ten nights,
until fifty nights were complete for us.
When I performed the dawn prayer on the morning of the fiftieth night,
while I was on the roof of one of our houses,
and the earth, despite its vastness, had become constrained for me,
and my own soul had become severely constricted,
I heard the voice of a crier from the top of Mount Sal'
calling out at the top of his voice,
"O Ka'b Ibn Malik, rejoice!"
"O Ka'b Ibn Malik, rejoice!"
No sooner did the sound reach my ears
than I fell down prostrate to Allah,
for I knew that relief had come to me,
and that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
had announced this to his Companions.
People began to come to congratulate me.
The first of them to reach me was a rider who came on his horse.
Others also went to my two companions to congratulate them.
When the one whose voice I had heard came to me,
I took off my two garments for him,
and clothed him in them for his good news.
By Allah, I owned nothing else at that time.
Then I borrowed two garments and put them on,
and set out to the Messenger, peace be upon him.
The Muslims met me in groups,
congratulating me on my repentance and saying,
"May Allah’s acceptance of your repentance be blessed, O Ibn Malik!"
I entered the mosque,
and there was the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
sitting with people around him.
His face was radiant, as if it were a piece of the moon.
When I greeted him,
he said, his face beaming with joy,
"Rejoice, O Ka'b!
Rejoice, O Ka'b, at the best day that has passed over you
since your mother gave birth to you."
I asked, "Is it from you, O Messenger of Allah,
or from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic?"
He replied, "No, rather it is from Allah."
I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
part of my repentance is that I strip myself of all my wealth,
and give it as charity for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him."
The Messenger, peace be upon him, said,
"Keep some of your wealth, O Ka'b,
for it is better for you."
I said, "Then I shall keep my share in Khaybar,
and give the rest as charity."
Then I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
Allah has saved me only through truthfulness.
Part of my repentance
is that I will not speak anything but the truth as long as I live."
May Allah be pleased with Ka'b Ibn Malik al-Ansari,
the poet of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
He defended Islam with his tongue and his pen.
Allah revealed Qur'an concerning him and his companions,
which is still recited in the hours of the night and at the ends of the day,
and will continue to be recited until Allah inherits the earth and those upon it.
Ka'b Ibn Malik, the poet of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
and one of the truthful Ansar
whom Allah forgave,
and about whom He revealed Qur'an.
O poetry, be generous
in their praise, for are they not eternal?