WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:15.609 --> 00:00:17.609 Mawaddah Association is pleased 00:00:17.609 --> 00:00:21.609 to present to you snapshots from the lives of the Companions 00:00:21.609 --> 00:00:24.609 by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:26.640 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:00:30.390 --> 00:00:32.390 Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari, 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.520 may Allah be pleased with him. 00:00:51.710 --> 00:00:54.710 The caravan pressed forward, hastening its steps from Yathrib to Makkah, 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:57.710 driven by longing and impelled by yearning, 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:03.710 for an appointment had been set with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:01:03.710 --> 00:01:07.780 Everyone in the caravan was eagerly anticipating that moment 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:12.780 when they would be blessed to meet the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:16.780 place their hand in his hand to pledge allegiance to him in hearing and obedience, 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:19.780 and covenant to support and champion him. 00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:23.900 Among the caravan was an elder from the notables of his people, 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:26.900 who had seated his small, only son behind him on his mount, 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:29.900 leaving behind in Yathrib nine daughters, 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:32.900 as he had no son other than him. 00:01:34.030 --> 00:01:39.030 The elder was intensely eager for his young boy to witness the pledge of allegiance 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:43.030 and not miss that momentous day among the days of Allah. 00:01:44.030 --> 00:01:49.290 As for that elder, he was 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr al-Khazraji al-Ansari, 00:01:50.290 --> 00:01:54.349 and as for his young boy, he was Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari. 00:01:55.349 --> 00:02:00.640 Faith shone in the heart of Jabir ibn 'Abdillah when he was still a tender child, 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.640 illuminating every corner of his soul; 00:02:04.670 --> 00:02:06.670 Islam touched his young heart 00:02:07.670 --> 00:02:11.669 just as dewdrops touch the petals of flowers, causing them to bloom 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:14.669 and filling them with sweet scent and fragrance. 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:20.699 His bond with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, grew strong from his earliest childhood. 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:26.800 When the supreme Messenger migrated to Al-Madinah, 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:31.800 the young believer learned directly at the hands of the Prophet of guidance and mercy, 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:37.860 becoming one of the most distinguished individuals produced by the Muhammadan school in memorizing the Book of Allah, 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:39.860 understanding the religion of Allah, 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:44.860 and narrating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:53.860 It suffices you to know that the Musnad of Jabir ibn 'Abdillah contains between its covers 1,540 hadiths, 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:55.960 memorized by the gifted student 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:01.960 and narrated to the Muslims from their supreme Prophet, peace be upon him. 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:09.960 Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded over two hundred of those hadiths in their Sahih collections, 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.960 and he remained a beacon of light and guidance for the Muslims for a long time, 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:21.960 as Allah granted him a long life until he nearly reached a century of age. 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:28.120 Jabir ibn 'Abdillah did not witness Badr or Uhud with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:31.120 because he was young, on one hand, 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:37.120 and because his father commanded him to stay with his nine sisters, on the other hand, 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.120 since they had no one else to take care of them. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.340 Jabir narrated, saying: 00:03:46.409 --> 00:03:50.409 "On the night preceding Uhud, my father called me and said, 00:03:50.409 --> 00:03:57.439 'I expect to be among the very first killed among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:05.500 By Allah, I leave behind no one dearer to me than you, after the Messenger of Allah. 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:11.539 I have a debt, so settle my debt, and treat your sisters with compassion and kindly care.' 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:14.539 So make sure to treat them well. 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:19.790 When morning came, my father was the first person killed at Uhud. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:25.980 After I buried him, I came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said, 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:29.980 'O Messenger of Allah, my father left behind a debt, 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:34.980 and I have nothing with which to settle it except the yield of his date palms. 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:40.980 Even if I devoted all that produce to paying off his debt, I could not fulfill it for years, 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:45.980 and my sisters have no other wealth for their upkeep besides this.' 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:50.110 So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stood up, 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:53.110 walked with me to our heap of harvested dates— 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:58.110 a heap being the place where dates are piled and gathered— 00:04:59.110 --> 00:05:03.110 and said to me, 'Summon your father's creditors.' So I called them. 