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.
Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi, may Allah be pleased with him.
Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi:
The chieftain of the Daws tribe during the Age of Ignorance,
and a nobleman among the most prominent of the Arabs,
and one of the few known for his chivalry.
His fire was never extinguished,
and his door was never closed to a traveler.
He would feed the hungry,
provide security for the fearful,
and grant refuge to those seeking it.
Beyond that, he was a man of letters, intelligent and sagacious,
a poet of refined sensibility,
and delicate feelings,
with a keen eye for the beauty and bitterness of eloquence,
for words held a magical power over him.
Tufayl left the dwellings of his people in Tihamah, heading toward Makkah,
while the struggle was raging between the noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the disbelievers of Quraysh.
Each side wanted to win supporters for itself,
and attract allies to its cause.
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was calling to his Lord,
with faith and truth as his weapons.
The disbelievers of Quraysh,
were resisting his call with every weapon,
and turning people away from him by every means.
Tufayl found himself entering this battle completely unprepared,
and plunging into its depths without intent.
He had not come to Makkah for this purpose,
nor had the affair of Muhammad and Quraysh ever crossed his mind before.
Hence, Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi had
an unforgettable story regarding this struggle.
So let us listen to it,
for it is among the most remarkable of tales.
Tufayl narrated, saying:
"I arrived in Makkah,
and no sooner did the leaders of Quraysh see me than they approached me,
welcoming me with the warmest of welcomes,
and honoring me with the highest status among them.
Then their leaders and elders gathered around me and said:
'O Tufayl, you have come to our land,
and this man who claims to be a prophet
has corrupted our affairs, torn our unity apart,
and scattered our community.
We fear that what has befallen us
will befall you and your leadership over your people.
So do not speak to the man,
and do not listen to anything from him,
for he has speech like magic,
which separates a son from his father,
a brother from his brother,
and a wife from her husband.'"
Tufayl said:
"By Allah, they kept at me, telling me of his strange reports,
and frightening me for myself and my people with his wondrous deeds,
until I resolved not to go near him,
and not to speak to him or hear anything from him.
When I went to the Mosque to circumambulate the Ka'bah,
and seek blessings from its idols, which we used to perform pilgrimage to and venerate,
I stuffed my ears with cotton,
for fear that something of Muhammad's speech might reach my hearing.
But no sooner had I entered the Mosque
than I found him standing, praying by the Ka'bah,
a prayer different from our prayer,
and worshipping in a way different from our worship.
His sight captivated me,
and his worship moved me,
and I found myself drawing closer to him, little by little, without intending to,
until I was near him.
Allah willed that some of what he was saying should reach my ears,
and I heard beautiful speech.
I said to myself:
'May your mother be bereaved of you, O Tufayl!
You are an intelligent man and a poet,
and the difference between good and evil is not hidden from you.
What prevents you from listening to what the man says?
If what he brings is good, accept it,
and if it is evil, reject it.'"
Tufayl said:
"Then I waited until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, left for his house,
and I followed him until, when he entered his home, I entered upon him.
I said: 'O Muhammad,
your people have told me such and such about you.
By Allah, they did not cease frightening me about your affair,
until I blocked my ears with cotton so as not to hear your speech.
Then Allah willed that I should hear something of it,
and I found it to be good.
So present your affair to me.'
He presented his affair to me,
and recited to me Surah al-Ikhlas and al-Falaq.
By Allah, I have never heard speech better than his,
nor have I seen an affair more just than his.
At that, he extended his hand to me,
and I testified that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
and I entered into Islam."
Tufayl said:
"Then I stayed in Makkah for a time,
during which I learned the matters of Islam,
and memorized what I could of the Qur'an.
When I resolved to return to my people,
I said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
I am a man obeyed among my kin,
and I am returning to them to call them to Islam.
So pray to Allah to grant me a sign,
that may be an aid to me in what I call them to.'
He said:
'O Allah, grant him a sign.'
So I went out to my people,
until, when I was at a place overlooking their dwellings,
a light fell between my eyes,
like a lamp.
I said:
'O Allah, place it somewhere other than my face,
for I fear they might think it is a punishment
that fell upon my face for abandoning their religion.'
The light shifted,
and fell upon the head of my whip.
People began to see that light on my whip,
like a hanging lantern,
while I was descending to them from the mountain pass.
When I descended,
my father came to me,
and he was a very old man.
I said:
'Stay away from me, O my father,
for I am not of you, and you are not of me.'
He said:
'Why, my son?'
I said:
'I have accepted Islam and followed the religion of Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.'
He said:
'O my son,
my religion is your religion.'
I said:
'Go and wash yourself and purify your clothes,
then come so I may teach you what I have learned.'
He went, washed, and purified his clothes,
then came, and I presented Islam to him,
and he accepted Islam.
Then my wife came,
and I said: 'Stay away from me,
for I am not of you, and you are not of me.'
She said:
'Why, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you?'
I said:
'Islam has separated me from you,
for I have accepted Islam and followed the religion of Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.'
She said:
'Then my religion is your religion.'
I said:
'Go and purify yourself with the water of Dhu al-Shara.'
Dhu al-Shara was an idol of Daws, around which was water that flowed down from the mountain.
