In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The life of the righteous is defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds.
Jihad and sacrifice for the sake of Allah.
One day, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was praying in the Hijr of the Kaaba.
Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu'ayt approached him.
He placed his garment around the Prophet’s neck.
He strangled him with great intensity.
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came forward.
He grabbed him by his shoulders.
And pushed him away from the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He said, "Would you kill a man for saying, 'My Lord is Allah'?"
Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once sent an army to the Romans.
They captured Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah, may Allah be pleased with him.
They took him to their king.
They said, "This man is one of the companions of Muhammad."
The king said, "Will you convert to Christianity, and I will give you half of my kingdom?"
He replied, "If you were to give me everything you own and all the kingdoms of the Arabs,
I would not turn away from the religion of Muhammad for even the blinking of an eye."
The king said, "Then I will kill you."
He replied, "That is up to you."
The king ordered him to be crucified.
He told the archers to shoot arrows near his limbs.
All the while, the king kept offering him Christianity, and he kept refusing.
The king had him taken down and called for a large cauldron.
He poured water into it until it boiled.
He then called for two other Muslim captives.
He ordered one of them to be thrown into it.
As he was being thrown, the king continued to offer him Christianity.
But he refused.
Then Abdullah wept, and the king was told,
"He is weeping."
The king thought he had become fearful.
He said, "Bring him back."
"What made you weep?"
He said, "I said to myself,
'It is only one soul,
it will face this moment and then depart.'
So I wished that I had as many souls as the hairs on my body to be cast into the fire for the sake of Allah."
The tyrant said to him,
"Will you kiss my head and I will set you free?"
Abdullah said to him,
"And [will you release] all the other captives?"
The king said, "Yes."
So he kissed his head.
He was brought before Umar with the other captives.
He told him the story.
Umar said,
"It is the duty of every Muslim to kiss the head of Ibn Hudhafah,
and I shall begin."
So he kissed his head.
Ibn Umar said,
"We missed Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, on the day of Mu'tah.
We searched for him among the fallen.
We found him with, between spear wounds and arrow strikes,
over ninety [wounds].
We found them all on the front of his body."
Abdullah Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said,
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appointed in the Battle of Mu'tah:
Zayd Ibn Harithah.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
'If Zayd is killed, then Ja'far;
and if Ja'far is killed, then Abdullah Ibn Rawahah.'"
Abdullah said,
"I was among them in that battle.
We searched for Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him,
and we found him among the fallen.
We found over ninety spear wounds and arrow strikes on his body."
Khalid Ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
"There is no night in which I am brought a bride whom I love,
that is dearer to me than a night of intense cold and heavy frost,
in a military expedition where we surprise the enemy at dawn."
He also said, may Allah be pleased with him,
"Nine swords were broken in my hand on the day of Mu'tah,
and nothing remained in my hand but a Yemeni blade."
From Anas:
That Abu Talhah al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him,
read Surah Bara'ah.
When he reached this verse:
﴾Go forth, whether light or heavy﴿,
he said, "I see that our Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, is calling upon the old and the young to go forth.
Prepare me, O my son."
His son said, "May Allah have mercy on you,
you fought alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, until he passed away,
and with Abu Bakr until he passed away,
and with Umar, may Allah be pleased with them.
We will fight on your behalf."
But he refused.
So they prepared him.
He boarded a ship and died at sea.
They could not find an island to bury him on
until seven days later.
Yet his body had not changed.
So they buried him there.
Yunus Ibn Ubayd, may Allah have mercy on him, looked at his own feet upon his death
and wept.
He was asked, "What makes you weep?"
He said, "I remembered that they had never been covered in dust in the cause of Allah."
Calling to Allah.
From Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
that Abu Talhah proposed to Umm Sulaym, may Allah be pleased with her.
She said, "O Abu Talhah,
do you not know that the god you worship
is a piece of wood that grew from the earth,
carved by the Abyssinian slave of such-and-such family?
If you embrace Islam,
I will ask for no dowry from you other than that."
He said,
"Let me consider my affair."
He went away,
then returned and said,
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
She said,
"O Anas,
marry Abu Talhah."
From al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him,
that whenever he recited this verse:
“And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who are muslims (surrender unto Him).” (41:33)
“And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who are muslims (surrender unto Him).” (41:33)
He would say,
"This is the beloved of Allah,
this is the ally of Allah,
this is the chosen one of Allah,
this is the select one of Allah,
this is the most beloved of the people of the earth to Allah.
He responded to Allah in His call,
and he called the people to that which he responded to in Allah's call,
and he performed righteous deeds in his response."
And he said,
"Indeed, I am of those who submit to His Lord."
"This is the vicegerent of Allah."
And when he recited:
﴾Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allah" and then remained on a right course﴿,
he would say,
"O Allah, You are our Lord,
so grant us steadfastness."
He also said, may Allah have mercy on him,
"Whoever benefits a brother for the sake of Allah,
Allah raises him a degree because of it."
When Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Muhammad al-Qar'awi, may Allah have mercy on him, returned from India,
he began studying under his teacher,
Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, may Allah have mercy on him.
He heard in his teacher's gatherings about the absolute ignorance
and the total darkness in the south of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He said of himself,
"I sought guidance from Allah the Almighty,
and I consulted my teacher about heading to that region.
He approved of it,
and he advised me to fear Allah,
and he prayed for me.
I bade him farewell and performed Hajj that year,
and then I headed to Samtah."
Sheikh Abdullah headed to those lands drowned in ignorance.
By the grace of Allah the Almighty and His protection,
then the care of His Majesty,
King Abdulaziz, may Allah have mercy on him,
and the guidance and direction of His Eminence,
Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim, may Allah have mercy on him,
and the sincere intention and devotion of Sheikh Abdullah al-Qar'awi,
he established a correct, Salafi Islamic call among that ignorant population.
He opened schools there,
and established scientific councils for them,
upon the recommendation of King Abdulaziz.
He spread the Salafi creed among them.
Thus, in the year 1356, he opened a school.
And in the year 1361, [the number] reached...
it reached 200 schools.
And in the year 1363, [the number] reached...
it reached 300 schools.
And in the year 1373, [the number] reached...
it reached 700 schools.
Then it grew to 1,500 schools.
He was diligent in supervision and educational work,
and in guidance and direction,
with an elite group of outstanding graduates.
The number of schools increased
until it reached 2,200 schools,
in which 570,000 students were learning,
including 10,000 female students.
And 3,000 male and female teachers were responsible for their education.
By Allah, I do not know of any righteous deed
by which a person draws closer to his Lord,
that is more excellent than this work performed by this mujahid.