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.
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr,
may Allah be pleased with him.
She reached the outskirts of Yathrib—the one with the two belts,
Asma bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq—
exhausted and weary.
For the other Muhajirun (emigrants)
were suffering the hardships of travel alone,
whereas she
was enduring, beyond the hardships of travel,
the hardships of pregnancy as well.
No sooner had Asma set down her burdens in Quba,
on the outskirts of Yathrib, than labor came upon her,
and she gave birth to a boy whose arrival
the City of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
had been awaiting.
This was because the Jews of the city
had spread among the people
the rumor that their rabbis had cast a spell upon the Muslim emigrants,
and that this spell would render them infertile,
so that no child would be born to them thereafter.
Thus, no sooner had the news of the blessed boy’s birth
spread among the Muslims
than the corners of the city of the Greatest Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
rang out with the declaration of Allah’s oneness and greatness (tahlil and takbir).
The Muslims turned to one another,
exchanging glad tidings and shouting,
"The Jews have lied! The Jews have lied!"
The blessed newborn was carried
to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
who placed him in his lap.
He then called for a date,
chewed it in his noble mouth,
and placed it into the mouth of the fortunate boy,
who swallowed it with ease.
He then named him Abd Allah,
which was the name of his grandfather, al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
And he gave him the kunya (patronymic) Abu Bakr,
which was his own.
Then he commanded al-Siddiq to call the adhan in his ear,
and he did so.
Thus, the first thing to enter the belly of that fortunate newborn
was the saliva of the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
And the first sound to settle in his ear was the sound of the adhan,
raised by al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr possessed a nobility of lineage
such as few people have ever attained.
His father was al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam,
the disciple (hawari) of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and one of the ten promised Paradise.
His mother was Asma bint Abi Bakr, the one with the two belts.
His maternal grandfather was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
the Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his intimate friend.
His maternal aunt was Aisha, Mother of the Believers,
the innocent and exonerated.
His paternal grandmother was Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib,
the aunt of the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
And his father’s aunt was Khadija bint Khuwaylid,
the lady of the women of the Arabs.
Can any honor surpass such honor, other than the honor of Islam?
And can any glory exceed this glory, other than the glory of faith?
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr grew up in the house of Prophethood,
walked upon the soil of that pure home,
and was disciplined by its sublime manners.
He was the most beloved of Allah’s creation to his aunt Aisha,
after the noble Messenger of Allah, upon him be the best of prayers and purest of salutations,
and after her father, al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
When Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr reached the age of seven,
his father, al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam, ordered him
to go to the Messenger, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
and pledge allegiance to him to hear and obey in times of ease and hardship.
He went to the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
accompanied by Abd Allah Ibn Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib,
who was a young boy of similar age.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw them
approaching him to pledge allegiance,
just as mature men would do,
he smiled with delight at their actions,
extended his noble hand to them, and accepted their pledge.
Throughout his life, Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr
remembered this pledge,
and remained committed to it in all his affairs,
instructing his children to follow the way of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Once, his son was absent from the house for a long time,
and when he returned, he said to him,
"Where were you, my son?"
He replied,
"I found a group of people the likes of whom I have never seen.
They were remembering Allah the Exalted,
and one of them would wail and tremble
until he fainted from the fear of Allah."
"So I sat with them all day long."
He said to him,
"Do not sit with them after this time, my son, ever.
For I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
reciting the Qur'an,
and remembering Allah the Blessed and Exalted in the most excellent, profound, and sincere manner.
And I saw Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them,
reciting the Qur'an
and remembering Allah as well,
yet none of them were afflicted by any of this."
"Do you think that these companions of yours
are more fearful of Allah than Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali?"
Just as Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr was raised in righteousness and piety,
he was also raised in horsemanship and warfare from his earliest youth.
His father was extremely keen to have him witness the military expeditions,
and to take him along to distant lands,
so that he might attend battles and witness the conquests.
He took him along on the day of Yarmouk from Medina to the Levant,
and singled him out with a thoroughbred horse,
and hired a guardian to look after it for him.
Thus, he was able to witness the greatest battle in the history of Islam at close range,
to see the massive armies in their charges and retreats,
and to accompany them in defeat and victory.
He became a man of war just as he was a worshiper of the night.