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:10.110 He kept measuring out dates for them until Allah discharged my father's debt in full from that year's harvest. 00:05:11.110 --> 00:05:15.240 Then I looked at the date heap and found it just as it was, 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:19.240 as if not a single date had been taken from it." 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:21.560 Ever since the death of Jabir's father, 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:27.560 he never missed a single battle with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:32.560 In every battle, he had a memorable story told and cherished. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:34.620 Let us yield the floor to him 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:40.620 to relate to us one of his experiences with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:42.620 Jabir said: 00:05:43.620 --> 00:05:44.620 "On the Day of the Trench, while we were digging, 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:49.620 we came upon a rock so hard that we were unable to break it. 00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:53.620 So we came to the Messenger, peace be upon him, and said, 00:05:54.620 --> 00:05:55.620 'O Prophet of Allah, 00:05:56.620 --> 00:05:59.620 a solid rock has obstructed our path, 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:02.620 and our pickaxes have accomplished nothing against it.' 00:06:03.750 --> 00:06:05.750 He, peace be upon him, said, 00:06:06.750 --> 00:06:08.750 'Leave it, for I will go down to it.' 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:10.819 Then he stood up, 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:14.819 with a stone bound over his stomach due to severe hunger, 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:18.819 because three days had passed 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:20.819 during which we had not tasted any food. 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:24.819 The Prophet, peace be upon him, took the pickaxe, 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:26.819 struck the rock, 00:06:27.819 --> 00:06:28.819 and it crumbled into a mound of soft sand. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:30.910 At that moment, 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:36.910 my grief deepened over the hunger afflicting the supreme Messenger, peace be upon him. 00:06:37.910 --> 00:06:39.939 I turned to him and said, 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:43.939 'Will you grant me permission, O Messenger of Allah, to go to my house?' 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:45.939 He said, 'Go.' 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.040 When I reached home, I said to my wife, 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:53.040 'I have seen such bitter hunger in the Messenger of Allah 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.040 as no human being could bear. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:58.040 Do you have anything?' 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:00.040 She said, 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.040 'I have a little barley 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:04.100 and a small young goat.' 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:07.100 So I went to the goat, slaughtered it, dressed it, 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:09.100 and placed it in the cooking pot. 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.100 Then I took the barley, ground it, and handed it to my wife, 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:14.100 and she kneaded the dough. 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:17.100 When I saw that the meat was nearly cooked, 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:19.100 and the dough had softened 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:21.100 and was about to rise, 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:26.100 I went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and said to him, 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.100 'A little food we have prepared for you, O Prophet of Allah, 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:32.100 so please come, you and one or two men with you.' 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:34.230 He asked, 'How much is it?' 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:36.230 So I described it to him. 00:07:36.230 --> 00:07:41.230 When the Prophet, peace be upon him, realized the amount of food, he called out, 00:07:42.230 --> 00:07:43.230 'O people of the Trench! 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:47.230 Jabir has prepared a feast for you, so come along!' 00:07:48.230 --> 00:07:49.420 Then he turned to me and said, 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:52.420 'Go to your wife and tell her: 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:57.420 "Do not remove your pot from the fire, nor bake your dough, until I arrive."' 00:07:58.420 --> 00:07:59.420 So I went home, 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:02.420 overwhelmed by such anxiety and embarrassment 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:04.420 as only Allah knows. 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:05.420 I kept saying to myself, 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:11.420 'Are the people of the Trench coming to us for a single measure of barley and a small young goat?' 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:14.459 Then I entered upon my wife and said, 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:16.459 'Woe to you, I am ruined! 00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:19.579 The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:22.579 is bringing the entire army of the Trench to us!' 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:24.579 She asked, 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:26.579 'Did he ask you how much food you had?' 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:28.579 I said, 'Yes.' 00:08:29.579 --> 00:08:30.579 She said, 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:32.580 'Relieve your mind; 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:34.580 Allah and His Messenger know best.' 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:38.580 Her words lifted that immense worry from me. 