She said:
'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you,
do you fear anything for the children from Dhu al-Shara?'
I said:
'Woe to you and to Dhu al-Shara!
I told you to go and wash there, far away from the people,
and I guarantee to you that this deaf stone will not do anything.'
So she went, washed, and then came,
and I presented Islam to her,
and she accepted Islam.
Then I called the Daws tribe,
but they were slow to respond, except for Abu Hurayrah,
for he was the fastest of people to accept Islam."
Tufayl said:
"Then I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in Makkah,
and with me was Abu Hurayrah.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to me:
'What is behind you, O Tufayl?'
I said:
'Hearts covered with veils and intense disbelief.
Immorality and disobedience have overcome the Daws.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stood up,
performed ablution, prayed,
and raised his hands to the sky.
Abu Hurayrah said:
'When I saw him doing that,
I feared he would pray against my people and they would perish,
so I said: 'O my people!'
But the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
began to say:
'O Allah, guide the Daws!
O Allah, guide the Daws!
O Allah, guide the Daws!'
Then he turned to Tufayl
and said:
'Return to your people, be gentle with them,
and call them to Islam.'"
Tufayl said:
I remained in the land of Daws,
calling them to Islam,
until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, migrated
to Medina.
Badr, Uhud, and the Trench passed by,
and then I came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
accompanied by eighty families from Daws.
They had embraced Islam, and their Islam was sincere.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was pleased with us,
and he assigned us a share of the spoils of Khaybar along with the Muslims.
We said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
place us on your right flank in every expedition you undertake,
and let our battle cry be 'Mabrur' (Righteous)."
Al-Tufayl said,
"I remained with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
until Allah granted him the conquest of Mecca.
I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
send me to Dhu al-Kaffayn,
the idol of 'Amr ibn Humama,
so that I may burn it.'"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, gave him permission.
He set out toward the idol with a detachment of his people.
When he reached it and intended to burn it,
men, women, and children gathered around him,
harboring evil intentions toward him,
waiting for a thunderbolt to strike him down
if he were to inflict any harm upon Dhu al-Kaffayn.
But al-Tufayl,
approached the idol in full view of its worshippers,
and began to set fire to its base,
while reciting verses:
"O Dhu al-Kaffayn, I am not one of your worshippers;
our birth is older than your birth.
I have stuffed fire into your base."
No sooner had the fire consumed the idol
than it consumed with it what remained of polytheism
in the tribe of Daws.
The entire tribe embraced Islam,
and their Islam was sincere.
Al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dawsi remained,
after that, in the company of the Messenger of Allah,
may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
until the Prophet was taken
to the side of his Lord.
When the Caliphate passed after him
to his companion, al-Siddiq (Abu Bakr),
al-Tufayl placed himself, his sword, and his son
in obedience to the successor of the Messenger of Allah.
When the Wars of Apostasy broke out,
al-Tufayl rushed to the vanguard of the Muslim army
to fight Musaylima the Liar,
accompanied by his son, 'Amr.
While he was on his way to al-Yamama,
he saw a vision.
He said to his companions,
"I have seen a vision,
so interpret it for me."
They asked, "What did you see?"
He said,
"I saw that my head had been shaved,
that a bird had emerged from my mouth,
and that a woman had taken me into her womb."
"And I saw that my son 'Amr was seeking me urgently,
but a barrier was placed between him and me."
They said, "It is good."
He said,
"As for me, by Allah, I have interpreted it:
As for the shaving of my head,
it means it will be severed.
As for the bird that emerged from my mouth,
it is my soul.
As for the woman who took me into her womb,
it is the earth
being dug for me,
so that I may be buried in its depths.
I hope to be killed as a martyr.
As for my son seeking me,
it means he is seeking the martyrdom that I shall attain,
if Allah wills,
but he will attain it later."
In the Battle of al-Yamama,
the noble Companion,
al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dawsi,
fought most valiantly,
until he fell as a martyr on the battlefield.
As for his son 'Amr,
he continued to fight
until wounds exhausted him,
and his right hand was severed.
He returned to Medina,
leaving behind his father and his hand on the soil of al-Yamama.
During the Caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
'Amr ibn al-Tufayl entered upon him.
Food was brought to the Commander of the Faithful,
and the people were sitting with him.
He invited the people to eat,
but 'Amr withdrew.
The Commander of the Faithful said to him,
"What is the matter? Perhaps you are holding back from the food out of shyness because of your hand?"
He said, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful."
He said, "By Allah, I will not taste this food
until you mix it with your severed hand.
By Allah, there is no one among the people
who has a part of himself in Paradise except you."
He meant by that his hand.
The dream of martyrdom continued to beckon to 'Amr
ever since he parted from his father.
When the Battle of Yarmouk took place,
'Amr hastened to it among the first,
and he continued to fight
until he attained the martyrdom his father had promised him.
May Allah have mercy on al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dawsi,
for he was a martyr,
and the father of a martyr.
O Allah, grant him a sign that aids him in the good he intends.
From the supplication of the Messenger,
through Muhammad and his companions.
The lofty structure has been aided,
O slogan, assist me and pour forth;
in their praise, can there be any more?