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr never missed a battle fought by the Muslims
from the time he became capable of bearing arms.
In every battle the mujahidin fought, he had
an impact that was noted and praised.
Among these was when the Caliph of the Muslims, Uthman Ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction,
authorized his governor in Egypt to conquer North Africa.
The invading army set out toward its objective,
but it was not long before news of them ceased to reach the Caliph,
which caused him great concern and distress.
So he sent Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr at the head of a group of Muslim cavalry
to reinforce the army and bring back news of them.
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr met the invading army
and examined its condition.
He found that its commander was fighting the polytheists from morning until noon every day,
and then both his army and theirs would rest due to the harsh weather and intense heat.
He quickly suggested that he divide his army into two parts:
one part to fight the first half of the day,
and one part to fight the second half of the day,
so that the two groups could alternate resting while the fighting continued.
In this way, he would not give the enemy a chance to catch their breath.
The army commander was pleased with the proposed plan
and ordered its implementation,
willingly and voluntarily relinquishing command to Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr.
The two armies fought the next day as they had fought every day.
When noon arrived,
the enemies began to withdraw as was their custom,
but they were shocked and surprised by the Muslims,
who continued the fight with an army full of vigor,
sharpened resolve,
and abundant energy.
Panic struck their hearts,
disorder entered their ranks,
and the signs of defeat appeared upon them.
At that moment, Ibn al-Zubayr saw the opportunity was ripe,
so he chose thirty of his strongest men
and said to them, "Guard my back,
and you will see what I am about to do."
Jarjir, the king of the enemies
and commander of their army, was stationed in the center of his camp,
riding his grey pack-horse.
He had two slave girls with him shading him with peacock feathers.
Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr said to the men he had chosen,
"I am going toward him, so follow me,
and repel from me the treachery of anyone who opposes me."
Then he moved toward Jarjir,
steady of heart, firm of resolve, and measured of step.
He began to cut through the ranks with both hands in calm composure.
The people thought he was an envoy
who had come from the Muslims to negotiate.
When he reached the center of the camp,
the king realized his intent and feared his might,
so he turned to flee.
But Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr caught up with him
and struck him a blow that threw him to the ground.
Then he pounced upon him,
finished him off, and severed his head,
hoisting it upon his spear.
Then he raised his voice in takbir,
and the Muslims shouted takbir in response to him.
Zeal stirred the souls of the Muslims,
and panic spread in the hearts of the polytheists,
so they turned their backs and fled,
leaving their rears exposed to Ibn al-Zubayr
and his soldiers fighting in the cause of Allah.
Allah honored Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr,
for he possessed, above all his other virtues,
the loftiness of piety and the purity of righteousness,
as he lived standing in prayer by night and fasting by day,
with a heart attached to the houses of Allah.
People used to call him "the Dove of the Mosque."
It was known that he divided the nights of his life into three:
one night he would spend standing in prayer until morning,
one night he would spend bowing until morning,
and one night he would spend prostrating until morning as well.
He had stances during the seasons of worship
that shook the hearts of the Muslims,
and stirred the hidden depths of faith in their hearts.
Among these is what was narrated by Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah al-Thaqafi,
He said: ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to us,
one day before the Day of Tarwiyah, while he was in the state of ihram.
He recited the talbiyah in a manner more beautiful than any I had ever heard,
and indeed, like nothing else I have ever heard.
Then he praised Allah with the most abundant praise,
and extolled Him with the most excellent commendation.
He then said: ‘To proceed:
You have come from various horizons,
as delegations to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
It is the right of Allah to honor those who come to Him as His delegation.
So whoever among you has come seeking what is with Allah,
know that one who seeks Allah shall not be disappointed.
Verify your words with your deeds,
for the essence of speech is action.
And intention, intention!
For deeds are but by intentions.
Fear Allah, fear Allah regarding these days of yours,
for they are days in which sins are forgiven.’
Then he recited the talbiyah,
and the people recited the talbiyah along with him.
I have never seen a day,
in which there were more people weeping than on that day.
Furthermore,
‘Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr spent his entire life,
struggling for what he believed to be the truth,
until he was killed near the sacred Ka‘bah.
Among those who wept at the time of his death,
was ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both).