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:40.740 It was only a short while 00:08:41.740 --> 00:08:44.740 before the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrived, 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:47.740 accompanied by the Ansar and the Muhajirun. 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:49.740 He said to them, 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:51.740 'Enter, but do not crowd.' 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:53.740 Then he said to my wife, 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:56.740 'Bring a baker to bake alongside you, 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.740 ladle out from your pot, and do not remove it from the stove.' 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:02.740 Then he began breaking the bread, 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:04.740 topping it with meat, 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:08.740 and serving it to his Companions while they ate, 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:10.740 until everyone was fully satisfied. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:13.740 Jabir added, saying: 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:15.740 'I swear by Allah, 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:17.740 they departed after eating their fill, 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:21.740 while our pot was still boiling, as full as it had been, 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:24.740 and our dough was still being baked just as before.' 00:09:25.870 --> 00:09:27.870 Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:09:28.870 --> 00:09:29.870 said to my wife, 00:09:30.870 --> 00:09:31.870 'Eat from it, and send gifts of it.' 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:33.870 So she ate 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:36.870 and kept sending gifts of food for the rest of that day." 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.159 Indeed, 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.159 Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari remained 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.159 a beacon of light and guidance for Muslims for a long time, 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.159 as Allah granted him long life 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.159 until he nearly reached a century of age. 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:58.159 One year, he went out to the land of the Byzantines to fight in the cause of Allah. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:02.159 The army was under the command of Malik ibn 'Abdillah al-Khath'ami. 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:06.159 Malik was inspecting his troops as they marched, 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:08.159 checking on their condition, 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:10.159 boosting their morale, 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:15.159 and giving the elders among them the honor and care they deserved. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:17.159 He passed by Jabir ibn 'Abdillah 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:19.159 and found him walking, 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:23.159 leading his mule by its reins. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:25.159 He said to him, 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:27.159 "What is the matter, O Abu 'Abdillah? 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:29.159 Why do you not ride, 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:32.159 when Allah has made available to you a mount to carry you?" 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:34.159 Jabir replied, 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.159 "I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:43.159 'Whosoever's feet become dusty in the cause of Allah, Allah will forbid him from the Fire.'" 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:48.259 So Malik left him and rode ahead to the front of the army. 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:52.259 Then he turned toward him and called out at the top of his voice, 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:54.259 saying, 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:55.259 "O Abu 'Abdillah! 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:59.259 Why do you not ride your mule when it is in your possession?" 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:01.259 Jabir understood his intention 00:11:02.259 --> 00:11:04.259 and answered him in a loud voice, saying, 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.259 "I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:14.259 'Whosoever's feet become dusty in the cause of Allah, Allah will forbid him from the Fire.'" 00:11:15.289 --> 00:11:17.289 Upon hearing this, the men leaped down from their mounts, 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:21.289 each wanting to earn this reward, 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:25.289 such that no army was ever seen with more foot soldiers than that army. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.320 Glad tidings to Jabir ibn 'Abdillah al-Ansari! 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.320 He pledged allegiance to the supreme Messenger, peace be upon him, 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:36.320 as a young child who had not yet reached puberty, 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:40.320 learned directly at his hands from his earliest childhood, 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.320 narrated his hadiths, which narrators transmitted from him, 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.320 strove in jihad alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:50.320 as a young man in the prime of his youth, 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:53.320 and got his feet dusty in the cause of Allah 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.320 as an old man of advanced age, 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:03.649 narrating to the Muslims from their supreme Prophet, 00:12:04.649 --> 00:12:06.649 peace be upon him, 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:10.740 1,540 hadiths. 00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:23.970 [Music]