In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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.
Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali,
may Allah be pleased with you.
We are here in the mosque of the noble Messenger, peace be upon him,
shortly before the Farewell Pilgrimage.
The people have taken their places within its pure courtyards,
preparing to hear the Friday sermon.
And here is the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, ascending the pulpit,
and everyone in the mosque turns into attentive ears and conscious hearts,
with eyes fixed upon him and attached to him,
not turning away or wavering.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, began to warn and give glad tidings,
to exhort and remind,
and to address the affairs of the Muslims as he was wont to do.
While they were in this state,
a large delegation from the Bajilah tribe arrived at the mosque,
coming from Yemen,
to declare their Islam before the Messenger, peace be upon him,
and to pledge allegiance to him to listen and obey in times of ease and hardship.
The men of the delegation took their places among the throngs of Muslims,
and at their head was Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali,
the master of Bajilah and its obeyed leader.
Suddenly, the Muslims—who would let nothing distract them from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him—
turned their eyes toward Jarir ibn Abd Allah.
They began to gaze at him for a long time and fix their eyes upon him,
until it seemed to them as if they had an appointment with him,
or as if someone had described him to them.
They wanted to confirm his identity and verify his description.
No sooner had the prayer ended
than Jarir leaned toward a man from the Muslims sitting next to him and said,
"Why are the people turning their eyes toward me and staring at me?
It is as if they have some need of me.
Is it just a coincidence, or is there something to the matter?"
The man replied, "The people have not turned their eyes toward you
except because the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, told us a short while ago
of your arrival at the head of a delegation from your people.
He mentioned your description to us and said,
'A man will enter upon you who is among the best of the people of Yemen,
on whose face is the mark of royalty.'"
The features of Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali brightened when he heard this,
his face beamed with joy,
and his soul was gladdened by the description the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had bestowed upon him.
Once the Prophet, peace be upon him, had finished his prayer, glorification, and supplication,
Jarir stood before him,
and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him,
"What brought you, O Jarir?"
He replied, "I have come to embrace Islam at your hands, I and my people, O Messenger of Allah,
and to pledge allegiance to you."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him,
"I pledge your allegiance on the condition that you testify that there is no god but Allah,
and that I am the Messenger of Allah,
that you establish prayer,
pay the zakat,
fast Ramadan,
perform the pilgrimage to the House,
offer sincere counsel to every Muslim,
and obey the ruler,
even if he be an Abyssinian slave."
He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He extended his right hand to him and pledged his allegiance.
From that day on,
the bonds of affection were strengthened between the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and his companion, Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali.
He attained such honor from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and such esteem,
as only a rare few of his early companions in Islam enjoyed.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, never barred him
from entering upon him until he passed away,
and he never met him without smiling and beaming at him.
Once, he entered upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, in his house,
and he welcomed him.
When he could not find anything for him to sit upon,
he took his own cloak,
folded it, and threw it for him to sit on.
Jarir took the cloak,
pressed it to his chest,
and began to kiss it, saying,
"May Allah honor you, O Messenger of Allah, as you have honored me,
and may Allah cherish you as you have cherished me."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, turned to those with him and said,
"If a noble person of a people comes to you, then honor him."
No sooner had Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali embraced Islam
and joined the battalions of faith
than he became a person of trust for the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and for his caliphs after him.
They entrusted him with momentous affairs
and relied upon him for great tasks.
Shortly before the death of the noble Prophet, peace be upon him,
he called Jarir to him and said,
"Will you relieve me of Dhu al-Khalasah, O Jarir?"
He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
This Dhu al-Khalasah, which the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, wanted
to be relieved of before he departed this life,
was a group of idols in the city of Tabalah,
a seven-night journey from Makkah on the way to Yemen.
They were painted white,
and inscriptions were carved upon them like crowns.
Dhu al-Khalasah was tended by the sons of Umamah,
and it was venerated by the tribes of Khath'am, Bajilah, and Azd.
They would make pilgrimage to it, circumambulate it, and sacrifice before it,
to the point that they called it the "Yemeni Ka'bah."
The Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, chose Jarir for this mission
because of his leadership in Bajilah and his status among the Yemeni tribes.
Jarir carried out the command of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and chose for this expedition one hundred and fifty brave, seasoned horsemen.
When he was about to depart, he came to bid farewell to the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him,
and complained to him that he could not stay steady on horseback due to his great height and stature.
The noble Prophet, peace be upon him, struck his chest and said,
"O Allah, make him steady and make him a guide who is rightly guided."
After that, he was among the steadiest of horsemen on the backs of thoroughbred steeds.
Jarir proceeded with his men to Dhu al-Khalasah, killed its attendants, and smashed its structures.
He set fire to its idols, then sent a messenger to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
to bring him the good news of the destruction of that idol which had grieved and concerned him,
and the site of which later became the threshold of the great mosque of Tabalah.
Jarir did not return to Madinah after the destruction of Dhu al-Khalasah, but continued his journey to Yemen
to invite its kings to Islam by the command of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
He arrived at Dhu al-Kala' al-Asfar, the greatest king of Yemen at that time,
presented to him the virtues of Islam, read some of the Qur'an to him, and warned and gave him glad tidings.
Allah opened the king's heart to faith, and he soon testified that there is no god but Allah
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Dhu al-Kala' rejoiced greatly at the faith with which Allah had honored him after his polytheism,
so on the day he embraced Islam, he freed four thousand slaves, then migrated with his people to Madinah.
He found that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had already passed away,
so he and his people settled in Hims and made it their home and residence.
When the caliphate passed to al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,
Jarir ibn Abd Allah placed himself, his sword, and his people at his command.
Abu Bakr dispatched him to crush the sedition of apostasy in the lands of Yemen,
and Jarir performed the task in the best possible manner.
He continued to fight the apostates until he broke their power and brought them back into the fold of Islam.
When the caliphate passed to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
Jarir was for him an excellent companion, advisor, and commander.
Umar found great comfort in him,
and he admired his sharp intelligence and his ready wit in critical situations.
Among these was when Umar was in a gathering with Jarir ibn Abd Allah,
and a group of Muslims were waiting for prayer.
Someone among the people passed wind,
and the people fell silent and still,
each fearing that it might be thought to have come from him.
Umar feared that embarrassment might drive the person who passed wind
to enter the prayer without performing ablution.
So he said, "I command the one who passed wind to stand up and perform ablution."
The people began to look at one another,
so Jarir ibn Abd Allah stepped forward and said,
"Command us, O Commander of the Faithful, to all perform ablution."
Umar was relieved and said,
"Yes, all of you perform ablution."
Then he turned to Jarir and said,
"May Allah have mercy on you; you were a noble man in the Age of Ignorance,
and you are a noble man in Islam."
Then the people all performed ablution.
You were a noble man in the Age of Ignorance,
and you are a noble man in Islam.
Umar ibn al-Khattab,
and what a noble man.